It seems as though, judging from another and not having actually played the mod yet (waiting for v4), that mages are now in a situation where they are used almost totally for dispelling, immuning other characters, and creating summons. Would those in the know (esp. sikret/thetruth) agree with that? I'm not trying to imply that this is necessarily a negative if true, I'm just interested for the sake of future spell and party selection

Speaking of party selection, do you think I'd be making things too hard for myself to make a party of single-class characters? I've always disliked multiclasses unless soloing, and am not too keen on having a party full of five fighter/x's and one ranger/cleric.

And on difficulty, I wonder if it would be possible to make a rough difficulty guide for the quests of chapters 2 and/or 6? What I envision is something like e.g. "windspear hills: level 9-13 minimum" or whatever. With all the new content its difficult for me to know which are the easier quests and which are the ones best left to chapter 6. And for a player of my (low) skill level, it is difficult to determine if you are losing a fight due to wrong tactics, or due to the fact that you're simply too low of a level for that fight. So a general quest difficulty guide (at least for chapters 2/6 where the game is not very linear, and maybe a minimum avg. level before going off to spellhold) would likely save me much frustration and/or lots of me making HELP threads

thanks, and I can't wait until v4.

This is not entirely true.
They are still effective offensively but not the overpowered class that could kill any enemy in the game without help from other characters in the party.
There are difficult battles in IA where a Mage cannot win solo.

What has changed mainly in IA is that the enemies are those who limit offensively Mages:

a)with their scripts
b)with their buffs/resistances/special abilities.

Also in IA4 Sikret has made some nice changes (Bug fixes and Tweaks) that make the game more "fair" and balanced.
These changes have also limited the "overpowerness" of Arcane spell-casters.

I suggest that anyone who installs IA4 read carefully the Readmes of the mod before he/she starts playing the game.





It would be harder with single-classed characters only but not impossible.

I dislike too multiclasses but they can help a lot in IA (especially F/Ms, F/Ts).
But you could also dual class 1-2 of your characters.The only problem is that good THACO helps a lot in IA and dual-classed characters (unless if dualed at high level) do not have it.

Anyway the party with which I have tested IA4 was:

1) PC - Stalker
2) Jaheira
3) Keldorn
4) Jan
5) Haer'Dalis
6) Sarevok (I dualled him immediately to a Mage - stupid decision since he reactivated his class late in ToB but I wanted to do it once)

Very useful in my party was Keldorn (with his Dispel Magic) and Haer'Dalis.
Also Imoen or Nalia would be much more useful than Jan (faster Mage progression).
So if you still want only single classed characters I suggest the Blade and the Inquisitor.

Whatever your decision is though, take a Cleric in your party.
I didn't and I regretted it.





I suggest this order:


1) Circus
2) Viconia,Jan
3) Graveyard (but leave Kitthix for later)
4) Montaron & Harpers
5) Murders - Bridge District
6) Slavers and Lilarcor
7) MaeVar
8) Start if you want the Umar Hills (not the Temple yet)
9) Trademeet quests (except from ... you will understand what - just save frequently)

and then start the bigger quests.

- De Arnise Hold
- Unseeing Eye (can be very easy or difficult depending on your experience)
- Planar Prison
- Planar Sphere
- Temple Ruins
- Windspear Hills

Of course you could always go to save Imoen but I wouldn't suggest rushing it.

Mordokai and the other testers can give their own order for these quests.
Just save often and even if you see that a quest is too diffult for your level you can always reload.

And don't forget that BWL is here for eventual problems

Hi, nataben!

I believe that the answer to some of the questions you asked (ex: Multi or dual characters) really depend on the player's style. Nonetheless, in addition to those valuable hints thetruth gave to you, I will also make my attempt to make some (hopefully) helpful points:

1- In order to see more new content during the game either choose a ranger or a mage/sorcerer protagonist. If you want to choose a ranger, I recommend not to choose an Archer. Choose either a kitless ranger or a stalker or a ranger/cleric. And if you want to choose a different class and then dual to mage, I recommend against choosing a dual-class Kensai-mage. A dual class Berserker-mage or a dual-class Swashbuckler-mage are just fine. Single class mage or sorcerer is fine too. A wild mage is also excellent.

