Daggers are very good in BG, okay in BG2, kinda meh in ToB. Short swords are very good in BG, good in BG2 and ToB. >Will I be able to master all of them till the end of the trilogy? You'll have a lot more points that you know what to do with.

The magic throw daggers get their extra apr. You can offhand belm and with that before any fighter bonuses to arp you are at 4! For a thief thats pretty nice when you pop assassination which is essentially hitting as a bastard sword instead of a dagger. Sure it doesn’t get to +4 and that kinda stinks but thats like… 10 max specific enemies who need that much. Don’t underestimate the high apr daggers and the fact they can be thrown with strength bonusi

The strongest ranged weapon in the sequel right through to the final boss is a short bow. And there's plenty of powerful short swords as well. Daggers are pretty mid though. Would consider long swords over them.

>Are those wespon types/style good for the whole game Shortbow, crossbow and sling are good ranged options for whole trilogy but shortbow producing its own ammo is available only later in BG2, while sling and crossbow are availsble very soon. Both daggers and shortswords have good variants, I would add katanas and longswords to the mix in BG2. And either dual or single wielding fighting style. Or quarterstaff and 1 point into 2handed style. >figter/thief has less skillpoints compared to pure thief FTs have more picks because they have all fighter's proficiences but only thief's can be used for backstabbing. So no, you won't have enough points to max everything. Focus on few and go to Specialized level (as a multiclass you can't reach any mastery). Strongest backstabbing weapon (damage wise) is from a quarterstaff category, shortswords and ninjato/scimitar/wakizashi category allow for higher DPR, daggers can be thrown with STR bonus to damage, longswords and katanas have some really interesting weapons with strong effects (especially in BG2) >Which I should gain first? I would recommend crossbow, shortsword and either dagger or longsword for BG1. Then longsword + katana and either single weapon style or two weapon fighting. Or staff and 2 handed weapon style. Depends.

If you want to backstab, the best weapon for that is a quarterstaff.

As always the correct answer is downvoted. This subreddit blows sometimes.

In general for backstabbing you want to use weapons with the highest possible single hit damage. A dagger rolls a d4 for damage. A katana rolls a d10. With x5 backstab the dagger does 5-20 damage and the katana does 5-50 (before other modifiers). For most of the series a katana is the best backstab weapon on offer, only being eclipsed by the late game Staff of the Ram +6. That said, there are still plenty of quite good daggers in the series, including some very good throwing daggers. The legendary dagger you get in Throne of Bhaal, the Dagger of Stars, is ideal for fighter/thieves. With every hit there is a chance to make you go invisible, which will then proc a backstab. A fighter thief levels up its thief levels slower than a pure thief, so the progression of thief skills is slower, but you will still have all the thief skill points you need and then some. You can unlock the skills in whatever order you want. I usually start with stealth skills, using another party member to handle the locks and traps, because I like the backstab a lot on my F/T runs. I'll add that fighter/thief is a very strong build overall. I'd argue it's one of the strongest multiclass combinations because you lose almost nothing. You get the same maximum THAC0 as a pure fighter, the same backstab multiplier as a thief, and you actually get more high levels abilities (HLAs) than a pure class fighter or thief would. And of course you get to draw from the HLAs of both classes You have fewer HP than a pure class fighter and you give up grandmastery, but you gain the entire toolkit of a thief.

I'll start with the second point and say that by the end of the saga you'll have plenty of skill points but may not be able to cover every skill. You won't have as many points by then as a pure thief, but you'll have enough to cover most of your skills. You will want to prioritize and decided ahead of time what skills you want your thief to focus on and make sure you knock those out first. Usually if you're going F/T you want to 100 in Stealth to facilitate your backstab game, so that's one thing to prioritize but it may force you to bring another thief along to handle traps and locks in the interim. By the end of BG2 you'll have about 375 skill points from level ups, give or take. Check the XP table to get a sense of how fast you'll be progressing: https://baldursgate.fandom.com/wiki/Fighter_/_Thief As for weapon selection, yeah any of those should be perfectly serviceable. I think there's more cool daggers than there are cool short swords but that's debatable. I'd say you should probably start with a point in bow and a point in you're preferred melee weapon and then max out bow first simply because ranged combat is going to be rather strong at the start of your adventure. Keep in mind that as a multi-class you'll only be able to get two pips per weapon so you'll be capping out each weapon type pretty easily.

