GameBanshee Forums

Come on now, i've just read through three pages of replies an only one person stands up for Valygar- disgraceful. For me he is one of the best NPCs, alright he's a little light on dialogue but he's meant to be quiet and withdrawn, though he does have some funny conversations with Jan. If you kit Valygar out with Celestial Fury, his own katana, some good armour- e.g. Shadow Dragon Scale- and a giant strength girdle and make good use of his hide in shadows/backstab abilities he is an engine of destruction- the CF/CFB combo allow him to deliver massive damage, stun and bleeding wound all in one round so few enemies last very long especially if they repeatedly fail their stun save. I had him take out the entire planar sphere this way.
In short, if he's used properly and you don't mind his sulky attitude he makes a pretty good second tier fighter.

I rather liked Valygar myself, his normal armour wasn't too bad since it protected from two of the most annoying spells charm and confusion also it let him sneak around without needing to remove it like Minscy. For me it's not worth putting points into Katana proficientcy so that's another good point.

Personally I just hate Cerd, his voice set, stats, limited level ability and everything about him makes a poor choice for a party member.

[QUOTE=Snoon] As for Jaheira, I agree with the person who said she's strong in the beginning, but becomes somewhat crappy in the end. Lack of weapon choices makes her boring to play with too, IMO.[/QUOTE]
I usually SK her skills to 2 weapon fighting and scimitars later on and then Rashads Talon and Belm +2 off hand, not a bad tank at all when combined with belt of strength, or gaunts of ogre strength.

I'm not too keen on Valygar as I dont think the Stalker class is that great, the pay-off just isnt worth the armour deficit. From a RP point of view, he is okay, maybe a little quiet but I'd prefer that to Minsc's endless (loud) ravings. Oh yeah, Minsc is another NPC I don't use often. Maybe becuase I enjoy playing straight rangers, so I dont really need the other two?

It kind of annoys me that my perfect party doesnt include anyone of thieving abilities, so I usually have to compromise with Nalia (*shudder*) or choose a class I dont enjoy as much.

[QUOTE=Mulligan]

My five worst Npc is based on the fact that i just 'like' the rest better and is:

Cernd - poor item uses
Mazzy - weak Fighter/no friend of the S.bow
Nalia - Weak thieves skill, other mages are better
Valgyar - poor AC- low Strength
Jaheira - Strong early- weak later due to Druid XP gap

[/QUOTE]

Cernd - I rather like him, some of his dialogues are actually really humerous and he makes a fine healer/support caster due to his high wisdom. While his other stats are somewhat average in comparison to other characters this is remdied by either shifting his form to werewolf/greater wolf or installing the Cernd Totemic Druid mod in which his STR, DEX and CON stats are inscreased signficantly and as a Totemic Druid he can wear armour. The XP Cap is a bit of a problem butyou could get rid of it.

Mazzy - strength problems are easily overcome with magic/items and being a fighter if you get her early enough she can potentially attain grand mastery in short bows, short swords and a wepaon of your choice. Plus she interacts really well with Korgan and her special abilities are useful self-buffs.

Nalia - I agree with her thief skills but disagree about her mage abilities as aside from Edwin (and possibly your PC if a mage) she is the second best mage in the game. Imoen can't obtain as high a level and both Jan and Aerie have a lower intelligence.

Valygar - AFAIK his strength is the same as Keldorns, and as with Mazzy can easily be overcome. I've never really had too many problems using him as a main tank.

Jaheira - one of my least favourite NPCs so I'll give you this one.

As for my own least favourites I'd have to go with

Yoshimo - just rather useless
Minsc - there are many more useful tanks with less irritating soundsets
Jaheira - adds nothing to a party that can't be replicated by another
Imoen - By the time I get round to rescuing her I'm usually attached to my party as it is, and there is no way I'd kick the entertaining Mr Jansen for somebody who can't finish ... a sentence .... without ..... pausing ... continuusly, and who is often too many levels behind.

Valygar has 17 strength (same as Keldorn) indeed, and since he has good dexterity, I don't know why his AC would be low. I know he can't wear full plates, but his dexterity bonus to AC should give him a bit of an advantage, no?