2- Having a powerful Berserker in the party is also a very brilliant idea (for the enrage ability); since Korgan is evil and will leave your party when you reach a high reputation (and you need high reputation to see some of the new quests); so if you want a berserker, I may recommend starting a multi-player game and making a custom Berserker, though note that the berserker should not be your protagonist if you want to see more new content in the game (see above).

3- Having at least one powerful mage is still a must. So, if your main PC is not a mage, you should either make a custom mage for your party or to have Nalia (playing a mageless party and waiting for Imoen is too risky).

4- If you have Auramaster Druid kit v5, then you need to have Cernd in your party as well. Auramasters are very effective and powerful druids.

5- Keldorn and Valygar are also recommended additions to your party. The former for his excellent dispel magics and the latter for his powerful kit and his excellent improved items.

6- As for which quest should be done earlier and which later, I have already given a list of the easier quests here. As thetruth said, if you find a battle too difficult for your party, you can simply reload the game and postpone it to a later stage of the game (though thetruth has done all of the chapter 2 quests in chapter 2 during testing the mod, it's not easy or recommended for everyone to do so.)

Cheers

Why did you recommended not to choose an archer? I always thought it'was a great class and a powerful kit...

As my question is similar, I'll just post on this thread. I am currently playing through 3.0 for the first time using a morituri, sorcerer, FMT, and RC. When I hit ToB, I was thinking about switching to morituri, sorcerer, kensai 13-mage (hacked Edwin), and swashbuckler (no cleric). My experience suggests that in Sikret battles a fully charged Rod of Resurrection (ranged heal) works better than a cleric. Do you advise that I keep the RC, thetruth?

Also, I was frustrated that my Inquisitor's Dispel Magic wasn't so helpful. I guess it was that when I really needed that spell, the target(s) were immune. I also have not found backstab or even high level traps to be very helpful. I snuck up on the whore house lady (Galvena?) and backstabbed her for 5 times damage reducing her to ... barely injured!? And when I needed my high level traps to work, they had no effect - I don't know why. So, I thought about the swashbuckler simply because of AC, UAI, and taking care of traps and locks.

I also doubt that I am of thetruth's skill level. On my first time through with this party of 4, I often have to reload at least once during the Sikret battles. When facing Firkraag at level 15, I probably had to reload 3 or 4 times. So, any advice to keep the frustration level down would be appreciated.

Hey a Cleric is more powerful than a Rod of Resurrection

Besides Greater Restoration full-heals ALL your party members at once.
But yes they are more useful during SoA than in ToB.

A RC though is much more powerful than a simple Cleric, so it is a difficult choice.






Inquisitor's Dispel Magic will work if target doesn't have SI: Abjuration.
And there aren't many enemies with immunity to Dispel Magic.




Yes most enemies are immune to traps (except Timetraps of course).
Backstab isn't very helpful either since some of the enemies have immunity and /or can see through invisibility (though you can still backstab someone who can see through invisibility and is not immune IIRC).




Reloading at least once/IA battle and 3-4 times for improved Firkraag is not much.

The first game with IA is a new experience and like with other similar mods (Tactics,I.Battles,Ascension) do not expect to win the battles without some reloads

Actually, none of the enemies are immune to dispel magic. But in addition to SI:Abjuration, your dispel magic can also fail for the difference between levels of experience. A 10th level inquistor casts dispel magic at level 20 and it can still fail against high level enemies even if they don't have SI:abjuration.

In V3 i think S!IMMUNE gave immunity to dispel and remove magic too.
Maybe you've changed it in V4...

Anyway i wanted to play V4 with an Archer since you suggested to play a ranger...why didn't you reccomend the archer?

