THANK YOU for advocating that the inquisitor remain at x2 level. It is my favorite class and I believe the strongest warrior class (even better than the Berzerker) because of how effectively it deals with mages. I get so frustrated with guides or opinions that rate the inquisitor low and state they are using 1.5x their level dispel magic. I completely agree that change is unwarranted and neuters the entire point of the class. Also, people state dispel magic sucks because it is not party friendly but you correctly point out that it can be used to remove debugs on the party. Great guide!
@@robertcampbell6349 I’m inclined to agree, Cavaliers just have such a good time dealing those demons and dragons along with anyone relying on Poison, Horror, or Charm spells! Also relatively simple in that they will be the melee character (maybe except for Throwing Axes).
Alright well this video convinced me to play pally, rolled a 95, points into two handed,dual wield,crossbows and two handed sword. Class going to try undead hunter seems legit with a witcher style background. Intrigued atm. Thanks for this video
I mod the Inquisitor's dispel to be x1.5, but not because I think x2 is overpowered but because there are no enemy Inquisitors so I'd be the only one benefitting from their x2 dispel and I don't want to find myself relying on Keldorn's dispel as opposed to using spells. But Inquisitor's x2 dispel is balanced and fair, you're right that they're underpowered without it.
Playing BG1 I only choose Blackguard then vanilla Paladin. The special abilities of the other three just aren't needed in BG1 and really if I intend to play through BG1 and 2 with a paladin I would just skip 1 and start straight in Chateau Irenicus with an Undead Hunter or a Cavalier.
My favorite kit is undead hunter simply because it makes sense for a paladin to want to purge them evil creatures. This however can lead to some moral dilemmas down the line, because a lawful-good person would actually aid some unfortunate souls instead of chopping them on sight. Game mechanics-wise they are not the best kit, but SCS liches are so damn tough that it is worth it for that purpose only. And the base portrait has the bold guy with the big sword that also fits my idea well :)
Agreed on both the mechanics and the story mindset. I feel like too many people take "Lawful Good" to mean "Dudley Dooright" when it's much more conscious of codes and honor. Less "Lawful Stoopid" and more personal conflict while taking out the monsters in the dark.
I am planning to play through the Baldur's Gate Enhanced Edition Trilogy (with Siege of Dragonspear) with a Cavalier. I have done my research, so I know know a Cavalier will receive 15 weapon proficiency points in total. The last proficiency point for a Paladin is received at level 33. Here is how I plan to distribute the 15 proficiency points: For weapons: ** in Axes: So my Cavalier can overcome the restriction of no range weapon and use throwing axes; aiming for Azuredge (Paladin is one of the few classes that are allowed to use this returning throwing axe so it is perfect for a Cavalier) and Axe of Unyielding in BG2EE. ** in Flails and Morning Stars: The Cavalier will specialize in a blunt weapon type to overcome enemies that are immune to or resist slashing damages; aiming for almighty Flail of Ages + Defender of Easthaven in offhand. ** in Bastard Sword: For Foebane and the Paladin-only Purifier in BG2EE. I plan to upgrade the Purifier over Carsomyr. ** in Two-Handed Sword: Carsomyr, obviously because he is a Paladin; but I will not upgrade Carsomyr. I choose the Purifier. So, those four weapon specializations add up to 8 proficiency points. For fighting styles: Either * or ** in Two-Handed Weapon Style: To complement two-handed swords. Either ** or *** in Two-Weapon Style: For dual-wielding. So, those two fighting styles cost 3 to max 5 proficiency points. The four weapon specializations (8 points) + two fighting styles (3 to 5 points) cost 11 to 13 points, out of the 15 total available points. My Cavalier will have 2 to 4 leftover points, depending on how many points I put into the two fighting styles. 2 to 4 points are enough to become proficient and/or specialize in another 1 to 4 weapons, depending on how I distribute the points; or, I can just max out the two fight styles: put 2 points in Two-Handed style and 3 points in Two Weapon style, and I will have 2 remaining points to become proficient in 2 weapons or specialize in 1 weapon. What would be your recommendations? Long swords for versatility and lots of choices, short swords (for Kundane in offhand), or scimitars (for Belm in offhand)? (Not really interested in hammers or Crom Faeyr because my character can Draw Upon Holy Might with the Bhaalspawn ability or Cleric spell; also. a Gauntlet of Ogre Power AND a Girdle of Frost Giant Strength are too much sacrifice to trade for one weapon.) (Not really interested in Mace of Disruption, already have other weapons to deliver blunt damages or deal with undeads.) I am also thinking about putting the last 2 points into Halberds. Halberds do two different (slashing + piercing) damages, and piercing is more effective than slashing. Also, no NPC companion is spec'd to use halberds.
