Alright I'm kinda new to AD&D and Baldur's Gate 2 SOA seemed liked a good idea to get me going.
Problem was, I simply picked a kit which sounded interesting enough which suited my style of play. Thus I picked the Wizard Slayer. I'm not keen on Magic so I thought having someone who was trained in smacking them hard would be very good.
Until I read a FAQ looking over the Classes(I was looking for some other thing at the time).
It said it sucks and listed reasons why. I wasn't too bothered about most things, just one point did though. The lack of being able to use Magic Items except Weapons and Armour.
I hadn't thought at the time, but looking at the various trinkets I've picked up, they would be very useful on him and the lack of being able to drink potions just adds strain on the Cleric.
Is it actually possible to have a decent fighter without all them Magic Items and just weapons and armour? I'm currently a Grand Master in Halberds and 2* things in Two Handed Style, if it helps.
Thanks for the help in advance........
Wizard Slayer woes
Wellcome to GameBanshee, Sigmar
first, you should get Throne of Bhaal add-on to SoA if you don't have it, and the patch, as the wizard-slayer gets some adjustment there, namely, being able to drink healing potions. (check it, maybe your game does allow it already, or maybe download the SoA only patch). i think Boots of Speed are usable as it is too, as well as some other items. just check.
now, some other points concerning the wizard-slayer:
he can be dual-classed into thief, if he is human, thus adding some versatility, that does actualy add to the wizard-slayer style of play, as getting to the wizards undetected and backsabbing them is the one of the best eay to deal with them. with ToB installed, at thief level 24 he will get Use Any Item special ability, thus essentially cancelling his main penalty, and being able to use items that are restricted to a single class or a specific NPC only.
you also may want to re-think your weapon choice - a duel-weilding wizard slayer will incapacitate the mage quicker, as he has more attacks per round, and there are some weapons that add extra attacks. and your main strategy is to get as many hits as you can in the first round of combat, as this assures no more spells for your target
a good weapon picks for a WS are weapons that do some elemental damage (fire, electricity, cold, etc.) on top of the regular damage, as this damage goes through all-too-common Stoneskin, but then, so does the WS spell-disruption.
poisoned weapons and weapons that do bleeading damage act as natural spell-disruptors, as a damage that is taken at the beginning of the round will disrupt most spells, aside from those with very short casting time, and those that ar stored in Contigiencies and Spell Triggers
also, always keep an non-magical weapon of choice, as it goes throug Protection from Magical Weapons. generally, as a WS you should familirise yourself VERY closely with the magical defence spells used by spellcasters, and ways to act against them. here are some examples:
wepons that do bleeading damage act as spell-disruptors, as a damage that is taken at the beginning of the round will disrupt most spells, aside from those with very short casting time, and those that ar stored in Contigiencies and Spell Triggers
stoneskin, iron skins -> dispelled by dispell magic, elelmental damag goes through
prot from magical eapons -> dispelled by breach (5 level MOST IMPORTANT mage spell imho), use non-magical weapons if can't breach.
mantle -> breach, use weapons of +3 and better.
and i refer you to Xyx's Spell Reference for a further in-depth address on this issue
Xyx's Spell guide
alternative warrior class options for WS style:
monk - high (higher than WS) magic resistance, fast movement, incredible attack rate, fast level advancement.
inquisitor - high saving throws, resistance to effects, excellent dispell magic, true sight. plus, a high Cha score will give you discount at stores. just see that the high Cha character is at the first "leader" place in the icons on the left side.
stalker - a backstab is strong enough to drop most mages on a spot, stealth, bonus duel-weilding proficiencies.
