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Best single class for solo no reload (sorc excluded)

Multi/dual being generally OP, i would like to get your view on the most suited SINGLE class for a solo no reload run.

The sorceror is out of the game since he is probably the easiest one, even including the multis.

Best contenders IMO :
Cavalier : very easy bg1 (poison and fear immunity), very hard to kill with carsomyr (MR) and armore of faith/hardiness/DOE. Some good summons (deva, animate dead). Can kill mafe quite easily (carsomyr dispell) Traps ca be a real problem though if you don't know all of them.

Blackguard : bg1 is ultra easy with poison weapon and fear immunity, less resilient than the cavalier (MR) but poison weapon is so OP that it is nonetheless a strong choice

Monks : bg1 is harder but not that much. Early bg2 is a real challenge. Later on, you get completely immune to magic which makes most of the rest quite simple.

Blade : need a lot of buffing but can handle everything in the game especially post hla thanks to traps and uai.

My favorite is the Swashbuckler : With dual speed weapons you fight almost as well as a fighter and you have much better ac.
Uai can make you immune to basically everything. You can also play a shorty for more safety. The fact that you can scout and handle traps is also a main advantage over fighter types.
Gotural

Comments

  • BlackravenBlackraven Member Posts: 3,486
    edited April 2014
    I would also go with Swashy and Blade, rather than for example Cavalier. I think I wouldn't dare take on Firkraag in a solo no-reload playthrough with a paladin, so no Carsomyr for me.
    Swashy has stealth at lower levels (I'd invest heavily in it regardless of people saying it's not worth it because they don't have an increasing backstab multiplier), becomes a really good fighter later on, they have traps and will have UAI to use scrolls, wands, potions, helmets, class-restricted weapons etc. The Blade doesn't have stealth or traps (until HLAs), but they get spells early on, and like the Swashbuckler becomes a great fighter and has the benefit of UAI.

    I reckon that single class mages or specialist mages if played carefully in the first half of BG1 (when they're at their weakest), have great potential as well.

    Of the Warrior classes I think the Berserker ought to be mentioned. Their rage is amazing. The Barbarian's rage isn't as great, so they might sometimes need potions/items to help them out against mages, but they can get a dazzling amount of hitpoints and besides they get very good physical resistance, which is very useful in ToB.
    If I had to solo a warrior I'd try a Stalker, simply because it fits my style of play. The character would depend heavily on items that protect against status effects though.

    Priests could be interesting. I've never solo'd one, but I wouldn't dismiss them. They get a couple of fine damage spells, good summons, great buffs. Clerics are great in SoA, against all the undead, and Druids' Insect Plague/Creeping Doom can turn some of the toughest fights into a piece of cake.
    Post edited by Blackraven on
    GoturalJuliusBorisovDemonoid_Limewire
  • mumumomomumumomo Member Posts: 635
    I think firkgraag can be dealt with quite early :
    - get fire immunity (potions, ring, scroll)
    - use the helm of vhailor to get a simulcarum
    - use belm + DoE or the anti-dragon sword.
    - Use armor of faith
    - Under improved haste (from the ring of gaax), that would yield 8 attacks / round (16 including your simulacrum). This should chew through his stoneskins and kill him fast enough.

    All that equipment can be obtained by level 12-13 i would say.

    After HLA, he would be a pushover.
    CrevsDaakBlackraven
  • elementelement Member Posts: 833
    id have to say wild mage
    jackjackGoturalArdul
  • thesoloerthesoloer Member Posts: 77
    edited April 2014
    I am doing a solo run right now as a single class fighter. Soloing BG1 as a plain figher is tremendously easy if you know exactly which potions and protection scrolls to use at which times.
    CrevsDaak
  • mumumomomumumomo Member Posts: 635
    @element,
    i've never played one, but i always assumed wild mage was a no-go for no reload runs because of the potentially deadly surges. Do you have some tips to avoid that?

