Fighter Mage multi vs dual

[Vyadhi]

I forgot how people abbreviate Fighter Mage dual, sorry.

What do you guys prefer? Its a heavily debated point with the consensus being the dual ends up more powerful but there's the issue of downtime and having to play all of BG1 just as a fighter while the multi gets spells out the gate. Doesn't your thac0 continue to improve as a multi as well ?

I can't decide personally, both have perks and low points for me.

[wendigo211]

The main points are:

• Fighter/Mage Dual class:
  1. Must be human
     
  2. Can use class kit for first class
     
  3. Can put 5 pips in weapon proficiency (Grand Mastery) for a +3 to hit, +5 to damage and extra attack per round
     
  4. Get's full Fighter hit dice for Fighter levels.
     
  5. Does not get Fighter high level abilities (HLAs)
     
  6. Has downtime after dual classing until Mage level is one level higher than Fighter level
     
  7. Does not gain any XP as a Fighter after dual classing.
• Fighter/Mage multiclass:
  1. Must not be human
     
  2. Cannot use class kits
     
  3. Can only put 2 pips in weapon proficiency (Specialization) for a +1 to hit, +2 to damage and extra 1/2 attack per round
     
  4. Gets half fighter hit dice for Fighter levels.
     
  5. XP is always split between two classes

My general thoughts are Dual Classing is better if you're soloing or playing with a small party (or are willing to scribe scrolls for XP in BG2). The bonuses from kits and advanced specialization make up for the loss of HLAs and you level faster as a Mage at higher levels since your XP isn't split.

If you're playing with a full party then the Multiclass is probably more convenient.

[Centurion]

I am totally in the Dual-Class column. The previous response is really good, but it leaves out the issue of armor. A regular fighter can wear it, unless they are a Kensai, and this will keep you alive during the early (hard) part of BG1. True, a multi-class can try to compensate with buffs like stoneskin (which you don't get for a few levels) or can put on armor and disable their casting, but then you still have those lesser HP. I know many, many will disagree, but I find dual-class to be superior in nearly, not quite, all combos, and Fighter>Mage is top of the list. Here is my recipe for an awesome Dual:

1) Decide right off if you want to end up a melee mage or a ranged mage eventually. Go for grandmaster in your preferred bow or throwing weapon for ranged. For melee, go quarterstaff. Why? First they don't break. Second, you can get a magical one very early in BG1. Third, BG2 has some great ones for mages.
2) Stats. You should emphasize STR, CON, and DEX first. INT can be as low as 15 since you will get to raise it by 3 points in both games. Don't go above 16, as there is no benefit at all to going above 19 (well, not a lot.)
3) Max those HP. CON 18 may be more important than other stats.
4) Play the entire first game as a warrior. If you want to be a ranged mage, go straight fighter. If you want to be melee, think Berserker. Berserker is actually protection from most mage cheese tactics against you in BG1. (No Fear!) SoD gets you closer to dual level faster.
5) In BG2, avoid romances as much as possible until you are ready to dual (Jaheira is a problem.) Don't recruit (depending on gender/preference) Aerie, Viconia, Anonmen, or the EE romances. Don't do this because,...
6} When you are ready to dual (Level 9 or 13, tops), have your thief chug Potions of Master Thievery and then steal every single scroll in Waukeen's Promenade, Trademeet, etc. Once you have them KICK OUT every party member you can (romances and self-rolled NPCs are a problem). ideally all of them. Then,...
7) Scribe those scrolls. Chug potions that raise INT or save (often) and scribe everything you can. Here's the deal. In BG1 you get 10 xp per level for each scroll you scribe, In BG2 you get 1000 xp per spell level. I have not done this for a few years, but you should easily hit Level 5 or 6 just by scribing scrolls. Multi-class has to scribe at low levels, for lousy XP!
8) Now recruit back your party and do all the Chapter 2 quests you can to level up. Smaller party, more XP for you.

9) Here's a bonus tactic. Many quests you do will not give you the full quest XP until you report back to the quest giver, like the head priest in a temple or mayor. Do these quests BEFORE you dual, but don't claim the final reward. Wait until you dual and are now solo for the moment. Then claim your quest XP (Hey mayor, solved that problem you had with the ogres!) all for your new mage.

The end result: You should have a new mage with 135+ HP, grand mastery in your preferred weapon (disabled for now). and you should start out half way to regaining your fighter abilities. As an added bonus, you can show off your incredible physique at the mage guild and shove all those wimpy mages around and steal their dates!

All of this said, this is a game. Play what makes you happy. For me, I still see BG1 as fundamentally a hack and slash game. You can beat it without ever casting a mage spell. Someone else is about to respond with how much more awesome their multi-class fighter/mage is. The thing is, the point is to have fun. Some people feel they are not playing a fantasy RPG is they are not casting spells. Unless you are playing a speed run, the two games can easily eat 400 hours of play. You really need to be into the avatar you are playing.