(surprisingly) barbarian and beserker - their rage makes the char invoulnerable to most neagative spell effects (charm, fear, confusion, etc)
first, you should get Throne of Bhaal add-on to SoA if you don't have it, and the patch, as the wizard-slayer gets some adjustment there, namely, being able to drink healing potions. (check it, maybe your game does allow it already, or maybe download the SoA only patch). i think Boots of Speed are usable as it is too, as well as some other items. just check.
now, some other points concerning the wizard-slayer:
he can be dual-classed into thief, if he is human, thus adding some versatility, that does actualy add to the wizard-slayer style of play, as getting to the wizards undetected and backsabbing them is the one of the best eay to deal with them. with ToB installed, at thief level 24 he will get Use Any Item special ability, thus essentially cancelling his main penalty, and being able to use items that are restricted to a single class or a specific NPC only.
you also may want to re-think your weapon choice - a duel-weilding wizard slayer will incapacitate the mage quicker, as he has more attacks per round, and there are some weapons that add extra attacks. and your main strategy is to get as many hits as you can in the first round of combat, as this assures no more spells for your target
a good weapon picks for a WS are weapons that do some elemental damage (fire, electricity, cold, etc.) on top of the regular damage, as this damage goes through all-too-common Stoneskin, but then, so does the WS spell-disruption.
poisoned weapons and weapons that do bleeading damage act as natural spell-disruptors, as a damage that is taken at the beginning of the round will disrupt most spells, aside from those with very short casting time, and those that ar stored in Contigiencies and Spell Triggers
also, always keep an non-magical weapon of choice, as it goes throug Protection from Magical Weapons. generally, as a WS you should familirise yourself VERY closely with the magical defence spells used by spellcasters, and ways to act against them. here are some examples:
wepons that do bleeading damage act as spell-disruptors, as a damage that is taken at the beginning of the round will disrupt most spells, aside from those with very short casting time, and those that ar stored in Contigiencies and Spell Triggers
stoneskin, iron skins -> dispelled by dispell magic, elelmental damag goes through
prot from magical eapons -> dispelled by breach (5 level MOST IMPORTANT mage spell imho), use non-magical weapons if can't breach.
mantle -> breach, use weapons of +3 and better.
and i refer you to Xyx's Spell Reference for a further in-depth address on this issue
Xyx's Spell guide
alternative warrior class options for WS style:
monk - high (higher than WS) magic resistance, fast movement, incredible attack rate, fast level advancement.
inquisitor - high saving throws, resistance to effects, excellent dispell magic, true sight. plus, a high Cha score will give you discount at stores. just see that the high Cha character is at the first "leader" place in the icons on the left side.
stalker - a backstab is strong enough to drop most mages on a spot, stealth, bonus duel-weilding proficiencies.
(surprisingly) barbarian and beserker - their rage makes the char invoulnerable to most neagative spell effects (charm, fear, confusion, etc)
Short answer: no.Originally posted by Sigmar
Is it actually possible to have a decent fighter without all them Magic Items and just weapons and armour?
I'm not one of those people who think that "items make the character", but Wizard Slayers are just plain crippled. Even if they CAN drink healing potions, they're hyprocrites if they do. That's not very practical, but what's the point? And why do they have to pick on Mages? Why not play a Cavalier and whoop up on dragons and demons, or play an Undead Hunter if you want to crusade?
Re: Re: Wizard Slayer woes
Quick answer would actually be yes - though the lack of magic rings / amulets does weaken you, you can still be a decent fighter, just not an uber one.
Originally posted by VonDondu
Short answer: no.
Quick answer would actually be yes - though the lack of magic rings / amulets does weaken you, you can still be a decent fighter, just not an uber one.
There are 10 types of people in the world:
Those that understand binary and those that don't
Those that understand binary and those that don't
Wizard-Slayer..
The first character I played in SoA was a wizard slayer (GM longswords, NO ranged weapon expertise ) so, ok I gimped him myself Anyway, it's a viable class, though probably one of the more problematic ones.
I'd always thought wizard slayer dualled to Mage would be a humorous, if wierd, combination.
