BG: Is Xan really better than Dynaheir (as I've read) [SPOILERS]???
DocScorpio
8 8) after giving up on a fighter-mage (after a couple of chapters I decided
that my char was just too weak and that multi-classing in this game is not
the way I want to go) so a good mage is important for me. The first time
around I went for Dynaheir because Xan didn't impress me much. However,
somewhere in the last few days I read a post (in one of the ng's or maybe on
the BG msg. boards -- can't find it again here or via dejanews) from a
longtime ADD'er who said that Xan was, in fact, a killer-mage when properly
developed and superior to Dynaheir and others. All I remember is that the
poster said that a major advantage Xan has is that he always casts first --
and this gives him a tremendous advantage when he's loaded up with the right
spells. The poster also described several other advantages that Xan
possessed, but I don't remember them now (just skimming posts at the time).
Any other ADD'ers care to comment on this. My path in the replay has been
similar so far to the first time around, after doing a few minor quests in
Beregost, I've reached Nashkell and am about to start clearing the mines so
I've got time yet before I have to make an irrevocable decision (i.e., give
a bunch of spells to someone that I later get rid of). Thanks for any
advice sent my way.
Andy
6. You could create 1 good fighter and 1 good mage and
still pick up others along the way. This turned a good game
into a great game for me. YMMV as always.
Andy
--
John Lee
chapter 5 and I'm still there (I can't motivate myself to continue from what
I've heard about chapter 7 - there is a dungeon there that is supposed to be
ridiculously hard and that they will address it in the patch). Once they
patch it I may start playing again...or I might just force myself to play up
to that dungeon.
Anyway one of the most powerful spells I've discovered is a spell that
Dynaheir cannot cast because she is an invoker. This made me kind of upset
because I kept her only because I read posts saying she was better than Xan.
People hated his negativity (comments/quotes) but I always found it amusing
so I originally wanted to keep him (also the sword he has is neat although I
can't imagine why I would want to put a mage in melee battle). I don't
remember what Xan was but I believe he can cast it. The reason I know this
spell kicks butt is because I have a wand that uses this spell and it
allowed me to utterly slaughter the chapter 4 boss while the rest of my
characters scratched their butts. Maybe its not that good against the later
enemies and I could be the one that should be scratching my butt but since
I've stopped playing BG for the time being I'm kind of bored so sorry if
this post was not too helpful.
DocScorpio wrote in message
<775sq2$49ia$1...@newssvr03-int.news.prodigy.com>...
>Some spoilage follows so beware: I restarted a pure fighter (18/00 17 17 8
>8 8) after giving up on a fighter-mage (after a couple of chapters I
decided
>that my char was just too weak and that multi-classing in this game is not
>the way I want to go) so a good mage is important for me. The first time
>around I went for Dynaheir because Xan didn't impress me much. However,
>somewhere in the last few days I read a post (in one of the ng's or maybe
on
>the BG msg. boards -- can't find it again here or via dejanews) from a
>longtime ADD'er who said that Xan was, in fact, a killer-mage when properly
>developed and superior to Dynaheir and others. All I remember is that the
>poster said that a major advantage Xan has is that he always casts first --
>and this gives him a tremendous advantage when he's loaded up with the
right
>spells. The poster also described several other advantages that Xan
>possessed, but I don't remember them now (just skimming posts at the time).
>Any other ADD'ers care to comment on this. My path in the replay has been
>similar so far to the first time around, after doing a few minor quests in
>Beregost, I've reached Nashkell and am about to start clearing the mines so
DocScorpio
>6. You could create 1 good fighter and 1 good mage and
>still pick up others along the way
There's merit in what you say, but I thought I'd just play through with all
single-play NPC's because they provide me additional challenge/aggravation.
Should I remain interested in the game long enough, I'll give creating my
own party a shot.
DocScorpio
>Dynaheir cannot cast because she is an invoker.
