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Let's talk Mazzy

What is the most effective way to play Mazzy?

I just picked her up and she came with 5 points in Bows and 1 in Shortswords. I have the Tuigan bow but I believe it's only a +1 weapon and can barely hit anything. She is kind of lackluster on the front line also.

I keep reading everywhere how she is the most amazing NPC since sliced bread but I must be missing something.

How do I use her effectively?
Mush_Mush
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  •  TheArtisan TheArtisan Member Posts: 3,277

    What is the most effective way to play Mazzy?

    I just picked her up and she came with 5 points in Bows and 1 in Shortswords. I have the Tuigan bow but I believe it's only a +1 weapon and can barely hit anything. She is kind of lackluster on the front line also.

    I keep reading everywhere how she is the most amazing NPC since sliced bread but I must be missing something.

    How do I use her effectively?

    Enchantment bonuses for ranged weapons are determined by the projectiles, not the launcher. So a +1 short bow with +3 arrows can still hit anything that needs +3 to hit.

    I think the most common build is to ignore the shortsword proficiency point and put her points into dual-wielding and war hammers. With a strength-boosting she just tears through everything at high levels.
  • BorekBorek Member Posts: 513
    Yeah it's the projectiles not the bow that matter, so use Tuigan with Arrows that match the requirements for whatever you hit, up to +3 depending how far in you are and what you can find. There's not that much that won't be hit by +3 enchantment, for those enemies that need +4 you can use Short bow of Gesen after you find the parts.

    You can use her as a Melee Tank with her Shortsword in the offhand since it is one of the very few items in the game that grants Stun Immunity, she also has 18 Dex so doesn't need the Gauntlets of Dex, which lets her use various other items in that slot. Plenty of Girdles have Giant Str so that negates her lowish Str compared to most fighter NPC's plus she has 16 con with Halfling saving throw bonuses. On top of that there's a couple of paladin-esque abilities she has which are handy.

    It's certainly true that the large number of spec points in Shortbow are somewhat annoying since by and large they are a weak choice compared to Melee and magic is way more effective for range attacks in the latter parts of the game, but by the time her ranged attacks start to seem weak she should be high enough level to have at least specialized in a preferred melee weapon plus have 1 or 2 pips in 2 weapon fighting. Being Stun immune is absolutely amazing for some encounters too, stun completely wrecks front line fighters Vs mind flayers and some other nasty encounters.
    EnterHaerDalislelag200
  • ThacoBellThacoBell Member Posts: 12,235
    I always use her as a full time archer. Shortbows may not be "optimal" but they are FAR from weak. Gesen is great with her. I use Tansheron's before then so that I don't have to manage ammo.
    tbone1ShikaoOrlonKronsteen
  • Mush_MushMush_Mush Member Posts: 476
    I like giving her a decent short sword like mask +4 and tanking her up in some full plate + 2 and a good shield ...its probably not "optimal" but she still kicks ass.
    ShikaoOrlonKronsteen
  • tbone1tbone1 Member Posts: 1,985
    edited September 2017
    Archery isn't as strong in BG2 as it is in BG1, but Mazzy with Tiguan is a flipping machine gun. IIRC, with a haste spell (and she gets two words nnately per day) she gets seven attacks per round. Now just imagine her shooting poison arrows at a spell caster. She also has some interesting interactions with Aerie, Valygar, Korgan, and Jan.
    Post edited by tbone1 on
    ronaldoMirandelOrlonKronsteenArctodus
  • EnterHaerDalisEnterHaerDalis Member Posts: 813
    ThacoBell said:

    I always use her as a full time archer. Shortbows may not be "optimal" but they are FAR from weak. Gesen is great with her. I use Tansheron's before then so that I don't have to manage ammo.

