Balanced Party? (possible spoilers)

[Iron Spike]

I just got icewind dale 2 yesterday and my party is doing ok (only finished the docks)
and i need to know if it is gonna be balanced later in the game.

i have 2 shield dwarf cleric/fighters (1 lvl in each)
2 wild elven fighter/mages (1 lvl in each)
1 Assamir monk/rogue (1 lvl in each)
and my party leader a lvl 2 halforc barbarian.

i did start with my dwarves as clerics (talos if revelant)
and my elves as fighters so i found i was slightly under balanced when it came to
offensive spells (like when i was fighting phaen)

also is there anywhere i can get some good magical weapons this early on?

thanks

[Larry_OHF]

Wow...at least your party is...interesting and challenging, to say the least! As far as "balanced", I personally think you are going to do alright,,,albeit a bit more difficult to handle. Still, there is no reason that you could not finish the game with your party. Good luck!

As for magical items nearby...yes...you will soon be wielding a couple nice items for that early in the game. Also, some are readily buyable and the goblins in the North are payed "ALOT" better than most creatures you encountered in BG or the first IWD. These bad boys are pretty rich, and it won't take you long at all to earn wnough loot to buy some serious stuff.

[Iron Spike]

is there any way i could balance my party more, since now i understand the game and it shouldnt take me long to redo what ive already done. any tips at all are welcome.

[Magness]

I'd suggest less multiclassing.

My party has only 1 multiclassed member.

1 Aasimar Paladin
1 Dwarven Fighter
1 Human Rogue/Fighter
1 Moon Elf Wizard
1 Human Bard
1 Moon Elf Cleric of Lathander

I only started multiclassing my rogue at level 12 to strengthen her fighting skills.

My Pally and fighter are my tanks.

The other 4 are primarily snipers. I don't see my cleric as a backup tank. I'll use my rogue and/or bard in that role before turning to my cleric. I see my cleric as the party medic and don't want the medic to need a medic.

[DraconisRex]

As it stands, I am of no doubt that your party is valid. That is, it can finish the game. But I think you can, at times, be in for a tough road. I have a matrix for party structure I keep in my head. It looks like this:

Getting stronger in magic, from left to right. Getting weaker in melee from top to bottom.

|----no magic-----|---D. Divine----|---O. Divine---|---Arcane---|

Tanks..........Fighters..........Paladins......... Rangers
...............Barbarians

...............Monks

Support..........................Clerics.......... Druids

...............Rogues............(Bards).......... ................Bards

Artillary......................................... ................Wizards
.................................................. ................Sorcerers

I take two from tanks, two from support and two from artillary. Of those 6, at least one must be from D. Divine (defensive divine). At least one must be a wizard. However, if I take an Arcane Support (bard) character, I can use a Druid and forgo a cleric or paladin because my Bard can "spontaneously" cast some healing spells in-lieu of offensive spells.

The problems I see are as follows:

1. You have too many characters neither fish, nor fowl. Unlike 2E, where multi-classing gave you uber-characters, in 3E a level is a level and helps promote rigid specialzation in class, while diversifying through feats and "prestige" classes (not implimented in the game).

2. You are lacking in offensive magical firepower unless you stop leveling up at least one F/M in the F component. Nor do you have a druid which balances more to offensive in the divine spell area.

On the other hand, your party has some real strengths:

1. Tremendous melee capacity.

2. Tremendous down-side risk aversion. That is, with so many multi-classed characters, you can absorb party deaths and retain greater party functionality.
If you play to your strengths, you can be a 600lb gorrila with a cheeze grater looking at a wedge of provolone. If you don't minimize them, you're in for some real tough sledding.

[ 09-23-2002, 09:17 PM: Message edited by: DraconisRex ]

[DraconisRex]

Sorry, have never got the hang of tables, no matter how I've tried, in UBB.

My party (furthest into the game)

Fighter - Gold Dwarf. (High con, damage absorbing tank)
Fighter - Moon Elf. (High dex/dual wield fighter)
Cleric - Dark Elf. (Excellent all-round cleric. Missile weapon specialist.)
Ranger - Aasimir. (Ranged weapon specialist/outdoors specialist)
Sor./Rog. - Strongheart Halfling. (Ranged weapon (thrown), sorcery spells)
Necro. - Tiefling.

