What is your Suggestion as a best party?

A good party is:

Paladin Human
Ranger Human
Fighter Dwarf
Cleric Human
Mage Elf
Thief Elf

That's the party I beat the game with.

I beat the game with a
Fighter-Human
Paladin-Human
Cleric-Female Human
Duid-Female Elf
Thief-Human
Mage-HUman.
I think i needed more mage power, and i suggest using a druid over a cleric, cuz they get so many cool spells. I just did both for the offense, who was my druid, and healing/defense, who was my cleric.

Oh, welcome to the forum!!!!!!!!!! ;) [img]smile.gif[/img] :cool:

Welcome, )V(ajin l3uu. How's the party coming along. I've only just completed IWD a week-and-a-half ago with:

Two Fighters - Dwarven (naturally)
Cleric/Illusionist - Gnome
Fighter/Druid - Hlaf-Elf
Fighter/Thief - Half-Elf (though Dwarves are better)
Bard - Half-Elf (Human is a better choice for dual-classing later)

They worked for me, but that covers all six slots. You might want to try that number now, until you're comfortable with the game, then reduce it down to five or even four. Xp isn't so diluted that way.

Here's what I got going: (I'm just starting though and have no idea how it will work out.)

Male Human Paladin (The Man. 'though he talks too much.)
Male Half-Elf Ranger (Ugly, Stupid and Deadly.)
Female Human Bard (Hell Hath No Fury...)
Female Elf Fighter/Mage (Attempt to recreate my (PRE-DRIZZT!!!) Drow.)
Male Elf Fighter/Thief (Played like an Assassin...?)
Male Gnome Cleric/Illusionist (He's not a Dwarf...but, I hope he's "small" enough...?)

Cheers...

[ 11-09-2001: Message edited by: bjornm ]</p>

Just srarted a game with a party that consists of:

Male-Human-fighter(goon)
Male-Dwarf-fighter(mega goon)
female-half elf-ranger(good scrapper/great archer)
male-halfling-cleric(just like the picture,not that great,but I'm going to stick it out)
female-human-thief(archer/thief,pretty good actually)
male -human-mage(real good,happy with him)

This party isn't to exotic but I think it will get the job done.
Probably should have changed the human fighter to a paladin, and not had a halfling cleric, but we will see.Could use alittle more spellcasting ability as well.

Word of advice ,when all else fails, run like hell!

I've played through the game a couple times and find my current gang is the most entertaining; challenging but not frustrating:

Ranger - Elf, Lawful Good
Fighter/Mage -Elf, True Neutral
Cleric - Dwarf, Chaotic Good
Fighter/Thief - Halfling, Neutral Good
Bard - Human, Neutral Good

I like having 5 characters; less resource management and quicker leveling.

My party consisted of the following -

1) Paladin (Human)
2) Figher (Dwarf)
3) Cleric/Mage (Half-Elf)
4) Dual Classed Thief/Mage (Human)
5) Ranger (Elf)
6) Druid (Elf)

I completed IWD/HoW/ToLM with a party that looked like this:

1 Human Male Paladin
1 Dwarf Male Fighter (mainly armed with axes)
1 Elven Female Fighter (armed with long bow and longswords)
1 Human Male cleric
1 Halfling male thief/mage (my secondary mage)
1 Human Female Mage (my primary mage)

Having 2 (or 1.5 depending on your outlook) mages really made things much easier. The multiclassed theif was more than enough of a theif for the way in which I use theives, i.e. mostly for finding/disarming traps and opening locks. Besides, in IWD mages can summon great elementals and having 2 mages means nealy twice as many spells available for monster summoning.

Fighter
Fighter
Paladin
Cleric
Mage/Thief
Mage/ Cleric
Any race or sex you so desire.

My current party consists of:

Fighter - Male Half Elf
Fighter - Female Half Elf
Ranger - Male Half Elf
Cleric - Female Half Elf
Mage - Female Half Elf
Thief - Male Gnome

I favor the ranged attack strategy since I have 4 characters that can use bows. Also, I love having the cleric spell Animate Dead as 3 out 7 castings, gives you Skeletal Archers (YAY). Then I have the mage just for the damage over time spells like Melf's Acid Arrow. The monsters are usually dead by the time I get to casting that spell, but on those rare occasions where I pull more than one monster, the added range attack of the mage, usually does the trick.

