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-   -   What are the best Robes for a Fighter/Mage? (http://www.ironworksforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=24158)

krunchyfrogg 01-06-2006 08:56 PM

Assuming you don't find enough, or any, suits of Elven Chainmail (I'm determined to never replay any random item drops), what's the best robes, or other protection items, for a Fighter/Mage multi- or dual-class?

(Stress on "items," I know there are some pretty good spells for protection too)

Azred 01-06-2006 10:09 PM

<font color = lightgreen>Robes of the Archmagi (of the appropriate alignment, of course), those robes that give the mage an 18/99 strength (no, I don't know the name at this time), or the robes that make the wearer immune to umber hulk gaze (useful in several places). At least, those are the ones I keep in my mage's inventory. </font>

Aerich 01-07-2006 06:53 PM

Agreed with Azred. The set I use the most is the Robes of the Watcher (I think that's what they're called) - they give AC 3 and are taken off of Malavon's corpse. Ogi-Luc's Great Robe is the one that gives huge strength and AC 4, if the Str gain is not redundant from other items (Gauntlets of Ogre Power, e.g.) given to a F/M. The Shadowed Robe (AC 4, some magic resistance) isn't bad either, and it's found relatively early in the game (Severed Hand) - it's random, though.

A F/M will never have the best AC in the party unless it takes armor incompatible with spellcasting, so the protective spells of mage and cleric are the keys to making the character a melee force in the mid to late game stages.

Azred 01-07-2006 07:44 PM

<font color = lightgreen>Ah, the Great Robe. I couldn't recall the name; thank you. [img]graemlins/petard.gif[/img] Give that one to a cleric/mage, drink a potion of Fortitude, and then cast Draw Upon Holy Might for truly superhuman stats before a fight. [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img] </font>

Sir Degrader 01-07-2006 09:19 PM

Hmm, anyone know of a mod that allows BG2 kits for IWD? I can see a K/M being whoopass in this situation. Also, Azred, will it matter about his stats, seeing as how the C/M can't use decent weapons that allow him to use those stats? (I'm a nub in case you can't tell).

Aerich 01-07-2006 10:26 PM

I'm pretty sure there's no BG2 kits allowed in IWD. I would have heard about such a mod if one existed. Sorry. :(

The C/M can use clerical weapons - and there are some stellar maces in this game. A C/M could also cast Haste and Righteous Wrath of the Faithful as buffs before combat for extra attacks to go along with high stats. ;)

Sir Degrader 01-07-2006 10:50 PM

Will they have the THACO needed to go toe to toe effectively, or will the sheer craziness of HoW/HoF not permit that, and give benefit to the ability to cast/tank? What about a loss of concentration (lost hill)?

Aerich 01-08-2006 04:04 AM

HoF mode (enemies with vastly multiplied hitpoints and damage-dealing capabilities) is very different from HoW (an expansion).

I wouldn't send a cleric into melee that often. I very much favour the ability to cast and tank combined in the same character - the F/M and F/C (or R/C) and F/D are some of the strongest class combinations as either multiclass or dual class. A cleric has a decent enough thaco, but the real kicker is the attacks per round - one just doesn't cut it; a high level cleric will usually be more effective casting spells than fighting in the front line.

Spells can be lost mid-casting quite easily - there's no concentration skill to be pumped up, and I'm not sure exactly how the game determines if you lose a spell (probably a saving throw of some kind). Generally, it's better to cast all the spells you're going to cast with a tanking/casting character before entering melee. The only exception to this is the F/M, as Mirror Image allows impervious casting from the front row.

Marty4 01-08-2006 09:21 AM

I could be wrong, but isn't the great robe only available to single class mages?

Aerich 01-08-2006 05:21 PM

Come to think of it, I believe you're right, Marty.

Robes are mostly to be worn for any nice extras they give. Most of them don't give better AC than around 4, which can be duplicated with the AC 6 Bracers and a good Ring of Protection.

ZFR 01-08-2006 05:30 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Aerich:
Most of them don't give better AC than around 4, which can be duplicated with the AC 6 Bracers and a good Ring of Protection.
You mean you can't wear robes and ring of protection? I remember rings not being able to be worn with magic armor, but AFAIK they do stack with robes too.