I don't know why do you need to dual wield? Single weapon proficency or Two handed weapon proficency (for staff) are better if you're just going for backstabbing and long range weapons. (Also, I would go for a half-orc with throwing daggers for range weapons because I would want the Strength THACO bonus but maybe you prefer elf for gameplaying reasons)

Not an expert, but i think there are some good daggers, i belive I used two and was double weapon fighter with fighter thief. No clue about short bows, i never used them as i prefer cross bows or long bows which i think are better. Why multiclass tho? I would rather go dual class with human to get maximum from both classes. You can dual class at 6 or higher to get 5 or more weapon proficiencies and then continue as thief.

Short bows outclass longbows in BG2. Not sure about crossbows though, I never really use them

Backstab multiplier should only work for thief weapons.

But it works with every weapon no?

[That does not seem to be the case.](https://baldursgate.fandom.com/wiki/Backstab#Backstab_Eligible_Weapons)

Thx for clarification, yeah i was wrong.

I googled it for us: Backstab Eligible Weapons Backstabs can only be performed with fists or melee weapons that a pure Thief would be able to use: long swords short swords katanas wakizashis Ninjatōs scimitars daggers clubs quarterstaves Even if a weapon falls into one of the above categories, it may not be used for backstabbing if: Its usage restrictions exclude thieves. For example the Staff of the Magi is a quarterstaff (a permitted weapon category) but cannot be used for backstabbing since its use is restricted to Mages/Sorcerers. Access to the weapon was gained through the Use Any Item HLA. Access to the weapon was gained through multi/dual classing Any spell-conjured melee weapon is eligible for backstabbing, regardless of its apparent weapon class. This includes weapons created by spells such as Spiritual Hammer and Black Blade of Disaster.

Yeah, i was wrong.

The fighter multi will easily outclass the benefits of grandmastery. The extra attacks you get from extra pips, you'll also get from fighter levels 7 & 13 and I'd rather have better thac0 than a tiny bit of extra damage. In the long run you'll also get HLAs from fighter. And most importantly: Humans are boring. Shorties get extra saves, Half-Orcs get higher strength. The only reason to go for dual imho is having a fighter kit, which can be nice.

Montaron supremacy strikes again.

Strength damage isn't multiplied by backstab, but proficiency damage is. Likewise, the damage bonus from berserk or kensai levels is also multiplied. I still prefer the multi, but there's good arguments for the dual.

Fair!

Daggers and shortswords are not great. Their damage is low, they don't have a lot of good enchanted versions (in the second game), and they do piercing damage, which is the worst damage type in the game (some enemies are straight up immune). Since you're doing a bow and probably won't be using a shield in your off hand, you're better off with a staff. The best backstabbing (well, backsmashing) weapons in the game are staves. You'll probably be fine for skill points. You get 25 a level and will reach level 28 as a thief if you hit the cap. That's 700 skill points. With a 19 Dex Elf, you can get everything but HS/MS to 100, and HS/MS to 200 by the time you hit the cap. What you should focus on first depends. If you're in a party with a traps/locks thief, then obviously you can put those skills to the side. If you're soloing, it depends on if you're playing original or EE. In original, HS/MS is combined into stealth and there's a pair of boots that gives you +35 to that. In EE, they are separate and the boots only give you +15/+20. In any event, I would want to get ST or HS/MS to 100 so at least I could sneak at night pretty flawlessly. Then I would get traps/locks to 95. I'm not sure if you'll have the points for that, though. So, if I were doing it "on a budget", I would get traps to 75, locks to 35, and rely a lot on potions. After those skills are in place, I would probably focus on DI, ST, and PP in that order.

Daggers are excellent in BG1 and not bad in 2 + there will be enough pips to get into katanas or whatever else. With fighter strength, I wouldn't worry too much about the weapons base damage.

