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What to do with Minsc?

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mrdeluxe
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What to do with Minsc?

Post by mrdeluxe »

He's level 25 and his proficiencies are as following:

Bastard Sword +
Axe ++
Two Handed Sword ++
Flail ++
Mace ++
Long Bow ++
Two Weapon Style +++

And I have that he can use:

Crom Faeyr
Foebane +5
Flail of Ages +4 (soon to be +5)
Storm Star +5
Battle Axe +3, Frostreaver
Axe of Unyielding +3
Belm +2

I'm in the 5th level of Watcher's Keep and I've left Saradush, still have all the other ToB left to explore. Currently I'm using the Foebane + Crom Faeyr even though I don't have any proficiencies in Warhammer, but I think the Strength Bonus compensates.

What do you suggest?
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Curry
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Post by Curry »

mrdeluxe wrote: What do you suggest?
+6 Ravager
The problem is that the people with the most ridiculous ideas are always the people who are most certain of them.
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mrdeluxe
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Post by mrdeluxe »

Curry wrote:+6 Ravager
That one's saved for Sarevok! :)
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Darth Malignus
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Post by Darth Malignus »

My most recent party setup:

Main Fighter/Thief:
Dagger of the Star
Purifier

Minsc:
Foebane
Angurvadal

Sarevok:
Axe of the Unyielding
Crom Faeyr

Anomen:
Flail of Ages

Jaheira:
Spectral Brand
Whatever Shield

Imoen:
Staff of the Magi

I'm partial to dual-wielding in most of my games. Sometimes, though, I run with two-handed weapons. I'll usually dualclass Sarevok into a Thief, and with his skills in two-handed swords, he gets Carsomyr +6 to play with, and I then stick Minsc with the Ravager halberd. I then use Angurvadal or whatever for my main, depending on what class it is. If it´s a Fighter/Mage, I run with whatever setup I feel like at the time. I've run with Axe of the Unyielding and Crom Faeyr and many other setups. As long as the combos complement each other. The vorpal effect of Axe otU with CF seems sensible. The drain of Foebane matches well with Angurvadals Strength boost. And so on...

It all comes down to which setup I use for my other party members, really. And what part I want Minsc to play. As a scout, he'll be exposed due to his leather armor, and in this role it seems sensible to have him use a weapon that gives him a little range, like Ravager. He can swing away at enemies from a distance, even with a better protected partymember between him and the target. Ravager gives him skills more suited for that role, vorpal for a potentially quicker kill, Cloak of Fear to potentially scare off enemies, extra damage.

If I use him as a tank or support to the tank, I dual wield him with weapons that'll give him an edge in close quarters, seeing that he'll probably be mixing it up head on. Angurvadal and Foebane aren't bad choices in my mind, but really any combination I feel like running with can do, hell, come to think of it, I've completed the game many times with different weapon combos for Minsc by now. A general rule of thumb is to put some weapons in his hands that'll disrupt the enemies in some way or enhance his prowess. CF and AotU, CF and The Answerer, whatever, really.
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Adieu
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Post by Adieu »

Scout Minsk w/CF, whining about armour class the whole way through? Pff.

If you need a hardy scout w/ good AC and katanas, your ranger of the week is His Blandness Extraordinaire - Valygar.

Added bonus: no wait, no customization, no necessary equipment half a game away from getting him. Str girdle: for sale & pretty cheap at that, alternatively Str gauntlets from the quest he makes you go on right away anyway; armor - already comes wearing his own studded leather with the numbers of a good set of enchanted plate; dex&con great already; proficiencies 2 katana 2 dualwield, could pick up 1 more dual or 2 shortsword/scimitar, but offhand is really for boosting main hand attacks, not to punch hard itself, so no biggie...

Oh, and he can actually BACKSTAB - better at it than any other npc, too, and has the staying/tanking power to not have to run for the hills once he hits!
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Ode to a Grasshopper
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Post by Ode to a Grasshopper »

Axe of the Unyielding/Belm.
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koz-ivan
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Post by koz-ivan »

i'm suprised that there are folks who don't use the flail of ages. i've shoehorned that into just about every party i've used. one of the true standout weapons from chapter 2 onwards.

if the crom is still in the bag of holding somewhere, might as well use that off-hand (the str boost trumps all) or the Axe of Unyielding or storm star.

or get completely crazy and rely more of whirlwinds w/ the flail & a shield.
"all around you is tinder for the gods"
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Dante2377
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Post by Dante2377 »

koz-ivan wrote:i'm suprised that there are folks who don't use the flail of ages. i've shoehorned that into just about every party i've used. one of the true standout weapons from chapter 2 onwards.

if the crom is still in the bag of holding somewhere, might as well use that off-hand (the str boost trumps all) or the Axe of Unyielding or storm star.

or get completely crazy and rely more of whirlwinds w/ the flail & a shield.
The FOA is definitely one of the best - the slow feature is worth its weight in gold in TOB where enemies will definitely hit Minsc a lot, so cutting their attacks in half (FOA slow doesn't allow a save) is a far better effect for one party member than a few more points of damage.

I usually leave the FOA at +4 so I can Improved Haste that character.
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Sir Redweed
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Post by Sir Redweed »

advanced whirlwind attack

Give him any two weapons and watch him go at this point. Some help from being controled/held is good as well as any restance to energy drain.
What doesn't kill you will make you stronger!!
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