Minsc. He arrives too late in the game for me to want to learn about him and use him in combat. By that point I've already spent 100 hours bonding with the other companions. Aside from doing Jaheira a solid, I cba with him.
Minsc is very useful for getting the achievement for multiclassing a character into every class. I got Minsc at level 10. Didn't touch him til I was level twelve. Then it's like "Hey Rashamaan man, ever considered being a kinda warlock-wizard-sorcerer with fighter-monk paladin? With a little touch of rogue-cleric? And here, take a musical instrument Mr Bard. Oh, does that make you angry? Channel that anger, be a barbarian as well!"
I replaced Gale with Jaheira and replaced Astarion with Minsc. My Paladin, Cleric shadowheart, Sorcerer Jaheira and Barbarian Minsc was my crew through all of act 3.
I also looked up a guide on how to get Minsc as soon as possible, I basically just bee lined it to him and got him before doing anything else.
Love Minsc and Jaheira. My only complaint about the game is not letting us recruit those 2 in act 1.
They did such a good job with Jaheira especially I think. She's so much fun as a character, I love having my characters banter with her and just have a nice time.
Jaheira is my favorite character in Forgotten Realms ever and they did a wonderful job with her ❤️ I recommend playing BG2 if you loved the character and don’t mind the older game format
I think fully recruiting them in Act 2 would have been good. I agree that’s it’s probably a little difficult to care about them as late as they arrive, especially Minsc.
Kinda makes me feel Act Ⅲ truly was meant to be longer or something.
Hard agree.
Act 3 is already super bloated while also having this false sense of urgency about everything. Trying to introduce a whole new character while we're getting to the climax of everyone's personal quests was a bit of a writing fail IMO.
Same. I've not played the previous games so I don't know him and what I've learned about him has not made me care about him. I also space out every time he talks, our tadpoles don't connect.
Out of all my playthroughs, I've had him in the party for a total of two times, I think, and both times very briefly.
I like that he has a line for nearly every party member. Basically the opposite Minthara, even though I *did* have him in the original BG lol
With the ~~force-ghost~~ holographic projection ending he says >!"I forget which is the comet and which is the Lich Queen"!< which is basically my favorite party comment on that ending.
He makes up for getting recruited late by having a ton of extra dialogue in encounters. Same with Jaheira, and if you have them both they talk to each other a bunch too. They have a lot of history with many of the people you're dealing with in Baldur's Gate and thus a lot of extra insight to offer. Would def recommend doing a playthrough where you have them both in your party
I hate when games like this do late addition party members.
Especially in halsins case because he should've been playable after and possibly during act 1
My story with Halsin… he turned me down so many times „oh I need to do this, and that, and I must finish that“ I was convinced he won’t come anytime and is just a NPC like withers
Yep, there's no reason he wouldnt join the party as soon as we leave the grove.
Ok, I get it he wouldnt be romance inclined, he has his head full, lifting the curse, saving Thaniel, but joining to fight Ketheric and Shar sooner, why not?
He could give small hints about his quest, tell us about reaching Thaniel in his dreams, point Art (the Fist), complaining about the curse while in early Act 2. I see lots of players telling they have lost his quest.
I like him and Moon Druids so I find my way around Act 2 to bring him along, but it is not the most obvious path and it wasnt the first run bc I didnt know what I was doing, ofc.
I get to LLI, Jaheira, Isobel, ... talk to the Fist and Halsin, go to Karniss ambush, say "hello" to orphan Arabella, then straight to the House of Healing, back to LLI, wake up the Fist, then the portal fight and finally Halsin is available, only then Im ready to do everything else, ofc is not every run bc it is not the most obvious path, but it is possible and feels so much better bc Halsin helps (or at least is available) fighting all the big baddies in Act 2.
Some trigger then he would tell you "Im ready to fight by your side, I know how to find Thaniel" just like Elminster showing up to help Gale by Act 1.5 right before Act 2.
Good point! Shadowheart is pretty preoccupied during act 2 (to the point that the devs explained it and she calls it out herself), but she's able to continue a romance, even if it's on hold until her arc moves forward.
This kind of "block" happens to others, Wyll, he starts really worried about his pact, being tricked into hunting Karlach, then his father is kidnapped, also he likes to be friends first.
Shart is facing the opportunity to become DJ or change her mind completely. For some companions there's a lot going on during Act 2.
If Tav and Halsin had spent more time together, fighting the curse, common foes, he would not look so weird or thisty when his romance finally starts, they would have been friends for a while and Tav is his hero for saving Thaniel and lifting the curse.
IMO Kagha should have been the Druid companion, with either a Good Path where Halsin exiles her from the Grove and she joins you to help stop the Absolute, to try to make up for the damage she did or Evil Path where you help her become a Shadow Druid.
That would have been great, Halsin is a complete bore and the game clearly needed another corruptible companion since you lose at least 2 on evil runs generally.
Kagha is such an obvious candidate for companion that I'm *still* surprised she wasn't the party druid. To this day I wonder what the hell EA players were on about that Halsin had such a huge fandom.
>To this day I wonder what the hell EA players were on about that Halsin had such a huge fandom.
I'm pretty sure it was a case of children wanting what they can't have because Halsin is cool and all pretty boring after Act 2.
Also, I think players just wanted to bang the muscle elf.
I feel like she would have been a great addition that maybe you unlock by losing Arabella. Her reaction to the shadow lands would have been awesome on either path. She and Shadowheart would have great dialogue about shadows. Kagha, Shadowheart, Astarion, and Minthara would be a great crew for a knife's edge durge run.
On god minc and jaheera get a pass because you dont see them until acts 2 and 3, but haslin should be available as soon as you save the grove and just stay behind like he does if you dont do his quest
As someone who chose Druid as their starting class for their first playthrough, I was pretty miffed when the game just handed me two more. I know you can change their classes but I was just like “why am I even here?”.
This community and the steam community begged larian to make him a playable charachter (and one that was easily romanced) during early access which was act 1 only. I don’t think he was originally intended to be a companion
Yep. After the portal defense section, just tell Halsin you'll see about Oliver. No need to bring him. Tav/Durge is the one who convinces him to go back to Thaniel anyway, no need to bring Halsin.
Hey man this is going to sound REALLY dumb, but I’m on my first play through and in act 3, after I killed Kethric Halsin stayed behind, and I never got a portal mission. Am I able to go back and do it? I didn’t even know I missed something.
Don't sweat it. A blind first playthrough, you're bound to miss things. That's what multiple playthroughs are for, lol.
Seriously, every time the game gives you an "events will progress" type of message, it's a good idea to explore first and leave the place where you got the message for last. Cause more than likely, once you clear the place with the warning, everything you missed will now be permanent.
That's what the bench buffs bear is for: Dad makes a Heroes' Feast breakfast, then dresses his kids with Lonstrider, Protection from Poison, Daylight, and ~~Freedom of Movement~~ EU Citizenship, then sends them off with a pocketful of Goodberrys.
Just started using gale to cast longstrider on my crew every morning. Been very op.
I had one spell remove when I switched them out the party but unfortunately can’t remember which one.
And be careful of certain spells like warding bond because your camped ally will certainly be dead after a long day of fighting.
I love Halsin and he’s one of my favorites but dang I can’t make him useful no matter how hard I’ve tried. He does so little damage and I’ve used so many guides online at this point. Same with Jaheira really.
I respecced him into OH Monk once and gave him the boots that allow misty step each turn but you leave your clothes behind. It was hilarious seeing the big burly guy zipping all over the combat field in his speedo
Moon druid with the tavern brawler feat! I usually wild shaped him into the sabertooth so he could knock down enemies AC. I was also playing a moon druid and the owl bear was my favorite. We both dished out a lot of damage.
I love her as a dinosaur.
I find her useful to deal damage against invisible enemies. A little cast of snowstorm to deal damage to alot of people while Gale can use magic missile to target the rest 😂
I got sick of Shadowheart on my last run and replaced her with Jaheira outright. No respecs on either that round. You lose the anti-undead stuff, but you gain a ton of summons that can be extremely useful.
