First SCS tentative in BG2

inchenzo

hello everybody
I came here to ask for some tips and hints about my very first tentative of playing BG2EE with almost evrything of SCS2 installed...

my first dilema is on my team...
Actually I started a party with a F/T from BG1EE, with very good stats ( good rolls and tome from BG1)
I escaped from Irecinus dungeon ( fucking difficult already) but I managed to do evrything inside.
I am now in akatlaht and I have free Hendak in the copper coronet, and then go to the dry boat but it is already a BIG challenge.

For now my party has:
- my character a F/T
- korgan
- Jaheira
- Viconia

I know there is a big lack of mage at the moment, but as I installed the module of SCS2 that allow the cowled mage to spot use of magic inside building, I thinked that a mage will not but that useful until I get the licence.

I think to take Neera soon

what are your suggestion for the 6th character? what about Imoen?

do you think my party will be suitable for SCS?

I wanted to include more of the new character ( such dorn or Rasad) but I dont who remove for that...

thank you in advance

Blackraven

Your current lineup is very strong! You'll have a hard time until you get the spellcasting license, but you're right that before that time a Mage won't be that useful, except in the areas outside Athkatla. I'd advise you to go to the Umar Hills or to Trademeet, to gain some XP, earn some Gold (with which to buy the casting license).
As to other possible party members. Neera would be a nice pick, later in the game. Imoen could be your second Mage. If you want more of the new NPCs you could consider taking Dorn (instead of Korgan, though Korgan is better defensively) or Rasaad (with his Monk abilities he could be a good frontliner).

inchenzo

thank You for the reply
I have Neera now And I have cleaned the cemetery district.
I am still hesitating about the big guy of the team, Rasaad / Dorn / Korgan... Very hard to decide.
I have downloaded the NPC banter pack, so I could make a game with classic NPC toenjoy the banters and another game with the new NPCs (all of them in one time)

Sooo for a party with rasaad, dirn neera and hexat, which CGARNAME class do you suggest? Imo there is misding another mage and cleric and druid spells...
cleric ranger maybe?

Blackraven

You're welcome

Rasaad and Dorn will be your frontliners, with tanking and damage dealing power. (Though I think Korgan is better than Dorn: more Hit Points, and the amazingly good Berserker Rage.) Hexxat will provide for all your thieving needs. And Neera is your dedicated mage.

That's four NPCs, which leaves two spots open, one for another NPC, and one for CHARNAME.
I see three hiatuses in your current formation: Druid spells, Cleric spells, more Arcane magic.

If you pick another Mage (Imoen maybe, or Edwin), then you'll have two good Wizards. In that case Cleric/Ranger would be perfect because you would have Druid spells an Cleric spells combined.

But you can also take Jaheira with you, for Druid spells and more fighting power, and play a Cleric/Mage CHARNAME.

JuliusBorisov

Hello, @inchenzo‌

I would suggest 2 mages are a must for BG2 with SCS. One of them should be a pure mage, not multiclass, to get higher levels of magic faster. Why 2 mages? Well, at least for one of them taking down magical protections and for another taking down combat protections. It works especially well with items that decrease casting time. While one mage has already finished Pierce Magic, another one is in final seconds of casting Breach.

Another reason to have 2 mages is that in a fight one of them can become stunned/confused/dead. If the only mage in your party is out of work in the middle of the fight with an enemy spellcaster you're in BIG trouble.

I would suggest having a cleric and a druid in a party is another must for BG2 with SCS. Clerical buffs and debuffs and several Insect Plagues from your druid will help greatly.

And of course a thief is required to Detect Illusions and Set Traps.

You have: a F/T, Korgan, Jaheira and Viconia. So, you're covered in a thief, a druid and a cleric. Jaheira and Viconia can become good tanks, they're not only divine spellcasters. Combined with your backstabbing fighter and berzerkering Korgan you're set with melee power.

So you need 2 mages. I'd take Nalia and Imoen. If your thief is not experienced in Detect Illusions and Set Traps, take Jan Jansen instead of Nalia.

Blackraven

@bengoshi, but @inchenzo seemed to have changed his mind in as to his charname class and his party formation (I think because he wants to play with the new NPCs.) He said the following in his second post:

inchenzo said:

Sooo for a party with rasaad, dirn neera and hexat, which CGARNAME class do you suggest? Imo there is misding another mage and cleric and druid spells...
cleric ranger maybe?

So I really think that if you're working with Neera, Dorn, Rasaad, and Hexxat, you'd be best served with either Jaheira plus a Cleric/Mage charname, or Edwin/Nalia/Imoen plus a Cleric/Ranger charname.

Btw @inchenzo I'm not sure how nicely the EE NPCs with their different alignments would get along. You might want to go neutral/evil this time, and take Korgan instead of Rasaad. ANd maybe another you could play witha neutral/good party.

JuliusBorisov

@Blackraven‌ Thanks for this remark.

Well, for the party of Neera, Dorn, Rasaad and Hexxat I would suggest getting the same squad that is another mage, a cleric and a druid. A Charname can be an Avenger druid that is a fun class to play, as a mage there's Edwin or Nalia and as a cleric Viconia is a solid choice.

BTW, as this thread (http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/23585/baldur-s-gate-ii-enhanced-edition-playthrough-begins-using-same-character-as-the-first-playthrough/p3) shows, Rasaad is fine with both Dorn and Viconia.

Blackraven

@bengoshi, yes, Avenger Druid would be a very nice character to play. One of my faves as well. Aerie (Cleric/Mage) could be an interesting option in that case.

Re: alignment issues, thanks for pointing this out. There's also Hexxat to take into account btw.

Gallowglass

@Blackraven‌ - at the risk of almost necroposting, I'll point out that there's a flaw which might mislead newbies: you can't have Aerie with Hexxat, they'll eventually refuse to work together.

If taking all four new NPCs together, workable options for a balanced party are actually rather limited. If you played an Avenger (or other Druid) protagonist, then you'd really need a Cleric/Mage NPC for the final slot, and Aerie is the only one available, and she isn't compatible with Hexxat, so this option doesn't fly.

Your other suggestions are fine, and are about the only two ways of making it a balanced party (and especially for a newbie, a balanced party is a good plan):

either 1) a Cleric/Ranger protagonist and Edwin/Nalia/Imoen (or you could take Jan if you really want, but his Thief abilities are redundant when you've got Hexxat, so one of the faster-progressing Mages is better);

or 2) a Cleric/Mage (or Cleric/Illusionist) protagonist and Jaheira/Cernd (but not any of the Cleric NPCs - Anomen isn't compatible with Dorn, Viconia isn't compatible with Rasaad, Aerie isn't compatible with Hexxat - so it has to be one of the two Druid NPCs).

Option 1) is do-able but a little light on divine casting (especially if you play Dorn's questline in such a way that he eventually loses his casting abilities), whereas option 2) is a very solid party which can cope with all eventualities. I therefore recommend the latter, particularly for a first attempt.

When I did this, I played a Cleric/Illusionist and took Cernd. It worked very well.

Blackraven

Thanks @Gallowglass for pointing this out. I didn't know. Hopefully @inchenzo is served by your info