Quote:
Originally posted by ozzi:
Okey, listen up BG2 people. As we all know this question has been ask many times before. But that will not stop me from asking it again. Which NPC should make my party?
I know everybody says that you should just play and learn as you go, but I have ONE big problem. Iīm a perfectionist. Its really annoying actually. When I have started playing, picked up Yoshimo, done the circus tent and picked up Aerie, I am not happy. If I shouldnīt have Yoshimo I really didnīt even have to pick him up then would I. I could have just gotten out of there without him. So that my exp would go to me.
In due respect to the storyline I always feel like a powerplayer if I do not take with me Minsc and Jaheira. I am also planning to take with me Imoen when that time comes.
So could you guys help compose a good "good" part that will be fun to play, and will be fairly good as well.
Have thought about having Minsc and Keldorn as tanks and my elven stalker in addition. Perhaps Jaheira and Anomen could be my clerics, and my backup fighters. But it is the thief and mage spot that causes my head to burst. Should I use jan? Nalia? (Everyone says she is so enoying). Or perhaps Aerie? But keep in mind that I will replace one with Imoen, which one in that case?
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OK, so your constraints are:
- Good-neutral aligned party
- Led by CG Stalker
- Imoen will join when rescued
- Minsc required
- Jaheira required
On your Interplay forum post I wrote up a nice little choose-your-own template, but that was before knowing Minsc and Jaheira had to stay. I had previously ruled out Minsc as a redundant Ranger, but if you want him, he can certainly be useful. So let me adjust it here:
I would suggest to cover the last 3 slots in your party pre-Imoen:
- 1 lock/trap handling thief (Yoshimo, Jan, Nalia with lots of potion help)
- 2-3 mages (Aerie, Jan, Haer'Dalis, Nalia)
- 0-1 clerics (Anomen, Aerie)
- 0-1 backup tanks (Anomen, Keldorn, Mazzy, Haer'Dalis with lots of self-buff help)
The game is far easier with a thief that can detect and disarm traps and pick locks reliably. You can get away without it, but it's a royal pain (literally). 2 mages minimum because for a melee-heavy group, the 5th level Mage spell Breach is critical to have. I like to have at least two characters able to memorize it so if one is disabled the other can supply it. You could get away with no other clerics because Jaheira has Druid spells, but there are cleric-only spells that are nice to have (Prot from evil 10' radius for example). 3 tanks is plenty, so no need for a 4th, but if you really are gung-ho for Keldorn or one of the other fighters we could fit one in.
So, pre-Imoen rescue we have:
Stalker
Minsc
Jaheira
?
?
?
Here's my starting suggestion:
Stalker
Minsc (Tank)
Jaheira (Tank, backup cleric)
Haer'Dalis (Backup mage and backup tank).
Aerie (Primary pre-Imoen mage and cleric)
Yoshimo (Sole thief)
Post-Imoen rescue:
Stalker
Minsc
Jaheira
?
?
Imoen
I would suggest:
Stalker
Minsc (Tank)
Jaheira (Tank, backup cleric)
Haer'Dalis (Backup mage and backup tank)
Aerie (Backup mage, primary cleric)
Imoen (Primary mage, Sole thief)
Replace Haer'Dalis with Keldorn, Mazzy, or Anomen for a more low-maintenance extra tank, but that cuts you down to just a single half-mage (Aerie) until you rescue Imoen, which would be cutting it kinda close for me. If you do that, I'd replace Yoshimo with Jan to get your second arcane caster back. Whoever your party thief is at that point would get replaced with Imoen when you rescue her, since Imoen can handle the basic lock/trap thief functions.
Quote:
Originally posted by ozzi:
I know everybody says that you should just play and learn as you go, but I have ONE big problem. Iīm a perfectionist. Its really annoying actually. When I have started playing, picked up Yoshimo, done the circus tent and picked up Aerie, I am not happy. If I shouldnīt have Yoshimo I really didnīt even have to pick him up then would I. I could have just gotten out of there without him. So that my exp would go to me.
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Let me tell you about my experience.
I heard enough the first time playing BG2 to also eliminate Yoshimo from my long-term plans early on. I definitely had a great time, with a party that certainly wound up being plenty "sub-optimal" powergame-wise. (Post-Imoen rescue party that first time through was Archer, Keldorn, Anomen, Jaheira, Nalia, and Imoen.) It wasn't until the 3rd time playing, for my "People I haven't had in my party yet except Cernd game", that I finally decided to include Yoshimo. It worked out fantastic, and really improved my respect for the game. I wish the first time I played BG2 through I had kept Yoshimo in.
* MINOR SPOILERS (More detail on why to keep Yoshimo, but not spoiling his major plot points)*
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- Yoshimo is exactly what you need when you need it: a solid Thief with a good kit and exceptional, nearly power-gaming level stats and proficiencies. The one annoyance is his low skill in "Set Traps", which is kind of odd for a Bounty Hunter NPC, but you can fix that in a couple of level-ups.
- Yoshimo fits in fine with your party concept. Pair him with Aerie and you've got all your non-tank party needs covered in just those two slots, which lets you run an even more solid front-line if that's your preference.
- Yoshimo has good interaction with other NPC's (both joinable ones and non-joinable ones at various plot points in main and side quests)
- Yoshimo is an interesting character, with a street-smart happy-go-lucky attitude that masks... well, I'll let you find out on your own.
- The "loss of XP" is minimized by going to resuce Imoen as soon as possible. You don't have to overprepare for Imoen's rescue.
- The "loss of XP" from him leaving is partly negated by the XP you can get from a little quest opened up by his departure.
- The plot twist is a very cool part of the game.
- You'll get rabid opinions on how it could have been done differently or better if you ask for them, but the bottom line is the game is better for having it and your experience of the game will be richer for playing through it.