Who is your favorite ranged dmg dealing NPC

SmilingSword

Hey guys just wondering if you have a party slot dedicated to a ranged dmg dealer, if so who and why?

SionIV

This is for Baldur's Gate 2 only?

Then my favorite would have to be Keldorn. I always give him the gloves of dexterity so he gets 18 dexterity. He comes with proficiency in crossbows so i give him firetooth which is just awesome. He uses Carsomyr which is a two handed weapon so it's very quick and easy for me to change him to ranged, no need to inventory manage his gear so he can equip his ranged weapon.

In Baldur's Gate 1 it would be Alora without question.

SmilingSword

Right il start off by going for Korgan, I mean 5 points in axes, plus Korgan in the backline is just so so good. Protecting those squishy mages from those silly assassins, assassin pops up, Korgan switches to a melee axe and splits the random backstabbing rogue in twain.
One caveat, in baldurs 2 not all throwing axes and hammers get a str bonus. This is not so in BG1, there is a "fix" for this somewhere on the forum.

JuliusBorisov

With the Tuigan Bow Mazzy is literally quick. 5 shots per round!

abacus

I haven't wasted all those XP points and gold for you to lurk at the back Mazzy... strap on your gear and get your wee self up front!

mylegbig

Mazzy is the only real dedicated ranged damage dealing NPC in the game.

SionIV

mylegbig said:

Mazzy is the only real dedicated ranged damage dealing NPC in the game.

Which really shows how poor the ranged options are in BG2. I love Mazzy to death and she can become quite the powerhouse, in melee.

elminster

Pew, pew, pew, pew, pew.

or (with improved haste)

Pew, pew, pew, pew, pew, pew, pew, pew, pew, pew.

= Me with Mazzy in my group (after level 13 I suppose).

Tresset

Tough one. I am debating between 3 right now. Anomen and Jaheira can do amazing damage with the various slings in the game (Erinne sling and Lupine sling are my favorites) but I also like Sarevok (or Mazzy I guess) with the Gesen bow and those 5 stars in bows. (Hmm... actually...)

Check this out!

SionIV

While he isn't a fighter, Haer'dalis is pretty awesome with a ranged weapon too. His offensive spin will boost his damage and Thac0, but that's not the awesome part, it's the maximum damage that is. Haer'dalis using a crossbow will always deal 8 damage from the bolt (1-8). He might not have the highest damage out there per bolt, but he'll deal a high damage constantly with no low rolls.

SmilingSword

mylegbig said:

Mazzy is the only real dedicated ranged damage dealing NPC in the game.

Nope Korgan, I mean i love mazzy but she cant turn a attack on ur squishy backline mages till pretty late game. Mazzy lvl 10 or so switching to sword swords = instant fail. Otherwise yes she does do the most dmg.

sarevok57

anomen with 5 stars in sling, give him righteous magic and draw upon holy might and at level 12 he will have 25 str dealing maximum damage, even more than sarevok in @Tresset picture up there ( granted they were both using the same weapon of coarse)

SionIV

sarevok57 said:

anomen with 5 stars in sling, give him righteous magic and draw upon holy might and at level 12 he will have 25 str dealing maximum damage, even more than sarevok in @Tresset picture up there ( granted they were both using the same weapon of coarse)

Remember that Sarevok will have more APR so at the end of the day he will out damage Anomen.

Jarrakul

Unless my main character is an archer, I don't use dedicated ranged characters in BG2. I just don't find them that good. *shrug*

SionIV

Black Isle learnt from their mistakes with the original games. In BG1 ranged weapons were your main weapons and you would only change to melee weapons as a secondary option IF they got close. Now in BG2 it feels a bit like your melee weapon is your main weapon and any ranged weapon is secondary.

YupImMadBro

Always saved ranged weapons for my thieves and casters.

mumumomo

Dorn.
no question about it. Poison weapon beats everything else in terms of damage.

Ollmer

Mazzy with Gesen almost feels like cheating. Almost.

dunbar

I've chosen the 'wasted slot' option despite the fact that I don't think any slot that the player has put thought into is "wasted" as such. I simply prefer to give as many of my NPCs as possible dual roles, so I give the good two-handed ranged weapons to dual or two-handed weapon wielders (Dorn or Korgan for example) which avoids messing around in the inventory during combat and helps to clarify armour distribution (i.e. "Do I give Dorn a top notch shield and longsword to resort to when he's taking too many hits? No, just give him Firetooth instead for the times when he doesn't want to get up close and personal.").

kcwise

I like Mazzy because she's so cute! But I'd never tell her that, obviously...

