Heroes of Baldur's Gate 1&2 Tier List

scheele

Heroes of Baldur's Gate 1&2 Tier List




I present to the esteemed forum members a biased highly opinionated rating of companions from both parts of Baldur's Gate. IMHO, such a top list has been long overdue (and they are highly popular for Heroes 3, for example)... The evaluation of companions is aggregate, based on a multitude of factors, with stats taking primacy over lore. So, make sure not to write if you disagree and your favorite heroes are being offended! 😉

S-tier
All the first four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are evil, brutal bastards, which sort of hints...) So, these guys are the lowest in morals, but at the very top of the list.

1. Edwin
10.0 🂱
(10.0 - 0.0)

"...round he throws his baleful eyes,
That witnessed huge affliction and dismay,
Mixed with obdurate pride and steadfast hate..."

Edwin Odesseiron - well, this grumbler in red is a walking package of spells. A top-tier Mage and a Conjuration specialist, he can be recruited in both games and the midquel. Even though Edwin is Lawful Evil, he is a perfect match for those who want to choose a lesser, "gentler" evil. He is like a dog that barks a lot but rarely bites. Sure, he complains a ton - pretty much like a rusty old alarm clock - but you get used to it over time. The Thayan’s friendly dynamic with Alora didn't vanish in the second game either, and it's properly fleshed out by mods. And you absolutely have to let him take out Dynaheir, that’s just a given.
Additional content: Edwin Romance (for a sharp female protagonist), another top-notch romance with Minya, plus a ton of stuff in Heroes, Thieves and Moneylenders, including his personal quest and plenty of banter. In the Detective Guild, our Thayan friend gets a chance to scribe magic scrolls.

2. Korgan
9.9 🃑
(10.0 - 0.3 + 0.2)

"Wha will be a traitor knave?
Wha can fill a coward's grave!
Wha sae base as be a slave?
Let him turn and flee!"

Well, what can I say: the Axe of Unyielding in one hand, Crom Faeyr in the other, and just show the dwarf who he needs to smash. The best fighter in the game, no doubt. The beard (obviously), alcoholism, and a Scottish accent are included Independent, freedom-loving, and smart in his own way. As for the cons: Korgan is just about the only companion who will readily attack the party if you pick a fight with him during a conversation (if you taunt him when re-hiring); on top of that, he greedily demands five hundred (!) coins at every single time you re-hire him.
Additional content: represented by three mods, which is quite decent overall. In Heroes, Thieves and Moneylenders, Korgy has his own story arc; there's also a friendship mod by Lava, and a micro-nano tavern-drinking mod by Graoumf.


3. Sarevok
9.7 🃁
(10.0 - 0.5 + 0.2)

"...somewhere in sands of the desert
A shape with lion body and the head of a man,
A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun..."

The villain, fiend, and big bad of the first game has almost no downsides as an ultra-OP fighter with god-tier stats. Bald, brutal, and cruel. Since he is Gorion's murderer, I never recruited him, but his moments of repentance are likely well-crafted in Sarevok's Remorse component (UB2). I docked him half a point straight away for recruitment, since it happens in Chapter 8 of the second game (!). On the flip side, Sarevok became so enlightened in his understanding that he scored himself an extra +1 to Constitution, +3 to Charisma, and most importantly - got smarter by +3 (even though he lost two Wisdom points in the process). This allows you to immediately dual-class him into a Mage, which is exactly what makes him so utterly OP.
Additional content: besides the aforementioned Unfinished Business for Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn, there's also Sarevok Friendship by Aeryn available. It's also worth mentioning that Sarevok is present in BG3 as well.

4. Dorn
9.6 🂡
(10.0 - 0.5 + 0.1)

"Sword hilts grow cold in the clutching hand,
And desperation, like a bird, beats at the temple,
And the heart goes wild with hatred!"

The perfect candidate for an evil party. While his actions in BG1 (EE) were driven by understandable revenge, by the second game the half-orc completely flies off the handle. Bill the Butcher once said that "This is fresh meat. We need to tenderize this meat a little bit. flesh needs to be bruised before you eat it," but this fanged orc has gone way too far - he's completely pounded in the head and gone to the darkest side in BG2 EE. On the flip side - Dorn's stats, attributes, and special abilities are excellent, the character himself is well-fleshed-out, and IMHO, he is the most well-written companion out of the entire Beamdog quartet (Dorn, Neera, Rasaad, and Hexxat). His romance with a male PC is also worth a separate mention, as it’s genuinely great. Therefore, it feels like picking Dorn isn't just about gaining the gameplay advantages of a strong companion, but rather a choice of whether the player can tolerate such an individual.

Additional content: Dorn Friendship by Lava. Well, what kind of friend - such a "friendship" - you've been warned)

A-tier
There are plenty of options to choose from, with a wide spectrum of classes and races.

5. Minsc
9.5 🃞
A hero in every sense of the word! Bald, feeble-minded bold and brave, charismatic, and equipped with his beloved hamster Boo (or perhaps Boo is equipped with Minsc, depending on how you look at it). He rightfully holds the status of an iconic companion, boasting tons of fan art, fanfiction, and a cozy spot as a companion in BG3 (eat your heart out, Sarevok ). The only reason Minsc didn’t make it to S-tier is that he was held back by the Ranger class, which is weaker compared to a pure Fighter.
Additional content: A vast number of mods include banters for Minsc and Boo. Naturally, Lava couldn't resist creating the Minsc Friendship mod for them, and The Kidnapping of Boo by Cliffette (a component of UB2) is also well worth a mention.

6. Keldorn
9.4 🃎
The true boss of this gym. Anyone who isn't as brutal as this venerable paladin is just a regular jabroni boy (which means pretty much everyone else, including the MH). And anyone who dares to write any crap about Keldorn in their review will instantly have their head slammed into the keyboard and 1{1sdopdgp7zvnygeyayushglropyaffpffp
Additional content: There is an option to romance him (Keldorn Romance by Berelinde); I'm sure everything will be totally proper and highly moral. I wonder how paladins even reproduce anyway? Probably just from immodest glances

7. Coran
9.3 🂾
Well, taking the lucky number seven spot is the elf who, unlike Sir Keldorn, didn't get the scars on his face in battle, but rather from pillows in the cozy bedrooms of his mistresses)). This young(?) and carefree womanizer is the best archer in the game, in both games, always. Putting the Mana Bow in his hand is an absolute win condition - no foe will ever manage to reach the MH with that kind of setup.
Additional content: Smiling Imp put some serious sweat into the relationship between Coran and Safana (bg1-npc-in-soatob), so it makes perfect sense to recruit and keep them together. I should note that Smiling Imp skimped on the elf's HP (44 for a level 9 Fighter / level 9 Thief multi-class, if I recall correctly), so you'll need to cover Coran's squishy body with some good armor so he doesn't drop dead all the time.

