Help me choose a class for my first time solo game with tactics!

[Crynus]

Hello! After lurking for a while I finally got around to joining Ironworks. [img]smile.gif[/img]

After years of playing the BG series, I got bored and put the game on the shelf. Steamrolling through the game when you reach that certain point in power got old.
But recently I got the urge to play back, and started looking around on the various messageboards, and a whole new dimension of BG opened up to me. The world of modding.

So I downloaded and installed Tactics and Ascension and a few other mods, and after spending hours devicing a working strategy against Ilyich and his goons, and finally getting the satisfaction of nailing that bugger, what can I say, I'm in love. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Then I stumbled upon Rataxes' great story of his cleric Thomas which increased my urge to play (thank you Rataxes ^^), and gave me the inspiration to play solo for the first time ever.

So here I am all set up and ready to play, but I have no idea which class to play . I prefer melee as the primary way of dispatching foes, so it's gonna be some warrior template, but other than that I'm really out of ideas.

This is where you seasoned BG veterans and tacticians come in! Please help me select a class that is fun to play all the way through the Baldurs Gate Series with Tactics, Ascension and insane difficulty.

Thanks in advance! [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Sir Goulum]

Hello and welcome to Ironworks! [img]smile.gif[/img]

How about a Kensai/Mage? You get the fighting abilities of a Kensai, but don't have to worry about the no-armour of mages, since kensai's can't wear any anyways.

[Hivetyrant]

I had alot of fun playing through the series with a Mage/thief and I almost finished BG Through to TOB with a wild Mage which was lots of fun (though quite hard at the beginning)

[K2Grey]

Try Thief/Mage. Alot of Tactics stuff can be bypassed with invisibilty.

[Keldin]

Hello, Crynus. I've also been rejuvinated by the Tactics mod. IMHO the combined tactics of a mage, priest and melee is what makes this mod so much fun. I've almost completed tactics with a party of six but found it overkill for most encounters and have started a few other parties in the meantime. I find a party of 3 to be a perfect blend of tactics, challenge and fun. Here's what I recommend:

Good aligned:
PC (A Ranger dueled to Cleric). This gives you ironskins, regen, chaotic commands, fire/cold resists, true sight, NPP, insects and good melee. Probably one of the more obscenely overpowered characters but oh so much fun.
Mage: Nalia->Imoen or if you want romance go with Aerie. Defintely need breach, pierce magic, lower resist, slow and haste, greater malison, sequencer.
Melee: Keldorn. Once you get him a strength belt and the gaunts of dex and Carsomyr he's nasty, His 2x dispel is soooo nice in Tactics. Although I should note I've seen a lot more mages casting immunity:abjuration which means dispel and remove magic won't work on them.

Evil aligned:
PC: Either zerker or barbarian or F/T depending on your style of play.
Cleric: Viconia. Great voice and banter. Not good melee but at least most spells will bounce off her with that 65% innate MR. Plus you get romance [img]smile.gif[/img]
Mage: Edwin. So good it's almost criminal.
If you go zerker or barbarian you lack trap disarm/setting skills in the party so could always just go with a party of 4 which is one of my all time evil party favorites: F/T, Viconia, Edwin and Korgan. That covers all the territory you need and 4 people is still managable.

A question for you guys soloing tactics: How in the hell are you doing it? Especially Bodhi in chapter 6 and the final Irenicus battle? I can see if maybe you used an XP cap remover but I've never been tempted to do that.

[Crynus]

Originally posted by Sir Goulum: Hello and welcome to Ironworks! [img]smile.gif[/img] How about a Kensai/Mage? You get the fighting abilities of a Kensai, but don't have to worry about the no-armour of mages, since kensai's can't wear any anyways.

Thank you [img]smile.gif[/img]

As for for the Kensai->Mage, kits are unfortunately unavailable to me as I'm starting in BG1; and even if I were to just take a generic warrior all the way through BG1, I highly doubt I'd be able to beat Ilyich and mates using a plain kensai...

Maybe I'll make a multiclass Fighter/Mage SK'ed into a human for roleplaying reasons (and because elves are so ugly in BG2 ), but then I'll lack thieving... ARGH!!

The "obvious" choice would probably be a Fighter/Thief/Mage, but they gain abilities so slowly. I'd prefer an X/X multiclass. How important do you people deem thieving abilities and UAI?
I prefer toe to toe combat over everything else.

