That's exactly what I said, if you had taken the time to read it. Kensai have bad AC, therefore when AC matters, kensai are inferior to a normal fighter.

If you actually read what I wrote, my point isn't that kensai don't have the same strength and weapon bonuses, since they obviously do.
My point is that strength and weapon bonuses that any warrior class gets are high enough to make the small to hit and damage bonuses you get as a kensai more or less insignificant.
When you're fighting an enemy with 0 AC, and your plain fighter already has a modified THAC 0 of 1 or less, the bonus to hit of a kensai is useless. And that happens a lot after the start of BG 2.


What. Why? I don't need to play as a particular class to know how good it is, using an NPC works just as well fyi. I've never played as an inquisitor either, since I don't like paladins, but from having Keldorn in my party I know they're pretty much overpowered, making any fights against spellcasters trivial.
And from having Chloe in my party, I know kensai just aren't very good. Not that I couldn't tell that just from reading the class description.

You're judging a class based off Chloe, an NPC mod? You realize she has terribly bad THAC0 and damage due to her low strength, right? And have you tried Spirit Armor with the Ring of Gaxx and Earth Ring before? Super low AC, about as low as you could expect from a standard fighter of the same level that wears Full Plate Mail.

On top of that, Kai maximizes damage, as I've stated. With two magic weapons and grand-mastery in said weapons, you can do well over 80 damage at just level 10-12 PER ROUND. And they only get better.

Not to mention the biggest argument that was made was their bad AC is all related to BG1. In BG1 AC matters so little it hurts; the lowest you can go is roughly -2 to -3, and that AC only really matters against bosses and tough mobs, most of which you'd have already buffed up for and are ready to chunk them to death in seconds.

I don't know where you could possibly get the idea that Kensai is a bad class when you haven't fully experienced one that isn't bad, i.e. created by you, the player.

Don't forget the Shield Amulet, which gives a base AC 4 and a +2 missile AC bonus, has 50 charges and can be recharged pretty cheaply and acquired quite early. You don't even need to keep it equipped. That should take care of your AC needs for most of the game, and you can save your Potions of Defense for boss fights.