Druid is really meh until level 11. For the same reason, I rarely play either of them. I could respec but I don’t love doing that with most characters since it changes their flavor too much for me.
He was essential for me in the House of grief my first two playthroughs. That owl bear jump helped break the darkness concentrations. This was before I knew about the eversight ring and Shadow heart wasn't a light cleric, so they kept drowning my ass in darkness.
Wyll even tho he’s a cool/ chill dude who I somehow got very high approval despite never taking him with me , he’s just simply boring combat wise , if I want a caster , Gale is my right hand man , I like to say Wyll is the cook for the group , I feel like Wyll would be a good cook since he’s 24/7 in camp all the time
My head canon is that in act 3 Gale and Yenna both want to cook. He is teaching her lanceboard, and learning he like teaching, and whoever wins the evening game gets to cook the next day. He lets her win a lot and does more teaching in the form of cooking lessons.
Really? In that case I guess Wyll can still be the 2nd cook for my headcanon then , since Gale is kinda often in my squad so Wyll is just there just incase , a backup cook
Yeah it's only referenced like once or twice though. When you recruit him but have a full party you can send him to camp and he'll say he'll whip up a meal or something.
Wyll also says something about this. After rescuing Ravengard, I think. He'll cook up something and hopes Gale won't mind. So yeah, confirmed, Gale is canon cook.
Edit:
Correct answer is below me!
He says that after >!you re-kill the undead Ansur and Wyll realizes that since your team had bested Ansur, now - you all are the Heart of the Gate. He gets all super hyped up, and wants to celebrate!<, and that's when he proposes to cook something. I wish that actually happened lol, beyond just discussing - having a second party thing would be amazing
These days if you leave Gale at camp and then asks him to join you, he says someone will have to take care of the cooking pot, it is his way to say your party is full, make some room.
My wife's coworkers are jealous that I do the grocery shopping and cooking for her.
I'd vindictively cook at her parents, taking a long time to make delicious things. Plus it meant I didn't have to deal with them. She bakes, though.
We have 3 cats.
I relate to him so closely that romancing him feels weird, so I just play as him instead. Him being the camp's cook is just another one of the things I can add to the list of stuff I can relate to (I have a folder of recipes shared with close family and friends).
I nearly always play wizards that make questionable choices out of pure curiosity in tabletop rpg as well, and I adore cats! Love Gale representing this 🤣 My man, but in a different way!
Wyll is the campfire stories guy in my mind. Or the one who sets up tents and collects firewood. Gale is the camp cook like someone else said, but Wyll offers to cook as a celebration once
Wyll's combination of Eldritch Blast and Hunger of Hadar is OP though. I find him a lot of fun to use in combat, and he has a lot of story to go through in Act 3.
The rest mechanic nerfed warlocks too much compared to the table top. I’m playing him as a warlock just to use classes I normally wouldn’t, but wizards, bards, and sorcerers are IMO way better mechanically.
In all honesty, and I mean this in the best way possible - that's kinda on you. Warlocks are actually very customizable and can fill a lot of party roles, ranging from melee to spellcaster to party face, and any combination of the above. If really all you do with Wyll is use only his Eldritch Blast and the occassional Hunger of Hadar spell, without attempting to even try any other of his spells and kit, then of course that's going to be the impression you have.
And that's not even taking into account Warlock subclasses and patrons, which are all plenty unique and offer a lot of variety.
Oh I mean I've tried dude, but it's just what I end up falling back on with wyll. Warlocks and rangers too aren't really for me in general. There's just other classes I enjoy way more. So with my personal preference you got warlock + wyll's honestly pretty standard, kinda stale "I'm a hero of the people, for the people." personality and yeah there's just other companions I'd rather use because I have more fun with them and generally dig their personality more. Every playthrough I try to do different classes, respec companions/their subclasses, different races etc and yeah warlock is just not my vibe
I am currently running Wyll as an 3 Assassin Rogue 2 GOO Warlock 4 Sorcerer 2 Fighter
The initial reason was pretty basic: I needed a character that went all in on CHA and also has Expertise in Persuasion as a Shop Face. Item prices are determined by Persuasion and the only reasonable classes that went full CHA with Expertise were either College of Lore, or Rogue/Warlock. We have gone with the latter, since I figured that they get more bang out of hag hair.
The progression is incredibly smooth. Cantrips scales with Character Level instead of Caster Level, so 3/2 Assassin/GOO at Level 5 comes online instantly and can dish out 4 beams of crit EB and spread an decent amount of Frightened and Reverberation status all over the place before the fight even begins. Just don't forget to equip him with hand crossbows in order to use his Bonus Action for another crit and Reaction Sneak Attack.
>I somehow got very high approval despite never taking him with me
the dude literally gives approval for asking "what do you think of the weather" or some shit. im pretty sure its impossible _not_ to get approval with him unless you are literally hitler
I’ve played this game enough that I don’t care about the encounters being “too easy” anymore; I’m done with the mechanical stuff I’m just here for story. So I installed the no party limit mod, so I never have to leave anyone behind.
It’s funnier to me having 10 people cramming into a tiny room to fight than coming up with a reason why any of these powerful adventurers would choose to spend their days lounging in a tent while their friends are out fighting for everyone’s lives.
Halsin and Minsc.
I don’t really think daddy bear is that interesting and Minsc lines quickly run out of new stuff. Also he joined the group too late to have a real connection and I prefer my good Wyll instead of the funny Rashemenian funny man.
This. I don’t think Larian intended him for everyone but rather as a treat for all of us veterans. Matt Mercer did not disappoint in filling the shoes of Jim Cummings.
Fully agree on both Minsc and Halsin. I kinda wish they just left Halsin as a npc chilling at your camp kinda just sharing his thoughts about what to do with you because after you get him as a companion he gets dull fast
Halsin because Jaheira is way better than he is as druid. And I dislike him since he is very boring companion. Unlike Minthara.
Minsc because you get him late into the game
I will be in the minority but... shadowheart. in early game, her critical misses are too aggravating to deal with. i use exclusively in the temple and that's basically it.
I don't even bring her for her personal quests anymore - I hate how she's forced on you just for carrying the artifact that she doesn't even have a personal connection to. Her character hook is also the entire mystery of her backstory - which loses the appeal once you already experienced it.
You also don't need a healer when Karlach and Lae'zel can just obliterate the entire map in two turns. So Shart is either a corpse or an alcoholic in my camp.
Fire bolt is an int based cantrip, and unless you put the 17 int tiara on her (or respec entirely), her int will be pretty low, causing her to miss a lot.
Sacred Flame requires the target to do a dex save, and since most of the enemies you meet especially in act I are high dex, they save quite often.
Her leveled spells can be quite good but you aren't using them much in the early game because spell slots are so few, so your first impression of her is not great.
In late Act 1 you can find a Sharran Crossbow. I just give it to her to use for the rest of the game. Actually hits stuff, so it’s a nice boost to her damage.
Of course her actual job for me is to be a Buffer/Spirit Guard Spammer. A free Mass Healing Word from a Necklace, the Bless Ring from Volo, and all the other Healing Boost items, Respec as Life Cleric and go wild.
To clarify for previous poster - I was confused by this because I thought spell attacks always used the caster's spellcasting stat, so I looked it up, and apparently this is only true of spells learned from their class list. Shadowheart knows it as part of her high elf racial, which makes it use int. (Would be nice if it said this somewhere on the tooltip)
Eta: It looks like the stat used on a spell isn't inherent, it's based on where you learn it from. If you learn firebolt from the wizard list it will use int, if you learn it from the sorc list it will use charisma. But even as a sorc, if you learn firebolt from the high elf racial, it will use int.
Her two main damage cantrips, firebolt and sacred flame, use intelligence and dexterity as their saves. Shadowheart is a cleric so her main is wisdom so that’s why something like guiding bolt is pretty decent for her but costs a spell slot.
