Is this a good party?

[Lukiarch]

Hello! I am new to IWD, but really love RPGs.
However, I have serious trouble figuring out an effective playstyle. There are numerous guides out there with decent instructions but I 'm confused. I have some basic understanding of the mechanics, but no ability whatsoever to create a surviving party.

Now, here are my concerns. I want to experience as many elements of the game as possible. I have found guides that create the most powerful party, but have little variability. I want to make a strong party to enjoy the game in the "core rules" difficulty. "Enjoy" meaning having various classes and abilities, challenge myself and think of effective tactics, but also be able to win the first real damn battle in the cave.

So, I have my second party here and I want some information. Like, are they any good? Will this party survive? Have I made weak builds? Can I replace a character with one more fun or just different to experience a better variety? Can you tell me how to make a powerful mage? Are my spells good for beginning? Are my proficiencies good?

Thank you very much for your time to read this, any time you spend answering and all answers I get!
I want to enjoy this game, the BG games and really have some fun before get to some newer RPGs. (I was inspired by BG3)

First time in the forum, feedback is welcome.

Gemla

Race: Dwarf
Class: Dwarven Defender
Alignment: CG
STR: 18/71
DEX: 17
CON: 19
INT: 10
WIS: 13
CHA: 13

Weaporn Proficiencies: Crossbow++, Sword and Shield Style++


Lothia

Race: Half-Orc
Class: Fighter
Alignment: TN
STR: 19
DEX: 18
CON: 19
INT: 8
WIS: 14
CHA: 7

Weaporn Proficiencies: Shortbow++. 2H Weapon Style++


Lien

Race: Halfling
Class: Thief
Alignment: NE
STR: 17
DEX: 19
CON: 18
INT: 18
WIS: 6
CHA: 7

Weaporn Proficiencies: Dagger+, Sling+
Proficiencies: Move Silently 45, Find Traps 35, Pick Pockets 35, Open Locks 40, Hide In Shadows 45, Detect Illusion 0, Set Traps 10


Melanie

Race: Half-Elf
Class: Priest of Lathander
Alignment: NG
STR: 17
DEX: 18
CON: 18
INT: 4
WIS: 18
CHA: 13

Weaporn Proficiencies: Sling+, Single Weapon Style+
Known Priest Spells: (If I'm not mistaken those are default)


Niomi

Race: Half-Elf
Class: Fighter/Mage
Alignment: LG
STR: 18/37
DEX: 18
CON: 18
INT: 18
WIS: 3
CHA: 11

Weaporn Proficiencies: Longbow++, Single Weapon Style++
Known Mage Spells: Identify, Sleep


Linda

Race: Elf
Class: Druid
Alignment: TN
STR: 13
DEX: 17
CON: 16
INT: 8
WIS: 18
CHA: 18

Weaporn Proficiencies: Sling+, Single Weapon Style+
Known Priest Spells: (If I'm not mistaken those are default)

[Kimmaz]

I would suggest that you pick a weapon for each of the 6 guys Its easier to use good weapons you find. You have 2 guys using slings. Id make one of them use something else.
And "Weapon styles" does not affect ranged weapons, why do most of your charachters have a weapon style and a ranged weapon? Is it because you plan to use melee weapons later on?


Have completed the game with this party: (I played act1-3 on hardest and the rest on hard)
Cavalier using Swords & hammers, Dwarven defender Using axes, Fighter/cleric using Flails and maces. A Sorcerer, a Thief/Mage with a crossbow. A Archer using a Longbow.

With this party I could use 2,3 or 4 guys on melee and 2,3 or 4 using ranged weapons.
Good at ranged 4: Crossbow, Longbow, Throwing Axes and Sling/fireballs.
Good at melee 4: Cavalier, Dwarf, Fighter and Archer.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1777030207

[Lukiarch]

Originally posted by Kimmaz:

I would suggest that you pick a weapon for each of the 6 guys Its easier to use good weapons you find. You have 2 guys using slings. Id make one of them use something else.
And "Weapon styles" does not affect ranged weapons, why do most of your charachters have a weapon style and a ranged weapon? Is it because you plan to use melee weapons later on?


