When should I dual?

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Alright, I'm about to play through the series. I've got a conjurer of level 11 in Chapter 2 of SoA, no mods or anything... From the beginning I planned to dual-class him into a fighter at some point, perhaps when I reach level 6 spells. I would, however, like to hear your opinions before ruining the character. (:

 

Most players do the opposite -- dual from fighter to mage. You're taking the more challenging route.

Your mage-fighter will be very weak (not many hit points). It will take a lot of careful tactics to keep him alive in battles until the mage class kicks in again. Even then, you will need to buff before even moderate fights (unless you intend to make him a ranged fighter).

It sounds like your enjoying your mage -- you've gotten past the tough part and from here on through the rest of the game the mage becomes more and more powerful (and a lot more fun). Your choice of spells becomes incredible (seventh through ninth level spells are amazing). My vote: keep him as a pure mage.

If you really want to dual, you may want to consider a thief. They level up faster to get both classes quicker. The lower hit points won't hurt the character as much as a thief and mage abilities can really make a thief shine.

That said, it depends on what spells you want to cast and what role your fighter/mage is playing. You should have good buffing spells by now and sixth level opens up Tensor's Transformation (which double your hit points and turns a mage into a fighter -- the doubling your hit points is the part that is good for your dual). The real offensive spells occur at levels 7-9, but level 6 is good for buffing.

Just keep in mind, every level you delay makes you a more powerful mage and a weaker fighter (less and less hit points). Delaying also makes it take longer for your character to get back the abilities of the first class.

 

I agree that dualling into a fighter right now is a strange idea. But your call...

Dualling into a thief instead is good idea, you get all necessary thief buffings:Imp Haste, Mislead, Stoneskin, Mirror Image, Strength, etc. You can do massive back-stabbing spree!

Level 12 is neat to dual as you get 2 6th level spells, which is a huge bonus!

Tell us what you decide.

 

I have to echo what others have said. Most of the fighter's advantages occur in the early levels, most notably, getting a lot of hitpoints. Mages become more powerful in the late levels. It seems this tactic is combining the worst of both worlds - i.e., you're missing out on the big hitpoint bonus of fighters at the early levels, and are also missing out on the power of the higher level mage spells. I'd honestly recommend keeping your character as a mage - you'll be much more powerful in the end.

 

Hmm. You've got a point. I was thinkin' that there is no point in advancing in the mage class, since I'd use the buffs to strenghten the fighter side, not hurling fireballs. That'd be Edwin's duty.

But then I noticed that I'm not getting the HP. I was thinking I'd get them. That's why my con is 19. Right now I'm in school so I'll have to see to it later.. I'm probably going to try a conjurer/thief, then.

And I'll use SK to modify the stats a bit. I rolled some nice stats in BG1 and used all the manuals to make him a über fighter when the time comes -> str19, dex19, con19, int19, wis14, chr11. I'll lower con to 16 and put the points to wisdom instead for a high lore and the other advantages.

Anyway, thanks for your help guys!

 

Ahh nuts...you should have started as a Fighter, and then dual-classed over to Mage at lvl 13...wow, that would have been SOME character!

However, if you want to go with something different, then kudos to you.

My recommendation...stick with the Mage class till you get lvl 7 spells atleast...why? Because you get Spell Sequencer, Khelben's Warding Whip, Ruby Ray of Alteration, and a couple more lvl 6 spells along the way. I know, you'd rather have your main Mage cast those spells, but I always find you can never have too many of them.

Anyway its your call.

PS: If you ARE SK'ing them anyway...why not go for Assassin thief kit after dual-classing for a little extra offensive oomph? Or Bounty Hunter for trap-laying goodness?

 

Yeah, I always get the feeling "damn, should've done it the other way" and that's where SK steps in. Yeah, the assassin kit would fit in well, my character being neutral evil and all.

Well, I'm not reaching even lvl 6 spells so soon with my limited spare time. I'll have the time to consider it. -.-

 

If you want to dual to fighter then don't wait until level 14, you'll loose 13 HP compared to a mage12>fighter.
But a level 14 mage>thief sounds can still reach 39 thief levels. Maybe you want to SK a swashbuckler in.
A multiclass F/M/T,M/T or F/M would be far stronger than your dualclassed versions. Maybe you can use SK for this.

 

I have my doubts about swashbucker being a good idea, as it gets no backstab multiplier. But then, can't tell until I try it out. That's what backup saves are for (:

 

Swashbucklers are way powerful in highest levels, at level 40 they have something like +8 to attack and damage rolls, just from kit! Plus they can use any scroll, any item, way too cheesy HLA traps, and they are frickingly powerful! Worship them!

 

You don't have to have the strongest character available in order to beat the game.
You can have fun playing your mage>fighter even without using shadowkeeper.
You really don't have to mod your special character into a mainstream powergamer toy.