If you are immune to level 5 spells or lower, then I suppose that makes you immune to this spell, right? Likewise if you are immune to level 9 spells or lower, then you are immune - is this only the demilich? With Spell Immunity: Abjuration, you are immune also - at least temporarily. The improved creatures also usually have layered defenses. Is it worth a level 9 slot for Spell Strike to take them down all at once? Is it worth the time and spells to remove the layered protections in a more conventional manner?

I was somewhat dismayed because in the vanilla game, Keldorn's Dispel Magic almost aways succeeded even from the beginning regardless of his opponent. His Dispel Magic seemed much less reliable in Improved Anvil, which makes me less a fan of this class for this mod compared to the overpowered classes (for the unmodified game) of the fighter-mages, mages, ranger-clerics, etc.

-----------------

Hiya thetruth: rather than PM'ing you, I'll ask here because other people may be interested in your answer. I'm trying to keep to a party of 4. I realize that a cleric can always be useful to a party, regardless of his type: berserker>cleric, ranger>cleric, ranger-cleric, etc. What I am wondering is if some other class may be more helpful in a party of 4 for ToB in Improved Anvil V3. With your experience, do you think that the morituri, sorcerer, FMT, and RC ....OR..... the morituri, sorcerer, swashbuckler, and kensai 13>mage would be the easier win? (Note: I also have the XP cap removed and the Improved Battles of Ascension except the final battle and the battles that Sikret has already improved.)

@ Demivrgvs



Sikret will answer this, but IMO an Archer is less effective in IA because many enemies are immune to missile dmg, especially Golems .






@ rbeverjr




Hmm difficult choice, but I would go with the first one (Morituri,Sorcerer,FMT,R/C).

But if I wanted the most powerful party using the classes you mentioned above I would go with:

1) Morituri
2) Swashbuckler
3) R/C (multi)
4) Berserker-Mage (13-28)


- R/C multi is MUCH better than dual because of THACO and HLAs.

- Berserker-Mage is better than the "traditional" Kensai-Mage IMO.
You can look here why I think this.
Add on top of that the fact that a Kensai cannot wear the Robe of Vecna in IA

Also both are more powerful/useful than a Sorcerer IMO in IA because of fighter's abilities.

EDIT: But of course with a Berserker-Mage you will not have a Mage early in your party so maybe it would be better to prefer the Sorcerer.
Still you can do the first quests without a Mage (waiting the B-M to activate his Mage class), but the choice is yours.

You're probably right concerning the berserker 13>mage vs kensai 13>mage in parties of 4 or less. In small parties, you can probably share around uber equipment to give the berserker the edge. I am concerned that neither will be able to hit anything with the Staff of Magi unless in Tensers.

If the Kensai>mage can't wear the Robe, he wouldn't be considered regardless if he was going to be the sole party mage!

I'm really talking about ToB anyway; so, I'm not concerned about time dualing. If I cared, I would just have a party of 5 in SoA until the dual took place.

I really LOVE sorcerers. I particularly like the versatility of choosing whichever L9 spell or HLA spell I need to cast at the moment. Nevertheless, I will carefully consider your advice. If I was going to go that route, I would also consider hacking a fighter 13>wild mage.

Just a short reply to this, then I'm off to my workout for the night. I'll post longer reply tommorow, whn I wake up.

While what you say is true(and I lost many a nerves over the 100% missile damage resistance), archer is still a powerful kit, and can easily match himself with other ranger kits. I tested the game with it(Sikret, bear with me, you'll get a pm soon enought where I tell you why I stopped), and I believe that it is still a powerful kit. It can kill dragons in a matter of seconds if you have somoeno distracting them(and you will have them, trust me), and many mages were killed solely by him, while distracted by summons. So yes, archer is still a kit worth taking. Imo, that is.

Feel free to prove me otherwise if you feel like it. I'm open for a debate.

Heh no need for debate on the Archer kit. I am well aware of his power

In fact when Sikret asked me to choose a Ranger for testing IA I wanted to take an Archer.But since I didn't know IA's content I decided to take a Stalker instead.