The first character I played in SoA was a wizard slayer (GM longswords, NO ranged weapon expertise
) so, ok I gimped him myself Anyway, it's a viable class, though probably one of the more problematic ones. I'd always thought wizard slayer dualled to Mage would be a humorous, if wierd, combination.
I have given up all lesser evils as inadequate to my purpose.
Thanks for your help. To be honest my Wizard Slayer is doing great. I bought the Harmonium Halberd for him and it rocks. Anyway with Minsc and Keldorn both with great two handed swords(Lilarcor and Holy Avenger) and Anomen with the Flail of Ages I think any chance of a weak frontline is out the window, heh.
Got Jan for Mage/Thief support. Haven't got Immy back though. I'll need her to provide extra magic spells. Magically I'm weak but thankfully Keldorn can dispel almost anything so Jan can cast offensive spells. Just a thought, Jan's Flasher Launcher good enough for the game(SOA only)? I haven't found any Crossbows that are really amazing yet and I really can't be bothered to go out my way to do so.
Once again thanks for your help.
Got Jan for Mage/Thief support. Haven't got Immy back though. I'll need her to provide extra magic spells. Magically I'm weak but thankfully Keldorn can dispel almost anything so Jan can cast offensive spells. Just a thought, Jan's Flasher Launcher good enough for the game(SOA only)? I haven't found any Crossbows that are really amazing yet and I really can't be bothered to go out my way to do so.
Once again thanks for your help.
MINOR SPOILER
There are plenty of crossbows that are better than Jan's flasher launcher although most are not usable by mages and theives. Still, he is able to use light crossbows and the light crossbow of speed you can get right away in the adventure mart but there are more powerful versions elsewhere. I'm not sure where you are in the game but I believe both the Adventure Mart and the Copper Coronet have better crossbows than his and they are available rather early.
There are plenty of crossbows that are better than Jan's flasher launcher although most are not usable by mages and theives. Still, he is able to use light crossbows and the light crossbow of speed you can get right away in the adventure mart but there are more powerful versions elsewhere. I'm not sure where you are in the game but I believe both the Adventure Mart and the Copper Coronet have better crossbows than his and they are available rather early.
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Screaming Johny
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Welcome to the forum & to BGII.
Halberd's are very good weapons. There is one a little later called Dragon's Breath that does I think six (may be 5) different types of damage. I agree that 2H Swords are better, but if you already have 2 characters using them, you don't need a 3rd. 2-handed weapons also have extended reach. Let Anomen stay in front and take the damage, while you reach over his head and whack the enemy with your halberd. Also using a 2-handed weapon makes it easier to keep a bow equiped.
Which brings me to my next point. With that much melee, you may want to add a bow to your wizard slayer. There are some very nice shortbows. One very early shortbows has an extra attack, giving 3, plus fighter bonus, plus weapon specialization bonus for 4-5 attacks per round. As already mentioned, try doing elemental damage, it punches through many protections and still disrupts spells. There are a couple of shortbows that do this, or you can use some of the arrows that do elemental damage. I once took out one of the most powerful foes in the game with a shortbow just doing the elemental damage.
Halberd's are very good weapons. There is one a little later called Dragon's Breath that does I think six (may be 5) different types of damage. I agree that 2H Swords are better, but if you already have 2 characters using them, you don't need a 3rd. 2-handed weapons also have extended reach. Let Anomen stay in front and take the damage, while you reach over his head and whack the enemy with your halberd. Also using a 2-handed weapon makes it easier to keep a bow equiped.
Which brings me to my next point. With that much melee, you may want to add a bow to your wizard slayer. There are some very nice shortbows. One very early shortbows has an extra attack, giving 3, plus fighter bonus, plus weapon specialization bonus for 4-5 attacks per round. As already mentioned, try doing elemental damage, it punches through many protections and still disrupts spells. There are a couple of shortbows that do this, or you can use some of the arrows that do elemental damage. I once took out one of the most powerful foes in the game with a shortbow just doing the elemental damage.