Who should I kick out of my party?

[Siouxie Sioux]

Here's who I have:
PC
Minsc
Jaheira
Edwin
Anomen
Jan

I would get rid of Jan if he wasn't so useful. D:

Unexperienced players often don't use Jan properly or don't have developed tactics with him. I agree, Jan is awesome, and since he is multiclass, I can add that he is really worthy for 2 party members (not that I can say that about Jaheira, although she becomes a BEAST later in the game because of invoke elemental prince ability). I use him first for throwing area spells (mostly fireball) before I even get into fight so enemies are damaged in the start (mages usually die instantly), then I throw protections and invisibility+Strenght on him and send him to backstab (note that the battle didn't even start and he did so much!), and then I use him for melee fight/spellcasting, depends on the opponents. Give him the weapon that he is proficient with and he even kicks surprisingly well in melee fight, plus his later abilities to use any item, he can wear any armor etc. I always have two spellcasters in the party and Jan is here if something goes wrong to help me get rid of the enemy spellcasters and remove negative spells put on my party members, while Edwin or Aerie basically do offensive magick. Jan's one and ONLY real disadvantage is that he cannot cast necromancy spells. One more plus is that he is really nice party member with funny quotes, not annoying all the rest all the time like Keldorn.

[RiseofBane]

I'm in Spellhold right now and I really want Imoen in my party (I'm more of a storyline type person ). However, my party is actually pretty solid right now. Here's who I have:
PC
Minsc
Jaheira
Edwin
Anomen
Jan

I would get rid of Jan if he wasn't so useful. D:

I care about abilities of NPCs, and what's their reward for the quests.
When I look at your members, I need to know what your main character is. I don't know who Jan is, never had her in my party.
Anyway you have Anomen, Jaheira. You really don't need 2 priests. Boot 1 of them. Also get Aeries and boot Edwin, Aeries will never cause troubles in the party like Edwin. She likes to compliment that she is so happy you brought her to your party. I say get Cernd and boot Jaheira. Cernd is good priest and good fighter as warewolf. Also boot Anomen and get Keldorn. Keldorn will be able to use Carynom +5 sword unless your main char is paladin. I don't know who is Jan and what's her ability is, but it looks like you don't have Yoshimo and you won't be able to get 200000 exp for the Yoshimo's quest in the furutre. Too bad, but remove Jan and get Imoen when you meet her again.

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

[url="http://www.gamebanshee.com/baldursgateii/npcs/jan.php"]Jan[/url] (pronounced Yawn), Male CN Illusionist/Thief. Jan is awesome, not only is he the only thief you can get who can advance in levels (not counting Yoshimo), but he's freaking hilarious and once he reaches high levels becomes amazingly useful. Also, he has crossbow proficiencies, so where Quen was when she posted the quandary he'd be set up to use all those lovely Kuo-Toa bolts (1d12 damage + stun effect).
Out of Quen's party there I'd be booting Edwin and getting Imoen - between she and Jan she'd have enough mage power and if she's decked out with the Tuigan bow and elemental arrows and/or Arrows of Biting Imoen can be a one-person mage-killer.
Aerie's a magic powerhouse it's true (she's only happy to be with your party 'cos your reputation is high btw, she isn't so happy in an evil party) but levels really slowly in a 6-person party and has terrible stats, so unless you have her from the beginning it's not worth it. Also, she whines something chronic.
As for Jaheira, it's all about the right spells/abilities and the right equipment. If you deck her out with the [url="http://www.gamebanshee.com/showshot.php?/baldursgateii/equipment/images/spearplus3impaler.jpg"]Impaler spear[/url] (or [url="http://www.gamebanshee.com/showshot.php?/baldursgateii/equipment/images/staffoftheramplus6.jpg"]Staff of the Ram[/url] with ToB) and have her cast Righteous Magic she'll slaughter most enemies and take down most non-magic-protected big foes with ease; give her Belm+2 in the offhand and a decent scimitar or club in the main hand and she gets up to 10 attacks per round with Improved Haste; or for ranged attacks give her the Sling of Seeking and a decent Strength belt (which as a fighter type she'll probably have anyway) and she gets the Strength bonus added to her damage (add on Righteous Magic again for even more STR bonus and full damage). With ToB installed she gets some really nice HLA+spell combos (Armor of Faith+Hardiness, Fire Seeds+Greater Deathblow, Harm+Critical Strike), which no other Priest or Mage type can get. I actually quite like Cernd but without the Tweakpack fix that allows casting in Werewolf form he just can't compare with Jaheira, and even with it he gets outclassed in ToB.
Much as I dislike Anomen as a character, Clerics get some good buffing spells that Druids don't, and as a dual- rather than multi-class he'll level up quickly enough that his Turn Undead will be chunking undead in no time. Couple that with being able to get multiple attacks per round and he's a keeper. And in parties with Jan their dialogue is hilarious.

