1st Time Solo Advice

[theGrimm]

Hi, all.

I've played through BGII precisely once (but I've played halfway through many times), and have been thinking of taking a (mostly) Solo character through the game, occasionally picking up NPCs when (if) the storyline requires, e.g. Valygar.

Anyway, I digress. Having never solo'ed before, I'd like some advice on which races / classes are the easiest to solo...I'm open-minded, but I don't want to commit to something too difficult for my first attempt.

One other question...how do I get chars out of my party in single player mode, in a "nice" way.

Thanks,
theGrimm

[Raistlin Majere]

Well, most people agree that the Sorcerer is the easiest class to solo, though this would require that you know the spell system throughly...and hes not that easy in the beginning. The druid and cleric are also rather easily doable, since they get good summons pretty early(elemental, aerial servant, nymph, etc) and power spells(firestorm, implosion(ToB), gate, etc.) aswell. The thief requires a bit of patiance, and alot of hit&run tactics, but its loads of fun. Swashbuckler would be my recommendation, were you to choose a thief. But the best class IMO to start soloing with, especially if you're not that familiar with the spell system, would be the Ranger Archer. This guy with the Tuigan Bow will get you past most enemies in a breeze, especially so when you get the boots of speed.

To answer the other question, youd really have to define "nice". I usually just kick'em out, which is done by going to the character screen and clickin "Reform Party". If you dont wanna hear them blabber about letting them go, kill them and then reform party . Dont expect to get them back though...after that, theyre gone forever.

hope that helped

ADD] My my, where are my manners.
[img]graemlins/thewave.gif[/img] WELCOME TO IRONWORKS, theGRIMM [img]graemlins/thewave.gif[/img]

[ 02-03-2004, 02:25 AM: Message edited by: Raistlin Majere ]

[Dundee Slaytern]

If you prefer melee. Cavalier.

[Illumina Drathiran'ar]

There's usually a reasonably polite way to get people out. What I do on occasion is allow people (Jahiera, for example) into my party and immediately kick them out. Nicer than telling them they're not allowed in at all.

[wally p]

I would say that some part thief is pretty nice for a first time through since traps are everywhere, and it can be pretty frustrating to keep dying or taking terrific damage if you haven't, in some way, memorized where they are and what they do. either that, or the tedium of self-buffing all the time.

Cleric/Thief, Fighter/Thief, Mage/Thief multiclasses are all quite nice (esp if you have ToB), but others probably will know more about this than I.

a swashie, as mentioned, will become quite adept in melee, more tankilicious than many.

enjoy your soloing!

[Xzirox]

[img]graemlins/thewave.gif[/img] Welcome to IW theGrimm! [img]graemlins/cheers.gif[/img]

[theGrimm]

There's obviously a lot more to this game than I realized...

I tried with a mage thief...but it took me five minutes to kill the first mephit, and we won't talk about the ogre mage, now, will we? No, I think not.

Fighter / Mage / Thief is working better, although the flesh golems pound me to goo (splatter - ultra chunky). Flexibility is nice except I'm not good enough at anything to do anything

[shamrock_uk]

get used to running round in large circles with a ranged weapon until you gain a couple of levels

[Xen]

Originally posted by theGrimm: There's obviously a lot more to this game than I realized... I tried with a mage thief...but it took me five minutes to kill the first mephit, and we won't talk about the ogre mage, now, will we? No, I think not. Fighter / Mage / Thief is working better, although the flesh golems pound me to goo (splatter - ultra chunky). Flexibility is nice except I'm not good enough at anything to do anything

I suggest F/M or C/R. Both very stong classes that can protect themselves.

[Dundee Slaytern]

This is why I emphasise again and again, that soloing is NOT easy.

Fee you say. So many people have done it you say. People have done it with one hand tied behind their back, on Insane Difficulty, with extreme Mods, bad breath and lousy food you say.

Those people are experienced. Veterans. Players that have achieved a certain level of Zen with the game.

How many of you drive a car? What do you think the survival chances of a person (who is clueless about driving) is, if that person is required to drive along a winding coastal cliff road on a rainy day? Oops, stepped on the accelerator. Goodbye to that person. Hello fatality.

There are no hard rules on what qualifies you to be able to solo the game, but the following generally hold true.

1) SOLOING IS NOT THE SAME AS PARTYING.

Do not expect most standard party tactics to work when you are soloing, because guess what? You don't have a party.

2) BE PREPARED TO RETREAT.

Nobody is going to resurrect your sorry carcass. Run away to live another day, and be able to continue to play. You are almost always going to be outnumbered. Tough. Deal with it.

3) KNOW THY GAME.

It really sucks to successfully lay down the law on a dozen opponents only to trip and die to a trap. It happens to the best of us, but your soloing experience will improve tremendously if you know what to expect.

Opponent immunities, the weapons they use, the type of damage they deal, the school of magic they use, whether their spells can run out, their weak points, etc... ...

4) KNOW THYSELF

00FFFF">Ultimately, only YOU can know what class to solo with, because your play style will vary from others. Virtually all classes have been soloed from SoA-ToB. So in the end, if the attempt fail...

... it is not because of the class.

I can't solo with a plain Fighter. Not because the plain Fighter sucks. I suck with a plain Fighter. Others have successfully soloed with a plain Fighter.