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

"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?"


Axe+2/Club+3/Namarra

RootofTheProblem/Axe+2/Club +3/Flametonque

Treefolk's Arm/Club+3/Frostreaver

Treefolk's Arm/Phosphorus <----- exellent combo, one of the best in IA

FoA+4 or Threefolk's Arm/Phosphorus or Crom Fayer [Hammer of Thor]

Flail of Defending and Wounding/Judgement Day

(obtaining money for all this, and forging some good items for party members, is harder than any IA battle including EDE)


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

Yes, you should have Nalia in the party in this case.


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

Immy is in Spellhold like in vanilla. Go there when your prot hits level 13.


"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?"


FoA+3/Club+3/Morningstar+2(+3) and Shield nevermind which one

Threefolk's Arm or FoA eventually Rimed Club/Phosphorus /Fortress Shield/Darksteel [Supreme Shelter]

"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?"

Pick up Blade. Last chance. ;] Long/Short Swords + some blunt like flail +2 early are pretty good.

"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"

Yeah, berserker or barbarian. Pure class fighters rocks in IA!

Vagrant: start with flail+axe. Later get long sword.
Thief>mage: get Nalia
sorcerer: level him, and decide about Imoen when you can get her in Spellhold.
F/M or blade: Use blade, start with club+short sword. Later get scimitar and any other what you want.
B>C: Start with flail, later get mace and hammer.
Fighter: I suggest kenasai or berserker with 2handed weapons.

shadan, with both b/c and vagrant starting with flails, wont there be a short supply of flails? Or are there other magical flails lying around other then FOA.

Also, wont kensai be a handicap with his inability to wear armor? Unless you mean to keep him off the frontlines with reach weapons...=)

And to both, why the love for blades? Other then the fact that they will be nerfed in IA6

For that last slot Berserker, Barbarian, Riskbreaker and Kensai are all good options. Personally I don't find the Kensai that hard to babysit, I mean a Potion of Defense or Spirit Armor does enough early on. Clearly Berserker and Barbarian are probably easier to use because with their Enrage/Barbarian Rage you don't have to worry about spells like Chaotic Commands or Negative Plane Protection wearing off or being dispelled.

Early (preSpellhold) good (+3 or better) weapons:

Flails:
FoA
Phosphorous (You can forge it before Spellhold.)

Clubs:
Club +3 (from Beastmaster in CC)
Root of the Problem/Treefolk's Arm

Axes:
Frostreaver
Stonefire

Short Swords:
SW of backstabbing

So personally I would give flails and axes to Vargant, later clubs and/or short swords (as a piercing weapons), and more later long swords. With ** in each weapon, it won't take so long to max, out 3-4 weapons.
B>C: He don't need +3 weapons so badly at start. He can use +2 mace or flail, and you can give FoA to him when your Vagrant get Phosphorous. Since he can spend only ** into each weapon, you can max. out mace and flail very early.




Agree with Raven, all choices are good. However 2handed weapons are strong in IA, so I would chose a 2hander user in my 1st run. So riskbreaker is out. Berserker is much better than barbarian imho (I am playing with barbarian atm). This means only berseker and kensai left. Kensai need a bit babysitting at early part of the game, berserker is stronger here cause of berserk and immunity to mindaffecting spells. Later berserk isn't so great, but kensai start shining there with his incredible thaco and damage bonuses. B>C with very good AC and blade or F/M with protective buffs are good tanks, so you can fight with 2hander user from 2nd row. Start with ** in halberd, 2handed sword and staff. Later max. out halberd and staff to *****.



Blade (in v5) is better than F/M imho. F/M better at start, but bard start shining at lvl 15-18. Fast levelprogression means high level Remove Magic. His special IA armor means instant spells between melee fight. Offensive spin + his special ring (from The Four mod) means good melee capabilities, almost as a fighter. Defensive spin + protective buffs means the best tank in the game. I would chose blade. If you don't want, then use gnome F/I.

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

Sorry, I just realized, I wrote wrong about B>C. If he is multi, not dual, then you should put ** into flail or maces, than max out hammer (*****). Crom and Hammer of Thor are insane weapons. When hammer maxed, max. out flails. I don't know why, but I thought you want mutil B/C.

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.



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:

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?