Class builds
SaveMeJeebus
Member Posts: 3
I am looking for class builds for Baldur's Gate 2 and Enhanced Edition. Can anyone point me in the right direction? And is a Mage Invoker weak?
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Most classes are perfectly viable. You can travel with plenty of NPC companions with all sorts of skills, so the player character doesn't need to fulfil any particular role.
Specialist Mages are generally considered stronger than standard ones, with the exception of Diviners I think.
for fighters str dex con are mandatory and int is pretty good in bg2
for mages dex con and int
for clerics/druids wis dex con str
easy characters are all fighters like fighters barbarians rangers paladins
probably best in order of barbarian berserker cavalier archer stalker
next best are multiclass like fighter/thief of elven or dwarven race
or fighter/cleric ranger/clerics or fighter/druids same races
next are clerics/druids
next thiefs/bards
next mages
fighters you should stick to weapon style you choose like 2handed weapons or single weapon/dual wielding and use 2 points to make your weapon of choice every weapon is good in the game beside bg1 clubs ;P but in bg2 they are great
archers or even bows are great in baldur's gate 1
barbarian rage and berserker rage are great
mages have some good spells
sleep level 1 is aoe CC magic missle is magic damage
level 2 mirror image is defensive spell very good web and stinking cloud are great CC if you have archers
level 3 haste is great and fireball
level 4 is stoneskin great defensive also great CC is emotion and greater malision helps
clerics
level 1 sancturay is invisilibty later on armor of faith is great defensive command is pretty good single target cc
level 2 slow poison is not bad in some poison encounters in the game draw upon holy might is great statsbuff for fighting clerics
level 3 summoning is great later on protection from fire is great if enemy use fire
Firstly, BG EE and BG 2 are real gems. Especially BG 2, but I suggest you play BG EE first, so the plot makes sense. Also the magic system of D&D (which BG is based on) is very complex, so you might as well learn it level by level, starting from BG EE.
Secondly there's a lot of powergamers on this forum, but they are all veterans trying to work out optimal strategies to defeat ever tougher mods and challenges (like solo runs). You don't need to worry about optimising to defeat the core game, and you should be careful about reading too much encase you get spoiler'd. (Like I really regret ruining a good section of my first BG EE run when I read a walkthrough instead of working things out myself.) So when it comes to class/race etc, just choose something that appeals to u, everything works. My favourite Let's Player (Tord of 'Mynameisnotlilly') completed BG 1 Vanilla (significantly harder than BG EE) despite using a generalist mage with woeful stats, and being clueless about game mechanics, tactics etc...
Now to actually answer your question... in BG EE, fighter and archer types would be the kindest for a beginner. Low level casters are very vulnerable and have very few spells available, which aren't very powerful, so they are often more of a hinderance (tryin to keep em alive) than help to the party. Casters only start to shine in BG EE late-game, and absolute dominate BG 2 and ToB. So if you plan to play the same Charname through BG EE and BG 2, a mage or other caster is a very good choice, if u just intend to play BG EE, I'd avoid casters for a beginner.
Kensai is a difficult choice for a beginner, and I think people use it so they can dual-class to mage, which makes Kensai/Mage one of the most powerful builds in the long-run. I dunno much about barbarians, and I think Archers might dominate BG EE, but start to fall behind melee fighters and mages in BG 2, cos archery doesn't seem very effective in the higher level battles. (I maybe wrong, maybe I just dunno how to use them properly.)
this game is not really that hard and every class can be quite good at doing stuff
@Zur312: is that list focused for BG EE? I'd have thought that Mages would rank higher for BG 2. They can pretty much do everything other classes can (except disarm traps) with their amazing variety of spells and magic dominates battles in BG 2. For example my Fighter/Mage is probably my most effective front-line fighter when fully buffed, he can use CC spells, AoE and single target damage spells. He can cast invisibility and perform scout duties and open locked containers with 'Knock'... etc
But for a beginner, the warrior types (especially Paladins) will be the easiest and most forgiving.
As Heindrich indicated, how powerful or useful a character is will change a lot over the course of the game, even sometimes from battle to battle.
But generally, warriors, especially archers, are most useful early on. Various wizard types are most powerful by the end. Cleric and thief types are critically important support characters; they may never dominate a battlefield, but you will want them in your party from beginning to end.