8. Baeloth
9.2 🂮
Devilishly good stats, witty, smart, and on top of that, he has a mod for the second game. Honestly, a drow sorcerer as a replacement for Edwin - or to back him up - is more than viable.
Additional content: The aforementioned Baeloth's Deal by dark0dave.

9. Viconia
9.1 🂭
Only her squishy Constitution stopped her from climbing higher on the list, because she is the best cleric in the game. By the way, Viconia was done dirty in BG3, being relegated to a second-rate villain (and they aged her too! :x)
Additional content: Tons of it in the form of banters in other NPC mods; there's also Viconia Friendship by K'aeloree.

10. Imoen
9.1 🂽
The most superb, absolutely one of the best romances in the entire modding world. Imoen is gorgeous in any party setup
Additional content: Her romance, first and foremost.

B-tier

Combat skills and other abilities are above average, or it’s a male/female mage.

11. Xzar
9.0 🃟
A mad necromancer making it into B-tier? That’s exactly right - this lunatic necromancer made it, and the two casters after him did too. And all because the 2nd Edition is unbalanced, and mages completely rule the endgame, bending all other classes over.
12. Dynaheir
9.0 🃩
13. Jan Jansen
9.0 🃏
14. Jaheira
9.0 🃍
Be that as it may, mama-Jaheira still became an available companion in BG3, which is great to see :good:
15. Nalia
9.0 🃝
16. Anomen
9.0 🂻
17. Xan
9< 🃋
18. Corwin
9< 🃫
A sweet lady, an archer, an athlete, and just a real beauty! Her modded romance is highly non-canonical and shakes the foundations of the genre with sexual depravities, but it’s written quite briskly, I'll give it that.
19. Kagain
9< 🂫
Almost the last one in the B-tier, but he managed to squeeze through thanks to his titanic Constitution.
20. Solaufein
9< 🃛
A close call, but the drow from Jastey's mod managed to hold his ground in the tier thanks to his excellent magic resistance and beautifully written interactions with the party and the surface world. The fact that he can act as a 7th companion also heavily boosted his ranking.
21. Shar-Teel
9< 🂠
Favoritism shown to friends, family, and mistresses... let's see: eight letters, starts with "n"... nepotism? Nah, let's be real - my favorite psycho amazon simply threatened to cut my throat if I didn't put her in the B-tier! Thankfully, she finally got her own proper romance mod, so now she can chop heads and break hearts at the same time)
22. Neera
9< 🃴
23. Aerie
9< 10 of Hearts
24. Kivan
9< 10 of Spades

C-tier
Solid mid-tier. It is what it is.

25. Yeslick
9< 10 of Diamonds
26. Mazzy
9< 10 of Clubs
27. Ajantis
9< 9 of Hearts
28. Tiax
9< 9 of Spades
29. Valygar
9< 9 of Clubs
30. Montaron
9< 9 of Diamonds
31. Branwen
9< 8 of Clubs
32. Quayle
9< 8 of Diamonds
33. Faldorn
9< 8 of Spades
34. Cernd
9< 8 of Hearts
35. Khalid
9< 7 of Clubs

D-tier
Thieves and borderline average companions. Those tracking toward the bottom are dangerously close to being pure porcelain)

36. Hexxat
9< 7 of Spades
37. Wilson
9< 7 of Diamonds
38. Alora
9< 7 of Hearts
39. Moddie
9< 6 of Hearts
40. Grey
9< 6 of Diamonds
41. Haer'Dalis
9< 6 of Clubs

F-tier

None answer'd this; but after Silence spake.
A Vessel of a more ungainly Make:
"They sneer at me for leaning all awry;
What! did the Hand then of the Potter shake?

42. Rasaad
8< 6 of Spades
43. Safana
8< --
44. Garrick
8< --
45. Eldoth
8< --
46. Skie
8< --
47. Keto
8< --

*A new portrait of Keto was created by lgoon17

atcDave

I’m not quite sure I understand the point of this?
I’m not ever very interested *scores*, at least not the high or low of them. The nature of D&D is that there are always ways to fix/modify/boost in one way or another. And really, that’s the fun of the game. Trying to make something of marginal characters is a big part of what gives us so much replayability.
Class, experience and skills ultimately matter more than scores.
To me, it’s that plus the *character* of the character that determine who will be on my team.

And I’ll never use those “s-tier” characters. No evil for me, ever.

Sorry for being the curmudgeon!

scheele

Don't worry, you're not a curmudgeon at all) In fact, your approach to gameplay is awesome. Building up an underdog character is a huge part of the fun. Safe travels on your Good-alignment runs, and may your dice rolls be ever in your favor (even with low scores)! Just between us), I’d never give up Alora in my party, even for some godlike god-tier character

As for your question - well, since there's an impressive roster of heroes, a tier list is simply inevitable.

atcDave

Alora is a blast! So often she just isn’t needed, because I consider Imoen essential. But anytime I dual Imoen early I’ll pick up Alora as a replacement. She is my favorite among less used characters.

deadinside

Lists like these are rather biased. The games have enough freedom that you can make any character good. I mean, if you strip out all gear and items and have them fight naked then I guess you can claim to rank one better that the other. You also can't really lump BG1 + BG2 companions together, as BG1 companions tend to have craptacular stats compared to BG2.

scheele

In a vacuum - completely stripped of gear, buffs, and items - a Monk, for example, would probably dominate, wouldn’t they? But that doesn't magically make the Monk a top-tier class or a great fighter overall. Evaluating characters "naked" is fundamentally pointless because nobody actually plays the game that way. Given the sheer abundance of overpowered gear in BG2, even a companion with objectively terrible base stats turns into an absolute killing machine when properly kitted out. Furthermore, all 47 of the featured companions were also evaluated based on their lore, the mods dedicated to them, and the amount and depth of content they offer. And all of them are available in Baldur's Gate II.

