Starting a new game, would appreciate suggestions Options

[Mongerman]

Here I am, back for another round of punishment and self abuse. Anyway, my planned party (all created) is

Vagrant (flails as main weapon, axe or belm in offhand)
Sorcerer
Wizard (what would be a good specialist class for this character?)
Berserker (main tank, using shield with longsword/1 handed crushing weapon. All AC boosting items go to him)
Ranger/cleric
Cleric

Question, is the pureclass cleric really necessary? I choose her in anticipation of all the healing I'm going to need, but it would be great if I could throw in some melee capabilities as well.

2nd, I've been browsing the threads, and I notice the once popular f/m multi class does not have a place in many parties. What happened? Are they nerfed or something?

TIA for feedback!

[Mongerman]

Man I was so engrossed in creating a well balanced party that I totally forgot about thieving skills! What level would you dual your swashie at? Or perhaps even a f/m/t to replace the bard?

Since the best armor etc etc is going to my main tank, the kensai might as well be naked. As I recall, for AC, it was either going to the highest, or just ignoring it, since enemies are going to hit you at -10 ac anyway

[Sikret]

Man I was so engrossed in creating a well balanced party that I totally forgot about thieving skills! What level would you dual your swashie at? Or perhaps even a f/m/t to replace the bard?

f/m/t will proceed too slowly. If you want to pick a mutti-class thief, go for F/T.

Alternatively, if you want a swashbuckler dualled to mage, so what Ryel said: Either dual him to mage immediately after starting the game or dual at level 10.

Since the best armor etc etc is going to my main tank, the kensai might as well be naked. As I recall, for AC, it was either going to the highest, or just ignoring it, since enemies are going to hit you at -10 ac anyway

Well, if AC is no concern here, I would suggest a half-orc barbarian:

(1) Better hp (Barbarians roll d12 for their hp)
(2) Resistance to physical damage
(3) Much better AC than Kensai
(4) Barbarian Rage

@rbeverjr

The main problems with Wild Mage in IA are two things:

(1) You may suddenly lose all of your money near the end of a hard battle. Since money is a big concern in IA; you will either have to reload and do that hard battle again or will have to live with the fact that you have no golds.

(2) Someof the battle in IA are similar to chess matches where every step is calculated. A sudden wild surge (even a generally useful one) may lead to disaster if the exact spell which you intend to cast at that time is replaced with something else.

[rbeverjr]

@rbeverjr

The main problems with Wild Mage in IA are two things:

(1) You may suddenly lose all of your money near the end of a hard battle. Since money is a big concern in IA; you will either have to reload and do that hard battle again or will have to live with the fact that you have no golds.

(2) Someof the battle in IA are similar to chess matches where every step is calculated. A sudden wild surge (even a generally useful one) may lead to disaster if the exact spell which you intend to cast at that time is replaced with something else.

I have had the money loss thing happen to me before. It's one of the worst outcomes possible. However, I honestly am not such a good player as to be able to do IA without reloads. So, a reload in such a situation does not bother me. Improved Chaos Shield + high level = very (not always) consistent results. In my opinion, at high level the advantages of the wild mage make it worthwhile to play even in IA. Heh, everyone is allowed their opinion. But as I previously stated, I wouldn't bother having a wild mage if it was my only spell caster. Even at low level, you need a spell slinger that you can depend on.