Need some direction/advice (possible spoilers)

[Berethor]

I am...experimenting, so-to-speak with Multiplayer and creating full 6-person parties. I had never done this before, hell, I never even knew about it. I was reading about some of the "Perfect Parties" on GameBanshee, and most of them were loaded with dual classes, mostly Kensai/Mage and Berserker/Cleric. Also, it was shocking to see so many Half-orc Fighter/Mages in one of the parties, it's so strange. I prefer to have a party that is enjoyable and powerful, not powerful and boring since there is basically 2 types of characters. Here's what I came up with following the basic party layout (2 Tanks, 2 Mages, 1 Cleric, 1 Thief)...

1.PC - Berethor: He's my Neutral Good Elf Assassin who dons my Nickname on these forums. He has proficincies in Katana, Long Sword, Short Bow, Long Sword, and 2 Weapon Style. His Attributes are:
STR-16
DEX-19
CON-15
INT-14
WIS-10
CHA-10
LVL-12

2.Nick - He's my Lawful Good Human Inquistor. He has proficincies in Bastard Sword, 2-Handed Sword, Halberd, and 2-handed Style. His Attributes are:
STR-17
Dex-18
CON-14
INT-10
WIS-13
CHA-15
LVL-9

3.Ryan - He's my Neutral Good Human Berserker/Cleric. He was dualled at lvl. 9. He has prof. in 2-weapon Style, Maces, Warhammers, and Axes. His Attributes are:
STR-18/52
DEX-17
CON-14
WIS-15
INT-10
CHA-10
LVL-9/8

4.Matt - He's my Neutral Good Human Kensai/Mage. He was dualed at lvl. 9. he has prof. in 2-Weapon, Katana, Quarterstaves, and Slings. His Attributes are:
STR-17
DEX-18
CON-15
WIS-10
INT-16
CHA-10
LVL-9/9

5.Chris - He's my Lawful Good Human Monk who reps the real me . He mainly uses his fists, but has prof. in Scimitars and Katanas. His Attributes are:
STR-17
DEX-18
CON-14
WIS-13
INT-10
CHA-10
LVL-10

6.Baily - She's my Lawful Neutral Elf Wild Mage. She has prof. in Staves and Slings. Her Attributes are:
STR-11
DEX-19
CON-11
WIS-14
INT-18
CHA-10
LVL-11

As you can probably see, DEX is my favorite attribute. It took me on the upside of 2 hours to roll the bloody stats. Anyways, I would like comments on my party setup, and maybe get some improvements. Though next time I won't waste 2 hours rolling, I will just use the (highlight to read)

Spoiler

Ctrl+8 max stats cheat

and set it down according to Class to be fair.

Part one of my little dillemma is that I don't know what quests are primary for this party and which ones are secondary. I have finished a few quests including the Tanner murders, the Circus Tent, collecting the money for Gaelan, and the Slavers. Earlier I was so confused that I just sat in the Watchers Keep lvl. 1 corridor and summoned dragons only to use

Spoiler

Ctrl+y autokill

on them and loot the treasure. Of course I didn't save, I was just having fun. Could someone elaborate on which quests I should focus on first?

Part 2 of my dillema is my horrid strategy. it definatley needs some fine-tuning.

My basic Strategy is this:

1. Have the party formation that looks like this:
..........B..........
..N..............C..
......................
..M..............R..
..........B..........
It kinda looks like a hexagon. The B on the top row is Berethor, on the bottom row it is Baily.

2. Have the Mages/Cleric cast buffing spells before every battle. If it is a battle where you have time to set up, like the guardian seals on WK lvl. 5, summon lots of creatures before the match.

3.If enemies were coming at me like this:
..V..............Z..
.....W...X...Y.....
......................
.....*........*.....
......................
..........B..........
..N..............C..
...........*.........
..M..............R..
..........B..........

I would have:

Berethor - With boots of speed use something to don invisiblity, backstab opponent "X", then fade out of battle, use invisibility, repeat. If "X" is dead, move on to another enemy. Use a Max of 3 backstabs and then jump into combat.

Chris - Rush him in somewhere in the general vicinity of XYZ and attack, concentrating on enemy Mages first. If Defenses are breached and Mages are being attacked, slay their attackers and repeat. Attempt a Quivering Palm (if applicable).

Nick - Basically the same thing as Chris, but goto VWX instead. If mages are attacked, help them. If negative effects are on the party ex. Hold, Stun, use Dispel Magic. Re-assign party members, and return to combat.

Matt - Buff up on defensive/enhancement spells and assist front-liners with enemies. If taking too much damage, retreat to heal/get healed and resume fighting. Occasionally cast some sort of invisibility on Berethor to assist with backstabbing.

Ryan - Buff up on clerical spells (Bless, Chant etc.) and assist the front-liners. If injured or a party member is injured, heal them and return to battle. Maybe cast spells like Holy Smite or Storm of Vengeance to damage enemies further.

