Thief stealth skills question
Aerakar
Member Posts: 1,026
What are the recommended stealth skills for BG 1 and then later for BG2 for a reliably stealthy thief (i.e. Bounty Hunter)?
And as I recall there is no difference in HiS or MS, as the two are totaled and then divided by 2 for a total stealth score, so any reason to favor MS over HiS?
And as I recall there is no difference in HiS or MS, as the two are totaled and then divided by 2 for a total stealth score, so any reason to favor MS over HiS?
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Comments
No reason to favour one over the other.
Be warned, from what I hear, bengoshi is actually the Master of a minor thieves guild.
But seriously, I was reading yesterday that he is borderlined obsessed with no reload thieves.
Made me tempted to get the title for paladin, until I realized that it isn't really needed as their is less nuance.
There're rings in BG2 available not far into the game that give +25% to Find/Disarm Traps and +25% to Open Locks. So, I usually don't waste points and don't put more than 75 into both these skills. Before you acquire these rings, you can use potions of master thievery to open locks and potions of power to disarm traps. There're many of these potions in the game. Also, you'll learn to like potions this way.
Also, taking into account you plan to take a bounty hunter, you should put points into Set Traps. In fact, I would do it from the start, on the first several levels. Even not the most powerful version of traps are useful. You can put only 80 points in this skill because there's a ring in BG2 giving +20% to Set Traps. But if you want, you can go for 100.
I would put 100 into Detect Illusion (it's a very useful skill, helps a lot against mages, especially if you play with the SCS mod), 80 into Set Traps, 75 into Find/Disarm Traps, 75 into Open Locks. The rest you can put into HiS/MS - it doesn't indeed matter which skill from these two.
Don't bother putting points into Pick Pockets - you can gulp several potions of master thievery, they stack and you'll easily have many points in this skill to steal from the person you need.
You'll have many items that give bonuses to HiS/MS, so invisibility won't be a problem.
If you want to play as a bounty hunter, concentrate on traps. Use them as often as you can.
Also, don't forget that the tome of DEX that you'll get in BG1, will improve your DEX and thieving skills. Check http://playithardcore.com/pihwiki/index.php?title=Baldur's_Gate:_Races_and_Stats for exact bonuses 19 or 20 points in DEX give.
I'm not sure @Aerakar whether you're planning on going solo or with a party, and if partying whether you intend to have another Thief around.
In case you're going solo or for an otherwise Thiefless party, I'd recommend the following approach.
To me stealth is the most important skill of any Thief (even Swashbucklers or Bounty Hunters) because it enables you to scout, to bypass enemies you don't want to fight, and to backstab (or at least) attack from the shadows. So in BG1 my Thieves, no matter their kit, always start out with their character creation skill points put in HiS/MS. And the skill points of the first 2-4 level-ups (depending on race/dex/kit) I reserve for HiS/MS as well. That way you should have an aggregate stealth score of circa 130-140. With the boots of stealth (35), the shadow armor (15), and the permanent dex boost from the tome, you'll have enough to reliably sneak in BG1. A score of 140-145 is in my experience also sufficient to sneak around in Irenicus' Dungeon in BG2. Once in Athkatla, you'll have several items that allow you to go invisible, like bengoshi said, or to improve your stealth skills without attributing any skill points to HiS/MS.
Considering you're playing a Bounty Hunter, and assuming maxed Dexterity and some racial bonuses you should be able to have 130 aggregate stealth by level 4 (unboosted by items). This leaves 6 level-ups, or 120 skill points.
Anyway, your Bounty Hunter still has 70 skill points to spend. I would increase Detect Traps to 65 (70 with tome) and invest the remaining skill points in Detect Illusions. 100 Detect Illusions and Detect Traps could be priorities for BG2. Open Locks and Pickpockets are low priority skills for me.
If you're playing with a second Thief in your group, you could consider postponing or even forgoing stealth and prioritizing Set Traps for your Bounty Hunter.
I really want to make an evil assassin. Will I have enough points for that stealth strat and still be the only thief in my party in BG1?
1) Invest into lockpicking + trap disarm and stay on range with a Shortbow + Venom arrows
2) Invest into sneaking + possibly Traps, but you'll need another Thief to disarm traps and pick locks.
I played both. 1) works well in a party, 2) also semi-alone or in smaller parties, provided you have another multi-/dual-classed NPC (Imoen, Shar-teel, Monty)