Who would you remove in this group for Hiravias?

[RedSocialKnight]

First thing they should do is remove the debuff Ranger gets when a pet goes down. 

 

Here's an idea: pet death actually inspires the ranger to berserk rage -- for a brief time followed by a debuff period to avoid abuse of the effect.

[AncientToaster]

 

First thing they should do is remove the debuff Ranger gets when a pet goes down. 

 

Here's an idea: pet death actually inspires the ranger to berserk rage -- for a brief time followed by a debuff period to avoid abuse of the effect.

 

 

Nah. The Pet's just need a buff, because right now they are pretty much worthless.

 

They need keystone visual upgrades at levels 4, 8 and 12, and more abilities. They tried to make the Ranger in this game the WoW Hunter, and they only partially got it right. Personally, I'd rather they make the Ranger less like a babysitter for a mangy Wolf and more of a woodsman that we all know from our DnD roots. 

[mmcaulay]

Glad I'm not the only one that thinks Sagani is awful. She's interesting but totally underpowered. She doesn't do anything well. The druid midget is worth two of her (seriously, he is)

[Kal Adan]

Sagani is the weakest link, both in terms of what she can do in combat and in terms of a character.

Edited April 7, 2015 by Kal Adan

[Daemonjax]

If I (or anyone else) can figure out how to swap the stats for:

 

 

 

Lenas Er (hunting bow)

Enhancements:

x 1.75 damage

+ 12 Accuracy

+ 5 DT bypass 

Inflicts - 5 to all defenses for 5 sec on hit

 

with:

 

Prey Maker (hunting bow)

Enhancements:

+ 12 Accuracy

+ 1 Perception

Other Requirements:

Ranger

 

... then I think that mod may redeem having Sagani in the party.

Edited April 7, 2015 by Daemonjax

[durbal]

There's a bow called Borresaine that stuns on crits.  With Sagani it was stunning constantly due to all the accuracy buffs and it stunned for 10-12 seconds or so.  Pretty ridiculous, actually.

[Vi.king]

I have PC Cipher Eder Hiravias Sagani Aloth Durance

 

so I kicked Kana, his buffs are nice and all but he didnt do really much..

I wouldnt kick Sagani because her pet can tank a little bit and she´s doing decent dmg

I like having a druid and a priest because a) the druid can give healing over time but sometimes you need a big heal immediatly. b) the druid does a lot of dmg/control while the priest can give some really nice buffs. If you only have 1 healer it can be hard to do anything else besides healing

Aloth is a heavy dmg dealer I wouldnt want to miss that

you cant really kick Eder as he is the only good tank unless your PC can tank.

[Duchess of Kvetch]

 

 

 

Seeing some comments about playing with certain companions for a while, then switching them out. How does this affect XP gain? Do companions not in the party gain any experience? I'd personally like to run with Sagani for a while, then switch Hiravias in. For the time being I've just got the original 4 and my Monk adventurer, though. And I'd be loathe to give her up. Might drop Kana.

 

But all this is moot if non-party companions gain no XP. I don't want to be playing musical chairs if it'll gimp my party's growth and effectiveness.

I sat Sagani in my SH for all of Act 2 and when I pulled her out in Act III, she automatically leveled up to my parties level.

 

 

Oh really? That's amazing. So companions autolevel to your party while in the stronghold? Awesome.

 

Sure, it's not the most realistic thing ever (though you can explain it via them doing their own questing/training if you choose to do so, which I do), but it's absolutely wonderful from a quality of life perspective.

 

Are you sure this is a thing, though? I could've sworn I'd seen other people talk about having to level up companions that had been sitting in the SH for a while.

 

I know for a fact that this happened to me, because I was so surprised. I was expecting to have to go get XP to level her up, but I didn't; I just had to click the +. I can't speak for anybody elses gameplay experience.

 

I read that characters in the Stronghold don't level up automatically, but you can send them out on quests for XP - is that maybe the case instead?

[Daemonjax]

They leveled up on their own for me.

[kozzy]

I ended up liking him (and using him at the end) instead of the ranger (even though I liked the character) and Chanter as he was more useful later on.

 

I went with my main character who was a Monk and the fighter companion up front  in fights and in the back I would have the Cipher lady, Wizard, Hiravias and Priest doing magic type stuff.

That was my favorite combination by the end, I did use Chanter and the Ranger during the game but by the end this was the group i found worked best for my needs. Only made up character was my Monk.

Edited April 11, 2015 by kozzy

[Zenicetus]

Rangers are a dumb class IMO.  They always do one thing.  This game tried to make them a bit different, but in the end they just do one thing still.  

 

For some players that could be an asset in this game, because it reduces the micro during combat. All you have to do is make sure they're always hitting the target you want, and you can spend your time managing the spell casters. 

 

But yeah.... Sagani wasn't doing enough damage, and by the time I found Hiravias I really wanted his offensive spells more than her arrows. I'll go back at some point and finish her companion quest before the game ends.

[Shadow_Arms]

the endgame group will always be Aloth, Eder, Durance, Kana and Hiravias

 

im not kidding, when you get to Endgame you will understand why

[Jayngo]

I'd have to agree, toss Sagani, Rangers are probably the most underwhelming class in the game all in all.

I resemble this comment.

 

Seriously, since I'm ALWAYS a Ranger in every IE game I play, I cannot, in good conscious advise you to kick the Ranger out of the party. Especially in this game. Having the companion really helps DPS/Tanking enemies. My wolf, Svall, is a monster now. Even has a knockdown ability. Rangers coupled with a companion and Mark are awesome.

[Archaven]

I honestly cannot decide.

 

PC Cipher: Plot armor.

Eder: The tank. Also fantasy version of Sydow may be my favorite companion. He goes nowhere.

Aloth: Went through the growing pains, now finally getting the spells letting him really do work in fights.

Kana Rua: I love his chants, especially rapid reload.

Sagani: Not a huge fan of the Ranger class, but really like her character.

Durance: His character is such a great change of pace from Bioware's Cleric=Elf Priestess formula. Plus, his spells are such a game-changer.

 

I'm torn. I want to include Hirav on this run, but I can't decide who to let go. I suppose Sagani would make the most sense, but I just don't know. I really like her interactions and character.

 

Sagani is just a range DPSer. She's great but I think Hiravias>Sagani. If you like Sagani you can take off Kana. I managed without him. Durance and Aloth is a must for me and Eder>Pallegina.