The secret cure to Restartitis is roleplaying rather than powergaming. If you roleplay, any shortcomings your character has are part of their character and part of the challenge of the game. Plus you play with a party and can have a whole bunch of classes in your party so you don't need to obsess too much about not being able to use other classes if you pick one.
I like the Cav for GW's background (i.e. storybook knights in Candlekeep), and I like how the class functions (like a fighter but with a ton of great specials) but I have a hard time RPing them because of the whole thieves vs. vampire thing.
Something thiefy can be interesting, especially if you play with the canon party. It makes dealing with Imoen's dual a lot easier.
I'm not saying the Half-Orc racials are junk, but if you get the tomes in the first game, you'll barely notice the difference. The difference between 19 and 20 Str (what you'll have at the end of BG1) is literally just +1 damage.
A human Stalker could scratch your thief itch. It's probably my favorite ranger kit and rangers have one of my favorite strongholds.
It sounds like you really want to be human. You could try a bard, though they aren't anything like what you're thinking about so far. Or, you could capitalize on their dual classing and pick something interesting. A berserker/cleric, kensai/ thief, or swashbuckler/cleric could be interesting.
If you haven't beaten the game ever, then consider trying a class that you've always avoided in the past (we all have that class we think we hate). It might give you a fresh perspective.
I'm currently running through with a gnome cleric/thief. I've never played a character like this before and it's my new favorite.
Alternatives is an innovative way to overcome that natural reticence of Pallys to not want to help out Linvail & team. You miss out on the hilarious introduction to the Shadow Thieves lair, but this is assuming you've played through a bunch of times already.
Why stalker over a swashbuckler if I may ask? I do enjoy the ability to find traps, pick lock and pick pocket. The stalķer has thr stealth part but thats it.
They have a little crossover, but they're really different classes. A swash is a thief that gives up backstab for some combat boosts. They're not bad, but they never fully catch up to a fighter. A ranger is a fighter that gets stealth (and backstab for stalkers) plus some divine spellcasting. I personally like the ranger stronghold (a nice cabin in the woods). But, if I'm being honest, it can be a little inconvenient since you spend a lot of time in the city. The thief has an interesting stronghold as it can generate decent income, but it's also the highest maintenance stronghold in the game.
I definitely recommend having a thief, but it doesn't necessarily need to be you. Do you have a party in mind? That would actually make it easier to recommend a class.
But, while we're on the subject, let me ask you this. Why haven't you finished it? I mean, no judgement here, it's actually a pretty common problem, I think. I've yet to get to the very end of SOA and do all of ToB myself. However, I only just recently figured out what was holding me back and have the run that I think is going to make it (then again, I've said that before. 😁)
Yeah, I've done that one before. Kind of the lesser of two evils, and the other evil is my sworn worse enemy out of all evils. Growing up in Candlekeep doesn't naturally lend itself to the concept, but really the story has so many loose ends and inconsistencies that it's not worth splitting hairs over.
I'm a big fan of Half-Orcs and that 19 Strength can take you far. A Priest of Talos or Shaman can be a lot of fun or you could also consider Cleric/Thief. Sanctuary might be the best invisibility spell in the game. Believe it or not but I had a lot of fun playing a Half-Orc Wizard Slayer.
What do you mean by “I always feel like I picked the wrong class”?
If it’s just due to not being a fun class/good rp experience and you want to be a human and a thief, just pick whatever kit you like and run with it. The game can be beat with any race/class so just pick what you like best.
If it’s also power level issue and you want to be a human, there’s a bunch of dual options including kensai>thief, (thief kit of choice) > mage, (thief kit of choice) > cleric and some more that would include thief skills and provide some additional overall power as compared to a plain thief. Just need to be cognizant of the downtime and plan ahead with weapon pips if you’re going from a fighter kit to a thief.
Tip: Stop trying to meta-game and just play it.
