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How do YOU Fighter/Mage?

jackjackjackjack Member Posts: 3,251
edited May 2014 in General Discussion (Spoiler Warning!)
Ah the Fighter/Mage. We know it, some of us love it, a few of us even consider it the canon class for CHARNAME.
What is your favorite way to combine these two classes? For this poll, I am excluding triple classes.
Mine is the Gnome Fighter/Illusionist. Shorty saves, specialist, HLAs from both classes, loss of Necromancy spells somewhat mitigated by Fighter abilities.
But I want to know what you all think!
  1. How do YOU Fighter/Mage?148 votes
    1. Wizard Slayer/Mage Dual-class
        1.35%
    2. Berserker/Mage Dual-class
        7.43%
    3. Fighter/Mage Vanilla Multi-class
      36.49%
    4. Kensai/Mage Dual-class
      14.19%
    5. Fighter/Illusionist Multi-class
      16.22%
    6. Specialist Mage/Fighter Dual-class (please specify kit)
        0.68%
    7. Fighter/Mage Vanilla Dual-class
        3.38%
    8. Mage/Fighter Vanilla Dual-class
        1.35%
    9. Did I forget something? Use this option to chastise and/or berate me!
        3.38%
    10. I just wanna dance…Er, that is, see the results!
      15.54%
«1345

Comments

  • ThrasymachusThrasymachus Member Posts: 880
    Fighter/mage (vanilla) multi-class.

    (Can't bring myself to play a gnome, and dislike the dual-class options for RP reasons.)
  • casualtcasualt Member Posts: 35
    Rage Mage every time.
  • ZaknafeinBaenreZaknafeinBaenre Member Posts: 349
    I still want my romances, so I rarely play the shorties. I am a vanilla multi-classer cause haven't taken the time to learn EE Keeper or other mods that allow kit multi
  • SCARY_WIZARDSCARY_WIZARD Member Posts: 1,438
    Gimme a multi, those namby-pamby Humans think they own the place, being all versatile, but what do they know, they still need the demi-humans to coddle them!
  • JurisJuris Member Posts: 113
    Elf Fi/Ma multi Longsword/Longbow
    I also dislike the dual-class mechanic (but acknowledge its power). I like to have a character that can fight and cast spells from Lvl1-TOB continuously. Kinda sucks to go through BG1 as a pure fighter type and only start to cast spells in SOA
  • Demonoid_LimewireDemonoid_Limewire Member Posts: 424
    edited May 2014
    I would recommend:
    1) Berserker -> Mage, 13-28. Can wear every item a regular fighter can, has the special berserking ability, is nasty and badass. Only tradeoff? Weakened state after skill expiration, and only one point in ranged weaponry. Sweet deal.

    2) Kensai -> Mage, 13-28. Everyone's standard, and favorite. I don't know, i always put this combo in second place for myself. There is an especially exceptional set of fighter gauntlets in TOB, i always like wearing one of those endgame helmets (the endgame ion stone is not too much to my fancy...), and i prefer the resistances/immunities of berserking more, to the attack bonus of kai. But it is a pretty overpowered class on it's own rights.

    Both of them, can also be at 9 or 10 fighter, and 30 mage. This way they can reach 2 weapon grandmasteries, but they are going to lack their class specific bonus' peaked ability (berserking and kai get upgraded every 3-4 levels, plus kensai get passive bonuses as an extra, per 3-4 levels; 13 is ideal for getting both an extra fighter melee attack AND the kit's peaked, rounded up, ability bonus).

    Finally, berserker/mage are ideal for a no reload game, or hardcore players. Or soloers. Or people who do all these at the same time, and want to be kinky, effortless winners without fails and foolproof-ly.
  • CrevsDaakCrevsDaak Member Posts: 7,155
    Demonoid_Limewire said:

    There is an especially exceptional set of fighter gauntlets in TOB, i always like wearing one of those endgame helmets (the endgame ion stone is not too much to my fancy...), and i prefer the resistances/immunities of berserking more, to the attack bonus of kai. But it is a pretty overpowered class on it's own rights.

    Actually, Ioun Stones get quite good for High HP characters, especially the one you get in SoA and gives +10% HP and +1 THAC0. Combine that with 21+ CON, max Fighter HP from levels 1-9 and some bonus from Familiar/Hell Door, Item or others.
  • CoM_SolaufeinCoM_Solaufein Member Posts: 2,607
    I use best class fighter/mage.
  • abacusabacus Member Posts: 1,307
    I've never actually rolled one in any form...
    Although, I am currently attempting my first ever solo run as a FMT... Which is the closest I've ever got... Other than a Blade.
  • ZyzzogetonZyzzogeton Member Posts: 526
    Berserker/Mage or Gnome F/I

    Never really saw the point of the KenSage. It only has a small damage advantage with Kai (can't think of any notable instance where all that damage meant me killing stuff in notably less rounds) Immunities matter more. Unless you dual really late in which case multis are better since they don't gimp your character for a majority of the game.
  • jacobtanjacobtan Member Posts: 655
    BG - Gnome F/M(Illusionist) or Human F5/M9
    BG2 - F(Kensai)/M dual-classed at high level (L17+) from XP farming
  • NonnahswriterNonnahswriter Member Posts: 2,520
    As a side note: I'm extremely surprised that Kensai/Mage has so few votes, considering how powerful everyone says it is.
  • ZyzzogetonZyzzogeton Member Posts: 526
    The KenSage is powerful, but what mostly makes it powerful is the F/M part of it.