However, I am not claiming mathematical precision in counting the content of these companion mods, nor am I claiming an absolutely objective narrative critique of its quality. I can only put together a tier list like this based on my own understanding of the Forgotten Realms, as far as my knowledge allows.

sarevok57

i Like the list, although some folks i kind of disagree with...;

S tier

Edwin - definitely is fair, the outrageous amount of spell casting he gets in BG 1 & 2 is out matched, and the conjurer specialist class gives you the fewest apposed spells, and they can also be replaced by other means easily enough

Korgan - strongly agree, Huge HP, Dwarf Saves, Amazing class kit, and being a fighter for APR and 5 point proficiencies, this guy definitely rocks in melee, especially with the mits of dexterity

Sarevok - strongly agree again, with illegally more than max HP, can dual class into mage or thief, gets the fighter advantage of APR and 5 point proficiencies and having the highest stat total out of any other playable character, he definitely deserves this spot

Dorn - my first disagree, although not by much, i would put this guy into A tier, even though he has some good abilities from his class kit, and gets the paladin saves, this DEX and especially CON are absolutely abysmal, 16 in a physical score is not good especially CON which is 14 so he is going to get hit more often and die more often, and also being able to only specialize in weapons and only hitting level 34 as apposed to 40 like korgan or sarevok, that means less HLA as well and at a slower rate

A tier

Minsc - have to almost strongly disagree on this one, for 2 main reasons, number 1, his DEX and CON ( especially in BG 1 ) are abysmally bad, and whatever minsc can do, any other melee character can just straight up do better, whether its damage output or staying alive in general through stat wise, but with that being said he isnt terrible, but he isn't great either i would put him more in the B tier at best ( B- tier if there were +/- ) boo may be cool and all, but not enough to push him up to A

Keldorn - completely fair, great HP, garbage DEX so he WILL need the mits of DEX but once you give those to him, great companion, having true sight and and powerful dispel magic really makes up for the slow level growth, no cleric spells and decent damage output thanks for the fact he can swing a holy avenger if need be

Coran - Okay, fair enough, in ranged combat his is S+, but for melee he does become dog water so fair, Coran's archery skills cannot be matched period by any other joinable companion in BG 1 and when it comes to being a thief, he actually does damage without having to back stab, unlike every other thief in the game, if they arent opening locks, disarming traps and not backstabbing, they are basically throwing nerf darts at the enemy

Baeloth - also fair, although in SoD he finally gets those level 5 mage spells and this can put him on par if not better than edwin thanks to his illegal amount of spells known, although i havent used baeloth much in the past so i dont remember what he was stat wise except for his 19 INT ( lewls ) oh also, being a drow will no doubt give him MR as well, hmm, if baeloth is going to be A tier, he definitely is A+ that is for sure

Viconia - going to have to slightly disagree on this one, and her CON ( ah yes, perhaps that was Baeloth's problem as well...? ) that CON is going to hurt both in BG 1 & 2 and since it is so low even trying to get some HP through spells is almost impossible, and also especially in BG 1 she has garbage STR and CON ( yikes ) so that really hurts, although thanks to the 19 DEX and 50/65 MR she gets she is an amazing back row healer, but in melee if she gets hit twice or thrice she is going to push up daisies, BUT with that being said, still a solid cleric so i would say B tier is more fair

Imoen - agree, in BG 1 i would say A+ tier, thanks to her relatively great stats ( at least great stats for what she needs class wise ) can dual class into a mage while still having enough points left over to compensate for all thieving needs ( especially in bg 1 ) even in bg2 she still has great thief stats for a level 7 thief while cranking out full mage, absolutely solid

B tier

Jan - im going to have to slightly disagree on this one, even though i actually like jan, and jan realistically the only thief that is going to be able to do ALL your thieving needs in bg2 without a fuss ( eventually ) the main problem he suffers from is his squishiness ( gosh, this is a main problem with a lot of characters losing ranks aye? ) that 15 CON isn't great at all, 17 DEX is pretty weak for a thief and then a garbage 16 INT for his mage side? yikes, holmes is definition of mediocre mildew, while he can get the job done of a thief and a "competent" mage for his earlier levels thanks to his illusionist side, mid game and later his spell casting falls behind AND he cannot learn necromancy, also yikes, not being able to cast finger of death and horrid wilting really hurts ( since every other mage caster in the game can ) so i would say C tier at best, and that is only because his spell casting backs up his thief class, if it weren't for that, he would be D for sure

Dynaheir - completely fair, she has great CON, standard INT, and even some WIS, but NO DEX, and since you are going to have minsc on the squad, he is going to be getting those mits of DEX, other than that, her invoking spells are going to be more effective thanks to her specialization but ironically enough, enchantment and charm are kind in BG 1 which she cant learn a single spell from, but at least she can take a hit ( and she WILL be getting hit if any enemy aims a weapon at her ) and she can slow poison once per day, so hazaa

Xzar - it kind of hurts having Dynaheir and Xzar in the same tier because Xzar has more flexibility than Dynaheir has thanks to his higher WIS and the ability to cast enchantment spells, also he only needs 1 tome of WIS to become a cleric while Dyny needs 2, plus he has some DEX, which not great, but does help not getting hit by the random arrow that likes to fly towards mages, but with that being said, Xzar doesn't have the sheer horse power or stats to be in A tier, but comparted to Dynaheir i would give Xzar a solid B+ while Dyny gets a B

Jaheira - fair, in BG 1 she is garbage in melee thanks to her garbage STR and DEX, but great with a sling, and thanks to her fighter class she can get some APR and some to hit and damage compared to a single class caster, and being druid ( especially in BG 1 ) the class still grows up relatively quick giving her lots of heal options and some great summoning options at higher levels, in BG 2 she gets stat upgrade which she direly needs, which makes it so she be thrown into melee and be somewhat useful there, although once again, LOW HP ( even with ironskins) , and not so great to hit through out ALL of SoA is going to hurt her forever, but her spell casting ( especially what she can summon in bg 2 and how fast she can do it ) is her saving grace

Nalia - hmm, i almost want to give her C tier, mostly because imoen is practically better than Nalia in EVERY conceivable way except for STR, but once one wears a belt of 19 STR, then nalia is left in the dust, her 4 levels of thief or garbage, her family ring is just a ring of pro +2 with some fire RES that can be done through a spell which is already better out of the gate, so it makes her a mage that can use thief weapons? because she ain't gonna backstab worth a fart since she has no to hit, if she is B tier it is definitely B-, and the only thing i guess that puts her here is because even a mediocre full mage class is still a strong class regardless, hmm....

