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Help me choose class for a new trilogy run!

jankieljankiel Member Posts: 127
I've played the series some time ago and I've played most of the powergamey type of charnames. This time I want to try something else. I'd like to try a crappy class with no attribute reloading. Suggestions? Wizard slayer, beastmaster, shifter, jester?

Comments

  • KuronaKurona Member Posts: 881
    A Jester spreading mayhem across the Sword Coast for the lolz never gets old :)
    tbone1Arctodussarevok57CrevsDaak
  • DJKajuruDJKajuru Member Posts: 3,300
    "Crappy" is a quite subjective term, but if you mean "unpopular class" I'd go with generalist mage or shifter, because I like spellcasters.
    CrevsDaak
  • JumboWheat01JumboWheat01 Member Posts: 1,028
    Jesters are awesome, I don't know where you heard otherwise.

    Why not play something that doesn't require any particular attributes at all, like a Shaman or a Sorcerer? You can take what you get and it'll feel the same.
    perflol
  • tbone1tbone1 Member Posts: 1,985
    edited January 2017
    I have been running a swashbuckler dualed to a mage at the start of Irenicus' dungeon and it's been quite fun. I tried faldorn on a recent BG1 run and found her better than I thought; would a straight Druid fit?
    QuartzCrevsDaak
  • dunbardunbar Member Posts: 1,603
    edited January 2017
    Compared to all the kits, dual and multi options any generic class could be called fairly "crappy", so you could go back to basics as it were and try a plain fighter or cleric or whatever - and maybe recapture the feeling of being just an ordinary person (at least at the outset) instead of a superhero from day one.
    Quartz
  • jankieljankiel Member Posts: 127
    Thanks for all the input. The idea I've had is to try something underpowered so I think I will roll beastmaster.
    sarevok57DJKajuru[Deleted User]
  • Lehigh96Lehigh96 Member Posts: 23
    The Druid Avenger kit is an interesting class that actually limits both Strength and Constitution. The options for shapechange are pretty cool though, especially the salamander.
  • tbone1tbone1 Member Posts: 1,985
    Here's a thought: half-elf fighter.

    Hear me out. The best reason to choose humans is 1) dual classing, and 2) you can be any class (except dwarves defender). Among the non-humans, each has one place where they excel. Dwarves and half-orcs are excellent fighters, halflings are great thieves, gnomes can be illusionists (including cleric/illusionists) and elves excel as mages. Half-elves get minor resistance to sleep and charm, infravision, and THE best multiclass selection. So make a single-class half-elf. Fighter would be the most replaceable in all the games, I should think, or maybe cleric, but clerics do get awesome spells.

    jankiel
  • JumboWheat01JumboWheat01 Member Posts: 1,028
    Half elves are also pretty good at single classes they share with only humans, like Druid and its kits for instance, because of their minor bonuses.
  • CaradocCaradoc Member Posts: 92
    edited January 2017
    Try Wild mage (lots of unpredictability due to wild surges which is can be fun and challenging) or the new class Shaman.
    JumboWheat01_Luke_
  • matricematrice Member Posts: 86
    edited January 2017
    Wild mage is the strongest class of the game. Even sorcerer have to knee before Wild mage.

    In addition, as long as you have slight fire protection and use only your spell offensively in the first half of bg1, you'll never fall under horrible wild surge

    Beastmaster is probably the way since he wants a shit class. I think avenger aren't that great aswell. generic class are weaker, but generic mage remain super strong.
  • ktchongktchong Member Posts: 88
    edited February 2017
    May I suggest either a Cavalier (Paladin kit) or Dragon Disciple (Sorcerer kit).

    I have done a lot of online research into different classes before I finally decided on the Cavalier. On and off, I must have done months of research, (which eliminated many other classes before narrowing my final choices down to Cavalier and Sorcerer.) I still want to play a Sorcerer if I ever have the time and opportunity in the future.

    I have been comparing the Sorcerer and its Dragon Disciple kit. Here is my conclusion:

    In terms of the game's narrative, playing a Sorcerer makes the most sense, due to the main character's "heritage". The Sorcerer has innate powers inherited from her parent and bloodline. If you know anything about the series and its protagonist, playing a Sorcerer makes the most narrative sense. The class fits the protagonist's story. (Actually, a Sorcerer would make more narrative sense than a Dragon Disciple, but IMO Dragon Disciple would be easier and consistently strong throughout the series; i.e., consistently, not just near the end.)