Lord Teppenwolfe

Unless you just want to get the whole adventure over and done with as quickly as possible, there is no 'best 'party. Everybody has different ideas about what makes a party good.

Those who just want to get through everything quickly (why?) concentrate on fighters and archers. IMHO the most fun, and therefore 'best', party is the one that allows you to experience the benefits and quirks of as many character classes as possible.

It also makes you think about different ways of doing things than charging in with a bunch of tanks and a combat medic.

Let's look at every class:

Paladin: good idea as they have anti-disease powers and are reasonable fighters. (6)

Rangers: better. Dual Weld and anti-racial fighting can be useful in a game full of repetitive monsters. (7)

Mage: must! if not two (10)

Thief: Must.. but surely multi-classed? (8)

Cleric: Must healer but let's consider teh Druid:

Druid: faster level up, weaker fighting, allows elemental summoning early in game (9)

Fighter: this hack n slash game requires at least one (9)


So my party would go like this:

Thief/Mage
Mage
Druid
Fighter
Cleric/Paladin
Ranger

Avatar, what is it that makes mages a (10)? The fact that they have such low hitpoints? Or maybe its the fact that they can do 20 damage to a monster after wasting three seconds to cast a spell and 6 seconds after that they can do another 20 damage? Or maybe its the fact that they can cast fireball on a group full of monsters, obliterating half the hitpoints on your fighters whilst all the enemies SV spell for half damage? I would just like to know how a mage can be a 10 in a game where fighters do all the damage? What can you get out of a mage that you can't get out of a bard, heck! you can't even memorize level 9 spells! Mages a 10? I think not, bards are a 10. Mages are a 4, why? Because they can do what bards can do but can't sing the songs. Bards > Mages.

My party looks like this:

Dwarf Fighter
Human Paladin
Elf Ranger
Human Cleric
Half-Elf Thief/Mage
Elf Mage (Necromancer)

The first 3 all carry Composite Longbows, very effective!

Hey Lukivah leave Avatar alone - sure playing with a mage is hard, but it's a lot more interesting than chugging around with a bunch of tanks, chopping everything to pieces.

If you use a mage properly they can be devastating, and make the whole game more like a roleplaying game and less like a diablofest. Just as an example if you have a thief scout ahead, invisible or hidden, then you can get your fireball(s) off at long range - only hurting the monsters.

When you use a mage as a fully active memeber of the party and not as an emergency backup, then the higher number of spells he can memorize compared to a bard is very important.

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Lukivah:
Avatar, what is it that makes mages a (10)? The fact that they have such low hitpoints? Or maybe its the fact that they can do 20 damage to a monster after wasting three seconds to cast a spell and 6 seconds after that they can do another 20 damage? Or maybe its the fact that they can cast fireball on a group full of monsters, obliterating half the hitpoints on your fighters whilst all the enemies SV spell for half damage? I would just like to know how a mage can be a 10 in a game where fighters do all the damage? What can you get out of a mage that you can't get out of a bard, heck! you can't even memorize level 9 spells! Mages a 10? I think not, bards are a 10. Mages are a 4, why? Because they can do what bards can do but can't sing the songs. Bards > Mages.<hr></blockquote>


LOL a non-believer....
I would like to see 10 fighters take on one mage at high levels.
Sure Mages are terrible at low levels but I see you haven't played BG2 nor ToB yet....
Anyway... Mages casting Cloudkill and Fireball can weaken opponents, they can haste themselves... they provide fire support...
sure you need to sleep often but their power is unlimited.

I played BG2 and mages were powerful there yes, mostly because they gave them more than one lower casting time item. As for 10 fighters taking on one mage. I doubt he could take two fighters, probably one if it doesnt have on a suit full of resist gear. Fireball, cloudkill, web, abidalzims, they all go through stoneskin. So if you tried to outdamage 10 fighters with your AE spells you're going to die before they do. 130-200hp > than a mages 70hp

Also, can anyone name one instance a mage would be better than a bard in a normal party with fighters/clerics/thieves etc... etc...

