* Baldur's Gate 2
** Monk
*** Whirlwind attack: omit single point here to unlock greater whirlwind, 6 to hardiness. Use three times for 120% shield.
** Equipment:
*** Go to second floor of the Inn of the Seven Vales, kill, take gear. Buy potion of master thievery, go to slums, Yoshimo, temple district, sell gear to fence, steal back, rinse repeat.
*** Ring of human influence: Kalah, circus tent, waukeen promenade
*** Bracers of AC3, Ribald
*** Boots of Avoidance: Graveyard, kidnappers of tirdir who was buried
*** Girdle of hill / stone/ frost / fire giant strength: Ribald / denims house suldanesselar / animal sacrifice for demon knights in Kuo-Toan dungeons underdark / Yuga Shura's lair
*** Sling of Everard, against kangaxx, Joluv, kangaxx parts in bridge and temple
*** Pale of Green Ioun stone: Graveyard, lower tomb, spider nest
*** Protection against Undead, Kangaxx, Adventurers Mart
*** Protection from Magic, against demogorgon and melissan, Ribald
*** Ring of free action, interacting with the book at spellhold level 2, bodhis challenge
*** Ring of regeneration, riddle heads, spellhold level 2, bodhis chase
*** Gauntlets of crushing, side with king Sahuagin
*** Kaligun's Amulet of Magic Resistance, Drow merchant, Ust Natha
*** Legacy of the Masters, graveyard district tombs, pentagon shaped blood pool with spikes
*** Ring of protection +3, deck of many things
*** Boots of Gargoyle: ToB, smuggler Carras, Amkhetran
** Archer
** Roll at least 88, so that you can max out wis
** Max out short bows, then crossbows
** Equipment:
*** Save all arrows of piercing, detonation, dispelling and acid. Same goes for kuo-toan bolts.
*** First dispelling arrows from spellhold, near irenicus battle
*** Tuigan Bow, Copper Coronet beast master
*** Vhailor's Helm. Deidre
*** Aeger's Hide, Ribald
*** Quiver of Plenty, Watcher's Keep, first level
*** Boots of Speed, Astral Prison Bridge District or pick pocket Renal Bloodscalp after 15000 gp Gaelan Bayle
*** Gauntlets of extraordinaire specialization, fifth level of watchers keep, death of y'tossi
*** Shadow Dragon Scales: Ruined Temple, Amanuator
*** Red Dragon Scales: Dropped by the dragon Jierdan Firkraag in the dungeon in the Windspear Hills
*** White Dragon Scales, Watcher's Keep on the third level in the maze. They can be found on the corpse of a paladin
*** Cloak of displacement, rakshasa warrior, suldanesselar
** Kensai
** Equipment
*** Robe of Vecna, Ribald
*** Amulet of Power, Aran Linvail
*** Bronze Ioun Stone, spellhold level one, bodhis challenge, riddle boxes
*** Golden Ioun Stone (increases intelligence +1), Lazarus Librarus, Arcane Archives
** Cleric
** Equipment
*** Defender of Easthaven, Joluv
*** Helm of Balduran
*** Boots of Speed, Renal
*** Cloak of Sewers, temple district sewers
*** Flail of the Ages, darnise keep
*** Golden Girdle, knights at planar sphere
*** Holy Symbol of Talos, ring, cleric receives automatically on lvl 25

* Baldur's Gate 2
** Abilities (Sorceror, solo)
= 93
◦ Str 14 --- lets us carry enough stuff
◦ Dex 18 --- gives us good natural AC
◦ Con 16 --- gives us a solid HP pool (>16 does not grant +HPs for non-warriors)
◦ Int 9 --- lets us cast spells from wands and scrolls (it's the min. anyway)
◦ Wis 18 --- lets us get the best out of the Wish spell without quaffing an Insight potion
◦ Cha 18 --- is better than having to waste a ring slot on the Ring of Human Influence [RING30]

If soloing, max Strength so that you can carry more and physically hit things and force open locked doors and receptacles if you need to (without casting Knock). If you can't get a good roll, dump Wis and just quaff an Insight potion if you want to Wish-rest.

