Best party for my elven Stalker

[ozzi]

Okey, listen up BG2 people. As we all know this question has been ask many times before. But that will not stop me from asking it again. Which NPC should make my party?

I know everybody says that you should just play and learn as you go, but I have ONE big problem. I´m a perfectionist. Its really annoying actually. When I have started playing, picked up Yoshimo, done the circus tent and picked up Aerie, I am not happy. If I shouldn´t have Yoshimo I really didn´t even have to pick him up then would I. I could have just gotten out of there without him. So that my exp would go to me.
In due respect to the storyline I always feel like a powerplayer if I do not take with me Minsc and Jaheira. I am also planning to take with me Imoen when that time comes.

So could you guys help compose a good "good" part that will be fun to play, and will be fairly good as well.

Have thought about having Minsc and Keldorn as tanks and my elven stalker in addition. Perhaps Jaheira and Anomen could be my clerics, and my backup fighters. But it is the thief and mage spot that causes my head to burst. Should I use jan? Nalia? (Everyone says she is so enoying). Or perhaps Aerie? But keep in mind that I will replace one with Imoen, which one in that case?

[Raistlin Majere]

i recon you should use Jan until you get imoen, and you do have ALOT of tanking potential, so you might wanna drop one of them and have Jan or Nalia, so that you have some spell casters aswell. but its your call, and with 5 potential tanks, you should have no problem playing the game.

[Sir Exxon]

Unfortunatly, all the funniest and most interesting NPCs are evil, so this'll be more of a power-party than a fun one. But you will still have plenty of banters and conversations.
What I suggest, is:

Elven Stalker
Minsc
Jan
Anomen
Haer'Dalis
Quest NPC/Imoen

A very strong tanking-party, but also a fun/interesting and powerful one.
The Stalker shouldn't be used as a main tank, as he can't have armor greater than studded leather. You should use him as a backstabber and only a secondary warrior. Do not have him in the front. His mage-spells will be useful too.
Minsc should be your main tank, with his high strength, ability to wear all armors, and the Rage-ability. He will also add many funny dialogues to your party.
Jan is useful with thief abilities, mage spells, and crossbows. Just always keep him in the back, and have him use his crossbow and spells. Backstabbing is also cool. Also, Jan is probably the funniest NPC in teh game. You'll have lots of fun with him.
Anomen is a secondary tank, and a very good cleric. He can be annoying, but that shouldn't be a problem if you make him succeed his knighthood-trial.
Haer'Dalis can be very annoying with his poetry and nicknames, but he can also be very funny. He has good abilities as a Blade.
Up until you get Imoen, leave the sixth spot open for quest-NPCs, or don't use any at all. Imoen is pretty much a must, or atleast if you wanna follow the storyline the best you can.

[Klutz]

Originally posted by ozzi: Okey, listen up BG2 people. As we all know this question has been ask many times before. But that will not stop me from asking it again. Which NPC should make my party? I know everybody says that you should just play and learn as you go, but I have ONE big problem. I´m a perfectionist. Its really annoying actually. When I have started playing, picked up Yoshimo, done the circus tent and picked up Aerie, I am not happy. If I shouldn´t have Yoshimo I really didn´t even have to pick him up then would I. I could have just gotten out of there without him. So that my exp would go to me. In due respect to the storyline I always feel like a powerplayer if I do not take with me Minsc and Jaheira. I am also planning to take with me Imoen when that time comes. So could you guys help compose a good "good" part that will be fun to play, and will be fairly good as well. Have thought about having Minsc and Keldorn as tanks and my elven stalker in addition. Perhaps Jaheira and Anomen could be my clerics, and my backup fighters. But it is the thief and mage spot that causes my head to burst. Should I use jan? Nalia? (Everyone says she is so enoying). Or perhaps Aerie? But keep in mind that I will replace one with Imoen, which one in that case?

