How should I spend my *s?

[Jon Irenicus]

OK, so I got a L11 kensai right now, with 3* in dual wield, 3* katana, 1* scimitar. Coz I dun have TOB, I can only get 10* max for my Kensai. And during my game, I've decided to take the MOD+2 with me for some reasons...but I'm planning to use mostly katanas+Scimitars/W something/ninja-to. So how do u ppl think I should spend my *s? 5* katana, 1 scimitar, 1 mace? Or 4* katana, 2* scimitar, 1* mace? OR 3* Katana, 3* scimitar, 1 mace? Or 3*Katana, 2* scimitar, 2 mace? Any suggestions? Can u ppl all give me ur opinions on this? THX

[Raistlin Majere]

well, since youll be mostly using katanas/scimitars, i recon smartest would be to have k3/s3/m1, but ill bet my left hand that youll be only using belm on your off hand for the extra APR(or drizzt's defender for AC) and something like celestial fury on your main hand, thus it might be smart to have k4/s2/m1. its your call though...also, if you want yet an extra ½APR, you should have k5/s1/m1(though youll have to install a grandmastery fix patch)

[Alson]

Question: Do you have the Grand Mastery patch?

[Klutz]

If you have unmodded SOA:

3*2-weapon style, 3*Katana, 2*Scimitar, 2*Mace
The 4th and 5th proficiencies in Katana only add +1 dmg and -1 speed factor (and your speed factor is already rock bottom anyway as a Kensai using Katanas.) Therefore specializing in Mace and Scimitar, giving both +1 to hit, +2 damage, and when in your main hand +1/2 APR, is the best bet. That lets you get 7/2 attacks with any combination of the 3 weapons.

If you have the Grandmastery "patch":

3*2-weapon style, 5*Katana, 1*Scimitar, 1*Mace
If I'm not mistaken, the Grandmastery "patch" grants a full +1 APR when you reach 5*... which makes it well worth saving up for. As long as you never use the Scimitar as your primary weapon, you'll more than make up for the slight THACO/dmg loss in your off hand by the +1 APR with your primary hand. For the few fights where you want to use the MOD+2, having the one proficiency in it will at least allow you to get your Fighter extra attacks with it, so you'll still be attacking 2 times with it in a round.

*SPOILER* (specific weapon you didn't mention)
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It's already been mentioned in this thread anyway, but Belm is a +2 Scimitar that provides an extra attack per round... and if used as your secondary weapon it grants that extra attack to your primary weapon. So if you plan to acquire and use Belm, add +1 to the attacks per round figures I cited above, even for the MOD+2.

[Jon Irenicus]

Thx for the help guys, anyway, does anyone know how much Wisdom a troll have? Coz, there is this weapon I bought from the bonus merchant a W something +3, it can drain Wisdom.... Since I dun have any fire or acid weapons, I was think of a way to get past those trolls... If I can drain trolls wisdom then that would be great . BTW, I dun have the Grand mastery Patch. What does it do anyway?

[andrewas]

The grandmastery patch fixes BG2 so that grandmastery gives the correct bonuses according to AD&D 2nd edition rules - the standard BG2 tables are substantialy less powerful. True purists say its cheating, the rest of us say its OK.

Anyway, onto Kachiko's Wakizashi +3. The problem is its WIS drain only lasts a 2 rounds, so most important creatures wont be insta-killable with it until your APR rises substantialy. However, WIS is not an important characteristic for most classes, so it might prove more powerful that I think. Trolls (all subspecies) have a WIS of 9, but Torgal himself has a WIS of 5. (Yeah, the boss it less wise than the followers. go figure).

I assume WIS=0 causes death, Ive never seen it tested. Should be.

[Jon Irenicus]

Again, thx for the help. hehe, killing trolls with Wis drain... sweet

[Silversten]

anything 0 means death. if you get negative char through ring of human influence then u get 25 i dunno if this works with gloves of dex or str or any other attributes.

[SixOfSpades]

I should warn you, however, that "Death through Stat Drain" = 0 EXP for the kill. Yep. But since you're soloing, EXP shouldn't be a problem for you anyway.

About your Mace proficiencies: If you're planning to use the MoD+2 for mostly defensive reasons (and which of us doesn't, really), then I personally would not put ANY proficiency points into Mace. A Warrior using a weapon with with which he has no proficiency points takes a +2 penalty to his THAC0.....but since you're a Kensai, what the hell do you care? Just slap the thing in your offhand and go to town.