Baldur's Gate 1 Companions Grading
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- Опубліковано 20 гру 2023
- Let's give our possible companions grades!
Yes, while we do rank them, your mileage will vary. However, I'd say that the grades are generally the right spot for each companion that you can pick up along the way of Baldur's Gate 1.
One note, because I KNOW that I'm going to get this: A grade of a B is not a bad grade, companions who earn a B are good companions, there are just better companions who can fulfill particular roles slightly better.
That being said, companions that earn an F do generally suck.
Timestamps
00:03 Introduction
06:29 Imoen
08:25 Ajantis
10:49 Alora
13:03 Baeloth
14:33 Brawen
16:40 Coran
18:01 Dorn
22:37 Dynaheir
24:35 Edwin
27:35 Eldoth
30:15 Faldorn
32:47 Garrick
35:22 Jaheira
37:02 Kaigan
40:26 Khalid
43:20 Kivan
46:07 Minsc
49:25 Monteron
51:11 Neera
54:32 Quayle
57:22 Rasaad
1:00:57 Safana
1:02:36 Shar-Teel (NOT SAFANA)
1:04:49 Skie
1:06:38 Tiax
1:09:30 Viconia
1:11:45 Xan
1:13:51 Xzar
1:17:23 Yeslick
1:20:10 Adjustments and Outro
#baldursgate #beamdog #faerun #forgottenrealms #infinityengine #rpg #companions #npc #mods
Mods I use
WeiDU: github.com/WeiDUorg/weidu/rel...
SCS: www.gibberlings3.net/mods/twe...
Tweaks: www.gibberlings3.net/mods/twe...
Spell Revisions: www.gibberlings3.net/mods/spe...
NPC Interactions: www.gibberlings3.net/mods/npc...
Guide for installing Soundsets: forums.beamdog.com/discussion...
Guide for installing Portraits: forums.beamdog.com/discussion...
One location for Portraits: www.gibberlings3.net/files/ca... - Ігри
A couple of comments based on my experience:
1. Ajantis has the most interpersonal conflicts in the game, so while he is pretty good statistically he can be awkward to fit into your party.
2. Baeloth is worth putting in your party for a moment even if you have no intention of using him, just to take his equipment. Edwin/Xzar can use his robe, and even good parties can sell his stuff for easy cash (though you must do so to the vendor outside Durlag’s Tower). You can also kill him for his gear, but that locks you out of a companion in Siege of Dragonspear.
3. Coran is great and can be your only Thief once you get him, but you probably want another Thief for some of the things in Chapters 2 and 3. I think the most notable is stealing Algernon's cloak early and then using that cloak to get an extra Gauntlets of Weapon Expertise from Tazok in the Bandit Camp. If you time it right, you can dual Imoen or Safana to Mage right as you get Coran to maintain continuity.
4. As with Baeloth, it’s worth putting Neera in your party for a moment just to get her stuff. She has the Gem Bag on her, and she also has a Traveller's Robe, available earlier than basically any other robe in the game. Just don't have Edwin in your party when you do this because while he will put up with defending her in the streets of Beregost, he will not stay if you invite Neera along afterward.
5. Shar-Teel is the only companion who can achieve Grand Mastery in a weapon type without using a save editor. You do need to do some strange things with her dual class - i.e. dual at level 6 Fighter, level to 3 as a Thief, then hold your levels until you have enough experience to jump straight to level 7 Thief.
EDIT:
6. It's not a big thing, but Minsc has 1 fewer quick item slots because he has to carry Boo in one of them. Not a huge deal because he can't use wands/scrolls, but I wanted to mention it anyhow.
With Ajantis, just click him to do something else and he'll be fine.
With Baeloth, you can kill him for his stuff, but why? Baeloth is great! More powerful than Xzar and at the same quality as Edwin.
Excellent point on Coran, he's perfect for his timing. Also excellent point with Shar-Teel, she can be a very good Fighter-Thief dual-class with ranged weapons.
I don't even pick up Neera for her gem bag. I suppose I to save myself some coin and get some free gems, but... ugh...
Minsc doesn't use wands or scrolls but does use potions... a lot. Unless you put him in the back with a longbow, which isn't always a bad idea.
Xan is S tier in the early game. He useless against undead foes. But... He talks down fights in your party. You can have Ajantis with an evil party. His sleep spells succeed at 90% of all bulk enemys like Black Talon Elites, Sirens or Bandits. You can scout the area with a thief and cast sleep on your unexpecting foes. I stack him with sleep, glitterdust, slow and confusion spells. If you pair him with a cleric who has command, hold person and silence 4,5 r you gain control over fights very easily. Sure Edwin has more spells but Xan is way more efficient. He is a hidden gem. At the time sleep beomes irrevelant in the game you can replace him with someone else if you want to.
So many people don’t know or overlook his ability to talk down characters.
