[noob] Fighter(BG1) / Mage(BG2) - when to dual?

Exxo

Hello everybody

Compared to most of you, I'm somewhat of a beginner in the world of Baldur's Gate. I've completed the first part a couple of times, but never, ever played the second. Now, the Fallout series, I know every house there inside out - but enough off-topic (for now!).

From what I've read, Fighter/Mage is considered to be the "hot" stuff in BG2 - which raises a natural question, namely when should one dual-class a Fighter to a Mage, if the goal is to use this character in both of the games? Personally I would prefer staying as Fighter for all of BG1. As I understand, dual-classing the PC immediately after importing him into BG2 wouldn't be a good idea - but perhaps once I've "gathered my party" and started "venturing forth" it would work just fine?

And a bit more off-topic - where is Neera hiding? I know the locs of the two other new NPCs, but not hers. And is she bugged for everybody currently, or it's worth to try and see if it works for me?

Deucetipher

F/m should dual at 7, 9, or 13, depending on how much you want to suffer. 7 would be well within BG1, so that's out. 9 let's you max the fighter hit dice and gives you another proficiency. 13 let's you grab the last fighter attack, as well as an additional Kai/Berserk.

One of the most powerful combinations is the Kensai/Mage, as his major drawback, no armor, dovetails nicely with the mage's inability to cast spells while wearing armor. Furthermore, one is not precluded from wearing robes in the chest slot, which are better than armor in BG2.

However, the kensai would be brutal to bring through BG1, particularly for a relative neophyte. I haven't ever tried it, honestly. Never seemed worth the aggravation when one could simply start in BG2.

13 is ultimately better, but 13 F/14M takes 2.75M xp, which will put you most of the way through BG2, unless you're running a smaller party. Dualing at 9 requires only 10 mage levels before regaining your Kensai abilities, which is a relatively paltry 500,000 xp.

In terms of late-game power, it is important to remember level bonus for spells cap at 20. As a 13 fighter, you'll still hit 28 as a mage, with plenty of HLA's and the full four level 9 slots.

9 is plenty, and the increase in power for going to 13 probably isn't worth the hassle. I did it, and character was boss, but lategame, you rely less on your fighter skills anyway.

Deucetipher

Ack, forgot to mention:
Neera is in Beregost, northwest of the smithy.

Micaelian

Well, if your intention is to continue playing the same character along the whole series, you shouldn't be worried about Baldur's Gate 1 and Tales of the Sword Coast level cap, and you'd better go for a bunch of levels as a Warrior, mostly because of the extra HP, product of a bigger hit dice.
I'd suggest a minimum of eight levels, as you'll still be able to reach maximum Mage level in Throne of Bhaal with no penalties. On the other hand, you could wait until you reach Fighter level 9 in order to earn Grand Mastery with your weapon of choice (and more HP). In mi oppinion, the latter is best, as your total HP, overall saving throws and number of attacks per round will be sensibly better.
There aren't so much benefits in dual-classing later than that, so I would go for a Fighter 9 / Mage 30 in the end.

Deucetipher

Oh, one more tip. If you dual in BG2, you can learn spells to get your first 6 levels or so painlessly. Slam a couple of INT boosting potions and learn as many spells as you can (or just lower the difficulty - no scribing failure). Each spell you learn gives you 1000z xp, z being equal to the level of the spell learned. kick everyone out of your part first, and if you've stockpiled enough spells, you can get to level six, maybe seven before you ever cast a spell in anger.

Exxo

Thanks for the tips, much appreciated So, level 9 it is!