Is Jaheira suppose to be a weak party member??

[The 9th Gate Spymaster]

It seems like throughout the game especially the end game jaheira is a weak party member compared to others. Is this the case for you guys as well? She also seems to level up alot slower, is this a potential bug? Please let me know. Thanks.

EDIT: Just to give an example Jaheria is level 14 dual class and my main is level 23. This doesn't seem right.... Even Jan was level 17/14 dual class at the time.

[Le Ver Coquin]

Jaheira doesn't gain exp slower than other party members. What you're experiencing is the giant exp requirement for a druid to move from level 14 to 15. It takes 1.5 million exp for a level 1 druid to reach level 14 and another 1.5 million to reach level 15. This exp gap is pretty annoying for single-classed druids, let alone multi-classed ones. Jaheira will be a level 20 fighter by the time she reaches level 15 druid.

[The 9th Gate Spymaster]

Oh ok. Thanks for the clarification. Would you normally suggest someone to keep jaheira in the party opposed to other potential members? I also heard that Anomen was a weak choice.

[BaisBlackfingers]

The healers in BG II are generally not powerhouses. Viconia can be kept in a good aligned party if you don't go crazy on the heroism, or Aerie can be a solid choice if you don't mind resting more frequently between fights, since she also brings fireballs and slows to the table. The alternative is, of course, to make the main some kind of cleric. There's an archer/cleric dual build that can be hilarious if you have the patience for it and pick up the sling of infinite bullets in the slums tavern and you give up very little cleric by endgame.

[The 9th Gate Spymaster]

I always liked Viconia and honestly saw nothing wrong with fighting alongside Anomen. jaheira on the other hand seems to aggro everyone like 90% of the time and it's really annoying. I have no experience with Cernd but I assume he's no better than ol gal.

[Le Ver Coquin]

Jaheira is a decent character who has multiple quests regardless of whether or not you're romancing her. She won't leave the party regardless of its reputation, meaning she can fit in both good and evil parties. She has good fighting stats and doesn't compete much with anyone for stat-enhancing gear, though her wisdom is a bit low for a druid. She's stuck with druid weapons and doesn't have much room for variety, however they're usually not weapons a lot of party members have proficiencies in.

As a healer and a fighter, her main competitors would be Anomen, Viconia and Cernd.

Anomen has access to the arguably superior Cleric spells and if you get him knighted he'll have better Wisdom than Jaheira (more spell slots). He's also restricted to cleric weapons, which are generally better than druid weapons. Anomen has better strength, but his dexterity really fails him. This may become an issue if you want to use Keldorn, as both of them really want to wear the gauntlets of dexterity. Keldorn needs them more.

Viconia is pretty much the best cleric NPC in the game. Free 65% magic resistance for being a drow, 19 dexterity for ridiculous armor class and 18 wisdom for a good amount of additional spell slots. Her terrible strength can be fixed with gear but only potions and temporary buffs can fix her terrible constitution. She doesn't have as much HP as the others as a result. She also leaves if the party's reputation gets too high, although you can get rid of her evil alignment in Throne of Baal.

Cernd is likely the worst of the bunch. His 18 Wisdom gives him a good amount of extra spell slots but his other stats are terrible and he's stuck with the Shapeshifter kit. He can't wear armor, can only use druid weapons and his potential in melee will only decline from the moment he gets his Greater Werewolf transformation, which has static stats. Easily one of the worst characters in the game. The game isn't so hard that he's unusable, he just looks bad compared to pretty much everybody else.

[The 9th Gate Spymaster]

Thanks for the reply Le Ver Coquin. I like both Anomen and Viconia which I equip gauntlets of dexterity on anomen and girdle of "type" giant strength starting at Hill Giant early on and scaling up from there. Once I can equip Viconia with a better shield (higher strength is required) she usually turns into a character that's decent in defending herself, though she will usually die first regardless if she gets mobbed. I also like both Vicky and Ano at once to put all the maces/morning stars/flails to good use since good ones drop often and are numerous throughout the game. Without them I wouldn't bother with those weapon types in general aside from a dual wielding Minsc and even then Misc is usually better off using a 2h weapon. I like Keldorn but I usually dont include him in my party over Minsc or Korgan depending on my party alignment. One thing I noticed in the late game is the need for more fighter type characters which I ingeniously designed Jan to use Carsomyr and Tenser's Transformation to tank. So far Jan's build has been a complete beast.

[ÄmJii]

Originally posted by Le Ver Coquin:

Anomen has access to the arguably superior Cleric spells and if you get him knighted he'll have better Wisdom than Jaheira (more spell slots). He's also restricted to cleric weapons, which are generally better than druid weapons. Anomen has better strength, but his dexterity really fails him. This may become an issue if you want to use Keldorn, as both of them really want to wear the gauntlets of dexterity. Keldorn needs them more.

Anomen does have better self-buffs, no arguments there, but Jaheira gets access to Iron Skin (a.k.a divine Stoneskin), Conjure Fire Elemental (very strong summons through entire SoA, still useful in ToB) and her weapon proficiencies won't overlap with other NPCs. Make her a dual wielder and let her use Belm in off-hand.

Still, Anomen is very good at buffing & bashing stuff, definitely not a weak NPC when used properly.

Originally posted by Le Ver Coquin:

Viconia is pretty much the best cleric NPC in the game. Free 65% magic resistance for being a drow, 19 dexterity for ridiculous armor class and 18 wisdom for a good amount of additional spell slots. Her terrible strength can be fixed with gear but only potions and temporary buffs can fix her terrible constitution. She doesn't have as much HP as the others as a result. She also leaves if the party's reputation gets too high, although you can get rid of her evil alignment in Throne of Baal.

"Best cleric NPC" isn't saying much when pure clerics aren't that great to begin with. So she gains few extra spells due to Wisdom? What are you gonna use those slots for when you can't have her use Holy Smite?
Oh, and free Magic Resistance? Sweet, both Carsomyr & Cloak of Mirroring makes her MR almost redundant. You want high MR? Polymorph Self: Mustard Jelly has 100% MR.
You want spellcaster cleric? Aerie puts Viccy into shame, hands down.

Pure cleric is stuck with two major flaws:
1) They hit their peak at level 15 and gain practically nothing from further level ups. There really aren't that many good Cleric spells you'd want to memorize more than 2-4 copies at any given time.
2) They're stuck with 1 Attack Per Round. You buffed Viccy's STR and CON up to 18? Good, enjoy that one slow attack she has and watch as your Fighters land 3-5 hits in the same amount of time.

Originally posted by Le Ver Coquin:

Cernd is likely the worst of the bunch. His 18 Wisdom gives him a good amount of extra spell slots but his other stats are terrible and he's stuck with the Shapeshifter kit. He can't wear armor, can only use druid weapons and his potential in melee will only decline from the moment he gets his Greater Werewolf transformation, which has static stats. Easily one of the worst characters in the game. The game isn't so hard that he's unusable, he just looks bad compared to pretty much everybody else.

Cernd is terrible, no arguments there. If only he was Avenger, his usefulness would leap through the roof in an instant.

[DarkExcalibur42]

Originally posted by ÄmJii:

Cernd is terrible, no arguments there. If only he was Avenger, his usefulness would leap through the roof in an instant.

Seems it could be an easy fix if you don't mind EE Keeper

[Bloodartist]

Originally posted by The 9th Gate Spymaster:

jaheira on the other hand seems to aggro everyone like 90% of the time and it's really annoying.

You know you can adjust the party members AI from the character menu?