Xan is an enchanter. I don't know much about ADD rules, but I thought I
read in the manual or readme that mage specialists could learn any spell of
any school except that of the "opposition school." (could certainly be wrong
about this, since I don't see how they would be "specialists" in this case).
What is the name of the powerful spell you discovered?
MTKafka
funniest evil lines! also, Edwin I think IIRC had a higher intelligence? Im
not sure. . .
Mark
vbdaemon
3 and has 8 HP, can't hit a damn thing with that sword and has LAME spells.
(except maybe identify)
He can't wear armor, so he's always dead... I'm dumpin' his sorry butt!!!
Tim Markley
and you've only got 8 HP you're in trouble!!!
bmathaiD...@texas.net
says...
reason...
Zoss the Padre
>similar so far to the first time around, after doing a few minor quests in
>Beregost, I've reached Nashkell and am about to start clearing the mines so
>I've got time yet before I have to make an irrevocable decision (i.e., give
>a bunch of spells to someone that I later get rid of). Thanks for any
>advice sent my way.
Dynaheir is fox. ;> Unless you swing a different way and might prefer
Xan's "company". :D
Whatever floats your boat...
Bret Guillet
: In article <36971A6B...@netgate.net>, tmar...@netgate.net
I got rid of him too, but not for that reason. Heck I had the same problem
with Minsc at first, and he ended up being a great NPC towards the end. Xan
was just too depressing to keep in my party. In his defense that sword is
cooler than you think. It seems, and I may be mistaken, but it seems I was
able to click on that sword of his and fire something at whatever I pointed
at. From a distance. The trick is just to keep him in the back. Never send
a mage to the front lines. They don't belong there. For that matter, neither
do thiefs, but they can usually hold thier own. Anyway, sleep is a great
spell at low levels. Charm person and Dire Charm and Hold Person are great
at higher levels. Personally I made Imoen an Enchanter when I dual-classed
her. Also invisibility is availible to the Enchanter and can be used to
keep you from getting hit.
--
Destine "Education makes a people easy to lead, but difficult
Bret Guillet to drive; easy to govern but impossible to enslave."
des...@ionet.net - Lord Brougham
Programmer
DocScorpio
Bret Guillet wrote in message <77d890$pt2$3...@ionews.ionet.net>...
>bmathaiD...@texas.net (bmathaiD...@texas.net) wrote:
>: In article <36971A6B...@netgate.net>, tmar...@netgate.net
>: says...
>with Minsc at first, and he ended up being a great NPC towards the end.
Xan
>was just too depressing to keep in my party. In his defense that sword is
>cooler than you think.
I tried both Dynaheir and Xan for a while and decided I liked Xan better. I
like his gloomy comments and sardonic personality. OTOH, Dynaheir's French
"D'accord" was a little jarring in a fantasy game set in some other reality
(no logical reason why the French should bother me more than the British
accents, but it does). As for spells: even though Xan can't cast fireball
or lightening, he can cast certain powerful spells which Dynaheir can't so I
think he'll work out just fine at the higher levels when magery really
counts. I cast "armor" on him and use him to melee in dire situations; he
wails with that sword. Thanks for the info on the shooting technique; I'll
give that a try. I did like Dynaheir's missile proficiency which Xan
doesn't have, but between my fighter, Ajantis, Kivan, Imoen, and Branwen,
I've got plenty of ranged attack when I need it and good up-front types in
the fighter (an 18/00 with Greywolf's sword) and paladin.
D
Dynaheir cant do, what is it? I checked the manual over for Conjuring and
Enchantment but theres nothing there that I think is of note.
Confusion is weak,
the Monster Summonings could be good, BUT they have duration! the damn critter
disappear, so Animate Dead is still better (not to mention, they kick Basilisks
asses ;)
Flame Arrow might be good at high levels, but not at lvl 7.
Hold Person, why waste a 3rd level spot when a priest can fill up their
otherwise useless 2nd level slots with 5 holds comes out faster too.