Dundee Slaytern 01-08-2006 07:47 PM

Robe of Armory

AC 3
+10% to all Physical Resistances


Robe of Enfusing (My favourite)

-2 AC bonus
+5% Magic Resistance
+5 Lore
+1 slot for Level 1 Mage Spell


~~~~ ~~~~

Ultra Marine 01-08-2006 08:40 PM

Eleven chain?

Aerich 01-09-2006 01:50 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by ZFR:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Aerich:
Most of them don't give better AC than around 4, which can be duplicated with the AC 6 Bracers and a good Ring of Protection.

You mean you can't wear robes and ring of protection? I remember rings not being able to be worn with magic armor, but AFAIK they do stack with robes too. </font>[/QUOTE]That's right, so the robes will give marginally better protection than the bracers - however, you don't have to buy the bracers and you generally acquire them earlier than the good robes. I don't worry too much about AC with my mages, even fighter mages, because I try to protect them tactically - the first couple rounds of most fights are taken up with casting, and the F/M then goes in to help mop up if needed, so isn't targeted very much.

*snaps fingers* - I forgot about the Robe of Armory. Yeah, it's pretty good. I've never bothered with the Robe of Enfusing because you have to buy that from Orrick early in the game, and I'm always saving up for other things at that stage (a certain horn, a certain helm...).

Dundee, can you elaborate a bit on why the Robe of Enfusing is your favourite? Does its AC bonus stack with bracers and rings?

Elven chain is quite good, but cannot stack with a ring, so is at par or slightly worse than robes + ring of protection. There's at least two sets of elven chain available as random drops in the Severed Hand.

Azred 01-10-2006 08:14 PM

<font color = lightgreen>No one should go toe-to-toe against anything in HoF unless they have at least 90% resistance to the attacker's form of physical damage.</font>

Dundee Slaytern 01-10-2006 10:40 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Aerich:
~~ Dundee, can you elaborate a bit on why the Robe of Enfusing is your favourite? Does its AC bonus stack with bracers and rings? ~~
It stacks with spells. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Armor grants a base armor of 6, and lasts for 9 game hours... translating into a base armor of 4 with the Robe of Enfusing(RoE). Throw in -4 from 18 DEX, and other miscellanous items, you can easily get negative AC for your Mage.

Later on, when your Mage has gained enough levels, you can utilise Shield( 5 rounds/level, ergo 35s/level) instead. With the RoE, you have a base AC of 2 against melee, and 0 against ranged. Which is almost as good as Full Plate Mail already in terms of raw AC. Not to mention the immunity to Magic Missiles and Mordenkanein's Force Missiles.

Throw in a Blur, add a War Chant of Sith, cast Protection from Evil, etc... and my Mage ended up with the best AC in the whole party during the early game. RoP +2 is better for a Paladin using unenchanted Full Plate Mail.

I do not depend on rings for AC for my Mages, because I prefer to reserve one slot for the Ring of Free Action, and the other slot for Kontik's Ring of Wizardry(~insert leetspeak~). Later on, I will then replace the Ring of Free Action with Edion's Ring of Wizardry( at which point, you need not worry about lack of offensive spells)

The RoE is one of the first few items I get from Orrick, and I have never regretted getting it. It really rocks to have it before going to the Severed Hand.

IMHO, it is better to get 'armor' that grants bonus AC for your Mages, than 'armor' that sets AC.

Ultra Marine 01-11-2006 12:58 AM

How does one get resistance to 90%?

Azred 01-11-2006 01:38 PM

<font color = lightgreen>Reinforced Leather +1, Ring of Greater Resistance, Great Shield +3, and Warhammer +4: Defender = 90% crushing resistance. Have your bard nearby with War Chant of Sith for immunity to crushing damage.

Studded Leather of Resistance +3, Bone Marrow Belt (non-good only), Great Shield +3, and Morningstar +4: Defender for 100% resistance to slashing damage. Bring it!

Studded Leather of Resistance +3, Clasp of Bron's Cloak, Great Shield of +3, Morningstar +4: Defeneder, and the Potion of Greater Resistance (if you can find it) for 60% piercing resistance. You'd better have your bard singing back up, then suck it up. </font>

Sir Degrader 01-11-2006 06:02 PM

In my experience, 100% resistance is best, it involves something taking the hit instead of you.

Kyrvias 01-12-2006 11:40 AM

And over 10 resistance actually heals you!


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