I dont know which to take...can you help me out? Mazzys' a fighter, so she can get grand mastery, but i dont know how interesting she is in the storyline. Minsc is a well-rounded fighter, but i dont know if ill go insane with his rambling. Also, is Haer'dalis actually that useless? Sure hes in the middle class of everything (except healer), has an interesting personality, and can get 2 ** for his weapons, like minsc.

This is one of those questions that has no absolute answer. Minsc drives me crazy after a while, so I don't take him solely for that reason, as I like him otherwise. Mazzy never did much for me, personally, as I feel that Keldorn is better than any halfling paladin-wanna-be but I know that others like her. You don't say who else you have or what you party alignment is (assuming you're roleplaying). However, if it's a choice between Minsc and Mazzy for fighting, all else being equal, I'd suck it up and put up with Mr. Insanity myself.

As for the bard, I believe that no character is actually useless, as you can work around any deficiency with the right equipment and strategy. He makes a good secondary fighter and secondary mage. I mainly use him for ranged attacks and spells for buffing/protection. When push comes to shove, he can even do a credible job as a front line fighter with his two short swords, etc.

So, what kind of challenges are you looking for anyway? If you just want to blow through, create your own six characters and tailor them for the way you play. If you want to role-play, take the NPC's that have the best dialogue for you and don't drive you nuts.

How can someone don't like Misnc he has the funiest quote!!!! Haer'Dalis has a nice personality and with his Wirhling attack he's quite good and he has some nice spell ability. It's up to you to choose the right one. Since You get Minsc at the very begening you do not have to worry if his level is too low compared to the other NPC in your team and he have some very funny dialogue. Mazzy, If you ask me she has a poor personality, but she's a good archer, Hear'Dalis Like I have said has a nice pesonality and some good spell/special move. It's up to you

What is your party so far?

My planned party would be: Me (dual-class lvl18 assassin/mage), Keldorn (for Carsomyr), Aerie(romance), Haer'dalis(interesting character, and so he can set HLA traps, since i wont), and then there's either Minsc or Mazzy.

I just have to put my 2 cents in on this one -- I love Minsc and I keep him around when I'm playing "straight" (as opposed to hacking) but he is really wasted as a ranger -- I never use his stealth abilities and would rather have him wield either a 2 handed weapon or use a shield (in other words, to me his dual wield capability is wasted). Given the fact that later in the story you can significantly bump Mazzy's strength with items, in that sense she's a more effective character, if you catch her early on, that is. I keep Minsc around because I don't want to waste the XP I invested in him. Starting in ToB, though, Mazzy would be more attractive to me (though there's only the one belt of strength in ToB, come to think of it, hmm . . .)

As for HaerDalis, his lore, lines, ability to use Paladin weapons later on and his improved bard song make him one of my favorite NPCs. His talks with Jan kill me!

[ January 06, 2003, 00:18: Message edited by: Depaara ]

Is there anything interesting about Minsc in ToB? Any special dialog once you meet characters from Baldurs Gate 1? Or when Sarevok joins your group again? Thanx.

I would clearly choose Mazzy: She's a very potent allrounder in the end. As a halfling her saves are better than Minscs and she has an innate healing ability, just as haste and a strength enhancing ability. Eventually she doesn't has a silly hamster blocking a quickslot.

To the end of the game, when ranged fighters other than archers are becoming weaker and weaker, she eventually becomes a formidable melee char, using shortswords and, for example, flails. Her low str can easily be corrected with a strength girdle, making her a very potent melee fighter.

IMO Mazzy is one of the most capable NPCs in BG-2.

Mazzy is probably my favorite character in the game. So I definitely would take her over Minsc. There are a few reasons for this.

- She can achieve grandmaster profieceny
- She levels up faster, leads to better thac0, more hps, more HLAs (in the long run)
- She has better stats, except for the Str; the thing is Str is more or less a useless stat once you get Belts of Giant Strength
- Better saving throws (I could be wrong, but I think she the best saves in the game)
- She has some cool innate abilites

If you want a ranger I think that Valygar might be a better choice. He is a good backstabber (the best one in the game, unless your PC is a good backstabber). I (personally) still prefer Mazzy over Valygar.

Haer'dalis KICKS ASS. Don't listen to what anyone else says ;) . His big disadvantage is low HP... it is pretty easy to solve with Belt of Fortitude and protection spells. Imporved Bard song is GREAT, it confers so many bonuses on the party (I had him use the song in my fight vs Demogorgon... killed him on the first try). He has access to the high level traps. He has a lot of innate resistances (being a tiefling). He has the ability to specialize (2 stars) in long swords and short swords. He can become proficent with ANY weapon. With his spin or/and Tenser's his thac0 drops super low. He has access to a few "bard-only" items that are really great (Harp of Pandemonium and Wonderous Gloves come to mind).

Haer'dalis was able to keep up real well with my super-strong Inquistor in terms of sheer killing power (my PC is DAMN TOUGH 19str,18dex,19con and Holy Avenger). Don't listen to the naysayers... Haer'dalis kicks ass. ;)