Just tried playing around a bit with a Fighter/Thief. Beating Ilyich and goons on Insane was relatively easy once I figured out the strategy, but this class sure is item dependant if he's gonna hack it when stealth isn't possible :/.

Keldin thanks for the suggestions, but it's gonna be solo this time. Every game I've ever played before this one has been with a party, so I'm a bit tired of it and wanna try something new [img]smile.gif[/img] .

K2Grey and Hivetyrant, how do you play a Mage/Thief? Mislead/Project Image + backstab supplied with spellcasting?

Edit: ze grammar of doom.

[ 04-12-2005, 06:50 PM: Message edited by: Crynus ]

[K2Grey]

Mage/Thief: Actually, as a weaker mage, since I've never actually done it, heh [img]smile.gif[/img] Actually, Haste + hit and run backstabs. BTW Proj Image doesn't help with backstabs. Only problem is your thac0 kinda sucks so you should use 2 strength spells to get 18/00 STR and get Usuno's Blade or Mask or some other +4 backstabbing weapon early. Also you can lay traps, backstab a guy, and the run away towards the traps and lure them onto the traps, which is like the one time where you can use traps without feeling really cheesy.

Now, how to beat Bodhi and Irenicus. With Bodhi, you use Protection from Cold, the potion which gives perfect saving throws, and Protection from Magical Energy or 2 of the potion that gives magic resistance. That protects you against most of her stuff, except Cloud of Bats and her melee attacks. With a fighter I guess you just have to equip something that gives lvl drain resistance and beat on her harder than she beats on you. With mage thief, cast Protection from Magical Weapons, kill her with spells, maybe prepare a few Spike Traps beforehand so she falls on them and dies. Or summon a Planetar and have it cast Fire Storms around the corner (but don't let it see an enemy! then it will rush into the FS and go hostile).

With Irenicus, I've only done it with a sorcerer involving much abuse of endless spell strategies, time stop, and energy blades. With the first part, you cast PfMW, run into the left corridor, kill Greed with a chain contingencied 3x ADHW, kill Wrath with time stop and energy blades. Then you use Time Stop to kill Irenicus and the Orb, and finally a projected image bombards the dragon. Slayer Iren is fairly easily handled either by a Time Stop attack or by preparing some summons before killing Pride and running behind them. Time Stop and Energy Blades also handles the last one.

[Keldin]

Interesting. Would be neat if people could make a video of their Tactics battle with Bodhi and Irenicus.

It took me a full party to take down Bodhi chapter 6. The good news is she can be single pulled into the hallway the bad news is she has a lot of HP, high MR and hardly ever misses and she does a complete heal so you have to basically kill her twice. Yes her cold shield damage can be negated with resists and PME negates her Touch of Death but I still needed cleric regen plus heals and lots of potions to counter her melee. I was 15 cavalier with Carsomyr, Korgan at 16, Sir Anomen at 17/7, Jaheria 12/13, Edwin and Nalia both at 15. Even with a few juicy crits from Carsomyr it took be over 60 seconds to kill her with four melee with Improved Haste on them pounding on her. Edwin and Nalia both casted lower resist 2x and landed slow after her complete heal which helped a lot.

[Leslie]

I see two options for you: Fighter/Mage or Cleric/Ranger. Both can do very well solo and I think F/M becomes really badass when he starts using Time Stop + hack&slash tactic.

Most traps can be survived...

[Rataxes]

I suggest a class who is at least part thief, as it not only helps alot throughout the entire game, but is a must if you want to clear out (as opposed to just escape) the starting dungeon without ripping your hair off in the process. The two classes that combine hack'n'slash combat with thievery best are Fighter/Thieves and Swashbucklers, I prefer the latter for the insane AC and attack bonuses, but they're both about equal in power. If you have the Rouge Rebalancing mod installed (recommend it!) then multiclassed Mage/Thieves can do melee combat as well as anyone (dual-wielding two swords with +1 ApR together with GoES and Imp Haste to top it off = 9 attacks per round, you don't even have to throw in Tensers to become a proper meat blender), aside from all the other nifty things Mage/Thieves can do. Cleric/Thieves are interesting as well, especially with the Rouge mod which will make them good dual-wielders, want to play through with one myself sometime.

[ 04-13-2005, 03:12 PM: Message edited by: Rataxes ]