You have a ton of options, but if I were creating this build and I wanted a large number of attacks, here's what I would do with the remaining points. First, go with Two Weapon Fighting, full three points. Then aim for Scimitars, which gives you a few options but aim for getting Belm for the extra attack (which is going to be done by your main handed weapon if Belm is in the offhand). Finally, put the remainder into Two-Handed Weapon Fighting for using Carsomyr with a higher chance of critical hits. With this order of proficiency points, you'll be able to utilize Two Weapon Fighting first and get a decent number of attacks first. There's a ton of great options and I think you nailed it by aiming for Axes first, then Flails.
@@ktchong5800 That's a great idea! Especially if Jaheira also gets the Earth Elemental transformation for tanking! I believe that there's a Short Sword that can also grant an extra attack, so that could be a good option as well. You could also go Katanas and get Celestial Fury for the potential stunning attacks.
One tidbit about paladin is you wont have spells in BG1 because exp cap is too low (unless you mod it out) So if you were to only play BG1 for some reason, suddenly inquisitor is actually not half bad since no kit can use spells at that point.
So that's true but I love that the Baldur's Gate series actually encourages characters to go through the whole saga (despite my attempts with streaming). Sadly, the Inquisitor falls off but I don't think that they're entirely useless. The can be a one-trick pony though.
Last week I started a cavalier and boy he is amazing lvl 5 currently, with spider bane man he hits like a freight truck for sure can't wait to get my hands on the world's edge then onward to bg2 for that holy avenger sword. My party currently is yeslick, jahara,khalid,neera,coran. Omg coran is awesome I think my team is pretty solid imo but overall cavalier is great, working on getting that hammer from bassilus for yeslick then explore more but overall I think the paladins are great they are fantastic and I might add very tanky which I like a lot. Oh yeah I accidentally left ajantas in the cloakwood mine by accident 😂😆 oops not very paladin like of me 😂
Oh awesome! I feel like a party with Coran and a solid front line with the tanky main character and Khalid make great use out of the martial classes! Well done in the party comp!
Yeah I just did durlag's tower omg it's rough but hey I got the weapon I want the world's edge amazing two hander plus other loot for my party that and I gain a lot of XP with my party so I'm almost there of completing bg1 spiders bane has been a amazing help now I just need to find other items to go along with my cavalier then I think nothing will stop me for sure almost lvl 7 it's going to be a cake walk in bg2 when I export to bg2 now I do know you can't transfer items which I'm not worried about that but enemies in the second one will be easy at first but at least I can continue my lvling.
I only play OG Baulder's Gate (1 & 2). (though I own the EE & keep it on a storage hard drive) But yeah, ever since they introduced Kits (in BG2), I almost ALWAYS made my paladins some sort of kit (instead of vanilla). After all, you CAN'T dual class them or anything. So why wouldn't you? And I agree, if you want to play something as close to the vanilla Paladin as possible? Play an Undead Hunter! You lose barely anything and get some very nice perks!
Yeah, I agree. I just don't see any reason to play as a base Paladin except for looking into how the class works. The kits are so much better and play only slightly differently (except for the Inquisitor, which can still front-line on most difficulties).
Though myself have never played a paladin ever but after hearing this makes me want to and try it out. The only thing I don't like is using a two handed weapon I can't bring myself to doing so even though later in bg2 there's a awesome pally weapon which I want to try it but idk if I want to tbh. I mostly prefer dual wield. It's just slow to hit but I guess I could run a two handed and swap to dual wield for really nasty situations.
