I'm new to this game, but I like to plan ahead for my characters so that they will be as powerful as possible.

I have read some guides for character and party builds and there is one thing that puzzles me. In some guides, it is assumed that the characters will (easily) reach level 30 and in others it is said that they will probably only reach level 16 or so.
If I'm going to plan ahead for my characters, I'd like to know how much levels I can expect. So does anybody know how much levels would be realistic (in let's say a six people party)?

Thanks.

The level cap is 30 but you can't achieve it immediately using a party of six. The normal difficulty will bring you to around level 15 or 16 depending on the build of your party. You can only reach level 30 by importing your party into the Heart of Fury mode.

Soloing characters, however, have more chance to level up faster.

So generally when I would play the game, I would only become around level 16? And then I'd have to play through it for the second time in HOF to get to level 30?

That's how it's usualy done, yes.

You could always start HoF with lvl1 characters if you're up to the challenge. It isnt that tough anyway, all you need is about 2 spellcasters that can summon allies. One sorcerer can also do it, but you'll have more difficulties at it.
I dont actualy know if you'll reach lvl30 this way, but i'm quite sure you will.
Get a few more sleeping bags for your meleers if you'll play like this, since they wont be doing anything but stand around. For the whole game actualy ;)

Okay, thanks.

I think I'll just start playing in normal mode and then import the party into HoF. I haven't really played yet so it probably wouldn't be wise to start of in HoF.

The nunber of characters in your party will also have an impact on the maximum level they will reach. If you have 4 instead of 6 then you might be able to push them level 20 by the end of normal mode.

Of course, it depends on whether you complete all the quests and kill all the monsters in the most XP maximising way . . . .

I intend to play with a four people party, but I asked for how high the levels would be in a six level party to be on the safe side. Besides, I figured I could pretty much calculate the difference if I took only four people.

I usually do all the available quests in a game and try to get as much EXP as possible, so maybe I can indeed get to level 20.

There is something else I'd like to ask a question about though. Can an ECL-penalized character also reach level 30, or would such a character be capped at 28 (for drow)?

It's not that easy to calculate the amount of XP a 4 person party would accumulate because the XP for killing monsters is linked to the party's average level so as your 4 person party levels up faster they will start getting less XP for their kills.

ECLs can reach lvl 30.

I think you can reach it adding a new character. The level of the new experience received will raise immensly. I did with my first party. I intend to do it again. They reached the cap... Although it didn't matter much after level 25...

When playing a normal game, I end up with a party about level 17. I like to think I have most XP that I can get this way.

If I import them into HOF, including one level 1 character, I've gotten close to level 30.

A soloer in normal difficulty mode will have character level circa 27. If you do all quests except being lame and doing quests that aren't in accordance with your alignment and if you don't do level-squatting, you can get your six character party to character level 16. It's possible to get 17-18 for everyone in your six with level-squatting.