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What is the best weapon proficiencies for a fighter?

Here is a straw poll that I invite you to vote on https://www.strawpoll.me/18519901 comments are welcome also.
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  • jmerryjmerry Member Posts: 3,822
    ... Halbeard ...
    The weapon is called a halberd. "Halbeard" would be a good nickname for a dwarf fighter using one.

    I would go with something that the rest of the party isn't using already, since there's typically about one "ultimate" weapon per proficiency class. Given the starting proficiencies of the various recruitable companions, flails, halberds, and bastard swords are pretty much always available.
    JuliusBorisov
  • ilduderinoilduderino Member Posts: 773
    edited August 2019
    It depends where you are in the series and whether you will stay single class, dual class (if so to what) or multi class

    Generally across the whole series axes are awesome (with great picks apart from very early in BG), hammers also awesome (a great early BG weapon and two great BG2/ToB weapons), longswords and daggers are pretty good but lose a bit at the end, flails are solid in BG2 to the end and bastard swords and halberds come into their own late. Solely for offhand weapon purposes, scimitars and short swords are handy. For fighter / thieves and fighter / mages, daggers and staves are nice choices.

    Two handed weapon and two weapon are good styles, I would avoid the others unless you have spare points and for some reason no other use for them

    Edit - the first point in two handed weapon style is worth much more than the second, likewise the first two points in two weapon style are worth more than the third
    Aerakarstu-k
  • ilduderinoilduderino Member Posts: 773
    jmerry wrote: »
    ... Halbeard ...
    The weapon is called a halberd. "Halbeard" would be a good nickname for a dwarf fighter using one.

    Not to be confused with Hal Beard, the Lego character
  • 20884322088432 Member Posts: 229
    ilduderino wrote: »
    It depends where you are in the series and whether you will stay single class, dual class (if so to what) or multi class

    Generally across the whole series axes are awesome (with great picks apart from very early in BG), hammers also awesome (a great early BG weapon and two great BG2/ToB weapons), longswords and daggers are pretty good but lose a bit at the end, flails are solid in BG2 to the end and bastard swords and halberds come into their own late. Solely for offhand weapon purposes, scimitars and short swords are handy. For fighter / thieves and fighter / mages, daggers and staves are nice choices.

    Two handed weapon and two weapon are good styles, I would avoid the others unless you have spare points and for some reason no other use for them

    Edit - the first point in two-handed weapon style is worth much more than the second, likewise the first two points in two-weapon style are worth more than the third

    What about Two-Handed Swords?
  • ilduderinoilduderino Member Posts: 773
    edited August 2019
    They are strong, especially in BG, but there are many companions that are set up to use them and in BG2 and ToB I think halberds have the edge (unless we are talking paladin only swords)
  • Paulan969Paulan969 Member Posts: 13
    I remember my hype when i was using Blackrazor +3 playing as evil character. Holy moly twas really cool when some enemies just torn into peaces bcs this blade drained them! If only this weapon could be upgraded in ToB it would be my top 1 for sure.

    And now i started to lay as ure kensai, just for fun. Also evil character and im using bastard swords from the very begining as main weapon. So i started to use Feobane +5. Also nice weapon i must say ;)

    The best weapon proficiencies you ask?
    Imo it will always be dual wield. No matter what type of weapon in main hand, it can be everything. But bcs offhand and weapon such as Belm it will always be the best choice.
  • DanacmDanacm Member Posts: 950
    Halberds for flavour yes :)
    But the most effective way in vanilla is dual weapon, and using axes and flails. Axes because its uses as throwing and melee and every stage in the trilogy has absolut good ones. Flails is obvious :)
    Quartzstu-k
  • DreadKhanDreadKhan Member Posts: 3,857
    In BG1, their are big perks to most choices, but even with Twinkle kicking around, imho the best weapon by far is the Composite Longbow. It is insanely good, both with generic arrows and special ammo. For a quirky game, try a dart or dagger throwing fighter. Kensais can throw daggers, and the Dagger of Venom and Gravebinder make daggers solid picks, and they have consistently good availability. Darts are a bit slower at first, but become top tier with enough bonus', and the 2 expensive darts are incredibly strong when you remember how saves you force them to make. You will stun someone only failing on a 1 with no buffs within 5 rounds, and stunned = very dead as a rule.

