Is there a better combat mage then Finala at any point in the game?

[MikeSol99]

I am playing a solo melee character but I take other party members with me just to activate and do their secondary quests. I need a character at level 28 to wield Arinth's Staff so i can activate that quest. Finala is the only combat mage I can recruit as of near the end of ACT 2. But she is only level 22. I do not wish to keep her in my party long enough to get her to level 28.

Is there another combat mage I can recruit later with a higher character level?

[RNG_Wizard]

I had this exact same problem in my solo playthrough. Sadly no, there's not another combat mage later at a higher level.

Of note, party members do have their level scale as you go through the new game difficulties, but they only do this if you haven't already recruited them and they only scale to the rough level they would have been if you recruit them at the time they become available. So, the only real workaround is to come back at playthrough 2 or later to do those quests. I believe you'll also have a similar problem with another staff-based quest in Act III unless you're playing a nature mage.

Basically, consider waiting until playthrough two before even taking a single allied party member that way their level can scale high enough. In the scenario you're in, you're unfortunately out of luck. On the bright side, if you're willing to wait until playthrough 2 or 3 for your 100% quest completion, it is possible if you just wait to recruit party members.

[MikeSol99]

That is what I thought I was going to have to do. Just wait until later.

However, since posting this, I found a mod that will level any character you add to your party to just one level less then your own character. So I used that which worked with Finala. She went from level 22 to level 32 (one level less then me) and her Combat mage level also leveled up to 32. So then I was obviously able to have her equip Arinth's staff and begin the quest that releases him.

Thank you for replying.