What Was Your Favorite Baldur’s Gate 2 Party EVER?

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I thought it might be fun to reminisce on what your favorite Baldur’s Gate 2 party ever was. I know that for many of us, creating and building your party is one of the more entertaining aspects of the game, as your party composition has such a profound impact on how the game plays out.

So let us know what party was your favorite, who you brought along, how you used the characters, and what you enjoyed about the party. I’ll start.

My favorite BG2 party was a party of highest virtue and goodness, and consisted of the following members:
--Protagonist – Human Dual Class Berserker9/Mage – TWF with Grandmastery in Longswords, Master in TWF and everything else in Bastard Swords. I tweaked his alignment in SK to be Lawful Good. He was an excellent fighter with good hitpoints, 4 attacks per round, and was a bloody good spell caster who eventually achieved 19 INT. He was an honorary squire of the Order of the Radiant Heart
--Minsc – Berserker with Grandmastery in Axes and specialized in Sword and Shield fighting. He was my main meatshield with the most hit points in the party, and carried the best armor and shield I could find.
--Jaheira – Archer with Grandmastery in Longbows. I role played that she was a sort of combat druid, and didn’t remove her shapeshifting abilities, though I never used them. She had the highest number of kills in the party (though not the highest xp value for kills).
--Sir Anomen – Dual Class Fighter7/Cleric (eventually attained priest of Helm kit, when he achieved knighthood). Grandmastery in Flails and proud wielder of the Flail of Ages. Specialized in Sword and Shield fighting. He was my secondary tank, and eventually became a downright deadly fighter with one of the higher kill rates in the group. And once he became a knight of the order, he grew into one of the finest clerics you will ever find in the realms.
--Keldorn – vanilla Keldorn the inquisitor who wielded the Holy Avenger sword. I had a mod installed that allowed him to attain mastery in two handed sword, and of course he specialized in two handed weapon style. Those instant true sights and powerful dispel magics never go out of style!
--Valygar – Dual class Fighter9/Thief. Two weapon fighting master with Grandmastery in Katanas and WarHammers. Became as effective a rogue character as any I’ve encountered. I usually like to have a dedicated thief in my party.


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With this party I wanted to use all Bioware NPCs, but I wanted to create my own party composition, which is why almost everyone was tweaked in some way. I wanted limited spell casters (1 cleric, 1 wizard) because I think this makes their casting ability more special. While having less spell casters than normal is in some ways more challenging, it is also nice to have a party where everyone is VERY effective with their martial weapons.

The balance of the party was great. I had all the roles covered: a wizard, a healer, a thief, an archer, and two strong front line meleers. Well, in reality I had 5 strong front line meleers, which is even better! I got to use most of the best weapons and equipment in the game, and just plain enjoyed what this group brought to the table.

I find that a good aligned party is by far the most rewarding to play in BG2, so I took that to the extreme and built a party that leaned heavily toward lawful good. The other reason I enjoyed this party is that I started them – the PC, Minsc, and Jaheira, at least – in Baldur’s Gate 1, playing a Tutu game. I had become quite attached to them by the end.

 

PC - Hogar the Mighty - Half-Orc Barbarian, CE - Wielded all of the good 2-handed Melee Weapons
Korgan - Axe Master and Flail of the Ages wielder.
Vicky - Crom Faeyr
Edwin - Evil Bastard! Gota love em!
Jan - Party thief and overall pest, but for some reason I just enjoy him in my parties.
Crimson Stormshadow - Elf F/M/T - Created in Multi-player and moved file to single player. Bow Master, Scout and backup spell caster. I wasn't sure about a triple MC character, but I found I really like using the F/M/T.

 

The party with the playmate portraits ... I don't even remember the classes or how good the party was. I was a bit distracted....

 

You don't happen to have a screenshot of that one do you? Me thinks that would be worth a look!

 

Sounds like a party I'd enjoy too. Do gooder parties in BG2 are just so darn rewarding in my opinion. Watching Anomen turn from a pompous bastard into a knight (i.e. a somewhat less pompous bastard). The friendship that can form between Anomen and Keldorn when previously there had been only bickering. I just never get tired of these things. Doing things that make Amn and Tethyr a better and safer place -- it just warms the heart, I say.

 

Human fighter male

Jaheira
Imoen
Anomen
Minsc
Viconia

Was my first party.

 

My party was:

Me (Elven Beserker)
Keldorn
Jaheira
Minsc
Valygar
Yoshimo

 

Meh: Human, Neutral Evil, Dual-Classed Berserker.Cleric, Dual wielding Fail of Ages + Crom Faeyr
"A fanatic murdering machine, murdering people in god's name, err, well, in his own name."

Korgan: MASSIVE GREATAXE OF FLAME +5 (yeah, has to be spelled in Caps Lock), replaced with Axe of the Unyielding + best shield
"The little guy with the big axe."

Edwin: The Staff of Power
"Unlimited power!"

Garruk (created in multiplayer ): Half-Orc, Chaotic Evil, Barbarian. Two handed swords.
"Grrrr..."

Later replaced with...

Sarevok: Human, Chaotic Evil, Fighter. Two handed swords, halberds.
"Is this head yours?"

