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Yeslick is a destructive tank. (Spoilers)

Lots of magic item spoilers to follow.

I'm near the end of a party run with a Cavalier, Imoen (6t/9m, all points into set traps and detect invisibility), Minsk, Dynaheir, Coron (also uber deadly), and probably the most powerful of them all: Yeslick.





Geared up with the "cursed" Big-Fisted Belt, strength climbs from 15 to a 19 and the intelligence drops from 7 to 6. You can still equip wands if you burn a potion every level gain, and you don't need to remove the belt ever. Other keys items are: The Brawling Hands, Ring of Sune, Senses of the Cat, Eventar's Gift, Amulet of Spell Warding, Full Plate, Helm of Balduran, and The Spirit's Shield.

With a 16 wisdom he can cast Protection from Evil and Draw Upon Holy Might 6 times a day. When so buffed, he's nearly unstoppable. Oh, and I took two-weapon style x2 so at level 7/8 thats 3 apr of blunt force trauma.

103 hp. Death save 0 Evil Spell save 1
Str21 dex 20 con 19
Ac-8 vs evil,, missile -8 slash -4 piercing -3

Damage is 15-18x2 and 13-16 offhand with speed factors nice and low.
JuliusBorisov

Comments

  • ChroniclerChronicler Member Posts: 1,391
    Yep. Fighter/Clerics are great for that. Yeslick's only available relatively late in the campaign, and he's in competition for the coveted gauntlets of dexterity, but if you're willing to give him the appropriate gear he's a beast.
    ThacoBellJuliusBorisov
  • jmerryjmerry Member Posts: 3,822
    I've gone with shield style on Yeslick when I've used him; it's hard to get enough melee THAC0 for that off-hand attack to be worthwhile at BG1 levels, and AC tanking is generally very strong. He's definitely one for the Big-Fisted Belt/Brawling Hands combo, of course.
    To use your stats as an example ... base THAC0 14 from fighter level 7. -1 from specialization, -1 from the +1 hammer, +4 from wielding off-hand, -4 from strength 21, -1 from the Helm of Balduran. That's THAC0 11 overall for your off-hand attacks.
    Now, let's look at a standard high-level melee attacker - a Doom Guard. It has AC -4, so you need to roll a 15 to hit it. On the flip side, the Doom Guard attacks (twice per round) with a slashing weapon at overall THAC0 8 and is neutral. It needs an 18 to hit you.
    Swap your off-hand hammer for a +1 shield and you lose 0.3 hits per round, about 20% of your damage potential. On the other hand, the Doom Guard now needs a 20 to hit you, so it loses 2/3 of its damage potential.

    Also, using all of your level 1 and two slots on the same buff combo probably isn't the best plan. There are quite a few other useful spells at those levels, and it pays to prepare for a variety of threats.
    KvotheRM8StummvonBordwehrilduderinoJuliusBorisov
  • KvotheRM8KvotheRM8 Member Posts: 54
    edited September 2020
    jmerry wrote: »
    I've gone with shield style on Yeslick when I've used him; it's hard to get enough melee THAC0 for that off-hand attack to be worthwhile at BG1 levels, and AC tanking is generally very strong. He's definitely one for the Big-Fisted Belt/Brawling Hands combo, of course.
    To use your stats as an example ... base THAC0 14 from fighter level 7. -1 from specialization, -1 from the +1 hammer, +4 from wielding off-hand, -4 from strength 21, -1 from the Helm of Balduran. That's THAC0 11 overall for your off-hand attacks.
    Now, let's look at a standard high-level melee attacker - a Doom Guard. It has AC -4, so you need to roll a 15 to hit it. On the flip side, the Doom Guard attacks (twice per round) with a slashing weapon at overall THAC0 8 and is neutral. It needs an 18 to hit you.
    Swap your off-hand hammer for a +1 shield and you lose 0.3 hits per round, about 20% of your damage potential. On the other hand, the Doom Guard now needs a 20 to hit you, so it loses 2/3 of its damage potential.

    Also, using all of your level 1 and two slots on the same buff combo probably isn't the best plan. There are quite a few other useful spells at those levels, and it pays to prepare for a variety of threats.

    Blunt weapons make the off hand penalty less detrimental, I find that extra attack helps bring them down quickly. I should elaborate that he's not my primary tank, the Cavalier is. He uses a shield and the same buffs as Yeslick, has low level healing spells while Yeslick takes the high end healing spells.

    Standard party order the Cav leads and switches to spider bane, giving both tanks freedom of movement, Corom and Minsc (potions of agility for tough fights) are archers, and the mages hang back usually staying invisible but having the option of webbing the tank area and
    /or nuking things if needed. Its been wildly successful, I do want a +3 hammer but still devastating, never underestimate blunt weapons in BG!
  • ilduderinoilduderino Member Posts: 773
    I often use the BG2 Yeslick mod, with strength and dexterity boosting items he is very powerful right through the trilogy. Like Mazzy he is someone you can trust to have your back and he is not annoying, unlike most of the other cleric choices. He also suits the big fisted belt with minimal downside (even if there is little practical impact ingame) as he is already not the brightest
    JuliusBorisovKvotheRM8
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