- Race: Human, so that "permanent clones" trick works more reliably. But Elf
  gets +1 dext and no penalty from lower const. Take Elf.
- Alignment: Lawful neutral for ferret familiar.
- Str: The biggest reason to have high STR though is that the best proficiency for mages/sorcerers, by far, is daggers. Throwing daggers receive bonus damage from STR which means they're a lot more powerful than darts and they give a natural bonus to APR which means you won't just attack once per round.
- Autopause on spellcast so you don't easte time.
- Make sure the AI is switched on (bottom right). Now, each and every party member will automatically cast 12-hour-duration Stoneskin on themselves if they haven't already.
- Regardlesss early on with a sorcerer you want ranged weapons. So you have either darts, daggers or slings. Perhaps dagger so you can have both melee and ranged variants.

Solo in this order: https://lilura1.blogspot.com/2017/09/Baldurs-Gate-2-Ascension-and-Sword-Coast-Stratagems-Arcane-Party-Guide-Part-I.html
** Spells
https://lilura1.blogspot.com/2021/01/Baldurs-Gate-2-BG2-Best-Mage-Spells-Best-Sorcerer-Spells-Ranked-Tier-List.html
- Spells: choose spells like *Blindness* to be able to safely kill enemies from afar with the throwing daggers and/or stun-inducing spells like *Hold Person* which let you auto-hit enemies,
- *Chromatic Orb* is awesome, for example, cause when you're level 5 (stun for 3 whole rounds), 7-9 (stun for a whopping 20 rounds) or 10+ (all insta death, either by petrification or just actual insta death) any failed save basically means the enemy is dead. Don't forget, throwing daggers (bonus APR + STR damage bonus) with auto-hit = death. Yes, there's a +6 bonus to the save, but if you spam them a lot of enemies fail it (eg I still use it as an instant troll and umberhulk killer in BG2, it works pretty often) and a lot of enemies also have pretty crappy save vs spells, especially in BG1/SoD. Plus, later on you can combo it with *Greater Malison* and sequencers.

https://lilura1.blogspot.com/2021/02/Baldurs-Gate-2-BG2-Classes-Sorcerer-Solo-Build-Best-Spells-Spell-picks-Stats-Items-Sorcerer-vs-Mage.html
First Circle: Armor, *Blindness*, Chromatic Orb, Magic Missile, PfP
Second Circle: Invisibility, Resist Fear, Knock, *Mirror Image*, *Web*
Third Circle: *Skull Trap*, Remove Magic, Slow, *Melf's Minute Meteors*, Flame Arrow
Fourth Circle: *Stoneskin*, *Minor Sequencer*, *Improved Invisibility*, Spider Spawn, Greater Malison
Fifth Circle: *Animate Dead*, *Breach*, *Spell Immunity*, *Sunfire*, Cloudkill
Sixth Circle: Improved Haste, *True Sight*, *Prot from Magical Weapons*, Pierce Magic, Invisible Stalker
Seventh Circle: Spell Sequencer, *Project Image*, RRoR, *Mordenkainen's Sword*, DBFB.
Eighth Circle: *Abi Dalzim's Horrid Wilting*, Spell Trigger, Pierce Shield, Incendiary Cloud (For gnome fighter illusionist: *Simulacrum*).
Ninth Circle: *Chain Contingency*, *Time Stop*, *Wish*, Shapechange (mindflayer)
Ninth Circle (HLA): Extra Spell Slot 6-8, Energy Blades, *Improved Alacrity*,
Dragon's Breath, *Summon Planetar*, Comet

Find Familiar (cast from scroll)
Friends (cast from scroll when buying stuff in early game)
Limited Wish (cast from scroll)
Spell Trap (Staff of the Magi)

Otherwise, take bolded spells from here: https://lilura1.blogspot.com/2021/01/Baldurs-Gate-2-BG2-Best-Mage-Spells-Best-Sorcerer-Spells-Ranked-Tier-List.html

Glasses of Identification [MISC3P] (Identify)
** Equipment

Armor: Robe of Vecna [WA2ROBE]

