Best duo?

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Hi everyone! First post here, woohoo!

I've had BGII/ToB for a while now and I'm lookin' for some different ways to play. I had no idea this place existed and just recently stumbled on the site. GREAT site and great forums too! Thanks to everyone involved.

Anyway, I've been thinking of playing through BGII/ToB with a duo. I tried a search but found nothing whatsoever on duos. I want to try this, as opposed to soloing or a full party, for a couple reasons. First and foremost, I want to be able to use more of the groovin' items I get to loot along the way. I also like the way characters can play off of (and feed off of) eachother's abilities during battle, but I find micromanaging a full party really slows the game down too much for me.

So I'm looking for ideas on the "best" duo with which to run through the game. By "best" I mean whatever you would interpret it to mean. "Best" could be easiest, and I am looking for thoughts on this. It could also mean the two classes which together provide the most versatility. Whatever your thoughs are, I'd like to hear 'em. A few requirements I do have for my eventual pick, however:

1) I'm not a huge fan of magic. I find magic in BGII to be kind of frustrating when it doesn't work, and kind of easy once figured out. If it works for you, great. I just don't like it much. I particularly don't like buffing. I find it unbelievably tedious to have to buff before every fight, or even after every rest. I don't mind a little "flavor" magic (even buffing) once in a while for specific enemies or situations, but overall, the less magic required the better.

2) I like Inquisitors. They're my favorite solo class. I won't say one half of the duo has to be an Inquisitor, but the reasons for not picking this class would have to be pretty strong for me to go with something else.

Anyway, thanks for reading my thread and thanks for this site and these boards. They've really opened my eyes to the possibilities inherent in this great game.

 

Welcome to the fora, Sunwolf

An Inquisitor would definately be a good choice of you're not into magic... You will need something along the way to dispel enemy mages protections, and since you yourself don't like buffing, a dispel magic won't hurt you

What about a thief as your second pick? You could go for a dualed, or multi-classed thief. For dual a kensai/thief, or Berserker/thief are exellent choices.
Another pick could be a Fighter/Mage/thief for a little magic, but nothing in the scale of a true class mage...
I say thief, because you will need to have someone capable of disarming traps and open lock's as you go on... Personally I hate when soloing a something/mage or true mage class, as you will quickly find yourself lacking of knock spells. That's why I either prefer the F/M/T or a sorcerers for more knock spells... Well, guess I went a wee here

A cleric thief might also be a good choice, for a larger stock of healing spells, plus the thievering skills...

My main reason for not recommending a pure thief class (well, with the exeption of the swashbuckler) they're too missile based, and if going with two, it would be nicer to have a partner that'd be able to take some of the melee burden... Though a bounty hunter would do, if you like über trap setting

Again, welcome onboard, Arrrr!

 

Character #1
Race: Human
Gender: Who Cares
Class: Thief - Level 10 Dual to a Mage
Abilities
Str 17 if you can get it this high
Dex 18
Con 16
Int 18
Wis 3+
Cha 18

Character#2
Race: 1/2 Elf
Gender: Who cares
Class: Cleric/Ranger
Str 18/++
Dex 18
Con 18
Int 3+
Wis 18
Cha 3+

If you use these two characters you will have the abilites of all three classes to some extent. If you go as a pure thief and you are using your thieving skills mainly for disarming traps and opening locks and not backstabbing I would select the swashbuckler kit to enhance the thief abilities in melee.

 

My recommendations would be a cleric and a thief. Why? I like not dying, not using up all my healing potions and not triggering traps. Personally, I'd go with a human fighter dualled to cleric asap and an elf M/T. Max out the stats and poach from Charisma - since there's a special ring.

Since you like Inquisitors, you might try the C/T multiclass (you have to be a gnome or halforc) for the healing and thieving skills.

 

Wow, thanks everyone! I'm leaning towards an inquisitor and cleric/thief multi combo, but I'm also kicking around the idea of a shapeshifter/thief multi or dual(is this possible?) with the shapeshifter adjustment in the "ease of use" mod for the second toon. Any thoughts on this?

If a shapeshifter/thief multi or dual is possible, any thoughts on skills/weapons for him and whether to multi or dual? If dual, any thoughts on level split?

Thanks again!

 

It's not possible, unless you use shadowkeeper to change the first class to shapeshifter (even then i dunno whether you've got to do some micro management with SK on each lvl up, to get the full benefit of each shapeshifter class - i.e. I never do such things ).

Between the two of us, I dislike druids quite alot, and thinks a cleric/thief would be much to prefer!

 

Greetings Sunwolf Enemy!

I'll assume you're taking an Inquisitor as your PC. The way I see it, this leaves you with a couple of options for that coveted #2 slot: </font>

1. Mage/Thief - Can be either a multiclass or dual (I'd prefer dual, but it's up to you - as a magic-hater you may prefer multi). Note that this means you could survive off of one of the BioWare NPCs, as both Jan and Imoen have all the thieving you really need (in Imoen's case, you may have to download a patch to correct her deficit of thieving abilities, or just edit her .cre files with ShadowKeeper). Nalia is lacking in thief skills, but if you're willing to stockpile potions will get you through in a pinch. If you intend taking Immy long term, either Jan or Yoshi are probably the best stop-gaps until Spellhold.
2. Cleric/Thief - Same idea, but with divine magic. Has to be multiplayer created, and either a Half-Orc or a gnome. Personally, I'd choose gnome for the improved saving throws and thieving skills, because the STR deficit is really irrelevant in a game with this many items that set STR to a high value. Dual-wielding FoA & Crom Faeyr (with Blackblood on switch for backsmacking) base STR is irrelevant. As you're not a magic fan, I'm guessing you won't be crying over the lost 4th level spell slot from the WIS penalty too much, either. Also, note that 18 CON should net you a further save bonus with the gnome over what you get at 16 CON. The Half-Orc doesn't get this at all, so there's no point to being able to get to 19 CON for this character.

