Minsc or Keldorn?

[Hayashi]

Perenial problem that all BG2 players face - who to dump, who should I take on, etc.

I am just about to embark for Spellhold, and have done only a few major quests, all within the city (except for Nalia's Keep):
Tanner quest
Guarded compound (relatively easy with lots of fireballs, miscast magic, web, and a summoned fire elemental. Easier than I though it would be anyway)
Mae'var's quests
Renal Bloodscalp quests
Aran Linvail's quests (obviously)
Sir Sarles quest (to get the illithium to upgrade the MoD)
Harper plot - have just met Dermin
Copper Coronet slaves
Slaver compound
Circus quest
Baron Ployer quest

My current party:
Main character - straight Ranger (no kit), abt 1,000,000 xp.
Minsc
Sir Anomen
Jan (will be swopped for Imoen)
Jaheira (romancing )
Aerie

My conundrum is that Minsc is pretty much a single-use member of the party. Although he is a useful tank, he has no other useful abilities - his rage ability is too unpredictable as he sometimes ends up whacking party members instead of the monsters . I am thinking of swapping him for Keldorn, who has some useful secondary abilities. Problem is, Minsc is fun to have in the party!

What are your thoughts?

[True_Moose]

If you're RPing, keep Minsc, he's funner. It really depends. Assuming you put their profs in 2HandedSword, obviously Keldorn's is better. Take into account that Minsc gets free points in dual wield. Also, Minsc has better tanking stats then Keldorn. However, Keldorn's abilities saved my @$$ many times. In any case, since you have a ranger already, Keldorn could be more versatile. I like Minsc better though. If you give him BlackDragonScale, he can sneak up behind someone, and get right next to an enemy mage b4 he puts up defenses. And, with 18/93 st he can do him in quick. He also gets spells. Of course, if you care about what I just said, you may be more interested in Valygar.

Overall, I like Minsc, cuz sometimes Keldorn's self righteous **** annoys me.
Hope this helps.

PS Just a question. R U thinking of replacing sum1 w/ Imoen. Cuz how I see it you don't have much spellpower (2 MC mages)

[ 09-09-2002, 09:52 PM: Message edited by: True_Moose ]

[Sir Goulum]

I'd ditch Aerie and pick up Keldorn...trust me you'll thank me for this!

[Lharae]

Seriously consider picking up a mage. Since you're good, probably Nalia (Do the keep quest so she'll stay. It's worth it and doesn't take long). Trust me, without one your gonna be in for a hurtin' later. You don't get Imoen back for a long time, and she'll be so far behind she almost never catches up.

[ 09-09-2002, 10:58 PM: Message edited by: Lharae ]

[Hayashi]

Thanks for your replies. Maybe I should clarify that I am about to start Chapter 4. I have done this deliberately as I want Imoen not to lag too far behind in xp, which would happen if I did all the other quests. I already have 2 mages - Jan (later Imoen) and Aerie. As much as I would like to dump Aerie, she is a useful cleric/mage. Hmm, seeing that I already have Sir Anomen (fighter/cleric) maybe Aerie can make way for Edwin? The only problem is that my party is mostly good-aligned.

This is also my second time playing SoA/ToB.

Minsc - in his words, "Great fun!!"
Keldorn - useful abilities, esp true seeing & dispel magic. Plus he would be the only person able to wield the Holy Avenger.

Decisions, decisions... [img]graemlins/1ponder.gif[/img]

[Legolas The Magnificent]

if your a guy, dump this two old men and take the three beauties with you (Nalia, Viconia, and eirie.) you wont regret it

[LennonCook]

Imoen does NOT lag in XP when you get her.
When I played through with a 5 person party, and did all the quests before going off to spellhold, she was a few levels ahead of the rest of the party. So if you have a 6 person party, and leave some of the quests till later, the rest of your party will be seriously behind in XP; with almost no way short of cheating to catch up.
EDIT: With Sir Gs suggestion of dumping Aerie for Keldorn- VERY bad idea. In a party of two mages, two clerics and a druid as the spell casters, an Inquisitor can be useful; but in a party with only one mage, one cleric and one druid, you have practically no spells to survive on, and only one good tank.
Also, I wouldn`t recomend dropping Jan for Imoen, if you can avoid it at all- Jan is a far better thief, and at this point your ONLY thief. Imoen and Nalia both are HOPELESS thieves, especially for after spellhold.

[ 09-10-2002, 06:52 AM: Message edited by: LennonCook ]

[Jon Irenicus]

I really would recommend u on having Minsc in ur party instead of Keldorn, if u r a Paladin, ditch Keldorn, if u want a more "inteligent" ranger, get Valygar. But if u want a funny NPC with u, have Minsc staying in ur party. I never removed Minsc from my party when i play with NPCs.

[SixOfSpades]

Since you're a Ranger, what the heck do you need Minsc for? Keldorn, with the Gauntlets, has far better stats, and he'll be your Tank if your Ranger happens to be an Archer. You've already got Jaheira, who's a fair Tank in her own right, and also renders Minsc's selection of Druid spells obsolete.

Do not drop Jan--I've never liked Imoen's weak Thieving skills--or Aerie. Never underestimate the power of having extra backup Mages, especially one who can put Cleric spells in her Spell Triggers & the like.

Drop Minsc, get either Imoen or Nalia. Doesn't matter.

[--Twilight--]

Hello,
first of all, you should certainly dump Aerie if you like to adventure with little magical support (me? I like spellcasting).
If you are into 2 handed swords, then Keldorn might be your man. However, Minsc has better stats and a fun, whacky personality. Either can pretty much do well in the same range of weapons (almost), so why toss-out your comrade for another fighter, unless you care nothing about story/RPG/plot development? The paladin's abilities are very good (my main PC is a paladin), but you can make use of a ranger's as well. Besides, what would happen to Boo?
(SPOILER: lichs can't Imprison a beserk person.)

- Twilight