    @thesoloer‌
    BG1 is indeed quite easy, mostly because :
    - you can skip most of it and focus on a few fights
    - potions/scrolls/wands are too poweful at lower levels
    - Bows are very OP, especially once you get arrows of detonation
    - it's short so knowing all traps is not very hard


    SoA is significantly harder :
    - traps are deadly (maze trap with a fighter = game over)
    - much more fights, a lot of them involving spell casters. i am not sure you have enough potions/scrolls to protect for all of them. A kobold shaman castin hold person can kill a fighter.
    Blackravenjackjack
  • thesoloerthesoloer Member Posts: 77
    That is why I will attempt to solo SoA as a berserker. Hopefully things will be easier if I can avoid all of those annoying debilitating effects.
    JuliusBorisov
  • mumumomomumumomo Member Posts: 635
    Berserker should work very well.
    However you will need to have perfect knowledge of deadly traps (maze, flesh to stone) in order to activate rage in advance.

    It might be boring to wait for mages protective spells to wear out as you would have little means to get rid of them.
    jackjack
  • FinneousPJFinneousPJ Member Posts: 6,455
    TBH I think the rage is overrated in that people very rarely seem to discuss its downsides, i.e. a relatively short duration and being winded afterwards. You cannot reactivate rage while winded, which I imagine can ruin a no-reload game quite quickly. I guess metagame knowledge helps, though.
    jackjackWolkmonico
  • mumumomomumumomo Member Posts: 635
    Against higher level mages, it means that you probably have to run away from the fight during the winded period.
    Anyway if you play a dwarven berserker your saves will probably be all in the negatives when you reach these more powerful mages.
  • SouthpawSouthpaw Member Posts: 2,026
    edited April 2014
    I went through many parts of BG games several times by soloing...most fun :
    Bounty Hunter - if you like traps.
    Assassin - if you don't like traps, but you love backstabbing. Struggles a bit in BG1 to get enough skill points. (venom+bow can mow down almost any enemy, especially mages)
    Swashbuckler - for fight-oriented thieves. In my opinion, more straight-forward and more difficult than both of the thieves above.

    additionally
    Blackguard - easymode
    Barbarian - pop rage and go to town
    Blade - needs a bit more tactic than the above, but you get to cast spells and use wands, which is an advantage.
    Monks - fun in BG2, a death-wish in early BG
    chickenhedvladpen
  • WanderonWanderon Member Posts: 1,418
    I've fooling a bit with Avengers recently and I suspect they might be a decent choice for solo no reload - bonus mage spells help fill out the druid choices level 1-6, awesome shapeshifts, great summons, insect swarm, etc...

    Might be tough in BG1 tho...
    Blackraven
  • SionIVSionIV Member Posts: 2,689
    edited April 2014
    Cleric/Ranger.

    No question about it.

    1.) Mage/Sorcerer
    2.) Cleric/Ranger
    3.) Blade
    4.) Paladin (Because of Purifier/Carsomyr)
    5.) Barbarian/Berserker
    6.) Any rogue (Use any item).
    7.) Cleric

    Probably something like this.

    [Edited] : Just read that it was single class. So i guess it would be blade then.
    Post edited by SionIV on
  • BlackravenBlackraven Member Posts: 3,486
    Southpaw said:

    I went through many parts of BG games several times by soloing...most fun :
    Bounty Hunter - if you like traps.
    Assassin - if you don't like traps, but you love backstabbing. Struggles a bit in BG1 to get enough skill points. (venom+bow can mow down almost any enemy, especially mages)
    Swashbuckler - for fight-oriented thieves. In my opinion, more straight-forward and more difficult than both of the thieves above.