He's second to Edwin in terms of mages (not counting Baeloth). His personality is hilarious too. Also, another "face" character if you for some reason don't have a GW with 18 charisma. Two things that bugs me about him are his sword being usable only by him and his portrait being a significantly different style than every other Bioware portrait.
What the EE companions get are amazing gear from their side quests. Dorn will get you the best bastard sword in the game, Neera a second stoneskin scroll and a gem bag, Baeloth a robe of the evil archmagi, and Rassad the 19 str item.
I’ll often take them if I want one of their items then kick the or kill them off.
Xan is hilarious. I take him most of the time
I like Xan but he takes a SERIOUS hit with NPC interactions (except for the Centrol fight, that's pretty cool)
Safana works as well as any other pure class thief, and since she can be used in Siege it helps to develop her in the base game.
Siege Safana is a bit better than OG Safana, though I still would have preferred Coran being in both games!
Kivan's confrontation with Tazok was added by Beamdog in the enhanced edition. There were mods that also forced a confrontation in the bandit camp (unfinished business and the BG1NPC project). You can't infiltrate the bandit camp with Kivan in the enhanced edition.
Ahhhhhh... okay. I admit, that makes a lot of sense. I always did wonder why Kivan never said ANYTHING when we went into the Bandit Camp and were face-to-face with Tazok. Now I know that Beamdog was wondering the same thing.
Yep, Beamdog also added interactions with Branwen and Tranzig and Angelo and Shar-Teel.
I'd place Xan in S tier. Enchantment spells are the most powerful spells in BG1, and Xan gets +2 to save and give enemies -2 to save. This is absolutely HUGE. The only CC-spell that isn't effected is Web since it's evocation (this is also what makes Dynaheir decent imo). Evocation spells are kinda meh unless Dynaheir is casting them so Xan not getting them isn't the biggest deal. Also the Moonblade isn't there for doing melee damage, it's there to give you +50% fire resistance. With a potion or a spell you easily get +100% fire resistance which is absolutely amazing. You can wield a sling and whenever a Fireball is coming your way just insta-swap to the Moonblade. If you wanna deal damage with Xan you cast Skull Trap or use Wand of Fire (which gets even better when you're immune to fire damage). I used to shit on Xan but since playing with him I consider him to be a close third behind Edwin and Baeloth. He's waaaay better than Dynaheir and especially better than Xzar, who has the same HP, a useless specialization in necromancy and can't cast Mirror Image or Invisibility. Xzar is the worst mage in the game, I'd even place him below Quayle.
I agree that Coran is one of the best Companions in BG1
nice video :)
3 points came to my mind:
Faldorn: imo. the most underrated companion in any tier list, since I think that high level druids in general are undervalued. Problem is: most druid spells suck (especially @ the first 3 levels) but the few good spells you get, are good in a game-changing way:
Call Woodland Being: possibly the strongest summon in the game, trivializing most encounters that are susceptible to CC - which most encounters in the mid game are.
Magic Resistance, used offensively: There are some encounters with extremly high magic resistance and the neutral Priest spell lowers their MR drastically w/o a save. For example Drizzt: With a high level druid you can solo him within a round -> summon 5 nymphs, lower his MR (without turning him hostile) and then the 5 nymphs & the Druid cast Call Lightning -> done
Call Lightning: many outdoor fights in bg 1, really strong backline damage spell
Dispel Magic: Druids leveling really quickly in early levels makes their DM pretty strong, especially given that Bards are weak in BG 1 and Wizards have soooo many other level 3 spells they wanna cast
Lightning Resistance: Lightning Bolt is a pretty common spell and probably the most dangerous one due to its unpredicatbility; also when going without thief: many traps are Lightning Bolt traps. Also it enables your own Lightning Bolts indoors.
Can wield a Wand of the Heavens for good damage indoors
and then there's the obvious mvp spell at level 5 with Insect Plague.
She comes pretty late, but I often rush to Cloak Wood early anyways, just to get the boots of speed - and then there's the tweak pack, giving access to many NPCs much earlier if you want.
Quayle: If you use tweak pack, Quayle is a fantastic, yet extremly squishy , supporter since he's such a CC machine: Use Command, Blindness and Sleep early and later switch to the more potent arsenal. Also wields all kinds of Wands and can use all those Chaos scrolls you can buy in BG-City.
Xan or meleeing in BG1: if you are using CCs heavily in BG1 your tanking capabilities and thac0 doesnt matter too much: A sleeping / held / whatever enemy neither strikes back nor does it require you to roll successfully - so that sword has at least some value
@21:00 - Dorn as an archer. Go for slings. Slings will make use of his 19 strength (so +7 damage) so he'll be an absolute monster with it (especially with at least one pip in that weapon).
It's counter intuitive and took me a long time to figure it out, but if they are really strong, it makes all the difference. 1d4+7 (or is it +8) early on? ooooof. I don't remember the Rate of fire on those slings tho, for all I know in the end the composite longbow might still out DPS the slings. But it's still very cheap and useful. Agreed on roleplaying the blackguard tho. My version in 3.5ed uses a Scythe. When I crit? the DM cries.. and it's different from the other "usual weapons 🙂 Half-Orc is Overpowered as a Bhaalspawn tho. 20str-19dex-20con with the tomes... Even as a cleric/thief that is some serious power right there.
