Kensai/Thief!! WOW!

[Yggdrasil]

Oops. I forgot to mention: Yaga's Lairs were pretty tough.

I basically ran away from everyone. Hide in shadows, loot and run. Repeat.

[Eldoran]

quote:

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Originally posted by Yggdrasil:
Oops. I forgot to mention: Yaga's Lairs were pretty tough.

I basically ran away from everyone. Hide in shadows, loot and run. Repeat.

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Thats what I ended up doing with my Monk... Except for the last area.

[toriuxik]

I love the kensai-thief dualed at a high level... of course, it reeks of cheese, but who cares!

[SixOfSpades]

Personally, I think it's a little cheesy of BioWare to give the Kensai such severe restrictions. Instead of imposing a complete ban on armor & missile weapons, the Kensai would have been much more rounded if his THAC0/Kai strengths couldn't apply to ranged weapons, and he can't wear anything heavier than Studded Leather. That way, people might actually consider making a Kensai....and KEEPING him a Kensai. Kind of like the opposite of an Archer--his strength is with melee skills instead of a Bow.

In light of this, the Use Any Item seems less chessy to me....especially since, after getting so much experience hanging around tough warriors and getting into fights, a Kensai->Thief learning how to use a bow and wear armor effectively is not much of a surprise. (When you choose the Kensai kit, do you lose the weapon points you put into things like Bow?)

Really, of these two, which is cheesier: A Kensai->Thief using the Use Any Item to wear armor, or a straight Fighter->Thief using the Use Any Item to cast spells from scrolls?

(Apart from the weirdness of an Archer with a Sling, is there anything inherently wrong with an Archer->Cleric?)

[Eldoran]

quote:

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Originally posted by SixOfSpades:
Personally, I think it's a little cheesy of BioWare to give the Kensai such severe restrictions. Instead of imposing a complete ban on armor & missile weapons, the Kensai would have been much more rounded if his THAC0/Kai strengths couldn't apply to ranged weapons, and he can't wear anything heavier than Studded Leather. That way, people might actually consider making a Kensai....and KEEPING him a Kensai. Kind of like the opposite of an Archer--his strength is with melee skills instead of a Bow.

Well, I do not mind the restrictions on Kensai... They are powerful, and fun to play in their own respect, but what I wish they had done to make them more interesting is create perhaps a Gi, or a similiar type armor Monks and Kensai could wear. It wouldn't have to be anything really powerful, but perhaps some resistances, or a little AC would have been nice. I found playing a straight Kensai rather interesting when I was toying around with it. Its really just a matter of manuvering, and getting monsters to stick to other targets, since your weakness is melee combat, not magic.

In light of this, the Use Any Item seems less chessy to me....especially since, after getting so much experience hanging around tough warriors and getting into fights, a Kensai->Thief learning how to use a bow and wear armor effectively is not much of a surprise. (When you choose the Kensai kit, do you lose the weapon points you put into things like Bow?)

Well, a Kensai wearing armor kinda invalidates what they are... unencumbered weapon masters. They are supposed to be unsurpassed experts with their chosen weapon, forsaking armor in favor of mobility. Their attacks are quick and deadly, weaving a dance of death with a blade (or whatever...) [img]smile.gif[/img]

Really, of these two, which is cheesier: A Kensai->Thief using the Use Any Item to wear armor, or a straight Fighter->Thief using the Use Any Item to cast spells from scrolls?

Cheese is in the eye of the beholder. I suppose if you want to get down to it, the Use Any Item skill was really for thieves to use scrolls, wands, and other odds and ends... Not to get around a class restriction. So the Kensai wearing armor.

(Apart from the weirdness of an Archer with a Sling, is there anything inherently wrong with an Archer->Cleric?)

Aside from Archers not being able to place more than umm 2 point in slings, and sacrificing plate and other weapon specializations? Nah. Would be interesting... The called shot ability works, but I don't know if the speed and damage modifiers do...

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[SixOfSpades]

quote:

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Originally posted by Eldoran:
Well, I do not mind the restrictions on Kensai... but what I wish they had done to make them more interesting is create perhaps a Gi, or a similiar type armor Monks and Kensai could wear. It wouldn't have to be anything really powerful, but perhaps some resistances, or a little AC would have been nice. A Kensai wearing armor kinda invalidates what they are... unencumbered weapon masters. They are supposed to be unsurpassed experts with their chosen weapon, forsaking armor in favor of mobility.

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I quite agree with the Gi thing.....the existing Mage Robes should do just fine, don't you think? Resistances, a little AC. Alternatively, they should have given Kensai a level-based AC bonus, like the Swashbuckler's, and made the Use Any Item a LOT less cheesy by letting only Bards get it, not Thieves. The Kensai sounds like a decent, if cowardly, class to play in a a party: Let the Tank go in first and get the bad guys' attention, then run up, turn on Kai, and start whacking--but be prepared to run if someone turns around and tries to whack YOU. It doesn't sound fun to me, though--part of the appeal of playing a Fighter is being able to actually FIGHT. Backstabbing is for Thieves.

(When you choose the Kensai kit, do you lose the weapon points you put into things like Bow?)

Too bad Archers are only good with Bows (of course, that's why they're called Archers. An Archer/Cleric would be interesting.

[toriuxik]

lol, in SoA, I am having my Swashbuckler tank for my kensai in a 2 man party... lol, thieves should NEVER have to be the tank! lol