Have completed the game with this party: (I played act1-3 on hardest and the rest on hard)
Cavalier using Swords & hammers, Dwarven defender Using axes, Fighter/cleric using Flails and maces. A Sorcerer, a Thief/Mage with a crossbow. A Archer using a Longbow.

With this party I could use 2,3 or 4 guys on melee and 2,3 or 4 using ranged weapons.
Good at ranged 4: Crossbow, Longbow, Throwing Axes and Sling/fireballs.
Good at melee 4: Cavalier, Dwarf, Fighter and Archer.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1777030207

Thank you, so much for answering to me, you 've really helped me a lot!

Slings were the only choice of ranged weapon they could use, that's why I have two of them. I gave them a weapon styles, because I thought they could use any weapon I found with no penalty. Doesn't it work like that?

I gave everyone the option to be able to fight when they had enemies close and from afar. I read somewhere that everybody should have some proficiency in range weapons. Also, how do i make my casters useful when they don't have useful spells, or they have expended them in previous battles? I thought range weapons would be useful.

So, if I change the weapon proficiencies, do you think this is a playable party?

And again, thank you so much for your time!

[Kimmaz]

I would give the dwarf and half-orc one melee weapon each and not use them ranged. If you give one of them axe, he can use throwing axes when needed. You dont need 6 guys using ranged.

I heal mostly out of combat myself. only if i have too in combat. So i used a fighter cleric instead of a priest. But perhaps you are better at using buffs and heals mid-combat. The thief is a must to have to find traps but he also lacks in combat so I used a multi class thief.

You can play the first 2-3 acts and if you dont like one person you can export everyone and start a new game with your existing party and a new person. 2-300k exp doesnt matter in the end of the game. The new person will catch up in levels.

[Lukiarch]

I see! Thank you very much! I'll start playing and get some experience of how things work.
You've been very helpful!

[Maggelaggen]

First a general tip. If you want to have a pure healer just use Sanctuary on him/her. That way the healer can stand in the thick of battle and heal your melee without risking injury.

As far as classes are concerned I would advice you to go for the classes you think are fun to play. You can get away with most party set-ups on lower difficulties as long as you have a version of the "core classes" present (warrior, cleric, mage, thief). More than your choice of classes however, this game is about utilizing your spells, attacks, abilities in a good way. Here are some tips on the various classes and how they may be useful (from a gameplay-viewpoint).

Fighters. Since the top level for any class in IWD is 30 I would advice going for multi- or dual-class fighters as a general rule, since they tend to hit their peak at around level 13 otherwise. You can get grand-mastery in a weapon by level 9, you stop getting full HD at 10 and you max out attacks/round at 13. You should also hit negative Thac0 by this point and AC is not that big of a factor in the later stages, since most mobs have very low Thac0. While a pure fighter starts lagging at 13 and becomes more and more reliant on buffs a dual- or multi-class fighter will become increasingly more potent as you progress in levels.

Clerics. While pure clerics are good all around characters I would advice putting a few levels in fighter before dualing to cleric, just to get more attacks, weapon spec and higher HP. You could alternatively go for multi-class cleric, but that means your Turn Undead won't be maxed for the later stages, which is quite a significant loss. Remember that you can only choose bludgeoning weapons as a cleric (if you dual-class from fighter), so any points put in slashing weapons/bows is a waste. If you do decide to go dual-class fighter/cleric I would advice dual-classing at either 7 or 9.

Mage. A pure mage can be powerful, but I would rather go for a Sorcerer in IWD, since spell scrolls are ridiculously hard to come by. Most vendors only sell a handfull and you risk having empty spell slots along the way. A very good alternative is the fighter mage (multi/dual-class). If you go this way you have more time to gather spell scrolls and should be able to hit the ground running with plenty of spells to choose from, as you level up.

Thief. Unfortunatly the thief is pretty much a waste in IWD. There are a lot of enemies that are immune to poison, few opportunities for backstabbing and general sneakiness and thieves are no good for straight-up dps either in melee or from range. Better to go for a dual- or multi-class thief. I usually go for a dual-class fighter/thief (dual at 9) to get 5 pips in ranged weapon and use it as an archer that can find traps/open locks and later on specialize in melee weapons as well.