Half-Orcs are pretty great and I can absolutely see Dorn with a sling, wailing on anyone than anyone else with a sling (Clerics...). I do get annoyed that the game thrusts him and many others as "Melee Monsters" then they get slaughtered within a few hits.
Dynaheir is easily S tier in Enhanced Edition (no mage should be less than A, imo). Losing Enchantment doesn't really matter in EE because of the added spells like Glitterdust. The big thing for Dynahair is that as an Invoker, enemies suffer -2 to their saves against her Evocation spells. Give Minsc or Ajantis Spider's Bane and have Dynaheir spam webs for a VERY easy playthrough. This is especially powerful in Siege of Dragonspear. The bonus also helps her nukes like Fireball and makes her Cloudkills very lethal.
I don't mind her more dangerous spells, they do pack a punch. She does miss out on Sleep which is a nice and easy crowd control spell, but you make an excellent point that Web works very well with someone with Free Action walking in and cleaning house. Frankly, I can see a fight breaking out between Dynaheir and Xan fans as to who is more powerful (imagine though if one took them both... together!).
Can she beat Edwin? I think in certain specific conditions, yes. But I'd also say that Edwin would beat her more often than she would beat him just because he has more spells at his disposal. That's why I put Edwin as S Tier and Dynaheir as A Tier, I've enjoyed taking her with my party (even more than Edwin). However, I think, if we're putting the best of each class or category of companion in S Tier, then my placement stands.
Not sure if I agree with you that ALL mages should be A or S Tier. Neera, in BG1, is just as likely to turn herself to stone as she is to cast Armor on herself. Xzar doesn't get Mirror Image and Quayle is very squishy (though both can be useful in certain circumstances).
The only good thing about Rassad, is the item that you get nearly at the end of his quest, that 19 Strength cursed item, is very sweet. Except that, Rasaad is just a horrible, horrible class, he ussually dies, a lot of the times, also in core rules unmoded. Take the cursed item, and fire him!
LOL, we did that with our story run. I put it on Kaigan and he didn't care, he just liked his ice cream and gold.
Your point about monks is solid, they are not very good in much of D&D (2.5 but also 5th edition monks aren't great either). It was the major reason why I got the Artisan's Kitpack for my latest videos. They let monks actually play somewhat decently.
Rasaad is still terrible though.
@@Redjoy123I'm currently playing as a monk in BG2 (level 11). Its just underwelming. Everything a Monk can do, a fighter con do it better. And I'm playing with core rules, unmoded, and still, I finding the monk, worse than a fighter. (And I died more times as a monk than a fighter with core rules)
At least, the bard is a support class, act as a support class and can become a good buffer (+3 luck for singing) and nearly the best tank, but a monk, without crit protecction, with cleric hp, without armour...
You're absolutely right with Monks on the core BGEE rules. I think the best point that's been made is that they need two of three things: (a) Critical Hit Immunity, (b) Universal Damage Reduction, or (c) AC that scales with BOTH Dexterity and Wisdom. Higher HP wouldn't hurt either but that's not as big if they aren't getting hit and actually play the role of the "dodge tank" of the group.
@@Redjoy123bg3 monks are actually surprisingly pretty good cause of some basic tweaks. i mained open hand monk/fighter, and eventually i just started to chunk down bosses by on average like seventy to a hundred HP per turn, and i wasnt even minmaxing very well. with like no effort, my character became the most useful in me and my mates MP group
@@michaeljaysutherland1016 Oh yeah! BG3 gave Monks a big boost BUT Larian went in and improved it from 5th edition D&D Monks, which had improved it from 2.5 edition D&D Monks.
I really wish Monks were universally better and I'm happy that Larian made them good but not overpowered.
I like Dynaheir's stat spread as is because it allows me to dual class her to Cleric, which in BG1 I find infinitely more useful than having a Mage.
Also Faldorn is busted because she gets level 5 spells and one of those spells is Insect Plague.
I think Faldorn CAN be busted but I play with the XP Cap off so I could get a Cleric or Druid to a level for Level 5 spells, but lots of folks don't, so that does increase her power a bit.
I like Dynaheir being dual-classed into a Cleric, to me it does make sense with her being a "witch" but this can limit her somewhat.
@@Redjoy123 Faldorn can get level 5 spells under the EXP cap. I also use Mages MOSTLY as wand monkeys in BG1 because no problem can't be easily solved with the wand of fire or wand of paralysis. I find Cleric spells to be more useful early on.
@@Jvstm I don’t know man. Sleep completely carries the first half of the game even working on bandits. Sure clerics have command but it isn’t nearly as good being single target and short duration. Plus you have access to evermemory which gives you 10+ casts of sleep if you want.