Melf's Arrow is much weaker than Aggie's Scorcher.
And Magic Missile of course.
The only good spell I could think of that Dynaheir miss out is Dire Charm.
David Godwin
Dual class Imoen after 3rd or 4th level as a Mage.
Araski
http://www.net-recon.com/bg
DocScorpio <DocSc...@prodigy.net> wrote in message
news:77he0o$b88o$1...@newssvr04-int.news.prodigy.com...
Mark Shackelford
are the advantages/drawbacks of the different spelizations of mages?
Mark
Bret Guillet wrote in message <77d890$pt2$3...@ionews.ionet.net>...
>bmathaiD...@texas.net (bmathaiD...@texas.net) wrote:
>: In article <36971A6B...@netgate.net>, tmar...@netgate.net
>: says...
>: > Yea, I dumped him too. He kept getting killed. If you can't wear
armor
>: > and you've only got 8 HP you're in trouble!!!
>: >
>: > vbdaemon wrote:
>: > >
>: > > I dunno about any one else, but my opinion is that Xan blows. He's at
level
>: > > 3 and has 8 HP, can't hit a damn thing with that sword and has LAME
spells.
>: > > (except maybe identify)
>: > > He can't wear armor, so he's always dead... I'm dumpin' his sorry
butt!!!
>: >
>: I got rid of Xan not too long after I picked him up for the same
>: reason...
>
>I got rid of him too, but not for that reason. Heck I had the same problem
>with Minsc at first, and he ended up being a great NPC towards the end.
Xan
>was just too depressing to keep in my party. In his defense that sword is
Arilyn
>Ok, 2 questions: 1) When is the right time to dual a character? 2) What
>are the advantages/drawbacks of the different spelizations of mages?
>
Basically you can Dual class any time after you are level 2. The advantage of
Dual classing is that you get more skills. (technically you can get all skills
if you just get enough xp.). There is one drawback however.. When you dual
class you are NOT allowed to use the powers of your OLD class untill you get
at least the same level as your old class. For example.. when you have a
level 6 mage dual class dual class to a fighter he is NOT allowed to cast
spells untill he is level 6 fighter also. Usually one of the best ways to get
most out of dual class you make a fighter of level 7 and then dual class to a
mage. Then when you are level 7 mage you will be able to use a sword as
a specialist. You have loads of hitpoints and can wear armor when you are out
of spells also. :) (nasty thing is that BG is now locked at 89K xp total so
getting the stated example is rather hard.)
As for specialist mages. The advantage is that every specialist mage gets one
extra spell on each spell level. Which is nice cuz you start at level 1 with 2
level 1spells instead of only 1. Technically the extra spell you get should be
one of your specialist school but seems that BG doesnt see it that way.
Drawback in specializing is that you get one or more opposition schools. Which
means that you cannot learn spells of those schools. I could give you a list
from my Ad&d books but it does not seem to match the one that BG uses so you
would have to find out what is the best one to use yourself.
Hope this helps...
Arilyn
David Paoletti
: Basically you can Dual class any time after you are level 2. The advantage of
: if you just get enough xp.). There is one drawback however.. When you dual
: class you are NOT allowed to use the powers of your OLD class untill you get
: at least the same level as your old class. For example.. when you have a
: level 6 mage dual class dual class to a fighter he is NOT allowed to cast
: spells untill he is level 6 fighter also. Usually one of the best ways to get
: most out of dual class you make a fighter of level 7 and then dual class to a
: mage. Then when you are level 7 mage you will be able to use a sword as
: a specialist. You have loads of hitpoints and can wear armor when you are out
: of spells also. :) (nasty thing is that BG is now locked at 89K xp total so
: getting the stated example is rather hard.)
You cannot use the skills of your first class until your level in your
second class is GREATER than your level in your first class. So if you
take a fighter to level 7 in BG, and change him to a mage, you won't be
able to make level 8 mage, so kiss all of your fighter benefits goodbye
until the expansion, except the hps of course.
