Hi all. I've heard a lot about how strong the Ranger/Cleric combination is. Also, I've heard that the dual class is a better spellcaster at the sacrifice of fighting ability. Now, I know that if someone planned on soloing the game, the multiclass appears to be the more balanced choice. However, for a party, which one would be better. Essentially, if the character is in a party and not required for the fighting as much, would the dualclass be preferable?

I plan on having Keldorn, Anomen, Nalia, Jan, Mazzy, and the PC who will be euther multi-or-dual-classed Ranger/Cleric. Since Anomen is the only other cleric, is it preferable to have a "better" spellcaster in the dual-classed Ranger/Cleric?

Thanks.

My vote would go to the MC if for no other reason than you can play the character as is through the entire game rather than playing a while as a ranger then playing some more as a cleric without any of your ranger abilities and finally as a ranger/cleric.

Unless you un-nerf the grand mastery there is just not that much difference between 2++ and 5+++++ per weapons and thats the biggest advantage to dual classing.

The only reason imo of dualing a R->C is for higher spellcasting. Since you have Anomen, I would go with the multiclass. R/C spellcasting won't be any worse than Jaheira's as a F/D.

I agree with the assessments already given. Anomen, despite how some feel that he has an abrasive personality, is a great cleric. I have gone through the game with him as my only divine spell caster without having any problems. As such, I do not see any advantage of sacrificing fighting ability on your PC to become a better cleric, because you already should have all the cleric spells that you need. Of course, having two sets of HLAs to chose from once you hit ToB seals the deal. My vote would be to multi-class.

Priests reach maximum spell casting level pretty quickly. Cleric receive first 7th level spell at level 14, which requires 1.350.000 XP IIRC.

So MC route can easily achieve the XP. Don'T worry. You will only miss a few spells per level, but get:

*better THAC0
*specialisation in most weapons
*fighter HLAs like Greater Whirlwind Attack, Critical Strike, Smite etc. which are FAR more useful.

^As a result your character will be very cool. Ironskin, dual-wielding, Holy Power, DUHM, most useful druid spells like summon elementals, creeping doom etc, plus cleric HLAs, PLUS fighter HLAs like GWW and even more!

I say definitely go with MC. If it was magehood ,n question, a MC can hardly achieve arch-mage status, (3 Million XP for level 18 mage for maximum casting level, double this amount!) where as a cleric combination can easily master divine magic. So do not flinch! It will not make a great difference.Remember, clerics achieve maximum spell casting faster, and they do not have a horrendeous gap in XP between a certain level like druids do. :p

Oh, and if you are a MC, you get your first HLA when the total of your XP is 3 million, so really, MCs have a clear advantage when it comes to HLAs. And HLAs rule the game in ToB, and late-SoA, believe me!

*Bing!* Oh look, another vote for MC. :grin:

I'm not sure where you're getting better spellcasting from, since one of the best clerical spells, Harm, requires a melee attack. An MC R/C (or F/C, for that matter) can take anyone down to 1 HP with a single spell. A dual-class will likely miss more often than not.

Unless you un-nerf the grand mastery there is just not that much difference between 2++ and 5+++++ per weapons and thats the biggest advantage to dual classing. Clarification: Not for the ranger, only for the fighter. The real benefit of dual-classing is being able to pick a kit.

Further Clarification: :doh: Okay, so archers can do that too. You could be an expert in the sling if you went Archer->Cleric.

[ March 22, 2006, 20:03: Message edited by: Felinoid ]

But Archers can't dual, (leastways I've never been able to)

^Sure they can! You just need to get the required stats, which aren't that hard. Str, Dex and Con at 15, Wis at 17. If you nerf down the Int and Cha, that's a total of 68. The only problem would be remembering to put points in sling as an Archer instead of a bow.

^Hmm the idea is not cool, a 'sissy' 'archer' slinging enemies to death? Well... :p

I think only the vanilla ranger can dual to cleric. At least, my Stalker couldn't dual to cleric. And when I SK'ed it, I lost the ability to cast the useful spells the Stalker gets, most noteably haste.

Okay, I just checked with three quickly created characters in ToB (to avoid the long SoA starting cutscene); I gave all characters maxed STR, DEX, CON, and WIS, and Beastmasters are the only ranger kit that can dual. I'd also like to point out that the Archer is actually an elven warrior (ranger or fighter) kit, not a plain ranger kit, so it makes sense that they woudn't be able to dual. And the Stalker is badly mis-implemented.

