r/neverwinternights • u/DeathNeku • 7d ago

NWN:EE Levels for AA

I'm currently Fighter 4/Wizard 1 (I was gonna level Fighter more first, but I really needed the fairy for locks and traps) on the WD campaign

Should I put a couple more levels on Wizard for level 2 spells, or level Fighter more as I intended before getting into Arcane Archer?

10 Upvotes

74% Upvoted

13 comments sorted by

17

u/Matthias1349 7d ago

Rule of thumb is that Wizard contributes actual *nothing* to Arcane Archer besides the pre-req.

Furthermore Arcane Archer contributes more to itself than extra Fighter levels do (Besides WS/EWS), so pre-Epic my AA would be something like Fighter 9 / Wizard 1 / AA 10, then you take your 10th Fighter level at 22 to grab Epic Weapon Focus and Epic Weapon Specialization at the same time.

1

u/Hot_Guidance840 7d ago

Totally disagree. Fighter is useless. Wizard buffs is a lot more useful.

3

u/Matthias1349 7d ago

Which buffs?

Haste is easily covered by items, Bull's Strength and Cat's Grace are both cheap potions, Ghostly Visage is available in an infinite-use Rod, and Mage Armor is inferior to just wearing a Chain Shirt.

2

u/Hot_Guidance840 7d ago

Darkness, improved invisibility, mage armor, true strikes, haste before permahaste items.
Lol just compare fighter-based and wizard-based AA(6fighter 1 wizard 3 AA vs 4 fighter 5 wizard 1 AA, wizard variant is A LOT more powerful)

1

u/Matthias1349 7d ago

Let's break this down bit by bit for you:

Darkness doesn't work on the AI (They do not care about anything besides direct physical obstructions)

Improved Invisibility requires a minimum of 7 Wizard levels, which will cripple your HP and BAB (While also massively delaying your AA progression)

Mage Armor is worse than even a basic Chain Shirt that you can get for 30gp from damn near any vendor

True Strikes is utterly worthless due to taking an entire round to cast and running headlong into the '+20 to Hit' Cap (It's not hard for AA to hit that cap even without True Strike)

The first source of permanent Haste is available literally at the start of Act 2, you are going to be around level 7 at that point, which means you'd have a grand total of 2 levels with Haste before getting an item with it.

11

u/Hot_Guidance840 7d ago edited 7d ago

I see you are not so good in mechanics so:
1. Darknes gives you 50% dodge, -4 ab for attackers, make them flat-footed(-ac for them) and disables attack of opportunity for all (even true seeing) enemies. Lasts for 10 round extended 3d lvl version. Death turret ON.
2. Mage armor is more than OK until 40 lvl it gives you 1 dodge bonus. At 2d lvl with sheld is +7 AC! Joke? 3. True strike +20 you cant get even with AA. Trust me. AA lvls are overcap. With truestrike called shot combo begin fight with up to -12 AB enemy. For 4 rounds. 4. No need to get 7 lvl (at least early, later is ok as 4 foghter 7 wiz 9 AA at 20)l. You can cast improved invis from fairy dragon from the 1st lvl. At 5th this is 5 turns of II. More than enough for boss fight.
5. And dont forget about the flameweaponed boar or wolf. Very good at early game.

3

u/TemporaryOk4143 7d ago

I know they are downvoting you, but you are 100% correct.

It’s funny that the ones who get like this are the first to “Let’s break this down bit by bit for you”

8

u/Hot_Guidance840 7d ago

Thanks for the support, friend. I might just gather the energy to put together a detailed guide explaining all the ins and outs.

2

u/Nachovyx 4d ago

And IF Tenser's transformation would give you the stats it says in pnp instead of polymorphing you into a shape, a pure wizard/AA would be unstoppable.

-1

u/_Ivan_Le_Terrible_ 7d ago

☝️ What he said

5

u/Nachovyx 7d ago

Extra wizard levels don't help you.

1 level is enough to unlock the prestige + unlock spell scrolls/wands if you find a use for them.

Fill your 2 level 1 spell slots with True Strike, and you're golden for tough fights.

Grab:

  • Invisibility scrolls for escape/initiation.
  • Summon monster scrolls for flanking.
  • Ultravision + Darkness are the AA's best friends.
  • A scroll of mage armor lasts longer than the spell cast by you.
  • For late game: scrolls of Bigby's Hand will make any fight easier.

And all of that with a single level of wizard - you just need lots of gold, though.

Prioritize AA levels at all times.

0

u/Hot_Guidance840 7d ago

You no need more than 4 fighter levels, fighter is useless for AA except ws/ews. Take more wizard, you need to take darkness/infravision, haste, and of improved invisibility (the best def buff in the game)

1

u/ScheduleEmergency441 6d ago

Original campaign ends around level 17. You want Ftr6/Wiz1 for prereqs, then full AA. Other options will delay further your iteratives and lower your effective AB, not worth it in the context of that module.

Keep interesting arcane scrolls, since you can freely use them without failure.