Soloing

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I found potions taking too much space in a solo game, not that I didn't use them too, of course.
Erm. I might be the only one that feels gulping five potions per fight feels like cheating.

Yes, the paladin spells are low level, but life savers during tougher battles, plus you don't rest for 56 days.
What regen items? Regenerating items like, say, Ring of Kangaxx that you get how exactly with a solo pally without the ability to pick open big K's front door? Or Ring of Regeneration that grants the mighty 1 HP every six seconds?

You don't need to dispel the invisibility. See below.

Nope. But there isn't really anything that an invisible enemy, usually mage, could do to a pally with full plate and 50% magic resistance with a weapon that dispels the enemy's protection every hit (after it becomes visible).

You're calling the best weapon in the game "an" item?

A solo spellcaster is played completely differently than a warrior. He has buffs, summons, instant death spells etc.

 

If you have the unlimited stacks component of EoU or the G3 Tweakpack, healing potions take up a grand total of one quick slot (unless you have more than one type). And no, I don't think five potions per fight is cheating/cheesy.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding you, but you have to be able to see the enemy in order to hit it.
Or are you suggesting that you just wait until the invisibility ends, on the assumption that the enemy won't be able to do much damage in the meantime? If so, there are lots of spells that will hurt enough that 50% MR doesn't offer enough protection.

Anyway, like I said, I've never soloed a paladin, so I'm speaking, err, typing somewhat hypothetically. However, you haven't really explained why a Cavalier is better than an Inquisitor; all you've done (maybe) is to show why a cavalier with Carsomyr is no worse than an Inquisitor without it (although I'm still not convinced). But then again, that's even more of an arguement for an Inquisitor -- a Cavalier almost has to use Carsomyr, whereas an Inquisitor doesn't, and therefore has many more weapons to choose from.

 

Having 60 healing potions in one slot isn't cheating. Gotcha.

Yes I am. You should be wearing Belt of Inertial Barrier (half damage from magic). Then later with the tougher casters, Amulet of Power (+5 MR) and Cloak of Mirroring (reflects all direct magic damage). Carsomyr's 50% MR is just a bonus.

And I've completed Tutu+BG2 (never full ToB because it's boring) twice with a solo Cavalier.

 

I would think the rune assassins would present a problem....

 

My general philosophy towards single-player computer games is this - I want to maximize my fun and enjoyment, and minimize the things that annoy me. To me, inventory management is irritating, so unlimited stacks helps to remove that annoyance; I don't get too hung up on whether or not it's cheating. (And I imagine a lot of players feel the same, given the popularity of EoU/Tweakpack.) And actually, if you consider 60 potions in one slot to be cheating, then why is five not? (Well, OK, technically it's not cheating since the game rules allow it, but it's not particularly realistic to be able to have more than one.)

Oh, don't get me wrong - I'm not saying it can't be done. I'm just saying I think it would be easier with an Inquisitor. But again, I've never tried either, so I may be completely out to lunch here.

 

Oh I tried inquisitor Tutu + Half way SoA, but the lack of healing was irritating.

Overrated. Mind Flayers are the real problem.

 

Theres nothing wrong with cheating in a single player game as long as you are getting enjoyment from it.

You should do whatever you find fun. I have already completed BG without cheating, so now I cheat to play around with all my Crazy builds ^^

Swashbuckler / Mage looks very potent - Thieving abilities, two weapon fighting, but just not as much THAC0 and damage / hit potential as a Kensai / Mage.

Cleric / Mages can easilly handle any enemy in the game by taking advantage of chaining spells which reduce saving throws and magic resistance inside triggers and contigencies then firing a finger of death. Try using double Doom minor trigger, followed by a Doom / Greater Malison / Glitterdust spell trigger then a Finger of Death.

For magic resistant enemies, queue up resistance lowering spells in there as well.

At least I heard that multiple doom's stack, if not then just use one.

 

I don't see what's wrong with using the Ease of Use mod. Considering you're soloing and have only a limited amount of space, being able to place more than 5 potions in a quickslot is a Godsend. Having bottomless bags also helps too

Why do you think that using five or more potions, per fight, is cheating? The reason they have so many potions in the game is so that you can USE them.

 

Hah! You call that cheating? How about this?:

I've just started a solo run of SCS2 with a F/M/T. But I've SK'd the fighter to be a Morturi (it might be a bit tricky until I get UAI, but after that... ). And as if that's not bad enough, I've also removed the kit's immunity to haste (because I love haste/improved haste), although to somewhat balance it out, I've also removed the other level 7 immunities (slow and disease), as well as the movement rate modifiers.

"Crazy builds" my butt. You're just a rookie.

 

Try half-orc fighter/assassin build modified per BG1 tomes (i.e., 20 strength at start of SoA). You really don't need to focus on stealth to start with -- you're primarily a fighter and will be able to buy/get good equipment to give good stealth very early in the game.

By mid-game you'll be high enough level that all your thieving skill will be maxed (or close enough with thief enhancing items) and you'll be a backstabbing god. With HLA's of UAI, Assassination, and GWW this build is truly fitting for offspring of the God of murder.

 

You're right, didn't notice that druids get chaotic commands, too.
I played a LG anyways, so druid was out .
Besides which one you take depends a bit on the weapons you intend to use.
I went for dual crom and FoA.
A druid is limited to scimitars (good options there, too) and daggers.
I'd probably go then twohanded with staff (druid-staffs, Ram) and/or spear.

