Looking for general advice for a noob

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I wrote a whole guide detailing all the choices that are best in a party, but mine is not the only one out there. In short, 2 battleclerics (improving CON at higher levels), a mage with rogue duties, a human sorcerer with a level Paladin & maybe Ranger mixed-in, a druid with a level in monk, and either a nearly-pure barbarian or bard (depending on your playstyle), is a winning combination.

Most important to remember: The ID2 leveling system penalizes you more heavily for every level of another class that you choose to mix in. That is why near-pure characters perform best in this game. The 2ed dual and multiclasses are out. Even 4 levels fighter mixed in is quite heavy on your spellcaster, just for Weapon Specialization. On the plus side, scrolls aren't found too frequently, so you won't have the problem of your wizard being too high level, with no spells known to cast.

The fighter mix in should be considered primarily for the bonuses you can get at 1 level, not WS at 4 levels. Unlocking all martial weapons, shields, armours and an extra feat are handy enough. You would be wise to wait with the other 3 levels until you are later in the game. Personally, I think 1 level rogue or ranger would be way better for wizzies.

good luck.

 

Is bless really that good. The guide I was reading has every Cleric take Bless. What would you take with it for a first level spell? Armor Faith?

 

Bless gives +1 to attack (and saves IIRC) and it lasts for a good duration. It's generally considered to be the best option for level 1. Armor of faith isn't bad, but as I recall, it has a shorter duration. Eventually you will acquire equipment that will duplicate the effects of this spell, but the +1 from bless is always going to be useful.

 

Something I've noticed, too, that you might want to think about when allocating stat points. There are a couple of items that raise CON, but not too many items and none of them raise it very high (I think, in the normal, unmodded version of the game there is a belt that gives +3 to CON). But there are spells (Bull's Strength and Cat's Grace) that increase STR and DEX, plus items that increase these stats. I've come to the conclusion that CON may be a more important stat, depending on the character build, of course, than STR or DEX.

Obviously, you want to have every stat as high as possible, but STR and DEX can be rapidly "buffed" relatively early in the game, whereas CON is kinda just there as an ability you can't do much with once you've picked it. For your fighter-types, you need to max this is as high as you can take it from the very beginning, because your opportunities to improve it are few and far between. Just my 2 cents.

 

Stats in broad generalizations, in rough priority order:

1) If you're a caster*, you want to max your primary casting stat. Wis for Clerics and Druids, Int for a wizard and Cha for Sorcerer/Bard.
2) Best damage weapons are the ones that you can use on targets you can actually REACH. For anyone but the most die-hard tanks wanting to go toe to toe with the enemies, this is usually some sort of a ranged weapon. And considering how effective Rapid Shot (the feat) is together with ranged weapons allowing for a STR damage bonus (ie. everything but bows and crossbows), you really should strive to max both STR and DEX, stat points allowing.
3) Any leftover should be put into CON. I personally always strive for at least 14, preferably 18.

For everyone but your diplomat, consider tanking BOTH of your mental stats left over after your caster primary.

* = Apart from the very few first, arguably game's toughest areas, non-caster classes aren't much to write home about in the long run. Even the hybrids such as Ranger are just plain better replaced as a corresponding cleric with just one level of Ranger to begin with. Remember that casters in 3e rules essentially have part fighter built-in, since they'll advance in both attack bonus AND amount of attacks per round as well.

 

Good advice. I'd just add the comment that clerics are really versatile for combat as well as casting, because they can buff themselves to strengths beyond any fighter. Their spell selection is unique, in that they lose very little of their casting potency if you don't maximize their casting stat, WISdom. This gives clerics a free hand to focus on CON instead.
Buffs and summons are handled by caster level, not spell DC, so it doesn't matter if your lvl16 cleric has 18WIS, or 22. Having 4 extra pts in CON is always helpful, whether you're facing a heavy hitter in melee, or just trying to avoid your spellcasting from being disrupted.
Many cleric debuffs also have no saving throw, so they remain equally potent.

I'm a big fan of battleclerics, who maximize their CON at level-ups. They are the game's ultimate tanks. Even my dreadmaster is one, and she often uses enchantments with saving throws. A battlecleric dreadmaster with 18WIS, maxed CON and GSF: Enchantment remains very effective on the battlefield.

Finally, I should mention the 'broken' Heal spell: Casts instantly, but range is touch. It's great to have your frontliners be able to cast it on themselves when they need it. Battleclerics just can't die.

 

It should be said that the above advice concerning clerics is for Power-gaming. Some palyers like to play a game that has the PnP feel to it. Battleclerics are great IF you rest often, which doesn't suit everyone's play style. Also note that the game has a HoF mode, which allows for some VERY high level characters, in which Clerics kick ass in. But, if you don't play HoF mode, Warrior types are just as potent as Clerics, with more Attacks/round, more HP and many more feats in the case of the Fighter class. Clerics can buff for bonuses, but the +6 to hit doesn't necessarily mean more Attacks/round. Though I will have to admit that Insta-Heal and Animate Dead are pretty sweet.

Personally, I think the Devs did the best job on IWD2 when compared to the other Infinty engine games. You can play so many different ways, they covered everything that fits all play-styles, from Role-players to Powermongers. I tried several different approaches to party composition and play-style. All of them have worked.