Fighter/mage or Fighter/thief...which is the better "fit"?

Nerull · 11-01-2003, 12:38 AM

Ok, I am toying with the idea of playing an "all multiclass" party. The reason is because I always end up with either dual-classed or single classed characters, and other than one member of the party at a time I rarely use multiclassed characters. I figure I will go with a party of 4, to help speed up the xp a little bit (advancement will be slow enough as it is). The NPCs are easy: Jan, Jaheira, Aerie (the only 3 multiclassed NPCs in unmodded game). That gives 2 priests, 1 thief, 2 mage, and 1 fighter.

However, the big question comes in as far as which PC would best fit with this group. I'm pretty flexible in which class I would play, but I just seem to note a couple of things:

The party has only one fighter, so it might be best to play a warrior type for one of the classes.
Already have two priests, and adding a third would be overkill.

That narrows it down to 2 choices: fighter/thief and fighter/mage. My question is which one would be a better fit for the party. Adding a third mage may be overkill, but having him memorize mostly buffs would make him stronger in combat (and having a breach or two handy wouldn't hurt). I usually use mages as backups to my fighters in most games, so having a fighter/mage and using mage combat buffs on a regular basis would be new (and would help expand my knowledge of the spells).

Adding a second thief seems more rounded, but Jan can pretty much handle anything that you need a thief for (in the long run, at least). I've never been big on using backstabbing or stealth (usually go brute force with magic support, and the thief is usually an archer), but if that was my main guy's strength then I would adapt to its use (thus expanding my combat tactics beyond my normal "comfort zone"). In this system, Jan would handle the technical stuff (open locks, disarm traps, set traps), while I concentrate on stealth and backstabbing.

Either approach involves a bit of a shift in my tactics, but I am honestly torn as to which one to play. I could always do Fighter/Mage/Thief, but with 3 other party members I would have practically no advancement whatsoever (gets boring after a while IMHO).

I'm not really asking which one is best per se. I am just asking which one makes more sense, and which one just seems to "round out" the party better.

JrKASperov · 11-01-2003, 01:48 AM

1. take another warrior.
2. Jan is the best thief in the game, even if he is a multiclass, his items make him surpass even a Yoshimo. So actually, you don't NEED another thief, but it would be handy to use him mainly as scout/backstabber, an is not as good in that as any other thief, that's his only drawback. Fighter/mage seems like overkill to me indeed, cause Jaheira already is a fighter/self-buffing machine of destruction.

My advice: Fighter/thief, use him as flank attacker/backstabber/scout. Let Jaheira be the tank.

LennonCook · 11-01-2003, 04:55 AM

Do you have TOB? Any mods?

Faceman · 11-01-2003, 06:05 AM

nased on your exposee I'd suggest the Fighter/Thief
You gotta try backstabbing it's fantastic (love these high numbers

)
A Fighter/Mage is a nice combination but IMHO it's not nearly as good a multi-class as it is at dual-class.
Go for the Fighter/Thief you won't regret it [img]smile.gif[/img]

Leslie · 11-01-2003, 06:15 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Faceman:
nased on your exposee I'd suggest the Fighter/Thief
You gotta try backstabbing it's fantastic (love these high numbers )
A Fighter/Mage is a nice combination but IMHO it's not nearly as good a multi-class as it is at dual-class.
Go for the Fighter/Thief you won't regret it [img]smile.gif[/img]

I've said this before and here I go again: high level multiclass F/M eats high level dualclass F/M for breakfast.

But I agree that for SOA XP cap dualclass F/M is a better choice.

Userunfriendly · 11-01-2003, 07:46 AM

fighter mages are incredibly effective slaughter machines...

stoneskin, impr haste, breach... fighter mages are incredibly powerful...

however, cheese can be had with fighter thief....

due to a bug in implementation, you can get multiple assassinations(HLA) with fighter thief...

heck, go for a fighter thief mage if you can't decide...

mislead, impr haste, and mirror image in a spell trigger...

Nerull · 11-01-2003, 09:55 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by LennonCook:
Do you have TOB? Any mods?

Have ToB, Oversight mod (no real effect on this), some components of Ease of Use (no real cheesy ones), and Flirtpacks (will choose either Jaheira or Aerie to romance). Purposely playing closer to mod-free for this run.

