Dual Imoen

[Korvanik]

I am going to dual Imoen to a mage, i am just wondering when i should do that. Should i let her gain some levels as a thief first or should i dual her as fast as possible.

[Ar-Cunin]

Depends whether you plan on getting another thief for your party - if you do, you should dual Imoen right away. If not I would wait at least until lvl 5 (lvl 6 is probably better)

I read somewhere that it isn't worth it. I'll see if I can find the post.

[the new JR Jansen]

Originally posted by Jan: I read somewhere that it isn't worth it. I'll see if I can find the post.

It's worth it but that is a matter of personal opinion. I sometimes dual her and sometimes not. It just depends on what kind of character i'm playing and who i want to have in the party. If i dual her, i do it at level 6 but that's whit tales installed. Without it, level 5 maybe better. In my experience, dualing her makes her a powerhouse. Remember, hiding in shadows and disarming a trap breaks the stealth, but when you disarm it under invisibility, you don't get visible. That's just one of the many perks. Combine Imoen with another mage type like Dynaheir and you've got nuclear destruction at your fingretips.

You are right the new JR Jansen.

I think "the post" said it wasn't worth it if you (later on) want to export your character to BGII.

Argh if just I could find that post again.

[Sir Heinrich Godfrie IV]

If you are looking to have a smaller party, say with four members such as:

*You (Tank)

*Imoen (thief/mage)

*NPC (cleric)

*NPC (ranger)

Then you would essentially free up MORE experience points to be allocated to your smaller party, thus gaining levels faster than if you were to simply have a 5th member as a pure mage.

You could also pick up Quayle who is a Cleric/Illusionist and you would have even more power while still only having a four member party.

So is it a good idea to dual Imoen?

I suppose, if you want to ascend through the game at a faster pace.

[Korvanik]

i just want to add that i am not planing on geting a pure mage, and i am going to export my character to BG 2 so i also would like to know if there will be any consequences in BG 2 if i dual Imoen in BG 1.

For know i will think about all the advices i got, and i appreciate them all.

Imoen is a thief/mage in BG2 so her stats (str., con,...) will always be the same when you export the (BG1) game and continue the adventure in BG2.

I found something that might help you. It was written by SixOfSpades:

Dual at low Level--
PRO: You can essentially turn her into a straight Mage who's a lousy Thief, but can at least use Swords and Bows. Since Imoen has really good Mage stats and is potentially the ONLY pure Mage in the game (except for the PC, of course), this isn't a bad idea.
CON: She doesn't get many hitpoints, and she's utterly worthless as a Thief.

Dual at high Level--
PRO: You can invest a great deal of Thieving points, getting her up to 100% or more in 2 or 3 skills. I find that using your 100% Stealth, sneaking around, casting a Fireball, then going right back into Stealth is a deliciously wicked trick to play. She gets a Thief's hitpoints for the first few levels, too.
CON: She can't advance to really high levels as a Mage, and you have to wait FOREVER to get her Thief half back. Imoen's 100% in Find Traps won't do you a damn bit of good if she's still stuck halfway through her Dual. Also, you risk going too far: If you wait too long to Dual, you might not EVER be able to regain her Thief half while you're under the EXP cap.

[pritchke]

Personally I thought she was worth dualing (level 6). She makes the best mage in the game. You don't have to worry about the thief skills because there are so many NPC's to choose from. Just take on a hired hand until she is ready to use her theif skills again.

[ 06-09-2003, 11:37 AM: Message edited by: pritchke ]