 

LOL splunge that class is a lil' bit over the top don't you think?

 

In a solo game you'll be gaining experience so fast that you'll not stay low level for very long, and so those lovely low level spells will soon do very little to save your hide in a fight. And I was talking about the mighty ring of regeneration, which I use for exactly the reason you use your low level spells: to not have to rest half the game to recuperate your wounds. Or, in the case of fairly minor damage, not so I can regenerate any helpful amount of health during a fight, but rather so I can start each fight closer to full health.

Well... yes. When all is said and done, it's still just one of those items on the checklist of items I'll want for my character. It's very spiffy, but there are other items that will rival for the spot of best item. I don't think you'll disagree that getting the Robe of Vecna for a mage or sorcerer will determine his/her damage potential to a much higher degree than Carsomyr will determine the damage potential for a paladin.

And anyway, as Splunge pointed out, the inquisitor will get the weapon sooner or later anyway. And while the inquisitor might have a harder time getting this item, he will still have an easier time of it against any mage, lich or other foes that like to turn invisible.

I'm not sure of this, but won't the dispel of an inquisitor also dispel prot. from magic weapons? If so, this would be a definite advantage of the inquisitor's dispel over that from the Carsomyr, as Carsomyr would need to hit the target to dispel its protections.

First of all, Carsomyr sets your MR to 50%, and isn't cumulative with other items. At least not unless you unequip and then re-equip all your MR granting items in a very specific order after each and every reload.

Second, you're relying too much on the effectiveness of MR. While it is certainly spiffy, I've got a monk with an MR of over 100% who would disagree with you on any claims that a high MR will make you impervious versus all spellcasters. Yes, even in combination with those other items you mention.

But putting aside all of this, you obviously have a strong preference of the cavalier class over the inquisitor class, and I'll not contest your preference in this, even if I don't agree with it. In the end, a solo sorcerer or any mage class combination is still a much more powerful class to solo with than any paladin class could ever hope to be. However, can you still explain to me how a cavalier would be more useful in a solo game than an undead hunter? The immunity to hold alone should be worth considering it more useful, as this is as good as a game over in a solo game anyway.

/edit
Heh, missed the second page there.

Wouldn't the immunity to charm and hold of the inquisitor help loads here?

Also, second vote for the Half-orc Fighter/Assassin. That's a sneaky powerhouse build you've got there, and I can barely contain my glee at the prospect of backstabbing with the Staff of Ram with that build ;D

 

Well, it would be, except I forgot to mention the fact that I have imposed a -1 penalty to charisma. So now he's completely balanced (maybe even a bit under-powered).

 

Half-Orc Fighter/Assassin is solid.

The point I was making is that he has no use for his special skills after getting Carsomyr. Cavalier instead gains them.

In theory yes, in practise no. Only mage that caused some trouble was the human in Twisted Ruin.

It's not only the healing spells. The strategy I used in the harder battles involved Defensive Harmony and Holy Smite. At level 20, 11-44 damage to all opponents and additional +2 AC is still a nice addition.

Against attacks that drain your intelligence? No. Any paladin class sucks against them.

Of course. As I said in my first post, I was just introducing a class that doesn't need to rest after every battle.

Undead hunter is the best paladin class in SoA. I just don't like it.

 

To further balance the character you may want to make some weapons unusable -- such as club and sling -- as some weapons would be beneath a great warrior.

 

Let us not forget the meaningless race/stat restrictions!

Wait, we are being sarcastic, right?

(I just hate custom kits that impose meaningless restrictions such as "Cha -1" "Must be human" "Must be good" "Cannot use darts" "Minimum strength of 18, dex of 17", etc...especially when it's tailor-made for mod NPCs.)

 

There is a different between cheating and modding.

Doing anything that isnt normally allowed in the game can be considered cheating - altering attributes, EXP, and adding kits to multiclassed characters are all cheats.

Modifications on the other hand add extra things like that Morturi class. As interesting as it seems, I dont really consider that class to be cheating because it is balanced with its inability to use both armor and magic items, not something that I would enjoy playing (I love my magic items). But adding in a modified kit and assigning it to a multiclass isnt any different to assigning one of the current kits already in the game. They are both cheating nonetheless as they dont follow the rules of the game.

Cheating will also be when I put Greater Malison into my Cleric / Invokers spellbook, or add a couple as innate spells

I want to be an Invoker and I want to have Greater Malison.

 

I guess that Morturi class isn't too overpowered (after skimming through the description) however a F/M/T with the fighter being SK'd to one IS! Especially seeing as how you're soloing, as that means you'll get UAI in no time.

Once you've completed the game without cheating a first time, then I guess you can do whatever you want.

 

I'm not too keen on the tripple classes unless the 8 mill experience cap could be increased.

A F/M/T or F/M/C will never be able to cast Time Stop + Improved Alacrity under the 8 mill limit (my favorite spells).

I would rather use a Swash / Mage, Kensai / Mage or Cleric / Invoker now.

I'll try soloing in my next game after I learn more about each of these combinations.

I remember my first ever BG1 character was a F/M/C because I wanted to do eveything. I really enjoyed it, but I wouldnt be keen on missing out on level 9 spells from that combination now.

Imagine if BG was convered to the leveling system in NWN - You can have up to four classes and choose where to place each level. That would be epic fun.

I calculated for fun - You could potentially get 12 Thief / 20 Mage / 25 Cleric if triple classing was possible =D