BG2(EE)-Which NPC should I choose?
Rhylthar
Member Posts: 2
Last time I played BG2, I had the following party:
- Ranger (Char)
- Mazzy
- Minsc
- Jaheira
- Imoen (later)
- Aerie
I´ve nearly finished BG EE and I´m thinking about BG2 with importing my actual Char, a pure Mage.
That party will have more spellslingers than melees, but which melees should I choose?
It can´t be Korgan because of his evil alignment, so there are:
Mazzy:
Love her. Cute little tank.
But: With 5 points in shortbow and 3 in short sword, she isn´t really as good as I would prefer for the better weapons like Flail of Ages or Crom Faeyr. There aren´t many very good short swords till ToB, so...
Minsc:
Nice an funny. And someone, who can dual-wield Crom Faeyr and Flail of Ages.
Valygar:
Never had him for long, now I need him for claiming the sphere. But should I keep him?
Keldorn:
Paladin = Carsomyr. Nice choice. Perhaps him instead of Mazzy!?
Reason, I didn´t choose him the first time: I don´t really like Paladins...
If I remember correctly, these are all not evil-aligned possible melees. Perhaps Anomen, but he´s annoying...
Sure, there might be new npc in BG2EE, but for now, these are the options.
There are 2 free places in the party, I thought about playing.
Fixed places:
1. Char (Mage)
2. Imoen (later); this ist the placeholder spot for changing party members to solve the quests (Nalia, etc.)
3. Jaheira; I like her, I like the Harpers, I like her spells...can she perhaps take the role as a melee?
4. Aerie; I want a cleric, I hate Anomen, Viconia is evil...not much choices...
Any suggestions how to built the party?
Thank you for any answer and sorry for perhaps the little bit humble English; it´s not my native language.
- Ranger (Char)
- Mazzy
- Minsc
- Jaheira
- Imoen (later)
- Aerie
I´ve nearly finished BG EE and I´m thinking about BG2 with importing my actual Char, a pure Mage.
That party will have more spellslingers than melees, but which melees should I choose?
It can´t be Korgan because of his evil alignment, so there are:
Mazzy:
Love her. Cute little tank.
But: With 5 points in shortbow and 3 in short sword, she isn´t really as good as I would prefer for the better weapons like Flail of Ages or Crom Faeyr. There aren´t many very good short swords till ToB, so...
Minsc:
Nice an funny. And someone, who can dual-wield Crom Faeyr and Flail of Ages.
Valygar:
Never had him for long, now I need him for claiming the sphere. But should I keep him?
Keldorn:
Paladin = Carsomyr. Nice choice. Perhaps him instead of Mazzy!?
Reason, I didn´t choose him the first time: I don´t really like Paladins...
If I remember correctly, these are all not evil-aligned possible melees. Perhaps Anomen, but he´s annoying...
Sure, there might be new npc in BG2EE, but for now, these are the options.
There are 2 free places in the party, I thought about playing.
Fixed places:
1. Char (Mage)
2. Imoen (later); this ist the placeholder spot for changing party members to solve the quests (Nalia, etc.)
3. Jaheira; I like her, I like the Harpers, I like her spells...can she perhaps take the role as a melee?
4. Aerie; I want a cleric, I hate Anomen, Viconia is evil...not much choices...
Any suggestions how to built the party?
Thank you for any answer and sorry for perhaps the little bit humble English; it´s not my native language.
0
Comments
Jaheira can tank fine once she has Iron Skins, and besides she can wear any armor in the game. Plus, her Insect Plague is devastating to enemy spellcasters. Her natural strength is a bit low so equip her with a girdle of giant strength to make her an effective melee fighter.
You don't really need Valygar for claiming the Planar Sphere; you can bring him to the door in order to open it, then dump him. But If you take Mazzy again, you could bring Valygar along as well for the banter between the two. :-) Beware that Valygar is limited to leather armor so he takes a bit too much damage.
BTW, is your PC male and of a race that both Aerie and Jaheira will romance? If so be prepared for some not-so-good-natured banter between the two ladies as they both try to win your heart! ;-) Valygar can't be dual-classed into a kit. Dual-classing is for switching class, not for changing to a kit. He can't be dual-classed to a cleric either, his wisdom is too low. But you can use Shadowkeeper to change him to an archer.
for those monster who require a weapon +3) and a shield.