Another argument would be the FMT (heh, I had to get a mention in for these!). Has the advantage of being much better in combat sans buffs than the M/T, without losing too much on magic and thieving skills. Also an excellent backstabber, but might be too much of a micro-management character for your tastes. Basically played like a souped-up thief with spells, you'll usually initiate combat with a backstab before either hitting Mirror Image and helping tank, or Invisible to backstab again. You don't need too many buffs, but the option is always there if you need it. They're great fun to play, and experimenting with spells can yield some promising results. If you like traps you can go down that route, but it's not neccesary (if you find it too much micromanagement or too cheesy) as (s)he'll still be effective.

Personally, I'd definitely recommend a thief derivative character for the 2nd slot. But then my love of accruing shiny ones makes it difficult for me to ever stomach playing without one. You may not be of such a kleptomaniac disposition, so may prefer the C/R for comprehensive Divine back-up. Just remember to stock up on a few "Detect Trap" spells!

Ultimately, go with what sounds most fun. But I'll re-iterate the convenience of on-tap thieving skills, and the godliness of FMTs. They were built for low-number (<4 member) parties, and kick much ass in these situations.

 

Argh. I'm so torn!

Maybe I'll go with a li'l female gnome F/M/T. Maybe I'll call her "Wigglepoo".

Or maybe...ugh...I'll probably spend the next week doing the first dungeon over and over and over with different class combos.

Maybe I'll try a F/M/T as my protagonist and a shapeshifter for my second....

Gah! Can't do a gnome F/M/T. Weak.

[ October 06, 2005, 00:09: Message edited by: Sunwolf Enemy ]

 

Why does it have to be a duo? Your inquisitor can have two sidekicks.

Do that. Or, as an alternative to the human dual F/C, you can use a dwarven multi F/C. A little weaker maybe, but the human/elf/dwarf combo is a classic.

If you're determined to make it a duo, I would definitely go with the C/T. The lack of arcane can be leavened by Wands of Spell Striking and such.

 

I agree with Felinoid. If you're doing a duo, I like the Gnome C/T. He makes a great sidekick!

 

One of the best games I've played was with a Elf Assassin and Half-Orc Barbarian. I took the first stats that I rolled, IIRC they were pretty decent. Later I got a bit annoyed with not having any magic so I took Imoen along.

Barbarian Rage and Assassin's poison & backstab are awsome.

 

I would agree with those recommending a FMT. You need the thief skills. Some mage skills are nice, and with the triple class you will have some magic without it becoming overly dominating. Finally, since you are going duo, you will probably need the fighting abilities that the Fighter gives as this character will almost inevitably become embroiled in melee. Even though triple classed, this charcter will still level up quickly enough thanks to your running only a duo. As a side note, unless you use SK, only elves and half-elves can be FMT.

I would advise taking the FMT as the protagonist and adding Keldorn as your Inquisitor. There are no FMT in an unmodded game (does anyone know if there is a FMT NPC mod?). Alternatively, you could just create two characters as some have advised, but you want an Inquisitor and there is a great one available as an NPC, so I would say take advantage of it.

 

I'd go with 'Olimikrig' and 'Sticker' that the barbarian rage is absolutely invaluable. There are so many things it is proof against (not least of which is Imprison and Maze (both no save).

No question my PC would be a human straight berserker for the berserking, hit points, and proficiencies, up to about 8-10th, then switch to thief. The six weapon proficiency slots available at the start of SoA would feature five for grandmastery in one weapon, perhaps katanas (I believe you can backstab with CF).

The other character must be able to fight, because they are dead if they cannot in a two person party. Probably a simple F/MU, (shame it cannot be a Kensai/MU), though there is not much wrong with an Inquisitor.

Actually, another Barbarian/Thief is nice too, you could have twins

 

I also agree that a FMT is almost essential with a duo. I know I'm probably not going to change your mind on the inquisitor, but if I were making a duo, my picks would be a multi-FMT and a multi-RC.

 

Or, consider one of the NPCs (in no particular order):

1) Inquisitor + Jan: the ultimate comic relief sidekick, plus a complimentary set of spells and abilities. Alternately, choose another type of pally so that you have access to divine spell...

2) F/T + Aerie: Cover all major classes. Plus, the entire team can use stealth (Sanctuary is the ultimate stealth spell). Plus, F/Ts rock imo.

3) M/T + Anomen: Same as above, tho I don't like M/Ts as much as F/Ts...

4) M/T + Jaheira: Same as above, but without access to Sanctuary.

5) F/M/T + Viconia (or any other cleric or druid): Same as above...

6) F/M/T + Keldorn: lack of divine spells, but there's your inquisitor...

7) C/T + Keldorn: as already mentioned... you could also use a Half-Orc to get the 19 str, great for those quarterstaff "backstabs". C/Ts rock...

Actually, with a two person party, there's no reason not to take one of the NPCs... Sure, you get to customize the character a bit more making your own PC, but given the amount of magic stuff floating around in SoA and ToB, it's not really such a big deal. For example, Keldorn with a strength belt and gauntlets of dexterity is as good as any inquisitor you can roll up...