Baily - Summon creatures in the places marked with a *. Have the in the higher row attack and have the one closer defend you. Use spells like Haste to maintain your party's efficincy in battle. Cast area effect spells and/or crowd clearers (Abi-Dazims Horrid Wilting, Deagons breath etc.) to give your party members some breathing room. When the Creatures die, summon more. If being attacked, attempt to cast stoneskin to protect yourself if your contingencies wear off.

I know my strategy isn't that good. It's just one I thought up off the top of my head. I don't have access to playing BG2 right now, because it is on my HP Digital Entertainment Center, which in turn is hooked up to my TV. Therefore, I play BG2 on my 52' Widescreen TV with Surround Sound...awesome. ANYways, could I get some feedback on my Strategy and how I could improve it? It would be greatly appreciated. Try not to include too much cheese, I'm not into that kind of stuff. keep in mind that my party is lvl 9-13 at the moment. If you have questions, or comments on anything I forgot to add, feel free to speak up. Thanks all.

P.S. I'm gonna get some sleep now, will check any posts in the morning. Night all.

[rbeverjr]

In general, use the strength of your party members. Use the assassin to scout and backstab to death the arcane threat before the battle begins. (Of course, backstab does not work on all creatures.) He can then use an item/potion to go invisible and escape retaliation. Eventually, he should be able to do nice traps. Your mage has talents beyond buff and summon. If it is a bunch of mooks, toss Chaos or at least a fireball (could use wand of fire) before engaging in melee. If you had multiple arcane casters, one could cast Greater Malison before Chaos. After engaging in melee, you can summon some monsters to help if needed or use friendly area of effect spells. Tactics for mages change as you face higher level challenges, but the proper use of your resources (particularly mages) is essential to an easy game. For more specific tactics, you must define a more specific scenario.

[Berethor]

I was basically wondering what I should assign each of my party members to do in a situation like the little diagram I made. What spells I should cast, what buffing, sommoning and damaging ones are most useful. Haybe what tactics I could use to protect my 2 spellcasters while they do their thing. What party formation is the most tactical?

[kmonster]

Did you use any cheats ? A berserker/cleric with 15 wis or a sling using kensai isn't possible for example.

Compared to NPCs you can meet your characters don't have impressive stats, Imoen or Nalia have better stats than your wild mage for example.

About your party setup:
Dex is really the most important stat.
But why do you have 14 con so often ? 14 con isn't better than 7 con, and for each higher point in con you would get a HP bonus.
It's more useful being specialised in both a missile and melee weapon than in 2 melee weapons, even for berserkers and paladins.
The Flail of Ages is one of the best weapons in BG2, so have someone specialize in flails at one of the next level ups.


Your tactic isn't bad, just be flexible. Try to improve your tanks' AC so much that only critical hits will will hurt them. Enemies who need 20 attacks to score a hit aren't a big threat anymore.
Running towards the enemies can also be dangerous, since it might trigger even more monsters who will see you, sometimes it's safer to have the monsters come to you. This will also allow to place your summons between the enemies and your party and you should also be able to shoot a few missiles or cast spells before combat starts.

Most players reload and pre-buff their party before encountering a harder combat, and the game difficulty is designed for such players. Don't be surprised if you have to reload often, especially since you didn't create a powergaming party.

Pre-buffing is often used unrealistic cheese, but if your hidden scout (monk) scouts any hostile creatures, it seems realistic to start casting pre-combat spells and summon help before the enemies detect you.

I recommend having "protection from evil 10 foot radius" cast on your party permanently, the spell lasts long and helps a lot.
I'd also have the wild mage cast strength on several party members.

The quest order isn't very important, I'd do the quests in the city (except the temple area) first since they're easier. Since your main character is a thief you'll want to do the quests in the dock district early to get your stronghold.

[Berethor]

While the Kensai/Mage is still developing as a Mage, he cau use slings. Once he gins his abilities back Ithink he losed it, but can still wear Robes. The reason I had 14 CON so often is I didn't want it too low, but I had to strip what I could to put it on DEX. And I forgot to mention that my Berserker/Cleric uses flails, FOA at the moment. Also, my Assassin has a point in Short Bows, my Wild Mage in Darts and Slings. I don't really have a probelm with ranged combat. I will keep the ideas of Strength and Ptof. from Evil 10' radius in mind though.

I have finished more quests. These are:
-Winseprar Hills/killed Firkraag
-Trademeet/Druid Grove and all quests associated
-Mae' Var's guild/part of Stronghold.
-Umar Hills/All quests except Temple Ruins (working on it)
-D' Arnise Hold

That's about it for what I have completed today.
My levels now are...
Berethor-14
Chris-12
Nick-11
Ryan-9/11
Matt-9/11
Baily-12