    Yeah just loaded up arrows of piercing and will play her as a proper archer for a while. I hate to resort to keeper to re do her proficiencies but if I want to try her melee I think I may be forced to.
  • karl_maulderkarl_maulder Member Posts: 133
    edited September 2017
    Mazzy is actually quite deadly when dualwielding Kundane and Shortsword of Mask (a total of 10 attacks, with IH). Get her those weapons and a belt of giant strength ASAP.
    GrumArctodus
  • GrumGrum Member, Mobile Tester Posts: 2,100
    She's a full time archer.

    To get ***** in shortswords and *** in two weapon fighting she needs to reach lvl 30. That's end game Throne of Bhaal right there.

    Then again, up until Throne of Bhaal shooting the Shortbow of Gesen or the Tuigan Bow with the right ammo is more than sufficient. Only at the very end will it not be that good. At that time, do as Karl_maulder says. Give her Shortsword of the Mask and Kundane. With 10APR and high strength (easy enough to get) she'll be a complete monster.

  • EnterHaerDalisEnterHaerDalis Member Posts: 813
    Grum said:

    She's a full time archer.

    To get ***** in shortswords and *** in two weapon fighting she needs to reach lvl 30. That's end game Throne of Bhaal right there.

    Then again, up until Throne of Bhaal shooting the Shortbow of Gesen or the Tuigan Bow with the right ammo is more than sufficient. Only at the very end will it not be that good. At that time, do as Karl_maulder says. Give her Shortsword of the Mask and Kundane. With 10APR and high strength (easy enough to get) she'll be a complete monster.

    Does it matter whether Kundane is in the main hand or the off hand for the attack bonus?
  • GrumGrum Member, Mobile Tester Posts: 2,100

    Grum said:

    She's a full time archer.

    To get ***** in shortswords and *** in two weapon fighting she needs to reach lvl 30. That's end game Throne of Bhaal right there.

    Then again, up until Throne of Bhaal shooting the Shortbow of Gesen or the Tuigan Bow with the right ammo is more than sufficient. Only at the very end will it not be that good. At that time, do as Karl_maulder says. Give her Shortsword of the Mask and Kundane. With 10APR and high strength (easy enough to get) she'll be a complete monster.

    Does it matter whether Kundane is in the main hand or the off hand for the attack bonus?
    It doesn't matter. Kundane is a weapon that is pretty much meant for the off-hand.
  • DreadKhanDreadKhan Member Posts: 3,857
    You are totally fine with GM in SS and only 1 or 2 * in TWF fwiw. Off-hand is low damage anyways and fighters have boss THAC0.
  • MortiannaMortianna Member Posts: 1,356
    In the single time I had Mazzy in my party all the way through ToB, I eventually had her with *** in halberds and short swords. (I pretended that halberds adjust to their wielder just like armor adjusts to the size of the character.) It allowed lots of versatility in combat, since she could go with sword and shield if she needed the extra AC or deal out Dorn-like damage with halberds + strength boosting items. At higher levels, her lay on hands ability is better than any healing potion in the game, so she survived most melee encounters just fine.
    OrlonKronsteentbone1
  • OrlonKronsteenOrlonKronsteen Member Posts: 905
    It's hard to go wrong with Mazzy. If Wilson wasn't now my go-to secondary fighter in my good aligned playthroughs, I'd take her every time. You can dual-wield with her to great effect as some have noted, but you can also sword-and-board with her or use two-handers, as Mortianna suggests. Personally, I use her situationally - as an archer, when needed, and as a melee fighter when needed - but I gradually work her into a full-time tank as the game progresses. The weapons I choose for her depend on who else is in my party, but my main strategy is to get her specialized or beyond in a blunt weapon as soon as possible, since blunt damage is superior to the piercing damage of short swords. While dual-wielding is great, I personally don't have the patience to wait that long for my optimal build, so I use her strictly as a sword and shield fighter. My favourite build is to get her up to grand mastery in flails and equip the Flail of Ages on her. But sometimes I just specialize in an assortment of weapons for situational use: ** in short swords, ** maces, ** flails, etc.. Grand mastery is great, but you don't need it to beat the game. I've been playing blackguards and stalkers for so long I'm used to only getting 2 pips... Oh yeah, and don't forget her special abilities: haste, strength, remove fear and lay on hands. These can be really handy, especially in the early game. Haste gives her an extra attack in addition to the movement bonus, and strength allows you to give the early acquired strength-boosting items to other characters. Sorry if this post is rambling: I hit the caffeine hard tonight. :)
    Mortiannatbone1ThacoBellbrunardo
  • bob_vengbob_veng Member Posts: 2,308
    you don't need more than 2-3 pips in any weapon for mazzy to be excellent
    you also absolutely don't need the third pip in dual wielding (general rule)
    so she can become a master of any weapon late-game, and use any of the best weapons, not just the short sword of the mask (not that great)
    MortiannaBorektbone1semiticgoddess
  • SkatanSkatan Member, Moderator Posts: 5,352
    I usually just pump shortsword for her. Since she has many quickslots and since shortswords are kinda underused, she usually get Ilbratha (Mirror image), Arbanes to complement her own haste, and ss of Mask of course.