And archers are not only effective against Dragon and Mages.
Potentially they can kill in a few seconds even the most powerful enemy in the game:

Tuigan's bow + I.Haste + Called Shot = STR draining death
(Sim from Vhailor's helm for enemies with more than 19 STR)

Almost noone is immune to stats drain in the original or modded BGII.
Fortunately IA is an exception.

That said though the fact that some of the most powerful enemies of IA are immune to Missile dmg is sthg to consider before you choose an Archer as your main character.

No, immunity to 5th level (or lower) spells will not include immunity yo dispel magic. (just like globe of invulnerability which doesn't make you immune to dispel magic. Even though the globe itself is not affected by dispel magic, it will not protect your other dispellable effects.)

S!immune.itm is nerfed in v4, but even in v3 it didn't give immunity to dipel magic.

So if both backstab and archery aren't very effective in IAv4, what sort of ranger would be recommended? I mean stalker is mainly good for backstab, archer obviously for archery, and beastmaster just sucks! Provided that I don't really do dualclass, does that mean that R/C is really the most sensible choice for a protagonist?

Yes. R/C is without doubt the most powerful from the Ranger classes.

Though the Stalker and the Archer are not useless. Their special abilities are less effective against the most powerful enemies but they are still very useful in a party.

Even the pure Ranger is not a bad choice.
That Armor of Faith + Hardiness + Defender of Eastheaven make him a good tank, better than a Fighter class f.e..

May as well ask this here. Do triple class characters get access to the new mage stronghold content?

Hi, leonidas!

Welcome to BWL!



Yes. Moreover, F/M/Cs may also find a particular item which cannot be used by any other class.



@nataben

Backstab still works against a good number of enemies. Stalker is still a great choice.

Just a little question to wich I guess the answer would be Yes:
The question: Will the mod Berserker Minsc found at SP be ok for this?

Regards

Yes.

Tell me please about difficulty of IA vs Tactics/Battles/Ascension (btw, do i need to install any tactical mod with IA?)
And what if i want fair play? I mean i don't like wear multiply protection items, use un-nerfed tables, cheesy weapons and whatever - will i still be able to play and enjoy Improved Anvil?
P.S. Of course, my party will be well balanced and i'm rather a good tactician

The new battles are very challenging! Whether they are more or less challenging than other mods, I'm not sure. You can install the components of other mods that don't conflict with IA in addition to IA, although this is not required. There's a list of the ones that will conflict in the IA installation readme. Basically, you shouldn't install any mod that modifies a battle that is also modified by IA. Also, make sure you install IA after all other mods, that will reduce the chance of any problems occuring.

I think that Sikret intended that the un-nerfed tables, xp cap remover etc. be used, possibly to somewhat balance out the increased difficulty of IA and create an overall more epic experience. As such, you shouldn't feel as though such mods are cheesy - you'll still experience plenty of tactical challenge anyway.

Improved Anvil is IMO more difficult than Tactics and the other similar mods.
Some of the ToB encounters are at the level of Ascension when played on insane and a few of them maybe even harder.





You will.

While testing IA I had only the mod and the multiple Strongholds components from EoU installed (for testing purposes).
Also I didn't use any weapon/item out of the original game and still I enjoyed much my game (though some battles are much more difficult without the weapons added by IA).

BTW Sikret recommends the use of Magic Armor+Rings as well as the use of the unnerfed tables for your game to be fair (since some of the enemies use them as well).

Also personally I would recommend the use of the True Grandmastery patch which again makes the game more fair (the Fighter class should have sthg special in comparison to Rangers and Paladins). And of course it restores the GM like it was in BG1 and according to the 2e rules.

Can't you bring us some insight info, such as how many items has been randomized

To be honest I don't even know the exact number since from the time I started testing the mod until it was finished, Sikret added more items in this list.
But they are many.

And better to not spoil anything.
IMO it is one of the best new features of the mod and you will like better the surprise effect (though I must say that it does the game even more difficult).

Yes I suspect it may make the game no easier. The surprise will be there no matter what - it's random.

I hope we all will be glad with IA4.

Yes, True Grandmastery is also recommended in the mod's readme (though Multi-class grandmastery is not recommended).