@@dtt719 Yeah but the things that are knocked out by Sleep are only dangerous at like level one or two for the most part, whereas Command scales better for more dangerous opponents.
Plus Sleep is a level one spell so casting it on a wand monkey on the few times I need it is pretty easy to manage.
@@Jvstm Yes, but mages also have Web, Blindness, Glitterdust, Charm Person, and Horror for CC in the early game. They also have good buffs like Strength, Haste, and Invisibility.
about neera, ive only found wild mages to be good in super late game bg2 with all the wild mage specific items. under those parameters, you ostensibly have like a whole first level list of ninth level spells, and when a good wild surges chance is maximized, sometimes some goated shit can happen. at that point i like wild mage *way* more than any other arcane caster, but, having suffered through it for two games, i dont blame anyone for not wanting to play it. id more recommend shaman for a “random chance” based class, cause at least they have very specialized spells and are generally pretty easy and low risk to play.
Regarding Wild Mages, you're absolutely right, Wild Mages have a huge amount of power as long as they stay alive. Unlike what I did for my dumbass run with Claudius in my hardcore run on insane difficulty, the key to a Wild Mage at early levels is to rely on wands, scrolls, and items until you can get decent surges when they happen.
Regarding Neera, her character is obnoxious, her voice is grating, and her quests are... okay (getting a Stoneskin scroll in BG1 is very nice). I'm more commenting on her than on the Wild Mage class.
@@Redjoy123 yeah, my mates and i just did her quest and dumped her. very… well, shes “like someone you met once in real life.” feels sort of out of place ontop of being annoying which is always an interesting combo to say the least
I agree putting Ajantis on B tier, but my main reason to do that is not that he is annoying, but that he is in a very dangerous area which I avoid early in the game.
So getting him comes a bit late.
I put Alora on B, because getting her is too late for me. Until then, I have invested too much time into Imoen.
The curse on Baeloth has role playing reason, which is in my book a good thing. I like role-playing even if I would play the game above core difficulty. I am not a min maxer by nature :D.
Oh, Branwen is for me A tier, as she is durable in melee combat, she has a good backstory, getting her first time is exciting as she is actually a "statue" and she is a cleric which makes her very useful.
The only thing I don't like on Coran is his portrait :D.
Dynaheir I would put to A as she is a mage and mages are very powerful. I would not put any mage lower than A tier unless the mage sucks really hard.
For me, all Bards in BG1 are D tier, as they get powerful late game.
And all monks go to E.
Jaheira is absolutely S tier. She can tank, she can cast, she can hit, and she is available early on.
Tier F is for me when nearly nothing fits, which is very hard to do unless intended.
Few things:
Dyna's 17 int is not a big deal. The only tangible thing that int affects in BG1 is a chance of successfully scribing scrolls and specialist mages get -15% penalty for scribing scrolls outside of their specialty anyway, so unless you're playing on normal you're going to give them int boosting pots before giving them spells to learn. What makes Edwin superior is his amulet, not his higher int. She's just a step below Edwin, definitely not two tiers worse. Pairs can be easily seperated, plus Minsc and Dyna come separately, so you don't even have to pick both of them if you don't want to.
Faldorn has to be higher than that. Stat wise she's pretty bad and as a character she's boring, but in unmoded game Insect Plague is a hilariously broken spell that will win you most fights where it is cast, and she's the only companion with access to it.
It's SCS that makes Silke a force to be reckoned with, in the base game she's weak so you can pick up Garrick no problem. He's still pretty bad, but probably better than Quayle.
Beamdog didn't nerf Viconia's MR, she did have 50% in BG1, it's BG2 that increased it to 65%.
Xan's "lowest" con is a bit misleading - there's no difference in hp between 7 and 14 con (he has same hp as Xzar and Neera who have 10 and 14 con respectively). The only thing his 7 con affects is his fatigue - he gets tired faster. His dagger gives 50% fire resistance, which is massive, fire is very common and you don't HAVE to melee with him - if it's not safe, just keep him at range. He is frailer than Dyna and Edwin, his damage options are limited, but in exchange he has the best crowd control. Plus an extra bonus - there are tons of hilarious dialogues with charmed enemies and Xan can enable them easily. Extra, extra bonus - he stops Ajantis from fighting evil companions (Xan ridicules him everytime Ajantis is about to give someone business).
Other than that, I can see those placements. Ajantis is a bit low, but I get that his character drags him down a lot.
Love this! Thank you for the input. I still stand by Faldorn being ranked where she is due to the timing when you get her (I would love to get her slightly earlier) and her crummy stats. If she came in earlier (allowing her to get to a higher level, getting Insect Plague, if you are well prepared) then she'd be ranked higher even with her crummy stats.
I do exactly what you suggested with Xan, keeping him at a distance and spamming Sleep is the way to rock it.
