No reload advice (I don’t want to clog the thread about no reload runs)
Klorox
Member Posts: 927
What class(es), or characteristics in a main character, are generally considered the best for a decent shot at making it through the entire trilogy without reloading?
I play without any mods, and I consider myself an above-average player, understanding most of the rules of this game and how things work.
I just have never completed an attempt at the game without reloading and I’d really like to say that I’ve done it one time.
Having just lost out on a run yesterday, I’m pondering my next attempt at this.
Thanks all, in advance.
I play without any mods, and I consider myself an above-average player, understanding most of the rules of this game and how things work.
I just have never completed an attempt at the game without reloading and I’d really like to say that I’ve done it one time.
Having just lost out on a run yesterday, I’m pondering my next attempt at this.
Thanks all, in advance.
0
Comments
The ideal thread for such discussions is The Adventurer's Lounge, so feel free to post there:
https://forums.beamdog.com/discussion/66243/the-adventurers-lounge-guidance-and-support-for-no-reload-challengers-newbie-or-veteran/p1
As for the question, I don't think there is an objective choice for a "best main character" for a no-reload games, as it depends more on what you're experienced and comfortable with. I do much better with divine spellcasters and worse with arcane spellcasters and thieves compared to a lot of players, so you will get very different opinions from those. I think in a full party run, the Bhaalspawn class matters very little either way (very different for solo runs, where some classes are way more difficult than others to handle).
Personally, it's my opinion that somewhat unexperienced no-reloaders have the best shot of success if they pick a Bhaalspawn that is both surviveable but also doesn't generally move to the frontlines. A skald or totemic druid would be my personal ideal classes - a skald can stay a little bit back and use the combat song (which is super strong early on and super strong in the lategame once its HLA-improved, only being a little bit uninspiring at some points in the middle) while protected with stoneskins/spirit armor, illusion defenses, elemental immunities and the like while letting the party handle the tough fighting, and a totemic druid will hide behind summons and the party while doing only a little supportive spellcasting in combat (most of the power is in summoning and buffing before combat, their actual in-combat contribution is not as big, except for maybe an insect plague cast they don't need to do much - so they can, in effect just stay at a safe distance while having additional ironskins and elemental resistance protections. My first no-reload success was a druid that basically existed half a screen away from the other party members for any fight I wasn't too sure about. I had tons of deaths, even chunkings, but the bhaalspawn stayed alive).
This is, however, not a playstyle that a lot of players like. Many want their Bhaalspawn to be a more active participant in the fighting. For those, I guess a berserker is a good choice (the rage brings just so so many crucial immunities with it, you just have to mind the duration), or, if they know how to really protect an arcane spellcasters with the right array of buffs for each dangerous encounter, any kind of wizard multiclass (or dualclass), such as a fighter/mage or mage/thief of any kind (I would propably prefer a gnome here, so an illusionist multiclass).
In the end, the choice matters little (unless you pick a wizard slayer or wild mage or another kit with an actively reduced chance of survival compared to the average character) in a full party run. More importantly, if your only goal is success, is a strong balanced party to support the Bhaalspawn (or get supported by them). The most powerful one will be a custom party, as the joinable NPCs are not exactly optimized - there are tons of ways to build one, but having, for example a berserker, a sorcerer, a fighter/cleric and a fighter/thief will give you a very strong power base which will be able to support any bhaalspawn (and a sixth party member, depending what the Bhaalspawn brings to the table - I personally like a single-class druid if the Bhaalspawn is no divine spellcaster - getting to 6 death wards and 6 chaotic commands is pretty important once you get to the underdark, and a single multiclassed divine spellcaster might not be enough to reliably get there, even with wondrous recall - the druid won't get many spellslots, but it will be enough and add insect plague and fire elementals to the party arsenal) or a secondary arcane spellcaster such as a fighter/illusionist or a skald).
Edit: For solo play, I think the case could be made that a fighter/mage/thief is effectively the easiest class to get a success with.
It might be worth saying a bit more about your gamestyle. In addition to how actively you involve the Bhaalspawn in combat, the amount of buffing you do also makes a big difference. If you're comfortable with buffing a lot then you can make an arcane PC pretty bullet-proof and that's probably the easiest way to get a success even with the PC actively participating all the time. However, I suspect that you would find that approach a bit tedious. If so, one alternative is a less actively involved PC - like the druid Enuhal refers to, who's important to the party but does very little in combat.
If that more passive approach doesn't strike you as fun either, then how about an archer - they can compete with anyone in terms of damage done, without getting exposed in the front line. One problem though with that approach is that some enemies will deliberately target the PC with spells. If you know the game well you can either buff against those encounters or just keep the PC out of sight, but that does mean you need to be concentrating on the game, rather than playing more on autopilot. If that might be a problem for you I would suggest an alternative to the archer would be a dwarf fighter-type (but still specialising in missile use). If you give them the best equipment their saving throws will eventually make them safe against any ranged save or else spells without the need for buffing and their HPs will shrug off any odd fireballs or the like that are thrown around ...
Right now I’m messing with a dragon disciple PC and a dwarven defender buddy, but I’m not sure if more than one character qualifies for the challenge. It’s a personal thing anyway.
I’ll play different based on my class choice. I really like fighter/mages, FMT, berserker>mages, fighter/thief types, sorcerers, barbarians and dwarven defenders. Archers are a lot of fun too, but I’m never sure what weapon to go with. You’re going to end up dominating with whatever choice you make anyway (well, other than slings any long bows LOL).
A second point is to take heavy advantage of the stealth mechanic. Not to set up backstabs necessarily. But to scout ahead. Both these pieces of advice apply heavily to the start of BG1 -- which by the way if often the toughest stretch in the whole saga.
Nowadays I am still reckless but I take a lot more heed in protecting the protagonist from these effects.
Class, race does not matter too much.
I find the thief part of this multi-class able to give enough tactics and engagement with the game world, whereas I find spell users more tedious due to all the needed buffs. I do not have the patience and prefer to get on with it in this game