Which is better for Minsc?

Grum

World's Edge (+3 great sword)
Or
Stupifier (+1 mace with 25% stun) with Krotan's Skullcrusher (+2 mace)

** great swords
** longbows
** maces
** dual wielding

How would you equip him? Note that Charname and Yeslick tank up front with Minsc and Coran in the second rank

Can't quite decide. The reach of the great sword is nice (Misc has 0AC, Charname has -11 and Yeslick has -8. They should tank not him)...but the stun effect of the mace is quite nice.

What would you all recommend?

Mortianna

World's Edge gives him enough reach to stay behind your PC and Yeslick, allowing him to hack away at enemies without his AC becoming too much of a liability.

I would equip him with dual maces if he is up against enemies resistant to slashing damage (skeletons, for example), or for mowing over low-level enemies (which is fun). Otherwise, the extra attack per round with the off-hand mace doesn't really compensate much for the -4 to hit penalty and lower damage. The only other exception would be when you're up against spellcasters, as the extra attack per round and the stun effect from Stupifier are great ways to disrupt their spells.

JuliusBorisov

Actually, I give him a pip in hammers, so in BGEE he dualwields Stupifier and Ashideena.

But you put the second pip to longbows...

In BGEE, without Improved Haste and HLAs, dualwielding gives more damage, and this is why, if you really want to use Minc's STR to the fullest, go dualwielding (in your case maces).

As for the great sword, I prefer to have the Spider's Bane in the inventory, for those cases when you need the Free Action effect. If I compare the damage alone, dualwielding beats the World's Edge. The Stun effect from the mace in the main hand gives additional advantage.

Gallowglass

Yeslick ought to be wielding the Stupefier. That amazing 25% Stun with no save makes it the best weapon in the game (in spite of being "only" +1), but it's short-range, so obviously the guy who is normally toe-to-toe with the enemy (and comes with Mace proficiency from the start) is the guy who can make best use of it. [Note: Ashideena isn't entirely obsolete for Yeslick, since he can usefully switch to it against those enemies (mostly undead) who are immune to Stun ... but the rest of the time, Stupefier is the way to go.]

When you've got Minsc lightly armoured and standing second-row, it's silly to have him step up front and dual-wield where he'll get hit a lot, especially since he can't even do it very well with only ** in 2WS. Just give him World's Edge and/or Spider Bane, and let him use its extra range to stay safely behind the front-row. If he really needs to melee against enemies who resist sharp damage (e.g. skeletons), then obviously you can switch to Krotan's Skullcrusher, but when that's necessary he's probably better off grabbing a shield in his off-hand to improve his survival chance, rather than another Mace which will frequently miss (because of the -4 penalty).

The proficiency allocation you have for Minsc is what you get automatically if you don't pick him up until he's level 6, so maybe that's what you did, but it's not the most efficient way to build Minsc if you recruit him earlier. If you intend to keep him mainly in the front-row through the game, then get him at level 1 or level 2, so that you can allocate a second * in Mace and a third * in 2WS - then he can dual-wield up front pretty effectively (and never mind about his ranged and two-handed proficiencies because he'll rarely use them). On the other hand, if you plan to use him mainly in the second row, or if you want him to have the flexibility to change roles as the game progresses, then it's better to forget about dual-wielding and Maces, just put his proficiencies in Lbow and 2HS and give him a big sword.

Grum

Great post gallowglass. I'll try your advice out next playthrough

What I ended up doing was giving him worlds edge, gave Yeslick Ashideena and Viconia the stultifier (and the helm of opposite alignment).

Charname (cheese outlined above)
Yeslick (Ashideena)
Viconia (stupifier, and the only character not max xp)
Coran (pew pew, great stealth and 100/99 locks/traps)
Minsc (world's edge)
Dyhaneir

The game became ridiculously easy with that setup.

sarevok57

im assuming viconia is using the gauntlets of ogre power, since yeslick is probably using the gauntlets of dexterity?

Gallowglass

sarevok57 said:

im assuming viconia is using the gauntlets of ogre power, since yeslick is probably using the gauntlets of dexterity?

Given the weapon allocations described, that'd make sense. And also in that line-up, Yeslick ought to be wearing the Big Fisted Belt.