Best mage (single or multi) across the series
dockaboomski
Member Posts: 440
Nothing more than the question. Who is the best? Who is your favorite? If you can only bring one with you forever, who is it?
- Best mage (single or multi) across the series79 votes
- Dynaheir (invoker)1.27%
- Edwin (conjurer)31.65%
- Imoen (thief/mage)8.86%
- Quayle (cleric/illusionist)2.53%
- Xan (enchanter)8.86%
- Xzar (necromancer)5.06%
- Aerie (cleric/mage)24.05%
- Jan (illusionist/thief)13.92%
- Nalia (thief/mage)1.27%
- Other (dual-class of player's decision; Safana, Sarevok)2.53%
1
Comments
Yes, please.
So very fitting for a necro. No doubt he will come back in Baldur's Gate III as an joinable, romanceable undead NPC.
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/512659#Comment_512659
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/comment/422602/#Comment_422602
etc
Modding Xan into a F/M and having him being all bad-ass with that downer attitude is actually quite hilarious. It's such a paradox.
So I was quite high in level for that point of the game and Nalia had a lot of XP.
Then I modded her into a kensai lev 1, minmaxing a little her stats without altering the total and I gave her back her XP using cluaconsole. then at lev9 I dualed her into mage.
And I had her completing the dual just with the remaining XP, no down time at all.
The minmaxing was only to give her stats that let her do so, without dumping char or doing other PG things.
Guys, she rooks!
She has access to all the magic schools and lev9 spells.
She can mix arcane and divine magic in sequencers and contingiences.
Let her grow a little in level and she can deal good mlee damage while DW with RM, IH and 25 str.
Late game shapeshifted into golem, with the previous buffs, she has 4 APR, dealing each more than 50 dmg.
She can weld FoA, Club of Detonation and the mace that give 18 str, give a good sling and ranged she also do damage, using the right buffs.
She has better thac0 than a mage to make good use of MMM and later energy blades, that she has also from the cleric part.
As I like versatility and usually have small parties and good leveling strategies for me the only one that can compete with her is Jan, and when voting I was undecided between the 2. I voted her because she is in the 90% of my parties and he less often, as I like to play FMT charnames and sometimes I also play without a thief (I mean a real one) and use the tandem Nalia/Yoshimo->Imoen.
The reason why I don't evaluate much useful the bonus spells of Edvin is also that very often all my party members are arcane casters, in the actual run FMT, Aerie, modded Nalia (see my previous post) and Haer Dalis. My party have plenty of spells, and plenty of versatility, recently I had to rest after the Planar Sphere + Shadows Lord and Dragon, but just because I don't like to have fatigued NPCs, in their spell books there where still enough spells for some tough battles.
I perfectly understand how with other playing styles and parties Edvin can shine and Aerie be not so useful and very slow in getting lev9 spells.
Edit: see also https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/47354/superaerie-power-tactics-for-the-c-m-spoilers
I've used Edwin, Jan, and Aerie many times and all of them are marvelous at their jobs. Jan is just so versatile. Edwin is just so strong. Aerie is just so hard to kill. A toolkit, a missile, and a tank. In the end, as a no-reloader, I have to place foremost importance on Death Ward and Chaotic Commands.
I favor Aerie over Quayle because Quayle is obnoxious. Even in a no-reload game, +2 to saving throws is not worth hearing his voice.
In vanilla BG2, of course, the spider gnome trick made Jan by far the most overpowered NPC in the saga, capable of stun-locking practically anything, from Kangaxx to Melissan. But EE closed that exploit. Jan still has the greatest late-game potential thanks to blind Improved Alacrity traps, but that takes 6 million XP, and I've done nearly 100% completion in a party of 6 without breaking 5 million XP.
Or, when using Songs and Silence, into a Dirgesinger.