Anomen - going to have to disagree here, in fact this is where Anomen and Viconia need to be swapped around, thanks to Anomen's fighter levels, he gets HP, to hit, to damage and APR, all the things that Vicky doesn't get, and not only does anomen get all that stuff he actually has some STR and CON so he can survive hits and dish them out, although his DEX is garbage, so that does hurt, but that is mainly the only reason why i would say he is A tier, if he has Sarevok like stats with his 17 in WIS instead of INT Anomen would be uncontested S tier, but here we are, and the problem is, chances are you are going to need the mits of DEX to go to someone else who is going to go into melee so nice dice Ano, although if you want to make him a backrow healer with a sling, he excels at this role tremendously, so i would give Ano A tier for sure

Xan - have to disagree again, and although his HP are crap, and a lot of people don't like having evocation as a banned school, peeps might forget that enchantment and charm is by far uncontested the most powerful school in bg1, since most enemies in BG1 have garbage saves and Xan on top gives penalties to those garbage saves, and a held enemy is a dead enemy, and dire charming enemies especially those bounty hunter groups and having them attack each other; priceless, also, you want lightning bolts and fireballs? well you are in luck because there are these interesting devices called wands and they work wonders for all those spells that you cannot cast... but with that being said Xan is A+ tier at least, if he had some CON he would be S tier without question, but thanks to having some sort of DEX he actually has some AC which helps him not to get hit by stray missile weapons, while if they connect, they WILL hurt

Corwin(?) - i believe that is what her name is, i've only used her once or twice because i haven't played SoD much, and i would say B+ at least? Archers are incredibly strong through out the series, with their only drawback being the enchantment of their ammunition, in BG 1 and 2 this isnt much of a problem ( since bg1 only needs +1, and in bg2 you get the "phantom arrow" bows ) but in SoD i recall some enemies requiring +3 weapons to hit, and +3 arrows are hard to come by if i recall in SoD, so B tier is fair enough

Kagain - nah man, by default Kagain is A tier, with that MAMMOTH CON, he gets great saves and he can take hits, and then if you give him the mits of DEX ( which lets be honest, its going to happen ) he is going to be a moveable wall, and then with a tome or bently's shield even MORE HP and faster regeneration ( lewlz ) AND if we up the craziness a bit give him the big fisted belt and he becomes THE BEST melee character of BG 1, but that is the problem, the belt and mits make hims S+ tier, while the mits only makes him A tier, but even without the mits, he is A- at minimum, absolutely solid unit

Drow dude - got nothing on this guy, have no idea who this is

Shar-teel - holy jumpins, peeps need to run more evil party runs, Shar-teel is A tier if not A+, what she really lacks is CON, which does hurt, but thank geebus she has STR and DEX and in BG 1 damage can be prevented quite a bit if you have good AC, plus her CON is just garage enough to wear the claw of kazgaroth without penalty to her H (which is pretty solid). Now her proficiencies are wonky as hell, im assuming beamdog set her up to be a dual wielding fighter/thief which i kind of hate because having only 1 proficiency in each melee weapon ( one good, one garbage ) does hurt, but with that being said, to get the maximum out of Shar you are going to HAVE to dual class her over to theif to max out her proficiencies, and what is actually great about that if planed properly you can get 4 proficiencies in any weapon and a bonus 1 in any weapon style, so that is a solid, although she will be stuck as a level 3 thief for a portion of the game to do it, but patience pays off to those who wait....

Neera - see this is what kind of annoys me just a smidge, we have neera who gets an extra spell per level with not restrictions on what spells she can learn and then we have nalia who doesnt get an extra spell per level and can learn any spell, and yet they are in the same tier. In my opinion Neera does her job better than Nalia does even with her whacky spell casting level adjustment each time ( once you hit level 14+ the 1-5 levels difference really doesnt matter too much in the long run, and even more useless once you hit level 25 ) although that 5% something whacky can happen, but when something whacky does happen, you live through it 90+% of the time and if not there is the good ol' reload button if need be ( Unless you are a no reloader then i guess better luck next time gadget ) although with that being said i wouldnt even give Neera B+, i think just B fits her perfectly

Aerie - this is 100% fair, some peeps says shes "one of the most powerful" joinable characters thanks to the fact that she can learn almost any spell, which in theory does sound powerful , and again in theory could be possible, but thanks to her absolute garbage CON she has NO HP, and there WILL be times she will have to rely on that whip cream amount of HP and before you know it her icon will be disappearing off your roster once she gets chunked. Also, the best mage gear has a high chance of not going to aerie but your main mage caster, making aerie's mage side a little weak, and also being a multi class that mage side is going to take forever to get some higher level spells out while your full mage is going to be chain contingencing some horrid wiltings, aerie finally gets 1 level 7 spell.... so yeah, great spell arsenal, although mediocre STATS all around, and HP equivalent to a wet bag, B tier is more than fair

Kivan - although i like the guy quite a bit, if we are going to give buddy B tier, im going to be biased and give him a B+ for these reasons; first, he actually has some decent STR, and decent DEX making it so he can go into melee and hold his own, next his CON is bad but once again we have another contender who can wear the claw of kazgaroth at no HP cost, also he can eventually get 2 proficiencies in scimitar and if Drizzt just happens to bite the dust on your run, Kivan can wield either ( or even both scimitars ) like a boss, plus if you dont have room to give him the mits of ogre power or big fisted belt, even the mits of weapon expertise is not a bad choice which makes his damage output as if he had 18/91+ STR, so absolutely solid, does great in melee and in range, if his STR and DEX was a little higher i would give him A for sure, but for now B+ suits him fine

C tier

Yeslick - oi, giving Yeslick a C tier hurts, and to be honest i think he can stretch a B tier, out of all the clerics in BG 1 he ties for highest WIS of 16 ( lmao ) which helps a little bit, plus being a dwarf he gets some sexy saves, and he CON is okay, his STR is meh, and his DEX is bleh, but with a spell or two ( DUHM ) and perhaps a potion or 2, he can really wreck some shop on the front lines thanks to his fighter abilities, although unless those conditions are met, he is more than likely going to be a back row sling thrower healer which he actually does quite well, and unlike jahiera darling, yeslick gets cleric spells instead, like animate dead, and protection from evil 10' radius or holy power and DUHM and so on and so on, so i would put yeslick into B tier, thanks to the fact that even a mediocre dwarf fits well with a fighter/cleric type, if anything the nothing burger stats is what hurt yeslick the most

Mazzy - wow, talk about way in the wrong spot, out of all the holmes and femmes this is a complete disservice, Mazzy at the least is A+, if she had 18 CON she would be S tier without question, she gets fighter proficiencies so she gets great to hit and to damage, she has flawless DEX so she gets amazing AC, her CON is meh, but thanks to the fact that she gets 40 levels ( as apposed to 34 like some other melee types ) she can hit 200+ HP in ToB, and she gets shorty saves and her "paladin" like abilities are top notch, when she hits level 13 her strength ability becomes champions strength which gives her a HUGE to hit bonus, absolutely solid, i think people think mazzy is garbage because of that low STR score which does hurt, but luckily there are lots o' belts of STR in bg 2 and even with the belt of STR 19 she can wreck shop, yeah, definitely A tier if not A+, next play through, grab mazzy along, start throwing some proficiency points into a weapon that actually deals some damage and give her a belt of STR and you will not be disappointed....