    In SoD I'm not as familiar, but you find good examples of short swords, a good flail, some decent longswords, but imho comp bow is still king. Their is a nifty dart kicking around too.

    In BG2, bows take a massive nose-dive, and melee is much better. Overall, in SoA the Flail and Katana are great, and the dagger gets 2 very good throwing daggers, and the useful but limited quantity poisoned throwing daggers. Paladin types should use Carsomyr if possible, but they have gobs of proficiencies.

    For ToB, imho flails and bastard swords are really great, and katana, which was very strong in SoA with Celestial Fury becomes painfully lackluster. That said, the 'best' of each weapon really is good in ToB, except maybe Longbows, which get iirc an absolute piece of trash. Then again, crossbow starts to look good, and shortbow is viable, as are slings. Darts are depressing in ToB, but you probably should have GMed a melee choice by then anyways.
    AerakarJuliusBorisov
  • ArachnusArachnus Member Posts: 20
    Spears are far from useless.
    It was nice to see that Melissan's resistance to hold was unable to protect her from being pinned to the ground by Ixil's Spike.
    I have good memories of playing characters specializing in two-handed swords while Minsc wielded Spear of Withering.
    I have not given him Impaler for a long time, an item that was once balanced because the opponents magic's resistance protected them against that additional 10 magic damage.
    Now magic resistance does not stop it and Beamdog caused that tactics lose most of their sense when too much can be reduced to just meele.

    And today I have found that magic resistance in turn began to protect against Maze spell...
    Beamdog guys, please... Could you stop dumbing down this game?
    2088432
  • ZaxaresZaxares Member Posts: 1,325
    Arachnus wrote: »
    And today I have found that magic resistance in turn began to protect against Maze spell...
    Beamdog guys, please... Could you stop dumbing down this game?

    Magic resistance SHOULD work against the Maze spell though, according to the PnP AD&D rules. Magic resistance should technically work against ALL magic, although creatures can lower their MR at will to allow beneficial spells through. If anything, Beamdog should be working to close the loophole that allows "helpful" spells to be cast on enemies and automatically bypassing MR, such as casting the 5th level Cleric spell Magic Resistance on enemies to effectively lower their much higher MR to a more reasonable 40% (or lower).
  • BorcoBorco Member Posts: 325
    Any sling fans in here? All my warriors dream of Everard...

    I wanted to participate in the poll but it's not even on the list. I guess there's always that one political party you can't legally vote for :D.
    Balrog99Permidion_StarkQuartz
  • 20884322088432 Member Posts: 229
    Borco wrote: »
    Any sling fans in here? All my warriors dream of Everard...

    I wanted to participate in the poll but it's not even on the list. I guess there's always that one political party you can't legally vote for :D.

    LOL, I actually am a sling fan myself but I left ranged weapons out on purpose because I was talking about what weapons you should give to tanks. xD
  • Balrog99Balrog99 Member Posts: 7,367
    Borco wrote: »
    Any sling fans in here? All my warriors dream of Everard...

    I wanted to participate in the poll but it's not even on the list. I guess there's always that one political party you can't legally vote for :D.

    Everard is a great weapon for just about anybody. Even your mage can hit something with that bad boy equipped!
    gorgonzola
  • BorcoBorco Member Posts: 325
    @2088432 Exactly! Having seen fully buffed Aerie with Everard, I can hardly think of something more tank-y than that :)
    gorgonzola
  • _Connacht__Connacht_ Member Posts: 169
    I like the Celestial Fury + something off hand that gives an additional attack
    gorgonzola
  • gorgonzolagorgonzola Member Posts: 3,864
    edited September 2019
    Borco wrote: »
    @2088432 Exactly! Having seen fully buffed Aerie with Everard, I can hardly think of something more tank-y than that :)

    fully buffed, DW FoA and runehammer, with her simulacrum DW BBoD (from a scroll in a quick slot) and FoA OH and with a deva and 4 elementals or an elemental prince as helpers Aerie is even more tanky, and she can use the sequencers, trigger and CC to do it in a very short time, at the cost of a single lev 8 spell if she sleep 2 times in a row to load the sequencers ;)

