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The perfect party?

Discussion in 'Icewind Dale (Classic)' started by Nightal, Jul 25, 2000.

  1. Nightal Gems: 7/31
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  2. Wingfoot Guest

    well, for staters i think a thief is a must...
     
  3. Sylvus Moonbow Gems: 21/31
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    4 Fighter classes in my opinion for front line defense. At least 1 cleric or a sub-class druid. Thief or a sub-class Bard. A mage.

    When I play the game again, I think my *new* party will consist of the following.

    1 Fighter. For full specialization.

    1 Paladin or Ranger. Undecided.

    1 Fighter/Mage. There is a sweet blade for Fighter/Mages only that deals very good damage, is magical and gives extra slots for 1st and 2nd level spells. Only usuable by a Fighter/Mage.

    1 Fighter/Cleric or Fighter/Druid or Druid.

    1 Bard. I didn't find my thief very useful the first time around. All she did was disarm and find traps for me as well as open locks. A bard can do this as well with just as much effect. My thief never backstabbed as my 3 fighters and 1 cleric took care of everything and what they missed, my mage dropped. With the specific items for Bards and the power of those items, a Bard in my view, for how I play best suits my style.

    1 Mage.

    2 Clerics are nice to have, but I found by resting I saved time in healing all the time and I never encountered anything that I needed 2 clerics to help me get out of a jam.

    Sylvus
     
  4. Wingfoot Guest

    this is the party i am using now (1st time through and on chap. 6) and it has worked well.

    Fighter
    Fighter/Druid
    Fighter/Cleric (dual classed to cleric @ 5th level, put 3 prof. points to mace, he can pack a punch)
    Fighter/Thief (i love to backstab, especialy unfriendly mages)
    Conjurer
    Bard ( theres a few good magic items that only bards can use )

    i agree w/ having 4 fighter types and i think you can get away w/ only one cleric/druid. next time through i a going w/all single classed characters.
     
  5. Silencer3000 Gems: 1/31
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    [​IMG] I have beat both Icewind Dale and BG, and in my opinion the following is the best party...

    3 pure fighter types (I use a fighter, ranger, and paladin)- games like IWD tend to be balanced so that when monsters are encountered, they present a challenge to a pure fighter type. Thus, a multi-class fighter often lacks the hp and thaco to effectively go toe to toe with many of the monsters in the game. Therefore, I prefer pure fighters to multi-class fighters

    1 single class cleric (or druid) and 1 single class mage. The rational for this is simple, single class spellcasters gain powerful spells quicker than multi-class spellcasters. Having a single class spellcaster always ensures that you will have the most powerful spells possible.

    1 cleric/thief. The sixth member is always the hardest to choose. I like the cleric/thief because thief skills such as find traps and open locks are pretty much essential, and the extra cleric abilities are very useful considering the fact that this party relies primarily on the three fighters to deal out damage. Any party that relies on melee combat always has need of extra healing.

    hope this helps.
     
  6. Dorn Gems: 2/31
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    [​IMG] The perfect party for me was:

    1. Human Paladin
    2. Dwarvin Fighter
    3. Elven Ranger
    4. Elven Thief
    5. Elven Cleric
    6. Elven Mage

    If i had it to do again I would definitely make some changes though. I would replace the Thief with a Bard (same detect traps, open lock, plus you get magic and special items), change the mage to a specialty (bonus spell), dual the ranger to a druid, or maybe just have him be a druid.

    There are so many combinations that it's ridiculous! I wish you could play a 10 person party, then I could make all the characters I wanted without leaving someone out! Getting around in cramped passages would suck though! ;)

    This is going to be even harder once the games are based off of 3r Edition Rules! Specialty kits galore plus more races and more classes! What will we do???
     
  7. Vermillion Gems: 18/31
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    I prefer to use two fighter classes, 2 priest classes, a rogue class and a mage( not specialized for a wider spell selection)
     
  8. Onionlord Gems: 1/31
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    The party I used to defeat the game was also very melee heavy.

    Fighter
    Ranger
    Paladin
    Fighter/Thief
    Cleric
    Mage

    The Fighter/Thief acted as a fighter 90% of the time, only in a few instances did he use his thief skills, but i wouldnt want to atempt the game without those skills.
     
  9. The Wretched Gems: 6/31
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    [​IMG]
    Let me begin here by stating that a bard does NOT replace a thief. In Icewind Dale, the only thief skill a Bard has is Pick Pockets... thus he'll be no good for you when it comes to stealthing or disarming traps.

    I do agree, though, that a single-classed thief is a waste of time... they are just not useful enough to take up an entire character slot in your party. What I did was create a mage/thief, which gives you an awesome utility character who can unleash offensive spells, as well as scout ahead and disarm traps. The only thing she can't do well is fight, so you've got to protect her.

    My next party is going to have a fighter/thief, who will be more of a scout/assassin than a utility character. Not only will he be able to disarm traps, but with the fighter's THAC0, his backstabbing will miss much less often, and he won't get wiped out if he doesn't make a kill on the first hit.

    Here is the party I will probably go with on my next run through:

    Fighter
    Fighter
    Fighter/Thief
    Fighter (dual-class to druid)
    Cleric/Mage (lots and lots of spells!)

    I'm only using 5 characters to up the XPs I get, and since this will be an evil party, I'm not using any Rangers or Paladins. As you can see, they will start off with 3 pure fighters for front-line fighting, with the fighter/thief being a scout and bow support. The Cleric/Mage will likely use a sling, but will mainly be there for magical assistance.