OK, so your constraints are:
- Good-neutral aligned party
- Led by CG Stalker
- Imoen will join when rescued
- Minsc required
- Jaheira required

On your Interplay forum post I wrote up a nice little choose-your-own template, but that was before knowing Minsc and Jaheira had to stay. I had previously ruled out Minsc as a redundant Ranger, but if you want him, he can certainly be useful. So let me adjust it here:

I would suggest to cover the last 3 slots in your party pre-Imoen:
- 1 lock/trap handling thief (Yoshimo, Jan, Nalia with lots of potion help)
- 2-3 mages (Aerie, Jan, Haer'Dalis, Nalia)
- 0-1 clerics (Anomen, Aerie)
- 0-1 backup tanks (Anomen, Keldorn, Mazzy, Haer'Dalis with lots of self-buff help)

The game is far easier with a thief that can detect and disarm traps and pick locks reliably. You can get away without it, but it's a royal pain (literally). 2 mages minimum because for a melee-heavy group, the 5th level Mage spell Breach is critical to have. I like to have at least two characters able to memorize it so if one is disabled the other can supply it. You could get away with no other clerics because Jaheira has Druid spells, but there are cleric-only spells that are nice to have (Prot from evil 10' radius for example). 3 tanks is plenty, so no need for a 4th, but if you really are gung-ho for Keldorn or one of the other fighters we could fit one in.

So, pre-Imoen rescue we have:
Stalker
Minsc
Jaheira
?
?
?

Here's my starting suggestion:
Stalker
Minsc (Tank)
Jaheira (Tank, backup cleric)
Haer'Dalis (Backup mage and backup tank).
Aerie (Primary pre-Imoen mage and cleric)
Yoshimo (Sole thief)

Post-Imoen rescue:
Stalker
Minsc
Jaheira
?
?
Imoen

I would suggest:
Stalker
Minsc (Tank)
Jaheira (Tank, backup cleric)
Haer'Dalis (Backup mage and backup tank)
Aerie (Backup mage, primary cleric)
Imoen (Primary mage, Sole thief)

Replace Haer'Dalis with Keldorn, Mazzy, or Anomen for a more low-maintenance extra tank, but that cuts you down to just a single half-mage (Aerie) until you rescue Imoen, which would be cutting it kinda close for me. If you do that, I'd replace Yoshimo with Jan to get your second arcane caster back. Whoever your party thief is at that point would get replaced with Imoen when you rescue her, since Imoen can handle the basic lock/trap thief functions.

Originally posted by ozzi: I know everybody says that you should just play and learn as you go, but I have ONE big problem. I´m a perfectionist. Its really annoying actually. When I have started playing, picked up Yoshimo, done the circus tent and picked up Aerie, I am not happy. If I shouldn´t have Yoshimo I really didn´t even have to pick him up then would I. I could have just gotten out of there without him. So that my exp would go to me.

Let me tell you about my experience.

I heard enough the first time playing BG2 to also eliminate Yoshimo from my long-term plans early on. I definitely had a great time, with a party that certainly wound up being plenty "sub-optimal" powergame-wise. (Post-Imoen rescue party that first time through was Archer, Keldorn, Anomen, Jaheira, Nalia, and Imoen.) It wasn't until the 3rd time playing, for my "People I haven't had in my party yet except Cernd game", that I finally decided to include Yoshimo. It worked out fantastic, and really improved my respect for the game. I wish the first time I played BG2 through I had kept Yoshimo in.

* MINOR SPOILERS (More detail on why to keep Yoshimo, but not spoiling his major plot points)*
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
- Yoshimo is exactly what you need when you need it: a solid Thief with a good kit and exceptional, nearly power-gaming level stats and proficiencies. The one annoyance is his low skill in "Set Traps", which is kind of odd for a Bounty Hunter NPC, but you can fix that in a couple of level-ups.
- Yoshimo fits in fine with your party concept. Pair him with Aerie and you've got all your non-tank party needs covered in just those two slots, which lets you run an even more solid front-line if that's your preference.
- Yoshimo has good interaction with other NPC's (both joinable ones and non-joinable ones at various plot points in main and side quests)
- Yoshimo is an interesting character, with a street-smart happy-go-lucky attitude that masks... well, I'll let you find out on your own.
- The "loss of XP" is minimized by going to resuce Imoen as soon as possible. You don't have to overprepare for Imoen's rescue.
- The "loss of XP" from him leaving is partly negated by the XP you can get from a little quest opened up by his departure.
- The plot twist is a very cool part of the game.
- You'll get rabid opinions on how it could have been done differently or better if you ask for them, but the bottom line is the game is better for having it and your experience of the game will be richer for playing through it.