    but i agree, everard and the slings in general are super strong in BG2.
    an end game anomen can pull more then 200 dmg/round with everard and +4 bullets if buffed and with double apr from IH, as well as a mage can hit ranged with good chance to connect stacking launcher and bullet thac0, as @Balrog99 told.
    Post edited by gorgonzola on
  • gorgonzolagorgonzola Member Posts: 3,864
    edited September 2019
    lunar wrote: »
    Staves/spears should be for secondary fighter like clerics/druids. There are good choices though.
    i agree on almost all you told in the post, but disagree on staves.
    why?
    ryn and later ram, and if the fighter is also a mage, multi or dual, SoTM.

    it depends on the player's tactics, but ryn-ram have a long reach, so can be used behind summons or a dedicated tank that act as meatshield, and their bonus damage makes them almost as damaging as DW weapons with less dmg/hit, and you can have ryn very early in bg2.
    the SoTM is as good as the special paladin sword to dispel on hit.

    i don't say that they are the better possible weapon type for a fighter, but imho are a solid option.
    about the sling i told before about the dmg/round potential that they have with anomen, but every fighter with very good str or even better FC or RC can use them very effectively, and it can be an important tactical plus, a fighter with a sling can hit where the damage is needed without moving around to save the casters or help a certain frontliner to kill fast an enemy and so on.

    even if i go very often for DW with my fighters i find that in some party compositions a specialized sling (better if also cleric) or stave (better also mage or thief) fighter can be really useful.

    ilduderinoAerakarstu-k
  • lunarlunar Member Posts: 3,460
    edited September 2019
    I agree that staves/slings can be useful in certain situations. But building a fighter based on those feels wrong to me unless there are cleric levels involved. Rynn's staff is go-to weapon of choice for hunting down Kangaxx early because it is the easiest +4 weapon to get, so there's that.

    I forgot about 2-handed swords. There are very good 2handers in early soa and tob, Lilarcor is very easy to get and has exceptionally useful immunities. Silver sword +3 is deadly, Psion's blade is useful but at that point in tob psychic attacks should not be problem, while at the start of soa Lilarcor's immunities really helps out. Gram sword of grief never appealed to me.

    Problem is, damage wise dual wielding is better, +1 attack/round beats down 2-handers base damage. You can dual wield a katana for the same damage, even have a speed weapon off-hand like Belm for an extra extra attack, too. If 2-handers had base damage of 2d6 and gave better damage bonus for high strength (like in 3e) they could have competed. But the powergaming choice in bg2 is dual wielding.
    gorgonzolaAerakar
  • Gabeg21Gabeg21 Member Posts: 43
    edited September 2019
    I have been experimenting with a few different runs. I have found these to be the best:

    Straight F (kitted or not) or F/C multi/dual - FoA main hand or single, Belm or Mace of Disruption Off Hand. OR - Azuredge Main hand (melee obviously) and FoA Off hand OR FoA main hand and Defender of Easthaven Off hand is potent as well with the damage resistances and damage output.

    F/T (dual) - If you start as an Assassin and multi to F at level 13, you get x5 back-stab multiplier. Staves and Katanas are deadly. Backstabbing with Celestial Fury is so fun. You can also use Rynn or Ram which is just not fair to your enemies. Backstabbing someone with the ram and send them flying is just AWESOME.

    F/M (multi or dual) - Staves, Short bows and Katana. Short Bow for Tuigian obviously which you can get in chapter 2. Staves for the same as above, minus the back-stab. Dualing the Celestial Fury (main hand) and Dak'Kon's blade (off hand) give you bonus spells and the chance of stunning an opponent so you can destroy them with magic. This is a fun dual wield for F/M all game long. Useful in 99% of SoA and 75% of ToB, when you can't hit the enemy, you use magic. The only solo run I ever tried was with this combo. I did change my off hand weapon in ToB because I didn't need the bonus spells anymore, and I needed a +4 to hit some opponents. I ended up using the Answerer in my main hand and keeping Celestial Fury in my off hand, which worked well also.