[Vyadhi]

Personally, I've played through F/M and dual through the early parts of the game multiple times and even with my spells I find fighter or berserker to be way more survivable. My strategy nowadays (with scs installed) is to solo easy stuff until level 5 so my recruits will get the max exp you can get before getting them (32k). I did it first as F/M elf and thought it wasn't too bad but was dreading trying fighter. To my shock I did way better as the latter and was able to start soloing Ankhegs pretty early. Of course I get the free ankheg armor in Nashkel first so I'm wearing something and that helps a lot early.

I dual at 9 btw.

On a thematic level I think f/m is cooler though.

[Wicket W. Warrick]

There's no single answer even for the same player because it depends on the walkthrough you want to do (all saga, solo/vs group) and the level of metagaming that you wanto to use.

For example, regard to other dualling, the fighter 9 mageX is one of the faster if you play BG1 and have SoD. After ending BG1, if you solo a few hours of SoD you can reach 500k quite fast (before the end of the first camp area) and then export the character. Before the end of BG1 you buy protection against undead and a lot of staves, and the game is done. Actually you can manage all the areas through fireballs, lightningbolt, summoning and undead killing without being seen.

But except this case, the recovery time is always annoying , furthermore if you play in BG1 you don't have a mage for all the game. All become worst if you paln to dual at 15. So you need a party to support this recovery period, but having a party makes the recovery period longer.

On the other end multi class has a plain gamethrough in all the game. The main issue is that you get access to 9th level spells much later, you can even don't reach them if you don't play Watcher's keep. Not that he becomes weak, but he loses the main ultimate strategy that is stopping time and going melee. For this reason you feel that a multi is stronger in a solo run than in a party run.

All that said I find the multi character more funny to play, while the dualled characters has this annoying recovery times and this need of metagaming that distract from the story.
I think all the "who's stronger" discussion not so relevant: both are so strong that the games becomes easy from some points, so it really doesn't make any difference.

[D'amarr from Darshiva]

Originally posted by Vyadhis:

I forgot how people abbreviate Fighter Mage dual, sorry.

Some write it as Fighter>Mage or Fighter->Mage with/without primary class level, e.g. Fighter13>Mage. Short forms have been seen, too. Such as F>M, F>C (=cleric), F>D (=druid).

With regard to dual-classing level, I've done it at levels 7 and 9 more often than at level 13. Female Fighter9>Cleric is among my most popular choices, because I want to contribute an increased number of essential priest spells in the second game. And a female PC will attract Anomen.

[Centurion]

Originally posted by D'amarr from Darshiva:

Originally posted by Vyadhis:

I forgot how people abbreviate Fighter Mage dual, sorry.

Some write it as Fighter>Mage or Fighter->Mage with/without primary class level, e.g. Fighter13>Mage. Short forms have been seen, too. Such as F>M, F>C (=cleric), F>D (=druid).

With regard to dual-classing level, I've done it at levels 7 and 9 more often than at level 13. Female Fighter9>Cleric is among my most popular choices, because I want to contribute an increased number of essential priest spells in the second game. And a female PC will attract Anomen.

I use "/" for multi and ">" for dual.

For dualing Fighter>Mage there are really only three logical points to do this:
-7th level because you now have 1.5 APR. although you won't max HP
-9th level to max HP
-13th level to get 2 APR. although this is hard to earn back the levels on
Anything past 13th is pointless

Finally, on the Female Fighter>Cleric. You are, presumably, a mighty Fighter>Cleric with good stats and max HP. Why, oh why, would you then want to hook-up with "Annoying-man," who is totally inferior to you? I can see the point if you are Good and don't have another cleric, but this seems like taking Imoen, Nalia, and Jan all at once!

[malkavius77]

The multiclass is better as a true gish that utilizes their buffs an occasional spell tossing to compliment the fighter aspects. The dual is just a fighter that slowly becomes a full mage with little reason to really use his melee the more mage levels he gets. Berserker/mage is just for the I can't die from anything button on top of the significant mage buffs more so than the actually grandmastery in anything.

[D'amarr from Darshiva]

Originally posted by Centurion:

Why, oh why, would you then want to hook-up with "Annoying-man," who is totally inferior to you?

1) I don't consider him "annoying".
2) There are romance options in BG2, and he is one of the better ones.
3) His personal quest is also one of the better ones.

Last but not least, sometimes I choose a female Cavalier instead of a Fighter9>Cleric, and then it's a good option, too.

Originally posted by Centurion:

I can see the point if you are Good and don't have another cleric, but this seems like taking Imoen, Nalia, and Jan all at once!

Nalia as the lesser Imoen is a good choice while Imoen is not available.
Jan is so entertaining. The longer he is part of the team, the better his
comments get.