I would rank all of the Arcane classes in this manner: I rank the Conjurer, the Wild Mage, and the Sorcerer in the "Awesome Tier." They had their flaws, but their awesomeness far outweighed them. Note: The Wild Mage is a no-no if you intend to play with a no-save/no-reload rule. But Assuming you are OK with a reload when you get the occasional game-ending Wild Surge, I would recommend just living with the bad results. The class will become powerful enough to almost break the game from the mid-game onwards. Classes in this tier should be at the top of your choices when playing "Insane," and "LoB" difficulties. Next, into what you call the "You Are Gonna Have Fun Tier," I would put the Necromancer at the top of it, followed by the Enchanter. Both have massive weaknesses, but the -2 to enemy saves vs. their schools is really nice since most of their spells require enemy saves. These are perfectly safe in "insane" difficulty. But they may suffer in LoB though, especially the Necro, who loses out on some crucial defensive spells. Next, I would put the Diviner in the lower end of the "You Are Gonna Have Fun Tier." The Diviner loses out on the crucial Conjuration School, but it's still able to cast all the defensive spells a mage needs to survive, so it's very durable. And if you pair it with a Conjurer, or a Wild Mage, or a Generic Mage, then you have access to every Mage spell available. The Invoker, the Generic Mage, the Skald, and the Blade follow through. Great classes; The Invoker is a powerhouse if you play in lower difficulty tiers thanks to spells like Fireball, and the like. But it loses out massively as you ramp up the difficulty. The Invoker is my most recommended Arcane class for beginners who are likely going to be playing at the core rules. The Generic Mage doesn't get the +1 spell slot per level or the -2 to enemy saves to any schools, but his ability to cast ANY Mage spell minus the 2 Wild Mage-only ones is really, REALLY sweet. It is another great class for beginners. The Skald can assist in minor spells, casting up to spell Lv 6 while boosting the party with his songs. The Blade would play like a Fighter-Mage till he gets the epic bard song, which at that stage will play like a mixture of a Skald and a Fighter-Mage, a really interesting class for sure. These classes are safe in both Insane and LoB difficulties, with the exception of the Invoker that loses out massively as you ramp the game up. In the "Challenging Classes," I would put the Illusionist at the top of the tier. The only advantage you really will notice is when he casts Lv1 Blind, and the extra spell per level is sweet, but sacrificing Necromancy? That's a really massive price to pay just for -2 to enemy saves bonus on just one spell. Still, I would choose Illusionist any time over the next classes; The Abjurer, and The Transmutter. Aside from role-play, I can't think of a single reason to play these two. It's really sad it works like this. The spells they lose out on are simply too important. Next in the tier is the Jester; this bard can weaken enemies with Confuse states, which can be awesome in BG1's lower difficulties but quickly gets relegated to insignificance as you ramp up difficulties. And finally, at the bottom, I would put the generic Bard. Quite frankly, only role-play should be your reason to bother with this. Choose any of the classes in this tier for your "Story Mode" playthrough.
The fuck!ive just decided to enjoy my first time conpleting bgee on xbox and found your videos. Im close to choose a mage for the journey and U just upload this video. Awesome
@@Redjoy123 Was going to ask the same question. Call me Boomer, but I have a hard time imagining this game with a gamepad, also, can we really live without mods, or at least portrait changes?
The wild mage has the most potential *by a country mile*. Instantaneaous casting of any known spell at the cost and speed of a level one spell? With improved alacrity? It's insane. Seriously. There is NO contest, But, it's not something you can use for a no-reload run, as on the lower levels your surges will suck so hard. Also, the Wild Mage needs some equipment from Neera's questlines. They're stupidly long, filled to the brim with annoying, unskippable cutscenes and they require Neera to be around.
An Invoker can't cast Greater Malison. Being able to launch a Greater Malison before ANY spell makes it substantially harder to resist for enemies. I would put Conjurer above Invoker because they only lose out on Divination (namely True Sight), which can be cast by any divine class, a specific gem, or the Book of Infinite Spells.
She's pretty good, though sadly is pitted against Edwin for top BG1 mage. Giving her Web twice and then giving Minsc Spiderbane (allowing for Free Action) then keeping everyone else at a distance isn't a bad strategy. Otherwise, Magic Missile and Shield combo works well too.
