Best tank class

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I'm thinking of starting a new half-orc character, but I can't decide which class to take.

Should I take the Fighter Berserker? (berserk ability/imprison immunity + grandmastery)
Barbarian? (high HP + Rage ability, but can only wair chainmail)
Inquisitor? (Great vs. mages + summon deva ability + you can have Carsomyr)

I know that an half-orc can't normally be a paladin, but there is always SK to take care of that. And If I don't take the Inquisitor what other things can I bring along to dispel magic protections (except bringing along Keldorn or a mage/cleric.)

Lastly does changing your race in SK mess things up?

 

I think barbarians aren't able to be imprisoned when doing their rage. Having a berserker helps with some things but not avoiding being imprisoned.... I think.

I like Undead Hunter Paladins for all the usual Paladin bonuses on top of a fighter's aspects. However that may simply be due to my dislike of being level drained and that I can send one, with a good weapon, into a tough fight and expect him/her to do well.

 

F/M/C is great at higher levels, too, especially if you focus on buff spells for pre-battle and contengiencies/sequencers. There's nothing quite like Chain Contengiency: on HP = 20% (or whatever the min is): Heal, Stoneskin, Blade Barrier! Oh the fun I had with that character. Plus, some awesome weapons, any shield, and any armor as long as you don't cast mage spells in combat.

 

Make your armor a type of elven chain (or even some nice items such as good bracers + a really good shield) and you can cast mage spells in combat.

Though we are straying from the typical idea of what a "tank" is, if you use said character as a "tank" normally would be the suggestions are still valid.

 

Elven chain types are a sacrifice, though. Especially if what you want are mostly attack/disable type spells. No elven chain in the original game can compare to some of the full plates in that game, and any shield can also be equiped with those same plates.

If you have a set AC you want to reach, and that's all that's really important to you, then you may manage it with elven chain, though.

 

Unfortuantely barbarians don't get the immunity to imprisonment as part of their rage, its just the berserker's.

That shouldn't be too much of a problem since there are only a few situations where that might occur and a protection from magic scroll does the job just as well.

Fighter/mage is a solid choice, go dual wielding and grab elven chain soon as possible.
Blades are also a strong contender (check out Scythesong Immortal's guide to Blades)

 

IMO Berserkers are better than Barbarians.

If you go for a non caster a Swashbuckler/Fighter will get the swashie AC bonus and the ability to wear the heaviest armour in the game. Of course dualled mean you lose some HP (unless you SK a multiclass fighter/thief) but the bonuses to hit and damage may be worth the sacrifice.

 

Halfling cavalier. No contest

 

Blades are a good choice. My second character in BG2 was a blade using halberds, and still one of my favorites. Still, the limited HP and restriction to elven chain really limits tanking ability. You can make up some of that with the mage spells (stoneskin and mirror image were lifesavers), but I still used Minsc for most of my tanking needs.

 

And anybody who's played one knows that Kensai/Mages are complete monsters! I think this is a great tanking class!

I also think you should look into Blades and Berserker/Clerics. Both are great at absorbing damage and then giving it right back.

If I had to choose between a Barbarian and a Berserker? I think I would take the Berserker. He loses the ability to walk faster and become decent at ranged weapons but he gains the ability to use heavier armors! I don't think a tank is going to use too many ranged weapons anyway. If you need to, you an always throw daggers and axes.

 

I think the Barb/Berz trade off is HP and dmg resistance (the barbs get base dmg resistance don't they?) for armor. Those are the critical features for a tank. Honestly, I haven't tried them enough to know the difference. I prefer to deal damage first, rather than taking it.

 

How about a Berserker/Mage?

Also I checked, I was wrong. Barbs are immune to level drain when enraged while Berserks are immune to imprisonment when doing likewise. Mentally I probably thought the other was because I mixed up what its special immunity is.

 

Berserker/Druids are much better than Berserker/Clerics.

 

Honestly, I don't think special immunities like that should be a concern for tanks. Few enough enemies use Imprison and, when they do, there are protections you can have from spells. For level drain, there are a slew of items that protect you from it, at least one spell, and you still don't see it all that often.

I'd be much more worried about HP, AC, and spell saves (charm, hold, web, etc).

 

I have a major problem trying to dual to a druid. I just can't figure out what the heck my stats have to be to do it. But you may be right. I might prefer a Berseker/Druid to a Berserker/Cleric. I'll have to figure out the stats to do it and play it through one time.

 

Dual Druid - 17 Wis and Cha. It's a hard build to make, since it requires alot of points. Usually have to dump Int to 3, which sucks vs. the Flayers.

 

Slew of items? I thought the only items in SoA was the amulet of power and protection from undead scrolls. Possibly the Improved Mace of Disruption, but I'd have to double-check that. There aren't any Negative Plane Protection scrolls.

 

Berzerkers are more damaging, but Barbarians are tougher (despite having lower AC). Inquisitors are far from being good tanks, nevertheless they are horribly effective against casters.
Even without Carsomyr/Keldorn/Aerie you can still rely on every other caster NPC in the game for dispel/remove magic and anti-protection spells, especially the arcane casters.

Changing your race in SK shouldn't affect anything, except possibly the romances. Maybe someone else can confirm this though.
BTW, actually very few classes cannot tank in BG2 (in fact only the Rogue class comes to mind at the moment), so you might wanna go with the type of "tank" you really want and just outfit them as best you can.

Myself I prefer the Blade and the Wild Mage (not itself a tank, but a diversion/tank-maker).

 

i soloed the entire game with a berserker, it's the best fighter class trust me