Thus, I'll be running through the whole SoA/ToB, so looking at 8 million xp cap to work with. Thus, I am discussing more long term than just SoA. Sorry, forgot to spell that out...

Lord · 11-01-2003, 10:51 AM

Do a Fighter/Thief. I'd suggest having a Wizard---->Thief because that way, you'll have good magic resistance to start with, and when you get the thief HLA
SPOILER
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Use All Items. That way, you can be extremely powerful, as well as being able to get yourself 100% resistance (there was a discussion about how to get here using a wizard slayer to thief in the ToB forum, check it out if you want)

Nerull · 11-01-2003, 02:12 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Lord:
Do a Fighter/Thief. I'd suggest having a Wizard---->Thief because that way, you'll have good magic resistance to start with, and when you get the thief HLA
SPOILER
_
_
_
_
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Use All Items. That way, you can be extremely powerful, as well as being able to get yourself 100% resistance (there was a discussion about how to get here using a wizard slayer to thief in the ToB forum, check it out if you want)

Um...this is a multiclass only party. Can't do Wizard Slayer dualed to thief. Can do Fighter/Thief, though. Well, I could do Wizard Slayer/Thief, but only by abandoning my concept, or using SK. I plan to do neither. I may do a "dual-class only" party after that, with Anomen, Nalia and Imoen (probably be either ranger/cleric or berserker/druid with that one). However, for this run, only multiclassed characters.

I was looking at Fighter/Mage/Thief, and you are stuck at level 17 max for mage (i.e. no 9th level spells). Not an attractive option. Like I stated, if I chose to solo, that would probably be the best bet (since they can do pretty much everything themselves) but in a party of four that would not be that great.

It seems like more people are leaning towards Fighter/Thief. Yes, Jaheira can buff up and tank; is that the reason?

RoSs_bg2_rox · 11-01-2003, 04:04 PM

I'd probably say fighter/thief. I mean O.K you dont need two thieves but I'd say that you should try a different and new (for you) aspect of the game, it might give you some more enjoyment. If you choose F/M/T remember again you dont need 9th level spells if you have two other mages that will have them. Consider the 9th level spells as a luxury, you have to choose if you get the better deal (IMO) or if you get the luxury.

[ 11-01-2003, 04:07 PM: Message edited by: RoSs_bg2_rox ]

11-01-2003, 12:38 AM	#1
Nerull Lord Ao Join Date: May 17, 2001 Location: San Antonio, Texas, USA Age: 54 Posts: 2,069	Ok, I am toying with the idea of playing an "all multiclass" party. The reason is because I always end up with either dual-classed or single classed characters, and other than one member of the party at a time I rarely use multiclassed characters. I figure I will go with a party of 4, to help speed up the xp a little bit (advancement will be slow enough as it is). The NPCs are easy: Jan, Jaheira, Aerie (the only 3 multiclassed NPCs in unmodded game). That gives 2 priests, 1 thief, 2 mage, and 1 fighter. However, the big question comes in as far as which PC would best fit with this group. I'm pretty flexible in which class I would play, but I just seem to note a couple of things: The party has only one fighter, so it might be best to play a warrior type for one of the classes. Already have two priests, and adding a third would be overkill. That narrows it down to 2 choices: fighter/thief and fighter/mage. My question is which one would be a better fit for the party. Adding a third mage may be overkill, but having him memorize mostly buffs would make him stronger in combat (and having a breach or two handy wouldn't hurt). I usually use mages as backups to my fighters in most games, so having a fighter/mage and using mage combat buffs on a regular basis would be new (and would help expand my knowledge of the spells). Adding a second thief seems more rounded, but Jan can pretty much handle anything that you need a thief for (in the long run, at least). I've never been big on using backstabbing or stealth (usually go brute force with magic support, and the thief is usually an archer), but if that was my main guy's strength then I would adapt to its use (thus expanding my combat tactics beyond my normal "comfort zone"). In this system, Jan would handle the technical stuff (open locks, disarm traps, set traps), while I concentrate on stealth and backstabbing. Either approach involves a bit of a shift in my tactics, but I am honestly torn as to which one to play. I could always do Fighter/Mage/Thief, but with 3 other party members I would have practically no advancement whatsoever (gets boring after a while IMHO). I'm not really asking which one is best per se. I am just asking which one makes more sense, and which one just seems to "round out" the party better. __________________ [img]\"ubb/noncgi/smiles/new/ghoul.gif\" alt=\" - \" /><br /><br />\"The middle class pays all of the taxes, does all of the work.<br />The lower class exists just to scare the middle class.\"<br />-George Carlin