Ajantis - 100% percent fair, i've heard throughout the years people loving this guy like he is the next mesiah but i dont see it, his 17 STR is trash, 13 DEX is lmao, and 16 CON, oi, all 3 melee stat are crap, the only way to make this guy not garbage is to; give him the mits of DEX ( which is a must have for this guy ) and the big fisted belt, and perhaps a drizzt scimitar with 2 proficiencies in scimitar, tiss an ironic build i agree but this is the best way to build this guy up, and man do you have to give him some good goodies to make him work, and the problem with doing this is, it might hurt the rest of your frontliners if Ajantis has all the cool melee items so C tier is 100% on the money, although if you do give him all the things i mentioned up top... wowzers...

tiax - haha lol, hell nah, im going to be generous and put the holmes in D tier, and that is ONLY because he is a gnome so he has some decent saves, but other than that, he is GARBAGE everywhere else, now he may have some of the best banter in the game by far, when it comes to combat, he is laughable, his DEX is crap, and thanks to being a multi class his thief abilities are going to suffer, he has next to no WIS so his limited cleric spell side are going to suffer and to be honest of all the multi class combos in the game, the cleric/thief is by far the worst, besides being a gnome ( with also crap CON ) so he gets some saves he can summon a dread wolf once per day to fight along side you lmao i mean ghast which still is a lewlz at least, in fact if im not mistaken his stat total is less than 75, and if it isn't its pretty darn close, so yeah, D- tier at best

Valygar - okay, i can agree with this, although i have done a bijillion play throughs with Valy, i can see why he fits into C; mediocre CON, cant wear the dopest of dope armors, slow level growth, class abilities are very special case use and arent even that great to begin with, but when you do use them they will perform as expected, just like minsc, valy suffers from the; whatever Valy, can do almost any other melee class can basically do better, thank the bioware gods though that they had enough insight to give Valy 18 DEX or else he would be really screwed, but yeah even though i like using the guy, C is fair

Wilson - hahaha, have to hand it to beamdog, coolest NPC concept out of the whole roster, too bad he is such a pain the buttocks to get on your team, but with that being said, i think C tier is to good, i have to give my man here a D tier, and the main reason is because i play with double damage on higher difficulties and this makes a big difference on insane difficulty when even in BG1 enemies can hit you normally for 30-40 damage, nevermind BG2 ( iron/adamanine golems anyone...?) and because of that, even though he has a decent HP pool, his AC is a fart in the wind, and he WILL be getting hit and he WILL be taken damage quickly, and the fact that he cant wear any times to mitigate this, and can only drink a couple of potions really REALLY hurts his usefulness, despite the fact that he totally tears it up in melee, but on insane with double damage, all that damage output means nothing if he's dead on the ground, so D tier it is

Branwen - it kind of hurts to see Branwen in C tier, but when i come to think of it, theres really nothing special enough about here that would bump her up to B, so i say C+ at least, maybe even B-, she does have the most cleric spells of any cleric caster in BG 1 with her 16 WIS and ability to grow to level 8, her physical stats get the job done, especially with DUHM, and she can wear some heavy armor and pairs well with the ring of holiness, but her to hit will always be lacking a bit, and to throw her into melee she will need some potion/spell prep to be effective, although beamdog give her a battle of chaos ability which helps her out a bit, so yeah again, C+/B- tier

Quayle - ah, good ol' qualye, i say this is perfect place for him, he is basically like aerie just worse in a lot of ways, first his stats are abysmal, holy moly, good INT, crap everything else, including WIS, so that cleric side is going to suffer, although being an illusionist gives him that extra spell per level, so thats kind of coo i suppose, and he is a gnerm, so he gets some sort of saving throw bonus, plus he gets invisibility once per day as a special ability which is a bit niche, but better than nothing i suppose, but yeah, since this is B1 quayle doesnt hit high enough level to have the arsenal that aerie gets so at best the holmes here is getting C tier

Faldorn - again we have a branwen moment here, but mostly because faldorn legally hits level 10, and thanks to the EEs, she gets all the bg2 druid spells, and level 4 and 5 have some great options, but other than that, faldorn is quite mediocre in every other avenue, mediocre stats mediocre this, mediocre that, and oh yeah, SHE is the one that can summon the dread wolf once per day to help you out hoi hoi hoi hoi hoi... actually to be fair in default bg1 she is D tier, and BG1EE she gets C+ only because of her level 4/5 druids spells

Cernd - ah Cernd the nerd the doggy turd, apologies for the cruelty, but cernd almost has the same problem as faldorn, where ironically his spell casting is his best offer, while the werewolf forms may look cool, the quickly get outclassed by the enemies you fight at the levels you fight them at, and with again low HP thats going to hurt in melee even if he gets a sexy AC boost to around -16, damage will somehow find its way to his little HP and take him out quick, so yeah C tier at best, even C- because to grow to level 15 requires 3 million XP so his spell casting is going to be halted for at least half of SoA

D tier

Hexxat - yeah thats fair, even though she is a vampire ( spoilers lmao, like anyone TRULY cared ) and actually is pretty much immortal...? ( you know what i mean if you used her before ) her abilities are plagued by the fact that her cloak just turns her into a paper maché thief of mediocreness, which really hurts the usefulness, first, just normal thief, no kit class which is crap, next as thieves are, their to hit/ to damage output isnt all that great, she does get some vampire abilities like blood sucking, domination and perhaps summon shade wolf ( lol ) but all mediocre what not, its actually quite unfortunate, that for being a vampire she is kind of the lamest one around, hell mona the vampire from that one show back in the day is almost less lame than hexxat, yikes...

Montaron - nah, i can't have monty and hexxat in the same tier, and even though what hurts mony the most is his ABYSMAL stats, holy moly, 16 STR, 17 DEX, 16 CON and that is at most if i recall, yikes, but at least thanks to his fighter side, he makes an excellent ranged combatant whether you give him longbow or throwing axe ( he wields the throwing axe +2 reasonably well if specialized in it ) and yeah thanks to hit crap DEX and crap skill allocation at level 1 ( he was definitely built for backstabbing ) but with the garbage STR his backstabs are going to hit like the loving smile of a new born baby, so yeah, although being a halfling does give him the saving throw boost, and fighter/thieves get the best base saves in the game, so i say C tier is more than fair for monty, if he actually had some stats he would definitely be higher tier

