How do you keep a Kensai alive?

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(s)he can't wear armor or bracers so (s)he is kinda crippled? How do you keep a Kensai from being meat?

 

Reload or reroll.

 

Every class has advantages/disadvantages. Kensais can do the most non-magical damage out of any class, but survivability-wise yep they're just like mages with really high HP and minus the spell protections.

 

You need a tank to take the attention of the enemies. Send the Kensai in a few seconds after the tank to start dishing out damage, left, right and centre.

 

18 Dex, 2 slots in 1-weapon style, any equipment which improves AC(Ring of Earth Control, Ring of Protection, Cloak of the Sewers, etc...) spell buffs from other party members like Protection from Evil, Barkskin, etc... If you are not going to dual him TO a mage, I have created a Mage and dualed him to Kensai at level 7. Lower HPs, but you get Shield, Mirror Image, Stoneskin, etc.... He was still viable in ToB as the reinforcements for the tank. Quite fun actually.

 

Definitely 18 dex.
1 weapon style? What weapon does he use? Celestial fury maybe?
Definitely the ring of Gaxx!

I have to admit I always cheat in the ring of Gaxx. I never remember where the liches are.

What level would you recomend I switch him to a mage and why not later?

 

Thank you dmc. Gives me something to think about

 

Don't let him get hit. Invis Potions help a lot I find. And dual kensai from a thief at 13 works pretty strong

 

Should I switch him to a Mage or another spell casting class? Cleric? Druid? Why whichever class you think is best?
I just had Valygar disappear from being attacked by beholders. I don't know how because he had the Shield of Balduran? I sent him in alone and was back looking over the other party members when I came back out to the over view screen I noticed he was gone. Lol. I've been wanting to make a Kensai/??? anyway so I didn't reload. Sorry Valygar
Also Blades of Vanatar what weapon would you recommend as his single weapon prof?
I thought I had asked this before but I don't see it.

Do the 2-handed weapon prof and the single weapon prof stack together?

 

Mage gives you the most defensive spells. Kensai-druid/cleric is nice only if you originally wanted a cleric or a druid, otherwise avoid these classes. Taking cleric/druid levels can prevent you from using most edged weapons.

Valygar probably got petrified and shattered. I've heard cases of beholder rays/effects sometimes not getting reflected by the Shield of Balduran for years now, it's supposedly some mod's fault but it happens so rarely its difficult to reproduce. Normally I would just advice you to reload.

Two-handed weapon and single weapon style don't stack. I'd advise dual-wielding instead of using a single or two-handed weapon until you get fighter HLAs. For weapons pick longswords. They're everywhere and most of them have unique and powerful enchantments. After that you can pretty much use whatever you want, really. All item types are well represented in BG2, though some enchanted weapon types (bastard Swords, halberds) only start to appear after Chapter 3. Popular choices include katanas (for high base damage and Celestial Fury), Flails (for crushing damage/variety, and the Flail of the Ages), scimitars (Belm and the Spectral Brand), bastard swords (high base damage, a few decent ones in the Underdark and a few really good ones in ToB), two-handed swords, halberds and staves (the Staff of the Magi, a favorite among Kensai-Mages).

 

Thanks for the input. I decided to go mage

 

Yes it was in the Beholder section of the Underdark.

 

There are two main ways to go for a kensai-mage: two-handed weapon and dual welding (single weapon is okay for the AC bonus but you sacrifice too much offensive power for it).

Two handed weapons are the most powerful in the game. There is an extremely powerful staff in ToB (and a couple of good one in SoA as well). It also opens up two-handed swords and halberds (two-handed swords are awesome). Staves will serve you well throughout the game.

Dual welding makes a character an offensive powerhouse. Choose katanas and scimitars (or short swords). Katanas are good for Celestial Fury and Dak'kon's Zerth Blade. You can dual weld katana's (which looks cool) but DZB will boost spell use and CF is just fun. If you are going to make a fighting mage then you want to get either Kundane (shortsword) or Belm (scimitar), you don't need to put much proficiency in these but they will give you an extra attack with your main hand.

Common tactics include buffing your kensai to the hilt and then slice and dice. Stoneskin (4th level mage spell) is critical and Tensor's Transformation (6th level mage spell) turns your mage into the near-ultimate fighter.

To add to dmc's post: To me 9th level is the best to dual for most players -- you get the max hit points and the extra proficiency point is a good thing. Going to 13th just takes too long to regain your fighting ability: a 9th level kensai/10th level mage is 500,000 xp while a 13th level kensai/14th level mage is 2,750,000 xp. You lose nearly 4 levels of mage later on for the 13 levels of kensai as opposed to losing only one level of mage for 9 levels of kensai. That's just too muc of a price to pay.

 

side note*** I incldued 1-W style only because the OP asked for ways to keep him alive, which improving AC is an obvious way to do so.

If I were to go 1-W style, I would go with the various 1-H swords, LS/SC/KA/BS, chossing particular weapons for the various opponents. Belm is nice when fighting oppponents that don't require a certain + to hit them, CF is just plain nasty, etc...

BUT, yes, I would choose Dual-wield otherwise for more ATs and various status effects that the extra weapons can offer.

 

Eyebreaker, if you lost Valygar in the Beholder section of the Underdark, try casting Freedom in the area he disappeared. Most likely one of the Elder Orbs cast Imprisonment on Valygar (they do that if you don't kill them fast enough). Elder Orbs cast normal spells, which are not affected by the shield of Balduran.

As for dualling, dualling at Kensai lvl 9 makes a lot of sense, as getting to lvl 13 is a full million xp more than lvl 9 for fighters.
For end levels, however, it doesn't matter nearly as much if you dual to a mage.
8 mln - 1.25 mln = 6.75 mln (= xp cap - 13 Fighter levels).
Mage lvl 28 requires also 6.75 mln xp. Interestingly, lvl 28 is also the last level you actually get extra spells. A lvl 31 mage will have exactly the same amount of spells to cast as a lvl 28 mage.

Dualling at lvl 9, you'll be able to reach lvl 30 as a mage. Not much difference, then, by the end of the game. A much bigger difference at the beginning of the game, though, so if you only have the Kensai/Mage as prospective mage in your party, you might want to dual at lvl 9 already.

 

Blades: You never use Belm or Kundane because of what damage they can do, only for the extra attack from the main hand weapon (there is certainly an argument that a better off-hand weapon can negate the benefits of Belm or Kundane).

henkie: You're assuming the player will max out xp. I've never had a party max out; it's more like 5 million xp for a party of six. The difference between a 18th level mage and a 22nd level mage is huge.

 

I was referring to 1-H use only. Belm is an excellent choice if you are a Kensai using 1-H style for the AC boost and better critical option. The damage a Kensai produces is mostly from his Proficiency, Class and Str bonuses. Belm adds another AT/round at +2 damage from the weapon itself. Other weapon types that don't produce the extra AT/round are usually only +1 or +2 higher in magical quality. I prefer the extra AT/round, especially when fighting against spellcasters or against nemies that don't have a resistance to the various levels of + magical weapons. Boots of Speed plus Belm allows you to be all over enemy spellcasters instantly.

 

What weapon is Kundane? I don't recall seeing it.