    The only disadvantage of the Dragon Disciple is that she would miss out on one spell casting per level per day, which supposely would matter more at higher levels. However, that disadvantage could be easily overcome with the high-level Wish spell and a Wisdom of 18+. And, based on what I have read, the spellcasting limitation had not been a problem for players who had played a Sorcerer and/or Dragon Disciple. They had never run out of spells at high levels.

    Dragon Disciple uses the d6 hit dice, (i.e., he gains up to 6 HP per level,) which add up to be 20 HP at level 10, (after which Sorcerer and Dragon Disciple gain the same amount of HP per level.) 20 HP is equal to five levels worth of HP for a Sorcerer. (Notes: a normal Sorcerer uses d4 hit dice.)

    Here is the biggest factor why I favor Dragon Disciple over Sorcerer: a human or half-elven Dragon Disciple (but not necessarily an elven one) who started out with 18 Constitution should be able to reach reach 20 CON in the first Baldur's Gate (BG1). (Actually, even an elven sorcerer can reach 20 CON by using a tome.) At 20 CON, a character gains health regeneration. That is huge advantage. In BG2, the sorcerer can regain her spells and full health after a Wish spell or rest.

    Yet another consideration: a high-level Dragon Disciple has 100% natural resistance against fire, which is immunity to fire. She should be able to have over 100% fire resistance with the proper gear or spells. At over 100% fire resistance, she would regain health when she was attacked by or in fire. So, the Dragon Disciple can use a fire area-of-effect spell to wear down enemies while she is unaffected or even regains health inside the fire. That consideration opens up some interesting spell choices. Enemies that use fire attacks (which are common) would be useless against a Dragon Discple.


    In BG1, a Sorcerer in BG1 with her very limited spell repertoire would be hard to play. A Dragon Disciple's dragon breath (and higher HP) would make playing through BG1 much easier. According to the HowLongToPlay website, the completionist walkthrough of BG1 would take 80 hours. Seige of Dragonspear takes 42 hours. The completionist of BG2 would take 120 hours. So one-third of the game series would be spent in BG1. I would rather have an enjoyable, fun experience throughout the entire series over a frustating experience for 80 percent of the game just to become overpowered for the last 20 percent.
    Post edited by ktchong on
    QuartzCrevsDaak[Deleted User]
  • RelSundanRelSundan Member Posts: 918
    Pure Cleric.
  • OlderThan13YearsOlderThan13Years Member Posts: 79
    edited January 2017
    @jankiel
    Maybe a wild mage without chaos shild?

    @ktchong
    I am still not completely convinced of the Dragon Disciple's supremacy. Sure Fire Protection is helpful but even if you have a fire resistance of 127%, every fire attack will interrupt your spell casting.

    Regeneration is nice in Baldurs Gate 1 (there are many ways to regenerate in BG2) but it feels rather like a comfort bonus to me.

    I think the reason why a lot of people prefer the sorcerer over Dragon Disciples is the more offensive bias due to the extra spell per level which becomes very important if the spellcaster uses timerstop + improved alacrity. In this situation, it doesn't matter if the spellcaster can cast wish to regenerate the spells. The sorcerer can use all spells without leaving the timestop and he/she has more of them. This means more 'firepower'.

    So I would prefer the Dragon Disciple in IWD and maybe in BG1 but not in BG2.


    Post edited by OlderThan13Years on
  • DrHappyAngryDrHappyAngry Member Posts: 1,577

    @jankiel
    Maybe a wild mage without chaos shild?

    @ktchong
    I am still not completely convinced of the Dragon Disciple's supremacy. Sure Fire Protection is helpful but even if you have a fire resistance of 127%, every fire attack will interrupt your spell casting.

    Regeneration is nice in Baldurs Gate 1 (there are many ways to regenerate in BG2) but it feels rather like a comfort bonus to me.

    I think the reason why a lot of people prefer the sorcerer over Dragon Disciples is the more offensive bias due to the extra spell per level which becomes very important if the spellcaster uses timerstop + improved alacrity. In this situation, it doesn't matter if the spellcaster can cast wish to regenerate the spells. The sorcerer can use all spells without leaving the timestop and he/she has more of them. This means more 'firepower'.

    So I would prefer the Dragon Disciple in IWD and maybe in BG1 but not in BG2.


