Curious, has anyone managed to complete a run with a pure vanilla party?
Vanilla, single class only, no EE classes, insane difficulty, no additional xp, no additional damage, no adjusting stats when you roll them, no reload.
Go!
Actually I find that fun and challenging enough even when allowing most kits ...
I'm just doing my playthrough on insane with party like this:
Berserker Human Swashbuckler Human Kensai Human Assasin Human Ilusionist/Thief gnome
I want' to finish game with this team and then export and start again with HoF mode. The final team should look like this.
Berserker(29)/Priest(30) Human Swashbuckler(29)/Fighter(30) Human Kensai(29)/Mage(30) Human Assasin(29)/Fighter(30) Human Ilusionist(30)/Thief(30) gnome Skald(30) Elf - add him in second playthrough starting level 1, but he will level up fast on Insane HoF.
It's really hard now in Dragon's eye. Kensai have only 2 AC, with this x2 multipler for insane it is very hard to keep her alive. I/T is my only caster, and thief for open locks and disarm traps. Swash is for setting traps. Assasin for backstab. Berserker is my tank. No priest is pain in ass. I suposse it will be even harder when I will dualing. But the final result will be awsome and extremly OP.
I'm just doing my playthrough on insane with party like this:
Berserker Human Swashbuckler Human Kensai Human Assasin Human Ilusionist/Thief gnome
I want' to finish game with this team and then export and start again with HoF mode. The final team should look like this.
Berserker(29)/Priest(30) Human Swashbuckler(29)/Fighter(30) Human Kensai(29)/Mage(30) Human Assasin(29)/Fighter(30) Human Ilusionist(30)/Thief(30) gnome Skald(30) Elf - add him in second playthrough starting level 1, but he will level up fast on Insane HoF.
It's really hard now in Dragon's eye. Kensai have only 2 AC, with this x2 multipler for insane it is very hard to keep her alive. I/T is my only caster, and thief for open locks and disarm traps. Swash is for setting traps. Assasin for backstab. Berserker is my tank. No priest is pain in ass. I suposse it will be even harder when I will dualing. But the final result will be awsome and extremly OP.
Why 3 thieves? I can't recommend enough just starting HoF from level 1 with an appropriately awesome party and doing the insane play through with a party better suited to it.
Insane play through (disable bonus xp for difficulty): Paladin (any kit except inquisitor) Druid (any) Bard (vanilla) Thief (multi or kit) Cleric (multi or kit) Barbarian
Question about the Skald: am I understanding correctly that its role is simply staying on the back row singing his song? And the occasional identify/knock for those so inclined?
Why 3 thieves? I can't recommend enough just starting HoF from level 1 with an appropriately awesome party and doing the insane play through with a party better suited to it.
Swashbuckler is not a thief in that party, he is a Fighter with ability to set traps and detect illusion, and final when he became 29/30 dualed to fighter, he will be a Tank and Heavy Damage Dealer in one person with two handed sword and heavy platemail.
Assasin is for backstabs and melee combat. Maxed out HiS and MS.
It's a party for Powergaming. Just Imagine a fighter with two handed sword + benefits of swashbuckler -6AC, +5 to damage and hit.
Why 3 thieves? I can't recommend enough just starting HoF from level 1 with an appropriately awesome party and doing the insane play through with a party better suited to it.
Swashbuckler is not a thief in that party, he is a Fighter with ability to set traps and detect illusion, and final when he became 29/30 dualed to fighter, he will be a Tank and Heavy Damage Dealer in one person with two handed sword and heavy platemail.
Assasin is for backstabs and melee combat. Maxed out HiS and MS.
It's a party for Powergaming. Just Imagine a fighter with two handed sword + benefits of swashbuckler -6AC, +5 to damage and hit.
For that kind of power a triple class is going to be more powerful.
Or my current favourite build: Priest of Lathander 21 -> Mage. May be the strongest build yet.
Interesting party setup. My 2 cents: 1. I would replace WS with DD/Pally/Berseker. 2. Beast Master for scouting and ranged attacks is a solid choice. 3. You already have an avenger in your party, but you are missing a thief and a cleric, so maybe a cleric/thief multi would be a better choice. 4. I love Jesters. An underated kit. And at high levels, Jester is great for crowd control. 5. No comment here. In IWD I prefer mages, but that is a matter of personal opinion. 6. Great druid kit.
