This old wreck of Minsc should be dumped as soon as you get Sarevok

[Aasimar069]

Minsc is really one of the worst characters of this game.

First of all, he has a very annoying soundset. It is fun at first, but hearing him scream over and over again during the game when you have a good reputation is atrocious.

He's just famed because he is tossed to us as soon as the game starts.
But fortunately, there are better character choices.

He is a gimped-ranger and ...
will level slower than a fighter and also only can reach two pips of weapons proficiencies.
Since he's levelling slower, he won't have has much high level abilities.
His whopping 8 in intelligence means he'll be fodder for Mindflayers as well.

Unless you are in need of an additionnal fighter-like character, Mazzy and Keldorn are much more efficient.

Sarevok starts as Chaotic Evil, but can be turned to Chaotic Good with the proper dialogs.
He has very good stats
His weapons proficiencies let him wield very strong weapons with 5 pips and not only two.
He will level faster, will gain more HLA
And most of all, he has not an annoying soundset.

[JimmyIowa]

I love the Minsc concept, and I love his soundset. But I agree he is a badly gimped fighter. He is okay in BG1, but unsuited for BGII sadly. Notably, he can't get high weapon proficiencies. And his rage ability I find to be unusable since you lose control of him, which is just not viable in BG2 fights. His ranger special abilities of tame animal are, dare I say, next to useless in BG2. And the paltry few low spells he gets are hardly compensation for all of this in a BGII fight.

In my latest full saga playthrough, I replaced him with a custom character, a Berserker/Cleric named Minsc starting from CandleKeep. Though I felt guilty doing it. I just have to imagine his voice saying "Butt-Kicking for goodness!" as I move him around.

[Sstavix]

Everyone knows that the real addition to the party is Boo. He just refuses to travel without his best friend, Minsc.

[Knight]

Minsc is a great introduction to the game. He's a reliable warrior for you when you start.

Unfortunately you'll realize quickly if you're good just how bad he is compared to every other companion.

I can't think of a single fighter I'd ever pick him over.

[wendigo211]

He's a bit better if you spec him to dual wield maces instead of great swords. But yeah, he's not great. Armor of Faith+Hardiness at least makes him kind of Tanky once you have HLAs.

[Wicket W. Warrick]

All correct, but you forget that he has Boo, while Sarevok not, this changes everything.

[Centurion]

Originally posted by Knight:

Minsc is a great introduction to the game. He's a reliable warrior for you when you start.

Unfortunately you'll realize quickly if you're good just how bad he is compared to every other companion.

I can't think of a single fighter I'd ever pick him over.

Oh, I can. Now, Korgan is simply the best tank going. Mazzy is also wonderful in her way. And even Anonmen can probably out perform Minsc, if you get his DEX some help. Keldorn is also useful, but needs more gear help to get to where Minsc's stats are and is just as limited in proficiency. And, of course, there is Sarevok when he comes along, who is just dang useful and a good story companion to boot!

However, there are some exceptions I can think of. Valygar has better DEX and can dual-wield katanas. But he is not as STR and had terrible AC. I am not sure the trade-off for backstabbing is worth it (and he is only #2 to Mazzy with bows.) And then there is Rasaad. He's not caster or rogue, so he is by default a warrior, and way worse than Minsc. And if we are going there, so is Wilson, who can't even used ranged weapons! I think I would take Minsc over any of these three. (Which is not to say I would take him over the first three or Sarevok!)

[Aasimar069]

Originally posted by Wicket W. Warrick:

All correct, but you forget that he has Boo, while Sarevok not, this changes everything.

You mean, he has 2 free quickslots instead of three ? ;-)

[Zotliatlicor]

I love Minsc. I think he is one of the best and well written Companions ever, spanning all of BG games and also other RPG's.

And he is not weak. As Ranger he gains ability Fighters do not, and it is a matter of taste if you like them, better or worse.

How he come along as a starter Companion is all about flavour. He is destined to smack Vampires (Racial Enemy +4/+4) with a "certain" Powerful Mace(s). He is a Dual wielder naturally. He has a special version of the Rage Ability, not availible to any others and it last twice as long as Korgans - 2 turns instead of 1 turn.

Travel with Keldorn to "Cure" Minsc of the Berserk stage when he Rages, and you have a powerful ability to use vs a lot of though and bossy enemies.

That Minsc is buildt outside of the "powergaming" stucture i find a good thing. Just like Anomens "wasted" profs in Spears. It does not matter in the long run. Minsc has low Int, yes. But the game literally throws INT potions at you everywhere, and are you really going to fight Mindflayers without Boosting Int on your Tanks?

Korgan is a better Pure Fighter, yes, but Korgan cannot use Armour Of Faith with the Defender Of Easthaven. Therefore Minsc is a better Tank.

Fighters Start with 4 proficiencies, Rangers get 4 + 2, and stops at lv 34 instead of 40, so they both get 17 proficiencies. Thac0 is capped at lvl 20 for both classes. Rangers are more versatile and get to use a wider selection of weapons. Fighters are more focused on 1 or 2 weapons of choice with Grand Mastery. Both good things.

