Spells and Abilities Guide for BGEE

This is a guide that is intended to describe the usefulness of the various spells and special abilities found in Baldur's Gate Enhanced Edition. Feel free of course to try all these spells and abilities yourself this is just my opinion of them all.

I've been playing BG1 and BG2 for well over ten years so while my game hours aren't high on Steam I like to think I'm pretty knowledgable about the game. You can also find my NPC Guide to BGEE on Steam as well.

Keep in mind that this guide is specific to BGEE. Many of the spells discussed become more (or possibly less) useful in BG2EE.

Also any spell you see with a name that is bolded is only available to sorcerors because there is no scroll for it in the game (or if it is at best its a random drop). When it comes to sorcerers spell selections you'll want to be thinking about their usability in BGEE and BG2EE because the spells you choose carry over.

Finally when I say activable abilities what I mean is abilities that you press a button to activate. Like Turn Undead or Minsc's Berserk ability. So I'm not talking static abilities. Also anything I describe as a "staple spell" is pretty much a bread and butter spell for me. Mostly because it has a lot of usability or because it is very powerful.

Just to clarify a few things

I may throw a bunch of terms, short forms, and phrases around in here that many people would not understand otherwise. So for clarities sake I'll just try to explain some of them.

APR = Attacks per round

Hits as a +x weapon = Just means it hits as a magical weapon, which in BGEE is mostly important when fighting Mustard Jellies or Vampiric Wolves (because they are immune to normal weapons). It doesn't necessarily mean that its getting any kind of Thac0 or damage boost like most magical weapons would get.

AC = Armor Class

Thac0 = To Hit Armor Class 0.

Charname = main character.

Arcane Spells - Level 1

Armor

This is a useful spell for anyone looking at a long lasting defensive spell. Its highly recommended especially for fighter/mages. You'll want to cast it before battle begins because unlike the "Shield" spell it has a long casting time. It also lasts an amazing 45 turns. However, if you travel to another area (with your map) it will disappear.


Blindness

This is an extremely useful spell for countering mages and other spellcasters. This is because if a caster is blinded they will fail whatever casting they were doing and of course they'll be unable to see you to try casting again. Even against fighters it is good because it is quick casting and if successful it will increase the enemies AC and Thac0 by 4 each, which basically means they will have a much harder time hitting your characters and avoiding your melee and ranged attacks.


Burning Hands

This is a pretty useful spell if you are looking at doing some damage while still possible disrupting mage casts. Its also good to have on hand against Trolls, though in BGEE those only appear in a very select area.


Charm Person

If you've got a druid on hand have them memorize the second level priest spell Charm Person or Mammal. Its going to be much more efficient than taking up a level 1 mage slot. Also that spell lasts twice as long as this one. Charm Person just is too short lasting, has the downside (like the druid spell) of giving an opponent +3 to their saving throws, and takes up a valuable place for spells. On a plus side it has a short casting time. The best use you are going to probably get out of charm spells at this low a level is to see the additional dialogues many NPC's (Xzar, Dynaheir, Xan, etc) give that give a bit more in the way of backstory.


Chill Touch

Not going to be really worth it unless you are a fighter/mage. Its main benefit is that as an attack that does elemental damage it bypasses Stoneskin and Mirror Images. It also casts quickly. If you aren't a fighter/mage you shouldn't be in a position where your mage is this close to an enemy, so its not really worth it. The -2 Thac0 penalty it gives to an enemy is decent but nothing special. Like Ghoul Touch it is however an option if you are looking for combinations with a Minor Sequencer for a shapeshifted character (because of the cold damage it will let you do).


Chromatic Orb

Even in the best of circumstances this spell isn't really all that great. The +6 it gives to saving throws is a huge penalty. Without an enemy failing their saving throw even at level 7 or 10 you aren't going to be doing much damage (an average of either 5.5 at level 7 or 6.5 damage at level 10). Also if you are a bard the highest version of the spell that you can get in BGEE carries with it the risk of petrification (which means you likely will lose whatever equipment the creature you are using this on had). You can avoid this however by turning off the Gore setting. Its a decent pick for a sorcerer because at higher levels (especially in BG2EE) it can act as a low level troll killer (it eventually will deal acid damage).


Color Spray

Thankfully this was fixed in BGEE. Now it generally works alright. It still functions however as a less effective version of Sleep. Great if you want to knock out people before you steal from them. Pass on it otherwise in favour of Sleep.


Find Familiar

Fantastic spell because it will boost your mages health total considerably at lower levels. You can also have it fight for you, though to be honest its safer to ask it to stay in your pack.


Friends

Great little spell that lets you boost your mages charisma up as needed. Not really worth keeping on hand at all times though. Best used for buying from stores if your mage (or bard) has a high amount of charisma.


Grease

It can be useful in some circumstance. Especially if you want to throw down a few Webs and follow through with a Cloudkill or Fireballs. Still, it does give any in the area of effect a +2 save against it so practically speaking it will be fairly ineffective against most higher level enemies (and more of an annoyance for you when dealing with weaker enemies).


Identify

Great to have if you want to identify items. Practically speaking however there are many shopowners that can do this for you. Using shopowners is expensive but after a certain point money shouldn't be much of a problem.


Infravision

Totally a worthless spell. You can get its benefits by turning on group infravision and having an elf, half-elf, halfling, gnome, dwarf, or half-orc in your party.


Larloch's Minor Drain

Useful because it is quick casting. However, practically speaking its not very useful because it does a low amount of damage.


Magic Missile

Bread and butter damage spell that will do more damage with levels. Decent at disrupting enemy spellcasting but very good at removing an enemies Mirror Image spell.


Nahal's Reckless Dweomer

A totally reckless spell to use at low level. If you are willing to take some risks it can be good if you happen to learn Cloudkill from a scroll of it that you find. Otherwise you'll want to use Chaos Shield if you are going to use it (and perhaps Improved Chaos Shield which you can cast by using the dweomer).


Protection from Evil

4th level Protection From Evil 10' Radius is longer lasting than this and more practical. Pick up Ajantis if you really want this spell at a low level. Not worth it for a mage.


Protection from Petrification

Situational spell at best. Plenty of alternatives exist in the game to use against Basilisks, so its really more of a nice spell to have around just in case (rather than being something that is particularly practical).


Reflected Image

Get Mirror Image (level 2) instead as well as either Shield or Armor. Pass on this one.


Shield

Arguably the best defensive spell for level 1 mages. Its quick casting, it gives a phenominal amount of AC against ranged attacks (2, which is the equivalent of Splint Mail +1), it makes you immune to magic missiles (great for making mages waste casting the spell on your mage), and it lasts for 5 turns ("1 hour" in game time which is 5 minutes in real life).


Shocking Grasp

Not very useful unless you are a fighter/mage. Like Chill Touch I'd avoid it. However, if you are a fighter/mage it can deal a decent amount of lighting damage in one attack (so its worth checking out). As an elemental attack it will also bypass Stoneskin and Mirror Images. Plus it casts quickly. Unlike Chill Touch its damage bypasses magic resistance.


Sleep

Staple spell and also the best level 1 spell by far. Get this spell if you want to make half (or more) of the games encounters really easy. There are enemies in the game that will be immune to it but many won't be (especially a lot of the enemies you encounter during ambushes and in random encounters on maps). I wouldn't pick this as a sorceror however because it has no usability in BG2EE. There is a wand you can buy in High Hedge that will still be very effective at knocking out enemies (though not as effective as the spell).

The creatures the spell will work on include; black talon elites, bandits, ankhegs, giant spiders, huge spiders, gibberlings, xvarts, wolves, dire wolves, black bears, gnolls, gnoll elite, gnoll veterans, flind, hobgoblin, hobgoblin elite, chill hobgoblin, half-ogre, ogre, ogre berserker, ogrillion, tasloi, kobolds, and kobold commandos. There are a number of enemies it won't work on, especially named enemies (like Bassilus, Tarnesh) and later enemies (basilisks, sirines, etc). But for a level 1 spell its just fantastic.


Spook

Great spell that like Blindess can be useful against casters (and is going to be more effective against everyone really). Keep in mind though that the enemy will run around after you use it on them so you may have to hunt after them if they leave your line of sight.

Arcane Spells - Level 2

Agannazar's Scorcher

Good damage spell. The amount of damage it does is highly variable and it will hurt party members if they walk into the flame (or if the flame moves into them).


Blur

Excellent defensive spell


Chaos Shield

A staple spell for any wild mage (especially Neera) regardless of whether they are using Nahal's Reckless Dweomer or not.


Deafness

Not very useful. You are better off disrupting a mage by using ranged weapons like a bow or by using other spells. There just aren't enough mages in the game for it to needed.