    There's more to it than just fire resistance. You get a d6 per level for hp over the regular d4 for sorcerers, as well as AC bonuses at specific levels, and dragon breath. Granted the dragon breath loses a lot of usefulness when you get past BG1, but the HP and AC bonuses are nice. And the one less max spells per day isn't as bad as you might think it is. My Dragon Disciple came close to taking out the 2 silver dragons in Dorn's TOB quest by herself with improved alacrity, time stop, some debuffs, a few lower resistances, greater mailison, and a few horrid wiltings. Dorn wound up finishing off the second dragon before my DD could land the finishing blow, but did most of the damage to it, and completely dropped the firist one.

    The OP asked for crappy classes, though. Not sure if they wanted genuinely bad, or just not completely badass, or something more quirky. Any of the Bard classes can be interesting and quirky, and not totally badass (well a fully buffed Blade can be). A wizard slayer might be more what you're looking for in a crappy class, I just can't bring myself to pass up all the shiny loot, but that's me. An Avenger Druid might be an interesting, but not totally badass class. A single class cleric might qualify for crappy too, although the Lathander and Helm kits have abilities that give you extra attacks, and make them less craptastic. Monks can be quirky and crappy in the early game, but once they hit the mid-teens, level-wise, they do become completely badass.
  • tbone1tbone1 Member Posts: 1,985
    The straight cleric might not be an exciting or cool class, but by the time you get to Spellhold their spells make them pretty darn effective.

    As for non-straight clerics, ... boy, that's a great setup for a punchline, isn't it?
    ArctodusQuartzCrevsDaakNightingale
  • tbone1tbone1 Member Posts: 1,985

    Are you saying my Cleric/Thief is a bit crooked? :tongue:

    Yes! Because it is not Tiax! Bow before the mighty Tiax, Ruler of All He Surveys!
    JumboWheat01
  • brunardobrunardo Member Posts: 526
    I played both DD and sorc and dont believe the one spell slot is such a big loss...if you really need that extra spell couldnt you carry a few of those spells anyways for those big fights when you need it (likely only end of Bg2 and TOB)
    [Deleted User]
  • GallengerGallenger Member Posts: 400
    edited February 2017
    A straight bard is usually considered pretty "bad" since your bard song is only *really* helpful early on in BG1, and then becomes progressively less useful due to the likelihood of making saves against fear inducing spells. But the character still can use most weapons at least somewhat competently and can cast some helpful spells, not to mention picking pockets, and lore IDing items. You also get access to a pretty fun stronghold in BG2. So, you still have a character that should be fun to play, but doesn't really shine in any one particular area.

    I actually find Sorcs to be pretty much super-powered in BG1 because they can output more sleeps than any other mage type which, thanks to the bg2 engine's change to sleep, makes that spell super OP. If you *don't* use sleep you still have access to some great spells far more often than a regular mage - since it's pretty rare you'll actually use more than a few spells per level anyhow it doesn't hurt that badly to miss out on random, rarely used, utility spells. Having a sorc that simply picks blind as their level 1 spell should be able to compete with any other mage since they can output more blinds per day lol.
  • BigfishBigfish Member Posts: 367
    Gallenger said:

    A straight bard is usually considered pretty "bad" since your bard song is only *really* helpful early on in BG1, and then becomes progressively less useful due to the likelihood of making saves against fear inducing spells.

    I think Bard gets kind of a bum rap in that regard, in that they're really closer to a fighter/Mage/thief that doesn't do any of those roles particularly well, but hits enough points that their use of scrolls and wands, ability to wear chainmail,use a variety of weapons, super high lore, and fast level progression means that there is so much more to the class than their admittedly mostly crummy bard song.
    ArctodusAerakar
  • PokotaPokota Member Posts: 858
    I would also suggest a single-class unkitted character, or perhaps a Shaman since it's new.
  • NeverusedNeverused Member Posts: 803
    Note that as of EE 2.x, Bards also gain a luck effect which... is honestly pretty powerful for physical-damage-oriented team compositions. I'm pretty sure by my understanding of how Luck works that someone wielding a Morningstar (2d4) will always roll two 4s under the effect of +3 Luck, an increase of 3.5 damage per hit. Also reduces the average damage of a ADHW from a 20th level caster from 90 (20d8, 20 * 9 / 2 = 90) to... I think 60? (maximum damage per dice is now 5, so 20d5? Or should the 5 be weighted 4 times? If so, the probability looks like {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5, 5, 5} for an average of 30/8 = 15/4, and the average damage is 75.) Regardless, for an effect that can be pretty much permanently on, on top of all the other things bards can do, lategame bard ain't half bad in a larger party.
    tbone1ArctodusAerakar
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