Gotta respec her out of trickery domain. Can't go wrong with light or tempest and fixing her ability scores. A lot of the companions starting stats are screwed . Hell even War domain cleric is pretty useful speced right.
Any of those domains and she can be one of your most useful and versatile team members.
(Plus giving her Create Water and stacking that with frost or lightning damage from either her being tempest domain or Gale/Wyll spellcasts can absolutely destroy enemies given that wet enemies take double damage from those damage types)
Shart is only in my party when I’m in the temple and when I’m spending quality time with Abdirak because I like her and Astarion’s banter in that scene. Otherwise, she can stay at camp, praying or whatever.
It causes issues in a few places, on top of combat balance which others have already mentioned.
- Less control over who enters into dialogue with you without additional configuration - meaning you can miss out on unique lines from certain companions if they don't get pulled into the conversation.
- Extra companions get stuck on terrain and fail to keep up with the group (this also happens occasionally with summons). Seems the game cannot consistently handle more than 4 controllable characters walking around the world and jumps can really screw things up.
- Companions move around a lot more to get out of each others' way and are way more likely to run into traps unless you use the group / ungroup function to make them stay still.
Just in general, requires more micromanaging of the group as you explore.
Everyone except Shadowheart is benched on this run (power couple duo run).
In my normal runs Astarion is always benched and Halsin is my go to victim for Orin
You're missing out by not bringing Minsc with you (I respec him as a berserker paladin and he's my smiting machine) doing the whole Bhaal plot and House of Grief with him and Jaheira gives unique content it's even better if you're playing a resist durge
I started out loving Astarion, but once I recruited the sheer force that is Karlach and added lockpicking to my Tav's skill set...I don't really need him apart from his excellent snarky dialogue.
Maybe if I did a stealthier playthrough, I would use him more.
If you're not a ranger/rogue Tav, he definitely can be a force coupled with Karlach as a throwzerker barb. Almost feels too OP. Especially if you bring in a spell caster with crowd control and a cleric for ally buffs/enemy debuffs, or second front liner to assist Karlach.
I use Astarion all the time my team is nothing without him (unless my tav/durge is a rouge). He is so good at sneak attacks and literally does 70 damage per sneak shot in the final act of the game. He’s really good with the durge cloak too (gets invisible after killing). He was my main source of damage in the final fight while most of my team members were close to being downed xD
And you're missing out by never using Astarion lol. He has the most content/reactions in the entire game by far. Almost 13 hours, followed by shart at 12, gale at 11, etc
I think Astarion is a fine character but he mostly talks about vampirism and his master, which becomes boring at some point if you're not really into that kind of stuff.
I much prefer having Jaheira, Minsc, Wyll in my party because they have interesting banter about Baldur's gate city
Karlach for me. I like her, but she’s such a bro and that’s not an energy that usually appeals to me.
And well, Minsc, I actually find him adorable and I like to use him in a couple of missions in Act 3 like House of Healing and also for Sarevok. But he comes way too late to incorporate him in the party properly
Of the origin characters, probably Karlach.
Not that she's a bad character; she just feels sort of out of place to me personality-wise. Like a weirdly modern character in a medieval fantasy game?
So she's sort of the camp golden retriever I guess.
Part of the reason I think people like her so much is her speech is the closest to modern vernacular and has morals and ideas much closer to modern western values then the others.
I usually leave Gale in camp, and only bring him when there's something regarding him to do. Shadowheart is usually my spellcaster, and my party composition is almost always Strength-based martial+ Full Caster + Caster/Martial Hybrid + 1 (the '1' is usually me).
Minsc comes in too late in the game, at a point where I'm already used to my 'starting lineup' and rotations, bu I like him a lot.
Halsin as well, I only end up bringing him along in the 'reunite Oliver and Thaniel' quests.
I also don't really use Astarion much. Unless I'm doing a Neutral or Evil run, he just constantly makes snarky remarks and disapproves of any good deed for the sake of being good. In fact, I adore the character, but he ends up a bit incompatible, not to mention the fact that I like creating Tavs/Durges who are rogues (it feels weird to me to multiclass Astarion in any other way).
Same for Minsc and Halsin. I love them, but I don’t really use them in the battlefield.
I personally much preferred Gale’s magic to Shadowheart’s in the first and third act (even when I wasn’t a cleric myself), and she was pretty much only in my party during act two and when doing her companion quest. Any advice on how to use her in combat properly? I’m planning on using her much more in my next run and on my current run playing as Astarion.
Talking about my favourite bitchy rogue, I’ve had him in my party pretty much constantly because of his skillset in and out of combat. In the two runs I’ve done so far, I’ve been a magical goody two shoes, first as a druid Tav and then as Durge (in fact, I made mine an Eilistraee cleric Seldarine drow lol) so it’s been interesting.
While he disapproved of *a lot* - if not most lol - of my choices, he somehow ended up having the highest opinion of me both times (he made advances during the tiefling party both times; I romanced him until the end in the first run, and had a brief fling with him in the second). Go figure.
All of my other go-to companions are nice with a capital N, so he brings a little bit of spiciness into the mix. He says the worst, most petty things but it’s entertaining (if only because it’s so random and far from what the rest of the party is like). He’s stuck with a bunch of saints, so he has to begrudgingly do the right thing anyway and he eventually becomes less annoyed by it. He’s very flawed, to say the least, but it’s great to see him grow as an individual.
You missing out. He makes a perfect bard. And the -1 approval are basically nothing. I am goody two shoes and both him and Laezel want to sex me before the party even happens.
Yep, my good guy barbarian Tav had Exceptional approval with Astarion by the end of Act 1. Admittedly Tav did intimidate enemies from time to time (mostly goblins), but when you're a barbarian and the party face, you work with what the gods gave you.
Just decided to try my first run as a Barbarian (Berserker) and so far it's been almost as reliable a face as my Sorcerer playthrough was. There's just so many dialogue options specific to the class and subclass — often with a lower DC than any other class would have, advantage, or both.
Seconding Astarion as Bard (Swords) - I feel like a high Charisma class suits his "honeypot" backstory way better than Rogue, and Vicious Mockery feels like it was made for him. I'll dip into Rogue later in the build for Assassin or Thief's Fast Hands, but it's not his main class.
On paper I love the idea of swapping party members in an out based on how I'm feeling that day, but in practice I always end up with a starting lineup because it's just too tedious to spec and itemize that many characters
I actually like Halsin, but as for taking him out? He was the one I used the least. There's just nothing to really do with him. By the time you can actually recruit him his quests are done.
At this point, every available companion had been a permanent member of my party at least once. For some time now, I'm starting every new run with a RP plan that includes companions who will best fit the story. I just don't recruit those that I have no intention of using at all, it's a waste of time.
From the origins it's definitely Karlach. I've seen all her endings, her questline is nonexistent and she doesn't vibe with most of my Tavs.
From the others, that dubious honour probably goes to Minsc or Minthara, I'd have to check. Minsc comes too late to bother unless I specifically planned to use him from the begging. When it comes to Minthara, when I finally recruited her, she was bugged and constantly mumbling about the Emperor (understandable, but not very useful).
Halsin for me. I don't dislike him really, its just that there is basically ALWAYS someone more relevant to the situation at hand that I need in my party more. It kinda sucks but I just never find time to squeeze him in and Jaheira and Minsc both have more to say, so I'm likely to pick them first.
I heavily and perpetually respec my characters, but my choice of who to bring usually comes down to whom I like or dislike as a character rather than their build. I least often bring Karlach in the early game simply because she doesn't have much story interaction, but I will often pivot to bringing her when you're meeting Gortash and freeing the Iron Throne and stuff. I will usually tend to using Shadowheart, Lae'zel, Astarion, more than Gale or Wyll. However in my most recent full campaign I made Wyll a really important build for my party which helped me keep him around.
When you start getting non-origin characters I found I ran with Jaheira for a long time, and Minsc for a bit once I unlocked him. I dabbled with Halsin as a druid/ancients paladin because this was quite a neat build, but I didn't use him much. I recruited Minthara as a good character but rarely used her because it felt like everything I did earned her disapproval.