Dualled Fighter-Mage
Dualled Fighter-Mage
Dualled Fighter-Cleric
Dualled Fighter-Cleric
Dwarven Fighter
Halfling Thief

Half Elf Ranger/Cleric
Human Ranger
Halfling Fighter/Thief
Human Bard

I played on Hard level.

I originally started with a full party but once I got to the Vale I got tired of having that many people and started over with these four. I won IWD/HOW and Trials with these 4 chars. The Rangers I specialized in Skeletal Undead. I did it because there were so many skeletal undead in the Vale. It turned out this was a great choice due to the items I picked up later and the amount of undead I encountered in the game. I utilized the Ranger dual wield by not having a shield in their hands which gave them 1 extra attack. It seemed to worth out fine. By the time my bard hit level 11, which was quickly. She had that awesome Regen/Ac song that allowed me to practically eliminate my healing spells on my cleric. I liked this group, I really enjoyed the game with them. I think I might do it again with a Pally instead.

heh. I played HoF mode with a 4 member party...

Dualled fighter-mage
Dualled fighter-mage
Dualled fighter-cleric
Elf thief

It was much easier than a 6-member party, and the thief levelled up so fast she wasn't a llability.

I just had my toughest fighter/mage memorize as many dimension doors as possible. Cast defensive spells on himself, teleport next to the maximum mage, pound him (or whomever) into a crimson puddle and teleport back. Easy. The only thing to watch out for is the thief, who winds up taking the most damage.

IMO, IWD/HoW would be much more difficult without dimension door. With dimension door, it's cheese.

I just received my copy of IceWind Dale today (from eBay), so forgive me if this sounds like a silly question.....but are there NO NPC's for me add to my party in IWD? Do I have to make up my own party?

Thanks for the help.

Yep.

In IWD, you create your own party. No npc characters join your group.

as far as party construction if you have a paladin and a bard the game's 1/2 over. single class mages and thieevs seem very weak vs other classes.

finished the game today w/ my second group.

paladin
ranger / cleric (human dual class at 9th)
fighter / invoker (human dual class at 9th)
bard (1/2 elf)
druid (human)
ill / thief (gnome)

the only major mistake i made with this group was the gnome can't wear helms. and i'd forgotten how long it takes the "good" druid gear to show up. only time i had problems was when i jumped right into totl w/o doing any of how. other down side the invoker can't use conj / summon spells which were the only 9th level scrolls i had so i never got to cast any.

the druid was winning fights all by herself. entangle / spikes / thorns / elementals / shambling mounds.

i'm trying a new group that looks like this:

paladin
bard
ill / cleric (gnome) (17 wis, but get's the helm + specalist spell slots)
thief dual to ftr at level 8
fighter dual to druid at 9
fighter dual to mage at 9
250,000 xp will be a major pain as both ftrs dual before the thief / dual really gets going.

dualing a ftr to a druid is a major pain: int is really the only stat you can afford to drop. i had to sacrafice a lot of dex (cat's grace) to get the wisdown / charisma / strength / con to make this char work.

this is what i have, i am at the dorns deep

fighter- dwarf
2 fighter-theif- dwarf
cleric- dwarf
fighter-cleric- dwarf
necromancer-human

My first party is as follows

Male Paladin - Human
Male Fighter - Human (Great Swords are his best wep)
Male Ranger - Human (Hates Trolls since i do too becuase of regen and requiring fire to murder them)
Female Mage - Human
Female Cleric - Human
Male Thief - Elf (it would be a human too, but i have a friend that we always call the elvish thief and decided to put him in the game)

I prefer mostly human teams, its just the way I am (but if I could have giants, ogres, or other large humaniod people on my team... that would be a different story)

Basicly, when my thief has arrows he fires, if not he joins the melee (and does it decently I might add) along with my my cleric, fighter, and ranger simply give a beatdown on the people. my mage stays in the back and does an occasional spell or two unless it she goes invis to prevent being hurt

I beat it with :

Fighter Dwarf
Fighter/Thief Dwarf
Ranger
Cleric
Druid
Bard

<font color = mediumspringgreen>I would have to side with Avatar on this subject: Anyone who detests mages hasn't learned how to use them. Furthermore, to a point, the more mage-power the better! My Gnome thief/Illusion Specialist has progressed to the point that she easily accounts for more than 1/3 of the kills in my 6-member party; and four of those members are 7th-level warriors. (I can barely wait for 2 of my fighters to dual over to Invocation Specialist and Conjuror Specialist. Heh, heh, then we'll see the [smoking] fur REALLY fly!)

