Need advice as a first time DnD/BG player.
CanderousXOrdo
Member Posts: 5
I am currently in the process of rolling a dwarven Fighter/Cleric who can dualwield and hoping to take him through BG1EE and BG2EE. But i'm kind of stuck at the PIPS and Priest Spells screen because i am not sure on what I should invest my points in as starters.
Any help would be much appreciated.
Any help would be much appreciated.
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BG2 also has some fairly powerful warhammer options. So, at the end of the day, you'll be in good hands if you go for warhammer specialization.
As for spells, cure wounds is always a safe route to take. I find command comes in handy as well, and is fairly powerful for a 1st level priest spell. Armour of faith would be a good choice too, since your character will be fighting face-to-face with that dual weapon proficiency. And lastly, bless is a pretty decent buff (at least, I think it's a 1st level spell).
SoD has some dwarf-specific gear if I remember correctly, so that's also something you can look forward to.
First off you need to have your character be a Human to have the Dual-Class functionality. Dual-Class is different from Multi-Class in that you level up your first class, then "forget" it and start to level up a second class. Once your second class reaches one level above your first, you will gain all the latent abilities from your first class.
The way I do it is being a Swashbuckler Thief as the first class. Swashbuckler lets you get 3 pips in two weapon fighting along with the regular Thief skills and some very nice damage, thac0, and AC bonuses at the cost of not being able to backstab (you won't be backstabbing with cleric weapons anyways).
I level the Swashbuckler to level 8 to have enough points to get open locks and disarm traps to 100 and an extra weapon pip (Swashbuckler could also be leveled to 10 for an extra +1 to AC, thac0 and damage but I like to level up my cleric to get two weapon fighting ASAP).
With this combo you not only get a mean dual wielding cleric but he can also open chests and disarm traps !. Only drawbac kis that you will need to wear lighter armors if you want your thief skills to be always active. But I never had a problem just unequiping my full plate armor and undoing the trap/chest (reload ftw)
Keep in mind though that once you are a Cleric and you regain your Thief levels, you will not be able to use any weapons that are not shared between both kits (scimitar, longsword etc) since none of the weapons share both kits (except sling but nobody is doing this kit to use slings XD), the only pips that will carry meaningfully over will be the 3 pips in two weapon fighting so you can choose whichever weapons you want when you are in Thief mode level 1-8
Hope this helps give you an insight into a different way of playing your vision
EDIT: as to your question about priest spells, the only useful spells at level 1 are cure light wounds and Remove Fear. Remove Fear is a 1 hour buff that you will be using throughout the whole series all the way to the end of Throne of Bhaal. It is one of the only spells that will protect against Fear. The name of the spell it slightly misleading as it not only removes fear when you have a character Under that effect, but is also used preventively so you can`t be feared in the first place
One thing to note about multi classing vs dual classing, your multi class will level much slower then a dual class because your xp is split between both classes. with dual class, you are only ever leveling up one class at a time, so with swashbucklet/cleric you will get your level 7 cleric spells available much sooner than as fighter/cleric multi. But both are good choices honestly, multi class will get you better HLA (dual class will only have the cleric HLA available) choices in the end with better thac0 and more weapon proficiencies
One thing to note about multi classing vs dual classing, your multi class will level much slower then a dual class because your xp is split between both classes. with dual class, you are only ever leveling up one class at a time, so with swashbucklet/cleric you will get your level 7 cleric spells available much sooner than as fighter/cleric multi. But both are good choices honestly, multi class will get you better HLA (dual class will only have the cleric HLA available) choices in the end with better thac0 and more weapon proficiencies
Now I can't wait to dual class, also I have goal to go for the flail of ages/crom dual wield combo in BG2EE, should I invest in flails early on in BG1EE or just leave it till 2EE?
Once you cast those spells, you'll need to rest by either camping outside or using an inn, and you'll be able to cast all over again. Before you rest, however, you can always pick new spells using those three points you allocaed into cure light wounds and remove fear.
That means, you're not limited to just cure light wounds and remove fear. You'll just have to select different spells from your spell list with those three points.
As you level up, and depending on your wisdom score, you'll be able to cast more and more spells before needing to rest.
1. For your first play-through, I would strongly suggest avoiding the forums and discovering the game in its full glory on your own. It's okay to make mistakes and go through without an optimized build. But some players prefer to research a game first, no right or wrong in that so...
2. AFAIK there are no bonuses for Dwarves using hammers, but hammers are still good.
3. Flails are good in BG 1 and great in BG2. When to start putting points into them is an interesting question. If you're determined to dual wield out of the gate, you're going to start with two points into DW and two in hammers - if you're determined to use hammers. You could skip hammers and start in flails if you wanted. In any case, on your third level as a fighter you could put a third point into DW. You'll get one more point at level 6 fighter in which you can start in a new weapon. So, if you started with hammers, you could end BG1 with 2 points in hammers, 3 points in DW, and 1 point in flails. Then, at level 9 fighter (in BG2) you could add a second point in flails and you can then dual wield hammers and flails to their full potential.
4. Command is also a great first level spell. I always take it right away.
Flail and Warhammer are the 2 best weapon choices for cleric through out the whole series, although there are some really really nice maces available in SoD (one casts bless on hit and one casts cure light wounds on hit) but are only available in SoD and unfortunately don't transfer with you to BG2. That being said, since Cleric is kinda limited in weapon types and you will get tons of points from fighter you will be able to drop points in mace early enough
Also, I highly agree with: My first every playthrough of the Baldur's Gate games a couple years ago were completely blind. I definite;y agree that that's the best way to play through these games.
Dwarven Defender doesn't have any special bonuses with warhammers, rather, warhammer and axe are the ONLY 2 weapon types they can achieve high mastery (4 pips) in
as your weapon pips .. 2 in War-hammers and 2 in Two-Weapon style you will get more later down the line , you want to finish two-weapon style with 3 and then move some in flails.
don't pay attention to the Spells you can select... a cleric knows ALL spells there are the moment he unlocks that Spell level (1-7) what you can pick are just the spells he can cast right now at the moment of his creation , and you can change this memorized spells every time before you rest at will.
Pro tips:
-just because you are skilled for two-weapon fighting does not stop you from wearing a shield, sometime survival is more important than extra dmg.
-Armor or AC ..dont spread your magical items around , focus on ONE front liner and press down AC as deep as you can.
-in the Friend Arm INN you will be able to buy a Buckler called BUCKLY'S BUCKLER it gives +1Constitution while wearing it... raising a dwarf to the Magical value of 20 Constitution. this number is important because with 20 Constitution you will regenerate 1 HP every 10 Rounds (1 minute) which is unmentionable while walking around and fighting but every time you rest 8 Game hours pass and you will regenerate 40 hp for free just by wearing that Buckler on your Dwarf. same for traveling from one map to another which takes everything from 4-48 hours (and basically heals you full for free)
-http://baldursgate.wikia.com/wiki/Ashideena is the best hammer there is in BG1 and easy to get if you know where ...
-Grooming your Beard is important , take your time.
And just remember, there is no correct way of playing BG, nothing you can do will be judged by anybody else but yourself.
And dying is part of "the circle of life" and sometimes ridiculously funny. And the "how you died" often becomes part of your personal BG folk lore.
Personally, and this is truly 100% only my own opinion, I can't stand a certain hammer with lightning damage in BG1. The sound it makes when striking sound cool the first 10 times, but after that it starts to get reeeeeeeally annoying. I'd go for hammers in offhand and focus on maces or flails first instead.