Diviner isn't as bad as the other two and I've had fun in a Diviner run. No, there's no portent but most Conjuration spells aren't missed (there are a few but not on par with stoneskin or haste!) It's not too bad a trade off if you don't want to play a Conjuror... again
I actually like a lot of Conjuration spells, especially since they range the gambit as far as the usefulness they have in and out of combat. I feel like if you want to create a character who is a Diviner, I think it would be far better to play as a normal mage focus on that as a role-playing element, just because the bonuses to saves and spell power isn’t super needed for Divination spells. As mentioned in the video, I think Diviners as a TTRPG class can be really cool! They just don’t really work very well for BGEE.
Man, I don't know, but I highly disagree with your worst pick. I would put Transmuter as the worst, at least with Abjuration you can have spells like Protection from Magic Weapon and Spell Immunity that can get you out from a tough spot even if you don't have stone skin. And Slow and Haste can be used with secondary spellcasters. On the other hand Transmuter cant do anything against magic immune enemies, he can't break any of the mage protections, he can't lower resistance of MR enemies, so he is effectively USELESS against some of the hardest enemies in the game. But I do agree that Abjuration, Divination and Transmutation are in the bottom of the tier who.
I think you make a good point but I would also look at two other things. First, most fights in Baldur's Gates don't have magic thrown around. Maybe in ToB you start to get there but the majority of fights are little brawls with a bunch of joes with sticks or short swords or something hard hitting but not magical like trolls or golems; I would say in those circumstances I'd rather have a Transmuter with Stoneskin and casting Slow or Haste than Protection from Magical Weapons (but not by much). Second, Abjurers have nothing regarding Saves while a Transmuter does have Slow that requires a Save (as well as Flesh to Stone and Disintegration, but I wouldn't cast those), which is why I think a Transmuter gets a tiny bit more out of specialization than an Abjurer does. But yeah, Diviners suck too...
@@Malisa1990 Yeah, now I can absolutely see vice-versa with different conditions or with different circumstances. I can easily see someone who would rather pick up an Abjurer over a Transmuter, but they both are going to have a very difficult game.
I would rank all of the Arcane classes in this manner:
I rank the Conjurer, the Wild Mage, and the Sorcerer in the "Awesome Tier." They had their flaws, but their awesomeness far outweighed them. Note: The Wild Mage is a no-no if you intend to play with a no-save/no-reload rule. But Assuming you are OK with a reload when you get the occasional game-ending Wild Surge, I would recommend just living with the bad results. The class will become powerful enough to almost break the game from the mid-game onwards. Classes in this tier should be at the top of your choices when playing "Insane," and "LoB" difficulties.
Next, into what you call the "You Are Gonna Have Fun Tier," I would put the Necromancer at the top of it, followed by the Enchanter. Both have massive weaknesses, but the -2 to enemy saves vs. their schools is really nice since most of their spells require enemy saves. These are perfectly safe in "insane" difficulty. But they may suffer in LoB though, especially the Necro, who loses out on some crucial defensive spells.
Next, I would put the Diviner in the lower end of the "You Are Gonna Have Fun Tier." The Diviner loses out on the crucial Conjuration School, but it's still able to cast all the defensive spells a mage needs to survive, so it's very durable. And if you pair it with a Conjurer, or a Wild Mage, or a Generic Mage, then you have access to every Mage spell available. The Invoker, the Generic Mage, the Skald, and the Blade follow through. Great classes; The Invoker is a powerhouse if you play in lower difficulty tiers thanks to spells like Fireball, and the like. But it loses out massively as you ramp up the difficulty. The Invoker is my most recommended Arcane class for beginners who are likely going to be playing at the core rules. The Generic Mage doesn't get the +1 spell slot per level or the -2 to enemy saves to any schools, but his ability to cast ANY Mage spell minus the 2 Wild Mage-only ones is really, REALLY sweet. It is another great class for beginners. The Skald can assist in minor spells, casting up to spell Lv 6 while boosting the party with his songs. The Blade would play like a Fighter-Mage till he gets the epic bard song, which at that stage will play like a mixture of a Skald and a Fighter-Mage, a really interesting class for sure. These classes are safe in both Insane and LoB difficulties, with the exception of the Invoker that loses out massively as you ramp the game up.
