Hey everyone!

I've played alot of Dungeon siege back in the day, and I remember that using all of the different skills was a big no-no. I was able to use some magic skills on my melee character, however.

So, you folk must be quite knowledgeable. Tell me this, how much multiclassing can one get away with, and still have a functioning character? My highest guy must have been a level 58 melee, and I must have had about 30 in combat magic. He seemed to do allright.

What about using both of the magic skills at once? Would that still handicap one's character?

What you're talking about is called hybridizing.

I always had a problem with what you're talking about, especially since I tried to make a character that used Melee, Range, and both magics..

I was unable to continue in the game on that character and eventually gave up since I couldn't ever get past the Castle of Ehb, but I made it far.

The reason why I think it makes it extremely difficult is because the experience is split up in between all of them as you go through the game, instead of you training on one dedicated skill. (As you probably already know.)

I can only think of maybe killing everything that you possibly can, unlike what I did on my character I described earlier.

Take all the side routes and go on a killing spree is all I can suggest.

Hi,
I've just discovered this forum after getting the old favourite out again.

I believe in multi-skilling because it is more fun. But then I play single-player only, like to play smart and like to take my time. My adventurers aren't warriors rushing into a do-or-die fray hoping they've enough potions to get through, but hunters stalking dangerous prey. That means characters who can use different tactics (and hence skills) for different monsters and different situations. Also, whatever the tactic, everybody in the party should have something to contribute - no demarcation rules.

("Multi-skilling" to me means using secondary skills as well as a primary one; "multi-classing" I'd reserve as a term for trying to do two main things more-or-less equally. Which can happen to, and work for, one or two characters in a full-size party.)

I believe the least penalty in DS1 is for multiclassing magics, as both use the intelligence stat.

Yes, using one magic skill and nothing else, some experience diverts to Strength and Dexterity, so the magic skill increases faster than Inteligence and hence Mana. This leads to Summon spells (in particular) becoming uncastable through requiring more than the character's maximum Mana. Using both magic skills (keeping the second about half the level of the first, say) helps get round this.

A melee character's top priorities, I would guess, are Strength, Strength and Strength - Strength for melee weapons and damage bonus, Strength for wearing armor and Strength for Health. Which makes an archer's top priorities Dexterity, Strength and Strength, with a trade-off between killing monsters quickly and surviving long enough to do so.

I'm currently playing the Realm of Kings fanware map (and at hard difficulty) in which a farmer goes from facing Krugs to monsters well beyond anything in Ehb, unaided. (Mules can be hired but no other characters.) My character (who happens to be a farmgirl this time out) deals with the next monster whichever way is easiest; this has made her a multi-skilled archer with stats
Strength 34, Dexterity 49, Intelligence 21
Melee skill 72, ranged skill 71, nature magic 24, combat magic 41

She uses nature magic for self-healing and buffs (Mana Shield especially), and combat magic for Mana Chant (to help replenish the Shield) and to Summon on occasion (that was how she built up the skill earlier). She started melee fighting (when she could get away with it) to increase Strength for the sake of wearing better armor, but as you see has found it increasingly useful in its own right against the less dangerous monsters.

How do you guys think this multiclass problem would be solved best, thinking game-technically? I remember leveling a plate wearing archer without problems, but archery and melee are closer to eachother than one of them and magic.

I regard both the multi-classing possibilities and the trade-offs involved not as a problem but as an essential feature of the game.

I've also played Ehb at normal difficulty as far as the Hall of Skulls (in a game I mean to go back and finish sometime) with a farmgirl who is a hero (meaning she goes ahead on her own looking for trouble which she either handles herself or leads back to her support team). Thus getting a big share of the experience - which has only cost the others in the party a couple of levels, I think - she is a combat mage who also melee-fights (with staff) so has the strength to wear archer's armor. Having enough nature magic skill too for Mana Shield she has proved to be an effective tank (especially with Merik doing Mana Transfer to her).

One thing I've discovered with the archer is that dexterity, as well as melee skill, contributes to melee ability - chance to hit and chance to dodge (not be hit).

Checking out armors - which I'm currently doing - the archer can have boosted Ranger Plate at df-323 (strength 30) or much-boosted Chain Mail at df-319 (strength 29). In the mage-armor (as opposed to robes) category there is Thin Plate df-341, strength 20, if you ever find some: a big jump up from Mage Plate (215) and the best Thin Chain (232). Thin Plate can (indeed must) also carry powerful prefix and suffix mods. In seems unfair that the archer series has no equivalent, but to better df-341 means going to the fighter's strength-49 version of Full Plate.