[RiseofBane]

hmmm my Cernd is level 14 and I booted Jaheria because Cernd had pretty much same priests spell as Jaheria did. But you say it like Jaheria will be much superior when level up..
If that's the case, I guess booting Jaheria was mistake. Im still playing SOA and Jaheria is forever gone as I refused to retake her to our party, she disappeared forever.
The reason I like Cernd is he can be pretty decent fighter even against elementals, and he dont need any armor nor weapon so economically saving. And his priest skill kicks ass as much as Jaheria. Hes still level 14, so I can't really say that yet.
I have Aerie, she also has very decent priest spells, shes multi-class mage/cleric , and I really don't know if she can keep memorize new spells that I recorded on the next level, because I heard that multi or dual class character will lose it's ability to advance or something.

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

Naw, Cernd is still pretty decent, especially through SoA where most enemies use normal weapons, and being single-class he is a better priest. Jaheira takes forever to get to level 14, in my last run I just had her attack the endlessly respawning fire giants in Saradush for a few hours until she hit the right XP level. I would suggest installing the Gibberlings 3 Fixpack and Tweakpack though so you can have Cernd cast spells in werewolf form (and use Belm in the offhand to boost his attacks per round).

Ultimately, if you're familiar with the game you can beat it with just about any combination of characters, or solo it with just about any class, so I wouldn't worry about it.

[RiseofBane]

does that fixpack work in Vista? and in ToB? Im almost done with SoA so..

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

Yes and yes.
[url="http://www.gibberlings3.net/bg2fixpack/"]Fixpack[/url] and [url="Tweakpack"]Tweakpack[/url] links respectively, and don't forget to install the official ToB patch first. Though if you've been playing the vanilla game so far you'll have missed out on the bonus items - check DSimpsons Items List for what they are/what they do- from the extra merchants in the Copper Coronet and Ribald's Adventure Mart, so you may want to use a pre-Suldanesselar save and go and get some of the bonus items (Robe of Vecna and Vhailor's Helm are must-haves). Or just cheat them in with [url="http://www.mud-master.com/shadowkeeper/index.html"]Shadowkeeper[/url].

[RiseofBane]

Yes and yes.
[url="http://www.gibberlings3.net/bg2fixpack/"]Fixpack[/url] and [url="Tweakpack"]Tweakpack[/url] links respectively, and don't forget to install the official ToB patch first. Though if you've been playing the vanilla game so far you'll have missed out on the bonus items - check DSimpsons Items List for what they are/what they do- from the extra merchants in the Copper Coronet and Ribald's Adventure Mart, so you may want to use a pre-Suldanesselar save and go and get some of the bonus items (Robe of Vecna and Vhailor's Helm are must-haves). Or just cheat them in with [url="http://www.mud-master.com/shadowkeeper/index.html"]Shadowkeeper[/url].

well I installed fixpack and tob patch. Didn't work at all. For example ToB patch shows Druid can now give 2 proficient points on 2handed weap, or 2 weapon styles. Nope, only 1 point can be given.

I am pretty sure why this is happening. It has to do with UAC.. I have UAC enabled, but it's for the security purpose. I guess I'm good. Thanks for trying to help though

[Crenshinibon]

Honestly, I'd say that UAC isn't for security but to make sure that the user doesn't mess up their computer. I personally disabled it.

Just checking, what druid character are you looking at?

[RiseofBane]

no, after u install tob patch, it shows "readme" as in notepad form, it shows lots of new changes including that "druid can now give 2proficient points on 2handedweapon/2handstyle".

Actually UAC does protect ur computer, I read it from microsoft homepage. It protects ur computer if hacker finally breaks down ur firewall. It's like the last barrier against hacker.
2years ago, my dad's credit card # was stolen, either from his or my computer, after that I am making my computer really safe. I'm using CC cleaner every time I put important information on internet, I also use private search using private filter. There's even more that I can tell u if u like to know.

And if I diable UAC, there will be major issues, such as the current saved files from BG2 won't be loaded because I always had ran my BG2 as administrator mode, and if I turn off, those files won't be loaded and there will be an error even after it gets loaded ( I already tested it).