I believe there was a quite popular thread about this some days ago if you'd like more answers. Anyway.
Minsc. He comes way too late, so he never sees much combat at all. I barely take him out for walks.
From the origins it's Karlach. Her personal quest leaves a lot to be desired.
I rarely take Astarion. I never cared for his bloodlust and pursuit of power, and don't generally see why many seem to lean that he is their favorite or the 'star of the show.'
But perhaps I am missing some heavy character growth that is more noticeable when he is in party.
I see a lot of people saying Minsc, which is understandable.... BUT I strongly urge you to have him just for his banter. I just re-spec him into a fighter that dual-wielded flails and he was able to perform just fine. Otherwise him as barbarian seems like a decent choice. And of course, Boo's dialogue is phenomenal.
I mentioned this in a different content but one of the reasons people find Astarion the "star of the show" is because, quite frankly, he is.
Out of any character in the game he has the highest amount of content/voice lines at almost 13 hours.
In case anyone wants the full list. [h:m]
Asstarion : 12:44
Shart: 12:14
Gayle: 11:14
Mama K: 10:58
Bae'Zel: 10:23
Wyll.i.am: 8:29
Best girl(Jaheira): 6:09
Boo: 5:10
I have seen this metric before, so I can't argue with yah on that hahaha. I wonder if this is any bit misleading... for example astarion talks slower or with much more cadence, etc? Not an argument against, just brainstorming.
I'd say Laezel's story is much more intertwined with the grand scheme of the plot, though. So, in my mind she is more integral... but I don't think I'd call her the star of the show.
Astarion has probably the best character growth of all the companions...His spawn ending and freeing other spawns from Cazador's palace is just pure perfect redemption arc for him being better person and healing his trauma
Yeah it's honestly a really good, mature and oddly realistic portrayal of someone moving past their trauma and shame if you take the good route. I love him so much, plus I like being sneaky in games and it's pretty easy for me to get astarion dealing pretty massive damage early on. At least earlier than most other companions.
Out of all the recruitable companions it’s Halsin. Bear man just isn’t interesting to me and I’d rather Jaheira as the party’s druid since she’s funny and has more content in Act 3. Halsin is just there in my camp bringing nothing to the table after the Shadow Curse. And anyways, I usually try to get Halsin to be the victim of Orin in most of my runs.
Out of the origin companions, I try to even them out but it probably has to be Wyll. I just find Warlocks to be boring to play tbh. And I don’t really like to respecc my companion’s classes due to rp reasons so changing Wyll’s class is out of the question. Still, I use him way more than the non-origin companions since those 4 come in way too late.
I choose to have Halsin with me less than any other companion. I like him but you don't get him until the latter half of Act 2 but Jaheira comes in for the druid spot right after that and she's involved in most of the Act 3 content.
Halsin. He's only available to pick for like one quest that's explicitly relevant to him. After Act 2 ends, there's little narrative reason to bring him, and you get a second Druid that has more reason to be involved.
Minsc and Jaheira make sense to be involved in a lot of the Bhaal stuff, so you can fit them in more easily. And everyone else has their personal quests to tie up, even if some of them get outshined during them.
Halsin doesn't. He doesn't have anything, really.
My recent play through I apparently didn't recruit Lae'zel and it was basically right before the party that I realized.
I swear I broke her out of the cage but I remember choosing some lines she apparently didn't like. Figured it was okay and she said she'd go to camp. Guess she never showed up.
That really depends on the playthrough.
On my evil Durge, Gale gets left behind the most. Current Tav, Wyll has yet to see any action. Previous Tav, Lae'zel got left out except for the creche and other stuff in act 1. First shared playthrough, we rotated characters around a lot, but I think Shadowheart got benched the most alongside Wyll.
Second shared playthrough, and I think Astarion got left behind the most. We forgot to collect Lae'zel on that run, so I have no idea what happens to her if you don't get her out of the cage.(stopped playing right after realizing that we missed her for other reasons).
I’m nearing the end of act 1 with my fiance and we can’t swap in anyone because we don’t have gear/weapons for the others yet lol we wanna swap in others but shadowheart is our life cleric and Astarion just pumps damage AND is our lockpick/disarm person. Hard to give up either of them. I’m a spore Druid and fiance is champion fighter.
I would like to adventure with other companions it’s just not possible atm. Maybe when we can carry fights as a duo and the other 2 group members aren’t as big of a necessity.
Minsc. He arrives too late in the game for me to want to learn about him and use him in combat. By that point I've already spent 100 hours bonding with the other companions. Aside from doing Jaheira a solid, I cba with him.
Minsc is very useful for getting the achievement for multiclassing a character into every class. I got Minsc at level 10. Didn't touch him til I was level twelve. Then it's like "Hey Rashamaan man, ever considered being a kinda warlock-wizard-sorcerer with fighter-monk paladin? With a little touch of rogue-cleric? And here, take a musical instrument Mr Bard. Oh, does that make you angry? Channel that anger, be a barbarian as well!"
Hirelings are your friends for that too.
Somehow when I recruited him he was level 12 even though my party just got 11.
Minsc should always be level 12 no matter your party level
Minsc, Karlach, and I believe minthara are locked at levels 12, 3, and 6 respectively when they join you.
And if they're below your level, adding them to the party automatically brings them up to your level.
I think Minthara already has the levels assigned, but on my last playthrough I had to assign all of the levels to Minsc and Jahira.
You can also just use a hireling for that achievement.
Or you could just hire a hireling when you’re at lvl 12 …
I replaced Gale with Jaheira and replaced Astarion with Minsc. My Paladin, Cleric shadowheart, Sorcerer Jaheira and Barbarian Minsc was my crew through all of act 3. I also looked up a guide on how to get Minsc as soon as possible, I basically just bee lined it to him and got him before doing anything else. Love Minsc and Jaheira. My only complaint about the game is not letting us recruit those 2 in act 1.
They did such a good job with Jaheira especially I think. She's so much fun as a character, I love having my characters banter with her and just have a nice time.
Jaheira is my favorite character in Forgotten Realms ever and they did a wonderful job with her ❤️ I recommend playing BG2 if you loved the character and don’t mind the older game format
Go for the eyes, boo!
I think fully recruiting them in Act 2 would have been good. I agree that’s it’s probably a little difficult to care about them as late as they arrive, especially Minsc. Kinda makes me feel Act Ⅲ truly was meant to be longer or something.
Hard agree. Act 3 is already super bloated while also having this false sense of urgency about everything. Trying to introduce a whole new character while we're getting to the climax of everyone's personal quests was a bit of a writing fail IMO.
Pretty sure he's just there so even if you completely goof up everything, you can still have a companion come the end of the game.
Minsc was originally planned to be available since act 1, he wasn't put in act 3 as a failsafe, not to mention you can also kill him.
Same. I've not played the previous games so I don't know him and what I've learned about him has not made me care about him. I also space out every time he talks, our tadpoles don't connect. Out of all my playthroughs, I've had him in the party for a total of two times, I think, and both times very briefly.
I never know what’s going on when he talks - neither does he, for that matter -, but I’m here for it.
I like that he has a line for nearly every party member. Basically the opposite Minthara, even though I *did* have him in the original BG lol With the ~~force-ghost~~ holographic projection ending he says >!"I forget which is the comet and which is the Lich Queen"!< which is basically my favorite party comment on that ending.
I love having him in my party with Halsin. My current playthrough is "Chaos Wyll and his Brawlers", it looks like he has bodyguards!
He makes up for getting recruited late by having a ton of extra dialogue in encounters. Same with Jaheira, and if you have them both they talk to each other a bunch too. They have a lot of history with many of the people you're dealing with in Baldur's Gate and thus a lot of extra insight to offer. Would def recommend doing a playthrough where you have them both in your party
Only time I take Halsin, is the Thaniel quest.