    Personally I think dual wield is a bit overrated and often prefer to give my tanks shields instead, like shield of harmony, which is an excellent shield. Almost at the same time as you get her into good dualwield, you will also start getting HLAs and can just use ww/gww instead of dw+ih. Pure fighters get more HLAs then needed anyways, so there's enough for both plenty of gww's and hardiness.

    One a sidenote though, I have been known to keeper her into slings instead of bows. Even though it may be proper lore for a follower of Arvoreen to use shortbows, slings just fits so good!
    tbone1OrlonKronsteen
  • fatelessfateless Member Posts: 330
    I'm still not her greatest fan honestly. Even though she is certainly decent. I consider her a bit overhyped myself.
  • ThacoBellThacoBell Member Posts: 12,235
    Mazzy IS the hype!
    tbone1WarChiefZekeArctodus
  • unavailableunavailable Member Posts: 268
    Mazzy is amazing at everything. She has everything a good tank or archer or fighter needs.
    ThacoBell
  • UnderstandMouseMagicUnderstandMouseMagic Member Posts: 2,147

    Mazzy is amazing at everything. She has everything a good tank or archer or fighter needs.

    Except for a bearable personality.
    profanitywarningArdanis
  • ChnapyChnapy Member Posts: 360
    Nah, she's got that too. Mazzy's alright.
    ThacoBellrecklessheart
  • tbone1tbone1 Member Posts: 1,985
    edited September 2017

    Mazzy is amazing at everything. She has everything a good tank or archer or fighter needs.

    Except for a bearable personality.
    Nah, Mazzy's great. She's no goody-two-shoes; she likes Korgan, considers Valygar her squire without consulting him, yells at Jan, calls Anomen a windbag, ... she's real folk, as my grandfather used to say.

    ShikaoThacoBellinkblowoutrecklessheart
  • EnterHaerDalisEnterHaerDalis Member Posts: 813
    I'm finding her underwhelming with short swords. She is quite nice with bows but I just can't respect her in the front line when I've got her competing with Valygar with dual wielding flail of ages/celestial fury. Also my charname is an Undead Hunter with Carsomyr. She just pales in comparison. 10-15 damage hits is cute and all but I feel like I should have given her pips in other weapons :P
    Chnapy
  • inkblowoutinkblowout Member Posts: 49
    tbone1 said:

    Mazzy is amazing at everything. She has everything a good tank or archer or fighter needs.

    Except for a bearable personality.
    Nah, Mazzy's great. She's no goody-two-shoes; she likes Korgan, considers Valygar her squire without consulting him, yells at Jan, calls Anomen a windbag, ... she's real folk, as my grandfather used to say.

    Also an amazing friend to Aerie, too.

    She's a really good hearted person without being naive. It also helps that CHARNAME for me currently is a paladin, it's like we are partners in arms.
    tbone1ThacoBell
  • BorekBorek Member Posts: 513

    tbone1 said:

    Mazzy is amazing at everything. She has everything a good tank or archer or fighter needs.