Thank you very much, Rhed! You explained things better than I could.

I'm back with a couple questions before I get to finally begin my IA adventure this weekend!

So I have five of my party members figured out, and was just looking into input as to what would probably be the best sort of 6th character to have. I'm not interested too much in NPCs, so this will be (like the rest of my party) a player-created character. Note that I'm not really worried about the lack of a thief, unless someone can specifically tell me that they are super-crucial moreso in IA than in normal BG. So far I have:

1. Ranger/Cleric
2. Berserker
3. Inquisitor
4. Auramaster
5. Fighter/Mage

So who should I get as a 6th? pureclass cleric? blade? pure mage? mage/cleric? swashbuckler? something else? I'm open to any suggestion (that is not a dual-class, it must be single or multiclass) and am concerned exclusively with power. I'm one of those people who finds tactics mod impossible, so I feel like I'll need all the help I can get

Final question. I don't have a ton of time to devote to BG (or leisure activity in general!), at least for the next couple months. So choice of protagonist is reallly a big deal for me, as it will be a very long time before I can do another run. Of course, I've narrowed it down to either my ranger/cleric or my fighter/mage, so that I can take advantage of all the new content. Which of these two (mage or ranger) would you say has the MOST new content?

Seems a bit underpowered on the arcane magic front to me, because if your F/M is a dual, you will have no mage for a while (unless you dual early) and if they are a multi, you will gain spells relatively slowly. But I like mages so that is just my personal view.

I guess it is also possible that the auramaster will compensate for the above because of their access to some arcane spells (or spells which are similar to arcane equivalents such as aura cleansing). I haven't tried auramaster though so I can't give a proper view on this question.

I'm playing with a wild mage protagonist for the first time, since I read comments (Sikret's I think) that they are potentially more powerful than sorcerors (on average - it depends if Nahal's Reckless Dweomer fires off those 9th level spells successfully).

No, having a thief in your party is not crucial (not at least more than it is in the original game), but perhaps having a dual-class Swashbuckler-Mage will be a good idea. In this way, you will have the minimum required theiving skills plus a mage to compensate the lack of Arcane magic in your party. thetruth and others may also give you good suggestions. To some extent, it also depends on your playing style.



As for not having Bioware NPCs in your party and create player-made characters, it surely has the advantage of having characters with better stats, but on the other hand you won't be able to b enefit from the specific item upgrades each of those NPCs have. At least, instead of your custom Auramaster, I can suggest to take Cernd in your party. You will be able to upgrade his Cloak and Staff.


It's a very difficult question, because both (mage and ranger strongholds) have good amounts of new content added to them. But if you force me to give one single recommendation between the two, then I will tell you to go for the ranger.

@nataben1314


First of all IIRC you don't like much pure Arcane spellcasters (like me) and even if it's true that in IA4 the offensive power of Mages has been limited, only a F/M is not enough to cover your party's needs.

You will need another Mage mainly for buffs like I.Haste (the most useful spell in IA IMO), summons and debuffing spells.
Your F/M will not have enough 6 level spells since in some battles PfMWs will be essential like I.Haste is.

For me the best solution is to dual your Berserker immediately to Mage (at level 7). This way you will not miss at all Arcane spells since he will level up quickly.

For the 6th place I would take a F/T or a pure Swashbuckler (UAI as first HLA, then some Timetraps and GWW OR WW attacks - other traps are useless in IA).
This way you will not miss any melee power.

Thieves are not essential in IA but a F/T or a Swashie are much more than a simple Thief

As about your protagonist, both Rangers and Mages get additional quests in IA.
Power-wise the F/M is better and if played correctly he will win many difficult battles by himself.
But the R/C is one of the most powerful classes as well, so both of them are a good choice for your PC.





The Wild Mage is the most powerful class in the original game or in a game with other tactical mods (Tactics,Ascension), BUT not in IA4 where the F/M is even more powerful IMO.