◦ Weapon: Staff of the Magi ( Twisted Rune Building, Bridge District, South
West of Delosar's Inn)
◦ Gauntlets: Bracers of Defense AC 3 (Adventurer's Mart)
◦ Amulet: Amulet of Power [Dock's District, Aran Linvail]
◦ Boots: Boots of Speed [Bridge District Planar Prison]
◦ Helm: Circlet of Netheril [Circlet of Netheril can be upgraded with the
Bronze Ioun Stone and 5000 gold by Cespenar. Bronze Ipun stone: Found on a cot in the cell at 12 on Level 1 of Saradush Prison, after you lay the ghost to rest.
◦ Ring 1: Ring of Wizardry [Nadinal - Harper Hold, during Jaheira's companion quest Summoned to the Harper Hold.]
◦ Ring 2: Ring of Acuity [Lavok]
◦ Cloak: Cloak of the Sewers [Sewers], Cloak of Displacement [old by a
merchant in Trademeet after the trouble with the djinni's is sorted out.],
Cloak of Mirroring [Sahuagin Priestess, City of Caverns]
◦ Girdle: Belt of Inertial Barrier [sold by an unnamed merchant in Trademeet after the genie problem is sorted out.]
** Potions, scrolls, wands
- Potion of Power Trick: Multiple stack. Find out how to duplicate them.
- Adventurer's Mart: Rod of Resurrection.
** Weapons
- Belm: To get it, we need to be in Chapter Two. Then, we need to speak to Flydian in the Gates District of Athkatla. Then, we need to go to Trademeet and speak with the mayor followed by Cernd. Finally, we need to go to the Druid Grove and loot it from within the tower south of the Rakshasa lair.
- Gaybtlets of etraordinaire specialization, find them on the fifth level of Watcher's Keep on the body of Y'tossi after her death.
-
- Brige District: Boomerang Dagger+2: Kill group of mercenaries in Delosar's
  Inn. Can also be obtained by wishing for a quest like no other from the same group or by simply pickpocketing Captain Dennis.)
- Ust Nasha, Underdark, weapons merchant: Firetooth +3 (that does a ton of damage and even helps finish off trolls).
- Temple District, Athlaktla Sewers: Cloak of the Sewers, Rakshasa. See "cheesing on usage).
- Adventurer's Mart: Bracers of Defense AC 3.
- Dock's District: Nymph's Cloak "permanent clones" Gorch Mae'Var's Guildhall.
- Defender of Easthaven together with Clok of the Sewers. Joluv inside the Copper Coronet. Usage: see cheesing.
- Robe of vecna should go to your sorc. He would have many more spells to cast. Imoen can equip an elven chain.
- Amulet of power should go to your sorc as well, it combines well with the robe for maximised spell casting fury under improved alacrity. Equipped by Aran Linvail and obtained from him as a token of good faith upon the first meeting after having paid the 15,000 gold to buy the assistance of the Shadow Thieves in Athkatla – or looted from his body when invading their guildhall for the other side. OR Equipped by some instances of Drizzt Do'Urden, e.g. as encountered in Bodhi's lair.
- Staff of Magi:
- Ring of Acuity: dropped by Lavok when planar is returned.
- Ring of Reaching (Wizardy): Nadinal - Harper Hold, during Jaheira's companion quest Summoned to the Harper Hold. OR Can be created by your apprentices for 3,000 GP during the mage stronghold quest Claiming the Sphere. However, it is not certain that they will be able to create the item, and Larz and Nara will surely die in the attempt.
- Once you get bag of holding (Looted in Spellhold Bodhi's Hunt Level 1), encumbrance limit from 8 str is less relevant.
- Limited wish scroll: Lady Yuth or Carlig (when in Drow disguise).
** Cheesing & exploits
- Cheesing i.e. meta trapping, off-screen Cloudkills.
- Permanent clones and summons: Target a clone with with the Rod of
  Resurrection or a Resurrection spell (preferably) and kill the clone before
  the resurrection effect takes place. Charm with Nymph Cloak/Algernon's
  Cloak.
- Fatigue restore: Kicking a character out of the party and bringing them back in will reset their fatigue to 0.
- Spell Trap trick: can be used to gain an infinite number of spells per day by using level 9 effects against the caster. A Project Image clone can cast level 7 and level 9 spells to restore the original caster's spells.
- Spell Trigger trick: You can prevent offensive Spell Triggers from breaking invisibility simply by choosing the caster as the target. Since the game considers spell triggers to be single-target spells, they don't break invisibility when cast on self. This allows you to launch three Death Fog spells, say, without ever becoming visible.
- Fog for war trick with area spells (efficient with Staff of the Magi).
- For sorcerer there is also another combo: wearing the Robe of Vecna and
  Amulet of Power to get -5 spell casting time, then let the Projected Image
  cast Improved Alacrity so that it can cast the next spell as soon as the first one is finished. And so you can cast lower resistance, skull trap , greater malison, breach, dragon breath, summon planatar, etc instantly and as much as you’d like in less than a round, devastate any one except Demi lich and magic golem. As spell are casted by a projected image, you’d still retain all of your spells and items save for a level 7 spell slot which you used to cast projected image.
- malison & polymorph" to murder dragons
- Invisibility + Spell Immunity:Divination + all the Sunfires you can hold (as game doesn't see Sunfire as offensive spell, so it doesn't break Invisibility, so that combo works pretty well on most groups of mobs - but there's more, if they have a caster with True Sight, then Spell Immunity should in theory get rid of that problem)
- Spelltrap + Four Project images with quick items - infinite 1 time items, infinite spells


