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Should Shadowdancer's abilities stay the same?

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It's my first attempt to arrange a poll but this is a subject I cannot give the go-by.

A Shadowdancer kit has been added to the game with the latest patch. Many (myself included) started to use him at once. I very much appreciate this kit has finally appeared in BG.

Currently a Shadowdancer has the following features.

May not wear armor heavier than studded leather.
May not equip shields larger than bucklers
May only use the following weapons: long sword, short sword, katana, scimitar, dagger, club, quarterstaff, crossbow, shortbow, dart, sling.
May only become Proficient (one slot) in any weapon class.
May only become Proficient (one slot) in any fighting style.
May only distribute 15 points per level (30 at level 1) in thieving abilities: Open Locks, Pick Pockets, Find Traps, Move Silently, Hide in Shadows, Detect Illusions.
May use Backstab ability for increased damage
Level 1-9: x2
Level 9+: x3
Hide in Plain Sight: A shadowdancer may hide in shadows, even when being observed.
Can cast Shadowstep 1x/day for every 3 levels
Slippery mind: +1 bonus to Saving Throws
Hit Dice: d6

The most controversial decision regarding this kit is probably his ability to become invisible as soon as he hit someone with a backstab attack and became visible without any time required to cooldown. The only exception is when he fails to hide in shadows.

I like this feature the most. For me, it has changed the gameplay as a thief drastically - it alone enhances this game as I like to play with stealthy characters.

For years we had to use the same tactics with backstabbers: hit > run > hide. With some knack and practice it's possible to find a place at any area where an enemy looses you from his sight for a second at least. In dungeons this is hardly a problem while outdoors there're at least one hurdle in any area. You just have to retreat, walk in circles, change directions and you'll have a chance. After you gain Boots of Speed this becomes much more easier but it's possible even without them if your enemy has a standard speed.

The system as it is now gives you a variety in tactics: if you've hid after the attack, you attack again and if you haven't hid after the attack you should retreat and hide elsewhere. The feature to hide after an attack is the main trait of this kit.

In my opinion, his low backstab multipliers (max x3 for the entire BG2)*, a small number of points available to distribute at the start and at each levelling up, inability to set traps, a chance that hiding fails (especially in the light) together make up for an excellent feature to use sneak attacks and chain backstabs.

I've fallen in love with this style as soon as I tried it for the first time.

But it turns out this is not a single point of view. Also, there appeaps to be some propositions for a patch. So I've decided to make a poll which probably can help to understand whether this kit has to stay the same or not.

I'm wondering what everyone else thinks?

*Now there's a bug about his multipliers in BG1 but it will be changed soon and won't make it to BG2:EE anyway.



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