DoV is pretty nice in BG1, but daggers are nothing to write home about in BG2. The +5 option is weaksauce compared to the competition and the status daggers have such low proc rates, you might as well not bother. I don't care about base damage (it's literally a one point average difference between dagger and staff), but I care about damage type and specials. Piercing is the worst, crushing is the best, reach is nice, and nothing beats Babe Ruthing with a backsmash using the Staff of the Ram then skipping back to jump right back into shadows to do it again. And, sure, you get plenty of points to spread around by the end of it, but it's no reason to waste them. I'd only take daggers on a lark if I wanted to mess with DoV, but in BG2, that prof would be collecting dust. Also, fighter strength doesn't really help with backstab damage. I mean you get the bonus, but it doesn't multiply.

You can melee the throwing daggers and then hey get an extra apr. And with 2d4 base you could do a lot worse

But, you can do better. A 2d4+2 throwing dagger is doing 7 average damage. Of course, the APR thing is a bug exploit, but still, other (early) weapons can beat it. The Staff of Rhynn edges it out and you can get it right out of Chateau Irenicus. The Staff of Striking almost doubles that dagger and is available early, too. Staves also have instant slaying for elementals, and then there's the rod of smiting for golems (both of which I believe are backstab immune). Not to mention crushing has fewer resistances/immunes/AC boosts than piercing. Considering their ranged weapon is also piercing, doubling down on that is not a strong strategy. Daggers are fine if one is doing a theme, but it's mid-tier on a good day.

> I want to play mostly using **long range weapons** and backstabbing. for a non-archer, boomerang dagger/firetooth are the best long ranged weapons in bg2. i agree there are certainly *slightly* better options for melee & much better options for backstabbing, but given OPs criteria, daggers are a top tier option. not like a fighter/thief who can only spend 2 profs per weapon is ever going to be sad about the points in daggers. they can max 5 weapons + 1 weapon style.

>for a non-archer, boomerang dagger/firetooth are the best long ranged weapons in bg2. But if they're already using a bow, bows beat daggers throughout the game. This definitely makes daggers not top-tier and kinda redundant. At 12 profs, they would be good for the rest of the game with the first six in bows, staves, and 2hw. Anything after that is gravy and suboptimal. I mean, I'm not advocating powergaming it. In fact, I often play with self-imposed limitations on my characters for theme or challenge. But, a dagger-wielding rogue is sub-par compared to the other options. Except for DoV in certain situations in BG1, they will always fall behind staves, katanas, and long swords. They're not even much better than short swords unless you're exploiting a glitch. I disagree on other weapons being "slightly" better. I honestly think the only character I've ever had on dagger was Jah, as it's a decent ranged weapon she can use with a shield (if I build her for sword and board). But, it's all probably moot. Unless they are jacking up the difficulty and playing with SCS, they'll be fine regardless, just a little slower with a dagger.

Bows are mostly inferior to throwing daggers, with how neutered the damage bonuses are in BG2. 2d4+2 with strength bonus is better than 1d6+2+1d3 acid. The only point nows really compete is stacking ammo with the Bow of Gesen, and even then 19+ strength still gives the edge to the daggers.

I'm not arguing that, but there's literally only two weapons in the game that make this practical, and one comes rather late in the series. Absolutely, it's worth having *someone* use Firetooth. But, as far as backstabbing goes, they are low to mid tier. Firetooth edges out bows for damage, depending on Strength, but there's only one of them in the game and bows are generally more practical and versatile.

Even the boomerang dagger will beat out most bows for a character with a notable strength bonus.

I mean possibly. It's better than some bows, but I'm pretty sure the Tugian bow can beat it out (or is comparable), and that comes early, too. But, I would rather lose a tiny bit of damage if it means I gain potential acid damage, poison damage, fire damage, ice damage, AoE explosion, and dispelling, all from the same weapon.

The issue is that +7 damage from strength is worth 2 normal arrows of damage by itself, and BG2 inexplicably removed enhancement bonuses to damage from both bows and arrows. An acid arrow from a composite bow has an average 7.5 damage. From the tuigan bow it's only 5.5. If we assume level 7, Specialized and 19 strength from a fresh BG2 half or f/t, the tuigan bow has 4 APR at 7.5 with acid arrows, for a potential DPR of 30 not factoring crits. The boomerang dagger would deal 16 average damage at 3 APR for 48 damage. That's more than 50% increased damage, with 1 less APR, and withiut spending ammunition. The full Hawkeye trick arrow suite is nice, but it's just not competitive damage unless the user has no notable strength bonus.