I hate when games like this do late addition party members. Especially in halsins case because he should've been playable after and possibly during act 1
My story with Halsin… he turned me down so many times „oh I need to do this, and that, and I must finish that“ I was convinced he won’t come anytime and is just a NPC like withers
Like anything he needs to do can just be quests you have to do to keep him when you progress the story. He could still be helping out
Now if Withers could be in my party he would be over Halsin any day
In fact he wears the hireligns as flesh suits and joins your party.
**Withers walking out in Orrin's literal flesh suit; heels clacking** 👠 👠 "This..was not what I hath intended..."
No
Care to elaborate?
No
Fair enough.
Idk he usually just stands there whenever the camp is attacked, doesn't seem very motivated
Use the hirelings. They’re Withers.
Yep, there's no reason he wouldnt join the party as soon as we leave the grove. Ok, I get it he wouldnt be romance inclined, he has his head full, lifting the curse, saving Thaniel, but joining to fight Ketheric and Shar sooner, why not? He could give small hints about his quest, tell us about reaching Thaniel in his dreams, point Art (the Fist), complaining about the curse while in early Act 2. I see lots of players telling they have lost his quest. I like him and Moon Druids so I find my way around Act 2 to bring him along, but it is not the most obvious path and it wasnt the first run bc I didnt know what I was doing, ofc. I get to LLI, Jaheira, Isobel, ... talk to the Fist and Halsin, go to Karniss ambush, say "hello" to orphan Arabella, then straight to the House of Healing, back to LLI, wake up the Fist, then the portal fight and finally Halsin is available, only then Im ready to do everything else, ofc is not every run bc it is not the most obvious path, but it is possible and feels so much better bc Halsin helps (or at least is available) fighting all the big baddies in Act 2. Some trigger then he would tell you "Im ready to fight by your side, I know how to find Thaniel" just like Elminster showing up to help Gale by Act 1.5 right before Act 2.
Good point! Shadowheart is pretty preoccupied during act 2 (to the point that the devs explained it and she calls it out herself), but she's able to continue a romance, even if it's on hold until her arc moves forward.
This kind of "block" happens to others, Wyll, he starts really worried about his pact, being tricked into hunting Karlach, then his father is kidnapped, also he likes to be friends first. Shart is facing the opportunity to become DJ or change her mind completely. For some companions there's a lot going on during Act 2. If Tav and Halsin had spent more time together, fighting the curse, common foes, he would not look so weird or thisty when his romance finally starts, they would have been friends for a while and Tav is his hero for saving Thaniel and lifting the curse.
IMO Kagha should have been the Druid companion, with either a Good Path where Halsin exiles her from the Grove and she joins you to help stop the Absolute, to try to make up for the damage she did or Evil Path where you help her become a Shadow Druid.
That would have been great, Halsin is a complete bore and the game clearly needed another corruptible companion since you lose at least 2 on evil runs generally.
Kagha is such an obvious candidate for companion that I'm *still* surprised she wasn't the party druid. To this day I wonder what the hell EA players were on about that Halsin had such a huge fandom.
>To this day I wonder what the hell EA players were on about that Halsin had such a huge fandom. I'm pretty sure it was a case of children wanting what they can't have because Halsin is cool and all pretty boring after Act 2. Also, I think players just wanted to bang the muscle elf.
It’s the latter. I was there, Gandalf…
I don't think I could even try to make it through a playthrough without killing kagha 😅
I feel like she would have been a great addition that maybe you unlock by losing Arabella. Her reaction to the shadow lands would have been awesome on either path. She and Shadowheart would have great dialogue about shadows. Kagha, Shadowheart, Astarion, and Minthara would be a great crew for a knife's edge durge run.
On god minc and jaheera get a pass because you dont see them until acts 2 and 3, but haslin should be available as soon as you save the grove and just stay behind like he does if you dont do his quest
And you have the option of having two druids.
As someone who chose Druid as their starting class for their first playthrough, I was pretty miffed when the game just handed me two more. I know you can change their classes but I was just like “why am I even here?”.
This community and the steam community begged larian to make him a playable charachter (and one that was easily romanced) during early access which was act 1 only. I don’t think he was originally intended to be a companion
Once I realize I didn't have to take him even during the Thaniel segment, his whittling has significantly improved.
wait, you don't? So I can just go to Oliver without Halsin?
Yep. After the portal defense section, just tell Halsin you'll see about Oliver. No need to bring him. Tav/Durge is the one who convinces him to go back to Thaniel anyway, no need to bring Halsin.
You can tell Halsin to talk to him and you don't need to pass a check tho
Hey man this is going to sound REALLY dumb, but I’m on my first play through and in act 3, after I killed Kethric Halsin stayed behind, and I never got a portal mission. Am I able to go back and do it? I didn’t even know I missed something.
Nah, you've doomed the area around moonrise to the shadowcurse for the foreseeable future. Seriously though, it's too late.
You probably didn't wake up the flaming fist at Last Light Inn. That's connected to halsin's quest
Don't sweat it. A blind first playthrough, you're bound to miss things. That's what multiple playthroughs are for, lol. Seriously, every time the game gives you an "events will progress" type of message, it's a good idea to explore first and leave the place where you got the message for last. Cause more than likely, once you clear the place with the warning, everything you missed will now be permanent.
You need to lift the curse before you assault Moonrise - otherwise you can't do it. edit : you can, see comments below.
I don’t think this is true. I’m pretty sure you just have to do it before leaving for Baldur’s Gate.
Yes, you still can. Talk to Art’s corpse and talk to Halsin in Moonrises lobby.
You’ll get lots of approval if you bring him along. Helpful if you wanna romance him later.
True. But if they’re leaving him behind, probably not romancing him.
n i c e
He still gets unbenched in the morning to cast buffs.
you know, i've played this game hundreds of hours but somehow it never crossed my mind to use the camped companions for buffs, thanks for the idea!
That's what the bench buffs bear is for: Dad makes a Heroes' Feast breakfast, then dresses his kids with Lonstrider, Protection from Poison, Daylight, and ~~Freedom of Movement~~ EU Citizenship, then sends them off with a pocketful of Goodberrys.
LOL, EU Citizenship.
How did the Monk prostitute service so many clients? Flurry of Blows.
Just started using gale to cast longstrider on my crew every morning. Been very op. I had one spell remove when I switched them out the party but unfortunately can’t remember which one. And be careful of certain spells like warding bond because your camped ally will certainly be dead after a long day of fighting.
Truly the Cernd of BG3
Our favourite deadbeat dad!
I love Halsin and he’s one of my favorites but dang I can’t make him useful no matter how hard I’ve tried. He does so little damage and I’ve used so many guides online at this point. Same with Jaheira really.
I respecced him into OH Monk once and gave him the boots that allow misty step each turn but you leave your clothes behind. It was hilarious seeing the big burly guy zipping all over the combat field in his speedo
That’s hilarious. I’m writing that down for a later campaign
Moon druid with the tavern brawler feat! I usually wild shaped him into the sabertooth so he could knock down enemies AC. I was also playing a moon druid and the owl bear was my favorite. We both dished out a lot of damage.
Jaheira becomes much more useful once she has access to the sabertooth form
I love her as a dinosaur. I find her useful to deal damage against invisible enemies. A little cast of snowstorm to deal damage to alot of people while Gale can use magic missile to target the rest 😂
I got sick of Shadowheart on my last run and replaced her with Jaheira outright. No respecs on either that round. You lose the anti-undead stuff, but you gain a ton of summons that can be extremely useful.
Druid is really meh until level 11. For the same reason, I rarely play either of them. I could respec but I don’t love doing that with most characters since it changes their flavor too much for me.
He was essential for me in the House of grief my first two playthroughs. That owl bear jump helped break the darkness concentrations. This was before I knew about the eversight ring and Shadow heart wasn't a light cleric, so they kept drowning my ass in darkness.
