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Best ranger across the series

dockaboomskidockaboomski Member Posts: 440
edited September 2016 in General Discussion (Spoiler Warning!)
Here's a more specific one - who is the best ranger in the series?
  1. Best ranger across the series112 votes
    1. Kivan
      27.68%
    2. Minsc
      38.39%
    3. Valygar
      33.93%
«1345

Comments

  • Jared4242Jared4242 Member Posts: 130
    Kivan, with Domi's work in BG2 and NPC project taken into account.
  • ThacoBellThacoBell Member Posts: 12,235
    edited September 2016
    Jared4242 said:

    Kivan, with Domi's work in BG2 and NPC project taken into account.

    Thats funny, because I HATE Kivan now because of NPC project.

    Minsc is super versatile, which always wins out over specialists for me.
  • lroumenlroumen Member Posts: 2,538
    Mechanically valygar is probably the best but he is just boring except perhaps when you take mazzy along.

    Minsc will always be minsc. Overrated and bland.

    Kivan is what remains. Good archer and halberd user. A bit darkened or maybe the term is hardened.

    Corwin? I like her quite a lot.
  • gorgonzolagorgonzola Member Posts: 3,864
    I vote Valygar because if you give him the right katana, a +1APR off hand weapon and the armor you get in Umar Hills, can be really useful for the party, explorer, backstabber, and when he backstabs a mage and the on hit effect of the katana triggers you have won the battle with the first strike, and only little less AC than full armored Minsk, that being in full plate loose the hide in shadows. He is less tanky than Minsk, but a fantastic flank attacker and utility character.
    It seems to me also that in a ranger, with his natural 2 pips in DW, the pips that Minsk have in 2H sword are not the wisest choice, functionally I see Minsk as an hybrid between a ranger and a tanky fighter, but an hybrid that looses something from both the parts, no GM, slower progression than a fighter, with a proficiency allocation not ideal for a ranger. I wander how many players use him like a proper ranger, giving him an armor that let him hide, I bet very few. He has a very good STR score, that is not so important as a lev2 mage spell or equipment that you can find very early can do the same or better, and his rage, that can help but imo is not enough to compensate the overall usefulness of Valygar.

    RP wise I like very much Minsk, I know that other players find him annoying and stereotipate, my feelings are different. I find him a very wise person, wise as sometimes the children can be, more straight and less artificial than the wisdom we educated adults have. And I find him also funny.
    And I don't find Valygar so boring, the story of his family and how he developed an hate for magic is interesting, and after his quest is completed he partially change his opinion on the matter and admits that there is more to see and learn in the life than how he had supposed, I really appreciate when in RL find such a person.
    But my preference and sympathy goes to Minsk.

    About Kivian I have not played BG1 enough to have an opinion, and it was also too many years ago, I have almost forgot everything about it.
  • TheArtisan TheArtisan Member Posts: 3,277
    Nnngh... it's such a tough decision for me... all three of them are some of my favorite characters.

    Alright, I went with Minsc both because he's the only one with continuity and I actually really enjoy him even after all the years I've spent replaying this game. Sure there's not much depth to him (though to say none at all is being slightly unfair) but I think having characters like him actually enhances the experience.
  • JumboWheat01JumboWheat01 Member Posts: 1,028
    And he proves that you don't have to be serious to have a serious part in a serious RPG.
  • PK2748PK2748 Member Posts: 381
    As the only kitted Ranger of the three, seems like a no brainer to me. He's got everything Minsc has, except a wasted quick item slot, plus better spell options and backstabbing.

    I noticed there was no Corwin option but I think an archer would be even better
  • Abi_DalzimAbi_Dalzim Member Posts: 1,428
    Corwin is the most powerful for sure, since Archers are OP as all hell. Kivan, I simply cannot stand his voice, so there's that.
  • GenderNihilismGirdleGenderNihilismGirdle Member Posts: 1,353
    If Corwin had been on this list, I'd definitely have had a hard time with this. I like Minsc better as a character, but as a Ranger? Valygar. Between Valygar and Corwin, I like Valygar's personality a bit more (I love Corwin too tho!) but Corwin is the better Ranger. Archers always are lmao
  • gorgonzolagorgonzola Member Posts: 3,864
    PK2748 said:

    He's got everything Minsc has, except a wasted quick item slot

    What?
    To use a slot for Boo is the best possible use of a quick slot :smiley:
    Even better than filling it with lev9 scrolls when you are at lev14 and casting your PI :wink:

    Go for the eyes, boo!