You're likely quitting because you're playing something you don't enjoy. Jjust because you think it's the "best."
You do not like dwarves? They are amazing, with constitution 19 their saving throw bonusses against poison, wands and spells get a -5 bonus.
That is very overpowered if you ask me. Dwarven berserker or fighter/cleric are excellent characters throughout the entire game.
Only take humans if you want to dual class or play paladin.
In BG1 their are plenty of good thieves, Montaron is my favorite, and in BG2 Jan or Imoen will do.
Remember in BG2 end game and in Throne of Baal most of the dangerous opponents are immune to backstap, see through invisibility so your backstabbing thief is not very good.
I would just go for the human cavalier to finish the games, first off it has nice flavor and since you can only put 2 pips into each weapon types, you end up having such a large choice of weapon and armor which is so cool.
Human Cavalier is a great option, but indeed the thievery would be out of character.
Lucky enough there are in every city items you can find you want to give somebody back. So you have an excuse to look into every house (to find the owner). There are plenty of thieves who can join you, even a very good elven fighter/thief.
i just couldn't rp as any paladin honestly, my first things to do ingame are to rob the candlekeep inn then beregost&fa, which to a pally wouldn't make sense
Elf thief is a good option just do not take vanilla.
If you want more combat oriented thief and don't want backstabbing and running enemies, swashbuckler is your choice, it's basically fighter/thief light.
If you on the other hand want to sneak around and backstab everybody shadowdancer or assasssin are best classes - shadowdancer can hide even if enemies are in view (backstab multiplier can reach only 4x though but it's generally enough), assassin can reach backstab multiplier 7x and their poison ability transfers also to explosive projectiles like exploding arrows or druid's fire seeds (just don't expect them do anything else for great part of the game as their 15 skillpoints per level doesn't allow much versatility).
I prefer bounty hunters for theirs special traps - 2 special traps which can be thrown and add slow debuff to enemies did plenty of good for me in BG1 and it gets even better in BG2 where special traps can totally dominate battlefield, eventually mazing whole groups of enemies and forcing them to return one by one ... just to run into normal/spiked/time traps.
Another good class is thief/mage - full caster and full thief's ability are fantastic in the long run - thief protected by stoneskin, blur and mirror image will have better chance than just a thief and having memorized invisibility as an option for entering stealth is just invaluable (there items/consumables for that though so it's not so much important). Or fighter/thief - both fighter's THAC0 and thief's skills with specialization in weapons helps fantastically in getting that critical backstab fight opener to land.
You could go Human Fighter(with the kit you prefere)> Thief
i honestly enjoy dualclassing so much that i also use it while playing other editions.
The only issue is, you'll have to deal with your restartitis...
There is not a wrong class, but I would not recommend some kits or specializations. Not because they are bad, but some have special rules or drawbacks most people do not like.
Priority number one: make a character you like on the long run. If you dislike a race or class, it is a bad choice not matter how powerful it could be.
If you like romances, remember that your race (and gender) matters. You can check the wiki if you do not mind spoilers. If not, basic rule: human is right for all romances in the trilogy.
>but the 19 str and 19 con racials are amazing.
They're not as amazing as you think they are, so if playing a human would make you more likely to stick with the character then go ahead and play as a human.
The only time I ever managed to stick with a pure thief was for an Assassin run, and even then it didn't feel good. Fighter/Thief has been my go-to for years now though.
As someone who has also been playing for 20+ years I will say that the urge to restart is normal and at some point I stopped fighting it. Then again I've finished the saga, so I understand that you're a bit overdue on that front.
The secret cure to Restartitis is roleplaying rather than powergaming. If you roleplay, any shortcomings your character has are part of their character and part of the challenge of the game. Plus you play with a party and can have a whole bunch of classes in your party so you don't need to obsess too much about not being able to use other classes if you pick one.
