I just got my hands on the collectors edition of this game. Also, do I need any patches, and if so, where can I get them?

please don't spoil me here.

I assume collector's edition got HoW but I dont think it got totl. if it does not come with Totl then you need to get it. its an exapansion to the expansion and the only way to get latest patch.

http://www.planetbaldursgate.com/iwd/info/luremaster/

good party?

hmmm... bard is a must. excellent songs and some items only he can use. pure thiefs not worth it but you'll definately need one (or two!!!) in multi or dual combo. paladins are druids are powerful too.

try:
1.Paldin
2.Fighter/Druid
3.Cleric/Ranger
4.Bard
5.Mage(illusionist?)/thief
6.Fighter/thief OR pure class mage (depending whether your into magic or mellee more)

and as to whether to multi or dual you'll get mixed opinions here. some (<font color=mediumspringgreen>one</font>) prefers dual while others multi. I'd go with dual fighter-->druid, multi cleric/ranger (to get all spells), dual thief-->mage (or multi illusionist/mage), and multi fighter/thief.

For your first time through, I might recommend single-class characters. They work pretty well for me...but it's all a matter of personal preference. Here is what I would recommend:
1. Paladin 4. Cleric
2. Fighter 5. Bard
3. Fighter 6. Mage

The paladin works well as a spokesperson, and has some special benefits you will discover later. The two fighters can muscle their way through most enemies you find. The cleric can, eventually detect traps, thus enabling you to avoid them. The bard is a great support character right from the beginning to the end. Just one more thing: DON'T SPECIALIZE THE MAGE for an introductory party. It's probably best to find out what works for you before risking a specialist mage. The reason I didn't include a thief as ZFR recommended is that clerics can detect traps, bards can pick pockets, and fighters can bash open chests (in some cases, you'll need to use Knock.) As for stealth, it's not extremely useful. It can be replaced with Sanctuary right from square one.

Just my opinions...

Wow, a Druid is really worth it? I guess it's not Baldur's Gate. ;)

BTW, does the Cleric/Ranger thing work like it does in Baldur's Gate? (getting all priest spells)

Oh yea. Cleric/rangers are almost as good as they are in BG2, missing only on the fact that there is no dual wielding (the ranger dual wielding ability means that if they wield a single handed weapon and no shield they get an extra attack). I solo'd a C/R for a while, though it got tough and boring.

Just so you know, a paladin is VERY powerful in IWD, getting up to 6th level spells. I solo'd a paladin through the whole vanilla IWD and am currently starting on HoW. Between draw upon holy might (at high levels shooting your stats to 25-25-25), haste/RWotF, and Entropy Shield, you can have an untouchable mother of tanks that hits on NEGATIVE ROLLS :D .

If you haven't played any of the IWD series before, you will find that it is very linear and battle-oriented compared to BG. Be warned. ;)

Some good characters are the following:

Paladin; Druid or Fighter/Druid (I prefer multiclass); Cleric, Ranger/Cleric or Fighter/Cleric (dual at lvl 7 or 9, or just take multiclass); Fighter/Thief (multi) or Thief/Mage (preferably multi); Mage; and/or Bard.

Absolute necessities are:

1) 1 main tank - best armour, best shield, best AC - paladin or fighter is best
2) 1 or 2 (or more) supplemental tanks - I use multiclass fighters here. May serve double duty as healer (Fighter/Cleric or /Druid), mage (Fighter/Mage) or thief {Fighter/Thief).
3) Healer
4) Mage
5) Thief - not strictly necessary, but worth taking in some form just to avoid the aggravation at certain areas.

Double up and mix classes as you wish. I like having both a cleric and a druid in my parties, although not necessarily single-classed. Two mages (or specialists) are also nice to have (or mage and bard), provided that they can also serve other functions (as in thief/mage or fighter/mage).

Another note - missile weapons are devastatingly powerful in this game. Make sure every character is proficient or better in one, and make sure you have a good mix between longbows, crossbows, and slings. Any fighter combination class is capable of serving as a great "archer" unit in lieu of tanking or spellcasting.

There are a fair number of traps, and some are very annoying. I would definitely not go thiefless first time through. I wouldn't even dual - unless you dual very early you'll want a thief by the time you reach level 3-4 (with a full party). Just like BG, the F/T is a nice combination.

A mage and a bard is all I would suggest for arcane spell casters for a first try. There aren't a ton of scrolls, so it's a little tricky to get all spells on two mages, and two mages and a bard will present tough decisions.

Druids are nice (great spells) but turn undead is very handy too. So not an obvious choice between a cleric and a druid.

I wouldn't rank turn undead as very useful in a full party on core difficulty. For me, the real reason to take a cleric 24/7 is spells. Protection From Evil 10' Radius, Defensive Harmony, and Raise Dead/Resurrection save a lot of grief.

Hence why I take both - a druid has offensive spell capabilities that approach those of a mage. If you choose to play the druid that way, a cleric (or perhaps bard) is necessary to take away the healing duties.

Especially since both can be combined with fighter (or ranger for clerics) without much loss and make excellent tanks...

and i agree with ister. it is possible to play without a thief but it becomes tedious trying to avoid traps, bashing and using knock and definately too much hassle and not recommended for someone playing first time. especially since a thief can be multied with mage without much loss and giving the additional ability to use bows and armor (and slightly better thaco and hp).

Thanks for all the input everyone!

Question:

I've read that there is a level 30 maximum for characters with Heart of Winter installed. Does that mean that multiclassed characters can only reach 15/15? What about dual classed characters?

Does experience play a part, or is it total levels?

[ 08-29-2005, 10:53 PM: Message edited by: krunchyfrogg ]