So, seeing how Baldur's Gate 2 has just arrived, I thought it would be cool to have a thread where people can share character builds they enjoyed playing as. This could also be helpful to newer players as there are many, many more classes and subclasses than in previous installments and it can feel a little overwhelming.

Here's a few of the builds I've played through the game with:

Ranger/Cleric:Ah, the good old half-elf ranger/cleric. This is widely regarded as one of the most powerful classes in the game; and for good reasons. Due to a bug with the infinity engine, he has full access to both cleric and druid spells. BG2 also implemented dual-wielding. This works out very nicely for the ranger/cleric. With the Flail of Ages in his main hand and the Crom Fayer (sets str 25) in his offhand, he becomes an unstoppable whirlwind of death and destruction. This is the class for you if you're a power gamer.

Kensai/Theif: This class is FUN. Kensai are fighters that have very harsh equipment restrictions. They're unable to wear armor along with other things. This, however, can be offset by dual-classing to thief. At level 20, thieves can learn Use Any Item. As the name implies, this enables the character to use ANY item, effectively eliminating your armor restrictions from being a Kensai, leaving you with only the benefits! This also opens up a large window of options for how you'd like to equip your character. You can run around with the Carsomyr+5 and dispell everyone's magic, or you opt for something else all together. I made a Kensai/Thief that I wanted to have focus on backstabbing. Scrolls of Black blade of Disaster were wonderful for that. I also threw Staff of the Ram+6 on her for kicks. She could backstab for over 100 damage! Kensai/Thief can also lay traps, which have the potential to turn a difficult fight into a cheese-fest (spike traps are insanely overpowered.) This character is very versatile, very powerful and, most importantly, VERY fun!

Monk: This is a class that you probably shouldn't stray from if you start in it. Monks gain lots of awesome benefits as they stay in their class. There's really not a whole lot to say here. Have fun exploding people with your fists!

This is just a few examples of many, many possible awesome builds. I know I didn't mention even close to all of them, and I'm sure there's even more that I'm probably not aware of! All of the ways you can build a character in BG2 is one of the reasons I love it so much! I hope this thread will be helpful for others!

BG2:

Barbarian/Cleric: simialr to ranger/cleric but without druid spells and more melee power.

Sorcerer: due to the way they were, let say, hacked into AD&D they are simply more powerful than wizards, because some features that balance these classes are missing. And arcane casters are the most powerful class in D&D, as soon as you reach a certain level at least. Being able to spam all kinds of high level and later even epic spells makes this the most powerful class, if you chosse the right spells.

I remember one twinked out sorcerer build heavily reliant on items, especialy from the Collector's Editon. It had such low strengh that it couldn't wield weapons without a belt of strengh, but with some other extras it could chaingun spells with impunity. By the end of ToB it could singlehandedly kill major bosses.

Well, a monk could singlehandedly kill bosses too. I remember my first playthrough was as a monk, and I didn't even appreciate what a badass that character was until almost the end of ToB. That damned half dragon guarding Abazigal's fortress wiped the floor with me several times before I, in desperation, tried quivering palm. Boom, dead.

I am surprised that the king of slicing the most powerful enemies in the game hasnt been mentioned.

Undead Hunter

Now i love my stealthy character classes, but this was the first actual character that could tackle the game for me. Undead hunters are immune to hold, level drain and are paladins, making them almost the kings of the second game and decent mage killers. Overall, not a bad choice for a novice player.

I agree that Undead Hunter is a great class. I personally prefer Inquisitor, myself. I can't count how many times their instant cast Dispel Magic made my day while ruining some mage's. Or dragon's. Or anything else with a bunch of magic buffs.

Assassins- one of my favorite classes. Only 15 thief points will hurt you in the beginning, but by around level 20 you will have all you need anyway. Their poison is amazing against mages, as it practically prevents them from casting spells.
*Note- I recommend the mod Rogue Rebalencing if you are using any thief class. very good mod*

I've just found out that a plain Berserker Kit on a Fighter works wonders - you're immune to a ton of nasty effects while berserking (including Imprisonment!), and it doesn't cause any nasty loss of control like other types of Rage might.

fighter/mage/thief
since having a shield equipped does not interfere with spellcasting, this character can get an insane amount of AC in later stages using evasion (beyond -30 iirc).

he can also buff himself with improved haste and can vanish from sight easily through the use of invisibility (wear an item that reduces casting times!) for repeated backstabs in mid-combat.

I'm currently going to try out a Swashbuckler/Mage dual class. I know the Kensai/Mage is the most common combination, but I reckon the bonuses to AC from the Swashbuckler coupled with the Thief skills make him more well-rounded: you essentially get a Fighter/Thief in one and then get to dual over to Mage. Also, due to the thieves needing less experience per level you can get your Swashbuckler up to level 10 (where you get the second bonus to AC) in BG1 before dual classing him over at the start of BG2 to Mage, eating a few scrolls to get you started along the way.

Actually a swashbuckler/mage is a wellrounded character. I've played it before and its powerful. Just remember since you will not be backstabbing, you can put some points into detect illusions to make the character a mage killer too. Saved me a number of times.

Cheers, I was considering whether to put points into Detect Illusions actually, sounds juicy! Did you bother to stick any points in two weapon fighting by the way? Or did you just stick to single weapons since you don't get many proficiency points anyway?

Twoweapon fighting for both bg1 and 2. However, if you are playing bg1tutu or trilogy, and are starting up then 1 in the weapon so you dont suffer any disadvantages, and 1 in two weapon fighting. At lvl 4 you put the other in two weapon fighting and at lvl 8 you should be specialized. The reason you do this instead of all in weapon or all in two weapon is that you wont be lvl 4 for a little while so you need to be able to fight at least a bit. In baldurs gate 2 this is not a problem as you start at level 8 so 2 and 2.

Swashbucklers are good in both games, though i would gather are better in bg2.

So, do you guys dual class as human, or multi class as a different race?

I don't know if I should ask this here, but would a half-elf ranger/cleric be "unfair" to use starting in BG1? And what weapons should I drop points into? I was thinking flail and mace.