Party composition! A (very specific) guide to the "perfect" party.

[Maggelaggen]

I decided I would throw my hat in the ring and create a mini-guide to party-composition, since it seems to be a recurring topic on this forum.

This guide is mostly aimed at higher difficulties (hard or higher), but will also save you tons of frustration on lower difficulties.

I have focused mainly on the following criteria:
1. Survivability/adaptability from start to end (Many classes can really shine in certain settings, but I have gone for classes/kits that can both deal damage, stay alive and be of use regardless of the situation/encounter, at all stages of the game).
2. Game-specific challenges (difficult fights and frequency of certain types of enemies/spells).
3. Synergies. (Which classes/spells/abilities go together well)

After carefull consideration I landed on the following group (in-depth explanation follows further down).

1. Tank: Human Berserker (dual-class to mage at level 9) STR 18 (min 15.), DEX 18, CON 18, INT 18 (min 17), WIS/CHA (dump-stats)
2. Human Ranger/cleric (dual-class at level 7) STR 18, DEX 18, CON 18, INT/CHA (dump-stats), WIS 18
3. Human Fighter/thief (dual-class at level 9) STR 18, DEX 18, CON 16+, INT/WIS/CHA (dump-stats).
4. Druid (Shapeshifter). STR/INT (dump-stats), DEX 18, CON 16, WIS 14+, CHA 14+
5. Sorcerer. STR/WIS (dump-stats), DEX 18, CON 16, INT 18, CHA 18.
6. Optional slot

1. I usually go for the Human Berserker and dual to mage at 9 when I have 5 pips in Axes. Axes are great since you get the defender + 2 early on and the +2 throwing axe not much later. Start by putting 2 pips in Axe and 2 pips in 1h + shield. The -4 AC vs. missiles is great for the early/mid-game, since there are tons of ranged mobs that can really hurt you up to the point of the game where you have stoneskin/mirror image/blur. If you want you can put 2 pips in two-weapon fighting for the latter stages where AC isn't a factor (due to stoneskin, prot. from magical weapons etc.) Remember to get a scroll-case from Orrick and save all spell scrolls found along the way so you can hit the ground running when you dual to mage.

2. I normally dual at level 7, because I want turn undead to be as high level as possible for as much of the game possible and you get an extra attack/round at 7, which makes the ranger/cleric that much more of a threat in melee. Remember to put pips in bludgeoning weapons, since those are the only ones available for the cleric. I would recommend going for 2 pips in flail/morningstar since you get very good flails early on that will last the entire game, and 2 pips in Sling for ranged dps.

3. I prefer the Dual-class F/T to the Archer because of the greater versatility. You can still get 5 pips in ranged, you can use heavy armor up to level 9 and you can specialize in melee weapons, making you that much more of a threat in melee combat. By level 9 you have 5 pips in the bow of your choice and while AC is still important at this point you can throw on a shield for the hairy fights where you are forced into melee and hold your own. I would recommend going for scimitar or short sword as melee weapon, since there are several good options available and you won't compete with the other party members as far as weapons are concerned. Go for single-weapon to get increased crit-chance for both ranged and melee (back-stabs).

4. I would go for a pure druid over a Fighter/druid since the druid really becomes a force to be reckoned with at higher levels and while the F/D is decent, I would much rather go for a F/T or F/C if I was looking for additional dps. The Werewolf shape is great for lower levels as supporting melee dps and you have a healer around while you are leveling your R/C. From spell level 4 --> I usually keep the druid in the background as a pure caster. My only lament is that my two favourite druid spells (insect swarm and Call Woodland Being) is not as useful as in BG, due to the sheer amount of undead enemies in this game. Those two spells are awesome vs flesh and blood mobs.

5. The Sorcerer is pretty much a shoe-in. On higher difficulties you will easily get overwhelmed due to the sheer number of mobs so you need a lot of aoe and summons to stay alive. The only problem with the pure mage/sorcerer is that they are pretty vulnerable at lower levels, especially since there are loads of ranged mobs and spells like sleep, horror and stinking cloud are useless since most of the mobs are undead. You could go for a dual-class Fighter/mage and dual after a few levels, just to get some more HP and survivability, but I would still argue that the sorcerer is the way to go in IWD simply because of how remarkably difficult it is to get your hands on spell-scrolls. It is a minor problem at lower levels, but once you get to spell-level 4 and up you really start struggling and often find that you have empty spell slots simply due to lack of scrolls.

6. I rarely go for 6 players, since I find that you often have at least one that is "lagging" in terms of usefulness/survivability. It is easier to equip five than six and the more players you have the bigger chance of them competing over the same items. In addition you level faster with fewer players. If you prefer a full party I would recommend going for a thief/mage, a paladin (undead hunters are good) or a Skald for the sixth slot. The thief/mage will be around for traps and chests while you are leveling your F/T and while your sorcerer provides aoe/summons/crowd-control your thief/mage could provide the direct ranged spell dps etc. The Undead hunter is another tank-type and since 99% of the game consists of undead anyhow... The skald has the great song-buff and will have really good buffs/debuff spells(haste, slow for instance) since they level quickly and their spell level will be high from an early stage of the game.

That's it, folks! Hope you find it useful and if you disagree intently or just have a completely different take, then have a go at me in the comments! ;)