Group party recommendations
buckbeach
Member Posts: 63
Please give me your recommendations for my party. I am a neophyte but expect to learn as I go. Currently about halfway through BGEE.
I am 73 year old gamer and don't expect to master this game as I have many other computer interests. AND, the old mind is definitely not near as sharp as it once was. Not saying it was ever that sharp in the first place!!
I am 73 year old gamer and don't expect to master this game as I have many other computer interests. AND, the old mind is definitely not near as sharp as it once was. Not saying it was ever that sharp in the first place!!
2
Comments
Really though any party will work, just try to keep it balanced (easy to do with 6 slots). Make sure you have at minimum one heavy fighter type, one cleric/druid, one thief and one mage/sorc. After that fill in the remaining 2+ slots with whoever. Several of the NPC's can fill more than one role, depending on how you equip and level them, such as Imoen can either be a full Thief, or can just get enough Open Locks and Disable Traps and then dual class to Mage. One of the great things about BG series is the level of customization your playthrough can have.
If you've got the basics of Warrior, Healer, Mage and Rogue, consider putting a bard in one of your other slots. A party always benefits from having a single bard, their song can be handy at times and they're ability to identify things without spells is very handy. Plus they have limited Mage casting, and you can fill them up with more "supportive" things, allowing the proper Mages and other spell casters to focus more on offensive or restorative abilities. And best of all, the box-standard bard has really good Pickpocket skill, a skill you normally don't want to invest in on a proper Thief since it's not the most useful ability.
A good character for the last slot (assuming a neutral or good party,) is Coran, who is a beast (an illegal beast, really,) with ranged weaponry. Bows are kings in the first game.
Since you are already about half way through the game - you probably already have your own party configuration - the standard of course is 2 fighter types, 1 ranged, 1 cleric, 1 mage and 1 thief.
Everyone should use some kind of missile weapon (bows, darts, throwing weapons of some kind).
Bring a thief along - they are always helpful for traps and locks and for scouting around.
One of your fighters should be heavily armored with a shield (lowest possible AC) with the most HP possible - your tank to attract attacks, absorb damage and bash in your foes.
Enjoy the special abilities if you team has any - remember to use them - they can be useful.
Potions and wands are useful items make use of them if you have them.
Of course, you can experiment with more exotic parties, but I think fighter, 2 archers, thief, cleric and mage is a good starting team for first playthrough.
Hope it helps, have fun with a game!
1) Well balanced party in order to succeed in every situation;
2) Roleplaying;
3) Story.
It is up to you to select the criterion (or criteria) you believe is the most important.
My advice: enjoy the game as it comes...
I like having 3 melee chums ( usually warrior types)
some sort of divine caster ( whether cleric or druid or multiclass)
some sort of thief ( multi or dual class again is alright)
and then some sort of arcane caster ( mage, specialist mage, sorcerer, multi, dual its all good)
with that party make up, I think you will be alright
I don't know how much difficulty you're having with the game already - I remember my first playthrough had some pretty rough spots - but in general virtually any party can make it through with the right tactics, and party members are selected purely for how "fun" they are or if there's something about the character that you like.
The only thing to really note is if your reputation gets too high or too low certain NPCs won't want to hang around any longer. Evil NPCs don't like reputations of 19-20 (they will leave) and Good/Neutral NPCs don't like reputations under - I think - 3. That's really the only limiting factor to who you have.
Some NPCs also don't get along and may fight with each other - but that's part of the fun
Krina - Human Female Undead Hunter (lgreat sword, long bow, mace)
Mazzy - Halfling Female Fighter (battle axe, long bow, mace)
Moonarrow - Male Elf Fighter (long sword, long bow, mace)
Benno - Male Gnome Illusionist (dart)
Vali - Male Human Thief (long sword, short bow)
Sir Dragos - Male Human Cleric (mace, sling)
All of these are characters from stories that I've written (except Mazzy, who I "borrowed" from the BG2 character). I chose them for their "story value". They are all chars I am familiar with and enjoy adventuring with. But I also chose them with an eye to creating a well-balanced party.
For the game I just started this week, I switched out the shields that Krina and Mazzy usually carry, and gave them long bows. Moonarrow and Vali also have bows. I have found this helps immensely, having four archers (plus a dartsman [Benno] and slinger [Dragos]. I can pepper my foes with arrows before they get close enough, then I usually have one or two chars switch to melee weapons while the other two archers continue to plug away. Most of the time, I can wipe out the enemy totally before they even get to me.
Of course, you lose the AC bonus the shields give, but I think it's a good trade-off. If a foe can't get near you, it doesn't matter what your AC is.
I chose maces as the blunt weapon of choice for my party. I had made a chart of every weapon by damage, speed factor, and weight, and chose what I felt were the best weapons in the game (long sword, mace, long bow). Flails and maces do the same amount of damage, and have the same speed factor, but the mace is 7 pounds lighter. I chose darts for my mage because there are a lot of powerful darts in the game, and chose sling for my cleric because darts are not usable. So every char has a slashing/piercing weapon, blunt weapon (for dealing with skeletons and other things you need to bash apart), and a missile weapon.
I chose great sword for Krina because of Spider's Bane, the +2 Great Sword. I chose battle axe for Mazzy just because I wanted some diversity, plus, you can get a +1 axe from Feldepost and a +2 axe in Sorcerous Sundries in Baldur's Gate. Moonarrow gets long sword, because of Varcona, the +2 Long Sword, plus he gets a +1 bonus with long swords and bows. Vali gets long sword because it's one of the best weapons and he can get a +1 long sword.
Krina - I used to play her as a straight fighter, but I just liked the idea of an Undead Hunter. There ARE a lot of undead in these games, so this subclass can definitely come in handy. She's also immune to level drain and hold, and gets a +3 to hit and damage bonus vs. undead.
Mazzy - my second fighter, a tank like Krina.
Moonarrow - a tank who specializes in the bow.
Benno - I chose gnome because in my stories, Benno was a dwarf mage, but you can't have that option, so I made him a gnome. I don't miss any of the spells I lose out on (Necromancy and one other I can't recall). My favorite spells are Grease, Color Spray, Stinking Cloud, Web, Fireball, Haste. Grease is totally underrated. I use it all the time. You can slow down your foes and just wail away at them with bows. I also love the four-way combo of Grease, Web, Stinking Cloud, Fireball. Trap your enemies, and just fry them. Haste is a great spell, but your party gets fatigued afterwards.
Vali - the party's thief. He comes in handy as a scout, checking for traps and disarming them, and picking locks. I usually pile the points into these two skills, forsaking the others, like Pick Pocket and Hide in Shadows.
Sir Dragos - I don't use him as a healer, since I cheat using Rings of Regeneration for my party, but he has some good spells and talents. His Turn Undead talent comes in handy when you're dealing with large numbers of undead. You can forget the ones who run, and concentrate on killing the stragglers before the runners return. I also like using Bless and Doom. Doom doesn't have a saving throw, so it's a great spell to cast on a foe. They get -2 on to hit rolls and saving throws. I also like Dispel Magic and Animate Dead, to give your party some extra fighters for a bit.
My whole method of playing RPG games is more for the story and the characters, not maximizing stats and abilities, etc.
Not that this is a bad thing. That's what is great about DnD. You can play it as a story or play it as a mathematical game of domination.