Alora - here we go again ( what is this whitesnake? ) again having Alora in the same tier as Hexxat, nah, thanks to being a halfling, alora gets a nice save bonus, and thanks to the EEs her lucky rabits foot is an AMAZING item, hell, it wouldnt even hurt my feeling to crank her rank to B- only for the fact that when it comes to thievery she excels in almost every category, because she doesn't excel in every category when it comes to thieving, C+ is more than fair, trust me, if you need a thief to do thieving stuff, you will not be disappointed with alora's results

furry - no clue who this is, so i have no comment on this one

doggo - again no idea who this is, so no comment

haer-dalis - a good ol' hair my dallas, man do i hate this guy, but to be fair, D tier, yeah, more than fair almost D-, and here is why; again peeps out in the real would say blades are amazing and chew bubble gum and kick ass and always run out of bubble gum sort of thing, but on insane difficulty with double damage on, more often than not im finding that they kick ass less and chew more bubble gum, and thats IF the blade is your main CHAR with a crazy stat total of 100, here we have hair my dallas, with mediocre stats in so much stuff, thanks to being a blade he suffers from MAD ( multiple attribute dependency ) so they could only but so many points into so many things, and of coarse ONCE AGAIN we have a MELEE dude with LOW HP ( did bioware have some sort of masochistic tendency to have their characters die in game? hmm... ) any way, buddy here is made out of whip cream and cake, and even though he can have a whole arsenal of defensive spells to help him not take damage, somehow and every once in awhile damage with find it's way through those defenses, and just like aerie, erase his portrait from your roster as if he went back in time and screwed up his on time line to make it so he never existed in the first place and even with the resistances he gets for being a tiefling, it doesnt make up for his barely existent HP, and another thing about blades, their to hit in melee is kind of crap to be honest, until they reach level 15 or 16 so then cast tensors transformation, they cant hit squat ( thanks to their rogue thac0 tables ) so yeah, even more oi. To be honest if hare my dallas was a skald i think he would be a million times better, giving the team extra combat potential while he can sit back with his protections on, but nope, we have this cheese head instead, good stuff

F Tier (yikes)

khalid - whoa, what is happening, khalid is in the same boat as mazzy, khalid is actually a great fighter in bg1, although, okay fine, to make him great, his is going to need the mits of ogre power, if khalid is on your team his name is all over those gloves, but once you give khalid the mits of ogre smushing, you will notice that he is a very competent fighter, with that now much needed boost to STR, and backed up with a 4 proficiencies in longsword, he can wreck some havoc with the longsword +2, and while 16 DEX isn't amazing, with fullplate and a shield +1/+2 he can gave some sort of AC, plus he has 17 CON which is really nice, this helps back up his not so good DEX with the fact that khalid can actually take some hits, holy moly, imagine that, a melee character actually being able to take some damage, wowzers, so yeah, wrong tier, even without the mits he is C+ tier for the fact he can hold the front line, but with the mits, dare i say it, they bump him all the way up to A tier, well at least A-, but in the A's none the less

Rasaad - hahaha, okay i take it back on Cernd the nerd the doggy turd, Rasaad is king when it comes to being the title; Raserd the nerd the doggy turd, but just wow what garbage, and in all honest what was beamdog thinking when they stated this guy out? in BG1 stats VERY much matter for monks which is evident with raserd, this guy has NO to damage, NO AC, and NO HP! what is up with this guy? and while he can get some "decent" monk items throughout the game, they are pretty much pointless beacuse he cant do squat in melee with them in BG1 because his physical stats are dog do-do, now in BG2 i suppose physical stats arent the end all be all of monks, but holy moly do they sure as hell help, and reserd really suffers because of it, now eventually you get a belt so okay, he gets to hit and damage, his DEX is okay, so his AC will be decent for a monk, but HP, man does this guy HATE having HP, and the problem is, even with killer AC, you need some HP to back that up in BG2 and reserd the nerd just cant get that job done, in fact the afterworld is going to build an express lane for this guy for the amount of times you will have to revive him for that amount of times he is going to kick the bucket, and even with his soul monk abilities, he just oozes meh at best, yeah, keep chillin in F tier reserd because to even think about putting you in D is laughable

Safana - hmm, nah... although i can kind of see why she would be lower tier, F is a bit to low, first when it comes to thieving she does it pretty well, plus if im not mistaken she can also dual class into a mage but she needs a tome of INT first, her CON is quite crap though, but her CHA is cranked to 17 for role play reasons, although thanks to the EEs they gave her a charm/domination type ability which can actually be quite useful in the thick of things if you need to charm a baddy on the opposite end of the sword, so F tier i dont think is fair, i would say C tier is more than fair/adequate

Garrick - yeah, unfortunately this is fair for garrick, with his crap stats in EVERYTHING he is no use in melee, his spell casting is still kind of crap thanks to his low INT, and he has some sort of DEX so he can use the longbow of marksmenship or the throwing axe +2 if need be, and for melee i give him that halberd +2 that sets your APR to 1, since bards only get 1 anyway, if he actually hits he can actually do some damage, lewlz, but yeah, just like most stinky bards, F tier is unfortunately more than deserved, even if he gets enough lore he can identify any item in the game....

Eldoth - yup, just like garrick, garbage in, garbage out, while having a stat or 2 higher than garrick, it really doesn't matter, because in order to keep this clown around you have to bring along another bad joinable character who doesnt synergize well with your team composition when you have both of them on board, and even though eldoth gets some fancy arrows and he can use a longbow, he still has a rogue thac0 table, so his to hit, it going to be mediocre at best, you know, just like him, bleh

Skie- ya know, she could have been higher tier if she wasnt the sort of thief where anything she could do some other thief can just do better in some way, when it comes to the queen of mediocrity skie takes the cake, and not only does she take that cake she wants some eldoth cake as well as in you must have eldoth on your team if you want skie on your team and as mentioned above, eldoth is a crap joinable character and together you now have 2 crap joinable characters, and because she is paired with eldoth and having to wait till chapter 5 to get a character with no coo bonus stuff unlike the other chapter 5 characters, she definitely deserves her F tier

Red head femme - no clue who this is so no comment on this one

deadinside

Montaron is definitely B or even A tier. Khalid the same. To be honest the games have plenty of strength enhancing items, so a mid strength score does not hurt as much (aside from encumbrance) and Khalid having low morale is more of a meme. Quayle in my opinion sits firmly between B and C. He gets plenty of spells from his multiclass making him a great utility and backup spellcaster. Give him the right equipment and he is a capable companion. I generally like Brawen, but I think Viconia makes a better Cleric in BG1, especially if you can spare the strength gauntlets for her (which you should since Fighters can use potions which are plentiful in the game).

