(hmm seems I can't change titles or pm people anymore...)

*coughs* ahem! Hoping to get a quick answer to a nagging question I yet again can't for the life of me find a non EE answer to, and well in general.

Curious about proficiency in BG I (using TuTu, but only for graphics, and used a mod to change the color to original) for a fighter/thief.

Is sword and shield style worth putting anything into at all?

I'm a half-elf, I only use fighter/thief for the ability to detect traps/open things, nothing else, and I prfer to be a front line fighter otherwise,
(on that does anyone know how much to put into locks for candlekeep chest/general?@@)

Proficiency otherwise, I'm really wondering if I should again go sword and shield, or duel wield or even two-handed? BGI (only BGI+the expansion bought on gog, no SoA)

and since TuTu causes a weapon split, it's been recommend to go long sword+war hammer for BGI, does that sound about right?

pardon babble, so many questions so many answers I'm unable to find x.x

Thank you for any help and your time,
~Erithan

If I remember correctly, there is no weapon style proficiency in the original BG 1.
If Tutu gives that, a shield give penalty to thieving abilities. So it is probably the worst style.
You can do dual wield or two-handed without any restriction.
Long sword and war hammer are among the best choices.

From what I can tell, and I dislike the fact, it does sadly split just the "sword" category etc into specific types.
The only other I've gleamed from trying to find answers is I guess tutu doesn't effect the shields(or does?) they give no penalty.

Duel wield it is!, with maybe a pip in 2 handed *thinks*

Now to figure out thief stats for lockpicking/trap detecting.

Thank you again! (you know it surprises me no one ha made a purely cosmetic patch for BG I o.o)

The Tweak Pack has a component that restores proficiencies to their Baldur's Gate 1 categories, with an option for whether combat style proficiencies are available.

Will have to look into that, thank you!

You have only 4 proficiency points at start, and 2 more later.
If you go dual wield, 2 in one weapon, 2-3 in dual wielding, and you have only 1-2 left.
BTW, the best weapon in the game is a scimitar, but you probably will not get it.

There is also a special cursed Long Sword that might be useful if you can get 20 Constitution. However, that weapon is useless offensively and it can't be unequipped without Remove Curse.

In original BG1, absolutely yes. In TuTu, no.

Thank you everyone, side note can't find the mod that just lets you use the graphics without mixing bgII rules into BG I @.x

Ah well! Playing for the story really, I'll survive XD

Thank you again all!

In BG1 I wouldn't bother with dualwielding, for surviving shields yield better AC and for killing bows do more damage.

Bows are less effective in TuTu because of the increased walking speed. There is a tweak in the Tweak Pack (labeled BETA) that restores the Baldur's Gate 1 walking speed, but using it might make the game more annoying to play, especially when you need to get from one end of town to the other.

On the other hand, you still get things like Detonation Arrows and other nice ammo you don't get in the sequel.

Would you suggest then only long sword to duel? Or longsword/war hammer (or schim, pretty sure I know which one is hinted at ahah)

Apologies for all the questions!, I'm kinda going about playing Bg I in an odd way/manner. Could never get into it way back@@ So I'm more used to BG II

With a simple non-magical composite long bow and non-magical arrows you can get 2.5 attacks per round for 5-10 damage each from the beginning, killing most monsters even before they get close.

Full plate is better than studded leather by 6 AC versus crushing and even by 8 AC vs the three other other damage types, so fighter/thief doesn't work well for tanking unless you're going to switch armor each time you want to use your thieving skills and put on heavy armor afterwards for the next fight.

The combination of bow and dualwielding or wearing a shield also requires entering the inventory during combat for switching between melee and ranged which is annoying, breaks the immersion and feels like cheating.

For most fun I'd specialize in long bows and long swords at creation and put the points gained at level up into single weapon style for the AC bonus or a blunt weapon type for flexibility.

Two-handed weapons like quarterstaff or two handed swords work also well together with bows.

Going with a shield is also possible, slings or darts don't do as much damage as bows but you have better AC.

I'd avoid dualwielding, you have to walk across the screen and stand on your enemies toes for attacking which reduces the damage output on the long run more than the little theoretical extra damage done with your off-hand and even if you want to tank the AC bonus from single weapon style or a shield will make you last longer which is more important.

Yes, fighter/thief for the ability to detect traps/open things is a bad idea. Your first companion can do that quite well. You have to change your armor constantly for that.

For comparison, a ranger/cleric allows full access to divine spells, without any armor restriction. And you even get more hit points. The cost is you cannot use bows or long swords.