Detect Evil

Totally worthless. Also if you have Ajantis in your group he gets these as he levels up anyways.


Detect Invisibility

Useful to have on hand but there are very few invisible enemies in BGEE. Also more importantly Glitterdust does everything it does and more.


Ghoul Touch

Like Chill Touch it now at least treats the attack as if you have proficiency, so thats good. It also can be used as part of a spell trigger to be used after you use Polymorph Self to transform into a spider. Doing so makes you attack frequently with a paralyzing effect (for the duration of Ghoul Touch). Generally however unless you are a fighter/mage its not worth it.


Glitterdust

Staple spell. Excellent area of effect debuff spell. Blindness makes it harder for enemies to hit you and easier for you to hit them. On top of this it counters invisibility. You really can't go wrong by taking this spell.


Horror

Its a good area of effect debuff spell. I don't like it because enemies run around everywhere but if you are looking for a spell to remove the threat some enemies pose it can be worth it.


Invisibility

Good if you want to use a party member as a scout. Also good for fighter/mages since you get a +4 bonus to your Thac0 when you attack from stealth/invisibility.


Knock

Get a thief for unlocking things. There are tons of them available in the game and you really have no reason to be using this spell.


Know Alignment

Fun spell to have around if you are just wanting to see what the alignments are for different people you come across. If you are going to use it its probably better to use this with your cleric or druid though. It just isn't worth using up a second level spell slot. Also the fact that it has a save vs spell (even with a -2 penalty) was just a kick to the crotch by the games original developers.


Luck

Good if you've got a thief in your party that doesn't quite have high enough ability yet to unlock a chest or remove a trap. It will only effectively add 5 to a skill but its better than nothing. Still, its generally not worth memorizing.


Melf's Acid Arrow

Decent damage spell. If you are looking for something that does damage each round (rather than all at once) its a good spell to pick. Generally though I think you'll find with the second level spells that there are better options.


Mirror Image

Great defensive spell that is high recommended. Just remember that elemental and poison damage will bypass it so its still good to find a way to also lower your armour class.


Power Word: Sleep

Save yourself the slot and pick up Sleep instead.


Ray of Enfeeblement

Not worth it because you could be casting a spell that outright kills an enemy. Plus it gives a save vs spell with no penalty for the recipient of the spell (which means that it may not even do anything).


Resist Fear

Good spell to have on hand if you don't have a cleric in your party. Otherwise stick with a cleric's Remove Fear spell.


Stinking Cloud

Not as good as Web because it gives a bonus to save against it. The only benefit I can think of in its case is that it requires a save vs death. Since your warriors will have very good save vs death they are very likely to save against it. Unfortunately enemies are also likely to save against it, so either way its sort of pointless. The description makes it appear to last less time than Web, but they basically last the same amount of time regardless of your level. You can remove it with Zone of Sweet Air, so that is at least a plus (it means unlike Web you won't have to wait around for it to disappear before you save).


Strength

Good when used in combos with Polymorph Self and Minor Sequencer. Otherwise its good for giving party members with low strength (Khalid and Jaheira for instance) a boost.

It can also be used offensively against enemies with greater than 18/50 strength. It bypasses magic resistance and doesn't allow a save, so nothing can stop it from working on them. It can be used to reduce the damage that enemies like Wolfwere and Werewolves do (as well as their greater forms). Be careful if you use this offensively because many large creatures in this game who you'd think have greater than 18/50 strength actually don't (Wyvern's being one example). This is frankly a strategy that has more use in BG2EE than BGEE.


Vocalize

Worthless. You are unlikely to run into a Silence spell and even if you do you can just use wands to kill the mage or cleric that silenced you. Not worth the spell slot.


Web

Fantastic spell that you can use to grab hold of enemies. Works well with Fireballs, Skull Traps, Holy Smites, and basically any damage spell. Also good if you've got Polymorph Self available or have an Avenger in your party. The spider form is immune to Web and you can easily attack enemies while they are affected by it. This also works well with the fourth level Spider Spawn spell. There are also items you can find in the game that grant protection from Web (as well as the cleric spell "Free Action").

Arcane Spells - Level 3

Clairvoyance

- If you are the type of person who likes maps to be totally revealed its a neat spell to have. But it doesn't really do much that is helpful. In fact by removing the black on your map that is covering unexplored areas it may just make you miss places you have yet to explore. It also only works outdoors (which is more of an issue in BG2EE).


Detect Illusion

Its an improvement over Detect Invisibility but not even remotely worth a level 3 slot.


Dire Charm

Its a much more reliable version of Charm Person. Charm Person was always a situational spell. This isn't any better (and like Charm Person it only lasts 5 rounds). However, this is one of only three charm spells in the game that I would say are worth it to use offensively. So (for whatever reason) if you are looking at taking that kind of an approach to the game then this is a pretty essential spell in my book.


Dispel Magic

Staple spell. It will dispel beneficial and harmful enchantments on both the party and on enemies. You really want to be careful where you cast it because of this. Remove Magic is preferred though having a Dispel Magic handy for when you have a party member with negative effects active on them (like Confusion, Stun or Fear) is handy. In BGEE its easier to acquire compared to Remove Magic but both of them will do.


Fireball

Staple spell. Feel free to use this as an alternative to Skull Trap. You can also use a Wand of Fire to do this but chances are it won't be as damaging.


Flame Arrow
Its good but not amazing. Its main benefit is that its quick casting and only hurts one target (so no risk to party members). Its better than Melf's generally though Melf's will do more damage overall at the level cap (it just takes 3 rounds to do that damage). Its a good damage spell for a bard though (because they can get to level 10).


Ghost Armor

Its basically Armor but better. It has the same duration as Shield (5 minutes) but gives a much better AC bonus than Armor. Still, at a cost of a level 3 spell its not worth it unless you are using a Fighter/Mage or Blade.


Haste

Staple spell. Gives movement speed bonuses to everyone in your party and makes them all gain one extra attack per round. Very useful for warrior characters in your party but also useful for spellcasters because it allows them to run away quickly if they are being attacked.

Like Improved Haste it also divides your characters combat round time in half (just when using a weapon for attacking). Meaning that if you do 3 attacks per round the first two attacks will take place in the first 3 seconds, while the last attack will take place in the next 3 seconds. The spell has also been nerfed compared to BG1 because in BG1 it used to double your total number of attacks. This only adds 1 attack per round.


Hold Person
Slightly improved over the Priest version of the spell (it gives a -1 penalty to enemies trying to save against it). Still, its not enough to justify its use of a 3rd level spell slot.


Hold Undead

If you were facing swarms of undead with little magic resistance I could see this being handy. That won't be the case however. Pass on it and don't look back. Also note that it will work on Vampiric Wolves but not Dread Wolves (even though they both get all the immunities associated with being undead only Vampiric Wolves are classified in the game as being undead).


Invisibility 10' Radius

Extremely useful spell if you are planning an attack against enemies. It lets you position yourself strategically beforehand without the enemy knowing (since the enemy mages don't typically have the spells available to look for invisible enemies). Its slow casting time limits its usefullness after battle has started however.


Lightning Bolt

It does great damage but its also like shooting a gun with a blindfold on. You can be fairly certain which way its going to travel when you first cast it but the risk is where its ricochet goes!


Melf's Minute Meteors

Fantastic little spell. Great if you want to pound your way through an enemy mages Mirror Images or prevent them from casting (the fire damage will bypass Stoneskin and Mirror Image for instance). They also hit as +5 weapons though in BGEE that isn't nearly as important as in BG2EE.


Minor Spell Deflection
Not useful at all.


Monster Summoning I
Basically just useful for distracting enemies. You get the same from the Wand of Monster Summoning so its really not worth it to put towards.


Non-Detection

Don't bother with it.


Protection from Cold

Since only Baeloth can acquire Ice Storm and Cone of Cold is a pretty rare spell there is literally no reason (besides maybe a handful of Winter Wolf fights) to take this spell. Pass on it.


Protection from Fire

Unless you have plans on casting Fireball on yourself its probably not worth it to memorize this. Learn it for the few cases where you might need fire resistance, but you can get a lot of that from potions and Fire resistance scrolls anyways. Still, can't go wrong with 100% fire resistance (ignore the description provided in game its not accurate).


Protection from Normal Missiles

Not worth it. This is why you have Blur, Mirror Images, Stoneskin, or Shield!


Remove Magic

Staple spell. It will dispel beneficial and harmful enchantments but only on enemies. Its harder to come by but prefered over Dispel Magic. Otherwise from a level standpoint it works the same as Dispel Magic.


Skull Trap

Staple spell. Ideally take this over Fireball just because a few enemies you encounter will have fire resistance. You can also acquire this earlier than Fireball. I wouldn't rely on it for its ability to act as a trap because it won't always trigger properly.


