Opinion Poll: Valygar vs Mazzie vs Keldorn
FredN
Member Posts: 749
.... I am, for once, doing an all Neutral/Good party run. No Dorn, Viconia, Edwin etc. Currently I have Moi, Jaheira, Anomen, Nalia and Aerie. I had picked up Mazzy early on, but had to dismiss her in favor of Valygar in order to do the Planar Sphere quest. I mean, we're a good-based group; murdering Valygar just wasn't on the table. Now it's over and I have to decide whether to retain Valygar, or go and replace him with Mazzy.
..... I tend to favor Mazzy. I looked up the stats on Stalker Rangers, and was not all that impressed. It looks to me like they are a bastarized jack-of-all-Trades profession that tries to do too much. Hide and ambush, but not as well as a thief. Have a decent weapon selection, but can only put 2 pips in any given skill. Can learn exactly 3 minor mage spells, plus a couple of lesser Divine spells. Can't wear any armor better than studded leather. What a messy hodge-podge of skills.
.... I know where I am going with Mazzy. She's a warrior; her skill set is fairly simple. She comes with Grand Mastery in Archery, and is basically focused on physical combat. Short, sweet and easy to manage. Also, the party as it is constituted now doesn't have a dedicated warrior. So, OK, I am pretty much of the opinion that Valygar has to go.
.... The major decision I have to make is a bit more difficult. I also want to recruit Keldor, He has some nice Paladin abilities, but more to the point he has this massive anti-Beholder Cult quest which is definitely worth doing. Mind you, I don't artually need him along; I can get the quest from the Temple. However this does bring up the question of whether Keldorn's Palidinic abilities are better for my long term goals than Mazzy's would be. I am undecided. I'll probably recruit Mazzy for a while, then go grab Keldorn and take a look at him before making a final decison.
.... Comments?
..... I tend to favor Mazzy. I looked up the stats on Stalker Rangers, and was not all that impressed. It looks to me like they are a bastarized jack-of-all-Trades profession that tries to do too much. Hide and ambush, but not as well as a thief. Have a decent weapon selection, but can only put 2 pips in any given skill. Can learn exactly 3 minor mage spells, plus a couple of lesser Divine spells. Can't wear any armor better than studded leather. What a messy hodge-podge of skills.
.... I know where I am going with Mazzy. She's a warrior; her skill set is fairly simple. She comes with Grand Mastery in Archery, and is basically focused on physical combat. Short, sweet and easy to manage. Also, the party as it is constituted now doesn't have a dedicated warrior. So, OK, I am pretty much of the opinion that Valygar has to go.
.... The major decision I have to make is a bit more difficult. I also want to recruit Keldor, He has some nice Paladin abilities, but more to the point he has this massive anti-Beholder Cult quest which is definitely worth doing. Mind you, I don't artually need him along; I can get the quest from the Temple. However this does bring up the question of whether Keldorn's Palidinic abilities are better for my long term goals than Mazzy's would be. I am undecided. I'll probably recruit Mazzy for a while, then go grab Keldorn and take a look at him before making a final decison.
.... Comments?
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Comments
Keldorn is much more straightforward. Build towards 2H swords. Use his awesome kit abilities to wreck mages. Backup weapon in a crossbow, maybe even quarterstaff too, like the +4 one in the Adventurer's mart.
Valygar isn't really a "jack of all trades". He's best used as a scout for your party. I wouldn't focus heavily on his backstabs. Again, use his stealth to gather intel. It's the OP way to use stealth. During combat he's better off left wailing away as a dual wielder, with katanas or, like with Mazzy, shoot for a super low thac0 on his long bows. Quarterstaff also a decent investment for him, for when you do want to do the occasional backstab, such as opening fights with one. Also helps against piercing/missile immunes.
.... Ah, there's the thing. I forgot to mention that I am a Swashbuckler, currently level 15, with all stealth abilities at 100% or more. I have gear like Night's Gift, Worn Whispers and Whispers of SIlence; I always scout ahead of the rest of the party. I can detect and defuse traps 100%, which Valygar cannot do. I can't backstab, but attacks from hiding still get a pushdown in enemy AC. I'll be dual wielding Celestial Fury and the Sword of Mask. In all regards, I make Valygar totally redundant.
.... If I keep pumping Mazzy's sword skills, she'll eventually attain Grand Mastery in this also. She will then be a threat both from a distance and close up. As for combating enemy mages, Jaheira's Insect Plague is excellent, but indeed, if I replace Mazzy with Keldorn, the two of them together will totally wreck any enemy spell-casters. And since no one else on my team can use a crossbow, I can give Keldorn either the Army Scythe or Firetooth (the bow no the Dagger).
I agree with your Valygar stealth analysis versus your self-sufficient scout/swashbuckler, plus your thief can lay traps and set-up ambushes. Valygar is ok for opening backstabs since you cannot take that role, but I do not see him replacing Keldorn or Mazzy combat wise, his cool persona and class notwithstanding.
But in the end my suggestion would be to play with the one you like the most. I myself put my like of the NPC before any strategic considerations. For example, I usually play thieves as my protagonist but always take Yoshimo every single time as I love his character and his lines and interactions. I usually run permanently 4-5 person crews in SoA so with 2 full slots devoted to thieves that only leaves 2-3 other slots, which gimps me sometimes.