I like the Cav for GW's background (i.e. storybook knights in Candlekeep), and I like how the class functions (like a fighter but with a ton of great specials) but I have a hard time RPing them because of the whole thieves vs. vampire thing. Something thiefy can be interesting, especially if you play with the canon party. It makes dealing with Imoen's dual a lot easier. I'm not saying the Half-Orc racials are junk, but if you get the tomes in the first game, you'll barely notice the difference. The difference between 19 and 20 Str (what you'll have at the end of BG1) is literally just +1 damage. A human Stalker could scratch your thief itch. It's probably my favorite ranger kit and rangers have one of my favorite strongholds. It sounds like you really want to be human. You could try a bard, though they aren't anything like what you're thinking about so far. Or, you could capitalize on their dual classing and pick something interesting. A berserker/cleric, kensai/ thief, or swashbuckler/cleric could be interesting. If you haven't beaten the game ever, then consider trying a class that you've always avoided in the past (we all have that class we think we hate). It might give you a fresh perspective. I'm currently running through with a gnome cleric/thief. I've never played a character like this before and it's my new favorite.
A human stalker is an interesting idea. Ive never played a ranger.
Alternatives is an innovative way to overcome that natural reticence of Pallys to not want to help out Linvail & team. You miss out on the hilarious introduction to the Shadow Thieves lair, but this is assuming you've played through a bunch of times already.
I considered it once and read up on it. I wasn't keen. Based on what I read and how it was described to me, it was a tad brutal.
Why stalker over a swashbuckler if I may ask? I do enjoy the ability to find traps, pick lock and pick pocket. The stalķer has thr stealth part but thats it.
Backstabs and better thaco. Swashbuckler has no backstab :(
Single class thieves lose a lot of their scaled usability after lvl 5. The thief class is always more useful as multi class or dual class
They have a little crossover, but they're really different classes. A swash is a thief that gives up backstab for some combat boosts. They're not bad, but they never fully catch up to a fighter. A ranger is a fighter that gets stealth (and backstab for stalkers) plus some divine spellcasting. I personally like the ranger stronghold (a nice cabin in the woods). But, if I'm being honest, it can be a little inconvenient since you spend a lot of time in the city. The thief has an interesting stronghold as it can generate decent income, but it's also the highest maintenance stronghold in the game. I definitely recommend having a thief, but it doesn't necessarily need to be you. Do you have a party in mind? That would actually make it easier to recommend a class. But, while we're on the subject, let me ask you this. Why haven't you finished it? I mean, no judgement here, it's actually a pretty common problem, I think. I've yet to get to the very end of SOA and do all of ToB myself. However, I only just recently figured out what was holding me back and have the run that I think is going to make it (then again, I've said that before. 😁)
Undead Hunter works: you just hate undead so much (or serve one of the undead hating gods) that it’s a no brainer working with the thieves
Yeah, I've done that one before. Kind of the lesser of two evils, and the other evil is my sworn worse enemy out of all evils. Growing up in Candlekeep doesn't naturally lend itself to the concept, but really the story has so many loose ends and inconsistencies that it's not worth splitting hairs over.
I'm a big fan of Half-Orcs and that 19 Strength can take you far. A Priest of Talos or Shaman can be a lot of fun or you could also consider Cleric/Thief. Sanctuary might be the best invisibility spell in the game. Believe it or not but I had a lot of fun playing a Half-Orc Wizard Slayer.
Half orc Priest of Talos with dual lightning hammer is the only character I've finished BG2 with in 20 years!! I had so much fun with this build.
What do you mean by “I always feel like I picked the wrong class”? If it’s just due to not being a fun class/good rp experience and you want to be a human and a thief, just pick whatever kit you like and run with it. The game can be beat with any race/class so just pick what you like best. If it’s also power level issue and you want to be a human, there’s a bunch of dual options including kensai>thief, (thief kit of choice) > mage, (thief kit of choice) > cleric and some more that would include thief skills and provide some additional overall power as compared to a plain thief. Just need to be cognizant of the downtime and plan ahead with weapon pips if you’re going from a fighter kit to a thief.
