Soloing a Cavalier

[Tyrion]

Ok, I need some help here.
I wanto to know what is better: Dual Wield or Sword and shield...I was thinking of daul wield but im not so sure. Dont like carsomys since its two handed, but isnt there a mod whick lets you re-forge it into a longsword?
I also need to know whick weapons are to recommend for a solo game with him, since I never soloed before...
Basicly I need some good tips from people who have soloed before with paladin!

[Tyrion]

I might add that I plan to take Airee (spelling) along as a romance, so It isnt really solo...

sorry for the bad bad spelling in the last post, I was in a hurry

[Zink Whistlefly]

Well, Carsomyr is the logical choice for a Paladin - is there a particular reason why you don't like the 2-Handed route, or is it just preference?

Dual wielding (whilst providing a significant offensive bonus) doesn't quite seem right for a Paladin. The large Flamberge route, or indeed sword and shield style (typical stereotypical knight style) will certainly seem more logical from an RP perspective. But hey, some people like to be different.

Not heard of a mod than re-forges Carsomyr into a longsword, but it's an easy modification to do using IEEP or something similar if you really feel to want to change it. If you're going through Watchers Keep you just might find a single handed Bastard Sword equivalent however...

As for suggested weapons, you could try the Blade of Roses combined with a Fortress Shield in the early stages of the game. The Flail of Ages, or the Defender of Easthaven are also good choices. The Sentinel shield will eventually give you a +5 AC bonus in the later stages of the game.

Armour will want to be (Shiny) Full Plate, combined with a ring of protection, Helm of Baldurian, and either Ring of Air Control / Ring of Earth Control. Cloak of the Sewers and boots of speed will be good candidates. Chances are you'll have a decent natural strength, so a girdle of bluntness will give you all round marvellous protection from weapons (combined with the excellent AC modifiers of full plate).

As you grow in levels, be sure to have a few Draw Upon Holy Might's and Armour of Faith's memorised. Resist Fire/Cold and Protection from Fire (think that's a Paladin spell) will stack nicely with your innate elemental bonuses too.

Hopefully Dundee will get a look in here, since he was very much the pioneer of the solo Cavalier, many moons ago [img]smile.gif[/img] .

[ 09-05-2005, 06:29 AM: Message edited by: Zink Whistlefly ]

[Dundee Slaytern]

I use all three styles. What style you use depends on the situation. Since you have Aerie around, it is even better, because you have a healer/buffer around.

Against most minions, a shield will deflect most of the damage. Against bosses however, shields in general are... pointless( except in certain cases where you need Immunity to Charm or such).

[Aladinsane]

I think as stated above it really comes down to how you envision a paladin. Personally, my paladins (I always use the cavalier) use a one handed weapon and a shield. Usually a long sword and shield. That's how I picture them. I would never dual wield a paladin because that's not my picture of a paladin. The shield is to protect the innocent and the sword to "effectuate" justice. But there is certainly nothing wrong with dual wielding scimitars if that's what you like. By the way, a duo of a paladin and Aerie sounds like a great idea! I can see a paladin feeling sympathy for this poor lawful good lass and then eventually falling for her. Have fun!

[Lignoba]

I actually had one of my paladins in a previous game dual wield jsut because i wanted to see if it would look cool :S It actually turned out to be really good, I had him dual wielding the Blade of Roses and the Frostreaver. He was fairly good [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Cam_H]

Tyrion,

Congratulations on selecting a Paladin solo(-ish). I think Paladins are the most fun class to solo, and the Cavalier’s immunity to fear and (to a lesser extent) poison are both handy skills.

In stark contrast to some of the advice above, perhaps because I'm less of a role-player than a powergamer, I lean towards dual wielding wherever practicable simply because (a.) you’ll typically hand out more damage, (b.) contingent on your weapon choice and stage in the game you’ll get access generally to more immunities (for instance through weapons such as Arbane’s Sword and Adjatha the Drinker), and (c.) some of the best weapons of the game are one-handed anyway. On point (b.); the Shield of Harmony will however provide you with a wide range of immunities, so you can drag it out wherever practicable.

Given that you’ll be taking Aerie, I guess you can cover yourself through several of her spells such as Chaotic Commands and Free Action.

I soloed an Inquisitor about a year ago, and went all out with two handed weapon style, two handed swords, halberds, short bow, etc, and was admittedly pretty frustrated by the lack of attacks per round. Of course there are Oils of Speed and eventually the excellent Whirlwind Attacks that overcome this problem. Thankfully Paladins get so many weapon proficiencies that for a solo where level-ups come quickly changing weapon types and fighting techniques becomes easier and easier while THAC0 also drops quickly. There are times where the Wave Halberd or the Silver Sword are your best choices, while Carsomyr has to be at worst a 'top 10' weapon.

