Need feedback on party

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I played the original IWD back in the day when it first came out but I never played all the way through it along with the expansions. Anyways I've been try to get myself re-acclimated with the game. I've also been playing some BG2 as well. Ah good times. I think these old 2nd edition games are awesome. Anyways I wanted to go with a 5 man party so I could level up a bit faster and not have any overlapping. Goal is play all the through IWD, HoW, and TotLM. Ok here we go:

Dwarven Fighter OR maybe a Paladin instead(not sure on this one) - TANK
Elf Fighter/Thief - BACKSTABBING AND ARCHERY AND SCOUTING
Half-Elven Bard - DIPLOMAT AND PICKPOCKETING AND SPELLS
Half-Elven Cleric/Ranger - HEALS
Human Dual-Class Fighter --> Mage (Not sure what level to dual to mage though. Was thinking level 2 or 3. Need some advice on that.)
- MY MAGE

So there ya go. Would love some feedback especially on using a fighter or paladin as my main tank and at what level to dual over to mage for my dually. If I should go with something else, that is welcome too. Thanks

 

The best helmet in the game can only be used by good aligned gnomes or halflings, so I'd make a good aligned gnome fighter with 18/00 strength. I'd take grandmastery in axes, you can use them both in melee and ranged.

For dualclassing from fighter to mage level 3 is early enough. Extra hitpoints are good and can use the extra proficiency point to master a weapon type for additional +2 to hit and +1 to damage. You can dualclass to illusionist if you want to cast more spells per day.

 

When playing with the NPC mod, I used a Gnome Fig/Ill as my main character. He was a Monster. Most kills in the party and my number one tank, even with a Paladin, Ranger and a dualled Fighter/Druid. Gnomes are an excellent choice in IWD. My favorite in fact.

Your Bard can handle Arcane spellcsting until you dual, so why not dual at level 7? or 9? Only at higher levels does the Mage come into his own, so I usally prefer a Multi or Dualled Mage in IWD. Since you are playing with only 5 characters, the will level up a little bit faster, though not much. Scrolls can be a bit scarce in IWD, so you can afford another class or wait longer on dualling for your mage.

 

I'd rather go for mc F/M,especially when you got party of 5
But I agree with Vanatar that if you want dual it's better to wait a bit
in terms of how powerful your character becomes in the end. But even 3levels will do you good, as for one you can use fighter equipment(helmets come in handy), fight bit better.

Paladin makes a great tank, F/T is another asset, cleric ranger is okay too
well Bard is a bard... but I guess you don't take him for the power-gaming reasons

 

That's a good party, dual at level 4 or level 7 if you can wait.

The dwarven fighter is an awesome tank but the best weapon in the game is only usable by a paladin. That said, the fighter will still hit harder and more often with grand mastery in a weapon. There is a throwing axe so taking axes (and hammers) for the dwarf is really good.

I prefer a halfling F/T -- but both are good.

 

You underestimate the Bard Voy. When the Bard is able to cast 3rd level spells, his Fireball is better than the Mage. He cast at his level, which will always be higher than the Mages level. So any level-based spell the bard casts will be more efective than the mage casting the same spell, whether it level based on duration, damage, etc.... Magic missle is another example, at least until the Mage hits level 9. The mage just gets more spells. Plus the high lore is handy and saves time. His HPs are higher. He can pickpocket, making it easier for your thief to worry about more important skills. There are nice items to PP in Kuldahar when you first get there. PP Arundel, Oswald and Orrick, it's worth it early in the game. The items are nice or can be sold for mucho gold at that point in the game. Basically, Bards are awesome! They truly are a Jack-of-all-trades in IWD.

 

The bard's song in HoW is quite potent.

The War Chant of Sith: Allies gain -2 AC bonus, +10% resistance to crushing, missile attacks, piercing, and slashing and regeneration of two hit points per round.

The regeneration makes the need for healing spells almost obsolete.

 

In the first Icewind Dale, Bards are excellent. As are Druids. I find both classes lacking in the BG series.

My ultimate party is thus:

Human Paladin – main tank and party leader; can use best weapon in the game

Half-Elf Ranger/Cleric – 2nd tank, main healer; very powerful

Dwarf Fighter – Specializing in bows & axes, backup tank (sub in a gnome or halfling here for access to previously-mentioned helmet)

Human dual-class fighter 2/druid x – awesome offensive spells, healing and backup tank. No more than 2 levels of fighter, to specialize in your chosen druid weapon and get access to heavy armor.

