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during a battle.

6) Sorcerer

As a mix in class, adding sorcerer levels can make a warrior-based build into a more capable and flexible hero.  This is particularly true for a scout or a sniper-style fighter.  You will want to shoot for at least level four or level six for your sorcerer mix in; this gives you access to level two or level three spells, respectively.  In addition to the obvious direct damage spells, support and defensive spells like Mirror Image, Invisibility, Power Word: Sleep, Death
Armor, Ghost Armor, Haste, and Slow can give a warrior mage a substantial edge in melee combat.  Also, spell swords can take better advantage of certain offensive spells that pure spellcasters may be too fragile to use safely (e.g.,
Fire Shield).  Remember that you will need to wear little or no armor if you want to use your spells freely.

The reason to mix-in sorcerer over wizard is that you gain spells automatically and can cast them more often.  So, if there is a small selection of spells that you know you want to use, sorcerer is probably a better choice. However, you do have to wait a little longer to get the higher level spells.

7) Wizard

Most of what is described above for sorcerer also applies to wizard. The reason to prefer a wizard mix in is if you want to gain the higher level spells earlier or if you want the wider variety of spells that wizards have available (once they find the right scrolls).  Wizards also gain extra feats (one at first level, one at fifth level, and one every five levels thereafter).  Like those of fighters, these bonus feats can be used for any purpose.  The availability of third level spells (which include some time-honored workhorses like Fireball and
Haste) and the granting of a bonus feat make level five an excellent target level for mixing the wizard class in to a warrior-oriented spell sword build.

If you are going to mix in some wizard levels, you might want to consider starting the character as a wizard even if that won't be their primary class.
That gives you an extra feat right off and, more importantly, lets you select four level one spells that they will have in their spellbooks.  If you add a wizard level to a character once the game is in progress, they must learn all their spells from scrolls.

Elves have wizard as their favored class; look for opportunities to take advantage of their racial abilities (particularly the potential for 20 starting
Dexterity) for interesting multiclass builds that include wizard.  A couple that come to mind are a ranger/wizard who uses dual-equipped small blades, Weapon
Finesse, and close-combat spells, or a fighter/wizard sniper with extra magical firepower.

8) Cleric

A cleric mix-in can allow a character to provide low-level healer support.  Even a level three or level five cleric mix in will provide spells that remain useful throughout the game (Command, Doom, Remove Fear, Hold Person, Remove Paralysis,
Silence, Dispel Magic, and Prayer, just to name a few).   When mixing in cleric, be sure to choose an order with special abilities that augment those of the character's other class(es) (e.g., Mask for a cleric/thief, or Tempus or Helm for a cleric/fighter).

9) Druid

As mentioned under the initial discussion of druids, there are interesting spell sword opportunities afforded by mixing in the druid class.  One interesting thing to note is that although druids can't cast spells while shapeshifted, they can use special abilities.  This means that a barbarian/druid (for example), can use the Rage ability while in creature form.


IX) Abilities, Skills, and Feats

This section provides a bit of advice about allocating points to your abilities
(Strength, Dexterity, etc.), skills (Hide, Diplomacy, etc.), and feats (Power
Attack, Dodge, etc.).

A) Abilities

Unlike earlier games in the Baldur's Gate/Icewind Dale series, IWD2 has a fixed set of points that you can allocate to a starting character's abilities (no more staying up until 3 a.m trying to roll the perfect characters!).  On the other hand, the 3rd Edition D&D rules allow for characters to increase their abilities every four levels (whereas previously they were fixed in stone barring powerful magic).  Taken as a whole, this framework for ability point allocation rewards careful decision-making ("min-maxing" as it is sometimes referred to).

1) Strength

For any melee-oriented build, the more Strength the better.  Even Dex-based warrior builds gain extra damage and carrying capacity from Strength.  For non- warriors, it is rare that you will want to reduce Strength below eight, and anything below six can be very frustrating, since even basic robes and potions will bog a character down when their carrying capacity is so small.

2) Dexterity

Since Dexterity helps both Reflex saving throws and AC, it is useful for almost every possible build, with the possible exception of a heavy armor wearing tank.
For that build, a Dex of 12 is optimal (you get a +1 modifier, which is the maximum modifier when wearing Full Plate Armor).

It is very rare that you will want to reduce Dexterity below 10.  One exception might be a paladin-based tank build where you want to invest lots in Strength,
Constitution, Wisdom, and Charisma.  For that kind of build, reducing Dexterity might work, since you can rely on the paladin's other saving throw bonuses to help offset the penalty.

********* SPOILER *********
Assuming you have a few thousand gold, there is an excellent source of lightweight full plate armor that becomes available at the beginning of Chapter
2, so you can rely on getting some at that time for all your tanks and tank wannabes.
***************************

3) Constitution

How much points you need in Constitution depends on whether you play with the
"Max HP/Level" option turned on or off.  If you play with it on, then you have more leeway and can get by with a lower Constitution, although a Con of at least
12 is still recommended for low hit die types (wizard, sorcerer, rogue, bard), and by no means should you reduce Con below 10.

If you play with random hit point rolls, then you are well served by making every character's Constitution as high as possible.