Slow

Staple spell. Its the counterpart to haste that takes enemies and turns them into kittens. Well, not really. But it does make it so that they attack and move much slower and therefore I highly recommend it.


Spell Thrust

Not useful enough in BGEE to be worth taking up a spell slot for it.


Vampiric Touch

Its a decent spell but honestly there are much better spells at this level. Plus its possible to get it as an acquired power. Unless you are a fighter/mage or blade (and you want up-close spells) I probably wouldn't bother with it.


Wraithform

Good if you are a fighter/mage or a blade (and aren't going to be casting any more spells in this battle). Not worth it otherwise.

Arcane Spells - Level 4

Confusion

Technically its not the same as Horror (Horror causes panic and this spell causes confusion) but at the end of the day it doesn't last as long as Horror and while it does give a save penalty it also takes up a much more valuable spell slot. Don't bother with it.


Contagion

Could prove useful in BG2EE but in BGEE there are much better picks.


Emotion - Hopelessness

Staple spell. Its basically an improved version of Sleep that renders many enemies unconcious. Best used when Greater Malison is used before it. It also provides a Resist Fear benefit for the party.


Enchanted Weapon

Good spell for getting a +3 weapon. You can move the created weapon around. Sadly however there are better spells to choose from.


Farsight

I've read people online using this to organise their summons attacks against enemies (but from a distance). Honestly a strategy like this is not necessary in BGEE. Its also more work than its worth.


Fireshield (Blue)
Blue is more useful than Red because enemies are less likely to be resistant against cold. Only really useful for fighter/mages or blades. It only works if enemies are hitting you though (which for most mages makes it not worth it).


Fireshield (Red)

If you are going to take one of them go with with Fireshield Blue.


Greater Malison

Staple spell. Great when combined with other spells that require some kind of save (Emotion: Hopelessness comes to mind).


Ice Storm

Low damage and you can only get it if you are a sorceror or are using Baeloth. Don't bother with it.


Improved Invisibility

Staple spell. +4 to AC and +4 to saving throws makes this spell invaluable. Doesn't last nearly as long as level 2's Invisibility but its much better overall.


Minor Globe of Invulnerability

Useful in theory but practically speaking there are better choices at this level.


Minor Sequencer

Staple spell. Great especially for Cleric/Mages. Allows great combos like double Web spells, double Magic Missiles, double Glitterdust, or with a Cleric/Mage a Web and Silence combo. Also good for defensive spells like Shield and Blur or Mirror Image and Blur.


Monster Summoning II

Not worth it. Its better than monster summoning I but its not worth a 4th level spell slot.


Otiluke's Resilient Sphere

Its save (which even allies must do) makes it worthless.


Polymorph Other

Good if you use Greater Malison beforehand. Alright otherwise. Enemies affected by it don't lose their loot (so you can still salvage it) but they are reduced to 1 hitpoint.


Polymorph Self

Staple spell. Especially for a Cleric/Mage (Quayle). The spider form and the mustard jelly form are probably two of the most useful shapeshifting forms around. You can use spell sequencers after you transform, meaning that you can cast Minor Sequencer (selecting say Spiritual Hammer and Strength) and then transform into the spider. Once you are transformed you can activate the trigger making you a spider with a +2 weapon with 18/50 strength and 5 attacks per round. Specifically with regard to cleric/mages the Thac0 benefit of Holy Power and the stat benefits of Draw Upon Holy Might will also stack with whatever form you are using.

The mustard jelly form on the otherhand is 100% resistant to magic. Making it an exception form to use against enemy mages.


Remove Curse

Save yourself the slot and just pay a priest to do it. You deserve the financial hit for equipping a cursed item in the first place!


Secret Word

Don't bother with it.


Spider Spawn

Staple spell. Next to Animate Dead its probably one of the best summoning spells you can get in the game.


Spirit Armor

Kind of garbage. Basically is similar to Ghost Armor except you gain a slight AC boost and some saving throw benefits. To counter this it deals damage to you when it runs out. Diviners may find use for it (since they can't use Ghost Armor) but otherwise you are better off sticking with Ghost Armor and Stoneskin.


Stoneskin

Staple spell and a great protection spell for mages and sorcerers. Just remember that non physical damage (like elemental damage) will bypass it so watch out for fire and ice arrows! Also any enemy attack that has a chance of causing a status effect on hit (like a Sirine's attack potentially causing Feeblemind) won't be protected against by this spell.


Teleport Field

Useful if you want to control enemies but you run the risk of having an enemy teleport right near your party (if you aren't careful). More useful in BG2EE than BGEE (but still very useful in some of the bigger battles of BGEE).


Wizard Eye

This is a very useful spell in BGEE if you are looking for a safe means of scouting. Unfortunately there isn't any scroll for it in BGEE so the only way you can really use it legitimately is by playing as a sorcerer (or having Baeloth in your group).

Arcane Spells - Level 5 (Mages only)

I've excluded all of the random drops at this level because frankly at this stage I'm not even sure what actually drops or not. Also technically sorcerers can't get this high a level in the main game without modding out the level cap (as far as I'm concerned there really isn't too much value in posting about spells that are likely to be inaccessible).


Chaos

Its kind of a mix of the spells Confusion and Horror. Though it does have a greater penalty to save against it than either of those two spells. Unless you are starved for level 5 spells I wouldn't bother with it. But if you are looking to watch enemies kill each other it can be fun (especially when combined with Greater Malison).


Cloudkill

Staple spell. Its just fantastic because it kills enemies that are level 6 or lower (this is a lot of enemies) and it slowly does damage over time. I highly recommend it.


Domination

Its a great charm spell because it works on anything and has a long duration. Its not really worth a 5th level slot however. Still, if you are looking for a charm spell it doesn't get any better than this.


Feeblemind

Not worth the slot.


Hold Monster

Its an excellent spell because it works on anything (humans, creatures, you name it). It makes the battle against the final boss super easy. Its benefit however is basically replicable by the Wand of Paralyzation (there is effectively no difference between stunning an enemy and having them held).


Monster Summoning III

Its a solid summoning spell but not good enough to justify its use when you'll have so few level 5 spell slots. I wouldn't bother with it unless you have few spells to choose from.



Shadow Door

Useful because it has a much shorter casting time compared to Improved Invisibility. Otherwise thats about its only benefit.



Sunfire

Unless you plan on giving your party a lot of fire resistance (or you are playing a solo character) I wouldn't bother with this spell.

Priest Spells - Level 1

Armor of Faith

Excellent spell because it boosts all resistances (physical, magical, and elemental).


Bless

Provides good minor combat bonus for parties. Nothing amazing but the +1 attack roll bonus in particular is beneficial for low level parties.


Command (Clerics only)

Only lasts a round but works on a number of enemies you encounter early in the game. A highly recommended spell in BGEE.


Cure Light Wounds

Always worth having a few of these on hand. Even if you are just using it for healing as a result of resting.


Detect Evil

Totally worthless. Also if you have Ajantis in your group he gets these as he levels up anyways.


Doom

Casting speed has been changed in BGEE so now its worthless.


Entangle (Druids only)

The saving penalty for it makes it garbage for BG2EE but it still has some use in BGEE. Best used in parties with a lot of archers or ranged casters. Its best benefit is that anything thats entangled in it gets +2 to their armor class (as long as you aren't the one entangled this is a good thing for you).


Magic Stone

Just terrible. Avoid at all costs.


Protection from Evil (Clerics only)

Its nice to have but honestly paladins get access to lots of these. The 4th level priest spell Protection From Evil 10' Radius is also vastly superior because of its longer duration. I'd generally avoid memorizing more than a handful of castings of this spell. Not because its bad but because the benefit is marginal to the amount of time its going to take to protect the whole (or even 1/2) of your group.


Remove Fear (Clerics only)

Very useful spell to have. Always have one memorized as a just in case measure.


Sanctuary (Clerics only)

Great spell for Cleric/Thieves especially because thieving while under sanctuary doesn't break the invisibility. Otherwise its a useful spell for scouting. Unlike Invisibility you can't use it to backstab.


Shillelagh

Cool name. Terrible spell. Honestly unless charname is a pure druid its not worth it to learn this spell. Even then its usability for a pure druid is very limited. Because of her specialisation with clubs (which this spell doesn't benefit from) even Jaheira is better off using a regular club than using this spell. Just avoid it!

Priest Spells - Level 2

Aid (Clerics only)

Its basically a quicker casting version of Cure Light Wounds that varies in how much it heals. The Bless effect it gives is a nice side effect. Honestly the average amount it heals is so little I would probably never bother with it.


Barkskin

Unless you are a pure druid (especially a Shapeshifter) or you have someone in your group that can't wear armor there is no reason to take this spell. Its duration just doesn't allow for it to be all that useful (especially given there is the Shield Amulet from the Nashkel Carnival).


