New facet to the game for me

Raptorman

I posted recently requesting advice on the best party config, i.e. 3 tanks, a thief, a cleric and a mage.

Since them I started soloing a fighter/mage/thief. It's been great fun micro managing him, longbow as soon as enemies are seen, switching to quarterstaff when they close the distance, the odd backstab here and there and a few spell thrown into the mix.
I wouldn't be the greatest player however I've been playing on and off since BG came out back in the day, though have yet to crack the final boss in TOB, life got in the way at the time!

My usual tactics of select all and click is gone now as I used to have the cleric, mage, and thief with ranged weapons and the three tanks wadded in. A bigger battle required a bit of buffing and then wade in but essentially the same formula.

Anyway, just posting to give a nod of appreciation to a new dimension of the game I'm experiencing. (Though I do miss the banter in the party!)

bret

Yeah, the beauty of BG series is the infinite replayability. Different party compositions create a vastly different experience, tactically and roleplaying-wise.

And yes, it's a bit counter-intuitive, but smaller parties (even solo) enjoy some undeniable advantages over full parties. You will gain XP faster, there's less to micromanage, and it's easier to load up superior equipment & buffs on a single character than to spread it around to 6. Even in a full-party playthrough, there are many encounters that are simply easier to handle if you only send a couple characters ahead and leave the others back.

For what it's worth, I've found the "best" config (for my playstyle) is a 4-character party. You get some of those smaller group benefits, and you can still have a mix of every class archetype (arcane, divine, fighter, thief), so you'll have a full range of options available for any encounter. It almost makes the game too easy, and I find I have to increase the challenge by self-imposed rules (e.g. no-reloads, avoiding tactics I consider too cheesy, difficulty mods, etc.)

UnderstandMouseMagic

Yay, another person realising that this is the greatest game ever made because of it's versatility.

Small tip for your solo playthrough (and it's because with a party it's always a case of just in case "next encounter")

use your potions and items.

You will be swimming in gold before long.

SomeSort

bret said:

Yeah, the beauty of BG series is the infinite replayability. Different party compositions create a vastly different experience, tactically and roleplaying-wise.

And yes, it's a bit counter-intuitive, but smaller parties (even solo) enjoy some undeniable advantages over full parties. You will gain XP faster, there's less to micromanage, and it's easier to load up superior equipment & buffs on a single character than to spread it around to 6. Even in a full-party playthrough, there are many encounters that are simply easier to handle if you only send a couple characters ahead and leave the others back.

For what it's worth, I've found the "best" config (for my playstyle) is a 4-character party. You get some of those smaller group benefits, and you can still have a mix of every class archetype (arcane, divine, fighter, thief), so you'll have a full range of options available for any encounter. It almost makes the game too easy, and I find I have to increase the challenge by self-imposed rules (e.g. no-reloads, avoiding tactics I consider too cheesy, difficulty mods, etc.)

I'm a huge, huge fan of duo and trio runs, which don't seem to get much love. You get the fast leveling and easier micromanagement of a solo run, but there's less burden on one character to be everything at once. It also gives you a great chance to use "underpowered" characters like Garrick or Cernd and really appreciate what they bring to the table; in a party of six, their contributions get drowned out, while a solo bard or shapeshifter might not have all the necessary tools.

Another big benefit is that slower multiclasses really shine. I normally hate Aerie and Jan because a multiclass mage takes six million XP before they unlock those crucial level 9 spells. But Aerie in a party of 3 levels almost as fast as Nalia in a party of 6, (slightly slower, because quest experience), so that's NBD.

ThacoBell

Garricks songs shine even more in large parties, due to more characters getting buffed. Cernd is just as useful as an druid (throw bees at your enemies eyes to win). Spells above 6th level are completely unnesseccary.