Haer'Dalis or Mazzy?

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I'm playing through BG2 again, and are trying to decide on which NPC:s I should take. I've already chosen to take Imoen, Jaheira, Minsc and Aerie. For the last one, I'm chosing between Haer'Dalis and Mazzy Fentan, since I figured I needed another one who can tank. First, I was thinking of Mazzy, but I thought that her "Paladin of light and justice" attitude might be annoying, so then I thought Haer'Dalis. Problem is, I don't think Haer'Dalis's is a good enough fighter. So, please tell me: who is the best one to take

 

By all means Haer'Dalis can be one of the -MOST- powerful characters in BG2...

You definitely want to DL and read this if you don't think that HD has what it takes .

EDIT: Hehe, I beat you to it, Sil

 

Mazzy:

-Has useful pseudo-paladin abilities
-GM in short-bows, if you have TRUE GM fix, she will be very powerful.
-Has neat saving throws as she is a halfling lass. This means she will be very durable against mages and beholders and the like.
-Useful but pretty classic fighter HLAs.

*But her attitude may be annoying.
*Archery is not very potent in the game.

Haer:

-He is a bard, which is cool.
-Will level up faster.
-Will get Imp.Bard song and spiffy bardic HLAs if you have Rogues Rebalancing mod, way too cheesy Thief trap HLAs if your game is unmodded.
-He will have some interaction with Aerie. :wink wink:
-He can use any weapon, and with UAI, ANY item.
-If you have EoU spell tables, he can learn up to 8th level of magic.
-Neat special abilities like Offensive Spin.

To tell you the truth, some people think that Blade is the single most powerful melee-character, with right strategies. Here is a guide:
http://www.sorcerers.net/Games/BG2/index_tips.php

Find it on this page, it is Scythesong's guide to blades, it is VERY famous and usefull! You will be suprised HOW Haer'dalis will prove to be versatile and powerful.

Tell us about your decision and the rest OK?

EDIT:Ah, Olim was faster than me.

Taken from the guide:

This guide is dedicated to giving the Blade kit the recognition it rightfully deserves. The Blade is easily among the most powerful end enjoyable classes in BG2 - with some of the greatest solo potential, and whose prowess has no real limit. Feel free to look over the guide if you're interested in making a Blade, or just want to be convinced that the Blade kit is as strong as it claims. Be sure of one thing though - once you read this guide you'll never look at Haer'Dalis the same way ever again.

Hope these all help you.

 

Mazzy rocks, she is a wicked tank when outfitted right, and can long rang well with her bow too. I can't stand that Jacka$$ Haer'Dalis' stupid wistling. I hate any NPC that talks back to me. I had the jacka$$ for about ten minutes when I kicked his lily butt, and ripped him open with my axe.

 

^Ugh, so I take it that you hate bards? Or is it special to Haer'dalis only?

 

No bards are fine, I used Garrick on several run throughs of BG, I just don't like him. It had nothing to do with his capabilities, I just can't stand him for some irrational reason.

[ February 07, 2006, 13:04: Message edited by: Brallrock ]

 

Um, correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't Haer'Dalis leave if you bring along Aerie? The thought just struck me..

The Blade kit is IMO one of the most powerful, and fun, classes IF you play them right. Bards need tender care in order to excel.

 

I think he flirts with her, but I have never played with him for more than a few minutes.

 

Yes the 'sparrow' flirts with the 'dove'. If the PC is also flirting Aerie, there may be some strange out-comes. (watch out!)

 

Just take Mazzy. She can tank 24/7, and you've already got Aerie and Imoen for arcane. I've never found her to be annoying, and she's actually one of my favorite NPCs. Give her a strength belt (or the GoOP early on), and she's even better than Minsc.

 

Ok, I've decided to take Haer'Dalis, since blades sounds so powerful in the guide. My next question is: should I leave him in Throne of Bhaal, and take Sarevok instead. I'm thinking of this mainly for intresting interactions, since I think you can turn Sarevok's alignment, but he also sounds like a great fighter. What do you think?

 

Mazzy all the way.

Blades are far too painful. What the hell is a 'defensive spin' supposed to be anyway? It just sounds ridiculous, like some ballet dancer in a tutu piroutting instead of fighting. Plus, Haer D'Alis is useless at memorising spells so all your scrolls will be wasted on him as he continually fails to scribe them.

 

I've heard that Defensive Spin with, say, blur can be handy for a prolonged, mid-battle spellcasting spree as it ups your AC greatly, lowering risk of interruption/death. Still, I never used it. Offensive spin was nice, but I found Haer'Dalis best played as a rapidly levelling fighter/mage with a high caster level. He ate Balors for breakfast by the end of SOA and throughout TOB was consistently useful, even standing up to Draconis for a while. He's definitely cool, despite the whistling. Have to say Im kind of biased towards Mazzy, though. She's a good fighter and I like her voice. Jennifer Hale does a lovely English accent <3

 

It's supposed to be flashy showfighting which, if you'll read the Blade's description closely, matches their kit quite well.

Useless at memorising spells? Pft, reaching.

Seriously though, they're both good. You'll need to use a girdle of giant strength on whichever one you take. Mazzy is very good with bows, though in BG2 you're limited in your choice of bow by the insane amount of enemies immune to weapons of +2 or lower enchantment. HD's arcane magic more than compensates for his low HP (you can *never* have too much arcane, especially not on your melee characters). I lean towards HD because of my love for magic-users; I'd take a fighter/mage over a pure fighter any day of the week, just because they give you better options. Unfortunately I also find HD annoying.

 

Nearly every priest in BG2 has 13 potions of genius (and a lot of the other one. Cannot remember the name, but it raises dex and int by 3), drink a couple of them and you'll never have Haer'Dalis fail to scribe his scrolls again (to boot you can get many more spells scribed than his INT would otherwise allow).

HD is indeed a force to be reckoned with!

 

Yes, or collect your scrolls, and lower game's difficulty to easy, then scribe all you want. It is cheesy but hey.

Bards are cool, but a blade is even cooler! He gives you many possibilities and strategies, many different abilities. What Mazzy offers? GWW till they are all dead. Nuff I said.

 

There can be only one -- Mazzy, of course! Even though she can be a bit sanctimonious, she's infinitely preferrable to the tiefling prat. He's the only original NPC I hate almost as much as the Retarded Rodent Ranger.

Not to forget, with Mazzy you get that funny little chubby avatar waving a bow as she frantically tries to keep up the pace of the long-legged ones.

 

^Taht is...an interesting point of it, if I have to say to myself.

Welcome to the boards of magick, BTW, uh...Madafaka, I just hope your name won'T be banned.

 

Mazzy>Haer'Dalis. I can't stand the bard's constant whistling, I hate his voice and I find, in general, bards suck. Mazzy has a cool voice set too.

 

Sanctimonious paladin-wannabe attitudes suck. But Haer'Dalis sucks more.