Looking for a strong main character for BG:EE and BG2:EE

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Hi!

First I want to ask which mods are essential for a smooth gaming experience.
I really need containers and bigger stacks of weapons.
Are there already some mods out like tactics or other "make the game more challenging" mods?

To the main question:

Which class do you think is the most fun for a main character?
Would like some magic power also...

Which alignment is best?

And which are the coolest/most funny NPCs in BGEE1?
(those from BG2 I know very good)

Also is it difficult to export my character from bgee to bg2ee?

 

the enhanced edition allready contains pretty much all the bug fixes you'll need, you might want to look at the bg1 tweaks mod for ease of use options like unlimited item stacking/containers though :

http://www.gibberlings3.net/bg1tweaks/

As far as characters go, a lot of BG2's dual class characters are not optimal to play with in bg1, since they'll only start to shine once you've dualclassed and regained the original class' levels.
So the obvious choice for class here are multiclassed characters.
fighter/thieves/mages are strong, but remember that if you export that character to bg2 you will never reach mage levels high enough for lvl 9 spells.

Personally the character i had most fun with (solo) taking through bg1ee and bg2ee was my Chaotic good half-elf ranger/cleric.
Even in bg2, ranger/cleric is a beast in terms of pure game-breaking power - since you will get both cleric and druid spells.
Basically you get a cleric's buffs along with the druids Ironskins (similar to a mage's stoneskin) and the useful druid spells like call lightning, pixie dust, conjure elementals, natures beauty, and the various insect cloud spells.
Also, in bg2 you'll get access to both the cleric and ranger HLA's.

Remember there is no party banter in BG1, at least not for the original NPC's. so no conversation beyond first meeting them or kicking them out of the party.
The newly added npc's (neera, rasaad and dorn) have some interjections that pertain to their personal quests, but only a few.

I'd definetely advice you to take neera/dorn/rasaad along, if only to do those personal quests of theirs - it's where you'll find most of the new content.
Minsc is in bg1 as well (and has some funny on command/click audio) but remember that you'll need to hurry to save dynaheir or he will leave the party/attack you.

It seems like the story and most of the quests revolve around doing good, so i find myself rolling good aligned characters more then evil ones - though ironically the most powerful npc's you can get in your party seem to be the evil ones.

Edwin is the best spellcaster hands down (save dynaheir with minsc before you invite him, else he will want you to kill her), viconia is a great cleric, better then branwen imho, kagain is great to have as a tank and shar-teel though a fighter can be pretty good with a bow.

 

Thank you alot!

I think it comes down to Ranger/cleric or Fighter/Mage.

Which proficiencies would you give them also considering bg2ee later?

 

on my cleric/ranger i went with 3 pips in two weapon fighting, and 2 pips each in flail/morning star and warhammer, so i could use crom faeyr + flail of ages in BG2.
the remaining 2 pips i put in maces just bacause.

Also, there's an ankheg plate hidden in a field in nashkell, probably the best armor for the entirety of BG1, you can wear it and still equip a cloack of protection +2.
weaponwise for BG1 i used the ashideena +2 warhammer and the thresher + 2 morningstar.
the ring of sune is good to have (+1 cleric spell slot for lvls 1 through 4) and of course the legacy of the masters gloves (+1 thac0, +2 damage) and boots of speed.

 

Which 2-3 npcs would you suggest me to take with me as a ranger/cleric for ee1 and ee2?

 

well, take whichever you like - i was able to solo the game, so you can take none of them if you'd like.
One thing that is useful is someone with thief skills, which is the only thing you are really missing, since as a cleric your PC will be decent in battle, along with their spellcasting to fill the gaps.
Granted you won't have arcane casting but i never needed much besides the sleep spell which i got off a wand that thalantyr sells.

Since imoen joins your party straight from candlekeep, you can take her along for the entirety of the game - she's easily the best NPC thief you're going to find all game - good stats for a thief and you basically get to spend her thief points right from the start, though unlike how she's levelled when you start bg2, you'll probably don't want to dual class her to a mage, she's far more useful leveled as a pure thief - keep in mind that bg2 does not import your imoen from an imported save, so even if you played all the way through bg1 lvling imoen as a thief she will still be a thief/mage dualclass at the start of bg2.

If you want a dedicated arcane caster, like i said earlier Edwin is the best one available. He might be lawful evil, but he's worth taking along none the less - he has a high intelligence and his (irremovable) amulet gives him extra spell slots : Edwin + his amulet + Ring of wizardry = infinite sleep spells . keep in mind not to raise your reputation too much, as well as the fact that you cannot have him and minsc/dynaheir in the same party for long before they will start fighting each other.

the only other thing that would leave you with would be a tank to take the brunt of the damage.
If you're taking along edwin you might as well take kagain, the best one on offer.
As soon as you give him the gauntlets of dexterity (for his AC), he's a beast.
He has a Constitution score of 20, meaning he actually regenerates health - meaning he will always be full health after resting and traveling to another area simply because he still regenerates during sleep and resting time.
saves you a lot of healing potions, also means you'll at always have at least 1 full health character to soak damage.
Remember he is also lawful evil - so same thing about the reputation.

Finally, going Solo - it's definitely possible, since i finished the games with a solo r/c.
You'll miss out on some things without a thief but for the most part you can just bash open containers instead of lockpicking them.

keep in mind that even going solo in bg1 you will only reach lvls 9cleric/9ranger, just enough to get one (1) 5th level spell slot.
if you take multiple npc's with you you'll probably end up a good few levels below that. Of course, this all depends on if you've removed the level cap or not otherwise you'll stop levelling before even getting to baldur's gate anyway.
(The exp cap is 161,000 normally, only allowing you to reach levels cleric7/ranger7, just enough to get 1 level 4 spell.)

