1) Fighter/Thief - Half-Orc: (Max Str/Dex/Con, high Int) for juicy back stabs, specializing in hiding in shadows, silent walking and archery from time to time (most of the time fighting in the front line dual wielding short swords/daggers)
2) Mage/Thief - Elf: (Max Dex and Int, high Char) specializing in traps and opening locks. Mainly learning control spells and AoE spells.
3) Berserker - Human (Max Str [aiming for 18/00]/Dex/Con, high Wis (roll for will??) 2h sword user, mainly used as a tank and to slice enemies,
4) Archer - Elf (Max Str and Dex) good bow user is always necessary,
5) Fighter(6?)/Cleric - Human (Max Str,Dex,Con and Wis, high Char) just pure healer/buffer tailored for front line.
6) Cleric/Illusionist - (Max Str,Dex,Con,Int, High Wis) jack of all trades, it is more of a fun character. His role will be bringing heavy supply of arcane and divine offensive magic in the front line. Also working as kind of a decoy (mirror images).
My 2 cents:
1) I tend to use F/T as a primarily ranged user and backstabber/flanker as a secondary role. You already have a Berseker & F/C so no need to use F/T as a front line tank
2) A classic
3) My advice: go for axes instead greatswords. IWD has a nice selection of both 1H and 2H axes. And you'll be able to use ranged attacks with a certain returning axe
4) Death from above. Machine gunner.
5) I prefer Ranger/Cleric or Fighter/Cleric multi. But since you plan to use your cleric as a pure healer and already have a C/I you could always go with a pure Cleric of Tempus.
6) Metamagic expert. Takes some time to develop but it is worth it.
I would also recommend a Bard. Maybe instead of Mage/Thief. You already have the thief skills covered with F/T, scouting with Archer and spells with C/I. And bards also have a few spells up their sleeve.
Thanks for the suggestions! I agree actually F/T is better Off with a bow I guess, then backstab when necessary.
I'm not so sure about that bard thing mentioned already. Bards are weak spellcasters despite the fact they level fast, they have pickpocket only and their bard song gives basically the same effect as cleric buffs. Thus I cannot really see how they can be useful. Having M/T instead I have way more thieving skills and more spells, so (F/T can focus on hiding in shadows and silent move).
Since F/T can be archer I was thinking about leaving archer for something else then maybe.
Bards are amazing, especially Skalds and the songs stack with cleric buffs and everything else making them among the best buffs available in the game.
I'd sooner do a party with a bard and a skald than do a party without any bard at all.
Also there is unique quest experience available to bards, Paladins and Druids so I always include one of each of these in a non-HoF run and in HoF I still have a bard and a druid at least as they are so powerful in IWDee.
Still kinda meh to me, to buff they cannot attack so they can continue singing the song so that's a limitation. Also, ok you got bard AND skald to stack the buff, why don't you take 2 sorcerers/mages instead to spam control and damage magic (especially later in the game). Bards cannot fight as good as warriors, cannot cast many spells, cannot do any thief stuff apart from pick pockets. If you look at this it's actually a waste of team space (and we have only 6 spots) and has many better ways to substitute, either with better spellcasters, better fighters or better thieves (or adding more healing cohort). I can see the value of this buff since I used it sometimes but to me it gets outweighed by skills other classes can deliver.
@mikkle Actually you can sing and fight or sing and cast at the same time but it's micro-heavy in a 6man party.
You need to sing first until the buff appears then you can do something else as the buff lasts for 6 seconds.
A Bard (or one of its kit) singing and casting a spell at the same time every rounds is such a valuable party member, definitely a must have in a powergaming party to my mind.
@mikkle Actually you can sing and fight or sing and cast at the same time but it's micro-heavy in a 6man party.
You need to sing first until the buff appears then you can do something else as the buff lasts for 6 seconds.
A Bard (or one of its kit) singing and casting a spell at the same time every rounds is such a valuable party member, definitely a must have in a powergaming party to my mind.
Oh my it sounds like such a pain. Even if the few seconds buff is so worth to sacrifice whole character for it, utilising that properly takes more effort and thinking than casting high level cleric/Mage spells and getting same effect and more
Skald song is most valuable in a party with lots of attacks. As an example: Berserker (dual axe) Undead Hunter (dual longsword) Fighter/Cleric (Morningstar/shield) Avenger (darts) Sorcerer (darts) Skald
At level 1 this party has 12.5 attacks per round which lets the Skald do 25 damage per round with the song which is very strong (not to mention additional hits from better THAC0 and less damage taken from better AC).
