Is there any point to Kensai?

[Regent]

I mean other than dual classing. I know that if you dual-class him into mage in BG SoA you get a demi-god sort of thing. But I just do not see any point in this class existing on its own, it seems to loose out to any other class, including the bard. Or am I not seeing something?

[SirDmitry]

Complete Bg1 + Bg2 on Normal with pure kensai (katana). He is an awesome damage dealer, but has problems with armor class and crits. Aggro enemies at Kagain/Korgan, then kensai attack them = easy win.

[Zopheir]

Adding onto what @SirDmitry said

While you can't use bows and crossbows, you can still use throwing axes, throwing daggers, and darts, which mitigate the risk of close-quarters combat.

[arsenicBumpnip]

TLDR-ish: At higher levels (15+) the Kensai outclasses possibly every other pure class in the game for Melee DPS, but in exchange has weaker defenses. The dual-class-to-mage cheese setup is basically turning on cheats, but even with just another spellcaster in the party (or a steady supply of potions) to buff you the Kensai can absolutely slap.
The Blade bard kit's melee DPS is solid, but by the time you reach BG2 and especially ToB it falls significantly behind the Kensai's. In exchange, the Blade gets a more "all-rounder" set of abilities that let you be more creative with how you play them than the strat always being "receive buffs, then hit target with sword".
Also, Kensai wasn't balanced for BG1, which is why it might seem weaker than it actually is. It was originally introduced in BG2, where you start at level 7 and are immediately able to offset most of its downsides.


Much Longer Explanation:
It's important to note that Kensai wasn't a class in the original BG (The only Kits in non-EE were the Specialist Mages like Illusionist, Evoker, etc), and Monk wasn't a class in the original BG2 (it was added by the Throne Of Bhaal expansion), so for Vanilla BG2 Kensai was the only option if you wanted to play a monk-type class where you give up a lot of defense ability in exchange for cream-of-the-crop melee.

That in mind, BG2 starts you off at at least Level 7 and nigh-immediately gives you likewise-leveled spellcasting party members & some magic equipment, so from the outset you had the means to counteract the Kensai's defensive shortcomings (ex. you can recruit a Druid who can buff your AC with Barkskin approximately 2 minutes after the opening dialog finishes) and in turn take fuller advantage of their offensive bonuses.

In that regard, here's some stats of the Kensai's crazy-good melee potential in comparison to the Bard's (I'm assuming you're looking specifically at the Blade kit):
Gradually gets the same bonus attack per round that the Blade's Offensive Spin gives, except has it -all the time-, and eventually has -two- extra attacks per round at all times. (+1/2 of an attack at Level 7 & Level 13, and for having 2/5 Proficiency Points in your equipped weapon).
Has ~65% more Max HP potential than the Blade, assuming you've capped the Blade's CON bonus at 16 and have the Kensai's CON at 19 (either via being a Half Orc or finding the permanent stat up as another race), and gets 50% more HP per level once you reach the Max HP softcap at ~Level 10.
Has substantially better Hit Rate progression (base rate of 65% at 500k XP vs 30%, and Blade's base rate caps at 55% while Kensai's eventually reaches full-ass "95% with extra wiggle room to counter enemy Armor Class").
Gets more damage just from leveling up (+3 at 500k XP vs +0, by the end of BG2's expansion it's +13 vs +0).
Better Saving Throw progression (Bard's base success rate caps at an average of 70%, Fighters base rate average caps at 82.5%)
In Throne Of Bhaal, gets the once-per-day Fighter High Level Abilities like Whirlwind (10 Attacks per round for 1 round) & Critical Strike (Every attack for the next round rolls a 20, and thus is guaranteed to both hit -and- crit), and your "Max Damage Mode" buff lasts long enough that if you activate it first some of your attacks will benefit from Kai + an HLA at the same time.