    Hey a fellow Thief-man... :) Well met!
    Demonoid_LimewireSouthpawjackjackCrevsDaak
  • Demonoid_LimewireDemonoid_Limewire Member Posts: 424
    1) Human Berserker 13 dual Mage 28
    2) Half Elf Cleric Ranger, or Human Beastmaster 12 dual Cleric 38

    Especially no 1 is THE, player, to get the job done. Especially with grandmastery to some kinky weapon class with an imbalanced late game representative...
  • FinneousPJFinneousPJ Member Posts: 6,455
    @Demonoid_Limewire‌ You didn't read the topic, did you :D

    @SionIV Mage and Blade are up there, but I kind of understood the OP meant arcane magic excluded.
  • SionIVSionIV Member Posts: 2,689
    edited April 2014

    @Demonoid_Limewire‌ You didn't read the topic, did you :D

    @SionIV Mage and Blade are up there, but I kind of understood the OP meant arcane magic excluded.

    Yes but the bard is lacking many of the most powerful spells, and the ability to use wish to refresh his spells. So while he is powerful, you shouldn't count him into the same category as a mage. If you're playing with BG2tweaks or RR and he can have up to level 8 spells i'll gladly put him there, but with only access to level 6 spells and below, he misses out on quite a bit.

    The reason the mage is so good in a no-reload game is that he has enough spells to have a backup plan. The bard in the vanilla game only has enough spells to put up his protections and then refresh one or two, the mage can be completely immune AND refresh his spell list if need be.

    If this had been a normal solo game i would also have excluded the Blade as an arcane caster. But in a No-reload there is actually a huge difference between a mage/Sorcerer and blade when it comes to survivability.
    jackjack
  • BlackravenBlackraven Member Posts: 3,486

    @Demonoid_Limewire‌ You didn't read the topic, did you :D

    @SionIV Mage and Blade are up there, but I kind of understood the OP meant arcane magic excluded.

    I think @mumumomo only wanted to exclude the sorcerer. He even mentions the Blade himself.
    So if you 'd like to make a case for a mage or a bard, I'd say go right ahead :)
    SionIVjackjackJuliusBorisov
  • SionIVSionIV Member Posts: 2,689

    @Demonoid_Limewire‌ You didn't read the topic, did you :D

    @SionIV Mage and Blade are up there, but I kind of understood the OP meant arcane magic excluded.

    I think @mumumomo only wanted to exclude the sorcerer. He even mentions the Blade himself.
    So if you 'd like to make a case for a mage or a bard, I'd say go right ahead :)
    With a bit of Meta game knowledge i would rate the mage up there with Sorcerer. You just need to know where to pick up certain spells and you'll do fine.
    Blackraven
  • OzzyBotkinsOzzyBotkins Member Posts: 396
    Never have done a solo if I did I would go Elf swashbuckler
    or Orc Thief cleric
    sorry I still cant decide
    Blackravenjackjack
  • luskanluskan Member Posts: 269
    Any class in BG1 (except the wizard slayer) can go far just using the Amulet of Missiles and Wand of Sleep. You can afford both right off the bat if you sell the Ring of Wizardry.

    I don't know how viable it would be, but I've never tried playing a halfling and an evil Assassin sounds like it could be fun.
  • BlackravenBlackraven Member Posts: 3,486
    luskan said:

    Any class in BG1 (except the wizard slayer) can go far just using the Amulet of Missiles and Wand of Sleep. You can afford both right off the bat if you sell the Ring of Wizardry.

    I don't know how viable it would be, but I've never tried playing a halfling and an evil Assassin sounds like it could be fun.

    Interesting. I never use the Amulet of Missiles. The Greenstone Amulet otoh is a staple for pretty much every charname I roll (excpt perhaps Barbarian).
    jackjack
  • mumumomomumumomo Member Posts: 635
    @Southpaw‌ :
    Assassins are great in BGEE. They lack skill points but i usually make do by getting around 80 in HIS/MS and 65-70 in find traps. In BG2EE however i don't like them so much because you are basically forced to use poison weapon, even for the simplest fights. Otherwise your fighting capacities are just too weak

    Swashbuckler are the exact reverse :
    they are not so good in BGEE (lack of PIPs, no helmet is bad for melee fighting, low passive bonus).
    in BG2EE however, once you get the ball running they are just unstoppable.

