Aerie sucks, but cleric/mage can still be quite useful. The trade-off is less power or slower progression, but one could in theory skip having a cleric in team AND a mage, if Aerie is there. So if the goal is four party members, Aerie may fit.
The main character may then have to be a dual class or so. I usually play human berserker first, then switch to mage, mostly because I think magic is great in the game. At times I used triple class elf; it is a bit annoying due to slow progression, but you get some versatility as a trade-off.
For the other party members it depends on what you want or need. Having one strong fighter in team is making the game a lot easier IMO. I would pick Korgan; or if you use mods, Dusk. While I think Korgan is a bit stronger and tankier, Dusk's special abilities and items kind of make him better in some situations.
Khyron wrote:
> "aNyOnE cAn wEaR tHe rObE oF cHeEsE" - Yeah, except..? Class restrictions
> it means you're likely at least 35 years old.. Should concider to start acting like it.
You changed the writing pattern of what valky wrote deliberately to this mix of
caps and uncapped characters, then go on to attempt to infer the age, and conclude
that the writing he does is not age-appropriate (an assumption). I don't think that
approach works well when you yourself insinuate something, such as by feeling a
need to change what others wrote here.
Sloty1984's comments are quite simple too - fewer characters in the party to
increase the challenge factor. So kind of just pick four.
For my own personal preferences, right now, I think I would do this, even though
this may not be the strongest party:
- main character berserk, then dual class to mage; Aura (as thief/mage, mostly
because I need one thief); Viconia; Dusk (or perhaps Korgan still with axe + hammer
for str 25). I'd love to include Edwin though because he is so useful and in some
fights having a pure mage helps a lot. Viconia could perhaps be skipped and you
could carry and use more potions.
Would be interesting to see which party would be strongest though. In most fights
fighters performed better than mages; Edwin is quite convenient though, many
fodder units as spawns, and pierce magic or breach can be quite helpful against
some boss enemies (though this could probably be done via rods instead). I
guess it also depends on whether you use mods or not. Did Sloty1984 specify
whether mods are used? Some mods make the game a lot easier due to certain
useful items.
> "aNyOnE cAn wEaR tHe rObE oF cHeEsE" - Yeah, except..? Class restrictions
> it means you're likely at least 35 years old.. Should concider to start acting like it.
You changed the writing pattern of what valky wrote deliberately to this mix of
caps and uncapped characters, then go on to attempt to infer the age, and conclude
that the writing he does is not age-appropriate (an assumption). I don't think that
approach works well when you yourself insinuate something, such as by feeling a
need to change what others wrote here.
Yes, I did. And I would do it again.
His post was moronic, hostile, demeaning and haughty.
It absolutely deserved nought but such a response.
And no, Aerie does not suck.
As a mage she's no worse than any other multiclassed mage, same with cleric class.
In a 4 char party she'll stay comfortably ahead of the level curve in encounters and bossfights.
Easily top tier npc under such conditions.
I'll admit though, that in a 6 person party where you skip a lot of side quests.. then yes, she can feel underwhelming until you're past Saradush, if you don't do Watchers Keep ahead of ToB.
It all comes down to how you try to use her magic.. using it for damage is of course foolish in a 6 man, since her caster level suffers. But that means F all for buffs, heals, breach, pierce magic, protections etc etc.. and she double dips since she has 2 caster classes.
When you can have improved haste, chant, bless, chaotic commands, neg energy protection, death ward, imp invisibility, etc etc- all being speed casted by vecna - in addition to debuffs, crowd control and summons.. There's really no substitute for that.
She might not pack a lot of "oomph" on her own in a 6-party, but the way she'll allow all other party members to focus on dps/tanking is absolutely unmatched.. and very often means you collectively do better.
I'll add that at 2.5m xp she will have 7th level spells in both divine and arcane.
Yeah, I'm not a huge fan of Aerie for six person parties, because I don't think you ever make use of her large spellbook effectively. Usually your other casters run too low on spells for your party to effectively tackle a tough fight. So you're often resting with her having alot more spells still ready but not casted. And that's the entirety of her benefit as a companion in reality. Frankly, I tend to not use Edwin for the same reason.