Me: *starts playthrough. Doing great.* *watches redjoy starter guides* "Well now i have to start a fresh run as a paladin. No, wait. Sorcerer. WAIT. Thief" I do this shit every time i start a run until i get bored of seeing irenicus' dungeon over and over again. Then ill put the game down for 2 months 😂😂
I believe there's a mod to skip that dungeon, which I don't blame anyone for skipping through! But yeah, this is the amazing power of Baldur's Gate EE, fast and easy replayablity with whatever you want to try! Paladin, Thief, Bard, Sorcerer, some kit that some dude wrote up as a mod, SO EASY!
@Redjoy123 I'm looking into adding mods into the .obb game file on the android version. It can be done, just is a bit of a bitch. No idea why beamdog made it so hard to mod bg on android, but made it relatively easy with neverwinter nights. Seems like a missed opportunity, if anything just to keep customers happy.
Inquisitor's Dispel isn't too powerful at 2x level because that's all they have and Dispel isn't THAT great to begin with. They lose spellcasting outside of that powerful Dispel. Which makes them not just a shitty Fighter kit, but a VERY shitty Fighter kit. They can't tank and they can't fight in melee as well as any other Paladin, Fighters or even Rangers. They are far and beyond the worst Paladin kit and I'm tired of seeing people jerk themselves off like it isn't. Keldorn is only viable in the back row with a crossbow as will be every Inquisitor a player rolls.
Absolutely agree about Keldorn, I'd say that Inquisitors have that one playstyle which makes them very limiting. I've also heard that Remove Magic is much better than Dispel Magic at higher levels. My ranking for Paladin kits based on power and versatility: Cavalier > Undead Hunter > Paladin > Inquisitor
@@Redjoy123 I'd agree with that order of power scales. I would argue that if you're playing Icewind Dale EE which is based of the BG2 engine then Undead Hunter is far more powerful than Cavalier just because 80% of what you're fighting is Undead.
THANK YOU for advocating that the inquisitor remain at x2 level. It is my favorite class and I believe the strongest warrior class (even better than the Berzerker) because of how effectively it deals with mages. I get so frustrated with guides or opinions that rate the inquisitor low and state they are using 1.5x their level dispel magic. I completely agree that change is unwarranted and neuters the entire point of the class.
Also, people state dispel magic sucks because it is not party friendly but you correctly point out that it can be used to remove debugs on the party.
Great guide!
The Cavalier is the best Paladin kit. The +3 to hit and damage against demons and dragons is nice and Armor of Faith makes for a great tank.
@@robertcampbell6349 I’m inclined to agree, Cavaliers just have such a good time dealing those demons and dragons along with anyone relying on Poison, Horror, or Charm spells! Also relatively simple in that they will be the melee character (maybe except for Throwing Axes).
Alright well this video convinced me to play pally, rolled a 95, points into two handed,dual wield,crossbows and two handed sword. Class going to try undead hunter seems legit with a witcher style background. Intrigued atm. Thanks for this video
Happily! And congrats on the 95 Roll! I love it when it happens! Hell, some days I'd take anything over an 88...
Undead Hunter is pretty dope. I prefer Cavalier for BG but if you're playing Icewind Dale the Undead Hunter is second to none.
UA-cam recommended it to me, and I'm not disapointed. Very nice video, it's clear and straight, and has a opinion with arguments.
I mod the Inquisitor's dispel to be x1.5, but not because I think x2 is overpowered but because there are no enemy Inquisitors so I'd be the only one benefitting from their x2 dispel and I don't want to find myself relying on Keldorn's dispel as opposed to using spells. But Inquisitor's x2 dispel is balanced and fair, you're right that they're underpowered without it.
Playing BG1 I only choose Blackguard then vanilla Paladin. The special abilities of the other three just aren't needed in BG1 and really if I intend to play through BG1 and 2 with a paladin I would just skip 1 and start straight in Chateau Irenicus with an Undead Hunter or a Cavalier.
Again, appreciate the video. 👍
My favorite kit is undead hunter simply because it makes sense for a paladin to want to purge them evil creatures. This however can lead to some moral dilemmas down the line, because a lawful-good person would actually aid some unfortunate souls instead of chopping them on sight.
Game mechanics-wise they are not the best kit, but SCS liches are so damn tough that it is worth it for that purpose only. And the base portrait has the bold guy with the big sword that also fits my idea well :)
Agreed on both the mechanics and the story mindset. I feel like too many people take "Lawful Good" to mean "Dudley Dooright" when it's much more conscious of codes and honor. Less "Lawful Stoopid" and more personal conflict while taking out the monsters in the dark.