I'm ok with my current characters, I'm legit anyway. I'm getting Sarevok in ToB so there will be 3 warriors (Me, Sarevok, Keldorn) as bodyguards. I'm just going to use my druid (Cernd) to cast magics

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

Dunno about the ToB patch (as far as I know mine works fine, but I always add other things on top of it afterwards) - make sure you install the ToB patch first and then the Fixpack.

If you want to be able to get around the UAC restrictions and still have them for important stuff, you can install BG2 outside of Program Files, which allows you to edit the baldur.ini files without exposing sensitive content to hackers who get stumped by UAC. Just make a new C folder titled 'Games' or whatever you want to call it, and install the game there (C:/Games/BGII-SoA), and then the restrictions on editing files won't be there for BG2. If you move your saved game from the Program Files installation to the Games installation I think it should run OK.

[RiseofBane]

I don't think that will work, I already have BG2 on D:/ <- it means D drive, not frawning face.
I originally installed on C:/Program files, after that I realized that location is bad for Vista so I installed on D:/ as well.
I load game from D:/ and that's where I also installed TOB patch, fixpack.
D:/ is totally separated from C:/Program area and it should work there.
Well, apparently it didn't work. Therefore installing on C:/Game/BG2 wouldn't work neither, not even going to try it.

I think you don't have Vista, it's a really bad Window for classic games. I used to have Xp before so I know.

I am 100% positive that those saved games won't work even if I change direction of game installation because they are saved in Administrative mode. I know it because when I try to load saved game from Non-administrative mode, game will go error and freeze. Since all the saved files were done by when UAC was enabled.. The only way is to unistall baldur's gate2 and reinstall, then start the game freshly by turning off UAC FROM the beginning, and by installing it either on D:/ or C:/Games or w/e excluding C:/Program Files area.

Well it's all good, I am playing legit and I even consider those modes = cheat.
Im fine with shapeshifting my Cernand back and forth, honestly casting in werewolf form is newby.

[Crenshinibon]

I find that UAC is more of an annoyance than an actual protection. Despite what Microsoft says, if someone is able to get into your administrative account, then it's absolutely useless.

All it does is force an application to run at the base user privilege level unless you decide to mark that application as "trusted". As such, it is only useful if you go around downloading and installing applications that you've never heard of, or received from unknown or unreliable sources.

Also, your slashes are facing the wrong way.

In all honesty, CCleaner is a nice tool, but it most likely won't remove the software that is "spying" on your computer. Keyloggers aside, one of the leading causes of account intrusion are simply phishing attempts, such as fake emails and look-alike sites.

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

I think you don't have Vista, it's a really bad Window for classic games. I used to have Xp before so I know.

Yup, you found me out, I'm secretly still using XP but just pretending to use Vista.
And I would have got away with it too, if it wasn't for you darn kids!

Or maybe I also used to have a computer with XP, which died on me, and my new one uses Vista, so I spent ages searching the GameFAQs, Bioware, and Gamebanshee forums to try to get my old beloved games like BG2, Thief 2, and Neverwinter Nights to run on my current machine, and now share that information with other people who're also having problems. That's a possibility too.

I am 100% positive that those saved games won't work even if I change direction of game installation because they are saved in Administrative mode. I know it because when I try to load saved game from Non-administrative mode, game will go error and freeze. Since all the saved files were done by when UAC was enabled.. The only way is to unistall baldur's gate2 and reinstall, then start the game freshly by turning off UAC FROM the beginning, and by installing it either on D:/ or C:/Games or w/e excluding C:/Program Files area.

Suit yourself, but you do know that any hacker who knows what they're doing isn't going to be stopped by something as basic as UAC right? If you're really worried about being hacked all you can do is have a good firewall and up-to-date anti-virus/spyware program, and above all not visit sites that you aren't sure are safe. Or better yet, don't store sensitive information on computers with internet access.

Well it's all good, I am playing legit and I even consider those modes = cheat.
Im fine with shapeshifting my Cernand back and forth, honestly casting in werewolf form is newby.

This from the guy trying to replace his PC with a paladin just so he can use Carsomyr...:laugh: On which topic, check out the [url="http://www.baldurdash.org/tweaksandcheats.html"]first tweak here[/url].
It's just a game, dude. Me, I can't be bothered with the inconvenience of shifting back and forth, though that said I rarely use Cernd for long anyway.

[Dante2377]

Depending on the specific patch/fixpack/mod, many times trying to use saved games from prior to installing that item will cause issues or not have the desired change take effect.

That could be what is happening here.