At level 7 this party has 21 APR with haste giving the Skald a contribution of 42 damage per round, still very nice!
By level 15 the party can have up to 50 APR which is a contribution of 200 damage per round with Skald Song not to mention the possibility of having a Mislead clone sing allowing the Skald to attack or cast spells.
Obviously the Skald shines in a party with good APR which you can maximise via dual wielding, Fast/Action weapons and shapechanges abilities.
I'm gonna play IWD:EE for the first time, but I don't like large parties. In fact, I'm having a blast soloing BG trilogy with SCS on difficult with a thief/illusionist. So I'd like to keep my party small.
I have two questions. To see a lot of the side quests and class-specific stuff, this thread recommends a paladin (or kit), a druid (or kit/multi), and a bard.
1. What's a good first-time party of 4? Or should I just suck it up and do something wild like play 6 all single-classed characters with kits (save for a something/thief)?
I'm gonna play IWD:EE for the first time, but I don't like large parties. In fact, I'm having a blast soloing BG trilogy with SCS on difficult with a thief/illusionist. So I'd like to keep my party small.
I have two questions. To see a lot of the side quests and class-specific stuff, this thread recommends a paladin (or kit), a druid (or kit/multi), and a bard.
1. What's a good first-time party of 4? Or should I just suck it up and do something wild like play 6 all single-classed characters with kits (save for a something/thief)?
And,
2. Are wizard slayers also poo here?
You could use the suggested paladin, druid, bard, and round it out with a cleric/thief or dual a thief over to cleric after 6th level and cover everything you need.
You won't run into many wizards here. Don't bother.
I'm gonna play IWD:EE for the first time, but I don't like large parties. In fact, I'm having a blast soloing BG trilogy with SCS on difficult with a thief/illusionist. So I'd like to keep my party small.
I have two questions. To see a lot of the side quests and class-specific stuff, this thread recommends a paladin (or kit), a druid (or kit/multi), and a bard.
1. What's a good first-time party of 4? Or should I just suck it up and do something wild like play 6 all single-classed characters with kits (save for a something/thief)?
And,
2. Are wizard slayers also poo here?
You could use the suggested paladin, druid, bard, and round it out with a cleric/thief or dual a thief over to cleric after 6th level and cover everything you need.
You won't run into many wizards here. Don't bother.
Really? even without a mage? Seems bonkers coming from BG, but that would certainly be interesting. Would you make some of those multi-classes? I hear fighters are important.
I'm gonna play IWD:EE for the first time, but I don't like large parties. In fact, I'm having a blast soloing BG trilogy with SCS on difficult with a thief/illusionist. So I'd like to keep my party small.
I have two questions. To see a lot of the side quests and class-specific stuff, this thread recommends a paladin (or kit), a druid (or kit/multi), and a bard.
1. What's a good first-time party of 4? Or should I just suck it up and do something wild like play 6 all single-classed characters with kits (save for a something/thief)?
And,
2. Are wizard slayers also poo here?
You could use the suggested paladin, druid, bard, and round it out with a cleric/thief or dual a thief over to cleric after 6th level and cover everything you need.
You won't run into many wizards here. Don't bother.
Really? even without a mage? Seems bonkers coming from BG, but that would certainly be interesting. Would you make some of those multi-classes? I hear fighters are important.
I would always have a mage myself, but you mentioned a smaller party. Your bard can cast mage spells pretty effectively, especially level based spells. With Strength, Stoneskin, Mirror Image, Blur, they can tank okay too. The druid will be able to tank decently with the werewolf and greater werewolf forms combined with the iron skins spell. I don't like multiclassing druids, it takes too damn long to get those extra 7th level spells.
4 person party: Paladin (vanilla or kit, just not Inquisitor) Druid (any kit or dual from fighter) Bard (probably Blade in a small party) Thief (any kit dualed to any class or any multi)
I did this party with: Blackguard Blade Avenger Assassin 13 -> Mage
Make sure that the blade is the appropriate alignment to get the familiar with decent find traps.
With the druid you could even think about dropping the cleric altogether and having a mage/thief instead because you can get more than enough healing from the bard using the war chant of the sith. Lots of other bonuses too during combat. Actually best to play thief up to level 6 or so to max out open locks and find traps then dual to mage.
you can get more than enough healing from the bard using the war chant of the sith.