@@Redjoy123 I am having plenty of fun with him, that is for sure! Not a coincidence that so many people flock on a guide like this in 2023 :)
I am planning to play through the Baldur's Gate Enhanced Edition Trilogy (with Siege of Dragonspear) with a Cavalier. I have done my research, so I know know a Cavalier will receive 15 weapon proficiency points in total. The last proficiency point for a Paladin is received at level 33. Here is how I plan to distribute the 15 proficiency points:
For weapons:
** in Axes: So my Cavalier can overcome the restriction of no range weapon and use throwing axes; aiming for Azuredge (Paladin is one of the few classes that are allowed to use this returning throwing axe so it is perfect for a Cavalier) and Axe of Unyielding in BG2EE.
** in Flails and Morning Stars: The Cavalier will specialize in a blunt weapon type to overcome enemies that are immune to or resist slashing damages; aiming for almighty Flail of Ages + Defender of Easthaven in offhand.
** in Bastard Sword: For Foebane and the Paladin-only Purifier in BG2EE. I plan to upgrade the Purifier over Carsomyr.
** in Two-Handed Sword: Carsomyr, obviously because he is a Paladin; but I will not upgrade Carsomyr. I choose the Purifier.
So, those four weapon specializations add up to 8 proficiency points.
For fighting styles:
Either * or ** in Two-Handed Weapon Style: To complement two-handed swords.
Either ** or *** in Two-Weapon Style: For dual-wielding.
So, those two fighting styles cost 3 to max 5 proficiency points.
The four weapon specializations (8 points) + two fighting styles (3 to 5 points) cost 11 to 13 points, out of the 15 total available points. My Cavalier will have 2 to 4 leftover points, depending on how many points I put into the two fighting styles. 2 to 4 points are enough to become proficient and/or specialize in another 1 to 4 weapons, depending on how I distribute the points; or, I can just max out the two fight styles: put 2 points in Two-Handed style and 3 points in Two Weapon style, and I will have 2 remaining points to become proficient in 2 weapons or specialize in 1 weapon.
What would be your recommendations?
Long swords for versatility and lots of choices, short swords (for Kundane in offhand), or scimitars (for Belm in offhand)?
(Not really interested in hammers or Crom Faeyr because my character can Draw Upon Holy Might with the Bhaalspawn ability or Cleric spell; also. a Gauntlet of Ogre Power AND a Girdle of Frost Giant Strength are too much sacrifice to trade for one weapon.)
(Not really interested in Mace of Disruption, already have other weapons to deliver blunt damages or deal with undeads.)
I am also thinking about putting the last 2 points into Halberds. Halberds do two different (slashing + piercing) damages, and piercing is more effective than slashing. Also, no NPC companion is spec'd to use halberds.
You have a ton of options, but if I were creating this build and I wanted a large number of attacks, here's what I would do with the remaining points.
First, go with Two Weapon Fighting, full three points. Then aim for Scimitars, which gives you a few options but aim for getting Belm for the extra attack (which is going to be done by your main handed weapon if Belm is in the offhand). Finally, put the remainder into Two-Handed Weapon Fighting for using Carsomyr with a higher chance of critical hits.
With this order of proficiency points, you'll be able to utilize Two Weapon Fighting first and get a decent number of attacks first.
There's a ton of great options and I think you nailed it by aiming for Axes first, then Flails.
@@Redjoy123 I'm thinking giving Belm to Jaheira for offhand. She should dual-wield scimitars like she will in BG3... continuity.
@@ktchong5800 That's a great idea! Especially if Jaheira also gets the Earth Elemental transformation for tanking!
I believe that there's a Short Sword that can also grant an extra attack, so that could be a good option as well.
You could also go Katanas and get Celestial Fury for the potential stunning attacks.
One tidbit about paladin is you wont have spells in BG1 because exp cap is too low (unless you mod it out) So if you were to only play BG1 for some reason, suddenly inquisitor is actually not half bad since no kit can use spells at that point.
So that's true but I love that the Baldur's Gate series actually encourages characters to go through the whole saga (despite my attempts with streaming). Sadly, the Inquisitor falls off but I don't think that they're entirely useless. The can be a one-trick pony though.