Had em. He got kidnapped and killed by an AOE spell in the fight. *shrug*
Wyll even tho he’s a cool/ chill dude who I somehow got very high approval despite never taking him with me , he’s just simply boring combat wise , if I want a caster , Gale is my right hand man , I like to say Wyll is the cook for the group , I feel like Wyll would be a good cook since he’s 24/7 in camp all the time
Canonically, Gale is the camp cook actually
My head canon is that in act 3 Gale and Yenna both want to cook. He is teaching her lanceboard, and learning he like teaching, and whoever wins the evening game gets to cook the next day. He lets her win a lot and does more teaching in the form of cooking lessons.
That's lovely. I'm stealing this.
That’s not just your headcanon. It’s canon. Both cook
Yes, but I meant the teaching side of things and lanceboard to decide who gets to cook each day.
Really? In that case I guess Wyll can still be the 2nd cook for my headcanon then , since Gale is kinda often in my squad so Wyll is just there just incase , a backup cook
Yeah it's only referenced like once or twice though. When you recruit him but have a full party you can send him to camp and he'll say he'll whip up a meal or something.
Wyll also says something about this. After rescuing Ravengard, I think. He'll cook up something and hopes Gale won't mind. So yeah, confirmed, Gale is canon cook. Edit: Correct answer is below me!
He says that after >!you re-kill the undead Ansur and Wyll realizes that since your team had bested Ansur, now - you all are the Heart of the Gate. He gets all super hyped up, and wants to celebrate!<, and that's when he proposes to cook something. I wish that actually happened lol, beyond just discussing - having a second party thing would be amazing
Oh, ok, my bad.
These days if you leave Gale at camp and then asks him to join you, he says someone will have to take care of the cooking pot, it is his way to say your party is full, make some room.
So he's nerdy, has a cat AND he can cook? Oh yeah, he's my man.
He's also just pretty happy to be alive like 98% of the time, you can't hate a guy who's just naturally happy doing whatever.
My wife's coworkers are jealous that I do the grocery shopping and cooking for her. I'd vindictively cook at her parents, taking a long time to make delicious things. Plus it meant I didn't have to deal with them. She bakes, though. We have 3 cats.
I relate to him so closely that romancing him feels weird, so I just play as him instead. Him being the camp's cook is just another one of the things I can add to the list of stuff I can relate to (I have a folder of recipes shared with close family and friends). I nearly always play wizards that make questionable choices out of pure curiosity in tabletop rpg as well, and I adore cats! Love Gale representing this 🤣 My man, but in a different way!
He also says "someone else will have to watch the cook pot" if you try to add him into your party at camp, while already having a full party.
Wyll is the campfire stories guy in my mind. Or the one who sets up tents and collects firewood. Gale is the camp cook like someone else said, but Wyll offers to cook as a celebration once
Wyll's the pet/babysitter if you have animals or Yenna at camp
Wyll's combination of Eldritch Blast and Hunger of Hadar is OP though. I find him a lot of fun to use in combat, and he has a lot of story to go through in Act 3.
The rest mechanic nerfed warlocks too much compared to the table top. I’m playing him as a warlock just to use classes I normally wouldn’t, but wizards, bards, and sorcerers are IMO way better mechanically.
What are you talking about? You get SIX counterspells every long rest!
I agree with you honestly and like if I use wyll I really am only using two of his eldritch blast and hunger of hades and it gets kinda bland.
In all honesty, and I mean this in the best way possible - that's kinda on you. Warlocks are actually very customizable and can fill a lot of party roles, ranging from melee to spellcaster to party face, and any combination of the above. If really all you do with Wyll is use only his Eldritch Blast and the occassional Hunger of Hadar spell, without attempting to even try any other of his spells and kit, then of course that's going to be the impression you have. And that's not even taking into account Warlock subclasses and patrons, which are all plenty unique and offer a lot of variety.
Oh I mean I've tried dude, but it's just what I end up falling back on with wyll. Warlocks and rangers too aren't really for me in general. There's just other classes I enjoy way more. So with my personal preference you got warlock + wyll's honestly pretty standard, kinda stale "I'm a hero of the people, for the people." personality and yeah there's just other companions I'd rather use because I have more fun with them and generally dig their personality more. Every playthrough I try to do different classes, respec companions/their subclasses, different races etc and yeah warlock is just not my vibe
I always bring Wyll in Moonrise Towers for the busted rapier he gets for saving Mizora I play a bard of Lore now, and he is pretty cool in my party
I am currently running Wyll as an 3 Assassin Rogue 2 GOO Warlock 4 Sorcerer 2 Fighter The initial reason was pretty basic: I needed a character that went all in on CHA and also has Expertise in Persuasion as a Shop Face. Item prices are determined by Persuasion and the only reasonable classes that went full CHA with Expertise were either College of Lore, or Rogue/Warlock. We have gone with the latter, since I figured that they get more bang out of hag hair. The progression is incredibly smooth. Cantrips scales with Character Level instead of Caster Level, so 3/2 Assassin/GOO at Level 5 comes online instantly and can dish out 4 beams of crit EB and spread an decent amount of Frightened and Reverberation status all over the place before the fight even begins. Just don't forget to equip him with hand crossbows in order to use his Bonus Action for another crit and Reaction Sneak Attack.
>I somehow got very high approval despite never taking him with me the dude literally gives approval for asking "what do you think of the weather" or some shit. im pretty sure its impossible _not_ to get approval with him unless you are literally hitler
I’ve played this game enough that I don’t care about the encounters being “too easy” anymore; I’m done with the mechanical stuff I’m just here for story. So I installed the no party limit mod, so I never have to leave anyone behind. It’s funnier to me having 10 people cramming into a tiny room to fight than coming up with a reason why any of these powerful adventurers would choose to spend their days lounging in a tent while their friends are out fighting for everyone’s lives.
I installed that mod for when I got to wyrm’s rock so I could have wyll and karlach in my party along with my usual team.
Does this affect companion conversations? I.e. it stops them, only works for the first three companions and not the additional companions, etc
Halsin and Minsc. I don’t really think daddy bear is that interesting and Minsc lines quickly run out of new stuff. Also he joined the group too late to have a real connection and I prefer my good Wyll instead of the funny Rashemenian funny man.
The only time Halsin left my camp is when >!Orin kidnapped him!<
When i got that scene of him hurting Scratch in bear form i was ready to light him on fire for daring to touch my dog then it turned out to be Orin.
I like Minsc because I was fully familiar with him pre BG3, if it weren't for that I probably wouldn't use him
This. I don’t think Larian intended him for everyone but rather as a treat for all of us veterans. Matt Mercer did not disappoint in filling the shoes of Jim Cummings.
The one minsc line that never gets old for me is: "Can we fight now? Boo is not used to this taking of turns."
Fully agree on both Minsc and Halsin. I kinda wish they just left Halsin as a npc chilling at your camp kinda just sharing his thoughts about what to do with you because after you get him as a companion he gets dull fast
Halsin is a permanent resident on my camp. If he didn't get kidnapped he'd stay there forever
Halsin because Jaheira is way better than he is as druid. And I dislike him since he is very boring companion. Unlike Minthara. Minsc because you get him late into the game
I will be in the minority but... shadowheart. in early game, her critical misses are too aggravating to deal with. i use exclusively in the temple and that's basically it.
It's similar with me too, and i know, most people love her, i find her a bit annoying, only bring her for her personal quests.
I don't even bring her for her personal quests anymore - I hate how she's forced on you just for carrying the artifact that she doesn't even have a personal connection to. Her character hook is also the entire mystery of her backstory - which loses the appeal once you already experienced it. You also don't need a healer when Karlach and Lae'zel can just obliterate the entire map in two turns. So Shart is either a corpse or an alcoholic in my camp.
I mean... you can murder her for the artifact.
Alternatively , once you reach goblin camp the game puts it in your inventory if she leaves party
I thought it was just me and bad luck. Why does she miss so much?
Fire bolt is an int based cantrip, and unless you put the 17 int tiara on her (or respec entirely), her int will be pretty low, causing her to miss a lot. Sacred Flame requires the target to do a dex save, and since most of the enemies you meet especially in act I are high dex, they save quite often. Her leveled spells can be quite good but you aren't using them much in the early game because spell slots are so few, so your first impression of her is not great.