If you do choose to go for some pure classes I would advice going for one of the following:

1. Barbarian. They can't go beyond weapon specialization, but in this game it is a definite plus to master many different weapon types. Having two points in a bludgeoning weapon, two points in a ranged weapon and two points in a slashing weapon will make you a threat in most encounters. The rage makes up for most of the loss of + hit/dmg from lack of mastery, anyhow. Not being able to wear heavy armor is not a great loss either. On lower levels you can get decent medium armor that does the job and throw on a shield if needed and by the latter stages AC is not a big point and you are better off with the increased HP and damage reduction of the barbarian.

2. Sorcerer. The Sorcerer is a powerhouse. Focus on aoe-spells and summons.

3. Druid (Shapeshifter). Druids are awesome in IWD. The Shapeshifter can perform quite well in Werewolf-form if needed, but is far more potent as a pure caster. Druids have some of the best aoe + summon spells in the game.

[Lukiarch]

Originally posted by Maggelaggen:

First a general tip. If you want to have a pure healer just use Sanctuary on him/her. That way the healer can stand in the thick of battle and heal your melee without risking injury.

As far as classes are concerned I would advice you to go for the classes you think are fun to play. You can get away with most party set-ups on lower difficulties as long as you have a version of the "core classes" present (warrior, cleric, mage, thief). More than your choice of classes however, this game is about utilizing your spells, attacks, abilities in a good way. Here are some tips on the various classes and how they may be useful (from a gameplay-viewpoint).

Fighters. Since the top level for any class in IWD is 30 I would advice going for multi- or dual-class fighters as a general rule, since they tend to hit their peak at around level 13 otherwise. You can get grand-mastery in a weapon by level 9, you stop getting full HD at 10 and you max out attacks/round at 13. You should also hit negative Thac0 by this point and AC is not that big of a factor in the later stages, since most mobs have very low Thac0. While a pure fighter starts lagging at 13 and becomes more and more reliant on buffs a dual- or multi-class fighter will become increasingly more potent as you progress in levels.

Clerics. While pure clerics are good all around characters I would advice putting a few levels in fighter before dualing to cleric, just to get more attacks, weapon spec and higher HP. You could alternatively go for multi-class cleric, but that means your Turn Undead won't be maxed for the later stages, which is quite a significant loss. Remember that you can only choose bludgeoning weapons as a cleric (if you dual-class from fighter), so any points put in slashing weapons/bows is a waste. If you do decide to go dual-class fighter/cleric I would advice dual-classing at either 7 or 9.

Mage. A pure mage can be powerful, but I would rather go for a Sorcerer in IWD, since spell scrolls are ridiculously hard to come by. Most vendors only sell a handfull and you risk having empty spell slots along the way. A very good alternative is the fighter mage (multi/dual-class). If you go this way you have more time to gather spell scrolls and should be able to hit the ground running with plenty of spells to choose from, as you level up.

Thief. Unfortunatly the thief is pretty much a waste in IWD. There are a lot of enemies that are immune to poison, few opportunities for backstabbing and general sneakiness and thieves are no good for straight-up dps either in melee or from range. Better to go for a dual- or multi-class thief. I usually go for a dual-class fighter/thief (dual at 9) to get 5 pips in ranged weapon and use it as an archer that can find traps/open locks and later on specialize in melee weapons as well.

If you do choose to go for some pure classes I would advice going for one of the following:

1. Barbarian. They can't go beyond weapon specialization, but in this game it is a definite plus to master many different weapon types. Having two points in a bludgeoning weapon, two points in a ranged weapon and two points in a slashing weapon will make you a threat in most encounters. The rage makes up for most of the loss of + hit/dmg from lack of mastery, anyhow. Not being able to wear heavy armor is not a great loss either. On lower levels you can get decent medium armor that does the job and throw on a shield if needed and by the latter stages AC is not a big point and you are better off with the increased HP and damage reduction of the barbarian.

2. Sorcerer. The Sorcerer is a powerhouse. Focus on aoe-spells and summons.

3. Druid (Shapeshifter). Druids are awesome in IWD. The Shapeshifter can perform quite well in Werewolf-form if needed, but is far more potent as a pure caster. Druids have some of the best aoe + summon spells in the game.

Oh my God, this is gold!!! Thank you very much, I will be returning to these answers regularly. I can't thank you enough. I really hope I will enjoy playing this game.