Last week I started a cavalier and boy he is amazing lvl 5 currently, with spider bane man he hits like a freight truck for sure can't wait to get my hands on the world's edge then onward to bg2 for that holy avenger sword. My party currently is yeslick, jahara,khalid,neera,coran. Omg coran is awesome I think my team is pretty solid imo but overall cavalier is great, working on getting that hammer from bassilus for yeslick then explore more but overall I think the paladins are great they are fantastic and I might add very tanky which I like a lot. Oh yeah I accidentally left ajantas in the cloakwood mine by accident 😂😆 oops not very paladin like of me 😂
Oh awesome! I feel like a party with Coran and a solid front line with the tanky main character and Khalid make great use out of the martial classes! Well done in the party comp!
Yeah I just did durlag's tower omg it's rough but hey I got the weapon I want the world's edge amazing two hander plus other loot for my party that and I gain a lot of XP with my party so I'm almost there of completing bg1 spiders bane has been a amazing help now I just need to find other items to go along with my cavalier then I think nothing will stop me for sure almost lvl 7 it's going to be a cake walk in bg2 when I export to bg2 now I do know you can't transfer items which I'm not worried about that but enemies in the second one will be easy at first but at least I can continue my lvling.
I only play OG Baulder's Gate (1 & 2). (though I own the EE & keep it on a storage hard drive)
But yeah, ever since they introduced Kits (in BG2), I almost ALWAYS made my paladins some sort of kit (instead of vanilla).
After all, you CAN'T dual class them or anything. So why wouldn't you?
And I agree, if you want to play something as close to the vanilla Paladin as possible? Play an Undead Hunter!
You lose barely anything and get some very nice perks!
Yeah, I agree. I just don't see any reason to play as a base Paladin except for looking into how the class works. The kits are so much better and play only slightly differently (except for the Inquisitor, which can still front-line on most difficulties).
Though myself have never played a paladin ever but after hearing this makes me want to and try it out. The only thing I don't like is using a two handed weapon I can't bring myself to doing so even though later in bg2 there's a awesome pally weapon which I want to try it but idk if I want to tbh. I mostly prefer dual wield. It's just slow to hit but I guess I could run a two handed and swap to dual wield for really nasty situations.
Me: *starts playthrough. Doing great.*
*watches redjoy starter guides*
"Well now i have to start a fresh run as a paladin. No, wait. Sorcerer. WAIT. Thief"
I do this shit every time i start a run until i get bored of seeing irenicus' dungeon over and over again. Then ill put the game down for 2 months 😂😂
I believe there's a mod to skip that dungeon, which I don't blame anyone for skipping through!
But yeah, this is the amazing power of Baldur's Gate EE, fast and easy replayablity with whatever you want to try! Paladin, Thief, Bard, Sorcerer, some kit that some dude wrote up as a mod, SO EASY!
@Redjoy123 I'm looking into adding mods into the .obb game file on the android version. It can be done, just is a bit of a bitch. No idea why beamdog made it so hard to mod bg on android, but made it relatively easy with neverwinter nights. Seems like a missed opportunity, if anything just to keep customers happy.
Inquisitor's Dispel isn't too powerful at 2x level because that's all they have and Dispel isn't THAT great to begin with.
They lose spellcasting outside of that powerful Dispel. Which makes them not just a shitty Fighter kit, but a VERY shitty Fighter kit. They can't tank and they can't fight in melee as well as any other Paladin, Fighters or even Rangers.
They are far and beyond the worst Paladin kit and I'm tired of seeing people jerk themselves off like it isn't.
Keldorn is only viable in the back row with a crossbow as will be every Inquisitor a player rolls.
Absolutely agree about Keldorn, I'd say that Inquisitors have that one playstyle which makes them very limiting. I've also heard that Remove Magic is much better than Dispel Magic at higher levels.
My ranking for Paladin kits based on power and versatility: Cavalier > Undead Hunter > Paladin > Inquisitor
@@Redjoy123 I'd agree with that order of power scales. I would argue that if you're playing Icewind Dale EE which is based of the BG2 engine then Undead Hunter is far more powerful than Cavalier just because 80% of what you're fighting is Undead.