Robe Of Vecna: Good For A Kensai/Mage

[danconnors]

I was afraid that my Kensai would be stuck with a really lousy armor class. But I dual classed when he made level 9, and just now got the gold to buy the robe of Vecna. That with a +1 ring and robe of the sewer has pushed his AC to -3. When he get the +2 ring and the ring of earth control, it will be up to AC-5. That's not half bad for a guy that can't wear any armor or use any bracers.

I probably REALLY should have gone for level 13 on the Kensai, because, as a Kensai, he's kind of a slouch. But enemies around him do have a tendancy of dying pretty fast.

[danconnors]

As far as I know it doesn't. I know some tricks with Baldur's Gate that get me through the first several levels pretty quickly. Basicaly I go the first several levels solo, killing large, slow moving, heavy XP targets. Around level 3 the Kensai starts shedding his vulnerability. Plus, at creation, I take the skill single weapon skill. It raises AC by -2.

[ÄmJii]

By the time your Kensai/Mage 13/xx has regained Kensai abilities, AC is irrelevant. Still, if AC concerns you:
- Spirit Armor makes it as if you're wearing Full Plate on yourself & lasts super long
- Kensai kit itself nets -2AC bonus
- High DEX buffs up your AC even further

When you've reached ToB, most of your damage mitigation comes from Mirror Images + Stoneskins (+ Prot. from Magic Weapons), not AC.
Fighter/Clerics can soak up damage via Defender of Easthaven (20% DR) + Armor of Faith (max. 25% DR) and Fighter HLA Hardiness (40%) for up to 85% resistance to all physical damage.

[Broseph]

Been researching this for hours instead of actually playing the game, because it's a long game and I don't want to build up a character just to have him suck later

1.) Only difference between Kensai 9 and 13 is an extra APR, right?
2.) Fighter/Mages are preferred if you're more intersted in melee than spellcasting, because they get better Thac0
3.) Fighterkit => Mage is preferred if you want to do more spellcasting because increased caster level and more spells?
4.)Kensai doesn't just lock you out of Armor, but will lock you out of helmets and gloves, which seems a little too much to me.
5.) Kensai is better than Zerker in damage because of the Kai ability, right? Full damage 3x a day at 9 and 4x a day at 13?
6.) Zerkers are better defensively because of rage immunities and ability to wear gloves and helmet?

Still not sure which I want to play. I really want to play human, so I think I want to dual but don't want to use the tweak fix that lets humans multi (again), and so far it seems to me zerkers end up better just because of the ability to equip items. I would only want to play by becoming a mage ASAP in BG2 and use the scroll exploit to regain fighter kit levels, but to regain fighter kit levels at level 13 would require over 3mil XP which goes into HLA territory which means gonna hit gap WAY before the game is over. 9 SEEMS more sane to me, can anyone tell me if there is a big reason I SHOULD do kensai or SHOULD go 13?

Also I'm guessing dual-wield is nigh-mandatory for a build like this, yeah?

[voehringer_nitron]

frdnwsm の投稿を引用：

Also, in SoA you can score the Mask of King Strohm, which is not classified as a helm, but nonethless wards off critical hits and can be worn by anyone, even mages and Kensai.

Actually, with the latest patch, any non-helmet head gear, like Ioun Stones, will not protect against critical hits.

[danconnors]

A level 13 Kensai will have a much better THACO than a level 9. His weapon speed factor will also be lower than a level 9. In practical terms, in a heavy fight a level 13 Kensai will pprobably kill at least one more enemy per turn than a level 9, and maybe a couple more. That's how fast these people kill enemies. I see lots of enemies leaving a Kensai's vicinity with a yellow marker under them, meaning they're running for their lives.

[ÄmJii]

「ＢＲＯＳＥＰＨ」 の投稿を引用：

1.) Only difference between Kensai 9 and 13 is an extra APR, right?

Kensai gets +1 to hit & dmg per every 3rd level, so practically K13 has 5 more THAC0 than K9. K9 reaches base THAC0 of 8 (20 - 9 from Fighter levels - 3 from Kensai bonus) whereas K13 reaches base THAC0 of 3 (20 - 13 from Fighter levels - 4 from Kensai bonus). That's a huge difference.
However, 6th level spell Tenser's Transformation sets your THAC0 at 0 (later on) regardless of whether your 9th level or 13th level dual.