Two melee specialists. One defensive divine healer. One melee specialist with some offensive/defensive divine capabilities. One rogue/sorcerer providing arcane support + missile weapon support. One pure arcane caster.

Another party (all pretty much generic):

Paladin, Fighter, Ranger/Rogue, Cleric, Sorcerer, Wizard

Another party (all non-standards and all EVIL):

Half-orc Barbarian, Gray Dwarf Fighter, Tiefling Monk (Dark Moon), Dark Elf Cleric (Talos), Dark Elf Sorcerer, Teifling Evoker Mage.

[Iron Spike]

at the moment (im just getting into the big goblin battle) i changed my team slightly from an assamir monk to a tiefling rogue and he basically acts like a sniper, hiding running around and shooting with his crossbow, + both of my elven fighter mages have longbows so i have a decent amount of ranged attackers

[Meriadoc Brandybuck]

i fell u would became troubles soon

i don't think that a monk/rogue will work

1)
u loose 1D6 backstab damage for every 2 monk levels

2)
monks lost much of the offensive power in IWD II
and u don't reach level 20 in a normal game (quivering palm) maybe the only reason to choose a monk

also the rest advance very slowly - i must say e.g. without 'HEAL' i never were able to beat the guardian without looses

multiclass should only be use to 'trick' the game a little bit
e.g. get access to items u normaly can't use

[Ishanda]

As the defender of the veritable Monk I would like to reply to an observation made by Meriadoc.

Monks have NOT lost offensive power since BG2. They have become MORE offensive. When playing a monk character in BG2 I NEVER even ONCE used the quivering palm attack. Why? I do not know. It was never useful. The monk's offensive power (compared to other classes and when used in a group) lies in the fact that you can send in your other offensive character first to take the first blow (to take the attention), then waddle up with the monk and pound away. The monk attacks MUCH FASTER than other character's and THAT is it's real strength.

What makes the monk ULTRA special in IWD2 is the hide skill that works so well. Hide, walk up to an unsuspecting enemy, use a Stunning Attack, and there ya go.... enemy stunned and subsequently killed like ABC, waking up in the netherworld not quite understanding how it came to be there.

I play a solo monk character in IWD2, and I can just imagine what a monk would perform like with other chaps around to support him/her.

I find a lot of criticism on the boards regarding monks. Maybe it is just me, or the way I play, but I find the monk to be an AWESOME fighting type character.

It is just a question of knowing what it is good at and what not. As a last example. I can't remember which level, (somewhere below tenth), the monk gets an inate ability that makes it perform as if it had a permanent Haste spell put on him/her. This means speed. Speed for running away, speed for attacking. People are so used going toe-to-toe with enemies and not thinking about strategy. Many times I have had a good laugh at how easy it becomes killing enemies if you use the SPEED thing to your advantage. I killed the goblin fortress leader like this easily. I just ran around and around the two openings of his "office" and fired away with arrows. Because I was so fast, he never got close to even attept a hit. What other class can do that? Even in close quarters I have managed the running-away-thingy. And you do not even have to use arrows. Run up to someone, get a shot it (ALWAYS before them) and run to either side for a short distance. Wait for them to come closer, get another shot in and run to the other side...

I guess it must be me then...like a monk would be...i know the timing (real time) between attack attempts (the 3 per round i currently have with my monk)...I use this as an advantage in timing my approaches when facing difficult enemies.

And if you think this is excessive, they do not call it ROLE-PLAYING games for nothing.

[Meriadoc Brandybuck]

Originally posted by Ishanda: As the defender of the veritable Monk I would like to reply to an observation made by Meriadoc.

can agree with u - it just took a lot of work to place the attributes correct and don't forget u played a single class monk - thats a big difference !!

a level 2 rogue makes crap out of u monk (maybe a bug)

) insteed of the monks BAB u use the rogues one which is far worse !!!
) the attacks are limited to 5 (maybe 6 with the thundering claps) it's the same like a hasted character

just wanna mentioned it!!