 

Yes, I will definitaly remove the level cap.

Is there a good aligned alternative to the evil guys in your party?
Because as a ranger/cleric I need to be good aligned and I really want to roleplay that alignment...

Oh, I read that the cleric/ranger now only gets druid spells up to level 3.Is that true or just rumours?

 

Well, i'd definitely take Neera, the newly added mage NPC to the EE.
She is a wild mage, so you've got to like that mechanic - though you can use chaos shield and an item you get during her quest to reduce the chance of bad wild surges happening, and you can use nahal's reckless dweomer to cast any known spell.

original NPC wise there are two choices, one of them is dynaheir - lawful good, allright stats for a mage, shame she cannot cast enchantments/conjurations because she is an Invoker.
Also, if you do take her along you'll need to take on minsc for the ride as well.

is Xan, you pick him up after completing the nashkell mines. hes a specialized mage - Enchanter, which means he cannot cast spells from the opposite school : Evocation. means you miss out on a lot of the big damaging spells like agannazar's scorcher, fireball, cloudkill, magic missile, etc.
he does however, get 1 additional spell slot in every spell level and a +2 bonus on saving throws against spells of the enchantment type, so he's good with charms and for buffing. get a wand of fireball so he has at least one damaging aoe spell to throw around.

To replace yeslick , Minsc is an allright choice, if you want to take dynaheir along.
He's a Neutral Good ranger but can beserk, and has a high strength so can do a lot of damage, th.

better good alignment tanks are khalid and ajantis though.
Khalid is a fighter, and a great tank and if you give him the gauntlets of ogre power he can dish out some decent damage as well.
However, you'll also have to take jaheira along, whom is a bit redundant since you are allready getting the druid spells.

Lastly there is ajantis, the paladin in the farmstead area north of the friendly arm inn, also has good stats but is lacking in dex so get him the bracres of Dexterity ASAP.

If you want to keep your party down in size (3 people) and have them all good-aligned, i'd go with ajantis and neera.

 

Thanks a lot!

Question remains:

Oh, I read that the cleric/ranger now only gets druid spells up to level 3.Is that true or just rumours?

 

yeah, as it was never intended it was 'fixed' by the EE.
if you go to the baldur.ini file in your documents folder and look up the 'Game Options', 'Cleric Ranger Spells', '1', line (its near the bottom of the file) you can change the value there from 1 to 0.
this will make it work as it used to.

 

Sorry, but its not in my ini file...

By the way, what do you think about a Fighter/Mage/Cleric?
Would be a very versatile character too, dont you think?

 

yeah, but has some disadvantages. same as the f/m/t, especially when exporting to bg2, you won't hit high enough levels to use the really cool abilities of each class, like lvl 9 spells for mages.

also if the line is not in your baldur.ini just add it in behind the other
game options line.
this works for both bg1ee and bg2ee.

 

And what do you think about a mage/cleric?
Could also be good in melee with all the available buffs?Which weapon would you give him?

 

No, I will keep the Mage/Cleric, I played tanks so often in those types of games.

What are the best proficiencies for him?

And how would you roughly do its stats?

---------- Added 3 hours, 27 minutes and 51 seconds later... ----------

Which are good places to farm for xp?

 

Is there a way that new added partymembers have the same xp as my main?

 

you can select just the character you want to gain exp and use the console command C:SetCurrentXP("xxxxxx"); to give just that character extra experience.

alternatively, change it with EEkeeper.

 

Thanks!

What do you think are the most potent low level spells for my cleric/Mage?

---------- Added 1 hours, 3 minutes and 40 seconds later... ----------

To TMC:

I am in no way powergaming!
I really enjoy the roleplay part of the games, else I wouldnt have taken a chaotic neutral cleric/mage maniac who hears voices that command him sometimes to be nice guy and sometimes to kill everybody....
But I think the levelling in BG1 is very slow so I am looking for some good spots to get some experience in!

If I was powergaming I would just build some kensai/mage dual ****.

By the way, my party is doing well, just cleaned the gnoll fortress.

Another question:
When I transfer my char from bg1 to bg2ee will all the items in his inventory be transferred as well?

 

yes and no.
your items will be transferred but removed instantly after you wake up.
there's only a few items you actually get to bring to bg2.

1 of them are the golden pantaloons. definitely bring those, since you can collect the silver pantaloons and bronze pantaloons in bg2 : soa and tob, to make an awesome item.

you can bring one piece of armor. it will be selected from a few possibilities, and only if your character has this in his inventory in the bg1 save, default is mail of the dead+2 if you don't.
options are Protector of the Second +2, Mail of the Dead +2, Fallorain's Plate or Chainmail +3.
you will find it on the corpse of illyich the duergar (once you've killed him).
keep in mind that even if your bg1 save character has two of these armors in his inventory, only one of them will be found on illyich.

also 1 misc. item - again only if your pc is carrying it in the bg1 save.
can be koveras' ring of protection +1, horn of kazgharot or ring of kazgoroth, or balduran's helmet if you don't have any of them on you, you will get the helm of balduran by default in the same room where you find the statue in irenicus' lair.
remember, if you want balduran's helmet, to not import a character that's wearing one of the other items.