GameBanshee Forums

The story so far:

Started off with:

My PC (Multi Fighter/Thief)
Minsc
Yoshimo
Korgan
Janheira
Nalia

Korgan did one (well, I actually reloaded, de-geared him and kicked him out just before was due to leave) because I was far too 'good' for him
Yoshimo I discovered was being of very little use to me in the long run (lowest kill and XP percentage in the party, I was only using him as a thief really, which my PC can do), so I replace them with Keldorn (shoulda done that earlier) and Valygar.

Thing is, Valygar doesn't seem to be much use to me at the mo. Again, really low xp and kill percentage compared to everyone else and I'm rarely finding need for his abilities. SO...who else in the 'good' category is a decent tank (or at least better in melee) than Valygar? My PC, Minsc, and Keldorn are all (unsurprisingly) taking most of the glory, but I could do with someone more else decent in there (even Nalia and Jaheira are kicking more butt than Valy at the mo, even with Valy dual weilding Katanas and a few other goodies to enhance him).

Ideas? Options? IS there anyone else? I think I've got all the main options covered - mage (Nalia's easily enough for me) Cleric (Jaheira does enough for me) Theif (my PC's getting pretty damned good at it), just feel that I could d with a bit more brute force (that'll be my playing style then...).

Cheers in advance guys.

One obvious answer is Keldorn, the paladin. He's pretty competent as a tank, and is the only NPC party member capable of wielding one of the stronger weapons in the game, with a nice dispel bonus to a successful hit. If you've got a good-themed party, I would say he's definitely worth considering.

I've already got Keldorn. Maybe I shoulda made this clearer:

Party is at the mo:

PC (F/T)
Keldorn
Minsc
Valy (want to replace)
Jaheira
Nalia

I seem to remember Anomen annoying me a lot, but is it worth just going with it?

I've always liked the idea of equipping Anomen with Lilarcor (sp?) actually just to imagine his reaction to the sword's banter ;D

oh dear oh dear...

I see you like to have a hack and slash party,not quite my taste but still i hope i can be of some assistance...

If you don't indefinately want a good tank then i would advise Viconia.Her healing skills are also very beneficial.Or Anomen..both would suffice.


However,if i'd advise something,then i would definately recomend you take a mage class into that party of yours.2 tanks are enough.Maybe Aerie,you can also make her into a tank(most irritating)...or something purely specialized in magic.....Edwin perhaps?


ummmh....Mazzy is a fighter.She is probably the character i dislike the most.

[QUOTE=AxeSlash]I seem to remember Anomen annoying me a lot, but is it worth just going with it?
[/QUOTE]

Depends on what you consider "worth it." He's a cleric, and you lack for one. It's pretty much Viconia or him at this point, and Viconia can be very uncomfortable in a zealously good party. He's also a passably good fighter.

Don't doismiss Valgyar unless you have started his quest.
Valgyar should be able to do as much damage than Minsc. He can use the same weapons and you just need 2 strength spells for 18/00 strength or an item. I guess you are just using him wrong.

As fighter replacement you can take Mazzy. She should be able to do the most physical damage of all NPCs if used right.

Another option is to play with a 5 person party, faster levelling for everyone until you reach the XPcap. If you don't have Imoen back you can keep a spot open for her.

But I recommend taking a cleric, the game is much easier if you have one in your party. Anomen is both a powerful tank and cleric, but if you can't stand him Aerie can do as well (or even better) with proper use of spells.

Clerics can't use Lilacor, since it's a sword.

Thanks guys.

And yeah I'm a hack n' slash boy. Brute Force And Ignorance. Sorry

I'd completely forgotten about Mazzy; what's she like in terms of dealing out damage? And if she's pretty tough that sounds like quite a viable option. Given chance I'd have Korgan back (loved him as a tank), but unfortunately...chaotic evil, and now nowhere to be seen...Damnit. Guess you can't have your cake and eat it

And yeah I've done Valy's quest (you mean the Planar Sphere right?). I think that was the final thing that made me ditch Yoshimo for him. I didn't want to kill the guy, and he looked a better prospect than Yoshimo, SPOILER:

Spoiler

(who I knew I'd lose later on anyway. Better to lose him earlier on than later).

Of course this raises the question...was I just not using Yoshimo to the best of his abilities? Has anyone else found him useful as a front line guy? If so, what's the secret to it?

I don't use much magic for owt other than breaching and buffing, so I dunno if adding another mage will really be what I'm after. Next time through I might do a mage-tastic party though just to force myself to do something interesting instead of just beating the cr*p out of everything that comes near me.

Isn't Edwin evil anyway? Surely he wouldn't get on very well with a good party? As much as I love his sarcasm, I get the feeling someone would end up in a fight with him...

haha...your 6th sense maybe telling the truth..

Yoshimo isn't reliable,i can tell you that-neither have i ever had much luck trying different tactics with him.

Honesty,i have never even taken Mazzy into my team.But considering she's a halfing she can't be very good at dealing damage,eh?Hmm....shouldn't Korgan go back to the inn?

Honesty,i have never even taken Mazzy into my team.But considering she's a halfing she can't be very good at dealing damage, eh?

