I think I've discovered one of the best parties in Baldur's Gate 1 (TuTu) and 2

Kerosene · Post by **Kerosene** » Sat Apr 10, 2010 7:29 am

I don't care, call me an idiot but I've been using it through BG 1 and 2, and I'm freaking loving it. Well, not through BG 1, because that's when I had to level the damn characters up... But a bit later on in BG 2 and its fantastic!

I've used them already, but I decided to make this "the hands down, awesomest" party ever in my opinion.

I have 2 people, custom made. I know how good Berserker Mage is, and I've played Kensai Mage, and I think Berserker Mage is better than it because Berserk is way better than Kai in my opinion.

So that's the first character. I'm giving him the Celestial Fury, and Flail of Ages. Not so sure about Dak'kons Zerth Blade or whatever its called. It's good, but I don't think its completely necessary.

For my 2nd character, I've made him a Kensai/Thief. Yeah, they are good. But I've found out about a skill in the later stages of BG 2, which allows him to wear any item he wants. But I've decided to use

Spoiler

ShadowKeeper

(think that's the name), and turn him in to a Assassin for his dual class. Call me a cheater, I don't care but I've already gone through the game as a Kensai/Thief, so I think I deserve to mix it up a little. =D

I'm giving him the Crom Faeyr, and the Belm.

The Berserker Mage's stats are:

Strength: 19 (20 soon, 21 in ToB, I think that's the stat of the item)
Constitution: 19
Dexterity: 18
Intellect: 19
Wisdom: 9
Charisma: 3-9, I forgot.

Kensai Assassin's stats are:
Strength: 18 (Soon to be 25)
Constitution: 18
Dexterity: 19
Intelligence: 3 (not very sure about this stat, not that important though)
Wisdom: 3 "" ""
Charisma: 18

I used the tomes from BG 1, main reason why I played through it.

So feel free to share your input about my personal favourite party, and maybe even share your favourite soloing/two-man-party.

Stworca · Post by **Stworca** » Sat Apr 10, 2010 8:06 am

My soloing party is..

Sorcerer..
Equiped with - doesn't realy matter THAT much, except for Ring of Gaxx and Amulet of Power. Items like Robe of Vecna, Cloak of Displacement (or Balduran), Staff of the Magi etc are just bonuses that make the fights even easier and faster
Stats? Wisdom >15. Dex as high as possible (elf)

Up sides? Total annihilation of every foe and complete invulnerability
Downsides? Until you reach lvl 9 spells you have to rest. Until you reach lvl.. say.. 4 spells the game is quite challenging and some foes that for physical classes are easy as pie, for sorcerer may be challenging.
You have to chose THE correct when leveling up.

edit :

Pros over a mage - More hp, more spells, greater flexibility

Majorman · Post by **Majorman** » Sun Apr 11, 2010 1:41 am

Low Intelligence stat is bad in BG II, especially when you meet Mind Flayers. With only 3 INT your assassin will surely be insta-killed.

Personally, I don't like soloing. Those 5 NPC slots are there for a reason, you know.

RPGguy · Post by **RPGguy** » Sun Apr 11, 2010 1:57 am

Majorman wrote:Low Intelligence stat is bad in BG II, especially when you meet Mind Flayers. With only 3 INT your assassin will surely be insta-killed.

Personally, I don't like soloing. Those 5 NPC slots are there for a reason, you know.

I agree. If you solo or operate with a reduced sized party, you break the game. You're more powerful...with access to things you should have access to at certain landmark encounters...than the game designers probably intended.

Also, a larger party size is more complicated to operate than just one or 2 characters. It's more to keep an eye on and defend successfully.

So I guess it boils down to how you define 'perfect'.

Zorba · Post by **Zorba** » Sun Apr 11, 2010 5:01 am

I like Berserker/Mage and Kensai/Thief aswell. But I don't understand one thing. You made an Assassin and one of the best things about it, is x7 backstabb. Yet you gave him a blunt weapon in his main hand, why?
I would give Berserker/Mage Flail of Ages and Crom Faeyr and Kensai/Assassin Celestial Fury and Belm, but that's just me.

jouke1988 · Post by **jouke1988** » Sun Apr 11, 2010 5:24 am

I'm playing BG2 for 6 years now and I never did a party with less then 6 characters. Before I start with Character creation I already diside who I am going to take with me. I did play with 2 home made characters and the rest NPC but that is all. I agree with RPGguy about the fact that you gain certain abilities in a good point in the game!

Kerosene · Post by **Kerosene** » Sun Apr 11, 2010 6:15 am

Crom Faeyr and Belm because Crom Faeyr sets strength to 25, increasing backstab damage, and Belm for the faster attacks when finishing off.

Yeah, Mind Flayers are a pain in the ***, but I get past em without TOO much struggle. Send my Mage in with beserk, few summons ahead of him, and its all good.

And I define "Perfect Party", in a Baldur's Gate way, as able to beat anything with ease.

Kerosene · Post by **Kerosene** » Sun Apr 11, 2010 6:23 am

I know that the game is designed to have a party of a reasonable size, (5, 6), but after I played through the game with the party I had, (My character, Minsc, Jaheira, Imoen, Nalia, and that little Dwarf dude in Copper Coronet), I wanted to try something new, and after I heard about soloing, I tried it. And I like it when everything is put in to one, or two, because, whatever, call me noob, its easier, and its a whole load of fun for me, personally.