I think Mulligan meant the XP Gap, not Cap. Druids need 3,000,000 Xp points to hit level 15, by which time a cleric would be almost level 22, and a fighter level 20. So while these characters level up and improve, druids stay at their old level and fall behind a bit.

[QUOTE=Raven_Song] Mazzy - strength problems are easily overcome with magic/items and being a fighter if you get her early enough she can potentially attain grand mastery in short bows [/QUOTE]

She actually starts the game w/grand mastery in short bow. And yes, strength enhancement girdle, bracers of archery, and boots of speed make her a VERY tough little gal.

The problem here is that all NPCs, played correctly and equipped with the right stuff, are good. I will still try to name a few of my least favourite NPCs though:

Minsc - the other melee characters are simply better

Aerie - physically too weak, levels up slowly (but the combo of mage and divine spells are indeed interesting)

Cernd - the time to shapeshift, the XP gap...

Imoen - she's gone when I want to do the major part of the quests

Yoshimo - the other thieves double as mages, while still providing what you need

Oops, I forgot to add this.
In keeping with topic: IMO the worst 2 NPC's are Cernd and Valgyar. Cernd just because he has too many weak points, and Valgyar because he's not really good at anything, he's a Stalker kit w/o most of the special abilities a Stalker would have.

[QUOTE=flounder]...and Valgyar because he's not really good at anything, he's a Stalker kit w/o most of the special abilities a Stalker would have.[/QUOTE]

And what of these abilities would that be now?

+20% Stealth
Backstab ability (at level 1-8: x1, at level 9-16: x2, at level 17+: x3)
At level 12, acquires Mage spells: Haste, Protection From Normal Missiles, Minor Spell Deflection
Weapon Specialization (++)
Racial Enemy (+4 to hit)
Stealth, Charm Person, Charm Mammal
Spell casting starts at level 8 with level 1 Priest spells

My mistake. I didn't realize he didn't get the mage spells until 12th level. I thought maybe because of his aversion to magic, he didn't have any spells. I've just never kept him long enough to get to 12th level. But I had him at level 8 and I know he didn't have any Priest spells, could that be a bug?

[QUOTE=flounder]But I had him at level 8 and I know he didn't have any Priest spells, could that be a bug?[/QUOTE]


Either that, or you remember wrong.

Actually I just dumped him again over the weekend, so it's very fresh. He was 8th level exactly and no priest spells.

[QUOTE=flounder]Actually I just dumped him again over the weekend, so it's very fresh. He was 8th level exactly and no priest spells.[/QUOTE]

You do of course know that you have to go inte his spell book and choose the spell before going to sleep?

Yes I am aware. Now you've got me second guessing myself, I might have to take a little jaunt to the Umar Hills and check it out.

I strongly dislike Valygar because of his bland personality, but his abilities make him quite useful. A stalker, like a thief, can backstab but unlike a thief he can stay for melee after the backstab.

[QUOTE=Coot]I strongly dislike Valygar because of his bland personality, but his abilities make him quite useful. A stalker, like a thief, can backstab but unlike a thief he can stay for melee after the backstab.[/QUOTE]

Not to mention that his backstab will usually hit as well...

[QUOTE=flounder]Yes I am aware. Now you've got me second guessing myself, I might have to take a little jaunt to the Umar Hills and check it out.[/QUOTE]

Just took him in in order to open the Planar Sphere, and at level 9 he's got 2 first level spells.

I think every NPC is good when used well, but I dislike Cernd (weak stats), Anomen (obvious reasons) and Yoshimo (except for his good thieving skills early on, he just isn't any good)

My favs are Aerie (spellcasting galore!) and Minsc + Korgan combo (no one beats that), and I find Jaheira also quite capable of handling most situations.

[QUOTE=Chrizum]Minsc + Korgan combo (no one beats that)[/QUOTE]

Agreed on Korgan, but what according to you makes Minsc good? I hold him as the worst Warrior in the game. His STR is good of course, but there are plenty of STR enhancing items to be found anyway...