In the "Challenging Classes," I would put the Illusionist at the top of the tier. The only advantage you really will notice is when he casts Lv1 Blind, and the extra spell per level is sweet, but sacrificing Necromancy? That's a really massive price to pay just for -2 to enemy saves bonus on just one spell. Still, I would choose Illusionist any time over the next classes; The Abjurer, and The Transmutter. Aside from role-play, I can't think of a single reason to play these two. It's really sad it works like this. The spells they lose out on are simply too important. Next in the tier is the Jester; this bard can weaken enemies with Confuse states, which can be awesome in BG1's lower difficulties but quickly gets relegated to insignificance as you ramp up difficulties. And finally, at the bottom, I would put the generic Bard. Quite frankly, only role-play should be your reason to bother with this. Choose any of the classes in this tier for your "Story Mode" playthrough.
The fuck!ive just decided to enjoy my first time conpleting bgee on xbox and found your videos. Im close to choose a mage for the journey and U just upload this video. Awesome
That is awesome! I'm happy to have helped in my little way!
Tell me, how do you like BGEE on Xbox?
@@Redjoy123 Was going to ask the same question. Call me Boomer, but I have a hard time imagining this game with a gamepad, also, can we really live without mods, or at least portrait changes?
The wild mage has the most potential *by a country mile*. Instantaneaous casting of any known spell at the cost and speed of a level one spell? With improved alacrity? It's insane. Seriously. There is NO contest,
But, it's not something you can use for a no-reload run, as on the lower levels your surges will suck so hard. Also, the Wild Mage needs some equipment from Neera's questlines. They're stupidly long, filled to the brim with annoying, unskippable cutscenes and they require Neera to be around.
An Invoker can't cast Greater Malison. Being able to launch a Greater Malison before ANY spell makes it substantially harder to resist for enemies. I would put Conjurer above Invoker because they only lose out on Divination (namely True Sight), which can be cast by any divine class, a specific gem, or the Book of Infinite Spells.
Very good and informative video!
Thank you so much! I'm happy you liked it!
As a new player, Dynaheir was my only wizard so far, and she was a fantastic evoker
She's pretty good, though sadly is pitted against Edwin for top BG1 mage. Giving her Web twice and then giving Minsc Spiderbane (allowing for Free Action) then keeping everyone else at a distance isn't a bad strategy. Otherwise, Magic Missile and Shield combo works well too.
Diviner isn't as bad as the other two and I've had fun in a Diviner run. No, there's no portent but most Conjuration spells aren't missed (there are a few but not on par with stoneskin or haste!) It's not too bad a trade off if you don't want to play a Conjuror... again
I actually like a lot of Conjuration spells, especially since they range the gambit as far as the usefulness they have in and out of combat. I feel like if you want to create a character who is a Diviner, I think it would be far better to play as a normal mage focus on that as a role-playing element, just because the bonuses to saves and spell power isn’t super needed for Divination spells.
As mentioned in the video, I think Diviners as a TTRPG class can be really cool! They just don’t really work very well for BGEE.
Man, I don't know, but I highly disagree with your worst pick. I would put Transmuter as the worst, at least with Abjuration you can have spells like Protection from Magic Weapon and Spell Immunity that can get you out from a tough spot even if you don't have stone skin. And Slow and Haste can be used with secondary spellcasters. On the other hand Transmuter cant do anything against magic immune enemies, he can't break any of the mage protections, he can't lower resistance of MR enemies, so he is effectively USELESS against some of the hardest enemies in the game. But I do agree that Abjuration, Divination and Transmutation are in the bottom of the tier who.
I think you make a good point but I would also look at two other things. First, most fights in Baldur's Gates don't have magic thrown around. Maybe in ToB you start to get there but the majority of fights are little brawls with a bunch of joes with sticks or short swords or something hard hitting but not magical like trolls or golems; I would say in those circumstances I'd rather have a Transmuter with Stoneskin and casting Slow or Haste than Protection from Magical Weapons (but not by much). Second, Abjurers have nothing regarding Saves while a Transmuter does have Slow that requires a Save (as well as Flesh to Stone and Disintegration, but I wouldn't cast those), which is why I think a Transmuter gets a tiny bit more out of specialization than an Abjurer does.
But yeah, Diviners suck too...
@@Redjoy123 I assume you are talking without SCS in mind on Impossible difficulty? Then Transmuters would be better I suppose.
@@Malisa1990 Yeah, now I can absolutely see vice-versa with different conditions or with different circumstances. I can easily see someone who would rather pick up an Abjurer over a Transmuter, but they both are going to have a very difficult game.