That being said, in a four person party? Completely different. She will gain mage spells much like a single-class mage would in a six person party. Her diverse abilities are much more valuable in a small party. She's obviously quite good in that circumstance. Importantly, her diversity opens up options for the remaining two companions in such a party. Factually wrong to deny it. And I agree with other posters, there's been some puerile attacks on folks that like her.
Aerie is awesome useful in a six-party. Basically she can back up both mage and cleric. Even when either of those types are disabled or overwhelmed, Aerie can fill the gap. I consider her near essential. And when she gets the Robe of Veccna, she becomes the fastest cleric ever. Just a very useful character.
Of course the player can create their own cleric/mage, and I have. But with Aerie it’s never need.
Comments
The main character may then have to be a dual class or so. I usually play human berserker first, then switch to mage, mostly because I think magic is great in the game. At times I used triple class elf; it is a bit annoying due to slow progression, but you get some versatility as a trade-off.
For the other party members it depends on what you want or need. Having one strong fighter in team is making the game a lot easier IMO. I would pick Korgan; or if you use mods, Dusk. While I think Korgan is a bit stronger and tankier, Dusk's special abilities and items kind of make him better in some situations.
Khyron wrote:
> "aNyOnE cAn wEaR tHe rObE oF cHeEsE" - Yeah, except..? Class restrictions
> it means you're likely at least 35 years old.. Should concider to start acting like it.
You changed the writing pattern of what valky wrote deliberately to this mix of
caps and uncapped characters, then go on to attempt to infer the age, and conclude
that the writing he does is not age-appropriate (an assumption). I don't think that
approach works well when you yourself insinuate something, such as by feeling a
need to change what others wrote here.
Sloty1984's comments are quite simple too - fewer characters in the party to
increase the challenge factor. So kind of just pick four.
For my own personal preferences, right now, I think I would do this, even though
this may not be the strongest party:
- main character berserk, then dual class to mage; Aura (as thief/mage, mostly
because I need one thief); Viconia; Dusk (or perhaps Korgan still with axe + hammer
for str 25). I'd love to include Edwin though because he is so useful and in some
fights having a pure mage helps a lot. Viconia could perhaps be skipped and you
could carry and use more potions.
Would be interesting to see which party would be strongest though. In most fights
fighters performed better than mages; Edwin is quite convenient though, many
fodder units as spawns, and pierce magic or breach can be quite helpful against
some boss enemies (though this could probably be done via rods instead). I
guess it also depends on whether you use mods or not. Did Sloty1984 specify
whether mods are used? Some mods make the game a lot easier due to certain
useful items.
Yes, I did. And I would do it again.
His post was moronic, hostile, demeaning and haughty.
It absolutely deserved nought but such a response.
And no, Aerie does not suck.
As a mage she's no worse than any other multiclassed mage, same with cleric class.
In a 4 char party she'll stay comfortably ahead of the level curve in encounters and bossfights.
Easily top tier npc under such conditions.
I'll admit though, that in a 6 person party where you skip a lot of side quests.. then yes, she can feel underwhelming until you're past Saradush, if you don't do Watchers Keep ahead of ToB.
It all comes down to how you try to use her magic.. using it for damage is of course foolish in a 6 man, since her caster level suffers. But that means F all for buffs, heals, breach, pierce magic, protections etc etc.. and she double dips since she has 2 caster classes.
When you can have improved haste, chant, bless, chaotic commands, neg energy protection, death ward, imp invisibility, etc etc- all being speed casted by vecna - in addition to debuffs, crowd control and summons.. There's really no substitute for that.
She might not pack a lot of "oomph" on her own in a 6-party, but the way she'll allow all other party members to focus on dps/tanking is absolutely unmatched.. and very often means you collectively do better.
I'll add that at 2.5m xp she will have 7th level spells in both divine and arcane.
That being said, in a four person party? Completely different. She will gain mage spells much like a single-class mage would in a six person party. Her diverse abilities are much more valuable in a small party. She's obviously quite good in that circumstance. Importantly, her diversity opens up options for the remaining two companions in such a party. Factually wrong to deny it. And I agree with other posters, there's been some puerile attacks on folks that like her.
Of course the player can create their own cleric/mage, and I have. But with Aerie it’s never need.