There are some more that I can think off, but then the post would be too long. It all comes down to how you like playing the games and what wacky tactics you can come up with using the available resources.

jmerry

...

sarevok57 wrote: »

khalid - whoa, what is happening, khalid is in the same boat as mazzy, khalid is actually a great fighter in bg1, although, okay fine, to make him great, his is going to need the mits of ogre powe

No, actually, all he needs is two more dots in longbow and the +2 bow you find in the bandit camp. Second best recruitable archer in the game, and archery is the best combat role in BG1. For a sizable portion of the late game (64K to 125K XP), he's even a better archer than Coran due to the level 7 warrior APR bonus.

Let Jaheira take the roles of tank and (out of combat) healer. Heavy armor, a shield, the 18 DEX gloves, and the best club you've got. Strength potions for when you want to deal significant damage too.

Danacm

Don’t be funny, Khalid not at least B tier ? I think it is A, like mazzy. They are full fighters like Kagain and Sarevok. Korgan ofc is better because of berserk, but fighters are really strong characters in the whole saga with grandmastery weapons. Rangers and paladins are far worst dmg output until whirlwind, and defensive capacity until late armor of faith. Thats for definately for vanilla core run, not modded scs.
Btw a barbarian or fighter/mage npc would be interesting in tiers.

jmerry

Danacm wrote: »

...but fighters are really strong characters in the whole saga with grandmastery weapons...

Do note that a pure* fighter can't reach grand mastery in the BG1 campaign. The rules don't let you do it before level 9. (Korgan, at the lowest level you can get him, is cheating.)

Though, really, fighters are a stronger class relatively speaking in the BG1 campaign, before grand mastery is an option. At that stage of the game, spells are much less impressive, and weapons are how you kill things. Fighters and other warrior classes have high HP and can get bonus APR (from specialization) at level 1. That's exactly what low-level play needs.

* A dual-class character actually can reach grand mastery in the BG1 campaign, though at a nasty cost for long-term progression and an additional cost of delaying some level-ups. Not a good idea for a protagonist that you intend to take into the later campaigns.

shevy123456

Hah - grey the dog is there too!

A lot of the list depends on items though. For instance, Edwin without his amulet would not be as good in relation anymore.

By the way, where would you put Aura? With her automaton she should be very high on the list. Without automaton she would still be quite good but probably not make it t1, in part due to being so weak and frail.

Danacm wrote:

> Thats for definately for vanilla core run, not modded scs.

I wondered about this too, but there is grey the dog, so I think it is a mod-included entry.

Danacm

jmerry wrote: »

Danacm wrote: »

...but fighters are really strong characters in the whole saga with grandmastery weapons...

Do note that a pure* fighter can't reach grand mastery in the BG1 campaign. The rules don't let you do it before level 9. (Korgan, at the lowest level you can get him, is cheating.)

After decades every player knows this. I mean, if you bring khalid in bg1 he is more than capable companion even with high mastery, with right items stronger than minsc, kivan or coran. In the old bg1 weapon proficiency system with large swords, even more versatile. If i could bring him in bg2 rather minsc he should be a strong fighter in the soa campaign.

deadinside

Original BG had "True GM", so even with the cap High Mastery gave you +3 to hit and +5 to damage. That's a big deal. Khalid the coward is a meme mostly, came about due to his personality and because he would often have morale breaks (hello, level 1 Fighter in the front line will just break if you were not careful). Kagain is better but only if you give him the gauntlets of dexterity, and even then it's mostly because of his illegal CON score (cheating regen on map change) and shorty saves.

scheele

Thank you all so much for your feedback and critiques - they are absolutely invaluable to me ≽^•⩊•^≼
To share some context regarding the inclusion of the four mod companions - namely Moddie, Jastey's Solaufein, Jastey's Grey the Dog, and Keto the bard:

When choosing them, I was guided by the pro domo sua principle: these characters have a permanent spot in my adventuring group throughout both parts of Baldur's Gate (+ SoD). The only exception here is Keto, who was included simply because I needed a 47th Ronin . As for Yoshimo, well, for obvious reasons, he CANNOT be featured on this list.



*The portraits of Edwin, Alora, and Imoen were created by the mangaka Ryoko Kui (Dungeon Meshi). The artwork for Solaufein and the alternative portrait for Shar-Teel were done by Jarly & GMerk - and in my opinion, they did a fantastic job capturing the essence of the original illustrations. As for the protagonist and the doggo, those portraits were generated by me using an AI tool. I also have Jan Jansen in my party, but his turnip-loving face just didn't fit in!

So, let me go through everything in order.

The placement of characters in this list is also weighted by mods' content type, following this strict order of priority:
BioWare (the ultimate canon)
Beamdog content (EE)
High-quality / average / poor-quality mods
Fan art and fan fiction

1. Dorn
I completely agree with your take on him, sarevok57 - he definitely belongs a couple of positions lower and should drop out of the S-tier. However, what saved him here is his remarkably high-quality content. Notice how he didn’t even need brand-new locations like those Rasaad or Neera were given to fully flesh out his character, and in my humble opinion, his development easily surpasses even Baeloth's. On top of that, his romance with a MH is absolutely magnificent. I must also emphasize that his quest in BG2 is massive and incredibly well-written (not to mention it provides some solid power-ups for the half-orc and his sword).

2. Minsc
It is the exact same story as with Dorn, and my counterarguments remain precisely the same. He is the absolute icon of Baldur's Gate, and honestly, I just couldn't bring myself to put him anywhere else - Boo would never forgive me ₍ᐢ·͈༝·͈ᐢ₎! That being said, you are absolutely right, sarevok57.

3-5. Dynaheir, Xan, and Xzar
I’ve taken your excellent points about Dynaheir, Xan, and Xzar into account, sarevok57, and I definitely need to do some internal reshuffling within the B-tier. (To be honest, I completely overlooked just how powerful the Enchantment school is in BG). Also, I should definitely keep in mind Kulyok's excellent mod for Xan.
However, there is another critical angle that I missed earlier: the holly iron will of BioWare and the core narrative itself. And this is exactly where things point toward a ranking shift for all three, based on what I’d call the "degrees of deadness" among companions. Think about it: why are Khalid and Dynaheir, for instance, arguably far more dead than someone like Tiax? Because their deaths are hardcoded into the very plot of BG2. Any mod that attempts to "resurrect" them instantly shatters the canon. If we were to map out a hierarchy of death (oh boy...), it would look something like this: Khalid, Dynaheir, Clara, Xzar, Ajantis, Tiax, etc.

6. Corwin
She managed to hold her ground also because, on a successful hit, she has a chance to completely immobilize the target for a round... if I recall correctly (my memory is a bit foggy on whether it’s with webs, roots, or some other voodoo:). Whatever it is, that trick is absolutely busted!