You'll only get access to War Chant of the Sith pretty late in the game, after the hardest dungeons are already completed.
If you are trying to optimize end-game power, it could be an option, but for newbies trying to play the game for the first time, dropping the Cleric is not good advise IMO.
One could go with full druid and multi cleric combo, or the other way around with fighter/druid & full class cleric. As for arcane spellpower, Bard + Avenger can substitute a mage. Other option for more healing and buffing spells is to dual thief to cleric after level 6. Swashbuckler would be a good candidate. But I agree with @ineth , dropping cleric is not advisable.
you can get more than enough healing from the bard using the war chant of the sith.
You'll only get access to War Chant of the Sith pretty late in the game, after the hardest dungeons are already completed.
If you are trying to optimize end-game power, it could be an option, but for newbies trying to play the game for the first time, dropping the Cleric is not good advise IMO.
I think the bard would need to get to 13th level for that song, but it didn't take me that long last time since bards level up pretty quickly. I know what you mean though, personally I run with a party of 5-6 so I would always have a cleric or two but the OP was looking for a smaller party and I think this would be do-able with smart usage of healing potions and the druid to heal. It would depend on the difficulty setting a great deal as well, normal or core would be a lot easier than hard or insane obviously.
With the druid you could even think about dropping the cleric altogether and having a mage/thief instead because you can get more than enough healing from the bard using the war chant of the sith. Lots of other bonuses too during combat. Actually best to play thief up to level 6 or so to max out open locks and find traps then dual to mage.
That's what I'm doing, through now I'm not sure whether to go cleric or mage... I kind of like the idea of a playthrough with no arcane, but I'm not sure how handicapping that'll be, given the seemingly large amount of weak mobs and the few AoE damage spells clerics and druids have compared to mages. Though the bard is acting as a kind of mage, I suppose.
What about going Thief->Mage or Mage/Thief? I believe that a Paladin and a Druid can provide enough healing for the party with a Thief/Mage and a Bard.
You could also make the Druid a Berserker->Druid which is probably one of the most powerful dual-classess of the game, and then a Thief/Cleric.
Druids are better healers than clerics for much of the game due to their fast initial leveling and their summon nymph spell which gives mass cure light wounds at level 7(!).
Druids are also excellent at dealing with trash mobs via AoE spells in IWDee due to their expanded spell list, avenger kit just adds additional gravy.
In a 4 person party Druid really is enough of a healer and bard is enough of an arcane (they get Mage spells up to level 8). With a paladin on the frontline to provide a little extra healing (they get priest spells sooner in IWDee compared to BG) your 4th slot can really go any way, even a pure swashbuckler or assassin if you like.
This is the party that I'm currently running through IWD with, which I'm really quite pleased with. My intention was to create a party that was versatile and efficient, but without simply min/maxing the stats so that the party members wouldn't look out-of-place in comparison with BG1's NPCs (since I basically view IWD as a prequel to BG1).
This is my party leader, an elven ranger with 19 dext:
She's probably the most versatile warrior of the group - she can scout/stealth ahead to reveal ambushes, she's an expert markswoman, she can handle herself in melee, and (upon reaching level 6) she has a limited ability to cast druid spells. Although her strength isn't particularly high, it's just high enough to allow her to use composite bows and wear most armor. She also gets a racial enemy bonus against giants.
A half-orc barbarian with 19 str, dual wielding short swords:
Combining incredible str AND speed, she's able to "rush" enemies and (thanks to the low speed factor of short swords) chunk them to pieces before they even have a chance to react. Her barbarian rage gives her extra chunking ability as well as immunity to certain spells that are often encountered in IWD.
A berserker with 18/99 str, 17 con:
A heavy damage-dealing flanker, also providing some extra artillery fire with a crossbow (even though he has low dext, there are a number of crossbows in IWD that give substantial THAC0 bonuses).
A dwarven Priest of Tempus:
The party's main cleric/healer, he also doubles as a tank.
A gnomish cleric/thief:
The party's thief, and backup cleric/healer.
A mage:
I chose a vanilla mage so that she could have access to any spell.
I'm a few hours into IWDEE with a four man party on Insane and... let's just say I'm thinking of adjusting things a little and starting over.
