Baldur's Gate 3 by Larian Games
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ShakyJake
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I'm not sure? It uses an attack roll like Eldritch Blast. Also, use the gloves from the circus drag queen for even more damage.
By 'the other way around', I meant that fire is better at CC than frost is ( because of the extra DC from acuity ), not that fire is not good at damage.
Scorching ray isn't what you want there though - black hole, oil, arsonists, then chain fireball is where it's at. Not that you ever need that kind of dps unless you are playing modded difficulties, but AOE damage that scales exponentially with number of enemies is always hilarious.
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Chris
Potato del Grande
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I wasn't hugely impressed by Fire Dragon Sorc Acuity Scorching Ray, felt like a lot of buildup and resources for what you got.
It's OK, I did finish the game with it, but the other OP builds like Throwing Barb and added damage on Monk outperformed it for me.
It's OK, I did finish the game with it, but the other OP builds like Throwing Barb and added damage on Monk outperformed it for me.
Phazael
Confirmed Beta Shitlord, Fat Bastard
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Core party depends a lot on what you are intending to do at certain plot points, but assuming you are going semi good, here is a setup thats fairly solid and won't get boring.
1. Tav character Sword school bard (race is largely irrelevant, but human or half elf for free martial and shield profficiency helps) - You could go Evo Wiz here, but the bard brings so much to the table and emphasizes charisma so you can be the face man, lockpick, magical support, and offtank all in one. This really shines when you get the legendary trident in act 3, but you can stick to finesse until that point.
2. Asterion- Open Hand or Elemental Monk. The game showers you in Monk loot and Asterion's unique abilities make him even more potent with them later on. Stack damage as much as you can and consider minoring in bow use to supplement the beat down. He can cover skills you are not as Tav, like survival and possibly the theiving angle, if you need it. His eventual ability to fly also makes him an amazing wizard ganker.
3. Lazael- Warrior Mage Knight. Focusing on two handers and STR, there are many options here. The Mage Knight sub I like the best because it gives you so much in the way of utility, especially with regards to movement. And Lazael is probably one of the best written story characters too. Alternatively, you can do something similar with Karlach in a similar capacity by making a Warrior out of her and may want to for the temple portion of the story at least temporarily.
4. Minthara- Paladin or Battle Cleric, Rock solid second hitter with some added utility, Minthara also has some great dialog and story to her. Alternatively, if you like utility over raw power and are playing a good run, consider running Jahera as a Moon Druid in this space, with an emphasis on lightning and caster gear. When you need a nuker, have her hang back and deliver nukes. When you need another front line beatdown character, go Owlbear or Raptor and tear the place up (Run Shadowheart or Karlach until you get either one of these).
Not the strongest possible party, but lots of utility and will make the most out of the best weapons in the game. Bard especially gets overlooked, but can make most of the games skill checks outright trivial if set up correctly.
Why Bard Tav:
Bards have TONS of options and a big bag of tricks to draw on, including being a secont tier at almost any role in the game (front line combat, archery, buffing, nuking, sneaking, talking, lore). They also get the widest array of proficiency options, which when combined with their CHA focus (and unique BARD dialog options) make it one of the best possible face options to take while still covering key needs. The biggest issue you are going to have is not having Counterspell for certain fights, but the rest of the class (and the nice loot options, particularly the underdark bard sword) more than make up for it. They are also reasonably durable (if you took a race that allows for a shield) and mature into Dex/Cha focused characters fairly early in the game. Bonus points if you are a Loth worshiper in certain situations. It is just an all around fun and solid choice for the story and combat.
Characters I would avoid-
Gale- Gayness aside, just kind of pretentious and annoying and his story makes no sense. Feels like an author self insert. Does make an interesting Main replacing Tav, though.
Wyll- Just..... boring. His Devil keeper is the only remotely interesting part of him.
Halsim- Sub par druid (his shape shifting options are limited even if you respec) pervert with negligible story. Taking him also locks out the far superior Minthara.
Shadowheart- Not as bad as the others on this list, but super cliche. Use her only to keep her quest line (and its associated loot) available.
Minsc- Love the character, but he arrives so late that unless you want his unique dialog there is no point in taking him by the time you get him. A less capable Lazael or Minthara.
Karlach- Actually a decent character, but not much to her story (unless you make her the main). Plus again Lazael and Minthara have more to them and are better in combat. Making her the Bard replacement for Tav might be interesting, but I have not tried that.
Classes to Avoid-
Warlock- This class exists purely to exploit the multiclassing and is very blah on its own. I mean eldritch pew pew can be effective, but it gets very boring quickly.