Chant (Clerics only)

Its a solid buff spell to be used just prior to combat. I would recommend having at least one of these memorized.


Charm Person or Mammal (Druids only)

The thing with druids is that especially at second level they have absolutely nothing to choose from. Expect to take a few of these even if you don't find much use out of them. There really isn't much else to work with!

That said the nice thing about this particular spell is that while it still has the +3 saving bonus for a target to save against it it also has twice the duration of Dire Charm and Charm Person. The best use you are going to probably get out of charm spells at this low a level is to see the additional dialogues many NPC's (Xzar, Dynaheir, Xan, etc) give that give a bit more in the way of backstory.



Draw Upon Holy Might (Clerics only)

Hugely useful spell. When combined with Holy Power this makes Clerics have as much as 20 strength in BGEE. It also casts quickly unlike its innate ability counterpart.



Find Traps

Since the thieving ability "Find Traps" is exclusively used to determine whether or not you succeed at disarming a trap there really isn't much point to taking this spell unless you want to have something constantly checking for traps (however you can already do this with a thief script). Its only real value is letting you know in advance if you are walking into a trap in the event that your Find Traps is too low.


Flame Blade

Decent troll slayer. Unfortunately you won't encounter very many trolls in BGEE. Avoid it unless you've got nothing else to take.


Good Berries (Druids only)

Embarrassingly terrible. Honestly just avoid it.


Hold Person (Clerics only)
Not as good as the mage version technically (it doesn't give a saving throw penalty to enemies trying to save against it) but it has the benefit of not taking up slots in a particularly important level for divine spells.


Know Alignment

Like the mage spell its a neat spell to have but the saving throw (at -2) makes it entirely worthless even for people more interested in roleplaying.


Resist Fire/Cold

Pretty sweet spell actually. 50% resistance against two different types of elemental damage and all at the cost of basically a few spell slots in a fairly barren spell level. I would highly recommend having a few of these on hand to cast on your fighters. If only to partially protect them for your mages Fireballs.


Silence 15' Radius (Clerics only)

Most mages in BG2EE have Vocalize memorized, which makes this spell largely worthless. BGEE on the otherhand doesn't feature a lot of mages with Vocalize so Silence actually can be used fairly effectively.


Slow Poison

Its a staple spell especially for when you are going into Cloakwood Forest. After Cloakwood it loses its usefulness.


Spiritual Hammer (Clerics only)

Its a nice spell especially if you are or have a Cleric/Mage with plans for shapeshifting (Polymorph Self). Its quite easy to get a +2 warhammer out of it and combined with the 5 attacks per round of the sword spider form it can prove to be a pretty effective combo.

Priest Spells - Level 3

Animate Dead (Clerics only)

Staple spell. Very effective summons that have a good amount of magic resistance and that gain better equipment as your cleric gains level. They also start out with good physical resistances against piercing, missile, and slashing attacks. Highly recommended especially against Basilisks, Spiders, Ettercaps, Wyverns, Mages and Sirines since they can't be put to sleep, charmed, petrified, poisoned, or affected by panic (for instance the Horror spell). But honestly they are good summons against basically any enemy.


Call Lightning (Druids only)

Devastatingly powerful. The biggest downside with it though is that it can be only cast outdoors. Its not as big of a downside in BGEE but in BG2EE its a huge downside. It also has a long casting time but its a good spell if you want to strategically take out any particular enemy.


Cure Disease

Its a good quick casting spell that covers a wide ranged of ailments. Handy to have one on hand. You probably won't ever need to use it though.


Cure Medium Wounds

Its an improvement over Cure Light Wounds but it still suffers from a long casting time and limited healing (14 health) being provided. I'd only take one just for healing after resting.


Dispel Magic

Staple spell. It will dispel beneficial and harmful enchantments on both the party and on enemies. You really want to be careful where you cast it because of this. Remove Magic is preferred though having a Dispel Magic handy for when you have a party member with negative effects active on them (like Confusion, Stun or Fear) is handy. In BGEE its easier to acquire compared to Remove Magic but both of them will do.


Glyph of Warding (Clerics only)

Its garbage because it allows a save (for no damage). I wouldn't even bother with it unless you are using an evil cleric.


Hold Animal (Druids only)

In theory given the number of animals you come across in the outdoor areas this spell could have some use. In practice by the time you get this spell you've probably cleared out those outdoor areas. Also it won't even work on Dread Wolves or Vampiric Wolves because they aren't considered to be animals.


Holy Smite (good or neutral Clerics only)

Staple spell. If you have evil characters in your party keep them back. Keep in mind though that this spell won't do damage against creatures that are neutral or good, which covers most of the animals and many of the monsters (like spiders) you will come across in BGEE. The blindness it provides is also very helpful.


Invisibility Purge

There aren't enough invisible enemies in BGEE for it to be worth you using this spell.


Miscast Magic

Enemy spellcaster are dumb and will keep casting once this is active. That said if you are using a druid its better to use Summon Insects instead of this spell. If you are using a cleric Holy Smite is probably a better choice though it couldn't hurt to have one of these handy. The thing is Miscast Magic allows for the target to make a save vs spell and unfortunately mages have the best save vs spell of any of the classes. This is why even with a penalty to save against it its not as effective (or reliable) as Summon Insects.


Protection from Fire

Like the mage spell the description for this is innaccurate. It grants 100% immunity to fire damage. Its a decent spell for a cleric or druid to memorize but I wouldn't take more than a handful of them unless you have plans to use Fireball or Sunfire (or a Wand of Fire).


Remove Curse (Clerics only)

Save yourself the slot and just pay a priest to do it. You deserve the financial hit for equipping a cursed item in the first place!


Remove Paralysis (Clerics only)


This spell actually would be pretty handly to have before you go into Cloakwood (to help in case anyone in your party gets hit by a Web trap). Otherwise its a pretty situational spell. I'd probably have an evil cleric memorize one just in case but generally a well placed Dispel Magic can do everything this spell does and more.


Rigid Thinking

Decent spell for a druid to cast indoors. Nothing spectacular though and certainly not worth a clerics time.


Strength of One

Staple spell. Fantastic spell for either a cleric or a druid. Most summons have garbage strength to begin with (16 or less) and even your party members typically have low strength (other than Dorn and Minsc). Its a great spell for summons and party members alike.


Summon Insects (Druids only)

Staple spell for druids at this level. Not because its an amazing spell but because they don't have much else to use indoors. That said it does a number of useful things. Firstly it makes the target make a save vs breath at -4. Enemy mages have a much higher save vs breath than their save vs spell, so this spell alone is already going to work far more often against enemy mages than Miscast Magic.

It also casts faster than Miscast Magic and deals 21 damage to target. On top of that all those attacks count as physical attacks, meaning that they wear down the mages Stoneskin or Mirror Image protections. Finally it reduces the targets armour class by 2 and their Thac0 by 2.

Its one major downside (besides duration) over Miscast magic is that it can take some time for the insects to reach the mage. But once that happens and if the mage fails the save (which is likely) that mage is done.


Unholy Blight (evil Clerics only)

Its Holy Smite but for evil clerics. Honestly you will only encounter a handful of enemies that are good aligned (technically there is a paladin in Baldur's Gate that you can run into who is hunting evil characters but until the next patch he is neutral) and all of them appear if your reputation is less than 4. They also all happen to be very easy kills. Its only really useful if your party has a very low reputation and you are being harassed by guards or flaming fist mercenaries.


Zone of Sweet Air (Clerics only)

Great if you've got a Cloudkill or Stinking Cloud spell that you want to get rid of. Otherwise its probably not worth memorizing.

Priest Spells - Level 4

Animal Summoning I

Only really good if you are looking for summons for distractions.


Call Woodland Beings (Druids only)

It would be a better summon if you could turn off its AI. As it stands now its still good but not quite as good as it could be because it has a tendency to follow its casting script and cast spells that simply won't work against enemies (even when you tell it to cast something else). Its best used for its Hold Monster spell and for its Mass Cure spell (when outside of battle). Its Mental Domination is also pretty good. Otherwise its Cause Serious Wounds attack can do some pretty decent damage if it hits. Overall I'd highly recommend taking a few castings of the spell if you can.


Cause Serious Wounds

Honestly I wouldn't bother with it yourself. Its fine if your Dryad is using it but unless you are a pure druid its probably not going to be worth putting towards this spell because at this point you will have the means to do more damage over the round you get when attacking with it. Also to be used effectively it needs to be precast before battle.


Cloak of Fear

Fun spell if you want to watch some weapons drop. Otherwise unless you are a druid with nothing else to learn I wouldn't bother with it.