11-01-2003, 01:48 AM	#2
JrKASperov Fzoul Chembryl Join Date: July 16, 2003 Location: Wa\'eni\'n Age: 39 Posts: 1,701	1. take another warrior. 2. Jan is the best thief in the game, even if he is a multiclass, his items make him surpass even a Yoshimo. So actually, you don't NEED another thief, but it would be handy to use him mainly as scout/backstabber, an is not as good in that as any other thief, that's his only drawback. Fighter/mage seems like overkill to me indeed, cause Jaheira already is a fighter/self-buffing machine of destruction. My advice: Fighter/thief, use him as flank attacker/backstabber/scout. Let Jaheira be the tank. __________________ God is in the rain.

11-01-2003, 06:05 AM	#4
Faceman Hathor Join Date: February 18, 2002 Location: Vienna Age: 43 Posts: 2,248	nased on your exposee I'd suggest the Fighter/Thief You gotta try backstabbing it's fantastic (love these high numbers ) A Fighter/Mage is a nice combination but IMHO it's not nearly as good a multi-class as it is at dual-class. Go for the Fighter/Thief you won't regret it [img]smile.gif[/img] __________________ \"I am forever spellbound by the frailty of life\"<br /><br /> Faceman

11-01-2003, 07:46 AM	#6
Userunfriendly Elminster Join Date: October 11, 2003 Location: Sluggy Zone Age: 59 Posts: 487	fighter mages are incredibly effective slaughter machines... stoneskin, impr haste, breach... fighter mages are incredibly powerful... however, cheese can be had with fighter thief.... due to a bug in implementation, you can get multiple assassinations(HLA) with fighter thief... heck, go for a fighter thief mage if you can't decide... mislead, impr haste, and mirror image in a spell trigger... __________________ Jansens aren\'t as harmless like everybody supposes! <br />They got them stumpy legs and puffy potato noses! <br />And what\'s with all the turnips? <br />Why do they eat so much root vegetables, anyway? <br />Jansens, Jansens,<br />It must be Jansens!!!<br />(or griffins!)

11-01-2003, 10:51 AM	#8
Lord Ma'at - Goddess of Truth & Justice Join Date: June 3, 2003 Location: New York Age: 40 Posts: 3,302	Do a Fighter/Thief. I'd suggest having a Wizard---->Thief because that way, you'll have good magic resistance to start with, and when you get the thief HLA SPOILER _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Use All Items. That way, you can be extremely powerful, as well as being able to get yourself 100% resistance (there was a discussion about how to get here using a wizard slayer to thief in the ToB forum, check it out if you want) __________________ "You're a thief and a liar." "No, I only lied about being a thief."

11-01-2003, 04:55 AM	#3
LennonCook Jack Burton Join Date: November 10, 2001 Location: Bathurst & Orange, in constant flux Age: 38 Posts: 5,452	Do you have TOB? Any mods?

11-01-2003, 04:04 PM	#10
RoSs_bg2_rox Zartan Join Date: May 20, 2003 Location: Near Aberdeen, Scotland Age: 36 Posts: 5,225	I'd probably say fighter/thief. I mean O.K you dont need two thieves but I'd say that you should try a different and new (for you) aspect of the game, it might give you some more enjoyment. If you choose F/M/T remember again you dont need 9th level spells if you have two other mages that will have them. Consider the 9th level spells as a luxury, you have to choose if you get the better deal (IMO) or if you get the luxury. [ 11-01-2003, 04:07 PM: Message edited by: RoSs_bg2_rox ] __________________ [img]\"http://img.ranchoweb.com/images/ladyzekke/dragonwater2.gif\" alt=\" - \" />

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