Can Jaheria function as a tank?

[Loredweller]

@sigurd
it depends on your party. In my (prot. kensai(7)/mage, Minsc, Jahera, Aerie, Nalia, Iomen) Minsc is my heavy tank. Jahera is light one, mostly because i have Staff of Arundel on her and do not wish change because of extra spells she have. Protagonist behaves as middle class one, first a bunch of spells, then the Cel. Fury dual wield. Btw, if so far, Iomen serves as a light tank as well sometimes with Strength cast, Staff of Magi and Cloak of Displacement Aerie goes as well with support of her clerical improvements and Staff of Rynn +4. The only one always in support is Nalia, wizard of the same level as protagonist and main archer in the company. BTW, for Golems i'm going with protagonist (Fail of Ages), Arie and Iomen
For those not loving Nalia - the skin of the Shadow Dragon is recorded on her name
L.

[sigurd]

Ok, youre right, depends on the team, although i never have that many support characters, and i always have at least 2 "heavy" tanks, preferable 3.

But what i was saying is that there are many more qualified tanks. Especially since you want to cast spells with her in mayor battles

[Rail]

Originally posted by sigurd:
<STRONG>Impaler among the best in the game??
Thats crap! <snip></STRONG>

Oh, you're right. What was I thinking?!? +13 damage every single time you hit IS crap. How could I be so uneducated in the ways of BG2?

Obviously you've never used the weapon or don't know much about it. Check here [url="http://www.gamebanshee.com/baldursgateii/equipment/spears.php"]http://www.gamebanshee.com/baldursgateii/equipment/spears.php[/url] if you're forgotten. Do the math. It isn't very hard. It has the potential to do more damage consistently than just about any other weapon in the game. Period. That puts it among the best. I didn't say it was THE best, but it is very good.

BTW, I agree with you, however. I don't use Jaheira as a tank in any of my games. I think there are those far better than her at the task. She'll do, though. Her ironskins, great AC, and decent offensive abilities will do nicely.

[ 04-11-2001: Message edited by: Rail ]

[lmf12345]

In my group, the role of Jaheira is like a "nurse" more than a tank. Her Druid's skills are wonderful but her combat abilities are arguable. Nonetheless, if your group doesn't have any fighters, she's a fairly good option.

[sigurd]

ABout impaler.. Sure, good damage, but damage is not all. It has no specials except that, i always preferred that over damage, it is 2-handed. Crom faeyr is better in all ways, as well as 1 handed for example, except range.

Well, my playing style always was that more immunities and special abilities was more important than just damage. with all those strength girdles you get high enough damage anyway.

[Aegnor]

I'm surprised that with all this talk of weapons no one has mentioned the Sling of Seeking for Jaheira. With a second proficiency in sling (+1 THAC0, +2 dam) and even just gauntlets of ogre strength (+6 damage) she can dish out 9-12 points (more with magic bullets, which are pretty cheap), twice per round if she's lucky, without going into melee. Makes her a good backup for a tank like Korgan or Minsc.

Oh yeah, and I like giving her the club from trademeet since she's already specialized, and can still wear a shield.

Never bothered with Arundel's staff since the extra spells disappear if she switches weapons.

[Hazim ibn Gorion]

Arundel's staff truly sucks. Got ridda that one in IWD as soon as I got it (although I think the stats are slightly different in the two games, which makes no sense since it's supposed to be the same weapon).

[Loredweller]

Originally posted by Hazim ibn Gorion:
<STRONG>Arundel's staff truly sucks. Got ridda that one in IWD as soon as I got it (although I think the stats are slightly different in the two games, which makes no sense since it's supposed to be the same weapon).</STRONG>

It is still +3 and grants some additional spells memorized. +3 is enough for most cases. Of course, it is too small going after a lich, but there she has another task.
L.

[Rail]

Originally posted by sigurd:
<STRONG>ABout impaler.. Sure, good damage, but damage is not all. It has no specials except that, i always preferred that over damage, it is 2-handed. Crom faeyr is better in all ways, as well as 1 handed for example, except range.

Well, my playing style always was that more immunities and special abilities was more important than just damage. with all those strength girdles you get high enough damage anyway.</STRONG>

Sigurd, I agree with you on many points. While I like Impaler, it is not on par with the top echelon of weapons, i.e. Crom Faer, Carsomyr (even though it's only useable by paladins, but still...), etc. It is, however, in the next step down, and one of the best, if not the best, Jaheira can wield, IMHO. It does not have the special protections or abilities, which I also prefer, but it makes up for that in damage. Give her a strength girdle and impaler, and she can truly dish out the damage, one of the prerequisites for a good "tank".

Keep in mind, most people feel the Red Dragon armor is better than the Armor of the Hart since there's only a small difference in AC (-1 vs. -2) and you get the fire protection. However, here you are talking about a difference of 10 pts of damage every hit compared to many other weapons in it's class. I think it's definitely among the best in the game. Certainly not in the top three or four, but it's in the next tier and debatably the best Jaheira can wield. Especially if you're trying to make her your front-line combat person.

Just a fun side note, I made a half-orc kensai (a huge stretch, I know ) who has +++++ in spear and ++ in 2-h weapons, and I am astounded at the sheer ammounts of damage he consistently did per round, especially as he gained in levels and was hasted. He doesn't have the armor or weapons that give him all the fancy protections, but that's what the mages and clerics in his party are for.