| I guess I am at a little bit of a disadvantage, having not played HoF mode. I do know what items are available but that is it. I might start playing it, get my butt kicked and have to go back to the drawing board.
I picked my party to take advantage of the game I was playing and with an eye on the future (HoF).
I would have to admit that in the long run (HoF), a Ftr4/Barb X makes more sense than in the regular game. Along those lines, I would agree that pure fighter loses its advantages in the long run, you've got more feats than you know what to do with. Another small bonus for the Barb, Wilderness Lore. This gives you something to do with all of your skill pts. I would pick Paladin over pure fighter, you do have to commit some ability points to charisma and wisdom but I think the special abilities more than make up for this and turn undead is actually useful due to high Cha.
@Krysalyn: where did you find out that 2H weapons give 1.5x strength damage modifier as opposed to 1x for one handed. I must have missed that.
In defense of the Fi/Rogue- he's got high str (24 w/ items) and dex (20 w/items) to take advantage of the halberd and thieving skills. I use this character as a scout and melee. When I feel lazy, I just put him in stealth mode and have him clear out whole areas by himself such as in the Yuan-ti temple. 2-3 hits is all it takes to bring one down. Boots of speed are essential, sneak attack, run away, sneak attack, done. I would have to say the only way to really take advantage of the sneak attack ability is to have some fighter levels and high strength. I used to combine rogue with wizard, this gives you lots of skill points from having high Int. But I found that this character was not very powerful, once again you are diluting the spell caster and not taking full advantage of the sneak attack.
My Monk 1/Ranger 1/ Demarch of Mask is much more powerful than a pure cleric. AC is better than a character wearing magical plate and a shield and with a few prep spells he can go toe to toe with any fighter. Throw in speed and the ability to use monk items, and it is no contest. HoF will only make things better. As I said, that Golden Heart of Charcter Name sword is going to look pretty good in one hand and possibly Baron Sulo's hook in the other.
Of course we will never agree on what the best party is but I find it interesting to see what other people's views are on creating 4 person parties. Even though I am happy with my current party, I am always thinking about the next one. I like the idea of 2 sorcs in one party. 2 sorcs, ftr/cleric and ftr/thief- that would be fun.
One character I am not seeing much of is the ftr/sorc. Back in BGII everyone was all about the kensai/mage. Any ideas on how to fully optimize the ftr/sorc? Stats would have to be pretty evenly distrubuted, str, dex, cha, and a little intelligence for skill points and ID purposes. Right now I am thinking 2H weapon is best, Greatsword as primary weapon and Staff as a backup. I would use this character mainly to self buff and engage in melee or cast damage spells and then bust out the sword. For supporting cast I would go with ftr/rogue or ranger 1/rogue x, barbarian, and Demarch of Mask.  |