Then when she has 1 pip in spears and 1 pip in two-handed weapon style the party is near Underwater City I give her Impaler (+3, +10 piercing damage) - it's absolutly devastating!
Later you can give her the second pip in spears and Ixil's Spike - one of the best weapons in the game.
For me, she's one of the best fighters - because of Iron Skins. In situations where Minsk or any other fighter will get, for example, 30 damage, Jaheira will get 0.
Her high dexterity gives her good AC. With the Gauntlets of Ogre Power her strenght is high enough! She also has a good constitution.
But she can not only fight, she can bring some fire elementals, she can cure, even resurrect. It's a no-brainer, for me.
So, in my mind, you're free to choose another fighter!
I'd take Valygar for his ability to backstab and fighter's THACO - it's VERY important when you're backstabbing!
At the start for backstabbing you can use his own katana - then Celestial Fury (till the end of BG2). With his progression give him pips in halberds (for Dragon's Breath or Wave and later - Ravager) - for the real fights, two-handed weapon style and staffs - for backstabbing with the best backstabbing weapon in the game - Staff of the Ram). You'll have enough pips available (every 3 levels), trust me.
And the six's spot I'd give to Neera because she fits well into your party and she's neutral. Or Haerdalis maybe (in this case you can't romance Aerie - well, you can romance Jaheira).
And I love his personality. He isnt some over-zealous, holier-than-thou paladin like that idiot Ajantis. He's relaxed but strives to maintain goodness and order wherever he goes. He makes an excellent party leader with his 18 CHA too. Keldorn is always a good choice as a party member.
Step 1: Get a decent club/scimitar and shield
Step 2: Cast iron skins
Step 3: ???
Step 4: Profit
She's a very solid all rounder, especially when paired with a damage-dealing 2h/dual-wield melee.
There´s still a lot of time till BG2EE, so I´ve plenty of time to think about whom to take.
Now, I would take (this can change in the next few hours (*laugh*)) Mazzy and Minsc, so I will have exactly the same party as some 10 Years ago. Mazzy would be my Main Tank with either FoA or Crom Faeyr and Minsc dual-wielding my choice of weapons.
Jaheira will then fill up a slightly different role as melee and supporter instead as a spellslinger.
Perhaps there will be a new NPC which will be fun to play and would fit into my party. Halfling Barbarian or something like that.
For your other two slots, I would agree with the others and definitely get Keldorn. He doesn't come off like most other paladins in other games (naive and lawful stupid), like @Flashburn said. Other than his treatment of Viconia, he's more like the old, dutiful soldier that's been doing what he does for far too long. He's pretty much the mentor of the group. From a combat perspective, his double-leveled Dispel Magic, ability to wield Carsomyr, and True Sight is invaluable against the mage fights in the game.
If you grab her really early, you can customize Mazzy's weapon proficiencies to more your taste. She starts off with ***** in Shortbow and * in Shortsword, so just start focusing on Hammers or Flails. She's a competent DW'er if you put ** in DW + Weapon of your choice by using Kundane in your offhand, but it does take quite a bit of XP and you'll have to manually equip/unequip your bow when you want to swap weapons. I don't think Mazzy really shines unless you use the Grandmastery mod - she'll just be on the same level as all of the other warrior NPCs.
Valygar is great for DPS, but won't be very good as a tank since you'll want to keep him in Leather for stealth+backstabs. Personally, I don't keep him around for long, because he's kind of boring personality-wise IMO. He does have interesting interactions with Mazzy and backstabbing is fun, however.
Minsc is solid and flexible and would be a great pick. Not much more to say about him.
Anomen is a strong alternative (can GM in weapons, good base Str, high level cleric abilities, great at turning undead), but I personally can't stand his personality. His interactions with Keldorn makes him even more unlikable than he already is as well. I kept him around for my entire first playthrough, from start to the end of ToB, and NEVER AGAIN. Ugh.
I could never conceive of playing without Keldorn due to the dispel magic (at twice his level) and True Sight. He gets another three ordinary Dispel Magics per day with Carsomyr, and that means none of your mages need learn either Dispel Magic or True Sight. He's also strong (he uses the best weapon in the game after all, which gets him 50% Magic Resistance in TOB and even in SOA dispels magic on hitting the enemy) and tanks well.