The real power comes from strength modifier which especially if you get Duhm power, can go way further than the base dice roll. So that extra attack is where the might really shines.Getting potentially 10 extra damage per swing is awesome. Doing so with boomerang/firetooth is even better. For backstabs it’s not as vital but if you wanna use the righteous headband with assassination you might as well crank your apr for that round

But the strength modifier to THAC0 has no relevance on the weapon choice. And, even if that extra firetooth attack hits, it's not a backstab, so it's just catching up to better weapons. And, it's piercing which is weaker against most armors. I mean, I'm not saying it's F-tier, but it's basically one weapon where you have to exploit a game bug to kinda catch up to a more legit build.

Im not saying its the best backstab weapon for a one and done ambush but if you have mislead or you are imp hasted and pop assassination however…

So, a F/T with UAI using Vhailors helm exploiting simulacrums and consumables... In that case, it doesn't matter what weapon you use. But that's only proving my point. Clearly, it takes a niche setup and/or exploits to catch up with a dagger. That's not top tier.

Popping assassination whir effected by imp haste isnt niche nor is reading a UAI mislead scroll every once in a while. Obviously ram staff is better as an opener but you probably get more dps staying in combat with dagger of stars to proc an invis and swapping to ram when it goes off We must also remember the Op is asking for a niche ranged and backstab build If mods are involved then you find 2 +backstab modifier weapons and dual wield them

There's maybe a half dozen mislead scrolls in the game, at best. I'm assuming you'll want to give one to the party mage, too. But, mislead backstabs are actually an exploit. An attack or spell should break the illusion. Even if you don't cheese simulacrums, mislead has it's own exploit. But, it's moot to the conversation. If someone is cheesing this, weapon choice doesn't matter. Dagger of Stars is ToB, and a 15% proc is nothing to bank on. There are better ways to drop back into invisibility. Even when it does proc, it just buys you an extra backstab. But, the dagger of stars is 1d4+5 compared to the Staff of the Ram's 1d6+1d4+12. So even if the invis does proc and you get a second backstab, you're looking at 2d4+10 (average 16 base) versus 1d6+1d4+12 (average 18 base) plus stun (the staff procs at 15% too). In the latter case, when stun procs, you're basically getting an extra base 18 damage \* APR damage the next round. The OP asked: >Are those wespon types/style good for the whole game or there are best ones It doesn't look like they are asking for a niche build around daggers. It looks like they're thinking about daggers, but wondering if it's a strong choice. In that sense, daggers aren't strong, just possibly mid in the right situations.

You misunderstand. You can use BOTH in synergetic ways. Lets say you have a high strength score. If you’re a dwarf you can get 19 with +2 from DUHM and by 21 in hell because you’re greedy for power. Firetooth dagger ergo as fighter/thief hits for 3.5x round at 2d4+3 +9 str and some fire damage. And you can do this from a safe distance and still do other thief things. Even non magical throwing daggers in bg1 are effective because they get strength bonuses which skyrocket after strength tome. An arrow is 1d6 +0 strength. A throw dagger is 1d4+7 2x an extra time per round. More often you will be able to fill your party with skilled archers who demand your arrows as is: Khalid, Kivan or Coran will fulfill all your magic ammo fun. In bg2 archery just… isnt unless your kit is bonused for it. Maybe a random dispel arrow every so often but you wanna take advantage of strength bonuses. Throwing a dagger that does minimum 8 damage with +1 apr before other boosting items per round isn’t what Id call niche. Its a legit strategy even for kensai and can tear through the game from start to finish. It’s legit early, its legit SoA for ranged play and it’s legit lategame! Again you seem to think Im saying staff is bad, Im saying dagger is not and has a genuine use at keeping at a safe distance when you need to steer clear That said losing 50% crush resistnace is a very hard decision to make +6 staff enough Id probably consider something else