SCS changes enemy targeting patterns, but this is layered on top of BG pathfinding issues and general ai issues, so it doesn't always work as well as it should. Rogues tend to go after characters with lowest hitpoints and worst armor, so if that is your lead, they will go after them. Melee opponents tend to switch targets if their opponent is immune to melee damage (e.g. protection from magical weapons spell). Mages tend to avoid casting spells that a character is protected against (e.g. charms on a fighter wearing the harmony shield). "Tend to" - because this doesn't always work, but often enough that it is noticeable.I learned some stuff though. My rogue is the weak link. Either the new scripts has everyone go after your lead or swashbucklers just suck and can't take take hits even though mine has the same ac as most of my warriors. Also, my issues with spells in this game is they take so fucking long to cast. By the time it goes off the reason I wanted to cast it isn't even around any more.
This is also why one of easiest lead characters is a gnomish fighter/illusionist. In most encounters he can just wear armor and forget about spells. But there are some noticeable high level fights that he can take the armor off and make himself immune to everything through protective spells. E.g. protection from magical weapons against melee, spell immunity: enchantment against mind affecting spells, though spell immunity: abjuration is far more important, because of the imprisonment spell. No save, isn't stopped by magic resistance; the only thing that protects from it is berserker rage, prot. from magic scroll and spell immunity abjuration, and it is game over if cast on your main character. In the original game there were maybe two enemies that used it, but there are a few more in SCS.
Or instead of a shaman, take a mage/cleric (Aerie) - they can cover all spellcasting, can hold off enemy rogues with a stoneskin spell, can turn undead and slings are better than bows in BG2 anyway.
edit: and if you have an issue with spellcasting times: Robe of Vecna. Can be bought from Deidre in Adventurer's mart, reduces casting time by 4. Together with the amulet of power (main quest item, reduces casting time by 1) means a lot of spells are cast instantly. Mages/clerics get the most of it, since it works on divine spells too.
I want to apologize for the mean and hurtful things I said about you. I have anger issues and tent to be overly hostile when confronted. And it is hard to determine the users of normal intelligence from the hordes of monkey retards that infest this site. Well, I sincerely apologize for what I said and take the unnecessary stuff back.
The SCS with all prebuffing mages and clerics, and all spell casters get HLAs (and I selected HLAs as intrinsic abilities instead of spells but I'm not sure what that does or if it mages things better or worse) definitely improve combat in this game significantly. I took me a bunch (around 5, maybe even 10) tries to win the upstairs inn fight at the promenade.
But, I am going to double down on my original assertion. I am doing far worse with arcane casters in my group. This may change when I get some equipment in later areas but I dropped the second guy I made and now have a party of Minsc, Druid lady, Circus winged elf lady, and the rich mage thief who owns the keep, and the thief from the starting dungeon (who I switched with a cleric from the bar to see if he was better, but they are equally fragile for the most part and I switched back so I can just change out members once I complete their content or however having recruitables works)). Most of them can be one shotted in any decent fight and even the trash fights at the keep. I raised the difficulty level to insane but selected the thing that makes it so I do not take more damage from higher difficulty settings, so I think it just spawns more enemies. I may put this back down to core if my plan doesn't work since the recruitables are really really fragile.
This is my plan - there is a thing called EE Keeper that lets me change the classes of people, races, kits, and their pictures, etc. I can't get it to load the portraits from the mega pack, but I can change peoples classes. I was thinking I would change everyone to what I would have if I made my own party, including stats, etc with a reasonable 94 roll. It is somewhat cheating as for things I can't use a HO for I won't have to reroll a million times fro an 18/00, but it is not like I couldn't or wouldn't do that until I did for a melee fighter type.
This way I get the content and I get the joy of having my own party just with far more shitty whiny personalities than they would have, and different pictures since my selections are limited in this thing. But here is my issue - I tried this and it doesn't seem to be working right. I changed the thief from the first dungeon to a HO monk (with correct alignment) and he doesn't seem to have monk stuff. I changed Minsc to a new ranger kit and he didn't get the stuff for it. I tried changing the cleric guy to a diffent cleric kit (strategist of the red knight or something) and changed just the kit and his alignment and picture and he was no longer able to wield his shield, which makes me think the game doesn't recognize him as him any more? Will this ruin the whole reason I am doing this and make their content invalid?
If I can get this to work I am making an all HO fighter (one being a fighter/thief and going range) party with one HO monk and one elven archer. I installed some kit mods and monks are more interesting now and I want to see how they do. And they get new monk items like vestments and handwraps. This way I will mainly click and watch and not have to worry about an arcane class getting one shotted in trash fights, or need to heal as much. Mages will do a lot of damage to me, especially multiple caster battles, but everyone will be able to take a hit and live through most stuff and I will not get annoyed by casting spells and ten minutes later when it is almost going off I get one shotetd by a rogue or the mage is invisible and I lose the target. I'll only have to worry about pots and targets.