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Baldur's Gate seriesBG2: Anyone use sheilds for their PC?(28 posts)(28 posts)
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Posted April 14, 2015
Depends on the magic bonus and effects a shield confers. There are some ridiculously outstanding magic shields in BG2.

If your character has nothing else better to do with their free hand a shield is a given no matter what bonus it may provide.

But in general the benefits to equiping a non-magical shield are negligible. The offensive focus provided by two-handed weapons or one handed weapon proficiency trump the minimal defensive bonus(es) provided by non-magic shields any day.

Shields are good for front-line clerics.
Posted April 14, 2015
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KingCrimson250: Not really. Bucklers give you a universal +1 bonus to all your different ACs, then apply a -1 penalty to your AC against Missile and Piercing weapons - which means against those types of weapons, you break even, because the -1 cancels out the +1.
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Hickory: Like I said, bucklers penalise the wearer vs. missile attacks.
Hmmm, okay, I may be misunderstanding you. I assumed by penalise the wearer, you meant that someone with a buckler actually is worse off vs missile attacks than someone with no shield at all (which, while false, is actually a pretty reasonable assumption, given the arcane nature of 2e to begin with combined with BG's sometimes strange implementation of the rules). If you meant that relative to other shields, they penalise the wearer, then yes. If you meant that there are some cases where no shield at all is better than a buckler, then no.
Posted April 14, 2015
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KingCrimson250: If you meant that relative to other shields, they penalise the wearer, then yes.
Yes. They give +1 general AC and take it away again for missiles. In effect, a buckler has zero defense against missiles. It may not afford the same level of protection as a larger shield, and it may not be it's primary purpose, but it still has greater chance of deflecting missiles than no protection at all.
Posted April 15, 2015
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eVinceW21: Shields are good for front-line clerics.
Shields are good for any cleric, from a casting-oriented one like Aerie to a potential front-liner like Anomen. Most of a cleric's potential weapons are one-handed, and a cleric can't be a proficient dual-wielder. The only exception is if you want to use a quarterstaff (which is a good weapon for Jaheira, for instance).

Clerics are basically the only class for whom a shield is really ideal, though. A shield is also a good choice for a Fighter who specializes in a one-handed weapon and doesn't dual wield, like Mazzy or (I think?) Korgan, but a player-character is less likely to use that combination of skills.
Posted April 16, 2015
I have played BG2 about 20 times and never used shield on my PC. But then, I never played pure fighter or cleric anyways. Korgan with axe + saving grace rocks as a tank. As NotJabba already pointed out, shield is also ideal for clerics (Anomen, Viconia - a good shield is especially important on her due to her abysmal HP pool).
Posted April 17, 2015
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eVinceW21: Shields are good for front-line clerics.
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NotJabba: Shields are good for any cleric, from a casting-oriented one like Aerie to a potential front-liner like Anomen. Most of a cleric's potential weapons are one-handed, and a cleric can't be a proficient dual-wielder. The only exception is if you want to use a quarterstaff (which is a good weapon for Jaheira, for instance).

Clerics are basically the only class for whom a shield is really ideal, though. A shield is also a good choice for a Fighter who specializes in a one-handed weapon and doesn't dual wield, like Mazzy or (I think?) Korgan, but a player-character is less likely to use that combination of skills.
Anomen rocks with a shield. He's strong enough to take the vanguard too. Shields hamper Aerie's arcane spells.

Does using a shield negate the bonus for single weapon proficiency?
Posted April 17, 2015
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eVinceW21: Shields hamper Aerie's arcane spells.
No they don't. Shields have absolutely no bearing on spellcasting. That's the bane of armour, not shields.

Does using a shield negate the bonus for single weapon proficiency?
In effect. They cancel each other out. You can have, for example, +2 bonus with single weapon, or +2 bonus with a shield, but not +4 for both. Just tested.
Posted April 17, 2015
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eVinceW21: Shields hamper Aerie's arcane spells.
Do they? I've been using a shield with her for a while and haven't noticed any problems.

