Some questions from a returning player, party composition, weapon selection, and so on Options

[Mongerman]

Hi guys! Been a while since I played BG2, and whats BG2 without mods nowadays? To be honest, I didnt want to use IA. I went for SCSII instead, since I didnt want a too difficult experience. Problem is, even with rusty skills, I found SCSII too easy! Seems like only IA can satisfy the machoist BG2 player in me now.

Before I embark on aother grand adventure, I have a couple of questions

Firstly, here is my planned party, all multi created unless otherwise noted

Vagrant - for new quests and items. I plan to have him wield FOA, eventually to FOD&W and judgement day. However, at the beginning and middle of the game, what offhand weapon should he wield?

thief7/mage - Should I take nalia instead of creating a character, since nalia gets such nifty item upgrades?

sorc - to be dumped when I get imoen. Question is, how soon can I get imoen?

Now, for the remaining roles, I need a tank, healer, and more melee power.

Tank - a berserker/cleric would serve both as tank and healer. All AC boosting items would go to him. End weapon would be crom faeyr, but problem is no good hammers at first. So what should he/she use?

Another tank would be the F/I or bard with spell protections and defensive spin for the latter. I'm more inclined to the f/m though since he/she is a better fighter. However, what weapons should I focus on? dual wielding is obvious, but what weapons in the early game?

Lastly, I could go for a pure fighter. Riskbreaker sounds cool, but at the same time require too much babysitting. Kinda dangerous in a game like IA. So probably be going with another berserker with GM in 2 handed weapons

So, my planned party is

1. Vagrant FOA/?? to FOD&W/JD
2. thief/mage nalia or custom NPC?
3. sorc Imoen, hopefully I can do without a custom NPC in the meantime
4. berserker7/cleric AC tank, wielding crom faeyr end game, but what weapon for starting and middle of game?
5. f/m arcane tank what weapons should I choose for him? He'll obviously be dual wielding
6. A pure fighter, probably berserker, wielding 2 handed swords and halberds

Hope you guys can comment on my party, and offer suggestions on weapon choices

This post has been edited by Mongerman: Mar 25 2009, 08:05 AM

[Mongerman]

Thanks for the feedback guys. So I'll go with

Vagrant - FOA/Frostreaver, to be replaced by phosphorous

Berserker/cleric - GM in flail and mace with shield

kensai - GM in staves, then halberd. As I recall, there is a pretty good staff at the druid grove, unless that's been made inaccessible early game

Nalia - as she is

imoen - to be picked up when protagonist reaches lvl 13

Blade - club and short sword. I'm actually still kinda inclined toward the F/M, since it was a powerhouse in the early days of IA. Hopefully more experts can chip in before I start my game

[Raven]

You could start with Mace with your Berserker->Cleric (say 2 points) then you can use the +3 Mace from Enchanted Weapon and later Skullcrusher before making a switch to hammer.

imoen - to be picked up when protagonist reaches lvl 13

Yes, just to clarify this: it's a good idea to head to Brynnlaw when your protagonist is level 13 or 14 (and not too close to level 15). From the Tactical Content and New Adventures readme:

- If the party delays too long before setting out for Spellhold, they will find Irenicus' control over the Asylum has strengthened and it will be far harder to escape after rescuing Imoen. (Note: The recommended levels to go to spellhold are levels 13 or 14 for single class character.)