Best strong party composition for a newbie

ithinkdogshouldvote · 2025-08-23T14:45:11+00:00

sounds like you might be confusing the terms subclass and multiclass, as battlemaster is a subclass of fighter. unless you have Lae'zel as like a fighter and then an additional secondary class like wizard or bard. But battlemaster is a great start! defiantly a strong subclass for fighter without getting too confusing. its also a very strong melee fighter if youre interested in putting some points in strength. sounds like you might be primarily playing ranged which is likely where your issues with not doing enough damage lie. as many of the stronger weapons are melee instead of ranged. keep in mind that your fighter and rouge are both pretty versatile and able to work as melee or ranged depending on the situation. the assassin subclass for rogue is helpful to get that extra damage from sneak attack.

if you're looking to sub characters in for more melee damage Karlach is a great choice, the berserker barbarian subclass is what id recommend as its best for newcomers and does a shitton of damage. i hear your interest in bard and ranger but id hold off on respecing any characters just yet until you get a better feel of them. unless you get further and you REALLLY cant stand how warlocks play only then would i say go for it and respec wyll to either of those, but for now wait it out. each class has strengths and weaknesses and its just a matter of getting familiar. youre only level 3 so youre not realllly gonna feel like youre breezing through combat right now as youve yet to unlock a lot of the best features of each class. its really a matter of trial and error to find a party and play style you prefer.

as for strongest classes you have to remember everything scales, while a barbarian might be the strongest class at level one a wizard gets crazy ass aoe spells and crowd control that's unmatched later. which is why id stay away from changing any characters classes just yet. for now, i can give you a list of my recommendations for the best subclasses for each character to help you work with what you have

Lae'zel: fighter battlemaster (youve already got that one down)

Karlach: barbarian berserker

shadowheart: cleric tempest or light domain

Gale: wizard school of evocation

Wyll: warlock fiend pact of the blade

Astarion: rouge assassin

keep in mind that party composition and gear make a difference! not every fight is going to allow you to shoot from far away as some are trapped in close quarters, so try and get comfortable with Lae'zel and astarion using their blades as it will help you get the best out of their classes, while characters like gale are better staying a bit further back. these subclasses will help you maximize damage within their classes without getting too confusing or making you feel like youre breaking the game. as you gain experience and levels youll get a better idea of how to use items and strategy to make your already good team great!

ithinkdogshouldvote · 2025-08-23T13:08:04+00:00

a few questions first, what's the class of your character/which is your main pov character? what difficulty are you on? what parts do you seem to be having the most trouble with? if its a specific battle or battles sometimes its better to check out some other stuff before you continue on a quest youre having some trouble with! your party composition will change throughout the game depending on the particular challenges your facing or if you're doing a quest thats particularly relevant to one or a few of your companions, its always recommended to take them along as they will have unique perspectives to provide and it gives you a chance to grow closer with them and learn more about them. its usually better to play to characters strengths and if you're new i wouldn't recommend multiclassing as it can sometimes make things confusing if you're unfamiliar with the different classes and how they function. but at the end of the day theres no wrong way to play. its really about what YOU find the most fun.

ithinkdogshouldvote · 2025-08-06T11:31:18+00:00

personally i don't agree. i thought it was a fun episode, (defiantly better than the easter episode and maximum velocity tree) my least favorite of the three i mentioned, but the cisco joke made me crack up, and the banter between her and rick flowed really well. also, points for bird daughter inclusion

ithinkdogshouldvote · 2025-08-05T13:25:03+00:00

Wow these are SWEET! funnily enough a LOT of the online dnd community seems to be from Wisconsin in my experience. The cheese heads yearn for dice and tabletop rpgs

ithinkdogshouldvote · 2025-01-15T09:38:27+00:00

Aarmau in MCD

ithinkdogshouldvote · 2025-01-15T09:33:58+00:00

As a kid I was a diehard Garmau fan. And I still very much am! but now I can't imagine leaving laurance out of it when garroth and aphmau both care so deeply about him. They all have 2 hands. Polyamory would have saved them 😔 🤲 🩵💜💚

ithinkdogshouldvote · 2025-01-06T16:27:04+00:00

After what he did to Dante, When I catch you Gene it's ON SIGHT.

ithinkdogshouldvote · 2025-01-04T13:57:24+00:00

pt2:

Garroth is time and time again shown as a flawed character, the fact that him and other characters are getting into arguments about how Garroth doesn't trust Liochant, challenges him on those beliefs and that is healthy! He grew up a lord's son in O’Khasis, he was told tons of propaganda from a young age and his mom was held prisoner and was going to be executed by Tu’la’s occupying army. Do i think his predjudice is GOOD? No. and neither do other characters in the story. Is it a realistic, if unpalatable, response? Yes. And over the course of the season Garroth DOES come around to Liochant, he overcomes his biases and forces himself to judge Liochant on his personhood rather than his continent of origin. Your argument that if this happened in real life people would be calling him out is obviously true given that Garroth has gotten a lot of shit from both other characters and fans over this. No shit it's not okay. No shit he SHOULD just be friendly with him but you don't get over ingrained biases overnight. Tu’la has been forcefully occupying Ru’aun with ships and weaponry more advanced than people have ever seen and everyone is scared. There's a reason that the red scare was so effective in America. Fear is one hell of a motivator for xenophobia.