Wizard Slayer, Jester, and Avenger are among the least popular kits. They may have a small but dedicated fanbase, but generally they're not considered that good of a choice.
The party is missing a thief, which will make things really difficult for a first-time player.
The party is missing a cleric.
Choosing a Sorcerer over a Wizard is not really a good idea for a first-time player, unless they follow a walkthrough/guide telling them exactly what spells to pick.
All of this taken together, I wonder if @Philhelm posted this party as a joke, or maybe meant to post it in the Finding Uses For "Non-Optimal" Kits thread instead of this thread of a first-time player asking for a strong party.
All of this taken together, I wonder if @Philhelm posted this party as a joke
It's obviously a joke.
I've tried many different setups, but I've found that something similar to this usually works well, low maintenance, well-rounded, balanced, low rest need:
F/D or zerker/kensai-> druid F/C or zerker -> cleric F/M or fighter/zerker/kensai -> mage (vanilla F for bows/xbows) F/T or Swashie/assassin->F Sorcerer Skald
I prefer multiclasses for ease of use, 'cept for the thief since all I need for a thief is locks and traps. You could replace the FM with a FMT or MT, or replace the F/C and F/T with a halforc T/C to open a slot for an Archer. The Archer + skald combo is almost too god. You could even replace the sorcerer with a vanilla bard to get another song stacked to the skald's. Two bards and a FM/FMT have enough arcane to get you through IWD.
There are so many great party setups it's almost difficult to fail at creating a strong one.
Wizard Slayer, Jester, and Avenger are among the least popular kits. They may have a small but dedicated fanbase, but generally they're not considered that good of a choice.
The party is missing a thief, which will make things really difficult for a first-time player.
The party is missing a cleric.
Choosing a Sorcerer over a Wizard is not really a good idea for a first-time player, unless they follow a walkthrough/guide telling them exactly what spells to pick.
All of this taken together, I wonder if @Philhelm posted this party as a joke, or maybe meant to post it in the Finding Uses For "Non-Optimal" Kits thread instead of this thread of a first-time player asking for a strong party.
When it comes to Jester & Avenger, I guess I am a proud member of a small but dedicated fanbase
In HoF level 1 i think i will go with this party - human paladin undead hunter with shield, longsword, flail, axe - gnome fighter/mage 2 handed weapon staff and axe - half orc berzerker dual weapons longsword and flail - human bounty hunter 11 dual fighter crossbow - half elf fighter/druid sling - elf archer longbow
pro : With the right weapons, the apr is 22/25 I have a mage, a thief for setting traps, druid for healling and pets. The gnome fighter/mage can wield the best staff of the game (+4) The thief can set 6 traps, max traps to be set at a time is 7.
cons : poor healing at the beginning, only a druid but multiclass poor summons at the beginning, in HoF the summons are a must have No backstab, i need the thief for detecting traps and open chests, also setting traps
Wizard Slayer, Jester, and Avenger are among the least popular kits. They may have a small but dedicated fanbase, but generally they're not considered that good of a choice.
The party is missing a thief, which will make things really difficult for a first-time player.
The party is missing a cleric.
Choosing a Sorcerer over a Wizard is not really a good idea for a first-time player, unless they follow a walkthrough/guide telling them exactly what spells to pick.
All of this taken together, I wonder if @Philhelm posted this party as a joke, or maybe meant to post it in the Finding Uses For "Non-Optimal" Kits thread instead of this thread of a first-time player asking for a strong party.
When it comes to Jester & Avenger, I guess I am a proud member of a small but dedicated fanbase
I have yet to try Druids in IWD, so maybe my opinion will change, but I really like Avenger. I also really need to give Jester a try, as I'm already a fan of the other two kits.
@Pteran I am big fan of vanilla bard but Jesters in IWD are just great, jester's normal song is good but their high level song is where they really shine, it is an excellent & constant mob controller; and there are lots of mobs in IWD. Unlike skald & vanilla bard whose role is to help your party, the jester role is to constantly obstruct the opposition. Give it a try
Comments
Go!
Actually I find that fun and challenging enough even when allowing most kits ...
Berserker Human
Swashbuckler Human
Kensai Human
Assasin Human
Ilusionist/Thief gnome
I want' to finish game with this team and then export and start again with HoF mode. The final team should look like this.
Berserker(29)/Priest(30) Human
Swashbuckler(29)/Fighter(30) Human
Kensai(29)/Mage(30) Human
Assasin(29)/Fighter(30) Human
Ilusionist(30)/Thief(30) gnome
Skald(30) Elf - add him in second playthrough starting level 1, but he will level up fast on Insane HoF.