As about Wild Surges a high level Wild Mage can eliminate them with 3xImproved Chaos Shield in a CC, though I wouldn't recommend it.
At high levels you get more positive W.Surges than negative and besides it is one of the things that makes the W.Mages so special and fun to play with.

thetruth - yes, it is the combination of power and fun which is so enjoyable. I try not to reload for most wild surges, good or bad (although I do for the one which changes my sex )

sikret:

excellent, thanks! I will use my R/C for my protagonist then.

thetruth:

What makes the f/t or swashy so good? I mean I know they can backstab but other than that what distinguishes them from a fighter? I confess that I don't think I get the maximum use out of UAI. What's so good about it? What about instead of a swashy maybe being a bountyhunter? I read somewhere that high level bountyhunters have a throwable area of effect maze trap with a significant save penalty attached. Is that true? Would it be effective in IA? Maybe like a fighter dualed to a bountyhunter? Oh and what all is entailed with dualing the berserker to mage? Do I just have to make sure int is 16 or above? Should I dual him immediately, like right at the very beginning of irenicus' dungeon?

thanks guys!

Generally, the levels to duel are

lvl 7 - basic berserker abilities and thaco, regain mage abilities faster
lvl 9 - extra attack per round, more thaco and hitpoints
lvl 13 - max attacks per round, but regaining mage abilities will be VERY tedious if you dont use cheese.

You need 15 in str and 17 in int to duel if I'm not mistaken.

I believe thetruth was comparing a f/t to a thief rather then a fighter. A pure thief has too many skill points by mid game, so you might as well give him some fighter abilities. Based on my past experiences, while vanilla thieves were good in unmodded BG (cheesey traps and massive backstab), they are a deadweight in IA

F/T at high levels is like a Fighter with thieving skills.
Same THACO (missing only 1 ApR if you use the Grand Mastery patch).

With UAI you can use:

- weapons, like the Scarlet Ninja-To (+1 ApR) or the Carsomyr
- items, like Jan's armor (+ DoEastheaven, Hardiness, Gromnir's helm for 85% res. to physical dmg and immunity to crushing)
- scrolls (having a secondary F/M is always useful in the really tough battles)

Timetraps:

In the SoA part of the game are extremely useful. Pick some of them right after UAI and before GWWs.
10 ApR (dualwielding Belm,Kundane or Scarlet + I.Haste) with the time stopped


Swashbuckler:

He reaches his true power in ToB levels.
- 24 permanent AC + UAI + WWs + Timetraps and with a Fighter's THACO and big bonus to damage.

His AC is effective even against the very powerful enemies of IA.
In a small party he would be even more effective (higher levels in the SoA part of the game)






The Bounty Hunters' traps can maze the target ignoring MR and saving throws.
They can be thrown but only if the enemy is out of your visual range.

Maze traps can be a very good tactical weapon (dividing enemies), but the Bounty Hunter doesn't have the melee power of a F/T or a Swashie.





In BG2 you can't choose a kit for your second class.





You need 15 in STR and 17 in INT.
Mongerman wrote the best levels for dual-classing (though you gain 1/2 ApR at 7 level and another 1/2 at 13).

The best (power-wise) level for dualclass is the 13 level, but in this case you want him mainly as a Mage.
So if you dual class at 7 level he will level up so fast that you won't miss at all any Mage spells.

Just remember to take Grand Mastery in a 1-handed weapon.Even better if you have the True Grandmastery patch (Ease of Use).
The B-M will be very effective with Timestop + I.Haste + dual wielding.

Excellent, thanks! I think I'll go with a Swashie, because I prefer single class and I have never tried one before.

Be prepared for a "HELP ME!!!!" thread or two over the next few months . Your comment about some battles being harder than ascension on insane is really scary! Does that include oversight's improved sendai on insane, and the final battle of ascension on insane?? Because from what I hear those battles are like most insanely cheesy craziness ever. I'm scared!

Not all of them but let's say that the most difficult battles of IA are at the level of Ascesnion on insane.

Improved Sendai is not so difficult on insane if you have a party.
Well at least less difficult than soloing it with some classes .

