Melee Combat, Baldur's Gate 1 Original

Melee Combat, Baldur's Gate 1

Melee combat (mêlée) in Baldur's Gate 1 is close-quarters combat. Thus, one-handed weapon wielding, two-handed weapon wielding and hand-to-hand combat are modes of melee combat.

Melee combat is distinct from ranged combat (bows, crossbows, darts etc.).

This article is an overview of melee combat and tanking in the original Baldur's Gate 1. For the specifics of tanking and melee combat, please refer to:

• Fighter BG1
• Best Weapons Baldur's Gate
• ApR
• THAC0
• Armor Class

Tanking Baldur's Gate

The purpose of tanks is to attract the aggro and then absorb or mitigate damage so that squishy party members are free to cast arcane spells and fire projectiles from the back row.

Attracting the aggro is usually a fairly simple matter: just ensure the tank is the first party member of which the enemy catches sight;  blinded by hatred, they will then charge forth and futilely wail on the tank, foolishly ignoring the Mage BG1 and archers who are picking them apart from safe distance.

Of course, protecting our tank against the elements before we start bombarding the aggro with AoEs is a prudent measure. Xan BG1, for example, if he has the right equipment, can tank fireballs and the like by virtue of 130% fire resistance. Indeed, that means fire damage actually heals him.

Absorbing and mitigating damage isn't so simple; as a rule, tanks require a deep HP pool, negative AC and perhaps even buffs from the Illusion school to feel somewhat safe from the cruelty of the to-hit roll. In regard to defense, entry-level Regeneration doesn't factor in, the rate being too slow (1 HP per 6 turns).

Damage Reduction is unattainable until BG2. Thus, Illusions spells such as Mirror Image, Blur & Improved Invisibility are what we're after. For Fighter/Mage tanks, Mirror Image is awesome because each of the several images must first be "hit" before any damage can be inflicted on the caster.

In the early stages, fledgling tanks feel the RNG more acutely than other combat units who don't often "get amongst it". Thankfully, first level hit dice are maximized for both the PC and companions; after which only a solid Constitution bonus can offset unlucky HD rolls and ensure a reliable HP pool for those noble players who don't save-scum when leveling up.

It's (1d10 +5) * 8: warrior hit dice is 1d10 for an average of five HPs per level.

A Constitution score of 19 grants a bonus of +5 per level. So, that's about 80 HPs by eighth level, instilling some confidence when things heat up.

A high Dexterity score is also paramount; the bonus to natural AC stacking with a shiny set of Plate Mail (AC 3) and sturdy shield (AC bonus +1) for much-improved early survivability. Outfitted as such, the naturally-gifted Khalid sports an AC of 0 for respectable defense at first level and against bottom-feeder mobs with which many a map is populated.

Khalid: Base AC 10 - 2 (Dexterity 16 bonus to AC) - 7 (Plate Mail) - 1 (Medium Shield) = AC 0.

Last, but certainly not least, helmets are essential for negating the devastating double damage inflicted by critical hits. Yes, they look ugly! - make sure everyone who can wear one does so.

The most effective tanks - who can also melee with the best of 'em - are quite clearly Fighter Mages; their extremely low ACs (-20s) and access to Mirror Image allowing them to mitigate damage against the most formidable fighters known to Realmslore such a Sarevok and Drizzt Do'Urden.

Fighter (7) / Specialist (8) dual-classes are superior to Fighter (7) / Mage (7) multi-classes by virtue of:

• A notable increase in spell slots: : +1 first circle, +1 second circle, +2 third circle, +2 forth circle [5/4/4/3 vs. 4/3/2/1] by virtue of eight mage levels and being a Specialist) Gnome multi-classes receive the Specialist bonus (Illusionist)
• A deeper HP pool
• To-hit and damage bonuses granted by High Mastery (High Mastery dual-classes receive +2 to-hit and +2 dmg over multi-classes, who may only Specialize.)

The argument against duals is the dual downtime involved. "Dual downtime" means your seven fighter levels are put on hold as you work from mage first level to eighth (90,000 Exp).

Both multi-class and dual-class variants share the same attack rate (both receive +1/2 Attacks Per Round from seven warrior levels and +1/2 ApR from Specialization) and inability to reach fifth circle spells.

Players seeking the fifth circle should dual from fighter at fifth level; in so doing they forego +1/2 ApR, +1 dmg and two fighter HD but instead gain two fifth circle slots to load with Cloudkill, Monster Summoning III and Chaos etc.

So, the player just needs to decide if they want a "melee" or "spellcasting" tank.

The screencap above depicts a  Fighter / Conjurer dual-class effortlessly tanking two Battle Horrors by virtue of protective illusions (Mirror Image, Blur, Improved Invisibility) and Spirit Armor.

Despite being unable to cast illusions, conventional tanks (i.e, Khalid, Minsc, Kagain etc.) can still maintain solid defense over the course of the campaign (reaching AC -13 or so); they're just more reliant on equipment and assistance from buffers and healbots if they're to survive against the swarming mobs and aggro.

Dwarven tanks are particularly resilient: their high Constitution scores ensuring a deep HP pool and also granting a +1 bonus to Death, Wand and Spell saving throws for every 3.5 points in the score. Kagain's illegal Constitution score of 20 grants him Regeneration status (1 HPs per 6 turns), and a Dwarf PC with a score of 19 can then read the Manual of Bodily Health (Con +1) to be granted regen, too! Their deep HP pools will be healed during overworld travel and when resting (41 HPs over 8 hours), making regen a powerful perk for conventional tanks who take damage no matter what.

