New Party

I greatly appreciate your quick reply. Thank you and happy gaming.

 

My goodness, has it been so long...?

Well, I've had a couple of runs through the game since I started this thread (to put it mildly), and I've done a lot of experimenting with different party setups in that time.

At this exact moment, my party is about to depart for The Severed Hand (It's a dungeon, Taluntain!!! Don't even start with me!) :

Lawful Good Human Paladin
Large Swords
Axes

Yes, I've developed a fondness for a Paladin leader. It seems sort of fitting. Large Swords for the generic Hole Avenger all these games seem to have, and Axes for Throwing Axes, like the neat returning Throwing Axe I found in Dragon's Eye. A fine tank with a couple of perks.

Neutral Evil Gnome Fighter
Halberds
Crossbows

A DPS-complement to the tank (Ugh! Curse my mind for being befuddled by WoW-lingo). I made him evil, just in case any alignment-inhibited weapons/armor etc. suited for a warrior-type would otherwise have been discounted by the Paladin.

A Gnome seemed as good a choice as any, if only for the great helmet restricted to Gnomes/Halflings. And particularly since I didn't plan on dualing him anyway.

A Dwarf could probably have done a good enough job of it, but hey, the helmet and averagely balanced physical stats ended up tipping in the favor of the Gnome. A Halfling unfortunately lacked some Strength to come into consideration.

Lawful Good Half-Elf Cleric/Ranger
Hammer
Slings

Healer with a little *OOMPH!* to boot. I can ditch the shield in situations where I find it prudent and score an extra attack. Rather beneficial in battles against enemies like Yxunomei, where enemies have immunities that makes it crucial to hand out out a beat-down with all of your meager means (Conlan's Hammer was one of a select few weapons at my disposal which could even dent Yxunomei at the time).

Lawful Evil Elf Fighter/Mage
Great Swords
Bows

You want one. You know it. The uses for a Fighter/Mage are too many and too good to list. Melee, ranged, spells. They excel in those roles, if properly prepared. Racial bonuses (Yikes, WoW again!!!) are a perfect match for that class.

Alignment is pretty much irrelevant, so Evil. Like the Gnome, if any items suited for Evil characters comes her way, hey.

A Gnome Fighter/Illusionist is certainly a possibility and probably even a better choice if used correctly (at least that's the popular claim), but you don't want that. You want an Elven Fighter/Mage. You know you do. The sooner you come to terms with that irrefutable fact, the quicker we can move on.

All done? Good, then. I'm glad we see eye to eye on this particular matter. Moving on...

Chaotic Neutral Half-Elf Fighter/Mage/Thief
Large Swords
Darts

A Thief-character is not necessarily NEEDED per se, but it makes it a lot easier to avoid nasty surprises from traps and opening otherwise locked doors, chests etc.

The Mage class will progress very slowly, but alongside the Fighter/Mage the arcane power in the party is at a satisfactory level.

Fighter levels are handy for the select events where he enters combat with weapons, both melee and ranged. With the ability to use shields etc. and extra attacks, stabbery action from the back and all that, he gets a definitive recommendation from me.

True Neutral Hall-Elf Fighter/Druid
Daggers
Large Swords

Another hybrid spellcaster/melee/ranged. The nature spells can have a nice edge, and the healing complements the Cleric/Ranger. No big surprises there. Spells, heal, shoot and occationally melee if called for.

Discarded classes

A pure Cleric was a possibility I've tried out extensively in previous runs, but my preferences for multi-classing usually gets the better of me when it comes to caster/healer classes. And IMO, a Ranger compliments a Cleric perfectly in terms of spells. Same deal with a Fighter/Druid. There's a trend in IE games there, I think. Multi-classing just seems to churn out more power.

I know that the spell progressions for those classes are somewhat gimped compared to a devoted single-class Cleric, but at the end of the day, a Cleric/Ranger compared to the other Cleric possibilities ends up with a higher kill score.

It's kind of the same considerations I have had with Mage-type classes. A single class Mage would bring arcane power to the party at a faster progression, but IMO a multi-class Fighter/Mage brings too many advantages into play to ignore.

And yes, Bards are a popular choice. IMO a Fighter/Mage/Thief just has better skills overall. They are better Thieves, better Fighters and better Mages than Bards. Bard Songs never did it for me. Maybe my own fault for missing out on certain tactics or something that seems to make Bards so popular with the crowd, but I've just never found that THING that made me want to make them a mandatory choice for a party member spot, even after completing the game twice with one. And considering I had to make another partymember a Thief-class of some sort to get access to lockpicking etc., that was even less encouraging for me.

Well, that was that, I suppose. A lenghty rant in a thread long lost in time. Feel free to disagree, but these are my experiences. Yours are just as valid in a game of infinite possibilities.

 

I have mixed feelings on the pure cleric.
On one hand, there are a lot of undead in the game, and the extra turning power of a pure cleric over a paladin can make a significant difference.
On the other hand, my experience with a dwarven pure cleric, the only time I took a single-classed cleric all the way through the game, was that she had trouble hitting things without using her buffing spells. Even so, the single APR made her more of a decoy than a damage dealer.
For some strange reason, the single-classed druid and the bard were doing better at melee than the cleric, even though they should have been about even.

Having nine levels of fighter or seven levels of ranger helps a lot (the extra fighter levels are to get grand mastery). Enough that I don't really consider going pure cleric unless I dual class.
Thirteen levels of fighter or ranger is even better, but only viable for heart of fury mode.

Still if you're going to dual from fighter or ranger, don't do it at less than level 7, when you start getting the extra attacks. For ranger, you might want to hold out until you get your first spell, as I don't think you get the druid spells as a cleric if you dual before getting your first ranger spells.

Of course, if you really want the extra attacks but can't wait until level 13 to dual (which is really pushing it), go multiclass. It'll take just as long, but you'll have both your cleric and fighter/ranger abilities the whole way through.