18 Dexterity, for the Armor Class bonus and missile weapon attack bonuses
18 Constitution for the extra HP
18 in either Strength(all melee classes), Intelligence(Mages/Sorcerers) or Wisdom(Cleric, Druid)
Other stats are whatever.
There's more to it than that but since you're a new player you probably don't want to read walls of text about extra HP class breakpoints and so on.
That being said, Baldur's Gate's customization is more about who you bring with you in your party. Power-gaming makes the game too easy to enjoy, in my opinion, unless you are using difficulty enhancing mods.
Your protagonist can literally be ANY class, and everything that he lacks can be compensated for by the NPCs that you bring along. You don't have to worry about making mistakes with weapon proficiencies or any other level-up option because every decision is viable.
This game is unique because, unlike many games that claim the same, every decision REALLY is viable. But every decision can also change the way you play the game. It doesn't necessarily make things harder, just different challenges. The game is certainly challenging, but it is balanced to perfection (ok, BG1 ranged weapons were OPd, but I'm talking about BGtutu and BG:EE).
I have not found many other games that can do what Baldur's Gate 1 and 2 does.
(If anyone has found some, let me know, not including IWD1&2 or PST).
So, my piece of advice is just choose a class that you think is cool, pay attention to your beginning attributes so that they match what your character needs like what @blackchimes said, and enjoy!
I think rangers are the coolest.
Party formation becomes important quite quickly. You will probably want a balanced party to be able to take on most challenges. Having 2-3 frontline fighters (Fighters, Rangers, Paladins, Barbarians or their kits or multiclasses) with heavy armour and melee weapons is important to tie up your enemies and stop them hitting weaker party members. Many of these classes also have other benefits or penalties, so have a read of their kit description.
You will want one thief of some sort. Unlike a lot of more modern games Baldur's Gate thieves are much more about out-of-combat utility than in combat backstabbing. They can backstab only from stealth and can only restealth out of combat or by using potions or magic items, so are often limited to 1 backstab per combat. You will need a thief to open locks and find and disarm traps though. These two skills are the most important for a party thief, though hide in shadows and move silently are nice bonuses down the line. A pure thief or mage/thief is usually best sat at the back with a bow, not in melee. A fighter/thief dual or multiclass is more likely to be useful in close combat, but can still be very useful with a ranged weapon.
You will generally need a healer as well. Druids and Priests fill this role. They are similar but have different selections of spells. Priests are usually more resilient as they can wear heavier armour, and can be used confidently in melee. Unlike more modern games, healing is more about fixing your party up after a fight, and long cast times & short range mean that it is often impractical to try and heal party members with magic in the thick of fighting. If you need to heal a party member in combat, potions are quicker. Priests and Druids also have a selection of "buffing" spells like Bless, Chant, Protection from Evil and so on, which improve everyone's chances of hitting, saves etc.
Mages are complex. They're physically weak and have limited weapon selection. They start very weak, require a lot of micromanagement, and turn into godlike powerhouses with time. They can deal damage with spells but this is often not their best use, as they can defend themselves with spells or disable enemies, or help party members too.
Let's look at level 1 spells - Magic Missile, Sleep and Armor.
Magic Missile is a great spell. It deals 2-5 damage per missile, and you get more missiles with levels. At level 1 it's actually not that useful, but as you get higher it becomes more damaging and is a good way to interrupt other casters.
At low levels, Sleep is very powerful. It can make a number of enemies magically sleep, reducing the number of enemies attacking you and making them easy to hit for your melee. It stops being useful mid-to-late BG1 though as enemies get stronger.
Armor is simple and practical. You cast it, and for 8 ingame hours you get a better armor class. It's not the best spell and stops being useful once you get a good mage robe, but is useful at low levels.
Those 3 spells are an example of the breadth of a mage's utility. Read spell descriptions and have a look on the forums, as there are a lot of great spells that can change the way you play the game. They can do a huge number of things, and are often useful in a support role, sitting at the back disabling enemies and summoning minions as much as throwing fireballs around. Remember that they're squishy though, so give them a sling and keep them away from real danger.
Multi and dual classes take parts of both of their classes, level slowly and often have restrictions. They can be very useful, allowing one character to fill multiple roles or use synergy between 2 ability sets, but may develop slowly.
This post got away from me slightly. I hope it's useful.