@@Redjoy123 If Alora can get A tier and Tiax can get B despite joining so late, then availability isn't that big of an issue. If you want to use Minsc, Dorn, Safana, Kivan or even Shar-Teel, who are all higher than her, you have to give them good equipment to cover their weaknesses, while all Faldorn needs is exp and with the most basic equipment she can outperform them by a mile. Even if you get her at 32k exp, she will be almost level 7, making her a competent healer at base and her call lightning hits like a truck. It just doesn't feel right to put her next to Neera who can randomly kill herself or Quayle and Garrick who are very bad at base and when leveled up.
*Just use EE-keeper and create a companion that suits your needs.*
Sure, EE Keeper is fun but this is mostly for folks who (a) don't want to be tempted to make broken characters and (b) enjoy the actual characterizations of the companions.
All custom powergaming party- S+ tier 🤣
True! Then you could create a Druid with actually decent stats AND can cast Insect Plague!
Content starts at 6:25
Thank you, though I will say the biggest point to make in the rambling for 6 minutes and 22 seconds (plus three seconds for the introduction) is that if a companion gets a B, this does NOT make them a bad companion! They're fine and you'll have a good time using them.
Just to preempt those folks who might get a hemorrhoid over their favorite companion getting a B and then thinking ol' Redjoy doesn't like them.
But yes, thank you @sxztube for the public service announcement. This is one of my more rambleful videos.
Did you also take into account the fact that Kagain's constitution of 20 gives him Troll level regeneration so he needs less healing and care than most other front line warrior types. I think he's regaining 1hp/hour. It doesn't help him in a fight but the constant passive healing between fights makes him remarkably durable in the long run and more likely to survive future combats if you're having trouble resting. Perhaps Beamdog removed that aspect of high constitution. I've only experienced Kagain in the originals.
I didn’t think that Beamdog removed it, I play with Kagain in my party all the time and he still has that regeneration. It is absolutely wonderful, he can be at be at half health, then we leave an area, when we get to the next screen he is completely fine. I had thought that it was a little bit faster than 1hp/hour but I might be wrong.
That makes him the best non-Mage tank in the game, absolutely S Tier
I think it's 1hp per minute. It's in both editions of the game.
Awesome video. I wonder if you have time later, you could do BG2? The only longform I see is from a guy which has mods installed which renders the guide totally useless to me (and he talks about Throne of Bhaal, which is nice, but ... I'd rather start from the base unmodded game.
These days for BG1 I pick the companions/personality I want, then just give them the best stats from other existing companions, even changing their kits to suit my needs (most often ending up just reverting them to default). Too bad you can't grab edwin's ring or use 2x rings of evermemory anymore... Actually peed that they "patched" this. Maybe it's time to look for a mod. Also I really miss Aerie in BG1. The robe-wearing Cleric/Mage combo was really awesome and extremely versatile, and I feel we don't get a good Cleric/Mage in the basic BG1, unless the BhaalSpawn is one, of course. Totally agreed with the lack of good tanks, especially un-obnoxious neutral/good ones, In a more recent game I ended up turning Khalid into a 19con dwarf and made him a Dwarven Defender... made an extremely good tank (minus the 20con from Kagain, so no regeneration).
Also Half-Orc BhaalSpawn really is OP in BG1. 20str-19dex-20con with those tomes... for any non-mage classes it really is hard to beat.
Regardless, thanks again for the video, and hope to see a BG2 tier list sometime in the future
Cheers !
BG1 has so many companions that you have flexibility if you get tired of someone's personality, if they get chunked, or if the leave for other reasons. For example, Kaigan is an amazing tank BUT other Fighters can fulfill that role if needed.
I try to present these grades as if for the base game but I will let folks know when mods would impact grades (i.e. Minsc is much better with the Artisan's Kitpack). I will have BG2 list out soon!
I don't agree with your evaluation of Faldorn. She's a full druid with an extra summon, making her stronger than Brewen, who is rated B tier. While Brewen is a cleric with weak stats, Faldorn, despite her weaker stats, has the advantage of an additional summon. Moreover, she's the only character capable of getting insect plague, which is a game-changer in BG1, often ensuring victory. Considering these factors, I believe she should be rated A tier, at the very least high B.
I hear you but I have two reasons why I put Brawen slightly higher than Faldorn.
First is that in BG1, I find Clerics are more useful than Druids because their spells are clearer and easier to use (though these are only slight differences, so it's not a huge deal). As an example, for Level 1, Command Word Die is more useful than Entangle in most situations. That's a completely different ball game in BG2 and ToB where Druids REALLY kick ass.
Second is character placement. Picking up a character at Chapter 2 and bringing up their spells and items throughout the game is a bit better than at Chapter 4.
These are small differences and, by my own logic, I do credit Druids as being more powerful than Clerics, so I definitely see where you're coming from. With that said though, I find a bit more use out of Brawen than I do out of Faldorn (even with Faldorn's extra summon).