  • sarevok57sarevok57 Member Posts: 6,018
    I used to use valygar all the time in my early SoA/ ToB days, although I don't seem to do that anymore

    and I like kivan better than minsc because kivan has the higher DEX, really handy when you need some decent AC early game
  • KamigoroshiKamigoroshi Member Posts: 5,870
    Bishop!

    Oh, wait…
  • JumboWheat01JumboWheat01 Member Posts: 1,028
    Bishop is indeed awesome. Not really my tastes, but he makes for a good foil for my characters.
  • recklessheartrecklessheart Member Posts: 692
    Valygar is great, and personality wise, he's a solid evolution on Kivan. Mechanically, I think it is Valygar, although Minsc's ability to shrug off Imprisonment and the like does have situational advantage. Valygar's Favoured Enemy is a bit of a mute point.

    If we're going for favourites, it'll definitely be Valygar for me. Kivan was very bland, and Minsc is repetitive. Valygar's the silent, thoughtful, reliable type. And when does that not have appeal?
  • gorgonzolagorgonzola Member Posts: 3,864
    recklessheart said:

    Minsc's ability to shrug off Imprisonment and the like does have situational advantage.

    Afaik, if EE has not changed it, his rage does not protect him from imprisonment.

  • dockaboomskidockaboomski Member Posts: 440
    GenderNihilismGirdle said:

    JumboWheat01 said:

    If only because of Boo, Minsc wins.

    Where's the "Best Space Hamster" poll?!
    Soon.
  • gorgonzolagorgonzola Member Posts: 3,864
    Afaik there is only one space hamster, so it will resemble some political elections in some dictatorships where you can only chose the dictator's party :smile:
    But a poll about our feelings about Boo would be funny and interesting, or maybe a poll where Boo and other "flavor only" aspects of the game are taken in account.
  • dockaboomskidockaboomski Member Posts: 440
    boo vs real space hamster?
    http://www.lomion.de/cmm/hamsgisp.php
  • AasimAasim Member Posts: 591
    Valygar. Minsc should never have been a ranger in the first place, Kivan is meh.
  • GodGod Member Posts: 1,150
    JumboWheat01 said:

    And he proves that you don't have to be serious to have a serious part in a serious RPG.

    But... but he is serious, and not only that. He is, like, seriously bonkers :pensive:

    Out of the three, Kivan is the only BG series ranger Chuck Norris even salutes to during the Much Famed Annual Long-Walk(er)-On-The-Beach Ranger Conference. And that sure means something.

  • sluckerssluckers Member Posts: 280
    Kivan is indespensible as an enforcer, as either archer or longsworder. He's also set up to use the Chesley Crusher, a slow but hilariously chunkifying weapon. He can dual-wield or two hand. Take your pick. He's available easily, early, and makes an excellent front line fighter or archer. No one does what he does at that point in the game. He's certainly not exceptional, but he's better protected than Minsc and rangers are your only real dual wielding options short of Shar-Teel (She along with Minsc and Kivan by the way = crazy powerful front line). Dual wielding eventually becomes superfluous in mid-to-late SoA, and completely unnecessay in ToB, so a good ranger makes a bigger splash in the early levels.

    Objectively Valygar is better than Kivan, but there are enough NPCs with Valygar's skills that he's overshadowed by thieves and mages.

    He is absolutely killer, however, in a party that eschews arcane magic or even spellcasters of any kind; he's the lynchpin of any 6 fighter party, or 5 fighters and 1 thief. Or a rogue party. Then his haste ability and high HiS ability w/backstab really shines. But on the thief side you're better off with Jan or Hexxat, and on the spell side you're better off with a cleric or mage. He's exceptional only for unique platstyles, really, and not for balanced playthroughs.
  • OrlonKronsteenOrlonKronsteen Member Posts: 905
    Valygar for sure. I'm also fond of Kivan and find him one of the most useful NPCs in BG1. Minsc is tied, for me at least, with Anomen as the most annoying character in the series.
  • GenderNihilismGirdleGenderNihilismGirdle Member Posts: 1,353
    dockaboomski said:

    boo vs real space hamster?
    http://www.lomion.de/cmm/hamsgisp.php

    Boo vs Spelljammer giant space hamsters vs the Miniature Giant Space Pig bonus pet in Pillars of Eternity vs the nameless heroes who got into the upper atmosphere in a balloon but died vs the nameless heroes who got into space finally on the shoulders of those sacrifices
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