Optimum Party Size

[Anaeme]

How many folks are using 4 party members instead of the full 6?

 

Which is better in your opinion?

Edited April 18, 2015 by Anaeme

[Dadalama]

depends on the situation. If I'm using lots of AOE spells I usually do 4.

[Althernai]

I don't think there is ever a tactical situation in which fewer than 6 party members are preferable to 6. Also, one of my favorite parts of games like this are the interactions between companions and you get more of them with 6 characters. Thus, I always have 6 in my party (well, as soon as you can get five real companions -- I don't bother with the non-talkative ones).

[mousestalker]

I hate missing dialogue and I am refusing to use spoilers to find out where and when it all happens. I just wish I could  bring them all.

[Mungri]

I don't like 4 party members. I find the games that only allow 4 to be too restrictive as they prevent me from trying out lots more class combinations.

[Atheosis]

Why just 4 vs 6?  That strikes me as rather odd.

[Wiggum Esquilax]

With just 4 members, most optimized parties will be stuck with 1 healer, 1 blaster, 1 tank, and only 1 optional.  Can't push a flank, can't specialize you're party, can't reactively respond to changing circumstances.  No real room for tactics, just a single-player MMO.

 

5 or more characters create both the possibility and the need for tactical decision making.  No contest.

[Varana]

Also, more party members give you the option to carry around some less-than-optimal character for flavour and interactions. With only 4 party members, everything tends to need much more optimisation to survive.

[Prime-Mover]

How many folks are using 4 party members instead of the full 6?

 

Which is better in your opinion?

That poll is not very usefull unless you stipulate what you mean by 'optimum' here. E.g. do you mean in terms of beating the game? In terms of fun? In terms of completion? So people will be voting for different things here.

[Monte Carlo]

What Prime-Mover said, not hostile to the question just baffled by the choice of party size and nature of question.

 

What size party for power-gaming?

 

What size party for max role-plaeying?

 

What size party for optimum combat whup-ass?

 

Etc.

[Sedrefilos]

Why 4 VS 6 and not 5 VS 6 or 3 VS 6 or 2 VS 6 or 1 VS 6?

Well the game is designed for a 6-members party, so I play with six. Also I get to have more companions with me sharing their stories and I can see more classes in action.

[Elgyn]

When story NPC's are involved, I like as many as possible. I want all the interactions, all the banters, all the story.

If I'm doing something like IWD, or just an adventurer party in this game, I like 4 NPC's. The classic set-up of tank, dps, healer, caster.

[Anaeme]

What Prime-Mover said, not hostile to the question just baffled by the choice of party size and nature of question.

 

What size party for power-gaming?

 

What size party for max role-plaeying?

 

What size party for optimum combat whup-ass?

 

Etc.

 

The question is not directed at a particular playstyle. I'm asking what size party folks prefer for whatever reasons

[Karkarov]

This is a non question.  There is way more than enough exp in game to get a full party of six to level 12.  6 level 12 characters beats 4 level 12 characters every time.  Short of wanting to test yourself there is no reason to play with less than 6 characters.

[Nakia]

I take a party of six but that is mainly because I love the scripted companions.  Once I pick up the sixth companion I have a hard time deciding who to leave at the Stronghold.   

[Mungri]

Its obviously 4 vs 6 because those are the party sizes that CRPGs use. NWN and Dragon Age were dumbed down to just 4 party members, as are the latest spider web software games.

 

4 party members is lame because you need to always pick the same basic roles - healer, tank, offensive caster, weapon DPS. There's no room to try anything else.

[Blovski]

No reason not to go for 6, really. Level cap's low enough you'll more than hit it with 6.

[wanderon]

What about 3 or 5 or a dynamic duo????

[Don-Esteban]

The classical sixpack. No question.

 

The two-man-party in NWN was boring,

The four-men-party in NWN 2 was better, but not good enough.

[scrotiemcb]

Varies from person to person, but is based on the player's short-term memory. Very few players have trouble handling a party size of 5 or less, almost no one feels right managing 10 or more. The average person could handle a party of 7, but if you went with this several below-average players would feel off while playing; you don't want to design only for the top 70%. 5 or 6 is probably best answer from a design standpoint; I would have gone 5.

Edited April 19, 2015 by scrotiemcb

[Archaven]

6 party = True PC game. Games with 4 party mostly for multi-platform, watered-down and gimped experience.

[Daemonjax]

With a party of 4 or less, classes with pets become more valuable. 

 

Not that it matters in this game, but thought I'd mention it.

 

There's no reason to use less than the full amount of party members (6) except for bragging rights (imo).

[manageri]

I find 4 a lot more manageable mentally. With 6 it's sometimes like you start giving orders, and by the time you're finished you're not sure what you told the first character to even do anymore (only in fights where microing is really needed of course, but those are what counts). It's definitely a valid point that 4 is more restrictive strategically, since it leaves a lot less room for characters who aren't extremely specialized. Maybe 5 is the sweet spot, I dunno.

[ss7877]

I have chosen the party size of 4. Such decision gives more control and makes battles more challenging and interesting.

[Ieldra]

In my experience, somewhere between 4 and 7 party members, an RPG tends to lose its focus on the individual characters and becomes more of a squad-level game. My personal favorite, in tabletop and video rpgs alike, is a party size of 5.

 

Having said that, in BG etc.. I minimized party size in the early game in order to gain the early levels faster. I haven't paid attention to the way xp are distributed in PoE but I've just started and had no opportunity to go beyond 4 so far. If total xp is distributed between the party members, that's a very, very strong incentive to go with 4.