@henkie:
How did you SK it? Did you dual him within SK (is that even possible?) or did you strip him of his kit, dual him in the game, and then try to restore the kit again?

I stripped him of his kit, dualled him and then tried to get his kit back in.

Hi - another question:

How do I select which stronghold I get? (I want to have Keldorn, but I want the ranger stronghold.) If I begin the Unseeing Eye, does that lock me into the cleric stronghold (as they give me a room?)

Also, if I do not complete the Unseeing Eye in a timely manner, does Keldorn leave?

Thanks.

Well, IIRC, you can turn down the stringhold, or do Umar Hills first if not.
And there's no time limit, at least i don't recall any.

Just do the quest first if you want a particular stronghold. Of course...if you're too low level for something, that just sucks! :p

How do I select which stronghold I get? (I want to have Keldorn, but I want the ranger stronghold.) If I begin the Unseeing Eye, does that lock me into the cleric stronghold (as they give me a room?) You can turn down any stronghold. I usually do the one I want first to avoid that, though.
Also, if I do not complete the Unseeing Eye in a timely manner, does Keldorn leave? No. You can even skip it entirely if you feel like it. (Well, you do have to accept doing the quest from the cleric for Keldorn to appear in the sewers, but nothing says you have to keep your word. ;) )

Hi Again (Sorry for all the questions, but this is the only real place I know to ask):

I want to be able to play around with proficiencies later on. I know that depending on class, every few levels (I think 3 for Cleric/ranger) the character gets another proficiency point to use. Does this continue even through the ToB EXP Cap? (In other words, do I eventually end up with something like 10+ proficiency points to use for most characters?)

I want to be able to play around with proficiencies later on. If, by that, you mean you want to change them around as it suits you, I'd suggest Shadowkeeper (http://www.mud-master.com/shadowkeeper/index.html).
I know that depending on class, every few levels (I think 3 for Cleric/ranger) the character gets another proficiency point to use. Does this continue even through the ToB EXP Cap? (In other words, do I eventually end up with something like 10+ proficiency points to use for most characters?) Yep. And don't feel sorry for the questions; it's what this forum is here for. :)

Thanks.

And while I did mean that I wanted to put them in different places, what I meant was that some characters exhaust their available slots for the weapons that I plan on giving them, so maybe I could put some in other places to see if other weapons would work.

Edit:
Also, I was wondering what a good or normal level is for moving on to chapter 3 - I guess I have an unconscious fear of moving on before I'm able to handle it, and getting stuck. (My party consists of 6 characters).

In addition, what's a reasonable level for Watcher's Keep? I'm interested in it.

[ March 29, 2006, 17:47: Message edited by: RootOfAllSquares ]

Also, I was wondering what a good or normal level is for moving on to chapter 3 - I guess I have an unconscious fear of moving on before I'm able to handle it, and getting stuck. (My party consists of 6 characters). Moving on to Chapter Three doesn't mean anything, since you don't go to Spellhold until Chapter Four. Now Chapter Four is what you mean instead, I'd say double-digit levels are sufficient. I've rushed to Spellhold to rescue Imoen more times than I can count, and I've never had that much trouble.
In addition, what's a reasonable level for Watcher's Keep? I'm interested in it. If I were you, I'd do the first level of WK early for the 'bottomless ammo' magical items, and then leave the rest until ToB. And don't do the ritual on the first level unless you want a big fight on your hands. You might be able to handle it, but I'd leave it for ToB when it'll be a cakewalk. Just grab everything in the chests (watch out for traps on the floor and containers) and walk out.

The later you leave for spellhold, the easier it will be.
Buy important items like the quarterstaff +4, the girdle of hill giant strength and learn important spells before you leave.

Take some money along when you go to WK, you can buy some great weapons there.
Store the hint scrolls you find in WK in a container there, you won't need them before you get to the lower levels of WK.

Is the quarterstaff +4 the Staff of Rhynn?

Anyway, thanks for the advice - I might even leave today (but only because I've completed most of the quests in Chapter 2 at this point).

Edit:
What would be a runner-up weapon for Anomen, as my PC will dualwield Crom Faeyr and the Flail of the Ages in the future.

[ March 30, 2006, 13:07: Message edited by: RootOfAllSquares ]