Cure Serious Wounds

It only heals 3 health more than Cure Medium wounds (meaning 17 health) and it takes longer to cast! Never take this.


Death Ward

Effectively useless in BGEE because slay effects are very rare.


Defensive Harmony

Staple spell. Good to pick for any character because of its defensive bonus. The duration is a bit short but its helpful to have at the onset of a battle.


Farsight

I've read people online using this to organise their summons attacks against enemies (but from a distance). Honestly a strategy like this is not necessary in BGEE. Its also more work than its worth.


Free Action (Clerics only)

Good if you have plans to use the Web spell or if you are planning to enter Cloakwood and need someone to test where the traps are. If you aren't planning on using Web then its on useful in situational circumstances.


Holy Power (Clerics only)

Staple spell. Very good for pure class clerics or even for Yeslick because it raises their strength to 18/100 and (particularly in the case of pure class clerics) gives them the Thac0 of a fighter. Cast this before you cast Draw Upon Holy Might so that your strength is boosted well to 20.


Lesser Restoration (Clerics only)

Useless in BGEE.


Mental Domination (Clerics only)

Technically has a slightly quicker casting time than the level 5 mage spell Domination. Otherwise they do the same thing. As a 4th level spell I'd generally pass on it though it has some offensive use.


Negative Plane Protection

Useless in BGEE.


Neutralize Poison
The other cure poison spell. Will cure any poison. Though this spell is rather expensive at level 4 (you could just memorize more healing spells), it is the only real solution for curing heavily poisoned spellcasters (face heavy spell disruption if you do not).

Poison

It does great damage in BG2EE but by that point the save makes it practically worthless. You can feel free to skip this in BGEE because the poison damage isn't frequent or damaging enough.


Protection from Evil 10' Radius (Clerics only)

Its helpful to have by the time you get it but its more useful in BG2EE. Still, its a good spell for parties to buff with prior to big fights.


Protection from Lightning

Unless you have plans to use the Lightning Bolt spell I'd pass on this. Its not worth the slot.

Priest Spells - Level 5 (Druids only)

I've ignored a number of cleric only spells here because technically clerics can't get level 5 spells in the main game without modding out the level cap. Without mods spells at this level are only available to dual class fighter/druids and single class druids.


Animal Summoning II

Beefier and stronger than Animal Summoning I summons. They'd be even better if their attacks didn't hit as though they were normal weapons. That is probably their biggest downside. Still, they are good summons particularly once they are hasted.


Cause Critical Wounds

Only a pure druid or a dual classed fighter/druid can even get to this level in BGEE and this is not a spell that is worth a slot in either case.


Chaotic Commands

Its a much more useful spell in BG2EE than in BGEE. You only will have maybe 2-3 spells at level 5 at max to choose from so it really isn't worth it.


Cure Critical Wounds

Its an improvement over Cure Serious Wounds (it heals 27 health) but given how limited you are when it comes to access to this spell level its just not worth the slot.


Insect Plague

Staple spell for any druid. This is the ultimate spell disrupting spell. All others (except for Creeping Doom in BG2EE) pale in comparison. Like in the case of Summon Insects the tiny insect bites count as physically damage (piercing damage technically) meaning that each hit will strip away a mages Stoneskin or Mirror Image protections. It also causes 100% spell failure, deals 18 damage (over the course of 6 rounds) to anyone affected by the spell, and the constant damage every 2 seconds makes it more difficult for enemies to run around. Plus if enemies fail their save vs breath (no saving penalty) they are panicked. Just a fantastic choice.


Iron Skins

Good spell for druids. Better in BG2EE or when using a druid for melee purposes (like a Shapeshifter or when using one of the bear forms). Its Stoneskin spell with a much longer casting time (meaning you pretty much need to cast it before battle).


Magic Resistance

Fantastic spell for any enemy or NPC with a high level of magic resistance (Drizzt comes to mind). It works against party members and enemies alike and an enemies magic resistance won't stop it. Effectively you can set the magic resistance of a high magic resistance character to a much lower amount (which makes them easier to kill). Still, its use is pretty situational and there are better spell choices if you are looking for more general use.


Mass Cure

Don't bother with it. A nymph from Call Woodland Beings can just do this for you if you really want it.


Pixie Dust

Its like Invisibility 10' Radius except much more reliably acquired. It has a lot of strategic use for planning out an attack against a group of enemies.


True Seeing

Not a bad spell when used against mages but you have so few castings that its not worth it to take this as a druid.

NPC Special Abilities

Unique Abilities (not class specific)

Branwen's Spiritual Hammer: Works like the 2nd level priest spell. Only really useful if you don't already have her with a good enchanted hammer.

Dynaheir's Slow Poison: Works like the 2nd level priest spell. Useful especially in Cloakwood Forest but not much use after chapter 4.

Eldoth's Create Poison Arrows: Creates 5 poison arrows that do 1d6, +1 poison damage every 2 seconds for 40 seconds (Save vs. Poison to negate). Mostly useful against spellcasters. The arrows can only be used by Eldoth however (and compared to Kivan or Coran he's not a strong archer even with the Gauntlets of Dexterity). Really annoying at the moment because it creates 5 seperate arrows but apparently that is finally going to be addressed in the next game patch.

Faldorn's Summon Dread Wolf: Useful summon that is namely good because it has a decent amount of health. Its other stats are garbage however so you'll want to cast Strength of One if you are going to use it in battle.

Minsc's Berserk: For the two turns (2 minutes in real-time) that it lasts it increases his strength and dexterity by 2 and increases his total health by 15. It also provides immunity to charm, panic, sleep, confusion, maze, level drain, hold, and feeblemind. However, in combat situations you will lose control of him so its best used with caution. Also the 15 health that he gains will be removed when the effect ends, so make sure to not have less than 15 health with him while he is going berserk.

- In my opinion its only useful in smaller parties. Minsc going berserk in combat is a liability in larger parties because of the risk of him attacking your own characters.

Quayle's Invisibility: Its nice to have a free casting of Invisibility handy. More useful for the parties thieves but also an optional spell if you need to have Quayle avoid an attacker.

Safana's Charm Person: Gives only a +2 to save against it. This along with its 100 second duration makes it better than the level 1 mage spell. Its still only as useful as Charm Person (not very useful) and she needs to be right up next to an enemy to use it.

Main character special abilities (plot acquired)

High/mid reputation abilities

Cure Light Wounds

- Staple healing spell for the game. Good in this case because its a fast cast (faster than the priest spell of the same name).


Slow Poison

- Staple anti-poison spell. Once you have a few of these that will likely cover you in terms of your need. Cloakwood Forest is really the biggest place to need them and you won't get a second of these until after that is completed (which is also when it becomes less needed).


Draw Upon Holy Might

- Fantastic spell. Compared to the cleric version however it has a really long casting time. Best to use this ability before battle and not during it.

Low reputation abilities

Larloch's Minor Drain

- Just like the level 1 mage spell. Its nice to have for healing reasons or to disrupt spellcasting because its a quick cast. Otherwise its not that great.

Horror

- Decent crowd control spell that functions the same as the level 2 arcane spell Horror. Good if you just want to have enemies disposed of temporarily while you focus on a particular enemy.


Vampiric Touch

- Good if you want to deal out a high amount of damage very quick (it has a fairly quick casting time). Also good if you are in need of more health. Overall its very useful especially in disrupting mages or as a means of quickly taking a large chunk of health out of an enemy with the aim of finishing them off.

Warrior Abilities and Unique Spells (including Monks)

Fighter

None


Fighter Kits


Wizard Slayer

None


Kensai

Kai: Very useful ability for Kensai/thieves especially but it works well in any class combo (including just playing as a single class).


Berserker

Enrage: Like Kai it works well for any dual class combination or just for a single class Berserker. The immunities it grants you are fantastic and the bonuses it grants to AC, hit rolls, and damage is just icing on the cake.


Dwarven Defender

Defensive Stance: This is basically the ultimate tanking innate ability. 50% physical resistances plus your classes innate resistances makes it just a fantastic ability for someone looking for a character to absorb damage. You aren't going to find anything close to it until fighter HLA's (and thats well into BG2EE). The downside of slower movement is annoying but manageable.

Paladin

Detect Evil: Largely worthless. Neat to use to check out NPC's you come across but never let its results stop you from talking to an NPC.

Lay on Hands: Since it lets you target someone else it is an alright ability. Namely because it doesn't have the slow casting time as every other (non-charname) healing spell.

Protection from Evil: Its a good spell and one that comes in handy prior to a number of the more difficult battles. Unfortunately any animals and a number of the monsters that you come across in BGEE are probably going to be neutral (rendering it useless). Still, its a nice addition until you get the radius spell (level 4 Cleric spell)


Paladin Kits


Cavalier/Undead Hunter

No special activable abilities (beyond whatever they retain for being a Paladin).