Was a pretty strong party but being evil is not such fun as in Knights of the old Republic. The ending, for instance, is pretty sad for evil NPCs. Oh, I had traps disarmed and locks unlocked. If I woudn't I would add a multiplayer created elf or halfling fighter/thief who would use short bows.

 

fmc + swashie...

 

I've played with a lot of parties. I finally got over my Minsc infatuation and I think my current party may be my favorite. I'm not into ToB yet to be sure. The party:

Me - half-elven mage/cleric
Edwin
Imoen
Jaheira
Viconia
Valygar (going to swap out for Sarevok)

Lots and lot of spellcasting goodness!

---------- Added 0 hours, 5 minutes and 20 seconds later... ----------

Oh... I forgot to mention that this party has been with me since Tutu. So when I started BG2 I Shadowkeepered all the spell lists (for the mages) and weapon proficiencies to match how they ended BG1.

 

The most recent one is probably my favorite (I kicked quite a bit of ass):
Me - Half-elf Assassin
Korgan - main ass-kicker (his THAC0 was like -7 by the end of the game)
Jaheira - secondary ass-kicker (Pitchwife +5) and main healer
Viconia - secondary healer and general nasty spell thrower
Kelsey - artillery and spell-removal

Not sure whether I should pick Sarevok up in ToB or not... Jaheira doesn't want me to, and we're bangin', so...

 

Lilith (PC) - Female True Neutral Jester, best tank I ever played with (but could be better if I'd make her a Blade), iirc used Foebane and Kundane

Jaheira - party healer, equiped with Ixil Spike (one badass spear)

Korgan - bloodthirsty psychopath and valiant warrior, with axe of looping off heads and shield

Imoen - Mage and day brightener for gloomy times, w/ staff of the magi

Angelo (mod NPC) - Fighter > Mage, equiped with bows

Anomen - 2nd healer and tank, w/ flail of ages & shield. Later replaced by Sarevok w/ Ravager.

ahh, good times. I love Korgan's banthers with the goody characters. Unfortunally this party never defeated Mel and the five in the final battle...

 

Currently running a fantastic party of ...

Me... Human MAle F(7)/M(x) dualled
Ninafer
Nikita
Jaheira
Aerie
Saerilith

My Pimp-daddy party. Tons of fun. Really like Ninafer, when buffed, she is pretty awesome in melee, her

Spoiler

Long Sword +3, +2 Fire and +2 Electrical damage to boot

is pretty awesome and she dual-wields this with Celestial Fury. Nice!!!!

 

PC Blade - dual wielding.
Minsc - two handed weapons.
Jaheira - weapon and shield.
Imoen - staff and bow.
Viconia - weapon and shield.
Haer' Dalis - dual wielding.

The party had:
2 dual wielders
2 sword and shield users
2 two-handed weapon users (melee and ranged)
3 divine casters (Minsc, Jaheira, Viconia)
3 arcane casters (PC, Haer, Imoen)
3 with rogue skills (PC, Haer, Imoen)
3 offensive characters (PC, Haer, Minsc)
3 defensive/support characters (Vic, Jah, Imoen)
3 blunt weapon users (Jah, Imoen, Vic)
3 slashing weapon users (PC, Haer, Minsc)
3 piercing weapon users (PC, Haer, Imoen)
3 males
3 females

4 out of 5 are reliable casters. 4 out of 5 are reliable fighters. All of them have buffs. Sometimes I swap Haer for Aerie.

 

Sparky The Barbarian (Actually a Berserker / Mage)
Jaheira (Romance)
Minsc And Boo: (How could you not?)
Nalia / Imoen (Nalia until Spellhold).
Kelsey (for the Imoen Romance in TOB)

Granted this party doesn't have the banter of a party with Jan or a party with all three romances (Cat fights between Jaheira / Viconia / Aerie are awesome), but the dynamics are good. I can see this group functioning together as a unit, the personalities don't clash, and there is continuity from Candlekeep to the Throne Of Bhaal.

 

I'm really enjoying my current party (both for banter and skillsets):

PC - Cavalier, two-handers & halbreds
Minsc - Kensai/Thief, two-handers
Valygar - Wizardslayer/Thief, dual-wield katanas
Jan - Fighter/Illusionist, dual-wield long swords
Viconia - Nightcloack of Shar/Mage, hammers and flails
Edwin - Conjurer, daggers

I had trouble deciding between this or Jester for Jan, but I have him casting like a Bard would (team buffs, etc.) I've been amazed at just how good he is in battle! Viconia is a battlemage and healer, and Edwin uses self-buffs and conjuration. It's been one of my most enjoyable games ever.

 

Charname - a thief, dual - classed to warrior at level eight.

Sarevok - I will repeat after Sparky the Barbarian, "how could you not?"

Viconia - a strength belt and two hammers, also, DAT VOICE.

Korgan - though it is most difficult to convince him of how regular baths are no less fun than bloodbaths...

a CN Anomen - because he is infinitely more bearable with this alignment. Also, to mutate an already mutated Internet meme: I did it for teh evulz.

Edwin - because everything is better with Thayvians.