Well my biggest point is that Insect Plague is one of the most powerful spells in the game, and the only character who gets that is Faldorn. Even in Bg2 when you cast Insect Plague, you automatically win many battles.@@Redjoy123
@@Mavarok284 True, Faldorn will have one casting of Insect Plague OR Iron Skins, which can make her very powerful in late game either as a tank or (as you mentioned) against mages.
I still hold her at a B though. An archer with Arrows of Biting can have a similar effect and, with a bit of work, mages can get Stoneskin at Level 7.
That being said, if you want to say she's better than Branwen, I'm open to that (which I will repeat time and time again). I just think that there's a lot of bloat in Druid spells at lower levels where most of the spells are being cast casually.
I like Minsc, but he's not a good companion to take. I hate Edwin, but he's clearly a great choice for anyone who can stand him.
Isn’t that the sad truth, I know that Edwin is far superior of a game companion to Minsc, but there is a reason why the game canon decided to have him get petrified and then released to be there for BG3 and other adventures.
I think Xan is much better than you give him credit for. BG 1 enchantment spells are some of the best in the game and his penalty to opponent saves means that he is the best user of spells like chaos. Wizards are also super survivable; better than most other characters in the game. Stoneskin, blur, mirror image, Imp Invis and not much will touch him outside of needing to be careful about elemental attacks. Of course his low hp means once those are gone he likely gets perma'd. I think you are too focused on the sword and the early game. All wizards are super vulnerable in the early game and unfortunately he really should never be using his cool sword. But enchanters are very strong in bg1 (potentially best specialist). He is still one of the weaker wizards in the game at the end of the day but I think he is much closer to top of B tier than C
I respect that, and I suppose when you use spells like blind and sleep, the low HP doesn’t matter much. I just have an issue with him being granted an awesome melee weapon but puts himself at serious risk by jumping right in. If I take him, I always feel the need to just use throwing daggers, they work pretty well.
52:39 I'm using Neera because I literally can't use the better mages I'm playing a two-handed Cavalier so I can't use Edwin or Baeloth on account of their Evil nature and I can't use Dynaheir since she's a partner character for Minsc and there's an uncomfortable level of overlap between our play style
Well, I get that, but I would say that you can make Minsc into a two weapon wielder or an archer, so Dynaheir is an option. Another character you could use could be Xan, who can be useful if you keep him at a distance. I suppose you could go with Quayle... and then correct that mistake as soon as possible...
Are these lists in the context of just the base EE game, or are you using SCS or other big changes mods?
So while I play with SCS, this list is mostly for the EE game. I will make note of any suggested rank changes due to mods (i.e. Minsc is MUCH better with the Artisan's Kitpack).
No idea what Kalid is doing in A tier.... As far as I'm concerned Dynaheir is the only choice for a mage, spitting magic missles with her never gets old. Minsc can chunk anything as soon as you can get him in plate, and puts out good dammage with a compound bow.
I hear ya, but the only Mage who can’t cast Magic Missile is Xan. Edwin gets more spells per day than Dynaheir and Baeloth has more spell power. Dynaheir is good but I like Edwin and Baeloth just a bit more.
Khalid can put three or four points into weapons, including bows or long swords. Minsc can’t do that and Khalid has more HP. Minsc can hit like a truck but Khalid can get more attacks with a better THAC0. That’s why I feel that he’s in A Tier.
Khalid with some investment is an incredible archer.
@@DJ-yo9oi Yeah, three points in Longbows is great for BG1!
Spot on! I was curious how you will rate Minsc, I've noticed that he is often overrated for his highest STR from all of original BG characters, so early on, 20 years ago he was percievied as the best DPS character. Well, extra damage doesn't mean much, he misses so much with his lackluster stats. I will actually try to mod him into barbarian in BG2, that's actually nice idea.
Yes, modding Minsc is the way to go! Barbarian is spot on for his class, though his character does play a bit like a Ranger (there's no reason why a Barbarian wouldn't respect nature, have a pet hamster, or know how to track).
I'm playing around with a mod now on my runthroughs that created a unique class that's a Rashemi Berserker that gives him MUCH more survivability and lets him hit like a truck. He can't wear anything higher than splint mail, but he gets additional HP and damage resistances to make him more viable.
Imoen below S tier? Immediate trash list.
My little sister comes with me from start to finish every time in both games
As a character, especially throughout the whole series, yes. Imoen is S Tier, no doubt. However, as a companion, I think she's good but not phenomenal.
Even so, she's very impressive and flexible, however if I am to crown the "greatest thief" of BG1 and/or BG2, I think (by design) Imoen wouldn't quite get there. Coran in BG1 and Jan in BG2 are a bit better.
Like you though, I will end up taking her more times than not.
"Monteron is A tier".
"Shar-Teel is B tier".
Did I miss something here? I get she takes a while to come online, but 90+ damage backstabs are hard to get in BG1. Pretty sure Shar-Teel is the only companion who can get them in an unmodded game.
