Hey thanks a lot, that's some great advice!

My only thing is that since I plan on avoiding melee whenever possible, is it really a good investment for me to go with improving Flurry (esp. since a Consular gets so few feats anyway)?

The reason for the initial preference of a 14 CON and 8 STR is because I don't plan on getting into a spot where my STR is needed, and even plan on holding a blaster for when I'm not casting. CON not only affects VP, but it factors into Fort. Saves (although I must admit that I do not know how important the Fort. Saves actually are).

I have to ask about not improving WIS. I'm not criticizing, but I'm very curious as to why a caster wouldn't improve a stat that helps casting.

TIA

How many levels of your initial class is best? Do you bother putting any points into STR? What about INT?

I know I'd start with 14 DEX and CON, and at least a 14 in WIS and CHA (actually, definitely higher).

What class is the best starter class? How high do you go? I was thinking 4 levels of Scout, as it grants the most feats and the best base saves.

Thanks for all the input you two. Keep it coming!

This is just a preliminary build idea:

I want a caster LS Consular. I was thinking of this stat distribution:

S 8
D 14
C 14
I 14
W 14
Ch 14

Put 1 point into CHA (since I get +3 with LS mastery) and 4 into WIS as I level up. Go with Scout/Consular. I don't know if I should go 2,4,or 5 levels, but 5 is the highest I'd go.

I'm thinking of using the 14 INT so that I can be the primary skills guy on my team. This would allow me to use Bastila and Juhani for combat (since they have no skills). I'd never need to use the other skill-monkeys again.

I figure a 14 INT, along with banking some points before switching will allow me to get a high rank in Repair, Computer Use, Demolitions, and Persuasion. Do you really need any other skills? Not in my opinion. BTW, Awareness is a sweet skill, but it's one Bastila maxes out easily.

What about power choices for a LS casting Consular? Any and all suggestions are welcome.

TIA

Which do you find is a more effective build for a Guardian? Boosting his STR (therefore damage) or DEX (defense and a few skills)?

Or do you mix and match, leveling both up along the way?

Wow, this stuff is incredible. I'll probably be giving it a shot after I finish my IWD run (I've been playing a HoF since the beginning game).

If a BGIII were ever made, I think it'd be really cool if you joined up with Gorion (or played him) and the final mission were to save the Bhaalspawn from a temple of Bhaal where s/he is to be sacrificed.

It's called "Baldur's Gate," not "Tales of the Bhaalspawn"

I don't understand your point. BGII never goes near the city of Baldur's Gate.

LMFAO!

I completed IWD 1 on HoF from the beginning.  It was very tough at the beginning, but after the pass, I thought the game actually got a lot easier.

Here's the party I had:

Human Paladin
Half Elf Cleric/Ranger
Elf Fighter/Mage/Thief
Half Elf Bard
Half Elf Fighter/Druid
Gnome Fighter/Illusionist

Multiclasses make this game a lot easier.  You do NOT need a single-classed wizard.  I had high level spell slots left empty, even for my F/M/T because I could not find scrolls fast enough.

Wow, 32 views, 0 responses.

Let me just say this: I know you do not need to powergame to beat this game. I just think this is a fun exercise.

Anyway, here's my Force Powers (no particular order):

Burst of Speed, Knight Speed, Master Speed
Cure, Heal
Force Push, Force Whirlwind, Force Wave
Force Resistance, Force Immunity
Force Aura, Force Shield, Force Armor
Affect Mind

Thanks guys. This has turned into a big debate over at the Bioware website. Here's what was finalized, let me know which you like better:

It was determined that a DEX based build would be more effective, as either DEX or STR is used for BAB with a lightsaber, and while STR adds to damage, DEX helps Defense and Reflex saves (and is therefore more valuable).

Base Stats with final in parenthesis:

S:11(14) D:16(34) C:14 I:8 W:13(18) Ch:14

This is how those stats are achieved (sorry, I can't remember all the item named off the top of my head): +3 STR from Light-side Mastery, +5 DEX from level-ups, +5 DEX from Implants, +3 DEX from Gloves, +3 DEX from Belt, +2 DEX from headgear, and +5 WIS from the final robes.

Here are the feats:

Critical Strike 1 (free)
Power Attack 1,2,3
Two Weapon Fighting 1,2,3
Implants 1,2,3
Conditioning 1

Here are the Force Powers:

Speed tree (3)
Cure tree (2)
Wave tree (3)
Affect Mind
Energy Resistance tree (2)
Insanity tree (3)

Note-- I'm not sold on Insanity, as this is a LS build and that tree is a DS one. I'll take suggestions here, and I've thought of using the Droid tree instead

Weapon: Double-Bladed Lightsaber with: Solari, Heart of the Guardian, Upari crystals.