In addition, that 20 in Constitution means the saving throw bonus reaches a stubborn +5 (20 / 3.5 = 5.71, which BioWare rounds down), a remarkable boost against spell effects - especially in the early stages when everyone's likely to succumb to them.

The initial "one swing per round" of melee combat can sort of feel underwhelming at first (at least compared to archery's RoF), but specialized warriors finally gain two melee attacks by seventh level, which is 64,000 Exp for fighters and 75,000 Exp for slower-learning rangers and paladins. By that time, warrior archers are showing off with 3 ApR.

Despite having four proficiency points to spend in chargen, warriors may only spend a maximum of two points (i.e, Specialize) per weapon group (i.e, Large Swords) at that point. In melee attack terms, that's one base attack in the first round and then another "every other" round (1.5 ApR).

Unable to Specialize, and receiving no bonus ApR at seventh level, non-warriors who wield melee weapons are stuck with one base attack for their entire career - one reason why thieves prefer to fire bows and mages prefer to throw darts (for setting ApR to 2 & 3, respectively).

Still, by brandishing +2 or +3 melee weapons with percentile Strength, our grunts won't embarrass themselves alongside ranged specialists, and in cramped quarters they shine. For example, ranged attackers receive -4 to-hit in close quarters. Even the swings of two-handed weapons have no spatial restrictions; they also benefit from the "reach" perk that lets them attack an enemy from behind the tank.

Besides, a variety of Giant Strength potions are generously handed out campaign-wide, and even more reliably along the plot-critical path, to make up for the restricted quantities offered by Halbazzer at Sorcerous Sundries.

Players should find a couple dozen Potions of Hill, Stone, Frost, Fire, Cloud and Storm Giant Strength potions to set their strength score to 19-24 for ten delicious turns (24 Str = +6 to-hit & +12 dmg). Merchant-wise, Halbazzer offers three of each; Erdane five of Hill only.

Iron Taint Baldur's Gate

Melee units are forced to contend with an early plot-based mechanic which may seem cruel: that of non-magical iron weapons breaking in their hands as a result of the ore being tainted by Mulahey's minions in the Nashkel mines.

Vial of Mysterious Liquid and Contaminated Iron:

Binge-drinkers may have caught wind of the taint as early as the Prologue by asking Winthrop about rumors [BG1 rumors]; and other hints are thrown out here and there to foreshadow the problem.

Being an inattentive player, my first evidence of the taint was when my character started punching out gibberlings bare-fisted because my weapon had broken and was shown as mere shards in my inventory. (As an aside, fists are treated as non-lethal weapons, so the monster is just knocked unconscious and no experience is awarded. One upside is that, before robbing someone, you can punch them out so they can't report you to the authorities for theft, thereby incurring no reputation loss.)

Anyway, from that point on, I carried back-up blades or instead wielded wooden or ranged weapons, at least until the matter of Mulahey and the taint was resolved. Another option is just to seek out basic enchanted weapons (i.e, +1) from Thunderhammer Smithy in Beregost; presumably, they were forged before the tainting mischief began.

Melee Weapons Baldur's Gate

Taerom Thunderhammer offers the first fabled weapon a budding meleer is likely to set eyes on: the awesome Dagger of Venom which crowns Best Weapons Baldur's Gate, but it's prohibitively expensive at that point and we can't steal from Taerom for game balance reasons. (Assuming decent Charisma & Reputation, it still costs about 10,000 GP...)

Therefore, I see only two opportunities to acquire fabled wields in the early stages, both of which are rewards to rather involved and dangerous quests found in and around Beregost and Nashkel.

Respectively, these quests may yield - depending on how we solve them:

• Warhammer +2: Ashideena BG1 (to-hit +2, 1d4 +3, +1 electrical)
• Longsword +2: Varscona BG1 (to-hit +2, 1d8 +2, +1 cold)

These are wicked wields in a low level campaign.

Ashideena is effectively an end-game wield by virtue of the bludgeoning damage it inflicts to overcome monsters resistant or immune to slashing & piercing, such as skeletal undead.

The Cursed Two-handed Sword of Berserking +3 (to-hit +3, 1d10 +3, cursed: Berserk) is the only +3 melee weapon up for grabs early, but its curse renders it all but useless.

Another two-handed sword, Spider's Bane BG1 (to-hit +2, 1d10 +2, Free Action), deserves special mention for bestowing Free Action status on the wielder, thereby allowing our grunt to shrug off Hold Person and wade through Web.

It isn't the end of the world if meleers don't find such weapons: even Aec'Letec - the fiercest foe in the campaign - sports just non-magical weapon immunity, and +1 enchantment is common. Anyway, as is the case with many item types, the best offerings are handed out more generously, and are less likely to be overlooked, come Chapter Five and TotSC.

Overall, tanking and melee combat certainly seems more balanced than archery and arcane spell-casting, but all three modes of combat complement each other and can be highly effective when used in conjunction.

Next up: Baldur's Gate Ranged Combat.

Baldur's Gate 1 Original (Index) | Baldur's Gate 1 Review (Index).