Before IntoTheDark responds I'm just going to go out there and suggest in general we get back to the topic at hand, you know before this turns any uglier. I include myself in all of this I might add.
Gahh yeah, well said. You are right. Well IntoTheDarkness just know I don't hate you okay? Sorry I'm super blunt at times. I will back down now.
Before IntoTheDark responds I'm just going to go out there and suggest in general we get back to the topic at hand, you know before this turns any uglier. I include myself in all of this I might add.
Gahh yeah, well said. You are right. Well IntoTheDarkness just know I don't hate you okay? Sorry I'm super blunt at times. I will back down now.
Me neither. It's not like I bear a grudge every time I have a quarrel with someone. No hard feelings. And well said, Elminster.
Back to the topic at hand, it is true that multi-classed characters are much more powerful than single-classed characters in both BG1 and BG2.
In BG1, at the original experience cap of 89000, you get either level 7 fighter or level 6/7 fighter/thief. The latter can back stab and get all the merits of level 7 thief. With a pure thief you can only get as high as lvl 8.
With 16,1000 exp cap, you can get level 8 fighter or level 6/6/7 fighter/mage/thief. Again, multi-classed characters benefit too much from the early stiff curve of experience requirement from each level.
Exp curve becomes somewhat flat at high levels and multi-classed characters start falling behind in BG2 portion of the game, but that fact does not make multi-classed characters any weaker because beyond level 20, your character does not develop much besides high-level-abilities, and multi-classed characters have access to high level abilities of all classes they belong to. It will be only a short period of time between mid-level 10s upto high-level 10s where multi-classed characters fall behind, but ultimately they will become much stronger.
Even on their supposedly weak section, fighter-multi classed character will still perform better with spells or a back stab ability than normal fighters with higher level.
Lastly, I'm aware it's not going to be implemented since EE seems determined(or forced) to stay true to the vanilla game. But a classes balance discussion can't hurt, does it? I don't like multi-classing my character because it feels too powerful compared to companion NPCs. Some of them are multi-classed, but they do not possess the ideal stats the protagonist has.
It is a fair question, but I think its been answered. The multiclass characters lag behind the single classes. Jan Jansen, for instance, is not a great choice for primary mage, though it can be done.
Multiclass characters were also supposed to have lower level limits, although most people didn't use those anyway. For instance, 1E Unearthed Arcana gave +2 level cap for single classed demi-humans.
So, I think your question shows an intuitive sense of game balance - there are balances omitted - but even with the odious race level limits nixed, the single class is much more effective in that class -
Comments
Back to the topic at hand, it is true that multi-classed characters are much more powerful than single-classed characters in both BG1 and BG2.
In BG1, at the original experience cap of 89000, you get either level 7 fighter or level 6/7 fighter/thief. The latter can back stab and get all the merits of level 7 thief. With a pure thief you can only get as high as lvl 8.
With 16,1000 exp cap, you can get level 8 fighter or level 6/6/7 fighter/mage/thief. Again, multi-classed characters benefit too much from the early stiff curve of experience requirement from each level.
Exp curve becomes somewhat flat at high levels and multi-classed characters start falling behind in BG2 portion of the game, but that fact does not make multi-classed characters any weaker because beyond level 20, your character does not develop much besides high-level-abilities, and multi-classed characters have access to high level abilities of all classes they belong to. It will be only a short period of time between mid-level 10s upto high-level 10s where multi-classed characters fall behind, but ultimately they will become much stronger.
Even on their supposedly weak section, fighter-multi classed character will still perform better with spells or a back stab ability than normal fighters with higher level.
Lastly, I'm aware it's not going to be implemented since EE seems determined(or forced) to stay true to the vanilla game. But a classes balance discussion can't hurt, does it? I don't like multi-classing my character because it feels too powerful compared to companion NPCs. Some of them are multi-classed, but they do not possess the ideal stats the protagonist has.
Multiclass characters were also supposed to have lower level limits, although most people didn't use those anyway. For instance, 1E Unearthed Arcana gave +2 level cap for single classed demi-humans.
So, I think your question shows an intuitive sense of game balance - there are balances omitted - but even with the odious race level limits nixed, the single class is much more effective in that class -