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Swashbuckler good enough to tank in BG1 and 2?

raxtorenraxtoren Member Posts: 228
in New Players (NO SPOILERS!)
yes/no?

I already made a fighter/cleric and liking it a lot in BG1, however, realizing that you can reach very high levels in Bg2 I suspect the bonuses per level will make it a stronger tank...

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  • SionIVSionIV Member Posts: 2,689
    edited July 2013
    Short

    BG 1 : Not really
    BG 2 : Yes

    Long

    BG 1 : They only get +2* AC at level 10 (BG1 cap) and there aren't really any fantastic leather armors. You can get another +2 AC from drizzt scimitar but you'll still be worse than a character with a full plate and large shield +1.

    BG 2 : You can get your hands on some really great leather armors here, and as you level up your bonuses will increase fast. You will be able to reach max AC (-24) but when you get to ToB they have good enough Thac0 to get through that, and then you might want someone to tank with damage reduction instead.

    * Been such a long time since i last played swashbuckler so i can't remember if they get the third AC at level 10 or 11.

  • raxtorenraxtoren Member Posts: 228
    thanks for your input. so I assume in BG1 it will only work as a off-tank?
  • SionIVSionIV Member Posts: 2,689
    edited July 2013
    raxtoren said:

    thanks for your input. so I assume in BG1 it will only work as a off-tank?

    Yes.

    You'll still be able to tank decently with shadow armor, drittz scimitar and your class bonuses.

    [Edited]: There are also some really nice small shield / bucklers in Bg1 you can use. I would use a small shield in BG1 and dual wield in BG2.
  • raxtorenraxtoren Member Posts: 228
    What weapons are best for dual-wield, for a swashbuckler? longswords or a mixture of longsword+ something?
  • SionIVSionIV Member Posts: 2,689
    edited July 2013
    raxtoren said:

    What weapons are best for dual-wield, for a swashbuckler? longswords or a mixture of longsword+ something?

    You will want scimitar for belm (BG2) and longsword is great to pick as there are some great longswords early in the game and late in the game. You can't go wrong with longsword on a swashbuckler.

  • raxtorenraxtoren Member Posts: 228
    Just a question,

    So lets say I pick swashbuckler (specced for being an off-tank in BG1 and BG2) I bring with me Khalid,Jaheria,Neera - that's 4 characters, 2 slots over for who?

    Branwen and Raasad? Branwen and Imoen?
    Minsc or Dynaheir would be a great team but then I lack healing ofc...
  • SionIVSionIV Member Posts: 2,689
    Swashbuckler : Ranged damage (early) of tank (mid game).
    Khalid : Main tank
    Jaheira : Grab healing spells on her, give her a shield and a sling.
    Neera : Magic

    You got healing with Jaheira already and you don't NEED more, sure it's a bonus to have more but it isn't needed. You can pick anything you want really. I wouldn't pick Minsc and Dynaheir as you don't need dynaheir for her magic and you can get other people for the damage.

    Perhaps pick Branwen and Kivan? And put Kivan on bow duty.

    Remember the + Damage and Thac0 also works with ranged weapons on your swashbuckler. So he's actually really great with a short bow too.
  • zur312zur312 Member Posts: 1,366
    i think fighter/cleric being fighter and cleric could outtank any non spellcasting thief
    only better tank could be mage
    in bg1 you could easily get 100 life with f/c and i think 61 life as thief?
    in bg2 f/c really outtanks thief but they can use really nasty stuff
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