Daynov · Post by **Daynov** » Sun Apr 11, 2010 11:24 am

Both Crom and Belm are off hand weapons (well you can use them in any way you like but that wont be very effective). Also, you know you can't backstab with a hammer, right ?

Stworca · Post by **Stworca** » Mon Apr 12, 2010 4:17 am

Balance is why one should only play solo WITH G3 chapter xp cap!

Kerosene · Post by **Kerosene** » Mon Apr 12, 2010 4:19 am

Are you sure you can't backstab with hammers? I swear it worked last time I played it.

RPGguy · Post by **RPGguy** » Mon Apr 12, 2010 4:32 am

Kerosene wrote:Are you sure you can't backstab with hammers? I swear it worked last time I played it.

I think the deal is you can backstab with anything that a rogue is naturally proficient with. I don't believe war hammers are among those. Dagger, short sword, staff etc...

I can't remember if it extends the list when you get UAI.

Kerosene · Post by **Kerosene** » Mon Apr 12, 2010 6:20 am

I know that I could backstab with the Crom Faeyr the last time I played. I read on other forums that you can backstab with hammers, even quarterstaffs. I'll get my hands on a warhammer and try later.

By the way, I'm thinking of putting Hindo's Doom in off-hand, and Crom Faeyr and Belm in the on-hand or whatever its called. That a good combo?

RPGguy · Post by **RPGguy** » Mon Apr 12, 2010 6:55 am

Thieves are proficient with staffs out of the gate. Try the Staff of the Ram for backstabbing. I had tons of fun with that one.

The reason Crom is a definite offhand weapon is because war hammers do less base damage than most other weapons. And Crom's benefits, primarily the STR @ 25 is passive and doesn't rely on the number of swings you take.

When backstabbing you gotta remember 2 important things:

1. The backstab multiplier only kicks in on the first swing you take while hidden. It doesn't matter how many attacks per round you get or how many weapons you are using. The first swing...and that always originates from your main weapon. So on that first swing, you want the weapon with the best possible chance of hitting. So you want something with a +5

2. The formula for calculating backstab damage is complicated and it doesn't take into account all types of damage your weapon has. The primary component in the calculation is the weapon's base damage and staffs have amongst the highest base damage for weapons you are naturally proficient with as a thief. War hammer base damage is poor by comparison.

With the Staff of the Ram, using Jan I think I was averaging 130 with backstabs. There are ways to go higher but you need to beg Cren for the gory details on that.

Also, Mislead = unlimited, non-stop backstabs. It's crazy.

Stworca · Post by **Stworca** » Mon Apr 12, 2010 9:41 am

I had a lot of fun with.. Beware, its cheesy as hell! (below)

Spoiler

1# Weapon Set - The Answerer sword
2# Weapon Set - Staff of the magi

After each succesfull attack with Answerer i clicked on staff of the magi to become invisible, then switched to sword and stabbed again.. and so on.

The fun part with Answerer is - it lowers enemy AC and MR. So while doing damage, the thief also debuffed the foe.

Kerosene · Post by **Kerosene** » Tue Apr 13, 2010 3:07 am

Hm... This is annoying...

Now I've confused my self. I kept it simple last time, but now I completely need a new weapon set up.

Maybe, Crom Faeyr off hand, Hindo's Doom +5/+4 on hand for back stabs.

Then for fighting normally, I'd use Belm off hand, Hindo's Doom +4/+5 on hand.

But I really can't be stuffed changing every time. Should I just stick with my back stabbing class? Or is there a mod where you can change your off hand weapon in a quick slot?

Kerosene · Post by **Kerosene** » Tue Apr 13, 2010 3:09 am

I don't think the Belm is even worth it anymore. You attack faster, but eh.

I dunno. Opinions guys?

RPGguy · Post by **RPGguy** » Tue Apr 13, 2010 12:05 pm

What I would recommend in your case is experimentation. Try backstabs with a variety of weapons and see which one(s) you prefer.

That way, you'll be in a position to understand the mechanic a lot better and maybe you can teach me because there is still a good chunk about it I don't fully understand yet :laugh:

Daynov · Post by **Daynov** » Tue Apr 13, 2010 1:46 pm

Some basic stuff :

Staff of the Ram - best weapon for backstabbing, though the knock back effect is a bit annoying

Hindo's Doom - best one handed weapon to use for backstabbing, combined with Crom in the off hand can be pretty effective

When you are not backstabbing you can use whatever you like in the main hand and the Scarlet Ninja-To ( with UAI ) to maximize attacks.

Revi · Post by **Revi** » Sat Apr 17, 2010 12:37 pm

Kerosene wrote:I don't care, call me an idiot but I've been using it through BG 1 and 2, and I'm freaking loving it. Well, not through BG 1, because that's when I had to level the damn characters up... But a bit later on in BG 2 and its fantastic!

I've used them already, but I decided to make this "the hands down, awesomest" party ever in my opinion.

It's good that you're having fun, but you don't really need an awesome party to get through the game without Weimer mods. It's soloable with even the weakest kits. Not to rain on your parade, powergaming can be fun every once in a while