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]

Had to put my game on hold due to an overwhelming work load. I did manage to play abit though, and was not very happy with my party. After some thinking, I'm going with the following party

1. Vagrant flails/axes
2. swashbuckler10/fighter short sword/flails with shield(main ac tank)
3. berserker, or maybe kensai 2 handed weapons
4.berserker7/cleric clubs/hammer with shield (2nd tank,should be enough ac boosting items to give him a pretty good ac)
5. berserker7/mage (staffs, 2 handed swords)
6. Sorcerer

That way, I have 5 out of 6 characters able to melee, 2 high ac tanks, plenty of mage power, and clerical and thieving skills all covered

[edit] Also, for the thief, will detect illusion still bypass SI:divination? I remember it was very useful in previous versions, but not so sure whether changes have been made.

Since IA is such a different game for vanilla, what would the recommanded spell selection for a sorc be?

Finally, is grandfather of assassins usuable by a swashbuckler>fighter?


This post has been edited by Mongerman: Apr 20 2009, 05:43 AM