- Using the rod from the unseeing eye via images to critically injure enemies. You use the familiar to steal it from you and get it back once you never have to go back to the sewer.
- Armor of Faith (priest spell, is there a scroll?) + Cloak of the Sewers rat form = 100% physical immunity
- You can achieve nearly the same thing passively (no need to pre-buff with AoF or even be able to cast it) if you equip the Defender of Easthaven in offhand. When you shapeshift into rat form, you'll retain the resistances from the weapon, putting you at 100% resistance to slashing, crushing, and piercing and 90% to missile.
- Simulacrum: if you create a clone and pause the game quickly you can begin to cast one of those higher level spells that the Simulacrum clone isn't supposed to have access to. But, afterwards, the spell selection will be as normal for a clone, so this really only works for a single cast.
- Casting Infinite Spell Immunity with Permanent Alacrity

Similar to the Wild Mage and Totemic Druid toolbar menu trick, Spell Immunity has a toolbar menu that can be exploited to cast spell immunity for all types, e.g. Invocation, Divination, etc, with alacrity. Bind a hotkey to Spell Immunity and memorize at least two Spell Immunities. Cast Spell Immunity twice, making sure the toolbar menu is open before casting it the second time. The menu should not disappear and you will be able to cast all types with alacrity.
- Quick Items Trick

When a clone is created, it gets a copy of the original character's equipment and quick slot items. The clone can use these items without affecting the originals. This includes scrolls, wands, the special abilities of equipped items, and so on.

For example, prior to engaging a Lich (or other powerful magic user) a character can load a Protection from Magic scroll into a quick slot and then create a clone. The moment the Lich appears, the clone can use the scroll on it, thus preventing the Lich's spell based attacks. Only the clone's copy of the scroll is consumed; the character's original copy remains intact.
- Underdark equipments with familiar, or with companion:
Leave the gear you want in the Underdark.

Go outside and let all the cutscenes play out.

Go back into the Underdark and pick up the gear you left on the floor with one party member.

Go outside again and pause immediately after the area loads, before any message appears saying the items were destroyed by sunlight.

Kick the party member who's holding the drow gear from the party and send them to the Copper Coronet.

- Duplicate Items when Rasaad (where to find?) Leaves

When companions leave for quest reasons, they return all quest items in their
inventory to the main character. There are claims that Rasaad's script is
bugged and he returns quest items twice or that he returns the items while
also retaining a copy if he rejoins the party. This can used to duplicate
items such as Flail of Ages or Ring of Gaxx. To duplicate non-quest items, it
should be possible to place them in Dragomir's Respite and duplicate the container.

(This trick may have been fixed as of v2.6)

- Duplicate Items with Modes

In BG2EE, items which can switch modes, such as Book of Infinity Spells or Rod of Lordly Might, can be duplicated by equipping them to a character which can cast Simulacrum. While the item is on the Simulacrum, change the mode of the item, then kill the Simulacrum. The item should be found on the corpse of the Simulacrum.

- Government District: pick pocketing guards for high level scrolls