Is that right for Shar-Teel? I imagine that if you pick her up at Level 1 or Level 4, then dual-class her to Thief, she may get enough Thief levels to allow for x4 multiplier and then if she gets a critical hit with a 1d8 longsword, she'd do 2(8+3+2)x4=104 at Level 9 for Maximum damage. That's pretty good as long as she has the two points in Longsword (or even 3 points would be pretty good too!).
@@Redjoy123 If you level her to fighter 6 before duel classing, hold off on levelling up once you reach thief 3 until you can go direct to 7, she can have longsword grandmastery, Varscona +2, and a x4 backstab. Add Legacy of the Masters and she can put out a minimum backstab of (1+2+5+2+3)x4=52 +1 cold damage. Maximum non-critical backstab of (8+2+5+2+3)x4=80 +1 cold damage. Plus if you need to go higher she can drink a potion of Giant Strength. I've previously tried giving her the Big Fisted Belt, and she can hit for over 90 damage on non-critical backstabs.
@@stewartb1019 I like that. I suppose the things that keep her in B Tier are her dogcrap Constitution of 9 and her obnoxious banter.
@@Redjoy123 I don't mind her banter, since she put down Eldoth on my all-companions run and got me out of prison the first time I ever made it to chapter 7.
Even with her low Constitution Shar-Teel does end up with 78 HP and the ability to just stealth out. I find she rarely takes a hit because the nearest enemy is too busy exploding into chunks when she breaks stealth, and the rest have Kagain to worry about.
Question for you all: What companion is your favorite from Baldur's Gate 2?
Aerie: cleric and mage in one character so I can put cleric spells in my sequencers? Yes, please. Sure, she's not as powerful early on compared to a specialist, but she's so flexible as a support caster I can stick her into just about any party.
Also, minor quibble: Kivan is similar to Kevin/Gavin, so hearing it pronounced Kvawn makes me giggle a little bit because it reminds me of stephan urquelle shopping at the local tarjay
I already finished the game with every companion and I really can't decide between Viconia and Jaheira. I mean, they are both BG1 companions, they both have a lot to say, their histories are great... But if it was a poll I would vote Viconia for her drow 'humor' that's just weirdly hilarious 😂
I can't say who my favourite character is in BG2, but I can assure you that my favourite vegetable is the Turnip. That reminds me of the time.....
@@Avatar1977 Let's just say that if I manage to successfully have a Halfling/Dwarf/Gnome run into BG2, we're going to be pretty well stocked with bad ass party.
Gameplay wise probably Anomen or Jaheira I feel they fufill so many combat/utility roles.
I like to mod Xan into a fighter mage. I've spent more time than im proud to admit debating with myself whether or not it would be op to have the moonblade grant tensers transformation while equipped.
So I saw that mod and while I think that it COULD work, the issue is Xan's Constitution. Yes, with Mirror Image and Stoneskin, this can be made irrelevant, I still worry that any mild breeze would cause Xan to explode.
If the mod raised it up to 10, I could see that. I also don't mind the idea of a Tensers activation once or twice a day from the moonblade, but not as a constant while equipped.
It is absolutely fair to call faldorn evil/terrible-all the shadow druids really should be neutral evil at best, or lower edge of true neutral.
Garrick I find has a few decent uses as a temporary companion like being able to swipe stuff with pickpocket (especially algernon's cloak from the same town), do some identifying to save on money, or act as a temporary wand monkey if you need one and haven't grabbed someone better like dynaheir or neera - I usually don't run evil characters for long since most of them really annoy me, and I don't like having to purposefully sandbag my reputation to keep them from throwing a pissy fit and leaving. Depending on when you pick him up, if he gets enough starting exp to reach level 5 or 6, he should have enough pickpocket to steal whatever you'd need him to (boosted by potions of master thievery from durlag's tower shop if needed), and have pretty high lore to identify things and save money while you're in town
Branwen-I find I enjoy using her a lot, she's a good early cleric you can pick up with minimal fuss, she's neutral so she's fine with most party compositions, and if you're using a good party she can be swapped out for yeslick once you reach the cloakwood mine. Also the classic amusing line of "By Valkur's strapping buttocks!"