Cleric- While the storm cleric combo is excellent, it is not as fun or good as when paired with the Storm Sorcerer. Battle Cleric is workable as an offtanker, but very rest dependent.
Sorcerer- Dependence on resting to be fully effective combined with narrow casting focuses that either make you a buffbot or a nuker make Sorcery a bad option for a no multiclass run.
Wizard- Same issues as Sorcerer (as well as low hp), but an Evocation Wizard is still a top tier ass kicker, especially with the available gear in the game.
Ranger- Has one good setup in multiclass, but otherwise completely inferior and boring to other options.
Barbarian- If you want a glass cannon mele type, there are many better options. Not a lot of good gear in the game for them compared to other classes.
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Phazael
Confirmed Beta Shitlord, Fat Bastard
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Lightning is king. Theres maybe a handful of enemies that resist it (the feat works wonders) and only one major boss. There is water everywhere and create water to further ramp it up. But seriously outside of Honor Mode, you can have Jahera with all the increased DC to save gear with speed pots and call lightning going and body most of the major battles just cheesing that. Some of the best weapons in the game (the act three trident in particular) rock a lot of electrical damage too. If you are not avoiding multiclassing, tag one level of sorcerer on to the druid and you can be a Magic Missile rocket battery for those fights as needed, too.
As for the tadpole stuff, Displacer Beast on a moon druid is some seriously powerful shit. The first roll bonus and speech check bonus are both really helpful, but you can live without those. The death when hp less than tadpoles is nice. Rest of the powers are pretty meaningless, so going sans tadpole is not too tough really. The biggest issue is taking a pass on the free flight, but most of the classes I am recommending get Mist Step and there are a couple items to fill in the gaps for the characters who lack that spell.
As for the tadpole stuff, Displacer Beast on a moon druid is some seriously powerful shit. The first roll bonus and speech check bonus are both really helpful, but you can live without those. The death when hp less than tadpoles is nice. Rest of the powers are pretty meaningless, so going sans tadpole is not too tough really. The biggest issue is taking a pass on the free flight, but most of the classes I am recommending get Mist Step and there are a couple items to fill in the gaps for the characters who lack that spell.
Phazael
Confirmed Beta Shitlord, Fat Bastard
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Larian games are too buggy for me to even consider that kind of challenge mode shit. Learned that the hard way playing OS1 back in the day. But I played a MP campaign with a guy rocking the ice sorc and its no joke. I just prefer the other options, because standing around while someone goes through a bunch of shit so they can one hit wonder a fight is fucking boring.
Still the best scene in the game, telling him to fuck right off because his magic orb is attracting mosquitos
TJT
Mr. Poopybutthole
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I do find it kind of amusing overall how hard Larian went to make Shar seem like an ambiguous or misunderstood/not really evil Goddess. It kind of works because they don't really discuss much of Shar other than her being the Moon's Shadow compared to Selune and Shadowheart is written as brooding and not much else.
Shar is the baseline trope of super evil God in DND. She is worse than Bhaal as her portfolio is far more encompassing. Shadowheart is just a much more mild character compared to the other Cleric of Shar in the series. Viconia from BG2 is a typically insanely evil and hot Drow cleric.
Shar is the baseline trope of super evil God in DND. She is worse than Bhaal as her portfolio is far more encompassing. Shadowheart is just a much more mild character compared to the other Cleric of Shar in the series. Viconia from BG2 is a typically insanely evil and hot Drow cleric.
Hatorade
A nice asshole.
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I was in until you disregarded Karlach like that, and just because warlock has one trick doesn’t make them bad/boring. A full warlock party would be hilarious. What to do…oh yeah Eld blast!
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TJT
Mr. Poopybutthole
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Bald Brah
Trakanon Raider
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I mean she has to murder a freaking Angel to complete her companion quest. Not sure how much more evil you can get.
I guess the devil Yurgir you can recruit is a little more evil. Or maybe becoming the bhaal spawn itself. Or letting Astarion become a Vampire Acended? There's a boat load of evil shit in this game if you want to embrace it. Shadowheart isn't a totally evil bitch because she is still a child of Selune underneath. You can nudge her in either direction.
Cybsled
Naxxramas 1.0 Raider
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We get a softer image of Shar initially because we have a brainwashed Selunite repeating her indoctrination. Shar literally has Shadowheart’s parents trapped and in pain for decades, then forces Shadowheart to either murder them or be stuck with Shar’s pain curse forever
Not exactly a nice goddess lol
Not exactly a nice goddess lol