Questions about party

Remove all ads!

I would like to know your opinion about party members.. Who are useful and who are not, how many mages/clerics there should be and what kind of attacking strategys do you prefer?

I'm playing the game for first time throught and I'm now exploring the city sewers at unseeing eye-quest. My party is like:

• Me, half-orc fighter with 4 points in axes and 3 in two weapons-style, 140hp, -5 ac, level 10, true neutral aligment
• Minsc, using the Flail of Ages +3 and Mace +2 (I added 1 profiency point to flails) about 90hp (can't remember those just now, I'm in work)
• Keldorn, just changed Amoen to him, should I keep him and was that a good change? He has mostly the default equipment
• Edwin, got him little ago, he is still level 9
• Aerie, she has gone some levels up with me, but I can't remember much from her equipment.. sling +1 and +3 bullets I guess
• Nalia, a good mage (?) and I have to keep her around because I don't have any other thiefs to disarm traps and steal stuff.. even she is a quite poor on doing that

So, what do you think about my party? What changes you suppose me to do? Better thief would be a good idea, because I can't open that altar in Melkraths quest now.. or is there another way to do that?

And are there other good NPCs along the game, who I should let join?

-- Curunir

 

Well, ditch Edwin and get a thief then...
(Jan Jansen or Yoshimo are both very good at thieving).
Nahlia and Aerie cover the mage department pretty well, Keldorn alone once he gets *his* weapon lowers the alltogether game difficulty level by about 50%.
With Minsc and Keldorn AND the other goody-two-shoes characters, Edwin just won't fit in anýway
You might be a bit short on the cleric side, though, with only one half one (Aerie), but healing pots are cheap enough...

IMO, ALL the NPCs are very good and well rounded, and as they all come with their own sidequests, it makes the game worth playing at least one second time

My parties were:

1)
Gnome fighter/illusionist (neutral good)
Minsc
Jaheira
Jan Jansen (later Imoen)
Aerie
Valygar

2)
Half-Orc Swashbuckler (chaotic neutral)
Keldorn
Anomen
Jaheira
Nahlia
Hear'Dalis

3)
human Sorceress (lawful evil)
Korgan
Yoshimo
Anomen (it's so fun to corrupt him )/Cernd
Viconia
Edwin

3rd game is still pretty early, but beind bad has it's merits...

 

I'm finding my mix to be working well, but will be canning one of my fighters soon enough. Currently, this is what I have.

Grub, Half-Orc Barbarian
Minsc, Human Ranger
Korgan, Dwarven Berserker
Valygar, Human Stalker
Jaheira, Half-Elf Fighter/Druid
Aerie, Winged-Elf Cleric/Mage

When I get Nalia back, that's when I'll be canning one of my fighters. Be it Minsc, Korgan or Valygar because it is essential to have 2 mages and two classes that can also help in the clerical department. Jaheira is an excellent fighter once you equip her properly and of course, give her some items to boost her dex and strength.

Syl...

 

Thanks for your quick reply.

Edwin has a really good number of memorised spells, do you think he doesn't fit in my (mostly) good-aligned party or why do you suggest me to change him out? I thought to change Nalia to a thief if there would be good one available before I meet Imoen again, because I don't need two thiefs and Edwin seems to be a better mage than Nalia (?).

What kind of equipment there will be during the game, that Keldorn is skilled to use? With his default-equipment, he doesn't have a good AC and hits rarely with his sword.

-- Curunir

 

So long as you keep a good mix of classes in your party (2 fighters, 2 mages, 1 cleric, 1 theif, any of the sub classes are good too), you should be OK so long as you think before you rush in and get yourself killed. Use the theif stealth to scout ahead and then plan your attacks.

 

This is my party and it just rocked, every fight was easy including All Dragons, Liches, Elder Orbs, Mind Flayers and IRENICUS no cheating involved.