Well, I guess there's no time like the present to learn true BG2 tactics lol. The hardest thing I'll have beaten up until starting IA will be like improved tor'gal from tactics with a solo blade... so this will be a whole new experience!



I think the definition of "difficult" for the most tactically advanced BG2 player out there is a lot different than my definition of difficult!



So (to everyone), this is what it looks like my party will be. Any final comments/tweaks/suggestions on ways to make it better? When I say better, I mean better in the sense of being able to make it through IA with the least difficulty, not necessarily the most powerful when all is said and done at the end of ToB:

1. (protagonist for ranger content) ranger/cleric multiclass (flails/clubs)
2. Berserker, dualed to mage at level 7. (katana/scimitar)
3. Auramaster (possibly Cernd) (druid staffs [stuff that helps casting], slings)
4. Fighter/Mage multiclass (staff)
5. Swashbuckler (longsword/katana)
6. Inquisitor (two handed sword)

And is there anything special about IA with regard to what proficiencies to pick, or should I just go about proficiencies as if I am playing through a regular game? I know about the item list in the readme but its hard for me to tell which of those items are available in early to mid game and which wont be available until the end of ToB where that type of thing doesn't matter as much anymore.

Sorry for so many questions, you guys are probably all thinking "this guy doesn't have a friggen chance, he can't even make a party".

Might as well ask this as well. thetruth, you stated the f/m is potentially the most powerful class in IA. Could you give some tips on spell selection, weapons etc?

(1) No.1, no.3 and no.6 are fine, IMO. Just why don't you add war hammer to the list of weapons for your Ranger/Cleric either?

(2) Why do you give the staff to your F/M instead of your B-M? Your main mage will be the B-M after all. I think you can give the proficiency of Long Sword to you F/M.

(3) You will find good katanas but not excellent ones during the game. Why have you concentrated on katanas so much? Even Celestial Fury is nerfed and it will be probably consumed as an ingredient to forge an excellent war hammer in the long term.

(4) Who is going to use a powerful shield (ex: Supreme Shelter) with a good plate armor to have a good AC in your party? Noone? The inquisitor is going to use two handed swords which means he won't wield a shield and your protagonist being a ranger will most likely dual wield and will fight with two weapons. You won't have any character with excellent AC, I guess. Playing styles are different for sure and the game can be done with most of those different styles. IT's true that in most cases, protective spells such as pfmw and stoneskins can compensate low AC in a good way; nonetheless, if I were you, I would choose one of my characters to use shield and one weapon (instead of dual wielding), and a good plate armor. In the middle stages of the game in SOA, a character with good AC will be a great advantage. If I were you, I would probably dual my Swashbuckler to a mage (instead of my Berserker). I would leave the Berserker to continue in his class and would give him good armor and shield. But on other hand, thetruth has good arguments for having a high level single class Swashbuckler. I don't know. Play it in the way you prefer and just let us know about your progress. The good thing about this game is that it can be played in a wide range of different methods and styles.

ahh yes, I totally had forgot about warhammers!



hmm good point. I was just going off thetruth recommending that I make sure that the b-m is a dual-wielder



ahh thanks! I hadn't realized CF was nerfed. I will not use katanas then. Maybe hammer/belm for the b-m (or f-m if I decide to switch which one dual-wields), and lswd/scarlet ninja-to for the swashie. I will probably also want someone proficient in axes so I can throw azureedge to beat up on undead.



Well a swashie can have AC of about -24 while dual-wielding, which is certainly good! And he'll have UAI so if he really is in need of even lower AC he can switch to a single weapon and Supreme Shelter.



You raise some very good points, which I don't have a detailed enough knowledge of IA or the game in general to counter. I think we're probably just getting to the point where I will have a very powerful party regardless of what I choose. I should be starting in about 5 hours or so when I get back from my math exam, so wish me luck!

@nataben1314

First of all I don't have much experience with weapons and items of IA because I had decided to not use any of them during my game (just for the challenge - they are not overpowered for IA).