I would suggest not taking a fighter above level 5 before changing class.
You get your 6th weapon proficiency at level 5, so you can now be a master
of two weapons, say large swords and bows, and then switch to mage, at
level 6 mage you should get your weapon masteries back, your low fighter
THAC0, etc. I'll be doing this soon, my fighter/mage-to-be is a level 4
fighter now...
David Paoletti
James Finney
Personally I'd take dynaheir, both of them are specialist but xan can't
cast magic missiles, at level 6 i've got dynaheir memorized with 10 magic
missiles and 3 fireballs along with various other not so offensive spells.
The only downside is that you have to keep minsc as well which isn't too
much of a problem with his strength and the fact that he's very good with a
bow. I suppose its all down to how you want to use your mage but if your
looking for the one who can dish out the most damage then dynaheir is far
superior.
Wolf333
--
"My girl is all out of focus, ain't no big surprise...
Her daddy's got his gun loaded, got cross hairs in his eyes..."
Queens of the Stone Age
James Finney wrote in message <789fh5$h3g$1...@newnews.global.net.uk>...
Dennis Bijlsma
You could always let Minsc die in battle. (I have done it the other way around,
didn't like Dynaheir because i'm a powerfull mage myself)
Silvermoon
He works at the other side with Imoen, the Paladin and Dynaheirs boyfriend.
His main character is a Fighter. He has no probs with fights (two Mages are
not bad) his problems come up after the fight. A mage can't heal ;o)
Yours Silvermoon 7th level ranger
iain
way better
James Finney <kry...@globalnet.co.uk> wrote in article
<789fh5$h3g$1...@newnews.global.net.uk>...
Daniel Bussio
level, if you are lower level when you get xan he will have less HPs but
if you hwere lower level when you got xan he will have lower hp.
Erik Harris
>Personally I'd take dynaheir, both of them are specialist but xan can't
>cast magic missiles, at level 6 i've got dynaheir memorized with 10 magic
Are you sure? I'm pretty sure I had Xan shooting Magic Missile (the spell
that looks like an arrow with a drop on the end). I don't recall if he had
the spell when I got him or if I had him learn it. I KNOW I was shooting
magic missiles, and Xan was the only mage I had in my party until I ditched
him for Dynaheir (if only I had known ahead of time, I wouldn't have used all
of those scrolls! Aaaaah!). No one else in my party had the capability to
cast any mage magic, so it must have been Xan that I used to shoot them.
Erik Harris esh7@c_rnell.edu
http://w3.to/erik ICQ: 2610172
Chinese Martial Arts Assoc @ Cornell: http://w3.to/CMAAC/
To avoid Spam-bots, my address at the top is INCORRECT.
Change the underscore to an "o".
Troy Gearig
>Are you sure? I'm pretty sure I had Xan shooting Magic Missile (the spell
>that looks like an arrow with a drop on the end). I don't recall if he had
I think that spell is Melf's(?) Acid Arrow, 2nd level spell. He has that one
in his spellbook when you pick him up, but he can't write the magic missile
spell in his book due to his specialization - you know, opposite schools and
all.
------------------
TroyG
<remove the z's for email>
------------------
Dag Philip Lango Thorbjørnsen
Magic Missile is from Evocation
Erik Harris wrote in message <78cuao$1...@newsstand.cit.cornell.edu>...
>In article <789fh5$h3g$1...@newnews.global.net.uk>, "James Finney"
<kry...@globalnet.co.uk> wrote:
>>Personally I'd take dynaheir, both of them are specialist but xan can't
>>cast magic missiles, at level 6 i've got dynaheir memorized with 10 magic
>
>Are you sure? I'm pretty sure I had Xan shooting Magic Missile (the spell
>that looks like an arrow with a drop on the end). I don't recall if he had