Best Party Ever?

[Jerry_Seinfeld]

Hi everyone, this is my first time to ironworks and i have been a big fan of this site for a long time and im happy to finally be able to be a part of it and being an active member in the community


I was wondering, what was the best party anyone has ever gone through the game with. Ive beaten the game twice once with a regular six person party and once solo and im planning to start the game again and i was wondering what was the BEST party anyone has gone through with, the most cheesy, godly, awsome powergaming party ever

[Aerich]

Welcome, JS [img]graemlins/happywave.gif[/img]

I can't say that any one of my parties stands out as being more cheesy than others because of its composition; it's all how you play it. Same with the powergaming - that has more to do with stat maximization than anything else. And as for relative power, that criteria has a lot to do with what point of the game you are referring to - a kickin' character in the Trials of the Luremaster segment might be a weakling in the Severed Hand.

But if you want godly power, you need a good mix of arcane and priestly spells, bard songs, and full-out fighting nastiness. For pure power, I'd do the following, assuming all important stats are maxed (combat stats and spellcaster stats for the appropriate characters) and that you have HoW and TotL:

Fighter[13]/Mage - dual class, get 5 PP in a melee weapon - preferably axe, then use the mage spells for quick ranged damage and personal protection and toss into combat. Should also have the majority of the touch spells.

Mage, or Specialist Evoker or Necromancer - a flat-out mass killer; fireballs, single-target damagers, cloudkills, all the death spells and power words.

Bard - takes just a couple damaging spells per level (Magic Missile, Chromatic Orb, Melf's Acid Arrow, Flame Arrow, Skull Trap) and the mage spells that buff up other characters (Strength, Cat's Grace, Emotion:Courage, etc) and the odd ones like Knock. This character will be an early missile user, toss in the occasional spell when necessary, but spend most of the time singing, particularly at 11th level and above.

Fighter[9-13]/Druid - summoner, offensive spells, healing; good tank for the second rank or even first rank. Will get the elemental shapechanges and static charge. Can get 5 PP if you are patient enough to get to lvl 13 before dualing. Longsword is good (for the scimitars), but spear could be a "sleeper" choice if you put this one just behind your main tanks.

Fighter/Cleric - multiclass, dwarven - lots of party buffs and personal protection - should have the bard cast Strength and Cat's Grace on this one, then cast Draw Upon Holy Might - use Shield of Lathander whenever possible.

This last character can be anything - I'd suggest a melee or archer type - Paladin, Fighter, or Fighter/Thief. Paladin can use The Sword, Fighter can get 3 PP in bows and 5 PP in longsword or greatsword, F/T has a few less HP, but can be the scout, decoy, archer, and assassin.

I'm also running an Insane-mode party off and on that has 6 spellcasters in it, including a mage, two druids, and three clerics. Three of them are multiclassed to fighter, and one of the clerics will dual class to necromancer. I'm finding it pretty darn nice - I can cast excessive numbers of protection spells and non-stop damagers, with plenty left over for healing. Check it out

Edit: to remove an incorrect multiclass option; also added another comment re: weapon proficiency choices.

[ 12-17-2004, 02:40 AM: Message edited by: Aerich ]

[Jerry_Seinfeld]

hmmm.... im really likin this party idea, and im assuming this is with HOW and TotLM installed? I think im gonna take the ranger 2 a druid but i thought rangers could only DC to a cleric? or is that just in the BG series. Anyway if that works then i would take the last class as a paladin for another tank and line him up with the pale justice. Thanks a lot for the advice [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Marty4]

Welcome!... again.

Aerich has pretty much the main idea for a nice party. Without HoW, the DC levels should be considerably lower, possibly 3,6, or 7. For your sixth guy definately go for a Paladin for a pure tank with The Sword. Refresh my memory: do bards get all their extra songs without HoF?

Off topic: Aerich, what ever happened to your priestly party? I was interested by it (and it served as the inspiration of my all paladin party in IWD2).

[Aerich]

Crud. Sorry, JS, the ranger can't go to druid, only to cleric, as you spotted. I've played a little IWD 2 recently.

Yes, that party idea is with HoW/TotL - otherwise the dual classes aren't worth it at that high a level - better to go multi or dual lower, as Marty said. Character #4 above should be a F/D. Also, the worthiness of bards and druids depends on the HoW tweaks - I've played them without, but they aren't nearly as spectacular that way. @ Marty - the only bard song you get without HoW is the basic one.

The only thing missing from the above party is thief skills - it's not a biggie for anyone who's been through the game before and has a decent memory, but I love sneaking around and starting combat by surprise. But if you put a paladin in the #6 spot, that party should be able to mow through just about anything.

@ Marty again - the priestly party is stalled by my exams and papers - the last I knew, they had ripped through the aquarium in Wyrm's Tooth, and were standing on the bridge to the Frost Giant Caverns. I'll pick it up again over the Christmas break. I do intend to have them finish the whole kit'n'kaboodle, if only to see how the evil Cleric[13-4?]/Necromancer turns out.

[Aerich]

Just a quick note on the spells and proficiencies - it might be worth taking some two-handed weapons. I'm not sure what your preferences are, but I usually don't focus on them because of all the good shields available.

But for this party, they are a viable option. Assuming the Paladin takes LS, he gets a shield. The F/M can take a shield as well, and use the one-handed axes and a shield until the fighter levels are regained. After that, it might be worth skipping the shield and picking up a greataxe. With Mirror Image and Stoneskin on the F/M going into every battle, that character won't need the extra protection a shield provides. A greataxe for better damage is preferable; Joril's Axe comes to mind as a good choice.

