I soloed Baldurs Gate 1 and 2 as a single class fighter, and a ranger. Is it possible for a fighting class to solo Icewind Dale 1 and will there be a class that is better at it. I usually like single classes rather than munchkinized multi class characters.

I had a load of fun slaying sarevok in BG 1 with my fighter who was buffed into a god. Is the Dale any different?

It can be - and has been - done, but will be tough as nails. A class that's better at it? For single class, I'm not sure. Maybe a Paladin. Possibly a Cleric or Druid?

What about a ranger? You can use studded leather armor to sneak past minor swarms to get to the good stuff. Plus you can always put on heavy armor when fighting gets rough. Eventually get spells as well. I did the last game Bg1 EE with a fighter. The key was just getting an item or potion that gave me invisibility. From there I used it once a day sparingly when i really needed it. Im not sure that an item like that exists in this game.

I soloed IWD almost to the end with a Cleric but then abandoned the game for some reason.
I'd guess Paladin would work fine as well. Wasn't really terribly hard at all, the very end might have been.

A lot of theoretically tough situations were a piece of cake.
5 levels higher than expected means "turn undead" is a weapon of mass destruction, and there's a lot of undead.

I took a few fighter levels at first to get more weapon proficiencies but I don't think that was necessary,
actually made the "between classes" bit a real tough one. Sleep for a few weeks between fights.

Pure fighter would be hell, lots of ghouls freezing you or things thad do poison.

Hmmm, can't recall offhand now if there's a ring of invisibility in the game, but there are potions. As for the Ranger, yeah sure. I imagine you can solo the game with pretty much any class. I generally don't use Rangers in the game since I don't find they have great perks. They do get an extra attack if they have no shield equipped though, so that's a plus. Their spells are gained fairly late so not so great.

The game can be soloed with a fighter. Make sure to have 18/00 str, maxed dex and con. 15+ cha grants all dialogue options, more cha lowers shop prices even more.
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Even at level 30 you can't have grandmastery in more than 2 weapon types so choose wisely. (I picked longswords and slings for soloing a gnome fighter).

Paladin or Ranger would be easier because of the extra options available.

I soloed the game with a Ranger. Keep in mind that Rangers get one extra attack with long swords in IWD1. It's a pretty huge advantage throughout the game.

It's actually an extra attack with any melee weapon as long as there's no shield equipped. Not just longswords.

I didn't remember that (frankly it's been ages). Thanks for clearing that up.

Isn't it just for one-handed weapons, maybe even only for one-handed swords? I believe I read that in the manual, though god knows whether that was implemented.

Nope. The manual lies. It's for any melee weapon.

Coelocanth told me the same thing not too long ago. In the manual, it states long and short swords get the bonus but any melee weapon get's it as long as you're not using a shield. Throwing axes set to melee and fists also get this bonus.

The manual also states that fighters should carry a dagger as a backup weapon. Maybe that's true for PnP but not for this game.

The manual also has some incorrect spell descriptions but I forget which ones.

Yeah, the manual lies

I thought as much. Black Isle was never reknowned for its manuals' quality.