Inquisitor

Dispel Magic: Inquisitors are much better than Wizard Slayers when it comes to killing mages. They cast this Dispel Magic ability at twice their level and basically you probably won't come across many enemies that can resist it (at least in BGEE). Its power is really more apparent in BG2EE when it takes otherwise difficult battles and turns them into a cakewalk.

True Sight: This really won't have much use in BGEE but it will be really helpful to have in the second game.


Blackguard

Poison Weapon: It coats your weapon in a very effective poison and its an ability thats staying active on your character for 4 rounds longer than its supposed to. Basically its the best feature of the Assassin kit given to a kit that is much more effective with it. For cheesiest results combine this with Arrows of Detonation. Watch your enemies die in a matter of seconds!

Absorb Health: Its good because its a ranged magic attack that could potentially disrupt spells. It can also marginally heal you if you find your Blackguard in need of such a thing. Otherwise its at this stage its nothing special (in BG2EE it has the benefit of bypassing magic resistance but in BGEE that isn't a significant problem).

Aura of Despair: This is just a great AOE debuff ability. In BGEE it gives a penalty to AC and hit and damage rolls. Better than what most of the other paladin kits (other than the Inquisitor) would otherwise be getting.

Ranger

Ranger Kits

Beast Master

Find Familiar: Great nice addition that gives you an early bonus to your health. Helps make up for your lack of plate mail armor. Unfortunately since you are restricted to good characters only your choice of familiars is limited to two. Of those (in my opinion) the Fairy Dragon (Chaotic Good characters only) is the better one. The differences aren't that apparent in BGEE (they both give the same health bonus) but in BG2EE it gets Invisibility 10' radius (which is a very useful spell).

Animal Summoning I: Its an alright spell. You won't get it until level 8 and by the time you do there are better summons available to other party members. Still, given how the caster level for rangers works there isn't much better to pick up for this level.


Archer

Called Shot: The good thing about Called Shot that people may not realize is that its effects stack and as the skill progresses you get all of the effects mentioned for previous levels. So a hit from a level 8 Archer (while they were using Called Shot) would cause the enemy to take a Thac0 penalty of 1 and a penalty of 1 to their save vs spells. Multiple hits by an archer would do this effect multiple times against an enemy.

As for the ability itself, well, I'd say it gets best in BG2EE once it can be used to reduce strength (potentially to 0).


Stalker

Doesn't get any unique spells or activable abilities until BG2EE.

Barbarian

Barbarian Rage: For BGEE this is basically the ultimate rage ability. If you max out your strength at the start of the game (so 18 or 19) this means that at a minimum it will give you 22 strength. Possibly 23 or 24 once you get access to the Manual of Gainful Exercise. Plus it gives you immunities to all the nastiest spell effects in the first game (and most of them in BG2EE). Either way its a fantastic ability.

Monk

Stunning Blow: Its a save vs spell or be stunned ability. Thankfully however you get a whole round to stun what is likely to be one enemy. Potentially it can be potent but you'll really want to look into using Greater Malison before its used against some of the tougher enemies. Still, given it lasts only 9 seconds (it should last 6 but its a bug) you aren't doing too badly by having it.

Lay on Hands: The same as the Paladin spell except it only casts on the monk. Suns Soul Monk's also get this (but Dark Moon Monk's don't).


Monk Kits

Sun Soul Monk

Sun Soulray: This is actually a really good ability. It hits sort of in a cone and its best used against undead. Its also not party friendly. Still, it can be good as a means of spellcaster disruption if nothing else.

Flaming Fist: This is only good once you get at least 2 attacks per round (level 6). Before that point it just doesn't last long enough for it to be very effective.

Greater Sun: Its a Fireshield (red) spell. Its nice to have but having your monk hit (in order to get it to do damage at all) probably isn't worth it.


Dark Moon Monk

Detect Illusions: Technically Dark Moon Monks can put towards this and activate it by using the "Find Traps" key. Unfortunately its not that useful of an ability in BGEE though it is more useful in BG2EE.

Frozen Fists: It does an extra 2 cold damage each hit. Honestly, its pretty garbage. A monk will have a hard time hitting to begin with and this ability is likely to not work out.

Blindness: Blindness is nice but its also the same spell a level 1 mage can cast. Still, it doesn't hurt to have it.

Blur: This is probably one of the better ability/spells that the Dark Moon Monk gets in BGEE. Partly because of the AC bonus but mostly because of the saving throw bonus.

Vampiric Touch: Monks really don't have much else to do, but personally I've always found this spell to be mediocre. Still, given what you have to work with as a monk in BGEE its one of the better abilities for monks.

Rogue Activable Class Abilities (Thief and Bard)

Thief

Pick Pocket: Its a decent ability in BGEE but one that is generally not worth putting towards. There are plenty of potions to be found that can be used to raise it, so its not really worth putting towards. There are a few noteworthy targets (like Algeron's Cloak, Drizzt's scimitars, and the Ring of Free Action in Ulgoth's Beard) but they are few and far between. You won't even be able to sell any goods you can steal from store inventories until the City of Baldur's Gate (Chapter 5) which kind of substancially removes the incentive to take this. Still, its a good way to nab extra potions and get a good initial leg up in the game, but only if you know who to steal from.

Open Locks: Its a pretty staple ability for any thief. You aren't going to find anything that you absolutely need in a lock, but there are a number of notable things like the Manual of Gainful Exercise and the Stupifier. It's worth it to bring it up to 80-90 but after that just use potions on the locks you can't open with that.

Find Traps: Most traps in the game allow for fairly low scores to see them, though their disarm number typically is higher than their detection number. If you really wanted to you could probably keep this between 50-70 in the game and not run into too many difficulties (outside of Durlag's Tower that is). Worst comes to worst you'd then use a Potion of Mind Focus or Potion of Perception to increase your Find Trap temporarily. Still, there isn't much of a reason to be stingy about putting towards this (at least up to 100 points) unless you are playing an Assassin or Shadowdancer.

Stealth (Move Silently/Hide in Shadows): The thing with stealth is that any area can theoretically give anywhere between a +100 bonus to your stealth to a -100 penalty. All areas are going to fall somewhere in this range (which will depend upon the time of day as well). Your actual ability to stealth is determined by taking both your Move Silently and Hide in Shadows values, adding them together, dividing them by two, and then penalizing them based on your location and the time of day. Either way it really doesn't matter if the numbers you have for Hide in Shadows or Move Silently aren't even (or are vastly different in number between each other). I'd try to get them both to as close to 100 as possible if you plan on doing a lot of backstabbing or scouting. Get it higher if you are a shadowdancer.

Detect Illusions: This is a great ability in BG2EE but it has no practical use in BGEE because there are so few enemies that use illusion spells.

Set Traps: This is actually a very useful skill to have. You can only get a maximum of two traps in BGEE as a regular thief but if you rest you can lay down up to 7 in any one map. Traps are a very easy way of preparing for tough battles (that you've scouted out) because the enemies in this game weren't even designed with them in mind (its a skill that was introduced in BG2).



Thief Kits


Swashbuckler

None


Assassin

Poison Weapon: It coats your weapon in a very effective poison and its an ability that is staying active on your character for 4 rounds longer than its supposed to. Basically its the best feature of the Assassin kit (the backstab increasing is nice but you won't see that until BG2EE). For cheesiest results combine this with Arrows of Detonation. Watch your enemies die in a matter of seconds!


Bounty Hunter

Special Snare: The great thing about this is that it doubles the amount traps a Bounty Hunter can lay at any one time (without resting). BGEE wasn't designed with traps in mind (they didn't exist in the original game) so if used right they will make battles a lot easier.


Shadowdancer

Shadowstep: In a smaller party I could see this having some kind of tactical use but having your Shadowdancer go in and out of stealth takes a lot of micromanagement. Plus (at least until version 1.3) you are stuck with having no backstab with the Shadowdancer until level 8.

Stealth: Technically their stealth acts differently because you can hide in plain sight. Its worth noting this in my book. Though since you can't do backstab damage until level 8 its not all that useful an ability to have.

Bard

Bard Song: The basic bard song just removes fear. Thats it. That said it won't matter where your party all is it will affect all of them (even if they are on another map).


Bard Kits

Blade

Offensive Spin: This is just a superb ability. The max damage on hit is only otherwise available to Kensai in BGEE (clerics eventually can get this with Righteous Magic but only in BG2EE) and it also gives a bonus (APR bonus and Thac0/damage bonus) sufficient enough to boost your bards damage and Thac0 to be much closer to a fighters.

Defensive Spin: Its an excellent ability because it will give you obscenely low AC. For best results use it with the Ring of Free Action so that you can move around while it is active.


