BG2: EE Party Compilation Advice Requested

Reaper004

Hey everyone, I'm just starting my first playthrough of Baldur's Gate 2 The Enhanced Edition and I'm going for the typical 'good guys,' party. I'm pretty sure I'm solid on four of the five companions I'm going to have, but I'm having no small amount of difficulty choosing who the fifth companion will be. Any suggestions would be welcomed [you'll see what party make-up I have in my mind when you read below what companion's I've already chosen]

1. PC [Human Male Cavalier / Wields 2-Hand Sword(s)]
2. Keldorn [Human Male Inquisitor / Wields 2-Hand Sword(s) as well as Longsword & Shield when needed]
3. Anomen [Human Male Fighter/Cleric / Wields Flail (or Mace) & Shield]
4. Valygar [Human Male Stalker / Wields Longbow & Katana (Single-Weapon Style)]
5. Aerie [Female Avariel Wizard/Cleric / Wields Sling & Dagger (plus Magic, obviously)] <--- Chosen Romantic Interest
6. ???

As you can see, I've got a pretty straight-forward party, however I've got a clear issue with the fifth companion. I ALWAYS take Minsc & Jaheira when I play BG2 so I'm steering clear of them this time. I SHOULD pick a Thief but honestly, I do NOT like Yoshimo [he doesn't fit the mold for my party either], Nalia annoys the living hell out of me, and Jan is just fricken' maddening. The only characters I'm really considering taking with me at the moment is Mazzy, maybe Nalia [even though I don't care for her, she fits the mold and fulfills the need for a Thief], and Imoen [which won't be till later], and of course even though it goes against EVERYTHING I'm trying to justify taking Viconia somehow just for the sexy drow factor [ha ha].

So... Any advice? I'm having real trouble deciding.

Coutelier

Aere can't wield a dagger I think. I usually equip her with a club or mace, shield, and sling.

Heindrich

Mazzy isn't a thief. Ur party seems magic-lite, which could be a problem as BG 2 is very magic-heavy. I suggest u get Imoen back asap and use one of the other thieves as a stop-gap until then.

Akihiko

Personally, I think you need more in the mage department. I'd take Nalia then Imoen, since you dislike Nalia.

Adia

Are you stuck on the idea of being a Cavalier? Because the easiest thing would be for you to be a thief so you don't have to take NPCs you don't like.

...although when I have played (and didn't like the options) I just swapped the characters in-and-out as I needed them. So swap Imoen and Yoshimo around so you don't tire of them, and then just dump the characters later for Imoen.

Reaper004

Quick Note; I know Mazzy isn't a Thief, she's a Fighter, but she's big on the whole 'Knight,' thing so I figured it fit with the party theme rather well.

And yeah, the idea of being a Thief myself did occur to me because I ALWAYS play a Fighter and I wanted to play a new class to experience a new Stronghold, however I do NOT like playing as a Mage or Rogue type class in ANY RPG, so I figured the Paladin class was perfect [specifically the Cavalier because according to the Kit Description it is the closest to the 'classical knight,' and is most akin to a Fighter whilst also letting me experience a Stronghold other than the Keep].

Thank you all for the quick input.

Millardkillmoore

I'd recommend going with an Inquisitor instead of a Cavalier. Their Dispel Magic ability is among the strongest powers in the game. Cavalier is still a solid choice, even though it's not as good as an Inquisitor. Honestly, Paladins lucked out on kits. All four are vastly superior to the already-pretty-good base class. Just make sure he uses greatswords.

You don't need two Paladins, so replace Keldorn with Rasaad. Give Valygar two melee weapons and use him for sneak attacks. You might also want to consider handing him the belt of hill giant strength. If you want a more unusual ranger, try out Halberds. There's a lot of great ones. Last party member should be Imoen. She's an excellent mage and can do the bare minimum thief stuff (picking locks and disarming traps). Use either Nalia, Jan, or Yoshimo until you get her.

Akihiko

If your main characters class is in any way influenced by what stronghold said class gets, I'd highly recommend *not* being a thief. They get the worst stronghold, hands down.

nano

Yeah, Nalia dualed into Imoen would be perfect.

I'd boot one of the others for Mazzy, though. Maybe Valygar? Even though she's a fighter Mazzy is as noble as they come. She can do the archer thing better than Val too.

Dragonspear

IMO (Even with Dispel Magic/True Sight) I prefer cavalier to inquisitor. I think the priest spells that you get (which you lose inquisitor wise) make up the difference and then some.

Prolly would go with Rasaad isntead of Keldorn though. You can throw on sword and board when you need to on your own paladin (the Dragonslayer longsword on a cavalier is happily dirty).

Maybe take Mazzy until you get Imoen back and just face check traps (you should still detect them with priest spells/Rasaad, but you'll have to trip them).

KidCarnival

That's very divine heavy and lacks of thief and arcane casting. Which means if you don't want to play either, you should take Jan along.

Anaximander

If you have Keldorn in the party then charname should focus on a different weapon specialization, perhaps bastard sword(the other holy sword late in the game). You should have long sword as well, as some can help fight undead + dragons.
You could put Aerie on the shelf at some point and recruit Mazzy, she's like a palidin or as much as a halfling could be a palidin anyhow.
Jan is a bit chaotic so you could have the D'arnise girl help find traps buffed with potions. She likes to help the poor and is a good hearted type.

Dragonspear

@Anaximander

First of all, if you were going for a very pally oriented party I think the following would match up to what it is:

PC: Cavalier sword and board longsword/Bastard Sword*/flail or hammer and shield
Anomen: Mace and Flail or Hammer (whichever one you didn't pick)
Keldorn: 2h weapon user (Including Carsomyr*)
Aerie: Staff/Sling, support buff/debuff due to the insane trigger and contigency choices you can get as a CM
Mazzy: Rounds out the basic sword types, but also gives you a great archer character
Nalia -> Imoen: I agree that her looking out for the poor etc matches up with the party, but considering you're going to rescue your sister I would find it weird to not then keep her close by you.

*: Considering there is only 1 Eye of Tyr in ToB to upgrade, I would still ONLY advise one paladin and then pick either Bastard Sword or Two Handed Sword, especially becauseeeeeee.

If you replace Keldorn, you can take Rasaad, who is also LG and tends to fit the disciplined mindset rather nicely. More to the point, you can replace Rasaad with a certain ToB character, to keep an eye on him like a responsible paladin.