    By level 20 (mid chapter 2 in solo), you have :
    - all the skill points you will ever need
    - +5 to AC -> virtually impossible to hit in SOA
    - +4 to hit/damage (on top of specialization)
    - APR is their only weak point but thanks to speed weapons, it can easily be solved. Dual wielding 2 speed weapons you reach 4 APR (8 with improved haste from the ring of gaax)

    From there i consider them on par or even better than Fighter/thieves multi

    For the end game, APR don't really matter anyway thanks to WW and your max level +8 to hit and damage more than compensate the -4 from WW.
    That way you end up with a greater damage output than any fighter (save for the kensai which has nothing else for him) AND a much better AC AND thieving skills.
    FinaLfrontSouthpawvladpen
  • FrozenCellsFrozenCells Member Posts: 385
    mumumomo said:

    @Southpaw‌ :
    Assassins are great in BGEE. They lack skill points but i usually make do by getting around 80 in HIS/MS and 65-70 in find traps. In BG2EE however i don't like them so much because you are basically forced to use poison weapon, even for the simplest fights. Otherwise your fighting capacities are just too weak

    That's what I found too. I did solo an Assassin up to Suldanessellar but I wouldn't exactly call it fun. The general stealth, 'stabs, traps and poisons is fairly interesting (at least compared to the other nonspellcasters) but you need to use them so much that you end up having to either rest constantly or stealth your way past most enemies without engaging (your XP suffers quite a bit). It feels a bit miserable too once you get to enemies that can see through stealth.

    If I can't recommend Sorcerer? Fine, Mage. Then Blade. You want arcane magic :P Both powerful and fun. Druids are okay but a bit repetitive and underwhelming. There are other classes that I consider easy solos like Beserker but I don't recommend them because I found them boring and/or they're a bit too risky for no-reloads.
    BlackravenmumumomoJuliusBorisov
  • mumumomomumumomo Member Posts: 635
    I just hate when my level 15 assassin with good equipment has to run away from a single sword spider or a
    bear. It kind of destroy the heroic feeling...
    jackjackBlackraven
  • SouthpawSouthpaw Member Posts: 2,026
    True, the assassins can be tricky and hard in BG2. But not impossible. I agree, that the Swashie starts to shine after level 10, which is quite easily attained with Thief speed leveling.
  • SanguineSatanSanguineSatan Member Posts: 9
    Baldur's Gate Fighter/Mage/Cleric walk-through SOLO NO RELOAD. [part 1]

    My friends told me its impossible to finish Baldur's Gate in a solo run without reloading,
    I wanna try and prove them wrong !
    If I die -- I start all over again ! however... I'm not planing to die so easily...
    Join my adventure of fk#ing the hell out of Faerûn with my power hungry
    fighter cleric majestic bitch DiViNA :)

    In Baldur's Gate 1 there's a very small amount of cheese u can apply due to the level restriction [xp cap] so most of the Arcane magic shenanigans are out of reach.
    what you CAN do [and its really doesn't count as cheese ] is use the fact the most enemies have rather low saving throws and Hit Dice.

    This is basically my plan... things like "Command" [cleric spell] are under your reach even at Level 01 and they actually work on a lot of enemies lol.
    I haven't finished my run yet though... but I tell you this, I never had that much fun playing Baldur's Gate 1, my heart stops at every hostile encounter !
    This is great experience whether I succeed or not ^^


    This is NOT a speed run.
    I am playing a Half-Elf (for the cleric multiclass) and got nice stats.
    After rolling stats for about 1 minute or so I ended with the following stats :

    Strength :17
    Dexterity :18
    Constitution :18
    Intelligence :17
    Wisdom :17
    Charisma :3

    And here is the video :
    T2av
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