Jester

Jester Song: In BG2EE this ability becomes quite a bit better because the saving requirements are lowered and the number of effects it causes increases. Also it bypasses magic resistance, which spells like Confusion and Slow won't do. Still, for BGEE its a pretty situational ability. Its best used if you are under an invisibility spell (using it won't break invisibility).

Skald

Skald Song: Its a decent ability in BGEE that becomes quite exceptional in BG2EE (at least until the Improved Bard Song). Like any bard song you basically can't do anything with the character while it is under effect, so its usefulness without access to some of the cheesy things you can do in BG2EE (like having a Mislead do the song instead of your character) is debatable.

Cleric Activable Abilities and Spells

Cleric

Turn Undead (Good, Neutral and Evil): This works based on levels. If your cleric is 2 levels higher than an undead enemy it will cause a form of panic. Higher level clerics can eventually either destroy or gain possession of a group of undead enemies with this ability but that isn't something you'll encounter in BGEE.


Cleric Kits

Priest of Lathander

Boon of Lathander: This is an excellent ability because it increase your attacks per round by 1. Few things in either game do this, especially when it comes to clerics, so this is particularly useful. It starts off with a very short duration however so keep that in mind.

Hold Undead: Holds an Undead target for 60 seconds if they fail their save vs spell (no penalty or bonus for this). Honestly this is a pretty worthless ability. The chances of an enemy saving against it are high and in the case of something like a skeletal warrior it doesn't even bypass magic resistance. You've also already got turn undead. Overall I think its a pretty poor ability.


Priest of Helm

Seeking Sword: Gives you a b.astard sword that does 2d4 damage and that grants you a +4 thac0 bonus for hitting with it. The sword itself gives you 3 APR and despite what its description states it lasts for 60 seconds in BGEE (it won't improve in terms of its duration until BG2EE). One trick with them is to take whatever weapon you are using and put it in your offhand weapon slot (or simply be dual wielding weapons) before you cast this spell. It means you get an extra APR and with this spell active you get no penalties (in fact all your attacks get treated the same and get +4 to hit). Overall this is a phenominal ability in BGEE because it takes your cleric and basically turns them into a fighter.

True Sight: Not that great in BGEE because there are few invisibile targets. Still, its a great spell to have around in BG2EE so it eventually does get a greater amount of use (if needed).


Priest of Talos

Lightning Bolt: Honestly I'm not a fan of this because these things go everywhere. While its true your cleric can be protected from it that is probably not going to be the case with your other party members.

Storm Shield: 100% elemental damage resistances. Ignore its description it actually lasts for 60 seconds in BGEE. So it is quite usable.

Druid Activable Abilities and Spells

Druid

Shapeshift: Brown Bear

Ignore the description given in game for this. Its wrong about the weapon damage. Its actual stats are...

3 APR, 18/100 strength, 12 dexterity, 1d6 piercing damage (plus strength), hits as a +2 weapon and gets a base of 6 AC (if you have armor that gives better than this prior to the transformation you'll end up with worse AC). Overall this is probably the best of the basic druid transformations. Since you can only get it at level 7 its really only useful if you plan on having your druid fighting up close (hopefully with an Iron Skins spell active).


Shapeshift: Black Bear

3 APR, 18/100 strength, 12 dexterity, 1d4 piercing damage (plus strength), hits as a +1 weapon and gets a base of 6 AC (if you have armor that gives better than this prior to the transformation you'll end up with worse AC).

Its not as damaging as the brown bear and gets nothing to make up for that. So I'd take a pass on it in favour of the brown bear. Still better than the wolf form though. Since you can only get it at level 7 its really only useful if you plan on having your druid fighting up close (hopefully with an Iron Skins spell active).


Shapeshift: Wolf

1 APR, 15 strength, 17 dexterity, 1d8 piercing damage (plus strength), hits as a +1 weapon and gets a base of 6 AC (if you have armor that gives better than this prior to the transformation you'll end up with worse AC). Gets 50% immunity to electricity and 100% immunity to cold.

Overall its kind of garbage considering its strength sucks and it only gets 1 APR. Cold and electrical protection aren't all that useful frankly. Since you can only get it at level 7 its really not all that useful.


Druid Kits

Shapeshifter

Shapeshift: Werewolf

It gets 19 strength, 16 dexterity, 1d6 piercing damage (plus strength), 2 APR, a base AC of 1, 20% magic resistance. The main thing that sets it apart from the bears is going to be the AC (its a very low AC for the starting level). The magic resistance is nice but not hugely reliable. Since you can get it from level 1 its also a much more useful ability than the normal druid shapeshifting abilities.


Totemic Druid

See the "Spirit Animals" section of the guide for more detailed information about each spiritual form at their various levels of strength. There was too much to write about to fit in here.

Overall I'd say the snake form is very good against mages in particular (since it can poison). Otherwise I'd probably recommend one of the other forms (especially something that has more health). Like the Lion it also gets a lot of immunities very quickly, which makes it additionally useful against mages. Its still by far one of the best summons in the game.

The bear summon on the other hand is a capable damage dealer and is particularly good for its large amount of health. I personally find panic effects to be really annoying (because enemies end up running around), so I'm not really a fan of it. its still a decent choice out of these if you are looking for a tank for a summon.

The lion gets a wide range of immunities very quickly and it has pretty high health. You really can't go wrong by picking it.

Personally I like the wolf the most (especially its level 10 form). Its quick, its level 10 form gets 2 status effects from its attack (hold and level drain) and while its not a heavy damager by any means the fact that it gives hold and has 3 APR makes it a very effective summon against a lot of enemies. Even the level 1 version has an attack that also does a reliable amount of elemental damage which actually also makes it a very effective summon to use against mages. One downside with it is that it doesn't have a lot of immunities until its level 10 version, so if you are facing an enemy that casts a lot of status effects then you might want to keep that in mind.


Avenger


Shapeshift: Spider

It gets 4 APR, a base AC of 3 (less with the dexterity bonus), 1d4 piercing damage, 16 strength, and 16 dexterity. Hits as a +1 weapon. Its also immune to web (including web traps). Frankly I think this is the best of the various forms because of its immunity to web and the fact that it has 4 APR. Its damage is low but if you have the innate ability Draw Upon Holy Might you can potentially get your strength up to 19 with this form.


Shapeshift: Fire Salamander

It gets 1 APR, a base AC of 2 (less with the dexterity bonus), 1d8 piercing damage, 18/75 strength, 19 dexterity, 50% fire resistance. Hits as a +3 weapon. The fire resistance is nice but not hugely useful (particularly since as a druid you get spells that handle this by the time you get this ability). It says its Breath Fireball ability does 2d6 piercing damage and 2d6 fire damage but this isn't correct. This ability only does 2d6 fire damage. Frankly this is the worst of the three Avenger only forms.


Shapeshift: Baby Wyvern

It gets 2 APR, a base AC of 3 (less with the dexterity bonus) and 1d8 piercing damage. It has an additional on hit effect of doing 1 poison damage/second for a round, unless an enemy saves vs death against it (no penalty or bonus). It gives the player 16 strength and 17 dexterity. Its weapons hit as though they were +1 weapons. Honestly I think you are better off with the spider.

Totemic Druid Spirit Animals (Snake and Bear)

Spirit: Snake.

Level 1: 8 health, 16 Thac0, 14 strength, 16 dexterity, base of 3 AC (plus dexterity bonus), 1 APR, hits as a +4 weapon, does 1d4 piercing damage, and has an on-hit effect (save vs death at +3) of poisoning the target for 2 damage/second for 3 seconds. Its immune to hold, Slow, Grease, Entangle, Web, stun, poison, and polymorph.

Level 3: 15 health, 14 Thac0 (plus strength bonus), 15 strength, 17 dexterity, base of 3 AC (plus dexterity bonus), 1 APR, hits as a +6 weapon, does 1d6 piercing damage, and has an on-hit effect (save vs death at +2) of poisoning the target for 2 damage/second for 4 seconds. Its immune to hold, Slow, Grease, Entangle, Web, stun, poison, petrification, and polymorph. Also it has 25% resistance to cold and electricity.

Level 5: 23 health, 13 Thac0 (plus strength bonus), 16 strength, 17 dexterity, base of 1 AC (plus dexterity bonus), 2 APR, hits as a +6 weapon, does 1d6 piercing damage, and has an on-hit effect (save vs death at +1) of poisoning the target for 2 damage/second for 5 seconds. Its immune to hold, Slow, Grease, Entangle, Web, stun, poison, petrification, confusion, feeblemindedness, and polymorph. Also it has 50% resistance to cold and electricity.