Skills:
Persuasion (max)
Computer Use (1)
Security (1)
Stealth (1)
Demolitions (whatever points are left over)

The reason behind concentrating on Demolitions is because it's a class skill of Scoundrels. 1 point is in Security, Computers, and Stealth so that I can use items to boost these skills when needed (you always know when you will need these skills and have time to change items... usually headgear and gloves for computers, demolitions, and security, and a belt for stealth).


Thanks for the time to read all this guys! Let me know why y'all think.

Wow, I'm strongly considering the Lightsaber Throw now. If I can attack 3 targets, at range, with my Sneak Attacks thrown in there I could be in pretty good shape!

Yeah, they're on Yavin.

BTW, I'm trying this build out now. Instead of starting with an 11 STR and a 13 WIS, I've gone with 10/14. I know in the end the 11/13 split is better, but I think the 14 WIS helps a lot more than the 13 for almost the entire game. It helps with Saving Throws, and the saves enemies make against my powers. It also adds some FP's.

The Star Forge Robes (+5 WIS) aren't found until almost the very end of the game anyway, so it really doesn't matter much.

Skills:
Persuasion, and anything else. I?d suggest a few points in Stealth, which has one nasty use involving sneak attacks and Advanced Lightsaber Throw. I?d suggest a point in Security, since that?s always useful, but more than one is probably unnecessary. Pick up a point in Perception as well, maybe more than one. I like more skill points than your choice of INT and classes give you, but I like to have a few points in Treat Injury and Demolitions early on.

the Lightsaber Throw/Sneak Attack combo is a sweet one. I might use that power instead of the insanity tree, but there's one thing holding me back: I'm playing a Guardian, so what difference does a Lightsaber Throw make to me when I can just Force Jump instead (and still get all the Sneak Attack Bonus)?

I'm not big into giving the protagonist Awareness. The reason is that Awareness is actually a party shared skill, this means that if one party member has a high awareness, it's treated as if all of them have this awareness stat. You'll notice this especially in the Rakghoul area when carth will pick up a mine (which he has no business noticing) but Mission is in the party. Anyway, since Jedi have so few class skills, I have all of my Jedi NPCs max out Awareness (since I always try to have at least 1 other Jedi with me at all times). As for Treat Injury, I'm almost done with Taris with this build and I honestly hardly ever get hit. It's sweet!

I'm starting with the stats:

S 14
D 14
C 14
I 8
W 14
Ch 14

4 level-up points will go into STR and 1 into DEX. After equipment, this will be my stats:

S 28 (14 +2 CNS belt, +5 Dominator Gauntlets, +3 LS Mastery, +4 Level-ups)
D 20 (14 +5 Implant, +1 Level-up)
C 14
I 8
W 24 (14 +5 Circlet, +5 Robes)
Ch 14

I plan on using two lightsabers, and taking advantage of a high STR, Critical Strikes, as well as my Sneak Attacks (which are added to Force Jumps and Stunned enemies).

7 levels of Scoundrel gives me +4d6 Sneak Attack bonus. 13 levels of Guardian gives me a decent number of feats, but that's still a relative weak point of this build. I'm looking for a little advice on where to spend those feats, as I basically only have 10 to pick myself. Here's what I've got so far:

Set-up 1
1,2,3 Critical Strike (level 1 is free)
1,2,3 Two Weapon Fighting
1,2,3 Implants
1,2 Conditioning

I was also thinking about this set-up:
Set-up 2
1,2 Critical Strike (level 1 is free)
1,2,3 Two Weapon Fighting
1,2,3 Implants
1,2,3 Flurry

Which is better? Are there some important feats I'm missing out on?

Skills: I guess one of the best parts of the Scoundrel class is they have Persuasion on Taris. That's just awesome. I'm going to max that out the whole way. Since Scoundrels have a bunch of skills, I'm left with the choice to max out one other skill and still have a few carry-over points into the Guardian levels. I will go with Demolitions, since it helps to disarm those suckers and sell them later. I'm not much of a mine setter, but that's a possibility for the future as well. With some Demolitions-boosting equipment on hand, a maxed out Demolitions should recover most mines, even with my low INT (and to help out, I've had Bastila use Force Valor to up my INT before disarming.


force Powers to come later...

3. camped in dungeon underCleric District every time i had over 50% EXP needed for lvl up

OMG, I would have felt like shooting myself.

Before we even get started, I know that powergaming is not needed in any RPG to have a great time, probably even moreso in PS:T.

Anyway, I got to thinking, what would be the most powerful NO somebody could create? What would his starting stats be? What classes would he choose?

Well, the simple part is the classes, early on anyway (mainly for a very solid Hit Point base).

There's no reason not to go to level 6 as a Fighter. After that, you should obviously choose level 7 in the class you'd like to concentrate on, and then switch back to Fighter until level 9. Level 10 should be in the Thief class. After that, you're pretty safe sticking with the class you'd like to concentrate on for the remainder of the game. If you're really into an extra 1/2 attack per round, go to level 13 as a Fighter. Just make sure you take level 12 in your chosen profession, since this is the second "power-up."