「ＢＲＯＳＥＰＨ」 の投稿を引用：

2.) Fighter/Mages are preferred if you're more intersted in melee than spellcasting, because they get better Thac0
3.) Fighterkit => Mage is preferred if you want to do more spellcasting because increased caster level and more spells?

Yup, pretty much. F/M Multi claso gains Fighter HLAs, Imp. Haste + Critical Strike packs some mean punch... and Hardiness is always useful.

「ＢＲＯＳＥＰＨ」 の投稿を引用：

4.)Kensai doesn't just lock you out of Armor, but will lock you out of helmets and gloves, which seems a little too much to me.
5.) Kensai is better than Zerker in damage because of the Kai ability, right? Full damage 3x a day at 9 and 4x a day at 13?
6.) Zerkers are better defensively because of rage immunities and ability to wear gloves and helmet?

Kai isn't that relevant, it's the passive kit bonuses Kensai gets that really matters. Kensai hits harder, yes, but Berserker is better rounded and less reliant on spellbook management than Kensai/Mage (no need to prep Spell Immunities etc. when you can pop Enrage).

「ＢＲＯＳＥＰＨ」 の投稿を引用：

Still not sure which I want to play. I really want to play human, so I think I want to dual but don't want to use the tweak fix that lets humans multi (again), and so far it seems to me zerkers end up better just because of the ability to equip items. I would only want to play by becoming a mage ASAP in BG2 and use the scroll exploit to regain fighter kit levels, but to regain fighter kit levels at level 13 would require over 3mil XP which goes into HLA territory which means gonna hit gap WAY before the game is over. 9 SEEMS more sane to me, can anyone tell me if there is a big reason I SHOULD do kensai or SHOULD go 13?

Also I'm guessing dual-wield is nigh-mandatory for a build like this, yeah?

Go with Berserker/Mage 9/xx on your first run. Those immunities weight alot more in long run and the helmet & gloves restriction is not fun to work around with.

Preferable weapons include Flail of Ages and Celestial Fury (katana), but longswords are also a safe bet.

[Broseph]

Thanks for your in-depth respond man

[red255]

danconnors の投稿を引用：

You get an extra kai attack per day at lvl 13. Also, weapon speed increases, and you get an extra +1 to melee attacks. In fact I put this character in hiatus, went back to Baldur's Gate, and started a new Kensai with a roll of 92. I'm trying my first lawful evil character. I know I can pick up two lawful evil cloaks of the evil arch mage; not sure if I can drag any into BG 2
(probably not).

there are robes of (evil) archmagi in BG2. you can buy one in the drow city. according to the wiki

I don't generally wear them, but I'm reasonably sure some can be found on dead red wizards on Neera's questline.

Wiki doesn't say so though, so I'm going to have to check shadowkeeper.

[frdnwsm]

Robe of Vecna is so good you must buy it. The good thing about this is that it isn't alignment dependent, any mage type can use it, and it boosts casting speed also.
Berserker is better early on, but by midway through SoA you can get some good gear that miigates a lot of weaknesss.
Lilacor, for example, protects against charm and confusion. At level 20, I also have the Belt of Inertial Barrier and the Cloak of Mirroring, with the Greenstone amulet in reserve for emrgencies. And as a mage, you will have all sorts of stuff like spell turning etc. that buffs you even more against spells.

[frdnwsm]

As for the Mask of Strohm, yes the latest patch seems to have borked this up, but I have an old version of the game, V1.32, so it still works for me.

[Broseph]

For dual classed fighter/mages how do you deal with the Thac0 problem? A multi-class can drop natural Thac0 down to 0, but a dual at 9 has one of 12 and at 13 has a Thac0 of 8

[frdnwsm]

Tenser's Transformation

[Broseph]

frdnwsm の投稿を引用：

Tenser's Transformation

For every melee fight though? seems kinda excessive.

[frdnwsm]

There are also items that can improve your THACO. Weapons with bonuses, girdles of strength, spells, etc.

[frdnwsm]

I once committed the ultimate blashphemy and dualed Sarevok over to a mage in ToB. Remember, Tenser's Transfomation doubles the caster's HP. My, he was a monster! I even managed to get his fighter abilities back in time for the final end game combats.