Yoshimo: Brave halfling lass! With the scurrying of little feet you throw yourself into the fray. It is so cute to see the little ones fight. Like a fearless samurai you are, Mazzy.
Mazzy: Honestly, Yoshimo, I am sick and tired of humans and large folk calling me cute!
Yoshimo: I cannot help it! You are like a miniature prophet of doom.
Mazzy: Oh, shut up! I won't seem so cute if I break your legs.
Yoshimo: I meant no offense, Mazzy. You should be flattered! I don't think you're ugly...
Mazzy: If you wish to end this conversation without bruises, you will silence yourself now!
Yoshimo: Yes mistress.
Mazzy: And don't call me mistress!

sarevok57

SionIV said:

sarevok57 said:

anomen with 5 stars in sling, give him righteous magic and draw upon holy might and at level 12 he will have 25 str dealing maximum damage, even more than sarevok in @Tresset picture up there ( granted they were both using the same weapon of coarse)

Remember that Sarevok will have more APR so at the end of the day he will out damage Anomen.

I realized that a day after I posted that when I was looking at my fighter, hardy hardy har

Schneidend

Unless it's Viconia using a sling, I don't use party members that must use ranged attacks from the rear all the time. Hexxat will occasionally throw daggers or darts, but usually I have her in the thick of things.

Grum

I always liked having Mazzy with a shortbow. 5 proficiency points, weapon with unlimited ammo. Good dexterity, haste...it's a good combination. I prefer to have 1 arcane caster, 1 divine caster, 1 thief, 2 close combat, and a 6th to taste. Having her go ranged is not bad that bad so long as the rest of the positions are filled.

DreadKhan

Fighter types that are willing to use GWW with a str bonus ranged weapon can do horrendous damage very, very quickly in a fight. Imp Haste on a high strength slinger with high apr is also sickening to behold. To say nothing of how absurd it would look!

CrevsDaak

Mazzy's one of the best ranged damage dealer, but I tend to keep her in melee since she would be a waste if kept as a ranged-only fighter. She's definitely my favorite, but Anomen, Sarevok and Dorn are better in powergaming terms.

Edit: typos.

Anduin

I regularly put Anomen next to a wall and line up my team and let leash with my ranged weapons.

So he is my favourite NPC I like to do ranged damage to.

...

I really approve this thread. My kinda evil.

Windfoot

Other than a ranger/archer PC, Mazzy does the most damage. 5* in shortbows + Tuigan bow is tons of damage with the high APR. And you can get Darkfire or Tansheron when you have harder to hit monsters

recklessheart

Jaheira, Valygar, or Keldorn in the back row? Blasphemy - utter blasphemy I say!

Nalia can use some pretty good bows though. And she has plenty of spells, to boot. Is it too obvious that I want a Nalia option? *sigh* Mazzy's great though.

DreadKhan

Windfoot said:

Other than a ranger/archer PC, Mazzy does the most damage. 5* in shortbows + Tuigan bow is tons of damage with the high APR. And you can get Darkfire or Tansheron when you have harder to hit monsters

Try using a sling on a high strength warrior, or throwing weapons. Korgan and the ToB throwing axe can do good damage, if his THAC0 is low, guntlets of dexterity will fix you up. He can get 5 ranks in axes too, and a good girdle lets him surpass Mazzy for ranged damage almost certainly.

Nonnahswriter

I ran Korgan in my first ever evil run of Baldur's Gate 2, gave him a throwing axe, and never looked back.

By the time everyone else gets up-front, Korgan's already cleared the field...

Windfoot

I stand corrected, I forgot the str damage bonus to thrown weapons/slings. With that in mind, firetooth+3 (2d4+3) would do more damage from a fighter than the axe.

The Rate of Fire (ROF) of the axe is 1 but a dagger has a ROF of 2. Both weapons would get +1APR from 5*, +1APR from level 13 and +1 from the gauntlets of extrordinary specialization. Assuming a 22 Str belt bonus of +10 damage then the firetooth damage would be 2d4+3 + 10 (str) + 5 (specialization) + 2(guantlets) => 25 x 5APR = 125 damage/rd.

In TOB you can get the K'ogorath axe that does 1d6+4 with a chance at another 2d6. But in SoA you can use the rifthome axe that does 2d6+3. So for the Rifthome axe you can do 2d6+3 +10(str) + 5(specialization) + 2(gauntlets) => 27 x 4APR = 108 damage/rd.

So, is this true? The dagger is better than a bow or an axe with high str? Any errors in my math or reasoning?