I'm curious about Archers. No one seems to mention them here. Are they as mediocre in IWD as BG2? With all these narrow corridors I'm thinking a dedicated Archer might be really useful.
How about proficiencies for a Fighter/Druid? Quarterstaves or Spears? I'm thinking a longer range two handed weapon could be handy if I'm running an Undead Hunter (Long Sword and Shield) and Berserker(9)-Cleric (Flail/Morning Star and Shield) as tanks.
Dont know if its best, but its fun for me and gets damned strong later on:
Blackguard - The setting of IWD is very fitting for one, and their abilities make some of the harder battles much more palatable, especially if you are playing in the harder modes.
Beserker - nothing like a big, bad orc dual weilding some axes and morningstars. The beserk helps in tricky battles as well.
Skald - one amazing bard kit, awesome for just the bard song, and can be made into a competent caster. Also great for identifying loot on the fly without having to screw with spells.
Priest of Tempus - the group buff is really nice, better than the other cleric specialists, IMO. Stacks with the bard song.
Assassin or Bounty Hunter - interchangable. The BH traps are great for softening up tough battles.
Sorceror :Dragon Disciple - Dragon breath is fun, and the other bonuses make up for initial lack of spells. dont have to split scrolls between himself and the bard.
[...] I'm curious about Archers. No one seems to mention them here. Are they as mediocre in IWD as BG2? With all these narrow corridors I'm thinking a dedicated Archer might be really useful.
[...]
I've completed the game with 4 archers, a clerif/thief and a skald. It was...not very challenging. The archers would usually turn any enemy into a pincushion before they would reach the party. The skald's song and cleric's buffs made the archers' attacks even more powerful. Casting web, grease (skald) and entangle (archers) to immobilize enemy groups was also a strategy I sometimes put to good use.
Really, the only difficulty this party faced were enemies that could only be hurt by +2 weapons - there are simply not that many arrows +2 in the game.
Hey guys. I have just started IWD EE for the Nth time. Finally i think i have the setup that im happy with.
Paladin Cavalier (party leader) Fighter Cleric (dwarf) Bard (half elf) Cleric (human) Rogue (Dual class to mage after Level 6) Wizard.
I hope i have enough tanks to manage through this, but i can make the cleric also tank if it turns needed.
Only just arrived in Kuldahar. Vale of Shadows next
I'd always have a Druid if possible.
Well, you can swap the single-class Cleric for a Druid without any problems I'd guess, and it'll still be a solid setup (although I find it more suitable for BG than for IwD I think it's still good).
Comments
You need to sing first until the buff appears then you can do something else as the buff lasts for 6 seconds.
A Bard (or one of its kit) singing and casting a spell at the same time every rounds is such a valuable party member, definitely a must have in a powergaming party to my mind.
As an example:
Berserker (dual axe)
Undead Hunter (dual longsword)
Fighter/Cleric (Morningstar/shield)
Avenger (darts)
Sorcerer (darts)
Skald
At level 1 this party has 12.5 attacks per round which lets the Skald do 25 damage per round with the song which is very strong (not to mention additional hits from better THAC0 and less damage taken from better AC).
At level 7 this party has 21 APR with haste giving the Skald a contribution of 42 damage per round, still very nice!
By level 15 the party can have up to 50 APR which is a contribution of 200 damage per round with Skald Song not to mention the possibility of having a Mislead clone sing allowing the Skald to attack or cast spells.
Obviously the Skald shines in a party with good APR which you can maximise via dual wielding, Fast/Action weapons and shapechanges abilities.
I have two questions. To see a lot of the side quests and class-specific stuff, this thread recommends a paladin (or kit), a druid (or kit/multi), and a bard.
1. What's a good first-time party of 4? Or should I just suck it up and do something wild like play 6 all single-classed characters with kits (save for a something/thief)?
And,
2. Are wizard slayers also poo here?
You won't run into many wizards here. Don't bother.
Paladin (vanilla or kit, just not Inquisitor)
Druid (any kit or dual from fighter)
Bard (probably Blade in a small party)
Thief (any kit dualed to any class or any multi)
I did this party with:
Blackguard
Blade
Avenger
Assassin 13 -> Mage
Make sure that the blade is the appropriate alignment to get the familiar with decent find traps.
Soloing is totally fine too if you prefer.
If you are trying to optimize end-game power, it could be an option, but for newbies trying to play the game for the first time, dropping the Cleric is not good advise IMO.
