xan or edwin?

[andrewas]

Spears and Halbards have differnt profs in BG2.

Also, now that I think of it, Bards (and any mage variant that wants to get into combat) do get a boost in BGT as compared to BG1, theres a suit of elven chain to be had. Very late on, and you cant actualy miss it nor get to it quickly, so I wont spoil the location.

[ 07-26-2003, 09:05 AM: Message edited by: andrewas ]

[RoSs_bg2_rox]

Originally posted by andrewas: Spears and Halbards have differnt profs in BG2. Also, now that I think of it, Bards (and any mage variant that wants to get into combat) do get a boost in BGT as compared to BG1, theres a suit of elven chain to be had. Very late on, and you cant actualy miss it nor get to it quickly, so I wont spoil the location.

so u think i should get him then? Well iv still got kivan and im thinking of keeping him although i dont really need a back up tank because my guy is level 5 and has 75 hp and then theres khalid............hmmm, maybe i should have gone with eldoth

[andrewas]

There are no good spears in BG1. The best you can do for Kivan is a spear+1. Or you could put his profs in to another weapon, but he only earns 3 at the very most before you hit SoA. Maybe four if you had a small party.

A spear+1 isnt all that bad of a weapon though, it has the extra reach same as the halbard. Keep him in the second rank and he can hit without being hit in return. And of course, hes a decent bowman which is always useful to have around. And if you keep him in light armour he can stealth, which can be handy even without the backstab ability of a thief.

[RoSs_bg2_rox]

im gona change him to bastard swrod and give him the +1+3vs shapeshifters.

Also is there two sets of shadow armour at the smithy in beregost or is it just the one?

[Luvian]

I like Xan better, but it make mose sense if you use Edwin at least a little while, since you encouter him again in BG2.

[RoSs_bg2_rox]

I do like xan better but i just dont find him pratical, i mean he has an amazing blade but crap spells.

[Lemmy]

RoSs_bg2_rox:
I do like xan better but i just dont find him pratical, i mean he has an amazing blade but crap spells.

Well, that's the thing: You don't use Enchanters the same way you do Conjurors. He cannot cast Invokations/Evocations, and that is perhaps his biggest drawback: Lack of significant magical offense. And a mage without Magic Missile is like a Minsc without pants -- NOT something you want to see!

But you can substitute other spells for lost Evocations.

Level 1: If you're brave, Burning Hands *might* sub for a damage spell. But as a rule, touch-range spells suck. Instead, I recommend disabling spells like Charm Person, Sleep, Grease, or Blindness.

Level 2: He doesn't lose much here. He can still cast nice things like Melf's Acid Arrow (whoo!), Horror, Invisibility (use on Thieves!), and Mirror Image (highly abuseful; doubt if this is so in "Trilogy," though).

Level 3: Loses Fire Ball and Lightning Bolt, but he's still got Flame Arrow, Haste, Hold Person, Dire Charm, and so on.

Level 4: Not much lost here. Ice Storm sucks anyway. As a note, Improved Invisiblity is excellent for foiling enemy mages. (They can't target you unless they dispel it.) Further, level 4 has Greater Malison: make Save-or-Else spells work a good deal better.

Level 5: Ouch, no Cloud Kill. There's always Animate Dead, Chaos, and Feeblemind.

Plus, Edwin's got nothing on that Moon Blade. It's all about style.

-Lem

[andrewas]

And fireball can be quite neatly replaced with Skull Trap. Necromantic, so Xan can cast it. Just be careful to get the feel of it, youll like as not blast your own tanks more than once.

[Indemaijinj]

Burning Hands is not a touch spell. It'll hit automatically. It only has an extremely short range.

I find Burning Hands extremely useful in the beginning since it's initial damage is quite high.

[RoSs_bg2_rox]

yeh there is substitutes but they are only substitutes, not as good as the first line up