Recommendation: Avenger in BGEE and BG2EE or IWDEE?

jflieder

Hello Forumites,

I'm reaching out to veterans of both BG and IWD for this one. After taking a break from gaming, I'm hopping back into it with the intention of running with an Avenger. I've never played a druid in the BG series and I've never owned or played IWD at all, but I've heard great things about the combat in IWD (I always favored the combat in BG to the roleplaying aspect).

Taking an Avenger through IWDEE would require me to buy it, which I am considering anyway as a small change of gaming flavor from the BG series. Also, I've heard mostly great things about druids in IWD in general. Any input you have would be greatly appreciated.

Balrog99

Druids are pretty awesome in IWD. If you don't own it alteady, you might not know that IWD is set up to use a party of six that you create yourself. You could solo an Avenger of course, but it's not like BG where you have a clear protagonist.

Zaghoul

I'm a druid guy myself, so I say both. They have a little more flavor in IWD due to different types of spells but do quite well in either game.

Lord_Tansheron

If you like druids, play them. But from a purely mechanical perspective, there are probably better options.

Contemplative_Hamster

Consider installing @subtledoctor and @Grammarsalad 's Faith and Powers mod. That'll give you LOTS more options for druids and their kind.

Arctodus

Spell Revisions mod also crank up the utility of low level druid spells as well.

JumboWheat01

They're fine in both games. Sure, people will complain about their spell selection in the Baldur's Gate series, but still, it's not bad. And you get some freebie mage spells thrown in on top of that. Makes for a great way to play a caster druid.

Though I do wonder why Druids never got Web in the first place. It just seems like such a natural druid spell...

jflieder

Thanks for the input, and I'll take a look at how Spell Revisions as well as Faith and Powers affect druid gameplay.

Zaghoul

JumboWheat01 said:

Though I do wonder why Druids never got Web in the first place. It just seems like such a natural druid spell...

It does, but heck if I know. I have run into many a spiderweb out in the woods in RLife.

Maybe that's why I liked the avenger, web n spiderform. Mods now, I be liking me some hivemaster by @Artemius_I . Throw out ya web, chuck in a few buffed up phase spiders, and bam, there ya go.

@jflieder Bottom line is go with what you like, otherwise it can get boring pretty quick.

Abi_Dalzim

I consider them to be the best druid kit, so by all means, use it wherever you want to use it.

wsnavigator

Druids can be quite good when they are in a party. Solo playing with an Avenger could be somewhat challenging.

Quartz

Druids are ridiculously awesome in Icewind Dale. That said they aren't bad in the BG series either.

Grum

Druids fit the story of IWD better than BG, IMO...

Zaghoul

Grum said:

Druids fit the story of IWD better than BG, IMO...

@Grum I like them for all the games but yes, they do fit particularly well into the IWD story.

JumboWheat01

Grum said:

Druids fit the story of IWD better than BG, IMO...

Well that's because PC druids in IWD don't learn all they can from staring over the wall and working the stables. They learn them some proper druidic arts from some proper druids.

SomeSort

I'm sure the OP has already decided and started by now, but I figured I'd add that:
(A) the biggest advantage of the Avenger kit is getting a solid extra spell at levels 1, 2, 3, and 4 where the ordinary druid spell selection sucks, and
(B) also one of those spells is Web, which is both one of the best spells in all of BG/BG2 and also comes at level 2, where druid spell choices are by far the worst.

The problem is that in IWD, neither A nor B is really true anymore. The druid spell selection at levels 1-4 doesn't suck, and Web isn't really all that great. (It's still a good spell, but the radius is heavily nerfed and, more importantly, the animation is hella ugly.)

As a result, Avengers are probably the best druid kit in BG1/BG2, but they're kind of meh in IWD and I'd probably actually prefer just a vanilla druid, instead. (But really, take Totemic over either.) But yeah, in BG1/BG2, they're boss hoss applesauce.