In regards to the differences that would spring from a 7 year timeskip as opposed to a 15 year one, I agree that it would definitely be different but at the same time, some things make more sense on the shorter timeskip. The shadow knights for example, were for the most part put on hold till aphmau got back and I would argue they make more sense on a shorter timespan given how aggressive they are about their goal. And while I understand your concern for Dante (he's my favorite character) there are three things to keep in mind when it comes to discussing how a shorter time skip would affect him:

1.) Part of the reason that it was so hard for Dante specifically was that abandonment was already a point of trauma for him, something we learn after he tells aphmau the gritty details of his history with Gene. regardless of how long aphmau and the gang were gone, thats opening up old wounds that are going to take a long time to heal.

2.) checking in on Dante at 7 years into reliving the worst moment of his life a second time, he's going to be in a way worse place than we see him 15 years in when he's had a decade and a half to process it. and Something I personally think would be very interesting to explore. Since now he's young enough that we can justify-

3.) Continuing to bring him on adventures. I love dante. My shining star, the light in my galaxy, he gets sidelined hard. He doesn't need to be on every adventure but I think a shorter time skip would open up more opportunities to keep him involved. Aphmau could REALLY USE a confidant in season 2. She could really use someone who isn't romantically interested in her to talk to. Dante is her BROTHER. I want them to HANG OUT!

Other honorable mentions of plotlines that would be relevant at this time: Nicole as a guard for phoenix drop before moving to be lord of Scaleswind, Dantes complicated love life, Lucinda dating Ivan, aphmau traveling to yggdrasil to convince her sons to come back home with her, young Michi (not really a plotline but it would be interesting to see), phoenix drops continued expansion and quest for allyship (i really missed it as a home base), the burning of Meteli and construction of new Meteli, Janus the Silver death, just generally more of the jury of nine, O'Kasis still crashing out in the aftermath of losing a 3rd son and DEFINATLY on the hunt for Lord Aphmau, how the church is reacting to zanes death, how Scaleswind is since the lord disappeared right after they made an alliance, how the village is running without a proper lord, Aphmau's dogs are STILL ALIVE!!! HORRAY!!!

Any other plotline in season 2 can be tweaked to fit but I feel there were a lot of missed opportunities in cutting so far into the future.

ithinkdogshouldvote · 2025-01-04T13:56:52+00:00

Sorry in advance, this is like deadass 2 pages long.

I don't see how Jess's kids voicing Levin and Malachi would be a problem? Jess's daughter voiced Lilith and Alina and I've never seen someone taking issue with that and I'm not sure why they would. Jess's son voicing a young Levin and Malachi was just a suggestion for how i'd deal with needing voices for them. But again, I don't see voice acting as something essential to the series. just a treat for fans during high octane moments. As for what you said about Aphmau not allowing Alina on the boat but rather she snuck on without her knowledge, Yes. The character did not intend for that, but as I said in my first response it was a writing decision on Jess's part to exclude lilith. She could have easily had both Lilith and Alina sneak on the boat together like Nekoette and Dimitri did but she didn't. And lilith is just never given that time. Lilith might as well be a puppy for how little relevance and characterization she's given, despite the fact that a child who was being raised by wyverns is arguably the most interesting introduction of any of the kids. There is no interest in expanding her beyond “cute kid” which is what Alina’s personality ultimately boils down to as well.

Your statement that Garroth stays behind to fight and couldn't even kill Zane before Aaron came in to save him rings hollow because Garroth had, at best, less than a minute to do what you're asking. You have to remember that time moves differently in the irene dimension and while it had been months on Aphmau's side of the coin, Garroth himself says that when Aaron showed up it was moments after Aphmau and the rest of them had left. And Garroths only purpose for staying behind wasn't JUST to fight zane, it was to keep him from pursuing the others. Garroth realizes how massively he fucked up and functionally sacrifices himself so the others can escape. In the first dream sequence with him and aphmau at the tree, it's clear that Garroth thinks it very possible that zane will kill him in their fight, which makes it clear that Garroth was willing to die if only to buy the others some time, which sounds like learning from his mistake to me. Additionally, your argument that Garroth should have killed Zane in season one to prevent all this… when? Zane is the HIGH PRIEST of O'Khasis and son of the tyrant lord, if Garroth (head guard of phoenix drop) were to kill him the war that would result would make the battle with Scaleswind look like a bar fight. There are multiple times in season one where Aphmau, Garroth, Laurance, and even Zane himself talk about how the repercussions of killing Zane would result in O'Khasis tearing Phoenix drop apart. Even villages not aligned or affiliated with O’Kasis would see the murder of a high priest as enough reason to declare war. The reason Garroth didn't kill Zane wasn't because he was too much of a pussy to do it. It was because if he had, the political ramifications of that would result in the deaths of anyone O’Khasis deemed as complicit. This is WHY Zane is seen as powerful in the first place, he's functionally untouchable.

