Synergy: The ideal 3-person and 4-person parties
vladpen
Member Posts: 88
I've been playing Baldur's Gate EE for the past two days. Not in the sense of actually playing, but in the sense of deciding what sort of party I want to play. I have some tentative conclusions, and am curious to hear feedback before committing myself to playing these characters. I'm playing a "multiplayer" game because I want to design my entire party.
I don't want to control six characters, as this would be a hassle; three or four seem like the ideal number.
I think Mage, Cleric, and Thief should all be represented in the party.
I dislike dual-classing. I understand the mechanic, but it makes no sense. In role-playing terms, it makes no sense to lose one class's ability when starting to study another. In game terms, it makes no sense to play as one class, then as another, in order to eventually play as both in the endgame, when you can just play a multiclassed character and have a strong and flexible character for the entire game. I understand that it's the only way to play both a kit and another class, and I like the kits, but I don't think it's worth it.
I like multi-classing. To get a character from level 6 to level 7, you need ~30k experience, which can buy you 6 levels in another class instead. A character with 6 levels in two different classes is better than a character with 7 levels in one class. (These numbers are approximations: mages need only 20k to go from 6 to 7, which would buy only 5 levels of Cleric or Fighter; also, the levels gained in the other class do not contribute to HP, which for multi-classed characters get averaged.)
So I'm thinking that a good 3-person party would be:
Fighter/Mage
Fighter/Cleric
Mage/Thief
2 fighters, 2 mages, 1 thief, 1 cleric, 3 melee characters, 3 casters.
The other option is to play a 4-person party and not worry so much about what makes a good party, but just pick 2 or 3 classes that I subjectively like, and use the other character(s) to shore up on the party's weaknesses. That would look something like:
Dwarven Defender (Fighter kit)
Archer (Ranger kit)
Mage
Cleric/Thief
But whichever I pick, the grass might end up looking greener on the other side (doesn't it always?)
I'd like to hear your thoughts. Any suggestions? Am I overlooking something?
I don't want to control six characters, as this would be a hassle; three or four seem like the ideal number.
I think Mage, Cleric, and Thief should all be represented in the party.
I dislike dual-classing. I understand the mechanic, but it makes no sense. In role-playing terms, it makes no sense to lose one class's ability when starting to study another. In game terms, it makes no sense to play as one class, then as another, in order to eventually play as both in the endgame, when you can just play a multiclassed character and have a strong and flexible character for the entire game. I understand that it's the only way to play both a kit and another class, and I like the kits, but I don't think it's worth it.
I like multi-classing. To get a character from level 6 to level 7, you need ~30k experience, which can buy you 6 levels in another class instead. A character with 6 levels in two different classes is better than a character with 7 levels in one class. (These numbers are approximations: mages need only 20k to go from 6 to 7, which would buy only 5 levels of Cleric or Fighter; also, the levels gained in the other class do not contribute to HP, which for multi-classed characters get averaged.)
So I'm thinking that a good 3-person party would be:
Fighter/Mage
Fighter/Cleric
Mage/Thief
2 fighters, 2 mages, 1 thief, 1 cleric, 3 melee characters, 3 casters.
The other option is to play a 4-person party and not worry so much about what makes a good party, but just pick 2 or 3 classes that I subjectively like, and use the other character(s) to shore up on the party's weaknesses. That would look something like:
Dwarven Defender (Fighter kit)
Archer (Ranger kit)
Mage
Cleric/Thief
But whichever I pick, the grass might end up looking greener on the other side (doesn't it always?)
I'd like to hear your thoughts. Any suggestions? Am I overlooking something?
0
Comments
A fighter/thief would be nice, too. A standalone thief is quite the weakling and misses easily some of those backstabs. You get quite some ability raising items, too (like shadow armor, stealth boots, etc), you you do not have to worry about missing some thief points in exchange for warrior levels added in. Halflings first (shortsword [of backstabbing] and sling), elves closely second (longbow and longsword), make the most powerful representatives of this class. In the original game, Coran would be an excellent representative, even more tempting than a self made character; with 20 dexterity, 3 points in longbows, being a fighter thief, an elf etc, he was a real beast.
About fighter mage, i would advise against. You won't reach 5 level spells. No cloudkill for you... Seriously, trust me, and make a pure mage. You won't regret it, honestly...
Then you need a fighter druid, or a cleric ranger multi, either as a last 4th party member, or in place of the former fighter cleric. Ranger, essentially works like a fighter anyway, and this combination grants you both cleric and druid spells. But i do not know if this works at the level cap of 1. And again, you loose the 5th level spells, a normal, standalone druid would reach. I would advise making a druid kit on this one, and not a multi.
Have fun!
Here is another group that would get the job done.
Four Person:
Berserker (dwarf)
Swashbuckler (dwarf)
Cleric/Ranger
Sorcerer
@luskan That is a nice group for sure. However, I would prefer a dedicated mage vs. the multiclass. The F/M would not even get a single ninth level spell until late in ToB, if ever at all. And what's IA without Time Stop?
I like Sorcerer best because I'd rather have more casts of fewer spells. To me, it's a win-win. There really aren't that many spells I need a mage to cast and I love the flexibility of a Sorcerer. Time Stop, debuff, improved haste and let the dual-wielders do their thing
It's all about your style, of course. Whatever makes you happy and chunks your enemies!
I think I'd regret not choosing my favorite kits. Unfortunately, the Cleric/Thief would be too frustrating to play because of the bad interface layout (the most often used ability is hard to reach), so I need something else. I could split it into Cleric/Ranger and Fighter/Thief as recommended, and play a 5-character party.
Dwarven Defender (Fighter kit)
Archer (Ranger kit)
Mage
Cleric/Ranger
Fighter/Thief
That's a bit more people than I had intended, but I suppose it's better than passing up interesting classes or dealing with interface frustrations, or not having a Cleric or a Thief.
I think you are on the right track about the Sorcerer. It is not ideal for a new player, but not impossible. They are certainly more effective though once you get an idea of the spell casting mechanics in the game.
The swashbuckler is a great character, highly recommended. They just keep getting stronger throughout the whole game. I just finished a trilogy run with one and had a lot of fun.
Are you planning on taking these characters into BG2 or is just for the first game?
I would never do it in BG2, party interaction is too much of the fun of the game.
I have also had a very successful three person party in IWD; a paladin, a fighter/cleric, and a thief/mage. Obviously the fighter/cleric could have gone single class as a cleric, but with such a small party I thought multi-class would be far more powerful. This was also a very powerful party.
Fighter/Druid
Ranger/Cleric
Mage/Thief
for a quartet, consider a F/M/T
Gnome Fighter/Illusionist
Half-Elf Ranger/Cleric
Halfling Fighter/Thief
? Sorceror
I'm also trying to decide what weapon proficiencies to take with each character and I'm not sure.
Looks legit! All 4 of them are very strong choices. If you go for the ultimate power route, make a Half-orc or a dwarf Fighter/Thief
I would go for:
Fighter/Illusionist ** two-weapon fighting style **longswords *shortswords Daystar+Kundane
Ranger/Cleric ** two-weapon fighting style **flails FoA + Defender of Easthaven
Fighter/Thief * single-weapon fighting style * two-handed weapons **katana **staff Celestial Fury (later Staff of the Ram)
Sorceror - who cares - darts and daggers
Dwarven Defender (Fighter kit)
Archer (Ranger kit)
Inquisitor (Mage-smashing Paladin kit)
Mage
Cleric/Thief