- I agree with Sikret that the F/M should use long-swords (probably the best weapon type in IA) since he will be your main tank for most of the game and it is good to be as effective as possible offensively.
So long swords and 3* in dual-wielding for him.

Later give him 2* in Scimitars (Belm) and another 2* in a weapon that does crushing dmg.
Try to specialize all of your characters later in weapons which do crushing dmg.
You will need them .


- For the Swashbuckler I would give him 2* in short-swords for the Kundane (off-hand), 3* in dualwielding and another 2* in Long-swords again or Katanas for your main weapon.
After UAI specialize him in Scimitars for the Scarlet.


- Your Inquisitor could specialize, along with 2-handed swords, in Hammers as Sikret said. And better if you give him 3* in dual-wielding later.
Many ApR help much in IA.

- For your B-M you could go with G.Mastery in Axes if you want. There are some good axes early in the game.





He could give it to the Swashbuckler after UAI.
The Swashbuckler doesn't need stealth so it won't be a problem if he wears heavy armor.

Generally in the difficult battles of IA good AC is not so useful that's why a F/M is so effective with his buffs.
But the Swashbuckler's insane AC is an exception. -24 AC (with Plate Mail and Shield) will be very effective against most enemies of IA - even in ToB.





He is so powerful because at the same time he can fight well and can stay in the front line longer than other characters (buffs).

A Berserker-Mage (21-22) is even more powerful (with the True G.Mastery patch), but not the ideal dual-class for a party and soloing is extremely difficult in IA.

For Spells a very good combo against the enemies of IA, who use very effectively protection Removal spells, is the following:

SI: Abjuration + Spell Trap + Spell Shield (at high levels or from SotMagi)

and then the usual Stoneskin + Mirror Image + PfMWs and if needed PfMEnergy, Elemental protection, Fireshields etc..
Of course don't forget Improved Haste (in ToB levels combine it with C.Strikes , P.Attacks, Smite).

With a little micromanagement you can renew your buffs during the fight (mainly the SI which will prevent dispelling of your buffs).

About weapons my favourite is the Flail of the Ages for the main hand.
In IA unfortunately it has been nerfed (though it's still a very good weapon), so I would go with Long Swords (dual wielding of course).
And don't forget to give him prof. points in a weapon that does crushing dmg..

Thanks for the fast reply thetruth.

A new party!

I'm pondering if this party will be sufficient:

Protagonist F/M (halfelf, dual in Longswords/Flail (or is warhammers better?)
Either Keldorn or Minsc (as a berzerker)
Jaheira (for romance)
Anomen
Arie
Nalia (-> Imoen when conquering spellhold)

Can somebody tell me if this is going to work

Regards Shaitan

@Shaitan

Yes it is a good party.
I wouldn't take Nalia though if you intend to get Imoen later ( no XP to waste ).Aeire and your F/M should be more than enough to cover your party needs for mage spells until that time.

- Your F/M could use Longswords (or even shortswords for Kundane in the off-hand) and Flails.

- For Jaheira Clubs and Scimitars (Belm).

- Hammers for Anomen.

- Flails (for FoA+DoEastheaven) if you take Minsc as a Barbarian.
Also Halberds are a very good choice in IA for the mid-late game.

Also since you asked about a quest-order for IA4, look at the second post of this topic (first page).

Thanks a lot!

I use Minsc as a berserker (via a small mod from SP). I hadn't thought on using him with flails in a dual or on halbards, so this seems as a good idea. There's a lot of good flails/halbards out there. Perhaps I'll give the flails to my protagonist...

Thanks again

Regards Shaitan

Ah sorry I misread. I suggested flails because, if he was a Barbarian, his natural res. to physical dmg (20%), DoEastheaven (20%) and Hardiness (40%) would make him an excellent tank in the extreme battles of late game.

But as a Berserker he will be good enough especially in early-mid game.
Just remember to take GM in your weapon of choice.

I insist on dualwielding because I.Haste can make your characters very effective offensively. But later GM in Halberds is a good idea for Minsc (even better when he will have his first GWWs).