4) Intelligence

Great min-maxing opportunities here.  Basically, pure tank fighters and clerics don't need any Intelligence to speak of, as the only thing Int provides is skill points, and you can get by with the modest trickle of skill points that having an abysmally low Int will afford you.  Humans are especially well-suited for this optimization because they will still get their extra skill point per level.
(But, see "Elemental Feats" in the section on feats.)

However, classes and builds that rely on their skills (like rogues, thieves, loremasters, and diplomats) may want to bump Int a bit even if they aren't using wizard spells.  Also, note that the extremely useful Expertise feat requires an
Intelligence of at least 13.

5) Wisdom

Wisdom is the attribute that governs Will saving throws, and a failed Will saving throw can be rather inconvenient if the result is that your best tank becomes confused and starts whaling on your wizard.  For that reason, you should generally avoid the temptation to reduce Wisdom below 10.  In cases where you are getting some saving throw bonuses for spells due to racial benefits (like gray dwarves or deep gnomes), you might skim off two points of Wisdom to allocate elsewhere, but any lower than that is just asking for trouble.

6) Charisma

Charisma is the safest ability to pillage in order to garner points to put elsewhere, as the only builds that really need Charisma at all are diplomats, sorcerers, bards, and paladins.  (Clerics also use Charisma for turning undead, and rogues use it for the Use Magic Device skill, but it is perfectly reasonable to decide that you don't care about those applications of Charisma and would rather have a Charisma of three so that you can have higher Strength or whatever.)  If almost all of your characters are ugly and socially inept, you will need to pay more attention to whom talks to NPC's, and may wish to reinitiate certain key conversations to ensure that your diplomat is doing the talking.  However, since IWD2 is relatively low on roleplaying and high on combat, that is a small price to pay for having strong, agile, and healthy heroes.


B) Skills

This section provides some brief tips about the various IWD2 skills.

1) Skills By Role

Here, without additional discussion, is a list of all the roles and the skills that those roles will rely on to be successful (roles that aren't listed don't have any particular skills associated with them).

Healer - Concentration

Scout -- Hide, Move Silently, and possibly Concentration (if they use magic)

Thief -- Disable Device, Open Lock, Search, and possibly Pick Pocket

Bombardier -- Concentration, Spellcraft (to get elemental damage-enhancing feats like Aegis of Rime, a Spellcraft of 10 or higher is needed)

Diplomat -- Diplomacy, Bluff, Intimidation

Loremaster -- Alchemy, Knowledge (Arcane)

Summoner -- Concentration

Spell Sword -- Concentration

2) Useless Skills

There are a few skills that don't appear in the list above.  Those skills aren't really needed to succeed in IWD2, and the author recommends that you not worry about putting points into them unless you have ample points to spend.  Here they are...

Animal Empathy -- Why use this skill when you could be using that round of combat to inflict some damage or cast a "real" spell?  You are usually better off putting these points in skills like Concentration, Spellcraft, Hide and Move
Silently.  (O.K.: to be perfectly fair, if, for whatever reason, your druid or ranger has high Charisma and a few skill points to spare, then this skill might prove useful and be worth investing in, provided that you actually remember to use it, which isn't always as easy as it sounds.)

Use Magic Device -- In a well-balanced party there is almost never a need for this skill.  (If you are playing in a very strict manner and become unhappy about having to reload a botched battle, then Use Magic Device may be more useful because it can let your rogues and bards use clerical scrolls to raise the dead and what not should your cleric meet an untimely end.)

Wilderness Lore -- There is exactly one point in the game where this skill is anything more than useless; the rest of the time it is mostly just for color
("Gee, here are some footprints of large humanoids--I wonder if we'll run into them?").

********* SPOILER *********
In Chapter Three, Wilderness Lore can make is somewhat easier to navigate your way through the Fell Wood.  However, there are other means, such as a brute force search of the maze using dropped items as markers, or looking up a set of directions on the internet.   The author's opinion is that there is not much point in having Wilderness Lore for one portion of one chapter when those skill points could be used for skills that are valuable for the entire game.
****************************


C) Feats

This section provides some brief tips about the various IWD2 feats.  An average build will get one feat upon character creation and one additional feat every third level.  So, a typical level 15 character will have only six feats.  This implies that you should pick and choose your feats carefully.

Humans (and Strongheart Halflings) get an additional feat at level one, which is a substantial boon.  Fighters get an additional feat at first level and every even-numbered level; wizards at first level and every level divisible by five.
These extra feats add substantial value to those classes, particularly when using the fighter and wizard classes as mix ins.

1) Weapon Proficiency, Focus, and Specialization

Because they are so fundamental to character design and game play, the feats for weapon proficiency etc. deserve special attention and are treated separately here.

In general your weapon selection is determined by your class (or race, for an elf).  Adding another proficient weapon requires spending a feat on that weapon, and it is rare that you should want to invest in another weapon feat.  There are, of course, exceptions.  For example, a pure Watcher of Helm cleric with an eye towards serving on the front line might want to invest in Exotic Weapon,
Bastard Sword, as this gives them access to what is arguably the best one-handed weapon.  Usually, however, you will want to stick to the weapons that you get