Cleric vs mage.

[Malaficus Shaikan]

I play pure classes only.(preference)
And i am doubting between cleric and mage(because i love magic, yes praying for divine intervention is counted as magic)

Mage seem to get alot more options(and i love options)
But cleric seem to be more pratical(healing, buffing, etc)

So what would be more usefull and fun.

Note 1: functiunal spells>flashy spells.
Note 2: This charater will be tranfered to baldurs gate 2.

[Hippoman]

Both eventually get insanely powerful. Personally, by the time you get to Throne of Bhaal Mages are more useful if only because of how much you need to strip spell defenses.

Though of course the very start of the game is much harder. As a level one mage is functionally worthless, and a cleric at least has a few decent spells and might be able to bludgeon someone.

[Frondson]

Both are exceptional. Personally, I would go with Cleric for a pure class because they get access to Shields, Armor, and Weapons.They end up far more usefule in a melee fight too. If a Wiz/Sorc runs out of spells and has to chuck darts they aren't very useful, but a Cleric can still pound away with Hammers, Flails, and Maces.

[Hjelpmooglene]

A level 1 mage is actually very useful in the beginning of the game. The spell sleep is very useful at disabling groups of enemies and allowing your melee fighters a better chance at hitting the enemy. You can buy some very good darts and bullets to be used by your mage if they run out of spells. So having some extra ranged characters can be pretty good.

[DnD Detective]

Mage will prove to be more powerful but there are a lot more mages to choose from in both games (its pretty easy to be covered there). If you are looking for power the mage is the way to go, but going with a cleric would give you more flexibility regarding party members.

[Soft Lockpick]

Why choose? Cleric/Mage is a thing.

I mean, I choose when I want the sorcerer casting system because it's way nicer. But if you're choosing between an actual MAGE and a Cleric just do both. The caster level loss really only hurts you on dispels from what I understand.

But if you insist on pure class, go Sorc. The casting is just much less annoying.

[danconnors]

If you're transferring the character to BG2 you should REALLY consider a dual classed human who starts out as a fighter. You get the fighter's weapons abilities, extra hit points, the ability to use shields and still cast spells. If you switch to mage at fighter level 9 those 9 levels will cost you exactly one level in the ultimate level of your mage, and it will cost you zero spell slots.

If you save all the spell scrolls you come across early in BG2, you'll have at least 50 scrolls. You can dismiss your entire party, sit down, and memorize enough spells to make mage level 10 in just a few minutes. You will, in effect, become a full dual class fighter/mage in about five minutes. Wearing the bracers of AC3, a +2 ring, and a good shield, your mage will have a natural AC-7 with no trouble. And, if you run low on spells, you can use your fighting skill to kill most opponents.

[Malaficus Shaikan]

Originally posted by kamster99:

Mage will prove to be more powerful but there are a lot more mages to choose from in both games (its pretty easy to be covered there). If you are looking for power the mage is the way to go, but going with a cleric would give you more flexibility regarding party members.

And that is basicly my problem.
One the want hand i want mage for the raw power and spells.
On the other i want cleric because they are very adaptive, good surviveablity, and i aint forced to bring a healer along.

[mikey_205]

Go mage or sorcerer (but only the latter if you want to research good spells). You'll almost certainly pick-up a healer anyway early on in both games. There is almost nothing more powerful than a Sorcerer or Mage at high levels and you'll probably want more than one mage in your party anyway. They are in no way squishy by the end of BG2 TOB.

[Malaficus Shaikan]

Originally posted by mikey_205:

Go mage or sorcerer (but only the latter if you want to research good spells). You'll almost certainly pick-up a healer anyway early on in both games. There is almost nothing more powerful than a Sorcerer or Mage at high levels and you'll probably want more than one mage in your party anyway. They are in no way squishy by the end of BG2 TOB.

Thanks.

[RoboGerbil]

Pure druid. Cast all the lightning bolts heals and flamestrikes you like. None of the downside. Plus you can use scimitars and spears along with the cleric weapons.

[Malaficus Shaikan]

Originally posted by RoboGerbil:

Pure druid. Cast all the lightning bolts heals and flamestrikes you like. None of the downside. Plus you can use scimitars and spears along with the cleric weapons.

Elves cant be druids :(

[RoboGerbil]

Just use EEkeeper to solve that little issue.

[Soft Lockpick]

Err... in the comparison I'm pretty sure "Being a druid" is the bigger issue that needs fixing. Haha.