As for arcane spellpower, Bard + Avenger can substitute a mage.
Other option for more healing and buffing spells is to dual thief to cleric after level 6. Swashbuckler would be a good candidate.
But I agree with @ineth , dropping cleric is not advisable.
You could also make the Druid a Berserker->Druid which is probably one of the most powerful dual-classess of the game, and then a Thief/Cleric.
Druids are also excellent at dealing with trash mobs via AoE spells in IWDee due to their expanded spell list, avenger kit just adds additional gravy.
In a 4 person party Druid really is enough of a healer and bard is enough of an arcane (they get Mage spells up to level 8). With a paladin on the frontline to provide a little extra healing (they get priest spells sooner in IWDee compared to BG) your 4th slot can really go any way, even a pure swashbuckler or assassin if you like.
This is the party that I'm currently running through IWD with, which I'm really quite pleased with. My intention was to create a party that was versatile and efficient, but without simply min/maxing the stats so that the party members wouldn't look out-of-place in comparison with BG1's NPCs (since I basically view IWD as a prequel to BG1).
This is my party leader, an elven ranger with 19 dext:
She's probably the most versatile warrior of the group - she can scout/stealth ahead to reveal ambushes, she's an expert markswoman, she can handle herself in melee, and (upon reaching level 6) she has a limited ability to cast druid spells. Although her strength isn't particularly high, it's just high enough to allow her to use composite bows and wear most armor. She also gets a racial enemy bonus against giants.
A half-orc barbarian with 19 str, dual wielding short swords:
Combining incredible str AND speed, she's able to "rush" enemies and (thanks to the low speed factor of short swords) chunk them to pieces before they even have a chance to react. Her barbarian rage gives her extra chunking ability as well as immunity to certain spells that are often encountered in IWD.
A berserker with 18/99 str, 17 con:
A heavy damage-dealing flanker, also providing some extra artillery fire with a crossbow (even though he has low dext, there are a number of crossbows in IWD that give substantial THAC0 bonuses).
A dwarven Priest of Tempus:
The party's main cleric/healer, he also doubles as a tank.
A gnomish cleric/thief:
The party's thief, and backup cleric/healer.
A mage:
I chose a vanilla mage so that she could have access to any spell.
I'm curious about Archers. No one seems to mention them here. Are they as mediocre in IWD as BG2? With all these narrow corridors I'm thinking a dedicated Archer might be really useful.
How about proficiencies for a Fighter/Druid? Quarterstaves or Spears? I'm thinking a longer range two handed weapon could be handy if I'm running an Undead Hunter (Long Sword and Shield) and Berserker(9)-Cleric (Flail/Morning Star and Shield) as tanks.
They only loose out in BG2 because so many enemies are immune.
For Fighter/Druids I would concentrate on slings and clubs. You'll find a few nice scimitars as well.
Blackguard - The setting of IWD is very fitting for one, and their abilities make some of the harder battles much more palatable, especially if you are playing in the harder modes.
Beserker - nothing like a big, bad orc dual weilding some axes and morningstars. The beserk helps in tricky battles as well.
Skald - one amazing bard kit, awesome for just the bard song, and can be made into a competent caster. Also great for identifying loot on the fly without having to screw with spells.
Priest of Tempus - the group buff is really nice, better than the other cleric specialists, IMO. Stacks with the bard song.
Assassin or Bounty Hunter - interchangable. The BH traps are great for softening up tough battles.
Sorceror :Dragon Disciple - Dragon breath is fun, and the other bonuses make up for initial lack of spells. dont have to split scrolls between himself and the bard.
That's my favorit build.
It was...not very challenging. The archers would usually turn any enemy into a pincushion before they would reach the party. The skald's song and cleric's buffs made the archers' attacks even more powerful.
Casting web, grease (skald) and entangle (archers) to immobilize enemy groups was also a strategy I sometimes put to good use.
Really, the only difficulty this party faced were enemies that could only be hurt by +2 weapons - there are simply not that many arrows +2 in the game.
I have just started IWD EE for the Nth time. Finally i think i have the setup that im happy with.
Paladin Cavalier (party leader)
Fighter Cleric (dwarf)
Bard (half elf)
Cleric (human)
Rogue (Dual class to mage after Level 6)
Wizard.
I hope i have enough tanks to manage through this, but i can make the cleric also tank if it turns needed.
Only just arrived in Kuldahar. Vale of Shadows next