Baldur's Gate 2 BG2: BEST PARTY COMPOSITION


Best Party Baldur's Gate 2


The best party composition in Baldur's Gate 2 is Mage dominated due to the fact that best BG2 spells dictate the outcomes of combat encounters. Due to the power of arcane spellcasting, there can be no doubt that arcane-heavy parties constitute the best party combination in Baldur's Gate. Above all, the arcane party is the most fun party in Baldur's Gate. 


The best party in BG2 consists of the following Baldur's Gate companions:


CHARNAME is a Wild Mage BG2. Newbies should NOT choose Wild Mage. Go with Mage BG2 or Sorcerer BG2.

Note how that is a mixed alignment party. Since we have the Evil-aligned Edwin in the party, we need to make sure our Baldur's Gate reputation does not hit 18. That means our party can never receive the Hero's discount at stores (but Edwin is worth it). cf.:


Baldur's Gate Best Party for Story


The best party for story must include Imoen. It is also advisable to recruit Jaheira BG2 if we want the most out of the Baldur's Gate story. In Throne of Bhaal, it is advisable to recruit Sarevok BG2 due to his story component. All three of these characters help to flesh out Bhaalspawn lore.

Baldur's Gate 2 Party Guide


In forming our Baldur's Gate 2 party, most companions can be snapped up quickly but we will have to jump through some hoops to get Edwin and Haer'Dalis to join up. Of course, once their personal quests trigger we will have to jump through hoops to keep Nalia, Jan, Aerie, Edwin and Haer'Dalis in the party, too.

Post-Prologue, Imoen is whisked away to Spellhold along with Irenicus. Thus, she is not a party member for the first few Chapters. Also, the player has a choice to make:

  • Delay the rescue of Imoen and instead explore greater Athkatla and its outskirts in Chapters 2-3 OR
  • Fast-track Chapters 1-3 and prioritize the rescue and re-recruitment of Imoen (thereby leaving the exploration of Athkatla and its outskirts for Chapter Six, or simply not bothering with them at all)

There are numerous pros and cons to both courses of action, but I will be going with the first choice. This means that Imoen will be under-leveled in comparison to the rest of the party (Thief 7 Mage 11). However, that is not a huge deal as the gap between her and the others will close as the campaign further progresses. Why is that? Because high-level characters level more slowly than low-level ones: the higher the level, the more experience points are required to reach the next level. Thus, Imoen can catch up or get up to speed quickly.

In addition, Imoen will be limited to her Prologue arcane repertoire. Thus, it's best to bring along a library of spell scrolls for her to scribe to her spellbook immediately upon her rejoining the party (for the experience point boost). Scroll Cases, ftw.

Haer'Dalis is subbed out for Imoen when she is able to rejoin the party in Spellhold. Imoen is integral to Ascension BG2 in that she grows taint and gets her own Slayer shift.

I'm not sure if I will take Haer'Dalis pre-Spellhold, though. I've thought out all the pros and cons and still can't decide in advance. The main cons of taking Haer'Dalis pre-Spellhold is that he leaches party XP and won't add all that much to what is already a dedicated arcane party. Being a Bard, he caps out at sixth circle spells and his playstyle is a bit too melee/tank, anyway. Still, I'll have to see how things pan out.

  • Haer'Dalis' recruitment should be delayed until the party is powerful enough to take on Mekrath followed by the Planar Prison. In the meantime, our sixth slot is left open for companion quests (Korgan, Anomen).
  • Valygar will be recruited to open the Planar Sphere and then ditched (you can also simply slay him and use his corpse to open the sphere).
  • Cernd won't be recruited but I'll meet him at the Druid Grove and use him to take out Faldorn, since I don't have Jaheira either.
  • Jaheira BG2 is only recruited for one of her two personal quests: the one that nets the party a second Ring of Wizardry (a non-trivial item).

Best Throne of Bhaal Party


The best party in Throne of Bhaal is an arcane-heavy party that includes an arcanist main character (Gnome Fighter Illusionist, Mage or Sorcerer) backed up by Imoen, Edwin, Nalia, Jan and Aerie.


Wild Mage aside, in my setup, Edwin dominates due to his +spellslots per circle. However, Aerie and Jan are proving to be indispensable thanks to the Detect Illusions modal, Use Any Item and Set Spike Trap, as well as divine spellcasting coupled with Flail of Ages BG2 and Mace of Disruption BG2.

Imoen is a top-tier arcane spellcaster, and is also beginning to develop Bhaalspawn powers, but she lags behind due to the party holding off on her Spellhold rescue.

Nalia is just along for the ride but I'd still take her over all other companions due to being arcane-capable. 

Jaheira was denied because she doesn't fit the party's strictly arcane composition whereas Haer'Dalis was denied despite being arcane-capable to 6th circle -- because I didn't want conventional supertankers or physical-based damage dealers in the party.


Baldur's Gate 2 OriginalBaldur's Gate 2 RacesBaldur's Gate Magic
Best Classes Baldur's Gate 2Baldur's Gate 2 ItemsBaldur's Gate Dual-classing
Best Spells Baldur's Gate 2Baldur's Gate 2 THAC0Baldur's Gate Specialist Mages
Best Weapons Baldur's Gate 2Baldur's Gate 2 Armor ClassBaldur's Gate Weapon Proficiency
Best Companions Baldur's GateBaldur's Gate 2 ApRBaldur's Gate Thieving

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