As set out in another current thread relating to a Kensai, I believe when soloing warriors and thieves, it is particularly important to get your desired equipment together quickly, and protection from level drain and mind-based attacks should rate highly.

Kind of spoiler-ish, some disperate suggestions and observations that might be of value (more so for a solo Cavalier than a party of Cavalier + Aerie however) are in the blank area below (Ctrl-A or click-and-drag-over to reveal) … apologies if I’m setting out suggestions that are ‘obvious to you’ …

The Ilbratha +1 Short Sword’s capacity to cast Mirror Image once per day will be enormously handy, particularly with non-spellcaster fights. For instance, consuming a Potion of Absorption or two, the Girdle of Bluntness, and then the Mirror Image will make Rayic Gethras’ Clay Golems all but ineffective - especially if you counter their Haste with the Flail of Ages. I used Ilbratha’s effect all through the game. Great for setting off ‘mandatory’ traps, and protection from backstabs as other uses.

Arbane’s Sword’s protection against Holds also seems to protect against Stun, so getting Celestial Fury is far from impossible in either Chapters 2 and 3. Using Azuredge’s throwing capability, you can get rid of the Demon on the ground floor from a protected room, and then use the divide-and-conquer technique to get Koshi into battle with Arbane in either hand. Admittedly, a Potion of Freedom should do the same iirc. Refer note above re. backstabs in light of the assassin in the Guarded Compound.

A Rod of Resurrection will provide an insta-heal on a badly injured PC. At less than 10,000 gold per 10-hit re-charge, this is a great value item(s).

If you side with the Shadow Thieves, you can use Sanctuary to walk past Tanova. It’s one of the most difficult fights that can easily lead to inta-death, so I say best avoided. It is poor role playing to have a Paladin just leave her there admittedly!

One surprisingly difficult fight that you would face as a solo Cavalier, but shouldn’t have much trouble with if you have Aerie, is the Imprisoned One on Level 2 of Watcher’s Keep. The capacity to hand out a lot of elemental damage quickly on a regenerating enemy for a solo Cavalier is particularly difficult, with a diverse range of equipment necessary such as Celestial Fury, Ring of Fire Control, Ring of the Ram, Helm of Brilliance, etc. all being dragged out for the damage that they can do. There is the cheesy ‘lock in room’ way of dealing with it too I guess.

Hopefully some of the above will be of help. With you taking Aerie along, you should be more than fine.

Originally posted by Tyrion: I also need to know whick weapons are to recommend for a solo game with him, since I never soloed before...

This is an each-to-their-own situation, but I found that I ended up with a mish-mash of different weapon combinations through the game (same deal as above, Ctrl-A or click-and-drag over blank bit);

Early SoA: I generally go with points in two weapon style and Scimitars and Katanas, but for Chapter 2 a combination of Belm and Rashad's Talon would be usual, swapping in Arbane's Sword for Rashad's Talon if and when needed. I can see for a Cavalier that the throwable Azuredge would be a weapon for consideration provided the player didn't think that it was going against the spirit of the Cavalier kit, while there are some other good Axes about in the early game, so that may be an area where some weapon points could go instead.

Mid and Late SoA: Celestial Fury or Flail of Ages in main hand, with Belm in the off hand, swapping in Shield of Harmony or Arbane's Sword (or Reflection Shield or Shield of Balduran) if and when needed. Carsomyr in spellcaster fights. I personally tend not to bother with Crom Faeyr, but I could see an argument for it (despite strength belts + DUHM). Improved Mace of Disruption in any fight involving Undead (unless opting for Turn Undead).

ToB: Improved Foebane with whatever-you-want! Popular choices may include but hardly restricted to; The Answerer, The Purifier, Flail of Ages, Crom Faeyr, and The Axe of the Unyielding.

Once again, each player has their preferences, only further complicated with the inclusion of mods. While I've chosen never to use the Item Upgrade Mod, my Inquisitor did the 'Red Badge Encounter' as part of the Tactics mod, and ended up with a Spear that makes Celestial Fury look ordinary! A caveat; different enemies will typically demand different weapons thanks to the immunities or other benefits they provide.

[ 09-06-2005, 02:39 AM: Message edited by: Cam_H ]

[krunchyfrogg]

Don't underestimate your "Turn Undead" ability. You'll probably be better at it than Aerie, and you should have a very easy time with many of the more difficult battles in the whole game.

[Rockstar]

i would never dual wield with a paladin... especially 2 swords (which i think is a bit goofy any way...). I'm always sword and shield or two handed sword

[Morgeruat]

There is also a bastard sword in Spellhold that is a low powered carsomyr, don't recall it's name offhand, but it's not bad and can be used with a shield.