Level 7: 34 health, 11 Thac0 (plus strength bonus), 17 strength, 18 dexterity, base of 0 AC (plus dexterity bonus), 2 APR, hits as a +6 weapon, does 1d8 piercing damage, and has an on-hit effect (save vs death at +1) of poisoning the target for 2 damage/second for 5 seconds. Its immune to hold, Slow, Grease, Entangle, Web, stun, poison, petrification, confusion, feeblemindedness, sleep, fatigue, and polymorph. Also it has 75% resistance to cold and electricity.

Level 10: 45 health, 9 Thac0 (plus strength bonus), 18 strength, 18 dexterity, base of -1 AC (plus dexterity bonus), 2 APR, hits as a +6 weapon, does 1d10 piercing damage, and has an on-hit effect (save vs death with no bonus/penalty) of poisoning the target for 2 damage/second for 6 seconds. Its immune to hold, Slow, Grease, Entangle, Web, stun, poison, petrification, confusion, feeblemindedness, sleep, fatigue, slay, level drain, morale break, and polymorph. Also it has 100% resistance to cold and electricity and is immune to normal weapons.


Spirit: Bear

Level 1: 16 health, 17 Thac0, 16 strength, 12 dexterity, base of 6 AC, 2 APR, hits as a +6 weapon, does 1d4 slashing damage (plus a strength bonus), and has an on-hit effect (save vs death at +4) of panicking the target for 8 seconds. Its immune to panic, break morale, and polymorph. Also it has 25% cold resistance.

Level 3: 32 health, 16 Thac0 (plus strength bonus), 17 strength, 13 dexterity, base of 5 AC, 2 APR, hits as a +6 weapon, does 1d6 slashing damage (plus a strength bonus), and has an on-hit effect (save vs death at +4) of panicking the target for 8 seconds. Its immune to panic, fatigue, sleep, break morale, and polymorph. Also it has 50% cold resistance, 25% resistance to poison and 25% elecricity resistance.

Level 5: 48 health, 14 Thac0 (plus strength bonus), 18 strength, 13 dexterity, base of 4 AC, 2 APR, hits as a +6 weapon, does 1d4 piercing damage (plus a strength bonus), and has an on-hit effect (save vs death at +4) of panicking the target for 12 seconds. Its immune to hold, stun, entangle, web, grease, panic, fatigue, sleep, break morale, and polymorph. Also it has 75% resistance to cold, 50% resistance to poison and 50% electricity resistance.

Level 7: 72 health, 12 Thac0 (plus strength bonus), 18/37 strength, 14 dexterity, base of 3 AC (plus dexterity bonus), 3 APR, hits as a +6 weapon, does 1d8 damage (plus a strength bonus) and has an on-hit effect (save vs death at +3) of panicking the target for 20 seconds. Its immune to hold, Slow, Grease, Entangle, Web, stun, petrification, confusion, feeblemindedness, sleep, fatigue, and polymorph. Also it has 100% resistance to cold, 75% resistance to poison and 75% resistance to electricity.

Level 10: 96 health, 10 Thac0 (plus strength bonus), 18/83 strength, 14 dexterity, base of 2 AC (plus dexterity bonus), 3 APR, hits as a +6 weapon, does 1d10 damage (plus a strength bonus) and has an on-hit effect (save vs death at +3) of panicking the target for 30 seconds. Its immune to hold, Slow, Grease, Entangle, Web, stun, poison, petrification, confusion, feeblemindedness, sleep, fatigue, slay, level drain, morale break, and polymorph. Also it has 100% resistance to cold and electricity and immune to normal weapons.

Totemic Druid Spirit Animals (Lion and Wolf)

Spirit: Lion.

Level 1: 12 health, 16 Thac0, 16 strength, 14 dexterity, base of 5 AC (plus dexterity bonus), 2 APR, hits as a +6 weapon, and does 1d4+1 piercing damage. Its immune to charm and polymorph and has 25% electricity resistance.

Level 3: 23 health, 14 Thac0 (plus strength bonus), 17 strength, 15 dexterity, base of 4 AC (plus dexterity bonus), 2 APR, hits as a +6 weapon and does 1d5+1 piercing damage (plus strength bonus). Its immune to charm, polymorph, break morale, and panic. It has 50% electricity resistance, 25% resistance to poison and 25% cold resistance.

Level 5: 36 health, 12 Thac0 (plus strength bonus), 18 strength, 16 dexterity, base of 3 AC (plus dexterity bonus), 3 APR, hits as a +6 weapon and does 1d5+2 piercing damage (plus strength bonus). Its immune to charm, polymorph, break morale, slay, hold, stun, Entangle, Web, Grease, Slow, feeblemindness, confusion, and panic. Also it has 50% resistance to cold, 50% resistance to poison and 75% electricity resistance.

Level 7: 54 health, 10 Thac0 (plus strength bonus), 18/68 strength, 17 dexterity, base of 2 AC (plus dexterity bonus), 3 APR, hits as a +6 weapon and does 1d6+2 damage. Its immune to charm, polymorph, break morale, slay, hold, stun, Entangle, Web, Grease, Slow, feeblemindness, confusion, and panic. Also it has 75% resistance to cold, 75% resistance to poison, and 100% electricity resistance.

Level 10: 72 health, 8 Thac0 (plus strength bonus), 19 strength, 18 dexterity, base of 1 AC (plus dexterity bonus), 3 APR, hits as a +6 weapon and does 1d8+2 damage (plus strength bonus).Its immune to charm, polymorph, break morale, slay, fatigue, sleep, petrification, poison, level drain, hold, stun, Entangle, Web, Grease, Slow, feeblemindness, confusion, and panic. Also it has 100% resistance to cold and electricity and is immune to normal weapons.


Spirit: Wolf

Level 1: 9 health, 17 Thac0, 13 strength, 15 dexterity, base of 4 AC, 1 APR, hits as a +6 weapon, does 1 piercing damage (plus a strength bonus) and 1d3 cold damage. Its immune to fatigue, sleep, and polymorph. Also it has 100% cold resistance, 25% electricity resistance and is 25% resistant to poison.

Level 3: 19 health, 15 Thac0, 14 strength, 16 dexterity, base of 3 AC (plus the dexterity bonus), 2 APR, hits as a +6 weapon, does 1d2 piercing damage, 1d4 cold damage, and has an on-hit effect (save vs death at +5) of holding the target for 3 seconds. Its immune to petrification, fatigue, sleep, and polymorph. Also it has 100% cold resistance, 50% electricity resistance and is 50% resistant to poison..

Level 5: 28 health, 13 Thac0, 15 strength, 17 dexterity, base of 6 AC (plus the dexterity bonus), 2 APR, hits as a +6 weapon, does 1d2 piercing damage, 1d4 cold damage, and has an on-hit effect (save vs death at +4) of holding the target for 3 seconds. Its immune to petrification, fatigue, sleep, charm, level drain, and polymorph. Also it has 100% cold resistance, 75% electricity resistance, and is 75% resistant to poison.

Level 7: 42 health, 11 Thac0 (plus strength bonus), 16 strength, 18 dexterity, base of 1 AC (plus the dexterity bonus), 2 APR, hits as a +6 weapon, does 1d2 piercing damage, 1d6 cold damage, and has an on-hit effect (save vs death at +3) of holding the target for 5 seconds. Its immune to petrification, fatigue, sleep, charm, level drain, slay, poison and polymorph. Also it has 100% cold resistance and 100% elecricity resistance.

Level 10: 56 health, 9 Thac0 (plus strength bonus), 16 strength, 20 dexterity, base of 0 AC (plus the dexterity bonus), 3 APR, hits as a +6 weapon, does 1d4 piercing damage, 1d6 cold damage, and has both an on-hit effect (save vs death at +1) of holding the target for 7 seconds and an on hit effect of causing level drain (save vs death at +5). Its immune to slow, hold, grease, web, entangle, petrification, fatigue, stun, feeblemind, slay, sleep, confusion, charm, panic, break morale, level drain, poison and polymorph. Also it has 100% cold resistance and 100% elecricity resistance. Its also immune to normal weapons.

Arcane Class Activable Abilities and Spells (Mages and Sorcerors)

Mage

None

Mage Kits

None

Sorceror

Sorceror Kits

Dragon Disciple

Breath Weapon: This shoots out a sweet flame attack in a cone shape. It isn't the most damaging ability but what it is really useful for is bypassing magic resistance. This is more useful for that in BG2EE but there are a few occassions where this works well against an enemy because they have a high amount of magic resistance. It also is an instant casting ability which makes it a good spell disrupter as well as a good ability to use to finish an enemy off quickly. Once you consider the fact that a Skull Trap and a Fireball have a saving throw for half damage, while this ability doesn't, it basically becomes apparent that the damage this does is on average comparable. Maybe not against really weak enemies but certainly against stronger enemies that have good saving throws.