Mages have only three big drawbacks, and all can be easily overcome:

1.) Mages are weak, defensively.

Sure, mages have wimpy HP and armor at all levels; but you can overcome the HP problem by dualing them over from fighters at mid-game. (You must prepare for this at character generation.) That way they build up HP; and, depending on when you switch class, will actually have *MORE* HP than straight fighters! There are many magical spells in most mage's repetoires that can boost their effective AC against magical and melee attacks, when needed. (Try hitting a blurred, mirrored wizard!) Of course, you can also use the common-sense technique of keeping you mage in the rear, away from melee combat.

2.) Mages must "recharge" their arsenal frequently.

Yes, they do; but one can compensate for this in several ways. One is to get an extra spell per level by going as a "Specialist Wizard." Another way is to have more wizards, so that each uses their spells more slowly. Still another is to sleep often. "Wait!" you say, "That *is* the problem, NOT the solution!" I disagree. The problem is when you go to sleep, and you really, REALLY need that sleep, and you get woken up to a monster party before you are done resting! The actual sleeping takes at least 8 hours of game time; but only a few seconds of real time; so it has a negligible effect on gameplay. Therefore, there is no excuse for not sleeping often.

BTW, I have heard people say that "There are only 2 places to sleep in so-and-so caves/dungeon." I have verified at least one such report to be untrue. Just pick a nice out-of-the-way spot, gird for battle, SAVE GAME, and hit the snooze button: If you sleep, that's great. If you fight, that's more easy XP (unless, of course you waited until you actually NEEDED the sleep). Re-form and hit snooze again. If you fight three battles in a row, maybe go try in another spot, or reload. There have been a very high percentage of times when I have been awakened by monsters, dusted them, and simply went back to a successful night's sleep in the same spot.

3.) Some magic is hard to place accurately, and often the effects miss the enemy and damage friendly forces.

Well, there is no really good excuse for this one. First off, there are plenty of direct-attack "no-can-miss" magic (e.g., "magic missile," "chromatic orb," "monster summoning," "and "lich touch," to name a few). Now, admittedly, most of the really neat spells do take some control, and I think this is what makes this game so fun: you need to think! Strategy! Tactics!

The first issue, toasting your own comrades, can be solved by practicing. Load your wizard up with three fireballs, SAVE GAME, and practice throwing them such that your friends don't get scorched. Reload game for more practice. For something like "Agannazar's Scorcher," visualize the line of fire to where your target will be, and practice moving front line troops just far enough out of the way; or just move the mage to the side. (One of my favorite tactics is to line up my fighters in a straight line to meet the monster onslaught. Then my mage waits until monsters have engaged my front line before quickly moving over to the side and just ahead of my front line, and throwing Agannazar's Scorcher at the far monster, toasting the whole brood to a crackly crunch.)

The second issue, NOT catching the enemy with spell effects, can be largely offset by control (the practice sessions you just completed should help there) and by forethought: Where do you think the enemy will be at the time your caster has finally completed his mumbling and unleashed his magical harbinger of doom? Put your area effect magic to this spot, adjusting as needed to not damage your own forces.

Another valid tactic is to march your healthy fighter right into a swarm of enemy, then dump a couple of area effect spells on the whole bunch. Sure, your fighter loses 70 HP; but if he had 150, and each of the eight monsters surrounding him had 60, well, it's battle over.

Of course, one of the really nice reasons for using lots of magic (that I haven't heard mentioned, yet) is that it is really great to watch the fantastic graphics effects!
</font>

My party is as follows.. now at Dorn's Deep

Paladin
Fighter
Cleric
Cleric/Ranger
Thief/Ranger
Mage

how do I dual class? who can/cannot dual class?

