Can't decide on party for Black Pits II

Eck4343

I can't seem to settle on a party for Black Pits II, so I haven't started yet. I'd like to get pretty power gamey, but I also prefer a 4 person party to 6, for faster leveling and less micro management.

The party I have in mind is 2 kensai/mages and 2 fighter/clerics. The trouble is that I'm afraid I might be putting myself in an impossible situation while I try to level up the mages. So, for those who have played, do you think this will work, and how long am I going to have to grind before the mages get their kensai class back? Also, is the black pits similar to Icewind Dale, where you can re-design your party mid game, or am I stuck with my choices throughout? Finally, am I safe in assuming that I can get away with no thief, like the first black pits?

Thanks for your help, and I'm certainly open to other suggestions for 4-man parties.

Nachti

Its do-able, you get 500.000 xp or 250.000 xp for each character in the first rounds.

You can hire npcs to help you if you have problems.

ryuken87

It's pretty much all quest exp, so you won't level much faster as a four-person party.

I wouldn't want half my team dual classing at once. I suggest at least one sorcerer to save money on scrolls.

I've only done the 9th battle so far but heres my party.
Cavalier - general melee damage and tanking. Poison immunity and good saves are really handy.
Inquisitor - Dispel and True Sight, 'nuff said.
Gnome F/T - I get the feeling some thieving abilities are gonna be useful later on. Plus his HLAs are really good. Also has a bow with Arrows of Dispelling.
Dwarf F/C - Another good, tough melee character. With my playstyle I rarely take more than half a priest in a party.
Sorcerer x2 - These guys win most of the fights on their own while the rest do some distracting. They generally just nuke everything (drow fight aside) but are also capable of rapidly summoning several skeleton warriors or swords to tie up the enemy.

Mungri

Inquisitor for Dispel / True Sight

Sorc specced in anti caster, CCs, and chain cont ADHW.

One or two Kensages (I used a kensai and a blade, both lasted longer than any armoured character could with their buffs. 2 Kensages is far better though, or just two Fighter / Mage multis).

One F/C or R/C multiclass, just for buffs. You dont need healing, and this gives you buffs and another strong melee.

Optionally a dedicated Archer or ranged fighter for sniping down breached / dispelled mages in mere seconds. Arrows of dispelling would likely work great, I just use spellstrike > breach > kill with archer tactic on mages.

The Inquisitor and R/C would usually go squish fast. I tried using them initially while getting the kensage + blade buffed up, then pulling them out when they had taken too much damage and sending in the near invicible melee arcanes.

Theres no shame in using OP class combinations like Kensage x 2 in here, its very very hard.

Nachti

I personally like to add one or two monk.

They can easily reach -20 AC, 90% magic resist with 15-35 dmg/4 attacks.
Additional they can use Mirror Image, Whirlwind, great Stuns, Fire/Cold damage, lay hands or Hardiness.

Far better then Fighter/Cleric.

Tenrecc

Eck4343 said:

I can't seem to settle on a party for Black Pits II, so I haven't started yet. I'd like to get pretty power gamey, but I also prefer a 4 person party to 6, for faster leveling and less micro management.

Won't happen. It's all quest experience so you'll end up with 6-6.5m experience for all characters disregarding party size. If you dislike micromanagement, throw in a few fighters/monks/archers that doesn't need any micro.

Eck4343 said:

The party I have in mind is 2 kensai/mages and 2 fighter/clerics. The trouble is that I'm afraid I might be putting myself in an impossible situation while I try to level up the mages.

Not at all, I dualled a few characters myself while avoiding buying anything that cost more than a 100 gold. Dualling at 13 won't work though, since you'll go from level 12-14 directly with fighters, which is a bit of a nuisance. The earlier levels are quite easy and you get a ton of experience.

Eck4343 said:

So, for those who have played, do you think this will work, and how long am I going to have to grind before the mages get their kensai class back? Also, is the black pits similar to Icewind Dale, where you can re-design your party mid game, or am I stuck with my choices throughout? Finally, am I safe in assuming that I can get away with no thief, like the first black pits?

Thanks for your help, and I'm certainly open to other suggestions for 4-man parties.

No thief is required (and getting one is a bad idea), but you can't re-design your characters.

If you really want a 4-man party there's the el classico of powerhouses (kensage+inquis+ran/cler+sorc), although it might make the game a bit too easy.

jackjack

My only self imposed restriction is no two classes can be identical in my party. However, I shamelessly powergame here, unlike in the main campaign, where I find it not just unnecessary but potentially game-breaking. Not so with The Black Pits 2.