It's really hard now in Dragon's eye. Kensai have only 2 AC, with this x2 multipler for insane it is very hard to keep her alive. I/T is my only caster, and thief for open locks and disarm traps. Swash is for setting traps. Assasin for backstab. Berserker is my tank. No priest is pain in ass. I suposse it will be even harder when I will dualing. But the final result will be awsome and extremly OP.
Something like:
HoF level 1:
Elf Fighter/Mage/Thief longbow, Longsword
Gnome Illusionist/Cleric
Skald
Kensei 9 -> Druid scimitars, clubs
Kensei 9 -> Mage axe, bastard sword
Berserker 7 -> Cleric flail, mace
Insane play through (disable bonus xp for difficulty):
Paladin (any kit except inquisitor)
Druid (any)
Bard (vanilla)
Thief (multi or kit)
Cleric (multi or kit)
Barbarian
Assasin is for backstabs and melee combat. Maxed out HiS and MS.
It's a party for Powergaming. Just Imagine a fighter with two handed sword + benefits of swashbuckler -6AC, +5 to damage and hit.
1. Wizard Slayer;
2. Beast Master;
3. Shapeshifter;
4. Jester;
5. Red Dragon Disciple;
6. Avenger.
Would be nice to fit a cleric and a thief in there though. For that kind of power a triple class is going to be more powerful.
Or my current favourite build: Priest of Lathander 21 -> Mage. May be the strongest build yet.
1. I would replace WS with DD/Pally/Berseker.
2. Beast Master for scouting and ranged attacks is a solid choice.
3. You already have an avenger in your party, but you are missing a thief and a cleric, so maybe a cleric/thief multi would be a better choice.
4. I love Jesters. An underated kit. And at high levels, Jester is great for crowd control.
5. No comment here. In IWD I prefer mages, but that is a matter of personal opinion.
6. Great druid kit.
- Wizard Slayer, Jester, and Avenger are among the least popular kits. They may have a small but dedicated fanbase, but generally they're not considered that good of a choice.
- The party is missing a thief, which will make things really difficult for a first-time player.
- The party is missing a cleric.
- Choosing a Sorcerer over a Wizard is not really a good idea for a first-time player, unless they follow a walkthrough/guide telling them exactly what spells to pick.
All of this taken together, I wonder if @Philhelm posted this party as a joke, or maybe meant to post it in the Finding Uses For "Non-Optimal" Kits thread instead of this thread of a first-time player asking for a strong party.I've tried many different setups, but I've found that something similar to this usually works well, low maintenance, well-rounded, balanced, low rest need:
F/D or zerker/kensai-> druid
F/C or zerker -> cleric
F/M or fighter/zerker/kensai -> mage (vanilla F for bows/xbows)
F/T or Swashie/assassin->F
Sorcerer
Skald
I prefer multiclasses for ease of use, 'cept for the thief since all I need for a thief is locks and traps. You could replace the FM with a FMT or MT, or replace the F/C and F/T with a halforc T/C to open a slot for an Archer. The Archer + skald combo is almost too god. You could even replace the sorcerer with a vanilla bard to get another song stacked to the skald's. Two bards and a FM/FMT have enough arcane to get you through IWD.
There are so many great party setups it's almost difficult to fail at creating a strong one.
- human paladin undead hunter with shield, longsword, flail, axe
- gnome fighter/mage 2 handed weapon staff and axe
- half orc berzerker dual weapons longsword and flail
- human bounty hunter 11 dual fighter crossbow
- half elf fighter/druid sling
- elf archer longbow
pro :
With the right weapons, the apr is 22/25
I have a mage, a thief for setting traps, druid for healling and pets.
The gnome fighter/mage can wield the best staff of the game (+4)
The thief can set 6 traps, max traps to be set at a time is 7.
cons :
poor healing at the beginning, only a druid but multiclass
poor summons at the beginning, in HoF the summons are a must have
No backstab, i need the thief for detecting traps and open chests, also setting traps
I am big fan of vanilla bard but Jesters in IWD are just great, jester's normal song is good but their high level song is where they really shine, it is an excellent & constant mob controller; and there are lots of mobs in IWD.
Unlike skald & vanilla bard whose role is to help your party, the jester role is to constantly obstruct the opposition.
Give it a try