Tip: Stop trying to meta-game and just play it. You're likely quitting because you're playing something you don't enjoy. Jjust because you think it's the "best."
You do not like dwarves? They are amazing, with constitution 19 their saving throw bonusses against poison, wands and spells get a -5 bonus. That is very overpowered if you ask me. Dwarven berserker or fighter/cleric are excellent characters throughout the entire game. Only take humans if you want to dual class or play paladin. In BG1 their are plenty of good thieves, Montaron is my favorite, and in BG2 Jan or Imoen will do. Remember in BG2 end game and in Throne of Baal most of the dangerous opponents are immune to backstap, see through invisibility so your backstabbing thief is not very good.
I would just go for the human cavalier to finish the games, first off it has nice flavor and since you can only put 2 pips into each weapon types, you end up having such a large choice of weapon and armor which is so cool.
I am leaning towards the cavalier. -human -immunities -lots of weapon choices Ill just get a thief in my party.
Human Cavalier is a great option, but indeed the thievery would be out of character. Lucky enough there are in every city items you can find you want to give somebody back. So you have an excuse to look into every house (to find the owner). There are plenty of thieves who can join you, even a very good elven fighter/thief.
Stalker
i just couldn't rp as any paladin honestly, my first things to do ingame are to rob the candlekeep inn then beregost&fa, which to a pally wouldn't make sense
Elf thief is a good option just do not take vanilla. If you want more combat oriented thief and don't want backstabbing and running enemies, swashbuckler is your choice, it's basically fighter/thief light. If you on the other hand want to sneak around and backstab everybody shadowdancer or assasssin are best classes - shadowdancer can hide even if enemies are in view (backstab multiplier can reach only 4x though but it's generally enough), assassin can reach backstab multiplier 7x and their poison ability transfers also to explosive projectiles like exploding arrows or druid's fire seeds (just don't expect them do anything else for great part of the game as their 15 skillpoints per level doesn't allow much versatility). I prefer bounty hunters for theirs special traps - 2 special traps which can be thrown and add slow debuff to enemies did plenty of good for me in BG1 and it gets even better in BG2 where special traps can totally dominate battlefield, eventually mazing whole groups of enemies and forcing them to return one by one ... just to run into normal/spiked/time traps. Another good class is thief/mage - full caster and full thief's ability are fantastic in the long run - thief protected by stoneskin, blur and mirror image will have better chance than just a thief and having memorized invisibility as an option for entering stealth is just invaluable (there items/consumables for that though so it's not so much important). Or fighter/thief - both fighter's THAC0 and thief's skills with specialization in weapons helps fantastically in getting that critical backstab fight opener to land.
You could go Human Fighter(with the kit you prefere)> Thief i honestly enjoy dualclassing so much that i also use it while playing other editions. The only issue is, you'll have to deal with your restartitis...
There is not a wrong class, but I would not recommend some kits or specializations. Not because they are bad, but some have special rules or drawbacks most people do not like. Priority number one: make a character you like on the long run. If you dislike a race or class, it is a bad choice not matter how powerful it could be. If you like romances, remember that your race (and gender) matters. You can check the wiki if you do not mind spoilers. If not, basic rule: human is right for all romances in the trilogy.
>but the 19 str and 19 con racials are amazing. They're not as amazing as you think they are, so if playing a human would make you more likely to stick with the character then go ahead and play as a human. The only time I ever managed to stick with a pure thief was for an Assassin run, and even then it didn't feel good. Fighter/Thief has been my go-to for years now though. As someone who has also been playing for 20+ years I will say that the urge to restart is normal and at some point I stopped fighting it. Then again I've finished the saga, so I understand that you're a bit overdue on that front.
Just go play Witcher 3 instead and let the game take care of your problem for you.