Starting out

[Nutman]

HI, I am in the process figuring out what character to play. I am quite keen to play an archer, but would like to keep Minsc as well. Is it a waste to have two rangers in the party? Is it Ok to start out without a pure fighter, am thinking of picking up mazzy at some stage? She seems to be the only pure fighter. I would also like a pure mage (are the dual class mages as good as a pure mage?) which points towards Edwin - but becase he is chaotic evil he may cause big problems with other party members.

Any advice would be welcome, but please no spoilers
cheers
Nutman

[Illumina Drathiran'ar]

If you've gone through it at least once or twice, you can really do the game with any party you want. People solo all the time, so party makeup really isn't a problem. Two Rangers is fine even for an inexperienced player. Got someone to cast Magic Missiles and Fireballs? Got someone to cast Heal? Got someone to pick locks? Got someone to wave a sword and absorb damage? You're good to go.
If you really want help, it sounds like you're leaning towards a good-aligned party... There are no really pureclass mages other than Edwin, I think... But don't let Aerie's dualclass nature fool you; she's a potent spellcaster. Aside from her, you have Nalia and Imoen. Imoen is also all the thief you'll need, though you need to get her back first. Yoshimo makes a good placeholder until you can pick her up.
There's no real need to get Minsc *and* Mazzy. Two rangers should be fine, especially if you pick up Jahiera as well... She's the best tank in the game, in my oh-so-humble opinion.

So your party makeup might look like this:
Archer PC
Minsc
Jahiera
Aerie
Yoshimo/Imoen

This gives you two healers, two arcane spellcasters, an archer, two tanks, and enough thief skills to get you through everything if the right equipment is used.

This also leaves you with an empty space.... You can pick up Mazzy if you really want, or you can get Edwin (Neutral Evil, by the way) and watch the fireworks. It really doesn't matter... You can even keep this slot open for people who want to join your party to do quests. Just have fun.

[ 06-10-2005, 05:28 PM: Message edited by: Illumina Drathiran'ar ]

[Aragorn1]

A basic party make up is: tank, healer, theif, arcane caster.

These do not have to be separate chrachters necessarily, but a balanced party would include people who can perform all of these roles.

The NPC you take would depend on the PC, if you want to make a balanced party. As said above, is it perfectly possible to play with a party without balance, or no party at all, but these are more difficult and would require different playing styles.

Two rangers are not a problem as minsc is a tank and an archer ranged support. I tend not to think in terms of classes, but in terms of role performed.

Here is an example, but there are limitless combinations, depending on your playing style and whether you are inclined towards melee or magic:
PC=Archer
Minsc=Ranger
Anomen(don't say anything ;D)=Fighter/Cleric
Yoshimo=theif
Mazzy=Tank
Aerie=Cleric/mage

I don't usually take Mazzy, and am not overly fond of Jaheria, so this is something i wouldn't play myself, but i have used the PCs you mentioned and given balance to the party. Also, i have filled all slot, which i would not normally do now, but wyou get to experience more NPCs that way, and i did this when i first played.

[Sillara of the Tamari]

All right, I know that everyone loves Minsc, but I personally cannot stand him. As you seem to have a fairly vanilla install NPC-wise, I would recommend the following:

PC-Archer (Good range support; lots of damage with a good bow)
Anomen-Fighter/Cleric (He can tank, and if he passes his test is a great cleric. He advances as a cleric more quickly than Aerie, and he turns, not controls like Viccy; my favorite cleric, he is.)
Yoshimo/Imoen (thief slot; Immy can also become a superb mage)
Keldorn-(tank instead of Mazzy; I like Mazzy for an archer; she starts with most slots in short bow. I find her to be wasted in a party with an archer.)
Aerie-(can handle the mage spells until you can pick up Immy; support cleric spells. Aerie eventually becomes one of the most powerful spellcasters in the game. Putting priest spells into spell-triggers: yummy!)
Valygar-(I just like him. He is a fine dual-wielder, and, to me, he is less annoying than Minsc.)


Sillara

[ 06-10-2005, 10:05 PM: Message edited by: Sillara of the Tamari ]

[VhaalintheAssassin]

I've played the game with multiple combos, and am now using a mostly neutral and evil aligned party, this including Haer Daelis, Jan Jansen, Korgan, Cernd, Anomen (I made him kill in revenge of his sister to do something different, so he's not lawful good)), and my main character I created, Caramon, Priest of Talos. I swapped here and there, but eventually settled with the aforementioned, and actually got attached. I never kept Jan Jansen or Haer Daelis in the past, because I was never fond of either, esp. bards in general (and admittedly I was never fond of Minsc either--he's funny, but I just was never too impressed with his abilities, but I am going to keep him next time to stick it out and try something different). But now, Haer is kicking more butt than Korgan! I was jaw-dropped...I built up Haer's long sword abilities (becuz I found these two awesome longswords in some battles), and gave him these to wield, would cast Improved Haste on him, and--boom--he became this superfast, deadly fighter, doing more damage--and in less time--than Korgan. I love Korgan, so he'll always be my frontline tank (and Keldorn is great, too), but Haer was taking down tough opponents all by himself. This is the 1st time I've kept with Haer, so my suggestion is try various characters different from your past choices, and stick with them until they build up--have patience--and see what happens. I was surprised I kept some of the characters I did, because I never used to in the past. That's what I love about this game--the combos are endless and the replayability is great.