    Crom Faeyr is cool cause of the golem and troll destruction, not to mention the 25 STR, but I find this best used for Viconia or Aerie. It can work for a F/C, but not nearly as good as Flails or Maces. Not to mention, there aren't many good war hammers in SoA. If you want war hammers, then hold out for the Rune Hammer in ToB. More damage, better equipped abilities and protections. And if you play it right, you can have it upgraded early(ish) in ToB. I have done the Runehammer (main hand) and Crom (off hand) before.... DEADLY!
    GusindagorgonzolaAerakarstu-k
  • ElysianEchoesElysianEchoes Member Posts: 475
    Greater Whirlwind + Impaler = Win
    gorgonzolaAerakar
  • gorgonzolagorgonzola Member Posts: 3,864
    edited September 2019
    Gabeg21 wrote: »
    Azuredge Main hand (melee obviously) and FoA Off hand
    why FoA OH?
    the MH has more attacks and FoA deal more damage then the axe, and its slowing effect is super powerful.
    unless you are facing undeads i would swap them.
    Gabeg21 wrote: »
    Crom Faeyr is cool cause of the golem and troll destruction, not to mention the 25 STR, but I find this best used for Viconia or Aerie. It can work for a F/C, but not nearly as good as Flails or Maces. Not to mention, there aren't many good war hammers in SoA. If you want war hammers, then hold out for the Rune Hammer in ToB.
    clerics can rise their str with buffs, at the moment you can build crom a cleric, even a multi like aerie, should be able to bring the str to 25 or really close with his spells only.
    and a figher has more attacks then aerie or viky, so if he uses crom, MH or OH does not matter, the party get that +14 damage bonus on more hits, while the 2 npcs can have it any way in every battle that matters without using items.

    there is a good hammer you can get pretty soon in SoA, in the temple district sewers, that is really easy to get if a certain shield is used. not a super weapon, but also not bad, can carry a fighter that is working his way towards GM in hammer and doesn't want to waste pips in other weapons.

    on runehammer i agree, but you get it quite late. rune and crom is a fantastic combo for a fighter that DW with GM in hammer. if he is dwarf he has also GM for the ranged weapon and all with only 8 pips needed so pretty soon ;)


    Greater Whirlwind + Impaler = Win

    agreed, and the same with the staff of the ram, but it depends on how often you like to rest.
    at cap level a fighter should have 21 fighter HLA, if is a multi way less as probably he want also mage, thief or cleric ones. and GWW last only a round. it is something that is really powerful to kill a strong enemy when his defenses are breached, but until late tob, if in a full party, GWW is a precious resource that must be used only in few situations, while DW and improved haste, if the party has enough arcane power, is something that can come earlier and give much more rounds, a single IH spell from a high level mage give almost the same rounds of very high apr then the whole HLA pool of a cap level fighter.

    i use GWW, and when i do it i equip the most damaging weapon possible, but i see it as a spike of power to be used in particular situations, like when the IH gets dispelled and a mage can not cast it again or there is an ambush ( i don't pre buff if i can not spot the enemies before) or i want to kill fast a certain enemy before he has time to put on new defenses. but i don't see it as the regular engine of my fighters, is a turbocharger that has to be used only when really needed. so i don't choose a weapon and invest pips in it because with GWW can be devastating.

    different play styles i suppose (and every style is fine if it works for the player :) ).
    AerakarStummvonBordwehr
  • Gabeg21Gabeg21 Member Posts: 43
    gorgonzola wrote: »
    Gabeg21 wrote: »
    Azuredge Main hand (melee obviously) and FoA Off hand
    why FoA OH?
    the MH has more attacks and FoA deal more damage then the axe, and its slowing effect is super powerful.
    unless you are facing undeads i would swap them.