ME - Monk -8 AC
Mazzy - Fighter -16 AC
Haer`Dalis - Blade -3 AC
Jaheira - Fighter/Druid -8 AC
Imoen - Thief/Mage -3 AC
Edwin - Conjurer 3 AC

I analized what would be an all rounded group and this was it.

Me the Monk - offensive melee
Mazzy - defense melee, main tank
Haer`Dalis - aux backup, melee or magic
Jaheira - Prime Healer and backup melee
Imoen - Thief skills and secondry mage
Edwin - a mass amount of spells

My monk finished with these stats:

str 20
dex 18
con 20
int 11
wis 10
cha 11

114 HP
-8 AC
Immune to normal weapons
Immune to poison
Immune to disease
Immune to hold and stun spells
83% magic resist
20% electric resist
20% fire resist
Regen 1hp every 6 seconds

many more stats that i can't remember.

I defenitly think the Monk is the best class out there.

 

Curunir, I think the only think your party is really lacking is clerical power. Aerie is a cleric, but since she's multi-classed, will never be able to cast some of those great spells which can save your butt towards the end of the game.

I personally would dump Aerie, Edwin, or Nalia for Anomen or Viconia, both of whom are great clerics. You might also want to bring Jan Jansen's thief skills into your group, because Nalia's are never going to improve. Nalia is a better mage than Jan, but if you keep Edwin, you don't need her anyways.

 

Okay, well, i've played the game with 2 completely different groups, except for one character. Minsc i had in both groups.

Anyway, this is what i propose you do.

You
Minsc (develop him into your main tank)
Keldorn (a must for a certain weapon you find, i won't spoil you though)
Edwin (great mage, will basically just ride along with any party)
Anoman (this is a definate. He is a great defensive cleric as well as offensive. He will be able to use great offensive spells in combat also. Then, on top of that, give him the flail of the ages, a nice shield to get his AC low, and he is a supreme fighter.)
Jan Janson( another must. He is one of the best thiefs you will find. He has a 17 intelligence and has quite a few spells. He is a great offensive and defensive mage. His lockpicking and finding traps is an imperative asset.)


You now basicall have:

3 (potentially 4) fighters (you, minsc, keldorn, anoman)
1 thief (jan)
2 mages (jan, edwin)
1 cleric (anomen)

If i were you, i would probably take this party all the way to the end of the game. But, that's just My opinion.

 

Anonmen a good cleric? He sucks big time. I would take Viconia as a cleric in any party. Edwin is a must unless your character is also a mage. For a thief, Yoshimio is definitely the best choice due to his special snares. For fighters, Minsc, Korgan and Valygar are awesome. Mazzy's not bad for a halfing fighter...but a HALFING fighter...I think I'll pass. Keldorn's awesome once you get the Carsomyr+5 but he's extremely outclassed by the other NPCs before this. His paladin abilities like dispel magic and true seeing are nice though.
Just my humble opinion.

 

Viconia is definately a good cleric, but Anomen is also excellent, especially after he passes his Knighthood test.

In my current party, I have both Anomen and Viconia in the ranks, and they complement one another very well. Anomen needs a dex boost, but is very strong, and Viconia has the opposite problem. Both are cured with various magical items.

Tactically, Anomen tends to be one of my front-line fighters (since he is dualed from a fighter, he has better THAC0 and hitpoints), who provides most of the healing in our group. Viconia, on the other hand, focuses more on offensive power, though keeps a few healing spells memorized just in case. She does mix it up in melee, but I don't use her on the front lines, due to her low hitpoints.

 

shura, your kidding me right? The only good thing viconia has is the fact that your player can sleep with her.

Viconia: Good cleric....and....thats about it.

Anomen (when knighted): Good cleric, Great fighter.

hmmmm....which one would you rather have now? And on top of all this, Anomen can weild the everpowerful Flail of the Ages and wear Plate Mail. You would be a fool to take Viconia over Anomen. Not that she's not good, its just that Anomen has other uses. Like i said, that's my humble opinion.

