Too many NPCs to choose from... I think.

The number of NPCs that may join your party is too high. In an RPG I enjoy seeing characters, including NPCs, grow as the game progresses. I wish BGII gave more "depth" to fewer NPCs rather than the horde that can be chosen from currently. I understand some players like to be able to try out all the different classes. However, with the game the way it is there is little consolation for people like me who do not wish to lose a decent NPC just to gain another decent NPC. I suppose its also due to the limitation of 6 adventurers to each party. So many topics in the forums deal with choosing the NPCs, and I don't really see this as part of a "real" RPG game. I have played AD&D and you never had a party size limit, you could have as many as you wanted and they would come and go as *they* pleased (well, you could dump an NPC if s/he was detrimental to the party). In BGII it's tough to choose the correct NPCs because you have no idea what obstacles you are about to face: will you need fighters, clerics, mages? And I don't relish running back to the Copper Coronet to change an NPC. Plus I would like to give as much experience to an NPC as possible instead of spreading it amongst many NPCs. However, I did love it when Imoen and Yosh left the party due to reasons outside my control, I think that's great role playing, I was presented with a challenge (i.e. loss of a party member) to deal with. What I don't like to do is dump one NPC to get another. Either let me have lots of NPCs or only design in six NPC that can join your party into the game. Anyone who wishes to try out all kinds of different classes can still create an entire party of their own characters by starting a multi-player game on their own. Another thing I understand is that, really, pretty much no matter who you choose as party-mates you can succeed at BGII, so we should just be choosing characters we find interesting to play with. But this is a circular argument because you haven't really any idea how good an NPC is until you've played with them for quite some at time. And if you find you don't like them, well the NPC you dumped is now several levels lower than everyone else in your party.

Whew, sermon over.

BG2 isn't AD&D, no matter how close they try and get it. Simply put, if you were to have an unlimited amount of NPCs, you'd end up getting stuck in doorways, waiting half an hour for them to find their way across the map, clogging up your system with script calculations and spell graphics, etc. It's a computer game, you should accept the limitations of it. The reason people ask for help when choosing a party is straightforward, as well. A person completely new to the genre might come along and decide that magic-users are the way to go, so he'll make a party of magic-users, wander into a battle and have his whole team systematically slaughtered by a group of wolfweres. You can't deny that certain combinations of classes are harder to play than others.

[The.Relic]

Sadler, I understand what you are saying. You really can do exactly what you specify, just pick your 6 players and keep them to the end. I also have to agree with Armisael, we have to live with the limitations of the system specs as set by Black Isle/Bioware. Sure they could make a game for high-end only systems that could handle greater algorythmic, and graphics loads, but then they could no longer provide a product to the largest possible market, and thereby decrease their profit margin, and our hopes for a continuation of the BG series. You mentioned challenge, and I think that is the key here. In BG you could take your 6 characters and play the entire game with them, achieving their highest levels. In BG2 Black Isle/Bioware decided to offer us more challenges. Sure, you can chose 6 characters and keep them the whole game. Or you can pick up the guantlet of challenge, and make difficult choices as to whether you want to alter your party and sacrifice those all important xp's in order to fulfill the NPC, specific quests. I think most of us think this is a nice twist. Many people just want to have the most powerful party with as few deficiencies as possible and there is nothing wrong with that. But alot of us also enjoy the option of overcoming higher odds with less at times. And at least in BG2 you can find those previously removed party members and get them back when you are ready, half the time in BG you could never find them again.