Question on BGEE Gearing for my 4 party quest

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• Gallowglass Member Posts: 3,356

  December 2016

  ahhyep said:

  Branwen - Weilding Thunderhammer

  Taerom "Thunderhammer" Fuiruim might well object strenuously to being wielded! I recommend that Branwen should wield Ashideena for melee instead, and put Taerom back in his smithy.
  
  Also, however, Branwen is quite good at range with a sling, if you want to keep her safely away from melee ... which can be a good tactic for your main buffer/healer.

  ahhyep said:

  I have 2 pairs of gauntlets of weapon expertise and 1 pair of dex gauntlets. Who should be using what? Currently have minsc weilding stupefier and dex gauntlets for +3ac.

  If your protagonist has good natural DEX (don't they always? ), and if Minsc is your other front-liner, then probably the greatest benefit from the DEX gauntlets is keeping them on Minsc for the extra AC. (If you've got Branwen in the front line instead, then put the DEX gauntlets on her.)
  
  The Gauntlets of Weapon Expertise benefit each attack made, so there's more benefit-per-round when you have more attacks-per-round. Quite likely one pair is already on your protagonist, and that's probably a good place for them. The other pair, especially if you don't (yet) have the Bracers of Archery, will probably give more benefit on Imoen than Branwen, since she'll have 2 APR (with her shortbow) against Branwen's 1 APR (with either warhammer or sling).

  ahhyep said:

  Also, I can get a 19 str belt. Who should I use that on and how do I get it?

  To get it, you'll need to recruit Rasaad and follow his quest (which doesn't start until Chapter 5 ... I'm not sure whether you've got that far yet). The Belt is found in the Temple in the new area (Cloud Peaks) which appears on your map after the second part of Rasaad's quest ... you'll come across it just before the final battle which completes his quest.
  
  If your protagonist doesn't have 18/xx STR, then give the Belt to him/her for a dramatic increase in melee power. More likely, however, your protagonist already will have 18/xx STR, in which case the gain would be smaller (and of course Minsc also has high STR and therefore less to gain from the Belt). In this latter case, give the Belt to Branwen, because it'll turn her into a powerhouse both in melee and with her sling.
  
  The Belt has the disadvantage that it'll prevent Branwen (or your protagonist) from using wands, but it's generally worth that sacrifice. If you really need to use a wand, then note that your Cavalier protagonist can use most of the same wands as Branwen, so whichever one has the Belt, the other can use the wand.

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• ahhyep Member Posts: 114

  December 2016 edited December 2016

  Gallowglass said:

  If your protagonist has good natural DEX (don't they always? ), and if Minsc is your other front-liner, then probably the greatest benefit from the DEX gauntlets is keeping them on Minsc for the extra AC. (If you've got Branwen in the front line instead, then put the DEX gauntlets on her.)
  

  Yep did that. Here is my Cavalier for reference. Done everything so far besides Durlags Tower and Final Serevok battle. Still not sure if I should use 2h on minsc or keep him dual wielding stupefier + something else.
  
  Here's the stats I managed to pull out with the tomes. Can't wait for BG2. Not sure if I should do Seige of Dragonspear.... hmm...
  https://i.imgur.com/8XAc6Qi.png
  

  Gallowglass said:

  The Gauntlets of Weapon Expertise benefit each attack made, so there's more benefit-per-round when you have more attacks-per-round. Quite likely one pair is already on your protagonist, and that's probably a good place for them. The other pair, especially if you don't (yet) have the Bracers of Archery, will probably give more benefit on Imoen than Branwen, since she'll have 2 APR (with her shortbow) against Branwen's 1 APR (with either warhammer or sling).

  Yep - did that but am actually seeing a lot of lazy success just backstabbing with Varscona.
  

  Gallowglass said:

  To get it, you'll need to recruit Rasaad and follow his quest (which doesn't start until Chapter 5 ... I'm not sure whether you've got that far yet). The Belt is found in the Temple in the new area (Cloud Peaks) which appears on your map after the second part of Rasaad's quest ... you'll come across it just before the final battle which completes his quest.
  
  If your protagonist doesn't have 18/xx STR, then give the Belt to him/her for a dramatic increase in melee power. More likely, however, your protagonist already will have 18/xx STR, in which case the gain would be smaller (and of course Minsc also has high STR and therefore less to gain from the Belt). In this latter case, give the Belt to Branwen, because it'll turn her into a powerhouse both in melee and with her sling.
  
  The Belt has the disadvantage that it'll prevent Branwen (or your protagonist) from using wands, but it's generally worth that sacrifice. If you really need to use a wand, then note that your Cavalier protagonist can use most of the same wands as Branwen, so whichever one has the Belt, the other can use the wand.

  Decided to not go on the belt, didn't think it was worth the hassle, plus didn't want to give someone 6 int. That's less than minsc!
  
  I've mainly been using haste / hold person and just whacking everything with all four characters. Any other thoughts or strategy? I am such a basic spellcaster, really only use spells for disables and buffs. Pretty basic haven't tried any cool/fun spell castings.
  
  About to enter durlag's tower tomorrow, almost did a full playthrough, it's been a blast.
  https://i.imgur.com/OlsEfla.png
  
  

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• Gallowglass Member Posts: 3,356

  December 2016

  ahhyep said:

  I've mainly been using haste / hold person and just whacking everything with all four characters. Any other thoughts or strategy?

  Ah, heck, there are so many ways of playing this game, I wouldn't know where to start.
  
  Generally, though, don't use Imoen in melee (if that's what you mean you're doing, I'm not clear), since she's not much good at it. Hold her back and let her use the shortbow, she's better with that and safer.
  
  Of course, Imoen contributes most if you use her spell-casting power ... but yes, it takes a while to get the hang of all the stuff you can do with spells. (Don't worry, you don't have to do everything in your first run, that's what re-plays are for!) It's perfectly possible to win with a low-magic style, just hacking and slashing your way through most of the opposition.

  ahhyep said:

  About to enter durlag's tower tomorrow, almost did a full playthrough, it's been a blast.

  You've still got quite a lot to do, then. Durlag's Tower is a big multi-level dungeon (and great fun!)

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• UnderstandMouseMagic Member Posts: 2,147

  December 2016 edited December 2016

  That's a real hack and slash party, and they are a blast in BG.
  
  The only thing you might be a bit short of for Durlags is trap detection/disarming and opening chests.
  I dueled my swashbuckler charname to fighter at level 6 (and that was a mistake, forgot you had to get one level past the original class to regain skills so had to delay Durlags) and did find I needed to use potions on my current run.

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• Gallowglass Member Posts: 3,356

  December 2016

  UnderstandMouseMagic said:

  The only thing you might be a bit short of for Durlags is trap detection/disarming and opening chests.

  Well, that depends what Thief level the OP reached with Imoen, before dualling her to Mage. Provided that Imoen got full proficiency in Locks and Traps before dualling, then all should be well ... but otherwise, yes, Imoen might need a stack of booster potions to get through.

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• ahhyep Member Posts: 114

  December 2016

  I actually just ended up using my paladin as a scout with my party hanging out in the middle of the dungeon. Hasted him and had him clear solo every room and open the unlocked (by imoen) chests).
  
  He absorbed the damage quite nicely.

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