 

shura's right. viconia is the best cleric in the game. anomen is worthless. and viconia wields the flail of ages and carries the shield of balduran and wears the red dragon mail (i have no fighters, just thiefs mages and priests) around for me using the gauntlets of ogre power.

 

I Loooove Vicky the Cleric but I fear bringing her in while I have 2 goody-goodies in the party.

The same with the awesome AXE-MACHINE Kor.

Oh for some Helms of Alignment changing.

I really fear bust-ups and people leaving at a bad time if I mix the alignments up.

Btw I HATED Ami the Knightling but he is really growing on me.

 

Edwin Kicks, Lose Nalia and get Jan and the paladin sword

 

Chelsea: i haven't had any problems with vicky edwin or korgan. and i generally have aerie around (i love the script edits that let you romance all 3 of the elves sure viconia has some nice words for jaharia and aerie but no fights ala jaharia & kalhid vs xzar and monty in bg1.

 

Your main character is a good starting block, though I guestion your proficencies. Pick up some sword proficiencies like long, katana, or maybe bastard and even scmitar. Your fighter should be your main melee offense, so also pick up sword/shield or 2 weapon styles. Keep Minsc and Keldorn. Both are wery usefull as fighters and make sure Keldorn has 2 handed weapon proficiencies like two handed sword and halabred and get Minsc some sword skills. Dump Edwin and Nalia, a strange idea to some but it will make for a more rounded party in my opinion. Keep Ariee. Having a member who can cast as many spells as her in your party is great. She is very usefull as a backup mage and cleric. Now for who you should take. Find Jahiera quickly. I know most people hated her in the first game and a lot still do, she can be a usefull backup fighter who can cast druid spells. Her spells nicely compliment Ariee's and along with Minsc and Keldorn make your party very powerfull from a cleric side even without a pure cleric. Her weapon choices are not great, so I might suggest importing a few items from Baldur's Gate: gauntlets of ogre power and frostbrand, and if you can, I suggest upping her wisdom whatever way possible. These make her a very nice fighter and a good spell caster. Anomen may be a good fighter, but Jahiera using frostbrand +3 gives her the edge, literally, in her weapon choice. Also give her dagger proficiencies for the boomerang dagger and another nice throwing dagger obtained later in the game. Next, if you feel you need a good thief till Imoen returns, grab Jan Jansen in the Gov District. His personal items make him very good at trap finding, lock picking, illusion detection(Please tell me what good this skill does!!!)and pick pocketing. You will need to buy/find items to increase stealth, but beteween him and Ariee, they make a nice mage force. But in my opinion, you will need a straight mage if you want to cast the best mage spells, so take Imoen back when you can get her. Just don't invest too much in Jan's spell book. That should give you a party looking like this:
4 fighters
2 mages
1 1/2 cleric
1 1/2 druid
1 thief

A powerfull contingent of fighters with a lot of magic. Not a bad make up. Incidently, don't take Yoshimo. You'll thank me later.

For the record, my party is:
Xalen-fighter/mage (me)
Levathia-fighter/druid (mine)
Jindrak-berzerker (mine)
Minsc-ranger
Jan-thief/illusionist
Ariee-mage/cleric

Try using a fighter/mage as a main. No, he won't be as great in either class as straight characters would be, but properly outfitted, he can be a truly powerfull force. A great fighter who can cast powerfull mage spells if need be(let me get my hands on some elven chain mail, a ring of wizardry, Zerkon Derth Blade, the death mask that allows casting of Simiclarum, and some nice armor modifiers and let the gods watch out) is a nice addition to any party, plus with my setup, it gives me:
4 fighters
3 mages
1 1/2 cleric
1 1/2 druid
1 thief
That's a lot of offensive force and magic power.

 

Frostbrand? You're gonna get into hell with Drizzt later. I say, leave his stuff alone. I wouldn't want to mess with him. About the Viconia versus Anomen topic, perhaps Anomen should be chosen over Viconia if your main character is not a melee character. My party is better served with Viconia because of her bonus spells due to her 18 wisdom. My main character, being a badass fighter, is more than enough to kick ass side by side with Minsc, Valygar or Korgan. The Paladin sword is good, but I don't think it's worth having the senile old annoying fool Keldorn around. And Aerie is just plain annoying, who loses out in magic to edwin and Healing to Viconia. Hell, at least Jaheira can fight fairly well.