The other good candidate for a two-hander is the F/D (I edited my previous post a bit and added a little on this topic). With a F/C and a Pally in the front ranks with shields, the F/D is relegated to the second rank (assuming you're using the 2 lines of 3, as I normally do). A spear would do well there, as it reaches that extra space and the F/D can avoid being targeted. Besides, there's really not a weapon in the game that can beat Slayer (spear +5) for a F/D.

For mage spells, you will have to be careful about who gets what spells. Scrolls of useful spells aren't all that common, so you'll have to ration them. Make sure you reserve the necessary caster-only protection spells for your F/M. The bard should only get a couple REALLY useful damagers (Melfs AA and Chromatic Orb, in particular, for mage disruption and paralyzing effect, respectively), and the only other spells he/she gets should only be summons or buff spells. 2-4 spells per level should be sufficient. I envision this character as the ultimate in party support - not much of a fighter when up to full power, but casts useful buffs on the party before combat and sings away.

[Soothsayer]

Mostly, IWD comes down to who you are, (alot like B&W in that respect). If youre worst fear is surrender, go for tanks (fighters, paladins). If youre worst fear is being discovered, go for Thieves and Rangers. If you loving causing pain and mass destructions, Mages are your thing... etc..

[NobleNick]

Originally posted by Aerich: Fighter[9-13]/Druid - summoner, offensive spells, healing; good tank for the second rank or even first rank. Will get the elemental shapechanges and static charge. Can get 5 PP if you are patient enough to get to lvl 13 before dualing. Longsword is good (for the scimitars), but spear could be a "sleeper" choice if you put this one just behind your main tanks.

Aerich, a nitpick...

The F/D only needs to go to F[12] to get the 5 PP in melee plus 3 in Sling. However I heartily recommend going to F[13] to get the extra 1/2 ApR.

Jerry_Seinfeld,

Assuming Heart of Winter and Trials of the Luremaster is installed, my power party suggestion is:

1a.) Paladin (**LongSword, **LongBow)
1b.) Elven Ranger (**LongSword, **LongBow)
2.) DC Fighter[9]/good_Cleric (*****Flail, **Sling)
3.) DC Fighter[13]/Druid (*****Scimitar, ***Sling)
4.) DC Fighter[13]/neutral_Cleric (*****Mace, ***Sling)
5.) MC Gnome Thief/Illusionist (*ShortSword, *ShortBow)
6.) Bard (*LongSword, *crossbow: Doesn't matter; she rarely uses weapons)

--OR--

1.) DC F[12]/Illusionist (*****Axe, **LongBow)
2.) DC Fighter[9]/good_Cleric (*****Flail, **Sling)
3.) DC Fighter[13]/Druid (*****Scimitar, ***Sling)
4.) DC Fighter[13]/neutral_Cleric (*****Mace, ***Sling)
5.) MC Fighter/Thief (**LongSword, **LongBow)
6.) H-elf Bard (*LongSword, *crossbow; she rarely uses weapons)

I have found Cleric power to greatly ease the pain inflicted on the party in the expansions. Any one of the first 4 characters can tank; though I would typically rely on the Paladin and DC Clerics.

You need to plan DC characters carefully (fun!) and roll them carefully (more fun!). For ALL characters except the F/D, the formula is DEX=CON=STR=18 (in that order or importance); plus INT=18 for Bard and MC Illusionist, and WIS=18 for DC Clerics. Accept no rolls totalling less than mid 80s.

Now, on to the DC Fighter/Druid: A good DC Fighter/Druid takes a little patience to roll. Take a look at the following thread (especially toward the end) to see if it is something you would like to undertake.

Thread that Noble Nick started: Druid Questions (Weapons and Spells).

Notice that: EVERY one of the front 4 (except for Pally/Ranger): are at 5 PP deep in a melee weapon? EVERY one of the front 5 is at the highest possible skill level with melee weapon? That EVERY one of the front 5 has AT LEAST an extra ApR with ALL of their selected weapons by CLVL[7]? That EVERY one of the front 4 will have at least 126 HP at CLVL[9]? (This last assumes that you have selected max HP per level in the game options menu.) That EVERY one of the front 4 can tank (although I would let the Pally do it. Clerics can help)?

The Pally may look like the weak link, but he is not. His natural resistances and excellent armor (you give him the best!) Make him THE tank. All the monsters beat on HIM, while all the Fighters beat on THEM. In addition, the Pally eventually gets a weapon that puts him on an offensive par with the best Fighters. The Paladin will lead what is essentially an army of Fighters; that, Oh, by the way, can cast Mage, Cleric and Druid spells until your eyes sag out of your head from watching them.

Although she will be the party Mage in the early game, the Bard's main purpose is to sing War Chant non-stop, so as to put armor plating on this killing machine, and heal them up for the next round. (This means EVERY party member is ALWAYS at 100% HP entering EVERY battle, and frees up the Clerics' many spell slots for buffing, curative and offensive spells, rather than straight healing. It also means your party never sleeps, except to regain spells or when fatigued.)

The Bard's own AC (and Cleric/Illusionist, if you pick that party) is the chink in the party's very impressive armor; but if you give her/them Stone Skin, Blur (spell or item) and Mirror Image, she/they can, when needed, be tougher then your best tank.

Hope this helps.

--------------------
What's a party,
without a song?
Bards ROCK!
Party On!!