[Nerull]

If you plan to use Jaheira and Minsc, then that leaves 3 slots. My suggestion would be, especially if you plan to keep Yoshimo, would be:

Stalker
Minsc
Jaheira
Aerie
Yoshimo
Keldorn

Keldorn is good when you only have one mage in the party, due to his special abilities (True Sight is good, but his Dispel is just nasty against mages). With him and Aerie, you are fine for tearing down enemy defenses until you get Imoen back, and great once you do get her back. Jaheira and Aerie gives you turn undead and the full range of priest spells. Minsc and Keldorn as the main tanks, with you doing the backstabbing and archery. Since Imoen can't backstab well, this leaves you doing the stealth and backstabbing, while she handles the locks and traps. Yoshimo handles the locks and traps until you get Imoen back. And, not to spoil the plot, but it plays out perfectly with Yoshimo in the party until you get Imoen back, then she takes his spot. You can romance either Aerie or Jaheira. Just keep the rep below 18 (unless you like hearing Jaheira cry and moan the whole time).

[ozzi]

I think I have found a party I can live with now. Nothing is like some fresh norwegioan mountain air to gather ones mind.

Me (Stalker)
Minsc
Jaheira
Opional NPC /Keldorn
Aerie
Jan/Imoen

or

Me (Stalker)
Minsc
Jaheira
Optional NPC/ Anomen
Nalia
Jan/Imoen

I have decided to use Jan until I get Imoen. So the two slots I am thinking about is the mage spot (Aerie or Nalia) and the Tank/Healer spot (Keldorn or Anomen). What do you think?

[LennonCook]

Aerie is a powerful Mage with the bonus of being a Cleric aswell, she can do healing for you aswell as crush your enemies by waving her hands. She's got a good romance for a Male PC - not as well made as Viconia's, but not buggy like Jaheira's.
Nalia is a powerful Mage and a sub-par thief. Jan and Imoen will both be able to handle more than her on the Thieving side of things, and Imoen is a better Mage (while Jan is about equal if not worse).
Nalia/Aerie - I'd go for Aerie.

Keldorn is a decent tank, excellent if you get him one particular item to improve his AC. He can wield one excellent sword that noone else can - two if you have TOB. His inquisitor abilities can be *very* useful, and save you a few spell slots on both the Arcane and Divine side of things, as they cast much faster and are more powerful. However, he can't be a healer - he doesn't get Cleric spells.
Anomen is also a decent tank, and a healer. He can smite your enemies with Divine might. However, he is always a level 7 Fighter, meaning he looses out on quite a bit if you have TOB. Romance with a female PC, although if you have TOB his banters apparently aren't very good.
Keldorn/Anomen - I'd go for Keldorn, let Aerie be the healer.


If you get Anomen and/or Nalia, I recomend getting my NPC-Tweak mod (the page will get better eventually).
If you plan on Romancing anyone (Jaheira or Aerie for a Male protagonist, Anomen for a female), I recomend getting the NPC Flirtpacks.

[ 07-20-2003, 12:20 AM: Message edited by: LennonCook ]

[ozzi]

Thanks for the very good answer, but could you tell me how to but them sucsesfully together. If I have Nalia and Jan, than I just have Jaheira to heal so then I would need Anomen too. And if I have Aerie I really don´t need Anomen. You understand?

[Sir Exxon]

Ozzi, you overrestimate healing in this game. Sure, it is absolutely needed, but one healer is usually enough, unless you play with an all-warrior party. There are plenty of healing-potions throughout the game, and if your warriors/tanks are given a few of these, the healer will be pretty much useless.
Maybe it is just me, but I always use healers/priests as secondary healers. Potions always works better.