Character Creation — Superclasses
Here are the descriptions of the 4 superclasses, including their backgrounds and their basic strengths and weaknesses. This page is rather general and vague, as it is intended mainly to give only the rough outlines of how each of the superclasses function in an adventuring party. The more precise information is located on the pages for each specific class, which are accessible via the links on this page.
 | Warriors: These are the backbone of a strong party, the workhorses who kill off the vast majority of foes. Their combat stats are better than anyone else's, by far: Their THAC0, ApR, hitpoints, and Saving Throws easily top those of a non-Warrior (of a similar EXP level). They can put a greater number of proficiency points into a given weapon than other classes can, and they also gain new proficiencies at a faster rate. In general, Warriors can wear almost any type of armor or shield, use any type of weapon, and drink any kind of potion. They are useful (very useful) as the meatgrinders of the party, but have little scope beyond that. That doesn't mean you should regard them as mindless grunts, however; your Tank, for one, frequently requires intense micromanaging, and he's almost guaranteed to be a Warrior. The Warrior superclass is made up of three classes: The Fighter, the Paladin, and the Ranger. (The in-game Character Creation process lists the Barbarian as a separate class, but this is actually false: The internal game engine has the Barbarian down as a kit of the Fighter, and so it is described as such in this Guide.) |
| Priests: With the exception of the Monk (who only falls into the Priest superclass on a technicality), Priests are the divine spellcasters of the party. They are allowed spellcasting powers by their chosen deity, who listens to their prayers and grants them blessings in proportion to their abilities and the intensity of their faith. These spells are very versatile, with a good mix of offensive and defensive power, and most parties are made stronger by the inclusion of a good Priest (particularly in regard to being able to heal injured party members). All Priest spells are learned automatically, at the moment that a Priest reaches the level at which he is first able to cast them. There are three kinds of Priest spells: Those learned by Clerics, those learned by Druids, and a shared set that is available to both classes. Priests are the "second-best" in terms of combat stats—nowhere near as good as Warriors, but they can hold their own in a pinch. All Priests have some severe restrictions on what types of weapons they are allowed to use, and depending on their class they are barred from certain types of armor as well. The Priest classes are the Monk, the Cleric, and the Druid. |  |
 | Rogues: As far as combat stats are concerned, Rogues fall close behind Priests in their effectiveness. They cannot wear heavy armors, helmets, or most shields, but their weapon selection is pretty broad. They gain EXP levels more rapidly than any other class in the game, and in general are the cunning tricksters of the party, able to adapt themselves to most situations, and not terribly interested in abiding wholly by the law. Apart from these similarities, the two Rogue classes—the Bard and the Thief—are very different in terms of ethos, and therefore are described further only on their separate pages. |
| Wizards: These are the frail old men who can blow your face off with a mere wave of their hands. Wizard spells are both more powerful and (although they lack healing spells) more varied than those of Priests. Wizard spells are not handed down from some god, but rather meticulously researched and created by experienced archmages, and younger Wizards who follow in their wake require large amounts of patience and concentration in order to learn the spells for themselves. It is this ability to decipher the runes and jargon of arcane magic that enable Wizards to supplement their own spellcasting (from memory) by casting additional spells directly from scrolls, even in the heat of battle. The downsides to this power surge, however, are numerous: Wizards' combat stats come in at a laughably distant fourth, they can wear almost no armor, and can carry only the very simplest weapons. The nature of their abilities makes them very useful when facing difficult foes, but due to their limited number of spellslots they cannot contribute their magic to most rank-and-file engagements, and are limited mainly to standing by and attempting to exercise their feeble combat skills. The two classes that comprise the Wizard superclass are the Mage and the Sorcerer. |  |
Q: "What's the best class?"
A: There isn't one. What would be the point of offering all these choices and options in character-building, if there really was only ONE "best" class? Almost all classes, kits, and class combinations can be built into very potent characters—in fact, the only truly bad choices are the Wizard Slayer and the Beast Master, as BioWare really dropped the ball on those. Truthfully, though, some classes, kits, and class combinations are more powerful than others. The strongest, of course, are quite popular, and are suggested all the time whenever somebody jumps onto a forum to ask "What's the best class?". So if building the absolute, very "best" character is that important to you, and you don't mind being universally recognized as a rather unimaginative powergamer, go ahead and make a Human Kensai, Dual-classed to Mage at Level 13 . . . just like everybody else.
Q: "Well, then, what class should I be?"
A: Whatever floats your boat. Read through the descriptions of the superclasses, then the classes, and finally the kits (if you're playing BG2), and go with whatever Description sounds like the most fun to you. Just avoid the Wizard Slayer and Beast Master, and you'll be fine. It's generally a good idea (while you're still getting a feel for the game, at least) to go with a kit that has little to no Disadvantages, or whose Disadvantages will not matter to your intended style of play—for example, the Berserker's relative nonproficiency with ranged weapons will have almost no effect at all a character who's going to be spending nearly the entire game in melee combat anyway.
Each class and kit has been given a Rating of how much fun it is to play, with a rating of 10 being "super awesome" and a rating of 1 being "about as entertaining as sucking on a paper bag." These numbers were obtained through polling some random users and are not the least bit scientific. The rating applies only to the class/kit itself, not any Dual- or Multi-class of it.
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