    Except for a bearable personality.
    Nah, Mazzy's great. She's no goody-two-shoes; she likes Korgan, considers Valygar her squire without consulting him, yells at Jan, calls Anomen a windbag, ... she's real folk, as my grandfather used to say.

    Also an amazing friend to Aerie, too.

    She's a really good hearted person without being naive. It also helps that CHARNAME for me currently is a paladin, it's like we are partners in arms.
    I just freed her and did her quest, went with Specialization in Katana (Celestial Fury) and used her SS in the offhand, Hill giant belt from Adventurers Mart, plus full plate, helm of Balduran and some +1 pap and she was rocking -8 AC and with boots of Speed would gap-close in an eye-blink and stun n gun everything in her way before my Barbarian could catch up for the most part lol.
    tbone1ThacoBell
  • inkblowoutinkblowout Member Posts: 49
    Borek said:

    tbone1 said:

    Mazzy is amazing at everything. She has everything a good tank or archer or fighter needs.

    Except for a bearable personality.
    Nah, Mazzy's great. She's no goody-two-shoes; she likes Korgan, considers Valygar her squire without consulting him, yells at Jan, calls Anomen a windbag, ... she's real folk, as my grandfather used to say.

    Also an amazing friend to Aerie, too.

    She's a really good hearted person without being naive. It also helps that CHARNAME for me currently is a paladin, it's like we are partners in arms.
    I just freed her and did her quest, went with Specialization in Katana (Celestial Fury) and used her SS in the offhand, Hill giant belt from Adventurers Mart, plus full plate, helm of Balduran and some +1 pap and she was rocking -8 AC and with boots of Speed would gap-close in an eye-blink and stun n gun everything in her way before my Barbarian could catch up for the most part lol.
    I did the same thing as you did. But I'm using tuigan bow with +2 arrows which is absolutely disgusting IMO. When I got to thaxll'ssillyia I just remember my Pali CHARNAME (Who is wielding Carsomyr) and Mazzy doing a smack ton of damage to it. thaxll'ssillyia never stood a chance lmao

    I just think it's better to leave her as a ranged character since there is 5 pro slots used for shortbows And I'm just leveling up short swords as I'm going.

    But seriously so far she's the best/OP NPC I've seen so far. Korgan being a 2nd on that list.
    GrumThacoBell
  • recklessheartrecklessheart Member Posts: 692
    edited September 2017
    I find myself in a tricky position with Mazzy, so it's quaint to see the thread pop up just as I'm interested in fielding some opinions! In prior playthroughs there was no cause for concern: I have used her at range and as a tank, and in both settings she thrives. The party I am running for my latest playthrough is not quite as optimal, however, and I find that - similarly to some other commentators here - the best I can do for her is have her shift between different roles. My party & their primary attack and functions are--

    Half-Elf Bard (Longbow, Ranged Utility)
    Viconia (All Cleric melee weapons, shield, Tank)
    Aerie (Sling, Ranged Utility)
    Nalia (Crossbow, or Shortbow, Magical Artillery)
    Minsc (Dual-Wield, Axes, Melee Damage)
    Mazzy (Shortbow, Shortsword, Ranged Artillery or Tank)

    Given that it's the one thing I haven't done for her, I might consider moving Minsc back over to two-handed weapons and having Mazzy dual-wield. No other party member is covering them, save for Quarterstaves which all my Arcane party members can use if I so desire. In BG1, Shar-Teel was dual-wielding daggers for my party to great effect, so with a few more proficiencies perhaps I can slot Mazzy into the same role with Short Swords and, in time, Daggers too!

    Mazzy's personality is great, in my opinion. She has plenty of comedic moments in between displays of her virtue and her humanity. She isn't a Mary Sue and can be defined by her positive qualities without arrogance. Plus her voice acting is great and her sidequest in Trademeet is short, sweet and a pleasant change of scenery. Few other NPCs ever interact with that quaint little settlement!
    tbone1ThacoBellsemiticgoddess
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