If you've no experience of using Mazzy you shouldn't make presumptions, especially wrong ones. Just give her the Tuigen Short Bow and watch her mow down enemies.

She may be a little lacking in the strength department but that is easily fixed (there are plenty of str enhancing items) - and with a of DEX 18 and CON 16 she is no slouch. She can contribute as both ranged and melee unit.

If you're playing ToB aswell her potenial is truly amazing, being, besides Korgan, the only NPC to be able to achieve grand mastery in three weapons.

Her special abilities are pretty nifty as well.

The fact that a warrior is shorter than her sword just seemed like something that made her weaker in my eyes,weaker than the other giantic mountains of muscle

Sorry for the false information

Good things come in small packages.

Here's a breakdown of your options. The Good NPCs that make good tanks (without having to do a lot of buffing up) include:

Minsc
Keldorn
Valygar
Mazzy

I assume you're ruling out Korgan, Viconia, and Edwin. The Neutral NPCs that make good tanks (without having to do a lot of buffing up) include:

Jaheira
Anomen

Other characters can be good frontline warriors if you equip them properly and use spells, potions, and items to buff them up, but I get the feeling you don't want to go to all that trouble and you don't want characters whose skills allow them to fight at their best only for short bursts. You probably don't think of them as tanks, so you probably wouldn't want to use them as tanks.

Since you have Minsc, Keldorn, Jaheira, and Nalia in your party, you can choose between Valygar, Mazzy, or Anomen. All of them are great warriors if you build them up and use the right equipment.

In Anomen's case, you can use a lot of Cleric spells such as Draw Upon Holy Might, Righteous Magic, Blade Barrier, Harm, etc. and you can make undead monster explode without even having to fight them. Anomen can put five proficiency points in each weapon type, and he can wield some of the best weapons in the game, including Crom Faeyr, the Flail of Ages, the Improved Mace of Disruption, and the Defender of Easthaven. Anomen's drawbacks include an annoying personality, the THAC0 of a Cleric (rather than a Fighter), and low Dexterity. (I'm guessing that you gave the Gauntlets of Dexterity to Keldorn.) But at high levels, he is one of the most formidible warriors you can have in your party (if you take advantage of his spells, that is).

Valygar's only drawback is that he can only wear leather armor, so his armor class is not as low as Mazzy's or Anomen's. If you give him a good weapon like Celestial Fury and give him a girdle of giant strength, he should be dishing out incredible amounts of damage, especially if you let him backstab. He can also cast Druid spells such as Doom, Armor of Faith, Barkskin, Summon Insects, and Call Lightning. They're definitely worth using. Personally, I don't like Valygar as much as I like Minsc and Keldorn, but he's not a bad warrior.

Mazzy doesn't really have any drawbacks other than what you might consider to be a poor distribution of proficiency points. (She starts out with lots of proficiency points in Shortswords and Short Bows.) The thing about Mazzy is that she is a Fighter, and Fighters are the best tanks in the game. Her THAC0, proficiency points, number of attacks, armor selection, and weapon selection put her at the top of the heap, regardless of her size. If you give her a girdle of giant strength or the Gauntlets of Ogre Power, she can dish out as much damage as any other Fighter, which is considerable. She can put 5 proficiency points in each weapon type (which Minsc, Keldorn, and Valygar can't do), so she is a lot more formidable than you might think. Forget about her size and think about the equipment you can give her. As for her personality, she is pious but not annoying, and she has tremendous strength of character. It's kind of subtle and you might take it for granted, but she doesn't let anyone push her around, and she never whines about anything, which sets her apart from practically every other NPC.

If any NPC is not living up to your expectations, then you're probably not using him/her to his/her full potential. For example, don't forget that Valygar can backstab, and don't forget that he and Minsc can cast Druid spells. If you haven't used bows, try giving short bows to Mazzy and Nalia and see if they don't help your party annihilate your enemies. I suggest that you install the Ease of Use Mod to make arrows easier to manage in your inventory.

If all else fails, you can try an NPC mod such as Chloe, Valen, or Solaufein. They're so powerful, they can unbalance the game.

When you reach Throne of Bhaal, you will have the option to recruit another NPC who is an incredible Fighter. He's evil, but unhappy party members will not leave your party in Throne of Bhaal so you don't have to worry about that. (I guess they fear your main character's wrath.) If the new NPC is not strong enough for you, then your problem is hopeless.

Thanks for the help guys. Just given Valy a girdle of something or other giant strength (think it was frost) and he's starting to be a bit more powerful now.

Unfortunately he just takes a lot of damage due to the armour issue. Ah well. Guess I'll load him up with some rings or cloaks or summat. It think I'll stick with him for the rest of the game - I think I'm a bit too far into it to start swapping characters now. Next time I'll probably try Mazzy coz' Anomen did annoy me a lot.

Valygar should be able to use a certain armour from a certain quest. It is pretty nice armour and he can always beef himself with defensive spells. But, Minsc is my favorite of the two...armour or not "Don't teach my hamster to suck eggs!"

Protection from evil (mage level 1) gives +2 AC and saving throws for 40 rounds.
Improved or mass invisibilty gives even +4.