Gnomish Illusionist/Thief – best mage character ever IMO, all the thief you need

Half-Elf Bard – tons of options, secondary spellcaster, interesting and helpful songs, decent in combat


This is a very well-rounded party, allowing you to experience every class in the game and almost all of the races in a single party, on a single playthrough. I find that a single-class Mage is a complete waste in this game, and only one mage is enough. Between the Bard and the Druid, your backup offensive spells are more than covered.

EDIT: Of course, a variation on this theme would be to make the 3rd slot an elven, halfling or gnomish fighter/thief (for ranged and backstabbing), and make your mage character either a mage (not recommended) or a fighter/mage (def recommended). It puts two "fighters" in your party, so it may seem redundant, but you probably won't care, from all the ass-kicking going on.

 

OK you are right tbh, here bard makes perfect sense since he's a better spell caster early on, and then when F/M can wreck havoc Bard still is useful as a backup, for spells like haste etc mage can save slots for other spells plus songs are nice, so ok im taking it back bard is great for that party will make your life easier even though he'd soak up exp

Also ain't saying bards are useless, they are good and handy but having F/M and F/T has Bard skills covered and both are superior to Bard in terms of their importance to the party. Lore is handy but not important, well rounded thief with potions can get good enough pick pockets as well. Also there are some cool mage only items. Bard can be awesome with buffs and tenser like in bg2, but battle mage with tenser is still better killing things imo. (At least it was in BG, finished IWD only twice tbh)

 

I found the magic system in IWD lacking. It's definitely a Fighter's game. F/M are excellent though, either multi or dual. The buffs you give yourself make the FM a monster in combat. Bard can't do that. But Bard can fill all you needs that a mage can and them some. The mage just gives you more spells and higher level spells. But in IWD, higher level spells are not necessary. A shame really. I think it was the one thing the game was lacking, tougher magic-using enemies. Some of the battles were tough, but enemy mages were a breeze.

 

You can dual to a specialist mage in IWD? (In BG2 the advantage of a single-class mage instead of one with fighter levels was he could be a specialist (with the exception of multiclassed gnomes of course)). Why do you recommend an illusionist? Is it the most powerful specialist class in IWD? (instead of say Conjurer, like in BG?).

 

In my experience, having a Bard singing in the background can easily be the difference between winning and losing. They're very underestimated.

 

Bards are great for early-mid game dominance. In most infinity engine games they are built for power.

In IWD Bards have:
1) Higher character levels, as Blades of Vanatar mentioned. In HoW this becomes more important as there are now summoning spells that scale with character level.
2) Access to Bard-specific items, which saves you spell slots and which you can easily buy/sell to recharge. These items actually give meaning to all your extra gc.
3) Access to bows. Easily one of the best weapons in this game, and Bards are excellent archers.
5) Great Bard songs in HoW, especially the War Chant.

Bards are perfect for rounding up any party. IWD Bards do not become less useful if you have both an F/M and an F/T, they are built in such a way that they complement other classes instead of compete with them. An F/M, for example, will want to focus on melee fighting and getting the most out of his powerful buff spells - an arrangement which conveniently leaves the character level-dependent nuking and summon spells to the Bard. The presence of a Bard allows an F/T to focus on hide/disarm traps/open locks. Bard are critical if you want your clerics/druids to become true powerhouses instead of healbots, as Bards get War Chant of Sith and Otiluke's Resilient Sphere (much more useful for saving a dying party member in HoF mode imo).

Finally while most classes don't shine until they get to specific levels or equip specific gear. Give a naked bard a decent bow, ammunition and a few spells and you have a properly working character.

BG bards are much more powerful than their IWD counterparts, except perhaps the IWD2 ones who get Wail of the Banshee. In BG1 bards also have the steal ability, not to mention easy access (with quite a bit of ingenuity on the gamer's part, there are actually video guides out there showing how to do this) to the Wand of Paralysis and the Necklace of Missiles. Along with the Wand of Monster Summoning these three wands are basically what HLA's are to BG2:ToB. In essence Bards are rivaled only by the F/M/T for sheer power in BG1 (solo-wise), the only other class capable of "acquiring" these three items in record time. Even you dispense with "powergamey" elements Bards are great in BG1, their song protects from (and removes) fear, they can use bows, and they can use wands. They have access to some magic, and their high lore ability is very useful, considering how (ironically²) there is a proliferation of magical items in BG1.
In BG2 how powerful a Bard is depends on your cheese meter, since that game went overboard item-wise.