(Edit: Never mind, Hickory already answered this.)
Post edited April 17, 2015 by NotJabba
Posted April 17, 2015
Tricky question.

Yes for Baldur's Gate, albeit mostly as backup because bows are much better before you can rock some serious gear. I always have a sword & board setup in one of the secondary weapon configurations if melee can't be avoided.

Definite no with some emphasis for Shadows of Amn where not becoming hit simply goes away as a concern for various reasons already stated. Beholders can be just as easily cheesed with the Cloak of Reflection. ;)
Posted April 19, 2015
If I were to ever play a priest I would use the Shield of Harmony, which allows the user to keep all of his/her mental faculties intact amidst enemy spellcasters firing mind-blowing spells at the party. My reasoning is that priests usually have a lot of protection spells which can free my allies who got confused, stunned, etc.

But I never do go the divine caster route, which is why Viconia, Jaheira, or Aerie always gets it. I figure that having one of them gain extra AC and keep a sound mind could potentially save the party by casting Remove Fear, Dispel Magic, etc.

Aerie with the Robe of Venca and Shield of Harmony makes for a pretty awesome party member, IMO.
Posted April 19, 2015
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DCC74: If I were to ever play a priest I would use the Shield of Harmony, which allows the user to keep all of his/her mental faculties intact amidst enemy spellcasters firing mind-blowing spells at the party. My reasoning is that priests usually have a lot of protection spells which can free my allies who got confused, stunned, etc.

But I never do go the divine caster route, which is why Viconia, Jaheira, or Aerie always gets it. I figure that having one of them gain extra AC and keep a sound mind could potentially save the party by casting Remove Fear, Dispel Magic, etc.

Aerie with the Robe of Venca and Shield of Harmony makes for a pretty awesome party member, IMO.
I always spec Jaheira to dual wield (with Belm in the off-hand). It takes a while with those proficiencies but once you get them finished it's quite a spectacle, especially with the upgraded Club of Detonation. Just make sure your party is wearing some fire-fighter gear. ;)

Using her with a shield is a bit of a waste of her fighting prowess, especially considering her druid spells (like Iron Skin).
Posted April 19, 2015
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DCC74: If I were to ever play a priest I would use the Shield of Harmony, which allows the user to keep all of his/her mental faculties intact amidst enemy spellcasters firing mind-blowing spells at the party. My reasoning is that priests usually have a lot of protection spells which can free my allies who got confused, stunned, etc.

But I never do go the divine caster route, which is why Viconia, Jaheira, or Aerie always gets it. I figure that having one of them gain extra AC and keep a sound mind could potentially save the party by casting Remove Fear, Dispel Magic, etc.

Aerie with the Robe of Venca and Shield of Harmony makes for a pretty awesome party member, IMO.
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ghosterl: I always spec Jaheira to dual wield (with Belm in the off-hand). It takes a while with those proficiencies but once you get them finished it's quite a spectacle, especially with the upgraded Club of Detonation. Just make sure your party is wearing some fire-fighter gear. ;)

Using her with a shield is a bit of a waste of her fighting prowess, especially considering her druid spells (like Iron Skin).
I will do as you described if I have no other divine caster. However, I usually have either one or both of those other elven ladies, for the reasons I stated. They can help get the party out of serious trouble with their spells.

My last playthrough I finally gave Jaheira some points in club as well as scimitar, so yeah, she got that fire-bombing club along with the Spectral Brand. Throw on a strength belt and she's a pretty awesome tank.

If she does rock the Shield of Harmony, though, she gets one of the enchanted slings with enchanted bullets, and can do 20+ points of damage with each hit. So, pretty much, Jaheira rocks.
Post edited April 19, 2015 by DCC74
Posted April 20, 2015
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DCC74: If she does rock the Shield of Harmony, though, she gets one of the enchanted slings with enchanted bullets, and can do 20+ points of damage with each hit. So, pretty much, Jaheira rocks.
That she does. :D
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Baldur's Gate seriesBG2: Anyone use sheilds for their PC?(28 posts)(28 posts)
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