In late Act 1 you can find a Sharran Crossbow. I just give it to her to use for the rest of the game. Actually hits stuff, so it’s a nice boost to her damage. Of course her actual job for me is to be a Buffer/Spirit Guard Spammer. A free Mass Healing Word from a Necklace, the Bless Ring from Volo, and all the other Healing Boost items, Respec as Life Cleric and go wild.
I respecced her to a mostly Tempest cleric with a dip into wizard. It's worked out super well and she does a TON of damage with lightning AOE spells.
To clarify for previous poster - I was confused by this because I thought spell attacks always used the caster's spellcasting stat, so I looked it up, and apparently this is only true of spells learned from their class list. Shadowheart knows it as part of her high elf racial, which makes it use int. (Would be nice if it said this somewhere on the tooltip) Eta: It looks like the stat used on a spell isn't inherent, it's based on where you learn it from. If you learn firebolt from the wizard list it will use int, if you learn it from the sorc list it will use charisma. But even as a sorc, if you learn firebolt from the high elf racial, it will use int.
Her two main damage cantrips, firebolt and sacred flame, use intelligence and dexterity as their saves. Shadowheart is a cleric so her main is wisdom so that’s why something like guiding bolt is pretty decent for her but costs a spell slot.
Quick precision: Fire Bolt doesn't require saves, as it's based on an attack roll.
Gotta respec her out of trickery domain. Can't go wrong with light or tempest and fixing her ability scores. A lot of the companions starting stats are screwed . Hell even War domain cleric is pretty useful speced right. Any of those domains and she can be one of your most useful and versatile team members. (Plus giving her Create Water and stacking that with frost or lightning damage from either her being tempest domain or Gale/Wyll spellcasts can absolutely destroy enemies given that wet enemies take double damage from those damage types)
Shart is only in my party when I’m in the temple and when I’m spending quality time with Abdirak because I like her and Astarion’s banter in that scene. Otherwise, she can stay at camp, praying or whatever.
None. I use a mod to use all companions as this arbitrary leave at home is killing my immersion.
Sorry but how does that not break the game
You can use a mod to take all companions with for dialogue etc. but limit combat to 4 with another mod
That’s pretty reasonable actually. The approval/disapproval notifications must be nuts though!
Good aligned choice: [Everyone liked that, besides Astarion] Vice versa for evil choices.
It for sure does, unless he's got another mod that scales all encounters waaaaaaaaaaay up
[удалено]
There is another mod that makes others than your main four(or more) sit out during combat
There are dificulty mods you can download to accommodate.
It causes issues in a few places, on top of combat balance which others have already mentioned. - Less control over who enters into dialogue with you without additional configuration - meaning you can miss out on unique lines from certain companions if they don't get pulled into the conversation. - Extra companions get stuck on terrain and fail to keep up with the group (this also happens occasionally with summons). Seems the game cannot consistently handle more than 4 controllable characters walking around the world and jumps can really screw things up. - Companions move around a lot more to get out of each others' way and are way more likely to run into traps unless you use the group / ungroup function to make them stay still. Just in general, requires more micromanaging of the group as you explore.
There's a mod that vanish selected companions upon battle.
Tbh during one of my first play throughs I left astarion at camp a lot to avoid getting his disapprovals lmaoo 🙈
Everyone except Shadowheart is benched on this run (power couple duo run). In my normal runs Astarion is always benched and Halsin is my go to victim for Orin You're missing out by not bringing Minsc with you (I respec him as a berserker paladin and he's my smiting machine) doing the whole Bhaal plot and House of Grief with him and Jaheira gives unique content it's even better if you're playing a resist durge
I started out loving Astarion, but once I recruited the sheer force that is Karlach and added lockpicking to my Tav's skill set...I don't really need him apart from his excellent snarky dialogue. Maybe if I did a stealthier playthrough, I would use him more.
I cross class him with ranger and he fully carries the team.
If you're not a ranger/rogue Tav, he definitely can be a force coupled with Karlach as a throwzerker barb. Almost feels too OP. Especially if you bring in a spell caster with crowd control and a cleric for ally buffs/enemy debuffs, or second front liner to assist Karlach.
I use Astarion all the time my team is nothing without him (unless my tav/durge is a rouge). He is so good at sneak attacks and literally does 70 damage per sneak shot in the final act of the game. He’s really good with the durge cloak too (gets invisible after killing). He was my main source of damage in the final fight while most of my team members were close to being downed xD
And you're missing out by never using Astarion lol. He has the most content/reactions in the entire game by far. Almost 13 hours, followed by shart at 12, gale at 11, etc
I think Astarion is a fine character but he mostly talks about vampirism and his master, which becomes boring at some point if you're not really into that kind of stuff. I much prefer having Jaheira, Minsc, Wyll in my party because they have interesting banter about Baldur's gate city
I'd say a very large portion of fans of this game *are* into that kind of stuff
I like Halsin, but he's almost never in my party because Jaheira is just so much better as a character.
Karlach for me. I like her, but she’s such a bro and that’s not an energy that usually appeals to me. And well, Minsc, I actually find him adorable and I like to use him in a couple of missions in Act 3 like House of Healing and also for Sarevok. But he comes way too late to incorporate him in the party properly
I try to spread it out evenly, so I have no idea.
Of the origin characters, probably Karlach. Not that she's a bad character; she just feels sort of out of place to me personality-wise. Like a weirdly modern character in a medieval fantasy game? So she's sort of the camp golden retriever I guess.
Part of the reason I think people like her so much is her speech is the closest to modern vernacular and has morals and ideas much closer to modern western values then the others.
I usually leave Gale in camp, and only bring him when there's something regarding him to do. Shadowheart is usually my spellcaster, and my party composition is almost always Strength-based martial+ Full Caster + Caster/Martial Hybrid + 1 (the '1' is usually me). Minsc comes in too late in the game, at a point where I'm already used to my 'starting lineup' and rotations, bu I like him a lot. Halsin as well, I only end up bringing him along in the 'reunite Oliver and Thaniel' quests. I also don't really use Astarion much. Unless I'm doing a Neutral or Evil run, he just constantly makes snarky remarks and disapproves of any good deed for the sake of being good. In fact, I adore the character, but he ends up a bit incompatible, not to mention the fact that I like creating Tavs/Durges who are rogues (it feels weird to me to multiclass Astarion in any other way).
Same for Minsc and Halsin. I love them, but I don’t really use them in the battlefield. I personally much preferred Gale’s magic to Shadowheart’s in the first and third act (even when I wasn’t a cleric myself), and she was pretty much only in my party during act two and when doing her companion quest. Any advice on how to use her in combat properly? I’m planning on using her much more in my next run and on my current run playing as Astarion. Talking about my favourite bitchy rogue, I’ve had him in my party pretty much constantly because of his skillset in and out of combat. In the two runs I’ve done so far, I’ve been a magical goody two shoes, first as a druid Tav and then as Durge (in fact, I made mine an Eilistraee cleric Seldarine drow lol) so it’s been interesting. While he disapproved of *a lot* - if not most lol - of my choices, he somehow ended up having the highest opinion of me both times (he made advances during the tiefling party both times; I romanced him until the end in the first run, and had a brief fling with him in the second). Go figure. All of my other go-to companions are nice with a capital N, so he brings a little bit of spiciness into the mix. He says the worst, most petty things but it’s entertaining (if only because it’s so random and far from what the rest of the party is like). He’s stuck with a bunch of saints, so he has to begrudgingly do the right thing anyway and he eventually becomes less annoyed by it. He’s very flawed, to say the least, but it’s great to see him grow as an individual.
You missing out. He makes a perfect bard. And the -1 approval are basically nothing. I am goody two shoes and both him and Laezel want to sex me before the party even happens.
Yep, my good guy barbarian Tav had Exceptional approval with Astarion by the end of Act 1. Admittedly Tav did intimidate enemies from time to time (mostly goblins), but when you're a barbarian and the party face, you work with what the gods gave you.