 

Thanks to all of you for your answers, I now have much more knowledge about how to modify my party in future.

I still have some minor questions to you..

1) "Carsomyr+5" is a must have for Keldorn, you say. But what should he have before I can get that sword for him? And what kind of a magical item there is, that would rise his dex? AC 0 sucks with a frontline figter, and his armor is kinda good.

2) Anomen vs. Viconia for cleric.. there are many different opinions about this one. I just wonder, that when is Anomen going to pass this knighthood-test? When I had him in my party (throught that Nalias fortress quest, whatever was its name), he killed only 1 (!) enemy according to his information-table. I had myself, Minsc and Anomen in frontline and I could leave Anomen to fight one enemy for whole battle, when I and Minsc took care of the rest opponents. Anomen didn't hit very often! I have THAC0 of 3 for my primary weapon and 5 for secondary, and Minsc also hits pretty often, but Anomen (with Mace+1) was extremely bad figter. What kind of weapon should he have to hit? He doesn't advance anymore in figter-class, so how and when is this knighthood test going to take effect?

I haven't met Viconia yet, but I suppose I'm going to do the following changes to my party..
Aerie -> Viconia
Nalia -> Jan and later Imoen

Edwin is going to take care of spell casting, until Imoen comes back..

But I will of course listen for more opinions on this subject.

-- Curunir

 

1)
Carsomyr+5 is a holy avenger, only usable by a Paladin. In the hands of one, it's the most powerful weapon in the game however.
It grants it's wielder 50% magic resistance, can dispel magic 3 times a day and does extra damage against evil creatures. It also dispels magic *automatically* each time it hits something. Meaning in effect, that there's really NO enemy that will survive Keldorn for very long, regardless what protection spells might be in effect
Combined with the Inquisitor abilities (that obscenely effective uninterruptable speed factor 1 double level dispel magic, true seeing at will, etc.) and some equipment to take care of his shortcomings (gauntlets of dexterity set his dex to 18 and a girdle of giant stregth takes care of stregth, add to that the red dragon scale armor and some boots of speed, and you're facing a THACO -5, AC-10, nearly immune to magic, completely impervious to fire mincing machine and mage slayer).
I finished the game twice so far, once with and once without Keldorn. Having Keldorn in the Party lowers overall difficulty by about 50%, period. At later stages there's simply NO spell worrying you anymore. He'll dispell holds, charms, dominations and the like as a level 30-34 character, 3 times a day, speed factor 1 while being the deadliest fighter in the game and close to magic immune himself.

2)
Anomen *can* become a very good fighter, but not with just any kind of stick to swing. He needs a strength boost later (there are 3(!) girdles of giant strength and gauntlets of ogre power to be had during the game) for his THAC0 and a good weapon. There's some pretty good maces and flails to be head...
And make good use of his cleric spells that benefit fighter/clerics. Draw upon holy might, champions strength, holy power, righteous magic and champion's stregth are all MADE for fighter/clerics
Viconia has a few extra low level spells due to 18 wis, but those aren't making much of a difference later. At levels where you cast 6th and 7th level spells (and Anomen WILL get 7th level spells despite lower wisdom), you have enough of level 1-4 to live comfortably without the extra 3rd and 4th level spell. Viconia will NEVER become a decent fighter.

Vicky: excellent cleric
Anomen: very good cleric, potentially very good fighter

Decide what fits the party, In my evil Party I have both (and looking forward to corrupt that arrogant bastard Anomen... )

Armin

 

You can get the gauntlets of dexterity in the Unseeing Eye quest. I had Keldorn with an AC of -5 with no magic items apart from his armour and the gauntlets. See the BG2 item list for info. on where exactly they are.