    Kai, 2 AC Bonus, and the small Kensai THAC0/Damage bonuses are pretty minor. It's an improvement over a vanilla Fighter/Mage dual but not so much.
  • LemernisLemernis Member, Moderator Posts: 4,318
    I agree. When I finally got around to trying Kensage some years back I was mildly disappointed. The Kai shot really didn't make all that much of a difference. I had more fun just casting spells and meleeing with the multi F/M without worrying about the Kai.
  • TheElfTheElf Member Posts: 798
    Fighter/mage, only once though. I don't enjoy dualling, have yet to play a gnome, and I don't make illegal combos, so process of elimination I suppose.
  • jacobtanjacobtan Member Posts: 655
    At low-level duals (dual at F9), the Berserker/Mage tends to be stronger than the Kensai/Mage, because the Kensai/Mage has only a few more minor combat bonuses as compared to the immunities from Rage. Advantage Berserker/Mage.

    At high-level duals, the Kensai/Mage has considerably better combat bonuses than the Berserker/Mage, but he is also trapped in his second class for much longer. Advantage Berserker/Mage.

    At high-level duals where XP is no issue because of XP farming, the Kensai/Mage beats the Berserker/Mage hands down because rage immunities can be superseded by spell immunities, and then the Kensai/Mage beats the Berserker/Mage soundly with sheer brute force.

    For "normal" play, the Berserker/Mage is a more solid choice. But for XP farmers, the Kensai/Mage is decidedly better. It is not even funny.
  • BlackravenBlackraven Member Posts: 3,486
    @jacobtan, how do you farm > 3 million XP?
  • jacobtanjacobtan Member Posts: 655
    @Blackraven‌

    Patience, perseverance and the will to play one single playthrough over a very long time. I took a year to finish some playthroughs, with 2/3 of the time spent on XP farming and the remaining 1/3 spent on actual play.

    It's not rocket science, but this option isn't for most people.
  • mumumomomumumomo Member Posts: 635
    Duals are overrated.

    For the early game, before the dual is complete, the multi is obviously stronger.

    Later on
    - the multi is a much better fighter thanks to HLA
    - the dual is barely better at casting than a specialist (illusionist multi).

    Overall, you get a character which is significantly weaker at the beginning (potentially for a very long time depending on when you want to dual) while being roughly at the same level for the end-game

    It's not to say Berserker or kensai / mage are bad. They are actually very OP. But they do not compare well (unless maybe you are willing to do jacobtan xp farming) with multi.

    I would prefer berserker over kensai because, if dualling at 7, 9 or even 13, the kensai bonus will not be significant enough (especially when factoring the gauntets of weap exp).

  • JuliusBorisovJuliusBorisov Member, Administrator, Moderator, Developer Posts: 22,725
    Confession: Although the number of created characters by me is far bigger than 100, I have never tried a fighter/mage, actually. Maybe because it's a popular choice and strong.
  • ArizaelArizael Member Posts: 263
    Grandmastery in longbows, than slowly sinking pips into quatterstaffs. The bows will make you dominate BG1 and will remain usefull adition to damage whole game, than dualclass in SoA. The longer you take, the more powerful you will become. Lvl 13 is best, but it is than painfully slow to regain the class. Regardless with GM you are still gonna be more powerful than multi, who will incapable to dispell anything, have less hp and forced to sink all spells into protections and still achieve 9th spell level later than you.
  • badbromancebadbromance Member Posts: 238
    I don't Fighter/Mage but if I did it would be a F/I
  • SpaceInvaderSpaceInvader Member Posts: 2,125
    jacobtan said:

    At high-level duals, the Kensai/Mage has considerably better combat bonuses than the Berserker/Mage

    I beg to differ :p
    Let's suppose you're going to dual at lvl13 with Kensai and Berserker.
    Then we have a Kensai/Mage that deals +4 dmg due to his passive ability and a Berserker that deals the same: +2 for Rage and +2 for Gauntlets of Extraordinary Specialization.
    PLUS, the Berserker will have +1/2 ApR more than the Kensai...
    jacobtan said:

    but he is also trapped in his second class for much longer. Advantage Berserker/Mage.

    Why? Exactly the same.
    jacobtan said:

    At high-level duals where XP is no issue because of XP farming, the Kensai/Mage beats the Berserker/Mage hands down because rage immunities can be superseded by spell immunities, and then the Kensai/Mage beats the Berserker/Mage soundly with sheer brute force.

    Aside from the fact that you're probably gonna waste multiple spells to keep up with Rage's immunities,
    same can be said for "Kensai's considerably better comber bonuses" and a banal PfMW.
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