Yeslick-he's great, but his low int is terrible....but he still works great using the big fisted belt from rasaad's quest and dex gauntlets, and you can use potion of genius or mind focusing to let him use wands and scrolls, and leaving the wand in his quick item bar still lets you use it even after the potion wears off
Kivan-it's a base game/EE thing for him to blow cover and antagonize tazok, though it's still possible to have a thief run up to him and pickpocket the extra pair of master legacy gauntlets from him, but the timing is tight and you want your thief to be really close to him before he runs away. Kivan's also annoying in that he's probably the most infamous NPC companion in the game with his quest timer-I've lost count of the number of people saying he left their party, often on the way to the bandit camp. Them putting him on possibly the second map you visit, but having his quest be something *after* the initial push southwards and to the mine was a really dumb thing to do, since if it's your first time playing the game you'll probably want to explore a fair amount
Minsc-love him as a character and he's great fun, but he really isn't a great/effective fighter. I don't think NPCs can fall, I think that's a Charname only thing. Still, I often take him along because he's such an amusing character, and Dynaheir is a pretty effective mage, though she really does miss having access to greater malison and level 5 enchantment spells. Minsc does make a decent enough archer in BG1, and can use composite bows if you want him to (Kivan's personality annoys me after a while, so I usually ditch him after doing the bandit camp with him)
Neera-awful in BG1 because low level wild mages are awful, though a decent wand monkey, not that that says much, but her personality is awful. She is such an incredibly ungrateful brat, and typically I'll grab her briefly to get her gem bag and quest timer started and boot her out, then pick her up again either after nashkel mines in chapter 3, or wait until chapter 5 when I do all the EE companion quests (possibly getting dorn by sandbagging reputation by killing shandalar after doing the ice island quest, but before turning it in-only in games that aren't hardcore, summon lots of monsters, boost everyone with haste, save, then fire a wand of paralysis at shandalar and hope for the best-pelt him with arrows, and magic missiles, and hope you can kill him before the paralysis wears off), then after you do her quest and finish it for the stoneskin scroll, boot her out for good since she's such an ungrateful brat about it all
Shar teel-her personality is terrible, but she's surprisingly good as either a pure fighter doing archery (can use composite bow +1 from feldepost), or a dualed thief (also still doing archery). On my LoB run where I was trying to use every NPC at least a bit, she proved surprisingly good as a solid archer to help be able to shoot enemies accurately before I was able to get coran, and I didn't want to get kivan yet since I was exploring everywhere and didn't want to start his quest countdown
Shadow Druids suck! Also, I'm going to try that trick with Yeslick to see if that works for him using wands.
I like these viewpoints because you see a lot of what I see in these companions. Yes, there are numbers and abilities, but we both agree that if a companion is obnoxious or has a terrible personality, then we don't want to bring them along.
@@Redjoy123 potions of genius aren't that great for it since they only last 15 turns, which is still a decent chunk of time, but potions of mind focusing are incredible for it-they boost int and dex by 3 (stacking!) for a full 12 hours, and even if you have yeslick using the big fisted belt from rasaad's quest which sets his int to 6, that +3 is enough to get him to 9 to be able to use scrolls and wands, and are even better if you have him using the gauntlets of dexterity to boost him to 21 dex for even more AC and use as a frontline tank. Only real downside to mind focusing potions is they aren't very common in BG1 (apparently in BG2 they're much more common and sold in quantity from most temples), but you can get at least 4 from friendly arm inn temple, and a few more from sorcerous sundries in the city. They do show up as random drops, but that isn't a consistent or reliable way to get more of them
Just tested it on my switch version of BG1EE (to make sure it wasn't something from a mod) and after using a potion of mind focusing to boost his int to 9, I put a wand of the heavens on his quick item bar and it worked, then used protection from magic scroll to dispel everything and tried using the wand-still worked (well, it used the charge at least, the protection from magic effect blocked it from actually hitting anything though), and did a save and reload to see if it force unequipped the wand-no, it stayed on his quick item bar, though it was red now, but if you leave it alone and don't touch or move it, he's still able to use it since it's already equipped to his quick item menu despite no longer having the required 9 int. So it's still usable even after reloading the save if you need to save and quit, or the potion effect wears off (though mind focusing should easily be enough to fully clear at least a map or two, even of larger dungeons, unless you need to rest a lot or take a long time to fight). If you unequip it from his quick item menu, or the game forces it off because of some inventory shenanigans with scripting or something, then he won't be able to use it unless you boost his intelligence again, but getting it onto his quick item menu will allow him to use wand of the heavens without any issue, even after the potion wears off
who is gonna watch this crap without any time stamp.
Oh wow! Thank you so much for that verbose and well crafted request! I cannot tell you how enthusiastic I am to let you know that I just included the timestamps in the description based based on your incredibly generous and well thought comment. Bless me for being a shortsighted fool for not including timestamps for each companion. Thank you again so much for your kind comment and intellectually profound comment. God bless you, sir, we are all wiser for your erudite words.
@@Redjoy123 it is ok no need to be grateful. as a higher intelligent life form, it is my duty to bestow wisdom upon you.
next time decide the companion ranks before hand, stop switching them and put a stamp for each of them.
maybe then people would watch your cute videos more than 30 sec. so you could stop talking to yourself
@@salepx No no, I must be grateful, for I have failed the minuscule number of people who have viewed my baby channel and this completely unplanned and undercoordinated efforts to post my viewpoints on companions for a fantastic game. A game which I, as a lowly simian, have no rights to even speak of before the might of your magnificent and critical analysis. You have, indeed, done wonders with your life. Thank you for blessing me with your ornithophile 🦜 presence.
I genuinely hope you have a good day today. How are you doin', by the way?
Where's your ranking video?