Rangers get 17 HLA's, Fighters get 21. The Tradeoff is Stealth, and Spells.

[Archangel47]

Originally posted by Zotliatlicor:

I love Minsc. I think he is one of the best and well written Companions ever, spanning all of BG games and also other RPG's.

And he is not weak. As Ranger he gains ability Fighters do not, and it is a matter of taste if you like them, better or worse.

How he come along as a starter Companion is all about flavour. He is destined to smack Vampires (Racial Enemy +4/+4) with a "certain" Powerful Mace(s). He is a Dual wielder naturally. He has a special version of the Rage Ability, not availible to any others and it last twice as long as Korgans - 2 turns instead of 1 turn.

Travel with Keldorn to "Cure" Minsc of the Berserk stage when he Rages, and you have a powerful ability to use vs a lot of though and bossy enemies.

That Minsc is buildt outside of the "powergaming" stucture i find a good thing. Just like Anomens "wasted" profs in Spears. It does not matter in the long run. Minsc has low Int, yes. But the game literally throws INT potions at you everywhere, and are you really going to fight Mindflayers without Boosting Int on your Tanks?

Korgan is a better Pure Fighter, yes, but Korgan cannot use Armour Of Faith with the Defender Of Easthaven. Therefore Minsc is a better Tank.

Fighters Start with 4 proficiencies, Rangers get 4 + 2, and stops at lv 34 instead of 40, so they both get 17 proficiencies. Thac0 is capped at lvl 20 for both classes. Rangers are more versatile and get to use a wider selection of weapons. Fighters are more focused on 1 or 2 weapons of choice with Grand Mastery. Both good things.

Rangers get 17 HLA's, Fighters get 21. The Tradeoff is Stealth, and Spells.

I use Minsc on every run.

[Memnarch]

absolutely agree for over +20 years playing these games...every time I come to Nashkel I start gutting this dumb ass character and take Edwin instead.

[6h0$t942]

He doesnt bother me that much, but he IS overhyped.

Sarevok also murdered your father and countless innocents and is a warrior willingly conducted into a dark order. His whole "redemption arc" is bullsht. Good for an evil party though.

[Hamish]

I worry about people who don't like Minsc, it's like hateing puppies or kittens...

saying that, I do replace him with Keldorn, as Keldorn's dispel magic strips every mage in the game to their undies, instantly. Plus he can use the holy avenger well. Minsc sadly bring nothing any where near as great as that to the party.

[Nikalykos]

I might be a bit late to the party, but whenever I bring Minsc along, I always make sure to utilize the Rashemi Berserker mod. This mod not only brings him up to par with Korgan, but also enhances him from a lore point of view by allowing him to embody the roles of both ranger and berserker. It's a perfect fit for his character, just as the developers had intended, in my opinion.

[Macona]

If you've been through the games lots of times and fancy something a bit different; you could bump up his wisdom with EEKeeper and dual him into a Cleric.

[☻]

I think Minsc can be a pretty solid choice depending on who you have in your party and what equipment they are using. I usually use Minsc and Serevok in my party.

If you equip Minsc with the "Defender Of Easthaven in his off hand it will give you a +1 armor class bonus and a 20% damage reduction to all physical damage ( slashing, piercing and blunt damage). The flail is +3 to hit and does +4 damage. Then in his main hand equip him with Foebane +5. Foebane will give him a +1 to all saving throws and it casts Larlach's minor drain each time you hit the enemy which will do 2-4 extra damage to the enemy on each hit and heal Minsc 2-4 each hit at the same time. He will be hitting 7 times a round with improved haste so that's alot of healing and extra damage every round. Give him 3 pips in dual weapon and equip "Montollio's cloak" to get get rid of any negative effects with the off hand. His strength is determined by the equipment he is using just like anyone else and any Hitpoints he may be lacking are few and far between plus he is equipped with some minor spell casting that he can use to heal anytime.

Foebane isn't available until TOB but until then you can use the "Flail Of Ages" in his main hand which is the the most damaging weapon in the game. It gains free action if you upgrade it to +5 in TOB but at that point you will be able to use Foebane. Add his "armor of Faith" and "Hardiness" ability and he becomes a real tank. He does more damage and can last longer than Serevok if he is equipped properly. Minsc will get 9 attacks a round with improved haste while Serevok will be limited to 6 with two handed swords or halberds. Minsc will get a constant stream of healing and damage resistance while Serevok will get blasted. Serevok could use the same equipment setup but he already has pips in two handers and crossbows plus you might as well spread the best weapons in the game out around the whole party so it makes sense to let Serevok stay focused on the things he is good at.

The bottom line is that Serevok has 3 extra profiency points in the two handed weapons he wields and he has some extra HP. Minsc has more attacks per a round and his one handed weapons grant a combination of boons that are better than any two hander can give. He has the same HLA abilities but also armor of faith and healing spells that he can cast. He is most certainly not inferior to Serevok if you use him properly.