Rank the classes!

fable · Post by **fable** » Sun Jun 23, 2002 11:17 am

That's right: it's your golden opportunity to sound off on which classes come out best in NWN! Rank 'em, and think about which ones have the best variety of useful options, are the most fun to play, can survive best, etc.

Pebz · Post by **Pebz** » Sun Jun 23, 2002 11:43 am

It all comes down to the given situations, doesnt it? But if you are refering to which class is best all in all (easiest to play) in the official campaign... well i cant really answer that since i havent played it yet

average joe · Post by **average joe** » Sun Jun 23, 2002 12:56 pm

Has anyone played with a bard yet? I'm very interested to see if they were well implemented.

smass · Post by **smass** » Sun Jun 23, 2002 1:22 pm

I am playing with a Ranger/Cleric - good mix of combat feats (two weapon style rocks) and summons/healing.

With the level cap at 20 I am probably going to go with 9th level ranger 11th level cleric. I am 5/5 right now and have over 100hps and can summon a dire wolf to knock my enemies off their feet.

I am really interested in how a mage/sorcerer works - the spell list is a lot lighter than BG - anyone playing one? Guess a fighter type henchman would be necessary until you level up.

THE JAKER · Post by **THE JAKER** » Sun Jun 23, 2002 2:52 pm

Originally posted by smass
I am really interested in how a mage/sorcerer works - the spell list is a lot lighter than BG - anyone playing one? Guess a fighter type henchman would be necessary until you level up.

Summons and rest often. I think the spell list is more limited than BG2 but you only need a couple good ones and in fact there is usually just a couple good spells per level no matter how many they put in.

Ares2382 · Post by **Ares2382** » Sun Jun 23, 2002 3:50 pm

I'm playing a sorcerer, with that half-orc fellow as my henchmen and a pixie as familiar. Pixie is very good familiar she is basically a thief and I have plenty of potions to ensure that I don't need a cleric so I basically have everything covered(mage, fighter, thief and potions instead of cleric). So far the game has been fairly easy, though I'm not out of chapter one yet. I like the fact that you can swap spells at lvl up. The spell selection is not as big as BG2 but I don't see that as a major problem. As a sorcerer you are a master of only a few spells anyways, you just use them more often.

smass · Post by **smass** » Sun Jun 23, 2002 3:59 pm

As a ranger/cleric I pretty much have to take the thief Tomi with me to disarm traps and get into chests. He is decent in melee and we make a good one-two punch. Too bad he doesn't have a ranged attack.

Pixie familiar is a good idea for a mage - you need the fighters punch - but this game has so many traps and locked chests that you need the thief abilities.

Can the Pixie detect and remove traps as well as open locks?

fable · Post by **fable** » Sun Jun 23, 2002 4:01 pm

So if you were running, say, a cleric, and wanted to do without the thief henchman--I suspect you'd be at a real penalty in dealing with all the traps along the way.

seraphim · Post by **seraphim** » Sun Jun 23, 2002 4:06 pm

>>>>>>As a ranger/cleric I pretty much have to take the thief Tomi with me to disarm traps and get into chests. He is decent in melee and we make a good one-two punch. Too bad he doesn't have a ranged attack. <<<<<

smass,

If you ask tomi, he will be happy to use his bow, which he is very adept at. i am running a straight up ranger and use him or the half elf, depending on the situation. tomi is great for stading back and chopping them down as i run in for the kill. just go into the conversations and ask him to change his fighting style.

personal edit---whooohooo, exalted member status!!! yippee for me!!!

smass · Post by **smass** » Sun Jun 23, 2002 6:19 pm

@seraphim - thanks for the tip - I was hoping there a way to change this

@fable - as a cleric I don't know how I would get any loot without Tomi. I have taken the fighter henchmen when I knew I needed some additional firepower - but I go with Tomi and a dire wolf 95% of the time.

fable · Post by **fable** » Sun Jun 23, 2002 6:22 pm

Originally posted by smass
@fable - as a cleric I don't know how I would get any loot without Tomi. I have taken the fighter henchmen when I knew I needed some additional firepower - but I go with Tomi and a dire wolf 95% of the time.

Well, there is always chest bashing, I suppose. But as far as detecting and removing traps are concerned, there you have a problem (IMO) if you don't bring alone a fam or a henchman who knows what to do.

Ares2382 · Post by **Ares2382** » Sun Jun 23, 2002 6:52 pm

Can the Pixie detect and remove traps as well as open locks?

Yes she can do that too.

fable · Post by **fable** » Sun Jun 23, 2002 7:16 pm

You are right. In fact, most fams appear to have the ability to detect traps, though only the pixie can disarm 'em--as a skill. However, the raven has disarm as a feat. Both can taunt. Only the pixie, though, can open locks.

cjdevito · Post by **cjdevito** » Sun Jun 23, 2002 8:26 pm

I've tried a few out so far, and here's some impressions:

Fighter/Druid -- took fighter to get martial weapons, heavy armor and the extra feats so I could go for two weapons more easily. Only taking two levels as fighter, rest druid. Not the strongest melee combatant, but not too bad. Druid animal companions are fairly nice. Dire wolf is definitely nice.

Rogue/Barbarian -- Give this one high intelligence and go for two weapon fighting feats, and you've got a powerhouse on your hands. Good fighter, well developed thief skills, and of course sneak attacks.

Fighter/Wizard -- tried this one to experiment with the Still Spell feat, which will let you cast arcane spells without armor causing failures. Not at all easy at low levels, but I suspect by the time you hit higher wizard levels you'll be a powerhouse.

Monk -- tried a half-orc monk for a bit earlier, got him out of the prelude so far. My initial impression is he's buff even at lower levels, and we all know what high level monks are like. Loot in the prelude is -definitely- geared to your class, as I found a large assortment of monk-only items with this guy.

Tamerlane · Post by **Tamerlane** » Sun Jun 23, 2002 9:29 pm

Originally posted by average joe
Has anyone played with a bard yet? I'm very interested to see if they were well implemented.

I second that statement, I'm also curious to see how they are.

THE JAKER · Post by **THE JAKER** » Sun Jun 23, 2002 11:17 pm

regarding the traps: anyone can detect traps I believe, it is a spot skill check and you can spot stuff even if your rank in the skill is 0. I was playing a thief and disarming traps, but I started playing a dual-wielding fighter (to multi in sorceror at some point) and I have just been taking the damage from traps as I am not employing any henchman. I have not run into any kill traps although that could change. The only bad situation is when you trigger a trap AND have to fight at the same time, so don't open anything until all enemies in the area are dead and you are fully rested. I have just been resting to heal although the "heal" skill could be a useful purchase: "finally! characters other than clerics can heal!"

I just bash all chests open. I used to just give up on chests when I got a "weapon ineffective" message, but now I realize that I can bash one of those chests, my normal hit will not damage it but a critical will. It takes a while sometimes but what does it matter? Activate "power attack" to do more damage per hit. Also I am considering carrying a greatsword just to bash chests with, as its' larger maximum damage would damage more chests on a normal hit - also improved power attack will be nice.