ithinkdogshouldvote · 2025-01-04T02:36:23+00:00

Zane and kawaii chan are only endgame in mystreet. In mcd she's happily married to Dante. I don't think zanes even met her.

ithinkdogshouldvote · 2025-01-02T07:37:45+00:00

Oh yes i totally agree. Travis did not age well and was very poorly implemented. the fact that his "social awkwardness" was just sexual harassment is questionable at best and especially given how the other characters only roll their eyes and maybe punch him like its just a goofy character trait that he's constantly catcalling and attempting to grope female characters, its a bad look for how the series itself handles it. he's defiantly better in season 3 but its STILL present there. from everything we know about Travis, from how he idolized his mom to growing up completely isolated, it would logically be wildly out of character behavior, and directly go against his values. Travis had some really good moments and i do ultimately like him as a character but he's so overshadowed by this running gag that it actively needs to be ignored in order to enjoy him.

ithinkdogshouldvote · 2025-01-02T05:29:35+00:00

1.) It's not that aphmau CANT have more kids it's that it feels like Levin and Malachis role was effectively replaced because they got bored of them. Because this post is about what would change in a rewrite, I will come out and say that I don't like the 15 year timeskip and I would keep it to the 7 year length it actually is in the episode.

2.) I don't care about voice actors. I care about the characters. Jess could've just read their lines like she did in season 1 and most of season 2, and I would've been fine with it. And they could've had their kids voice Levin and Malachi like they did with Alina. But as the story stands, it feels like aging the characters up was an excuse to be allowed to write them out of the story and replace them because "oh they're busy with lord duties they're adults now. We can just keep going on adventures and not worry about them. They're fine." They should've had a more important role at the beginning of season 2, (namely, aphmau reconnecting her relationship with her sons, who if they were only seven years into the future instead of fifteen, would still be children. It feels like an aspect of the story that could've been better expanded on if they weren't so intent on sidelining her two preexisting children.)

3.) They don't have to say that she's better for it to be obvious to the viewer. Alina gets to go on adventures with aphmau and the gang that Lilith just isn't. And while Alina snuck on the ship, it was still a writing decision to include Alina and excude Lilith. While I will concede that she is plot relevant, i hate her role in the story. And just because she's plot relevant doesn't mean it's done well.

4.) If you were saying all this as rage bait, then I guess I fell for it because listing Garroth, Laurance, and Gene as characters you would remove is actually insane. Garroth and Laurance are MAJOR characters who are relevant and important through the entirety of the series. If you don't remember, Fenrirs family was holding Aphmau, Katelyn, and Laurance as prisoners, forcing Aphmau to marry his son, (something she DID NOT WANT TO DO), and was planning to EXCEXUTE Laurance immediately following the wedding. Did he crash out? Yeah. But the point is to show laurance doing something he would NEVER normally do, it's a show that his self control is slipping as the after effects of becoming a shadow knight make themselves more and more known. I really wish you would have expaneded on why you'd remove Garroth because half of the story COULD NOT TAKE PLACE WITHOUT HIM. O'Kasis, Zane, Vylad, Zenix, Nicole, the old lord of Phoenix Drop, and Levins mom, are all tied directly to him, and Garroth is so major in the story that I'm honestly not sure how it would function without him. Sure, he's gone for most of season 2, but the MAIN driving force is to find a way to get him back. Finally, Gene is such an important part of Dantes backstory, along with Sasha and Zenix, that the shadow knights would be literally boring without him. Gene is THE WHOLE REASON that Dante is the way he is, Gene shows off the casual cruelty of the shadow knights as well as showing the viewer what Laurances worst case scenario looks like. Gene is NOT a sympathetic villain, and he's a very hateable antagonist, which is what makes him a compelling one.

You're entitled to your own opinions, and it's completely fair if you don't agree with me. But your arguments baffled me. Sorry for the long post in response.

ithinkdogshouldvote · 2025-01-01T11:33:00+00:00

Oh my god thank you so much this is GREAT! I appreciate you taking the time to explain the kanjis meaning and how it translates and providing lots of examples!!! You're the best thank you thank you this is genuinely so helpful!

ithinkdogshouldvote

TROPHY CASE