Cleric/Fighter DC question

Remove all ads!

If I dual-class a cleric to fighter, then surpass the cleric level in fighter levels, what happens to the fighter Proficiencies that are of Slashing or Piercing weapons(say *** in Long Sowrds and Katanas for ex.)? Do I lose the ability to use them because I regained my cleric levels?

What about druid/fighter dc?

 

A quick test has revealed that you keep the proficiency points you invested as a fighter, but you lose the ability to (legally) use any non-cleric(druid) weapon, and you can't invest further proficiency points in non-cleric(druid) weapons. Basically it's pretty much a waste of time to dual-class in that direction... although Armour of Faith and Draw Upon Holy Might are neat spells for a fighter to have.

Also you miss out on exceptional strength.

 

Haha, it's just that the opening post is a thought that occurred to me once as well, but I wasn't near my computer at the time so forgot to check it out. Of course this then reminded me.

Your remark about Anomen also roused my curiosity: it turns out he's got 2 pips in Spears when you first get him. But strangely enough on Shadow Keeper those pips are both displayed under the 2nd class category, implying he obtained them whilst under his cleric tutelage. There are also no proficiencies under the 1st class. I guess it's a consistency oversight on Bioware's part. I'm tempted to edit him now to have a legal selection of starting proficiencies. But then again quite a few Bioware NPCs have illegal proficiency points and/or other attributes...

 

Anomen gets all his pips in the second class, as does Imoen. Not that it really matters in which class the pips appear.

As for dualling from cleric or druid to fighter, the weapon restrictions don't apply to which proficiencies you can choose, but the weapon (and armor in the case of druids) restrictions do apply to which weapons you can use. So a cleric dualled to a fighter can't equip a bladed weapon even if the cleric or druid class isn't activated yet. Or a kensai dualled to a thief can't wear armour (at least until you get the Use Any Item HLA).

 

It is defintely worth it. 19 Str is possible with a BG1 imported Cleric/Druid. Plus there are giant-strength belts, the Strength spell & Cleric buffs so exceptional 18(**) strength is not a requirement. But I will admit, the weapon restriction is a downer.

Having Cleric/Druid levels prior to Fighter levels adds a) more healing if you are not one who wants to rest after every battle, b) more buffing and spell power (unholy blight, dispel magic, negative plane protection, etc...) and c) if you choose a cleric or druid kit, more abilities like turning into a Werewolf or other shapeshifting abilities, Boon of Lathander is very helpful against Vamps, etc...

There is potential in every dual-class combo, trust me.

 

I guess I'm a pretty hardcore power-gamer, and the lack of high-level buffs from having dualled your cleric/druid before reaching 6th/7th-level spells (unless you're nuts! I play with SCSII and so leaving dualling that late would be insane) combined with weapon restrictions and less HP, to me, outweighs the benefits of having the decent lower-level buffs AoF, Sanctuary and DUHM, and the lower-level heals - let's face it healing spells aren't that much use in the middle of being pounded by a dragon or obliterated by a spell-casting demi-lich. Plus you get DUHM as a Bhaal-power.

Dualling the other way makes so much more sense (to me at least), since you get better HP, same weapon restrictions, MORE spells, and only miss out on fighter HLAs.

Best option as far as I'm concerned is multi-classing your divine caster: best of both worlds.

 

I prefer a dual class, actually. Fighter 9 (or 13 if I want to maximise) and then the rest as cleric (39 or 38, respectively). Gets you nearly a full class cleric by the end of the game, but with much better usefulness in the frontlines.

The lack of fighter HLAs for me doesn't weigh up to the lack of high level spells.

 

There is no practical difference between a level 38 cleric and a level 40 cleric anyway. They both have the same amount of spell slots. They both have the same casting power since that is capped at level 20. Cleric HLAs can only be chosen once so you don't lose any HLAs either since you already have them all by level 38 anyway. The highest undead is Kangaxx the demi-lich and he only requires you to be level 34 to instantly chunk him. So really those two levels between 38 and 40 give you NOTHING.

Losing fighter HLAs does hurt in that you lose Hardiness, which makes a great combo with the Armor of Faith spell and Defender of Easthaven flail. All three of those will stack and give you 85% resistance to all physical damage. Losing access to Hardiness the best you can get is 45%. Losing the Whirlwind HLA isn't as big of a deal since if you have a mage, you can always have him cast Improved Haste.

 

After having played through this game every which way to Wednesday over the last couple of decades, modded or unmodded, power-gaming loses it's edge for me. To gain the "something new" factor, I like trying the various class combos and NPC combos.(Hence my love of modded NPCs, currently trying out Petsy Chattertone, Summon Bhaalspawn and Yaesraena, with Aerie & Jaheira in the party. All chics, what a catfight! )

Most battles are against Demi-liches and Dragons. But since this is a party-based game where there are many NPCs and Items that can help you defeat any of the tougher monsters, I always felt there wasn't a desperate need to min/max everything. The lower level spells help you get through all the other battles. For me, it's help keep the entire game interesting and the tougher monsters just that much harder to slay.

The Cleric/Fighter DC is better than Fighter if you want to choose Blunt objects as your main weapon. I have tried a warhammer wielding Dwarf Fighter in the past. A very efficient PC. Adding 7 Cleric levels sure doesn't hurt to that type of build is only a plus. With Crom in the game, it actually makes it very viable build. Certainly not he best the game has to offer. But how times would you want to play the "best" build? IMO that would get boring.