    In the later stages of the game, one of the fighters will dual-class to a druid, giving us extra healing power, plus some kick-butt spells that only druids have.
     
  10. Voltric Gems: 19/31
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    [​IMG] I agree with the multi-class theif. I played a Mage/theif as well. I used 2 warriors a fighter for mastery and a Paladin for cool vareity. A Cleric and Druid for healing and a Bard for backup spell casting. It worked well but next time I may change thing around to get use out of more class restricted items. There are so many combination there is no way to get them all.
     
  11. Zenfinite Gems: 1/31
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    My party consists of the following (gonna beat the game any day here hehe).

    Paladin (LoH and spells etc make paladins godly)
    Ranger (Extra shieldless attack and general ranger coolness)
    Fighter/cleric (Booyah. Heals AND melee? Dwarven? 19 constitution? CRAZY hp)
    Cleric (Gotta heal. GOTTA flame strike)
    Thief (HUGE dex equals CRAZY good to hit with BOWS. And traps and locks are a joke now)
    Mage (BIG bada boom)

    There you have it, a very utilitarian party, well balanced, fun to play. Or at least fun for me. =)
     
  12. Eloco Gems: 1/31
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    I agree with most here:

    Paly
    Fighter
    Ranger
    Cleric
    Mage
    Thief

    I got my thief to 9 then dualed him to a cleric, with all my other characters at 7-9 he is going up quick and is like level 5 already, I just have him memorize find traps and use his animated dead to clear out any traps. I also ade a low level thief I can import in if I need any locks picked. Once he gets to 10th he will get all his thieving abilities back :) I prefer this to the multi-class option for these classes as they require the fewest xp for advancement so the thief will go up the fastest and then the dual cleric will quickly catch up to your Paly and ranger.
     
  13. Aldarin Gems: 1/31
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    Let me disagree with your characters choice. I'd better use:
    Fighter (great sword 5*),
    Paladin
    Cleric (with armoring and Thac0
    improvements for fighting in the
    front line. I disagree with
    multiclassing because of slower
    level growth)
    Invoker
    Illusionist (19+1 Int !)
    Mage/Thief (elf)

    I usually scout enemy with the elf and pinpoint fire with fireballs (my mages can cast three fireballs per round).
    Many monsters are so stupid that they don't move if they don't see you!
     
  14. Slipper Gems: 1/31
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    Single class Fighter, Ranger and Cleric. A fighter/cleric, single class MU and a thief/MU. But when I do it again I'll definitely include a Bard. They're useless at low levels but very powerful later. Whatever you choose, you have to have two front line grunts to absorb damage. Best I can manage on A/C is -12. Anyone got any thoughts on whether its possible to reduce it further (exlcuding being a 19 DEX elf - Elves are total girls and not to be used under any circumstances)
     
  15. Just remember to make one of your fighter (or /fighter)s Chaotic Evil or True Neutral.
    There's a lot of goodies (particularily around mid game/Severed Hand) that can not be used by lawful types, or Good characters.
     
  16. gladius Gems: 1/31
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    Half-Elf, Fighter/Theif
    Human, Fighter
    Human, Fighter
    Human, Fighter
    Human, Cleric
    Human, Mage

    This party was a great combination, I would just charge with my fighting classes and then have my mage cast magic missle on the strongest of whatever I was fighting.
     
  17. sevendust62 Gems: 2/31
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    Im in chapter 4, and so far, the following party has worked well:

    3 dwarven fighters
    2 half-elven rangers
    1 human paladin

    I have 3 swordsmen, 1 maceman, and 2 bowmen

    As you can see, I like warriors! I have no clerics, mages, or thieves, and Im getting along just fine (at least, so far)
     
  18. Javalar Gems: 4/31
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    [​IMG] Second time through, this time I've got:

    Human Ranger
    Elven Fighter/Druid
    Dwarven Cleric
    Elven Fighter/MagicUser/Thief
    Human Bard
    Human Conjurer

    Very magic heavy, not as melee-heavy as my previous party. Plus I hadn't tried a bard/druid my first time through.
     
  19. Vezhnick the grey elf Gems: 1/31
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    [​IMG] 1.Elven fighter (bow, long sword)
    2.Dwarf fighter (crossbow, axe)
    3.Human priest (wis 18 as a must!!)
    4.Elven druid (wis 18, char 18)
    5.Specialised Mage (conj,div)race is at your taste I play Elf Diviner (int 18,const17+, dex18+)
    6."ELVEN" Thief (dex 19,const17+)
     
  20. Heineken69 Gems: 1/31
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    [​IMG] Of course, there is no such thing as a "perfect party", this line-up has served me well through completing all three games...

    Elven Fighter/Thief - my "main" PC. Better THAC0 for backstabbing...higher hit points helps him hold his own when scouting ahead.

    Paladin - my "tank". All the advantages of a fighter, plus turning and clerical spells at higher levels.

    Fighter/Druid - Better THAC0, Druids advance faster than Clerics, and shapeshifting at higher levels ROCKS!!!

    Theif/Mage (Duel Classed) - I started this tradition with Imoen in Baldurs Gate. Took her to 6th level then turned her into an Invoker. More hit points, backstabbing, theiving ablities, plus better weapon selection than a mage.

    Cleric - Self Explanatory!!! =oP Beyond that, having both a Cleric and a Druid not only helps with healing, but I have access to every Clerical spell in the game.

    Conjurer - Alot of you probably didn't care too much for Xan back in Baldurs Gate. I thought he was great! Of course he doesn't appear in Icewind Dale, but by having both a Conjurer and an Invoker, I can cast any mage spell in the game.


    Hopes this helps.
     
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