For comparison, some points where the Blade has the advantage:
Gets to wear medium armor & gloves, and can use some shields if you don't dual-wield, so is less reliant on spell/potion buffs for AC and can wear some nice magic gloves that the Kensai can't.
Can use bows/crossbows, including during "Max Damage Mode".
"Max Damage Mode" lasts twice as long as the Kensai's per use, and though they end up with the same # of uses per day eventually, the Blade gets some of those uses at earlier XP amounts. Also it gives a move speed buff, helping you avoid "losing attacks" if you kill a target and have to walk to the next one.
Gets to cast some magic spells, meaning they can self-buff if you don't wear armor.
Doesn't get any melee-oriented HLAs, but gets Use Any Item, which gives you the potential for some very min-maxed equipment setups since you can equip whatever you want at that point (except for body armor, if you still want to cast spells).

Basically, the Kensai completely specializes in Melee Offense, and absolutely mogs every other class at it, but is in exchange reliant on either a support buffer or a lot of expensive potions to maintain their full potential.
Meanwhile the Blade doesn't specialize in anything at all, but gets a nice spread of offensive/defensive/magical abilities, and so can react with decent effectiveness to basically any situation, just not as well as a class that's specialized in dealing with a given scenario.


But yeah, playing as a Kensai in early-game BG1 is -rough-. Since it originates from BG2 it wasn't balanced for low levels, so the DPS-related bonuses haven't fully kicked in, you're still very much a glass cannon, -and- you don't have the caster support to back you up that you'd have in BG2.

[wendigo211]

For BG1 a Kensai wants the Shield Amulet, which can be purchased from the Nashkel Carnival, when recharged (sold and bought back) it has 50 charges of the Shield spell (AC 4, 2 Vs. Missiles). Since Kensai have a -2 to AC as part of their kit, it gives them the same AC as a regular Fighter in plate mail, which is good enough for BG (and you can use a Potion of Defense/Invulnerability for tough fights). What you really miss is a helmet and the immunity to critical hits. I have done an Insanity solo of BG with a Kensai, it wasn't easy as a Berserker, but it was fairly easy.

That said, as ArsenicBumpnip suggested, you want to use thrown weapons (daggers and axes) as much as possible, to reduce exposure to enemy attacks. Firetooth or K'logarath in your main hand and Crom Faeyr in your Offhand is what you're aiming for in BG2.

[Wicket W. Warrick]

More attack, less defense.
Using another character as tank and micromanaging, you get the other character tergeted, while the kesai do more damage.
Shield amulet, as alread suggested, helps if targeting while in melee.

I don't like the class, but with the right strategy can be effective. A berserker is surely more complete, but kensai is still a good class to play, better than a shaman, btw.

[Kamuizin]

Originally posted by Regent:

I mean other than dual classing. I know that if you dual-class him into mage in BG SoA you get a demi-god sort of thing. But I just do not see any point in this class existing on its own, it seems to loose out to any other class, including the bard. Or am I not seeing something?

You can play single class kensai by diving in shield amulets and potions to substitute defensive spells. While not being able to wear gloves harm them, their truly only limitation is the weak AC they can normally reach.

In the end of the day, 2e was always a flawed edition. Still, kensai is better than wizard slayer.

[Centurion]

It's less the AC that's the problem (it does not help) but the inability to wear helms. Critical hits are deadly early in BG, and that issue never totally goes away. By late SoA you are facing bosses that pretty much hit anyone, even with -25 AC, so that is less an issue than get devastated by crit hits from any physical attack (bows, swords, claws, etc.)

For me it's a question of how much overkill do you want in the late game (BG2) to put up with the really weak defense in the original game and even early BG2? Right now I am wiping the floor with a cavalier who can only get 2 pips in weapon's skill. How bad do you want to be a GM in daggers with all those other benefits plus Kai?

Or, as Colin Hay would say, "It's just overkill."

[nomadpad]

18 dex, and high strenght. , plus ring of protection and potions of defense, or potion of invulnerablity, and you have a killing machine.