Fighter -> Mage dual-classing level (no HoF)

ziphnor

I am rediscovering the infinity games on my tablet and wanted to try the Kensai/Mage for one of my characters (never did that in BG2/ToB besides many playthroughs).

I am trying to decide to dual at lvl 9 vs lvl 13 (playing at Core), and have a few questions:
* If I dual at lvl 9 with 4 pips in Katana and 3 in dual wielding, can I then at mage level 12 use the gained point to go to 5 pips in katana? (as allowed in BG2)? Or would i have to do 2 pips only in dual wield instead?
* How late would I gain lvl 13 Kensai/14 Mage? Would it be at the very end of the game (because then it's not really any fun)?

DinoDin

In all of these games, I would always recommend dualing earlier rather than later. It's been awhile since I've hit IWD late game, so I can't speak with specifics, just general advice.

FWIW, I ultimately don't think the Kensai->Mage dual ends up being all that strong. You're gimped while a single class fighter, you're underpowered relative to your party while just a mage. Berserker tends to be much stronger. And sure you're the MVP of the team when it's complete, but even at level 9 that's a huge investment of time. And late stages of all these games offers you enormous gold and item options that alleviate the difficulty. It's often the early levels where your class-based bonuses truly count.

But yeah, don't want to dissuade the run if it's your goal, just throwing some of my experiences out there. Dualing at the lower level will result in more overall fun in your run, imo.

atcDave

Obviously you can play this however you want. But in IWD I would almost never take the first class much past 3rd level. The farther you take it, the longer your character will be handicapped with a class inactive. And the game isn’t all that long to begin with.
That said, a case can certainly be made for dualling from fighter at 7th level. I wouldn’t do it for the above reasons, but you will ultimately end up with strong character in the end.

Ridcully

Are you soloing or full party? Don't know if it helps but for a full party, DC at Lvl9 (happens around Laurel) and you get to Lvl 10 of the Mage class in the Frost Giant cave. So basically all of Dorn's Deep and most of the Glacier will be class inactive

Hermetics

Imo level 7 is the best level to dual class as any fighter that is not a kensai.. The extra pip doesn't matter because you can fill it out after you complete the dual and you can also hoard exp so that you don't waste your pips until you hit lvl 8. lvl 9 otherwise is just hp or kensai passive, 1 more use of berserker rage is whatever. There's a very big exp gap between 7, 9, and especially 13, but the difference is very little functionally unless you're struggling with thaco which imo you should not be if you are building a proper party and using all the tools given to you. Especially if you're playing not hof. Just do 7 it's 500k to hit fighter9/mage10, that's already gonna be late in the game as it is and you're gonna have a dead slot for that much longer. Your goal should be to have a fighter until you start to have some actual useful spell scrolls (rip iwd scrolls) and have your mage able to supplement your team until he becomes a fighter again.

Honestly dual classes I don't think they're very good in games like this. Like they're great at the end game but the end game is always easy, the challenge is always early mid game and that is where most of the fun is. If you wanna do it regardless go for it but I think lvl 7 is your best bet to be able to actually have fun with your character. You really don't gain much at all between 9 and 13 besides thaco and half an attack is whatever. Your experience will vary depending on if you knew what to do with the rest of the party, particularly if you brought a cleric and a skald, possibly a blackguard who will be your main fighter until the dual class is finished.