Soloing

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What is the best class/multi-class for soloing?

 

Depends on what you like to play actually.

A solo Blade is amazing (make sure you read Scythesong's guide it's a very good guide to unlocking the Blade's true potential).

 

Tried a F/M/T once, it was really fun and challenging. Make sure you grab the Elven Chain Mail, and then you'll be set.

But really, depends on what you like to play. Sorcerers are pretty interesting to solo, and there's a very good guide about it somewhere on the interwebs (not on SP, IIRC).

 

I thought a cleric/thief multiclass was awesome. Spiked traps, use any item, backstab, sanctuary, harm, Implosion, Summon Deva, Immunity to Illusion spells, ... the list goes on.

I think having a multiclass thief is one the better ways to go.

Edit: I forgot about Turn Undead. It's really something to wander into Bodhi's lair and start exploding vampires. Exploding liches is fun too.

 

I thought the Sorcerer was the easiest to solo with. It takes a while to get properly started, but once you can summon Skeleton Warriors, things lighten up considerably.

I played a R/C once as well, but found it harder, especially a couple of the late ToB fights (Ravager, Mellisan) were really tough as you're reliant on melee damage more than anything else. The sorcerer is much easier in these fights, because you only have to be able to cast a Timestop so you can unload your spellbook at the enemy with punity.

A Kensai/Thief dual class is a very powerful class to solo as well, though the wait for your Kensai levels to reactivate can be somewhat more difficult. And if you're trapped inside a room full of enemies you'll find your staying power to be somewhat lacking as well, but this is all offset by your enormous damage potential. Go for two-handed weapons, wielding Carsomyr for the fun of it and switching to the Staff of Ram for extra backstabbing fun. The difficult fights for the R/C become fun and slaughter with the help of a few spike traps.

 

My personal favourites include:
Elven Sorcerer
Elven (or Half-Elven) Fighter/Mage
Dwarven Fighter/Cleric
Elven (or Half-Elven) Fighter/Thief
Half-Elven Mage/Cleric (or Gnome Illusionist/Cleric)

I even did a straight up Human Kensai just for kicks. Even with the horrible AC, the damage and attack bonuses were ridiculous. Just be sure you have a way of dealing with Illithid and pesky magi.

Also note that if you plan on tackling BG1 first, Mage/Cleric requires some creative spell use and a fair bit of reloading. Doing one now actually, Hold Person is a godsend, but I can only take one powerful foe at a time, and must rest and rebuff often...

 

While she's perhaps not as strong as my straight frighter, and I haven't soloed her, I had a LOT of fun with my cleric/mage. When I was able to get her AC down to -3, I set her script to wizard berserk, and set her up with close range spells. She has LOTS of spells!

 

If you play a vanilla game, and love spellcasting: Sorcerer.
Vanilla, and you have a tendency to melee: Human Kensai 9 or 12/mage
If you play a modded game with lots of extra XP from mods: F/M/T
Megamod and you love spellcasting: F/C/M (my recommendation - i play one too. load cleric spells into sequencers, it's great fun)
With loads of megamods, don't play a sorcerer; you can't pick any of the new spells!
Of course, if you play it often, and want to try different things, there are lots of viable builds. Try human swash 9/mage, or a bard or druid kit.

 

dmc is right,
if done right every class seems to be soloable .

but if going for best,
Berserker9 -> cleric is pretty potent.
I played him and got bored by lack of challenge.
the only interesting part was getting your fighter levels back.
slightly more complicated but more interesting is the blade.
she can fight, she can use all stuff you find, and she can cast ^^.
but in the underdark I got bored of her too .

 

For the vanilla game - any class will do. I'd put the Fighter/Illusionist or F/T class combination way up in front, though, mainly because of the bonus saving throws of the Gnomes and Dwarves.

For Ascension - again, any class or kit can do it, but it's easiest with a spellcaster: C/M or Sorcerer would be my first pick. F/T will also do very well, especially in the final fight.

I haven't played much SCSII or Tactics, but again, a good spellcaster is way up in front. A C/M would be my first choice here.

For IA 5.0 solo, I'd recommend a F/M/T or a F/I.

 

F/M, F/I or Kensai/Mage. Very superior imo, especially if you have ToB installed. For SoA I'd go with Blade.

 

If you don't want to rest every ten seconds or want to use swords, try cavalier.

 

Berserker/Druid is way better than a Berserker/Cleric and if you dual at level 9 you get your levels back much faster. Link.

 

I'd vote for the Inquisitor, if we're talking paladins, especially for a solo. Immunity to hold and charm is great (the latter being an instant game over for a solo), and true seeing and dispel magic will help in any fight against a spellcaster. The only truly useful thing a Cavalier can put against that is his immunity to fear. Plus I dislike not being able to use any missile weapons, but that's just a personal preference.

 

Why Inquisitor fails as a class:

Advantages:
Immune to Hold and Charm spells. (These come in handy)

"Advantages":
Dispel Magic. (You get it from Carsomyr)
True Sight. (You won't use it, you have Carsomyr)

Also: May not use Lay on Hands ability. May not cast priest spells. (How are you supposed to heal yourself?)

Why Cavalier is slightly better:

Advantages:
Bonus +3 to hit and +3 damage against all demonic and draconic creatures. (The first thing you need to kill Firkraag)
Immune to fear and morale failure. (The second thing you need to kill it)

"Disadvantages":
May not use missile weapons. (Who does, you have Carsomyr)

 

Re Inquisitor:

But Inquisitors cast at twice their level.

But an Inquisitor using Carsomyr won't have to waste it's dispel to get rid of invisibility.

There are these nifty little things called healing potions.

Having said all that, I've never soloed a paladin, and don't really have any desire to do so. As was said earlier, a blade makes for a really fun solo. They're kind of a jack-of-all-trades type of character. For me, this means that I can't fall into my usual habit of relying on melee, but instead I have to use all available resources.

 

I soloed a cleric and never memorized a healing spell (once I got the hang of playing a cleric). Potions are too plentiful to worry about healing spells.

 

I'll agree that dispel magic becomes less of an issue once you get your mits on Carsomyr, but are you really placing Carsomyr's dispel on par with being able to cast True Sight multiple times a day?

Like how I heal every other character (excepting Clerics and Druids). With potions and items that give you regeneration. Those Lay on Hands and minor healing spells are only convenient in Irenicus' dungeon, I can't say I've much use for them later on.

If you like to pick a character for the sole purpose of obtaining one item in the game, then go for it. Personally, I find the inquisitor to be more useful in more situations than the cavalier, but you might view this differently.

But even when accepting your points about the inquisitor, why not an Undead Hunter? With so many vampires in SoA, its abilities certainly see much more use than those of a cavalier, and the only thing you have to give up is your LoH ability, which I never found that useful anyway.