    Because Azuredge is a ranged weapon. If you could put it in the off hand, then absolutely. Sadly, we cannot... :-(
    Gabeg21 wrote: »
    Crom Faeyr is cool cause of the golem and troll destruction, not to mention the 25 STR, but I find this best used for Viconia or Aerie. It can work for a F/C, but not nearly as good as Flails or Maces. Not to mention, there aren't many good war hammers in SoA. If you want war hammers, then hold out for the Rune Hammer in ToB.
    clerics can rise their str with buffs, at the moment you can build crom a cleric, even a multi like aerie, should be able to bring the str to 25 or really close with his spells only.
    and a figher has more attacks then aerie or viky, so if he uses crom, MH or OH does not matter, the party get that +14 damage bonus on more hits, while the 2 npcs can have it any way in every battle that matters without using items.

    there is a good hammer you can get pretty soon in SoA, in the temple district sewers, that is really easy to get if a certain shield is used. not a super weapon, but also not bad, can carry a fighter that is working his way towards GM in hammer and doesn't want to waste pips in other weapons.

    I do agree, but there are better weapons for your front line fighters that are available just as early without having to go through mind flayers and the Firkragg dungeon first.

    on runehammer i agree, but you get it quite late. rune and crom is a fantastic combo for a fighter that DW with GM in hammer. if he is dwarf he has also GM for the ranged weapon and all with only 8 pips needed so pretty soon ;)


    Greater Whirlwind + Impaler = Win

    agreed, and the same with the staff of the ram, but it depends on how often you like to rest.
    at cap level a fighter should have 21 fighter HLA, if is a multi way less as probably he want also mage, thief or cleric ones. and GWW last only a round. it is something that is really powerful to kill a strong enemy when his defenses are breached, but until late tob, if in a full party, GWW is a precious resource that must be used only in few situations, while DW and improved haste, if the party has enough arcane power, is something that can come earlier and give much more rounds, a single IH spell from a high level mage give almost the same rounds of very high apr then the whole HLA pool of a cap level fighter.

    i use GWW, and when i do it i equip the most damaging weapon possible, but i see it as a spike of power to be used in particular situations, like when the IH gets dispelled and a mage can not cast it again or there is an ambush ( i don't pre buff if i can not spot the enemies before) or i want to kill fast a certain enemy before he has time to put on new defenses. but i don't see it as the regular engine of my fighters, is a turbocharger that has to be used only when really needed. so i don't choose a weapon and invest pips in it because with GWW can be devastating.

    different play styles i suppose (and every style is fine if it works for the player :) ).

  • gorgonzolagorgonzola Member Posts: 3,864
    @Gabeg21
    you are right, no returning weapons in OH possible, my bad...
  • Francois42424Francois42424 Member Posts: 44
    I love using a fighter with 2W-Style and LongSwords.
    When all of these 2 are maxxed, then I usually go with either Katana or Flails...

    One of my Multiplayer DD setup was The Equalizer is one hand, and Daystar in the other.
    ( Nobody complained me having Equalizer at Firkraag or the Umar Hills... except twice and I switched to the +3 sword we find early in the game).

    I love wearing Fullplate as well... IMHO Fighter is better than picking a ranger for 2W-Fighting.

    When a cleric gave me haste it was insane :wink:
  • 20884322088432 Member Posts: 229
    Okay, so a Kensai with +5 to Two-Handed Swords, +2 Two-Handed Weapon Style for a Kensai/Thief isn't good?
  • gorgonzolagorgonzola Member Posts: 3,864
    edited September 2019
    pushing on staves is way better as @jmerry tells, and imo 2Hsword can even be avoided (maybe to get GM in the ranged weapon) if not for the 50%MR.
    the staff of the ram is more damaging then the swords, fantastic to stab and to dispell on hit the SoTM is there anyway.
    and i prefer granted huge damage on every hit to the vorpal effect of the silver sword, that often happens when the enemy is already at low health and grants a save so in tob is way less effective.
    a fighter like mr tob with the vorpal halberd (and deathbringer attack) spamming GWW is a completely different thing and there the vorpal weapons shine without doubt.

    as i value MR i still value GM in 2Hsword, but i would equip it only for protection, opting for the stave every time my toon don't risk to be hit by a high damaging or other way powerful spell. maybe swapping weapon only at the moment i see the cast animation begin.

    the DW option is different but as good, less damage on stabs, but more apr, and makes assassination or the use of mislead scrolls shine.
    for a lev 9 dual i would go for it as the boost from crom imo is a key factor to keep him competitive in tob, while with a multi or a FMT i often go for staves and then 2Hsword.
    AerakarilduderinoJuliusBorisov
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