Ironworks Gaming Forum - View Single Post - New to IWD2, could use some help with party building

Magness · 09-24-2003, 05:18 PM

Starfire, welcome to the board!!! GREAT name!

Here's the last party with which I completed IWD2...

Goblin's Bane

It's a really nicely balanced party. Capable of solid spellcasting and good tanking and a pair of great scouts.

Nya Arenthel: Female Elven Paladin of Mystra
Vrolnar: Human Male Fighter/Barbarian
Skalla: Wild Elven Male Ranger
Ranya: Human Female Fighter/Rogue "Swashbuckler"
Kieran: Human Male Painbearer of Ilmater (cleric)
Menoli: Human Female Sorceress

Check out the links for the character stats.

Nya and Vrolnar were my two tanks. Skalla and Ranya were my scouts, both solid archers and dual wielding in melee. And Menoli and Kieran were my spellcasters.

(In fact, all but Menoli were quite capable in melee.)

This was the best party I've every build and I was so attached to it that I replayed it in HOF mode.

Note that my paladin, Nya Arenthel is very much NOT a traditional paladin. She only wears chain mail and fights equally well and equal willingness with bow or longsword. I designed her to be this way to play away from the traditional uber strong, low DEX pally. While not as rugged at my fighter/barb, Nya did exceptionally well in combat.

Survival in the prologue and the rest of the game largely comes down to properly playing the characters within their abilities.

For example, rogues are not meant to stay in the heat of melee. (Don't bother worrying about sneak attacks with a rogue for a while. SA's grow in strength as a rogue's level increases.) Rogues are best left behind your tanks, using ranged weapons. When your rogue has gained a few levels, you can get a little sneaky and run around behind the enemy line and sneak attack from the rear. Also, attacking from stealth will usually earn a sneak attack bonus.

Paladin's should be pretty much as survivable as any other warrior class. The only difference is that pally's are more stat intensive and this may reduce the number of points spent on CON, thus reducing the CON bonus HP's. Don't worry about pally spellcasting. It's really weak and doesn't come into play for until your reach level 6 or so.

Mages (i.e. wizards and sorcerors) are totally wimpy at the start of the game. Basically, just find them a good ranged weapon and hide them behind your tanks. Mages, particularly early in the game, are absolutely not meant for melee. They have very few HP and will get killed quickly.

Don't let your paladin talk to the NPC's when you're collecting a reward. Let anyone else do the talking. And you don't need to demand payments or rewards. Many times, rewards will be paid freely.

There's a no cost way of resurrections.... RELOAD. Save early and often. Use quick save before any battle.

If you have any more questions, ask away.

[ 09-24-2003, 05:20 PM: Message edited by: Magness ]

09-24-2003, 05:18 PM	#4
Magness Quintesson Join Date: January 7, 2001 Location: Manchester, NH, USA Posts: 1,025	Starfire, welcome to the board!!! GREAT name! Here's the last party with which I completed IWD2... Goblin's Bane It's a really nicely balanced party. Capable of solid spellcasting and good tanking and a pair of great scouts. Nya Arenthel: Female Elven Paladin of Mystra Vrolnar: Human Male Fighter/Barbarian Skalla: Wild Elven Male Ranger Ranya: Human Female Fighter/Rogue "Swashbuckler" Kieran: Human Male Painbearer of Ilmater (cleric) Menoli: Human Female Sorceress Check out the links for the character stats. Nya and Vrolnar were my two tanks. Skalla and Ranya were my scouts, both solid archers and dual wielding in melee. And Menoli and Kieran were my spellcasters. (In fact, all but Menoli were quite capable in melee.) This was the best party I've every build and I was so attached to it that I replayed it in HOF mode. Note that my paladin, Nya Arenthel is very much NOT a traditional paladin. She only wears chain mail and fights equally well and equal willingness with bow or longsword. I designed her to be this way to play away from the traditional uber strong, low DEX pally. While not as rugged at my fighter/barb, Nya did exceptionally well in combat. Survival in the prologue and the rest of the game largely comes down to properly playing the characters within their abilities. For example, rogues are not meant to stay in the heat of melee. (Don't bother worrying about sneak attacks with a rogue for a while. SA's grow in strength as a rogue's level increases.) Rogues are best left behind your tanks, using ranged weapons. When your rogue has gained a few levels, you can get a little sneaky and run around behind the enemy line and sneak attack from the rear. Also, attacking from stealth will usually earn a sneak attack bonus. Paladin's should be pretty much as survivable as any other warrior class. The only difference is that pally's are more stat intensive and this may reduce the number of points spent on CON, thus reducing the CON bonus HP's. Don't worry about pally spellcasting. It's really weak and doesn't come into play for until your reach level 6 or so. Mages (i.e. wizards and sorcerors) are totally wimpy at the start of the game. Basically, just find them a good ranged weapon and hide them behind your tanks. Mages, particularly early in the game, are absolutely not meant for melee. They have very few HP and will get killed quickly. Don't let your paladin talk to the NPC's when you're collecting a reward. Let anyone else do the talking. And you don't need to demand payments or rewards. Many times, rewards will be paid freely. There's a no cost way of resurrections.... RELOAD. Save early and often. Use quick save before any battle. If you have any more questions, ask away. [ 09-24-2003, 05:20 PM: Message edited by: Magness ]