What are the best proficiencies to take?

[krunchyfrogg]

Wow, thanks a lot everyboody! Keep it coming!


BTW, I think I'll have a hard time keeping my fighter away from hammers, axes and crossbows. Hopefully there are some good versions of those (although I can see him going for greatswords).

[Lord Brass]

Don't worry kruncyfrogg, IWD is not like vanilla BG/BG2. There are pleny of good weapons for each and every category really. You may have to wait for one or two, and some are random drops, but for the most part, all tastes are catered to.

I've always regarded BG/BG2 as IWD's poorer cousin in this aspect, which really makes a change as most gamers consider the reverse to be true in general.

[ister]

Yeah there are good weapons in all categories. Especially as you have only one character who will be going to 5 stars you can adapt to what you find very easily.

I'd still stay clear of clubs though [img]smile.gif[/img]

edit: and re-reading your post KF, I would say that axes and hammers are a perfectly good choice for your fighter. The only reason not to give him axes is if your giving them to someone else. However, for me, the paladin makes the superior tank, and the axe is the best tank weapon (simply because you can throw them and wear a shield). If you give the fighter axes be sure to give the paladin bows.

And you're really better off stacking points on your fighter rather than splitting them between 3 proficiencies like crossbows, hammers and axes.

[ 09-16-2005, 08:58 AM: Message edited by: ister ]

[Lord Brass]

All of which is good advice Ister.

There should be plenty of weapons to go around, if you want to double up for characters, but consider the timing of the proficiency allocation. Paladins can only get two stars per type, so you can add weapons later and receive the full benefit before the end of the game.

With fighters you often have to plan GM in a weapon. Particularly if you're going to dual-class them as weapon proficiencies work properly in IWD.

[krunchyfrogg]

Well, since you say there is a throwing axe, I will eventually give the axe proficiency to my paladin, as switching between a shield and longbow is a real pain in the rear.

I've decided to go with a two handed axe for my dwarf, since the whole shield and switch thing stinks for his crossbow as well.

In the first city I got to after completing the prologue, I found a pretty cool axe and crossbow for sale. If I don't find anything better, I'll probably buy those for him.

I'll have to settle with my Bard being the longbowman (he has a 16 strength, IIRC), and just firing arrows when he's not singing. I usually have him sing inbetween combats, and start firing arrows when combat begins. My party still gets the song bonuses for the first round.

BTW, what makes you say that the paladin is a better tank than the dwarf, Ister? When I get that axe for sale, it will raise his constitution to 20, and he will be regenerating!

[ister]

I'd use the paladin as the tank because of the spells - once he picks up a few more levels he can self-buff. Plus the immunity to fear saves a lot of grief. Even at lower levels the fact that he can lay on hands on himself is a bonus.

At lower levels there is a pretty good case for making a dwarf fighter the tank (the case you're making [img]smile.gif[/img] ). Saves are a little better, and until he gets up in levels the paladin doesn't have all the advantages. And now that you've made it to Kuldahar you can see why a gnome fighter might make a better tank than a dwarf (check the items at the smithy). And yes the axe you mention is a great weapon. Quite pricey, but very good.

[NobleNick]

Pure Druids cant use longswords. [/QB]

Neither can MC or DC Druids. Both the longsword and the scimitar use the largesword proficiency. Druids of any kind can place a point (or more if MC/DC) in Largesword, but are restricted to scimitar only.

I noticed that some of the suggestions are giving short shift to ranged weapons, which are an excellent option in IWD: almost mandatory I would say.

"Balance" is the key word that i saw mentioned. You want your team to cover slashing, piercing and crushing damage. You want each team member to also have variety; but (my philosopy) don't sacrifice an individual's power to get individual variety: Let the team provide the variety. When an individual hits, you want the enemy to hurt.

If you only have one Fighter, let him go deep in a weapon. This team has plenty of characters that can be half-___ed with several weapons.

And I agree with the comment that what your Bard carries as a weapon is immaterial (at least it is after she hits CLVL 11 and gets War Chant).

Crushing weapons are a staple in this game. Maces are the king of crushing weapons; and there are lots of excellent ones to be had. I bought The Giving Star early in the IWD game, and still find use for it in TotLM.

Don't let your Paladin leave IWD for HoW until he has found THE longsword. If he equips one and you are wondering if it is the one, keep looking: When you find it there will be no doubt.

I stole ister's fine suggestion list as a starting point:

1.) human paladin 2 largesword, 2 bow (will add 2 maces by lvl 6, 2 hammers by lvl 12)

2.) dwarf ftr/clr 2 maces, 2 missile (will add 2 hammers by lvl 6)

3.) dwarf fighter 2 great sword, 2 bow (G.sword & bow to 3, then G.sword to 5)
-OR-
3.) dwarf fighter 2 axe, 2 mace (Axe & Mace to 3, then Axe to 5) Axe includes thrown axe, which is your ranged weapon.

4.) human druid 1 largesword (for for scimitar & flame blade), 1 missile

5.) human bard 1 crossbow, 1 largesword

6.) gnome illusionist/thief 1 bow, 1 dagger

If you are taking this party into HoW/TotLM, then I would suggest modifying characters 2 and 3 as follows...

2.) DC Fighter[12-13]/Neutral_Cleric: 2 maces; 2 missile (Maces & Missile to 3, then Maces to 5. Add Hammers and Flails after DC)

3.) DC Good_Cleric[12-13]/Fighter: 1 Flail, 1 hammer (Mace & missile to 3, then Mace to 5 after DC)
-OR-
3.) DC Good_Cleric[12-13]/Ranger: 1 hammer, 1 club (Mace & Missile to 2, then Flail to 2, after DC).

Hope you found this interesting.

--------------------
What's a party,
without a song?
Bards ROCK!
Party On!!


[ 09-17-2005, 02:01 PM: Message edited by: NobleNick ]

[krunchyfrogg]

Wow, thanks a lot!

[krunchyfrogg]

Ya know, I can't help but think that I would have been better off dual classing that druid from fighter.

If I restart, what's a good level to dual class at?

I have up to TotLM, so I think I should be able to get plenty of experience, but I'd also like my spells and druid powers at a reasonable time.

I'll try to roll up a human fighter to dual later on into druid. I know it would be a nightmare to get the optimal fighter stats and then dual into a druid, so I won't obsess over them. I'll just make sure to have a 15 str and 17 in wis and chr.

[ister]

Good levels to dual F-D

Level 2: to do it as soon as possible, and enjoy druid spells all the way through

Level 3: to get 3 PPs in missile weapons, which will be the primary for this weakish character

Level 7: to get the extra 1/2 attack - very valuable as you can use it when shapeshifted

Level 9: to get to GM in one melee weapon.

Level 13: to get another 1/2 attack

I think it's a matter of playing style which is better. How do you want to use the character? If the character will primarily be a spell caster 2 or 3 are ideal. If you really want a character to mix it up you need to get to at least 9. If you're on the fence maybe 7 is good. The cost of dualling later is simply that you spend more of the game without a druid.

[ 09-19-2005, 09:43 AM: Message edited by: ister ]