This is far from a complete response to all your points, but I will definitely take everything into consideration and weigh it carefully.

atcDave

@deadinside i think Khalid the coward has more to do with “my heart’s really not in this” than morale breaks. Seriously, every time I think “I’ll keep Khalid this time for Jaheira’s sake.” He opens his mouth and I change my mind.
I very rarely have any morale breaks.

Khyron

S tier:

Keldorn (Low dex is easy to mitigate, carsomyr, inquisitor kit - Anti dragon, anti lich, anti everything)

Aerie (Only cleric in the entire saga that can have robe of vecna and alacrity, automatic S tier just for that. Then add mage etc etc
Could be argued that significant item dependency pushes her down to B tier and C if she doesn't get them at all.
For me, it's never a doubt and she will have vecna robe)

Edwin (Duh..)

Imoen (thief coverage + 2nd best arcane caster)

Korgan (Weapon profs, race bonus, berserker autowin button)

A tier:

Viconia (MR, Dex and Wisdom, best 2nd best divine caster after Aerie (vecna and alacrity)

Jaheira (Versatility, arguably best tank in the saga (vs physical damage)

Sarevok (hp, deathbringer instakill hits, dual class options)

Mazzy (Best ranged weapon user after Corwin, yet tanky and good saves)

B tier:

Anomen (Extreme versatility in role, easily S class when buffed but B since he needs buffs)

Valygar (Very good ability distribution, lack of heavy armor doesn't really affect much, together with Minsc and Jaheira, the only characters that can have 85% immunity to physical damage over many rounds (Armor of Faith, Defender of Easthaven, Hardiness HLA, combined with other items that gives minor bonus you get close to 100%.. 4 rounds of mages PfMW becomes meaningless)

C tier:

Minsc (Low Int makes him very vulnerable to mindflayers, positives are the same as Valygar)

The rest.. let the gods sort them out.

Wisterias

Any character that can cast arcane spells is S. Rest are all ok but worse.

scheele

Tier List Version 3 is here (fueled by recent ArcaneCoast debates)! Xzar absolutely deserves his crown at the top of B-tier, pushing Jan Jansen down two slots. Monty shot up by 6 positions, and Khalid successfully climbed into C-tier - locking in higher ranks as proper fighters do.

A massive thank you to everyone for your edits and engagement. Cheers!

DinoDin

A fun post but I really strongly disagree with your S tier. Much of the list to be honest, but I think focusing on the S tier will make some of my points for me. I truly think the best companions are those that can have both strong attacks AND strong spellcasts, or, if they are not spellcasters, strong special abilities or item usages.

First, yes, Korgan belongs in S. I don't disagree there. Because of the game over rules, having a companion tank is great. Korgan's only downside is being evil, and having a low dex. He is outstanding though, and a companion tanking is great. However, Sarevok is mediocre. Dorn is mediocre, save for early BG1. And yes, even Edwin is mediocre.

I'll address the most controversial one first. Having a big spellbook... isn't that special. Sure, it's decent for early BG1, maybe even decent in late BG1 due to the bonus higher level spells. But you can only cast one spell per round. You can, however, cast one spell and get off multiple attacks per round. It might sound absurd, but the harsh truth is that Garrick, yes Garrick, is actually MORE VALUABLE in boss fights in late BG1 than Edwin.

Why? Garrick will have a higher caster level. Garrick potentially has a higher damage fireball, a higher odds dispel magic, remove magic, a higher damage magic missile, etc, to cast on the opening round than Edwin. But what's more? Garrick can potentially fire off two crossbow bolts with a decent thaco in that same first round. And most fights are decided in the first couple of rounds. Being able to unload high amounts of damage, or stunning, or interrupting, in the first couple of rounds of combat is a far more effective strategy for winning most fights, than having a large spellbook and having three or four caster rounds.

Does Edwin have his advantages? Sure. But he's limited in what parties he'll work with and he's one dimensonal. HaerDalis is flexible and he can cast spells and get off multiple attacks in that first round.

Post is already quite long so I won't even go into depth on Sarevok and Dorn. But suffice to say, they are, mostly one dimensional. Most parties will be better off with Ajantis (BG1) or Keldorn or Anomen (BG2). This whole post is purely a power-gaming perspective. Not taking into account taste. I also find Anomen obnoxious, though if you have a sense of humor about him, he's more tolerable.

shevy123456

> Does Edwin have his advantages? Sure. But he's limited in what parties he'll work with and he's one dimensonal. HaerDalis is flexible and he can cast spells and get off multiple attacks in that first round.

It is always a trade-off. I feel that a pure mage is better than a bard at later stages in the game, with vanilla or with mods either way. Edwin is just additionally powerful due to the amulet.

> And most fights are decided in the first couple of rounds.

This depends on the fight. Even ignoring boss monsters, some monsters may have protection spells. I guess it is easier to agree on the very top tier than other tiers. But each definition needs to be accurate. If Korgan and Edwin are both naked, Edwin should be able to win, e. g. first he casts some defensive spells or so, then he may add summonables and Korgan may not be able to do much. If all are equipped, which items to compare? Korgan gets insanely strong with certain gear. Like hammer for str 25 and flail or axe with special effects and berserker on top of that.

Perhaps we should automatically have each one in the tier list fight one another. Can we simulate this via the game engine? We'd still need to define which gear and add some randomness e. g. 10 fights each other. Can the game engine be used to simulate that?

DinoDin

I just think this analysis is on the wrong track because it depends on questions like "who would win in a fight, Edwin or Korgan?" when that's not a circumstance that you have to worry about as a player.

One of the reasons why I say Korgan is "S tier" and Edwin isn't, is specifically because of extremely common circumstances that you will run into as a player -- i.e. the threat of hitting a game over, due to the protagonist dying. Using a companion on the front lines is precisely the kind of role that the companions are BEST suited to, as opposed to being backline mages. Even if the backline mages are technically stronger.

I think when ranking the companions, the first consideration is what is the optimal purpose companions can serve during the campaign. Not which ones would win in a one-on-one Black Pits type fight. For optimal play, on the highest difficulties, you have to kind of treat your protagonist like the king in chess.

deadinside

Their individual strengths and how well they perform their role (class) should be the main consideration.

DinoDin

I agree with the above. I'd say which role the companions can fulfill matters but also how well they do it, especially whether they add something that a player-created character could not carries weight.

Might make a longer post. I'm not here to say anyone is wrong, just sharing my own perspective. Different people obviously play on different difficulties/settings, some people don't consider the game over and reload to be something they avoid. So all that factors in. Definitely a fascinating debate topic.

Lammas

I disagree with a lot of things on this list but Minsc all the way up in A and Mazzy and Ajantis stuck down in C just feels criminal