<font color = lightgreen>NobleNick, you mean I actually have to use my brain if I want to use magic? [img]graemlins/crying.gif[/img] [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Similarly to sending your tanks to attack enemies in an area effect spell, you can also layer area effect spells: web, slow, and fireball/cloudkill/death fog. Death fog is one of my favorites, along with Acid Storm and Incendiary Cloud (just cast them and wait for your foes to fall). [img]graemlins/petard.gif[/img] </font>

I Beat IWD With:
Paladin
Dwarven Fighter
Human Fighter
Thief(forgot to dual)
Priest(also no dual)
Mage(again, no dual)
Should've dualed though... :D

[ 02-25-2002: Message edited by: Lopadamus Flimbog ]</p>

<font color = Mediumspringgreen>Azred,

OOOOoooooo!!! I am green with envy! I only have 1/2 a mage (gnome thief/illusionist), and she can't throw web. (It just now occurred to me that maybe the reason she can't learn it is that I maxed out on spells of that level. Hmmm, I smell a Dalekeeper "spell trading" session coming on...)

I decided, instead of dualing my 2 specially prepared fighters over to mage at level 7, to hold out til level 9 for one and 13 for the other. I am almost to where I can dual the first one over. Multiple mage power! Aaugggh!!! I can almost taste it!</font>

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by NobleNick:
<font color = Mediumspringgreen>Azred,

OOOOoooooo!!! I am green with envy!</font><hr></blockquote>

<font color = lightgreen>Yes, I seem to have that effect on people. [img]graemlins/petard.gif[/img] [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Anyway, Web is probably the most useful 2nd level spell, just behind Invisibility, especially once your priests have access to Free Action. That will remain to be one of my standard tactics, layering spells like Grease and Web; it concentrates your foes and makes it impossible for them to run.

And yes, wait to dual your characters for just a little bit; the extra power will come in handy. By the time you hit Chapter 5, you can level your dualers pretty quickly.</font>

just for fun; here's what I think is a good combo.

Cleric/Ranger (half-elf, of course)
Cleric/Illusionist (Gnome, duh)
Bard
Thief-Fighter (dualed to fighter at level 9)

between the C/R and the C/Il; you can summon enough fodder to keep enemies at bay. The Bard makes for a good backup mage; getting very powerfull with spells that increase with level. And the Thief? well, he finds traps and fights with sword or bow.
Honsetly, Thiefs are not necessary in this game. Sure, they help a lot; but Clerics are far more essential. Clerics can find the traps; but not disarm them. Of course, every trap offers a saving throw; so you can just send "lucky" out to "scout" after the cleric finds the traps. Though, the cleric spell for finding traps is a bit of a bother to use.
As far as mages go; i think an earlier poster was a little delusional as to their power. Straight mages? suck. Multi or dual-classed mages can be powerful. The Extra HP and THac0 from a preist or fighter class make a difference; as do the use of Helms (protect from a critical squash) and Large Sheilds (protect against spell breaking misslies).

[ 03-21-2002, 03:44 PM: Message edited by: Leafy ]

:eek: fighter,ranger,thief,druid,cleric,mage

<font color = lightgreen>If you have HoW installed, then having a bard in your party is a must. They gain access to a song (the name of which escapes me right now since I am at "work" [img]tongue.gif[/img] ) that makes your foes just stand there and take a royal beating. What could be more fun than lethargic enemies?</font>

Party formation:

paladin - M - human - LG - swords and axes
cleic - F - h-elf - TN - any blunt + sling
ranger - M - elf - NG - 2h-waepon + bow
fighter dual-> mage - M - human - LN - halbard + bow
thief dual -> mage - M - human - CG - dagger + bow
Bard - F - h-elf - TN - x-bow + any close

My idea of a good party:
1. Cleric - Must have
2. Mage - Not a must but makes things easier
3. Thief - Must have for traps and locks
4. Fighter - At least one in the party to take the hits. Later on I like to summon undead to the front.
5 & 6 you can put anything in you want in. Two more fighters would probaly make the game easier to beat but I like a little variety.