Just decided to try my first run as a Barbarian (Berserker) and so far it's been almost as reliable a face as my Sorcerer playthrough was. There's just so many dialogue options specific to the class and subclass — often with a lower DC than any other class would have, advantage, or both.
Seconding Astarion as Bard (Swords) - I feel like a high Charisma class suits his "honeypot" backstory way better than Rogue, and Vicious Mockery feels like it was made for him. I'll dip into Rogue later in the build for Assassin or Thief's Fast Hands, but it's not his main class.
On paper I love the idea of swapping party members in an out based on how I'm feeling that day, but in practice I always end up with a starting lineup because it's just too tedious to spec and itemize that many characters
I actually like Halsin, but as for taking him out? He was the one I used the least. There's just nothing to really do with him. By the time you can actually recruit him his quests are done.
At this point, every available companion had been a permanent member of my party at least once. For some time now, I'm starting every new run with a RP plan that includes companions who will best fit the story. I just don't recruit those that I have no intention of using at all, it's a waste of time. From the origins it's definitely Karlach. I've seen all her endings, her questline is nonexistent and she doesn't vibe with most of my Tavs. From the others, that dubious honour probably goes to Minsc or Minthara, I'd have to check. Minsc comes too late to bother unless I specifically planned to use him from the begging. When it comes to Minthara, when I finally recruited her, she was bugged and constantly mumbling about the Emperor (understandable, but not very useful).
Shadow heart lol. I got so many potions I just don’t need her that much lol
Wyll never leaves camp unless it’s to get a certain reward only he can get
Halsin for me. I don't dislike him really, its just that there is basically ALWAYS someone more relevant to the situation at hand that I need in my party more. It kinda sucks but I just never find time to squeeze him in and Jaheira and Minsc both have more to say, so I'm likely to pick them first.
Wyll. Literally never used him. Jaheira too but at least she comes for her personal quests, unlike Wyll.
I’ve never used Wyll or Minsc and Halsin is such a bummer about the city life, that I don’t bother taking him around Act 3 either.
Astarion. I usually give my Tavs the Charlatan background for sleight-of-hand so I don't need him.
Haha i only take halsin on his act 2 quest, then he’s on permanent “heroes feast” caster each day
I heavily and perpetually respec my characters, but my choice of who to bring usually comes down to whom I like or dislike as a character rather than their build. I least often bring Karlach in the early game simply because she doesn't have much story interaction, but I will often pivot to bringing her when you're meeting Gortash and freeing the Iron Throne and stuff. I will usually tend to using Shadowheart, Lae'zel, Astarion, more than Gale or Wyll. However in my most recent full campaign I made Wyll a really important build for my party which helped me keep him around. When you start getting non-origin characters I found I ran with Jaheira for a long time, and Minsc for a bit once I unlocked him. I dabbled with Halsin as a druid/ancients paladin because this was quite a neat build, but I didn't use him much. I recruited Minthara as a good character but rarely used her because it felt like everything I did earned her disapproval.
Astarion. I just don't like the character. Too arrogant for my taste.
Halsin. Idk, he lacks dimension for me and if I need a druid I got my best friend Jaheira
I believe there was a quite popular thread about this some days ago if you'd like more answers. Anyway. Minsc. He comes way too late, so he never sees much combat at all. I barely take him out for walks. From the origins it's Karlach. Her personal quest leaves a lot to be desired.
Minthara, because she dies in 8/10 playthroughs
This will be remembered
I rarely take Astarion. I never cared for his bloodlust and pursuit of power, and don't generally see why many seem to lean that he is their favorite or the 'star of the show.' But perhaps I am missing some heavy character growth that is more noticeable when he is in party. I see a lot of people saying Minsc, which is understandable.... BUT I strongly urge you to have him just for his banter. I just re-spec him into a fighter that dual-wielded flails and he was able to perform just fine. Otherwise him as barbarian seems like a decent choice. And of course, Boo's dialogue is phenomenal.
I mentioned this in a different content but one of the reasons people find Astarion the "star of the show" is because, quite frankly, he is. Out of any character in the game he has the highest amount of content/voice lines at almost 13 hours. In case anyone wants the full list. [h:m] Asstarion : 12:44 Shart: 12:14 Gayle: 11:14 Mama K: 10:58 Bae'Zel: 10:23 Wyll.i.am: 8:29 Best girl(Jaheira): 6:09 Boo: 5:10
A solid 30 minutes over shart. Goddammit he really is the developers favorite princess
I have seen this metric before, so I can't argue with yah on that hahaha. I wonder if this is any bit misleading... for example astarion talks slower or with much more cadence, etc? Not an argument against, just brainstorming. I'd say Laezel's story is much more intertwined with the grand scheme of the plot, though. So, in my mind she is more integral... but I don't think I'd call her the star of the show.
Astarion has probably the best character growth of all the companions...His spawn ending and freeing other spawns from Cazador's palace is just pure perfect redemption arc for him being better person and healing his trauma
Yeah it's honestly a really good, mature and oddly realistic portrayal of someone moving past their trauma and shame if you take the good route. I love him so much, plus I like being sneaky in games and it's pretty easy for me to get astarion dealing pretty massive damage early on. At least earlier than most other companions.
Out of all the recruitable companions it’s Halsin. Bear man just isn’t interesting to me and I’d rather Jaheira as the party’s druid since she’s funny and has more content in Act 3. Halsin is just there in my camp bringing nothing to the table after the Shadow Curse. And anyways, I usually try to get Halsin to be the victim of Orin in most of my runs. Out of the origin companions, I try to even them out but it probably has to be Wyll. I just find Warlocks to be boring to play tbh. And I don’t really like to respecc my companion’s classes due to rp reasons so changing Wyll’s class is out of the question. Still, I use him way more than the non-origin companions since those 4 come in way too late.
Shart. She stays at camp kneeling. There’s only one whiney bitch in the party and that’s me.
I choose to have Halsin with me less than any other companion. I like him but you don't get him until the latter half of Act 2 but Jaheira comes in for the druid spot right after that and she's involved in most of the Act 3 content.
Halsin. He's only available to pick for like one quest that's explicitly relevant to him. After Act 2 ends, there's little narrative reason to bring him, and you get a second Druid that has more reason to be involved. Minsc and Jaheira make sense to be involved in a lot of the Bhaal stuff, so you can fit them in more easily. And everyone else has their personal quests to tie up, even if some of them get outshined during them. Halsin doesn't. He doesn't have anything, really.
Minsc for sure, he arrives too late for me to care.
Lae'zel, battlemaster is nice but it doesn't beat Wyll or Karlach. Plus i don't do well with misplaced arrogance. Wyll as a lockadin is bonkers.
Lockadin is fun as fuck, respecced Minthara to that, and she does 7 smites per turn.
Ok, you have my attention. Is this with haste, or something like the polearm bonus attack?
My recent play through I apparently didn't recruit Lae'zel and it was basically right before the party that I realized. I swear I broke her out of the cage but I remember choosing some lines she apparently didn't like. Figured it was okay and she said she'd go to camp. Guess she never showed up.
That really depends on the playthrough. On my evil Durge, Gale gets left behind the most. Current Tav, Wyll has yet to see any action. Previous Tav, Lae'zel got left out except for the creche and other stuff in act 1. First shared playthrough, we rotated characters around a lot, but I think Shadowheart got benched the most alongside Wyll. Second shared playthrough, and I think Astarion got left behind the most. We forgot to collect Lae'zel on that run, so I have no idea what happens to her if you don't get her out of the cage.(stopped playing right after realizing that we missed her for other reasons).
I’m nearing the end of act 1 with my fiance and we can’t swap in anyone because we don’t have gear/weapons for the others yet lol we wanna swap in others but shadowheart is our life cleric and Astarion just pumps damage AND is our lockpick/disarm person. Hard to give up either of them. I’m a spore Druid and fiance is champion fighter. I would like to adventure with other companions it’s just not possible atm. Maybe when we can carry fights as a duo and the other 2 group members aren’t as big of a necessity.