Compare and contrast berserker 9/ mage dual to a berserker 13 dual please

Klorox

I'm playing solo with no reloads.

I am thinking 9 might be better because I'll feel very "exposed" as an under-leveled single classed mage running around Amn by my lonesome self.

Then again, in the long run, a level 13 berserker has a better THAC0, more HP, an extra 1/2 attack, and that extra rage.

Are the wizard levels affected between the two? Is there any real good reason I'm missing to go one over the other?

TIA

jsaving

The berserker13/mage will eventually be stronger, but there are two downsides that often lead people to go the berserker9/mage route.

One is the amount of time it takes to be a fully functional fighter/mage. You'll barely notice the downtime on a berserker9/mage but it will be more significant on a berserker13/mage, potentially testing your patience as you make your way through the game.

A secondary downside is that a berserker13/mage will lag 2-3 caster levels behind a berserker9/mage. That isn't a big deal most of the time, but could potentially mean your berserker13/mage won't quite have 9th level spells when facing Irenicus, depending on how much of a completionist you are and how willing you are to use the game's XP exploits.

But both of your possibilities are super-strong and you won't go wrong either way.

jmerry

This is about solo play. You can pile up a lot of XP that way. And with scribing XP, those early mage levels just fly by. If you dual-class from level 9, you'll probably hit mage level 10 just from the scrolls you've picked up playing naturally; it's literally a no-downtime option.

If you want more scroll XP than that, cost is a concern. There are enough scrolls for sale even before unlocking anything to get you all the way to mage level 14 at once, but you'd need hundreds of thousands of gold to pay for them.
If you're buying just for the XP, low-level scrolls are most efficient, especially from cheap merchants like Sister Garlena. That, and Freedom. Ribald's infinite Freedom scrolls in chapter 6 can easily push you all the way to the XP cap.

Klorox

jmerry wrote: »

This is about solo play. You can pile up a lot of XP that way. And with scribing XP, those early mage levels just fly by. If you dual-class from level 9, you'll probably hit mage level 10 just from the scrolls you've picked up playing naturally; it's literally a no-downtime option.

If you want more scroll XP than that, cost is a concern. There are enough scrolls for sale even before unlocking anything to get you all the way to mage level 14 at once, but you'd need hundreds of thousands of gold to pay for them.
If you're buying just for the XP, low-level scrolls are most efficient, especially from cheap merchants like Sister Garlena. That, and Freedom. Ribald's infinite Freedom scrolls in chapter 6 can easily push you all the way to the XP cap.

I really want to have the dual complete before leaving for spell hold.

Phoenix_VII

I dualed my Fighter to Mage at Level 13 and completed it before the first Irenicus fight in Spellhold (but I scribed all the spells I could [didn't scribe, forget, then scribe again, though I did teach spells to all the available mage companions, even those I weren't using] and did all the sidequests except beating Firkraag [had to save him for after Spellhold was done]). I also played SoD so my character started BG II with 500,000 XP as opposed to 161,000. Without SoD, I think it's impossible to complete a Level 13 dual before the first Irenicus fight with a full party without cheesing it...like buying/stealing all the magic scrolls merchants have available, kicking out everyone from your party except yourself temporarily, and then scribe and forget spells over and over.