On to the statistics:

It's great to have a 18 Strength, so that when it gets boosted by an item or certain circumstances in the game, it can jump to 19 STR, skipping over those annoying percentile STR points. This is just a point-saving thing though: if you don't plan on whacking things with a weapon, STR isn't worth too much.

Dexterity pretty much loses it's appeal after 18, so I'd personally aim for that to be the end point. I've noticed a 13 DEX helping quite a bit early on for some minor XP bonuses.

Constitution is very tricky: The extra HP and faster regeneration rate make a high CON very appealing, but dying in this game is only an annoyance, since you always get back up! It's a very good idea to start with a 14 CON though. You start the game with 10 more HP than you would with a 9 CON. And this little bonus is not granted if you boost your CON to 14 later.

Intelligence is a great stat. It helps in quite a few conversations. If you want to be a Mage, you really need to aim for a 19 INT, since you won't be limited by the number of spells you can scribe in your book. On the other hand, you have a long way to go before ever worrying about that, so it can still start off fairly low.

With stats, Wisdom rules. There's no reason for both the powergamer and the guy looking to get the most story out of this game to not start with an 18 WIS. This stat adds to XP, meaning you go up in levels faster. And leveling up faster means more stats! It also means the most recovered memories, so there's more story that way as well as more XP. Minor spoiler: If you don't plan on playing (primarily) a Mage, boost this by 1 at your first level-up. If you are playing a Mage, you don't need to worry. I say this because there's a great item available late in the game that grants a +2 to CHA at the cost of -1 to WIS. You get +7 WIS through the game, so a starting 18 will lead to 25.

Charisma. I like CHA, a lot. It's probably the second most important stat. It opens up a lot of conversation options (very important in quite a few places), and lowers prices in all the shops (which means more stat boosting tattoos earlier!).

Alignment: From what I can tell, you get a lot more in this game from playing a Lawful Good type. You get some better items, and you get better stat bumps (from both items and conversations).

Class choice: Personally, I'd concentrate either on Fighter or Mage. Mage is probably a bit more powerful, and you'll almost definitely get more out of the story (since you'll be looking for a higher INT). Fighters will just kick serious butt in combat. They get the most fun weapons to play with. It's almost universally accepted (at least from all I've read, as well as personal experience) that Thieves aren't all that great. BTW, one of the best, and definitely the most versatile stat boosting item in the game requires 12 levels of Mage.

Faction choices: If you're concentrating on Mage, I'd suggest joining the Dustmen first, then the Godsmen, and finally the Sensates. Sensates have a neat little bonus that allows them to give 1-10 HP of their own to heal a party member once a day. Since TNO regenerates, it's like having an extra Cure Light Wounds spell handy.

If you're going with a Fighter build, I'd suggest going with the Dustmen, then the Sensates, and finally the Godsmen. The only reason for this is that the Godsmen have some really awesome weapons available fairly early in the game, and only Godsmen can use them.

Well, that's about it for now. I'd love to get some feedback, and if anybody has a list of the stats needed for the highest stat checks in the game we can pretty much wrap this baby up!

Cool.

I remember playing a game with a Dwarf F/T, taking only Anomen and Kelsey. That was another ass-kickin' small party. The game got too easy too fast.


EDIT: I just realized this party I played a long time ago is very similar in concept to Pokemon boys. Neat!

Whats RING31?

I happen to agree with you.


My reasons for liking 4 person groups is that I just find it easier to control (I hate AI). I have a more fun experience. the fact that XP is gained faster is just a side benefit.

Another great thing about smaller parties is that multiclasses are even better also. I'm actually not a big fan of Edwin or other single-classed guys in a smaller group. You just don't need them.

I consider Imoen a single classed mage for my groups, who also handles all of the thieving duties. Im my last game, I had her, Anomen, and a Berserker 13 dualled into a Mage (who concentrated on spells that boosted combat abilities).

The party rocked the casbah.



BTW, the fact that you compare anything in BG to Pokemon just makes everything else suck. Nevermind.

Nalia.  I hate limosine liberals in real life, and it's no different in this game.


If I had a second vote it would be for Viconia.  she's just so overrated.

I'd suggest the +5 DEX Implant, the +2 DEX Belt, and boosting STR every chance.

I use Zaalbar also:

Scoundrel 7/Guardian (concentrates on Demolitions and Persuasion)
Zaalbar (Computers and Repair, I use Flurry and Two Weapon Fighting also)
Jolee (his stunning enemies works well with my character's sneak attacks)

I'm trying to decide if these feats are worth it for a non-scout. Please give some examples of the best implants.

TIA

I voted Coran. While I'm not a big fan of elves, I do love those Fighter/Thieves, and he's the best there is.

Kashyyyk, Tatooine, Manaan, Korriban.

IMHO, this is the best way to do the planets for a few different reasons.

1) This way goes from easiest to hardest.
2) This way gets you Jolee right away (he's my favorite NPC).
3) This way gets you the Circlet of Saresh.