Lae’zel herself has some choice words for all the haters out there.
Me: “I could take Karlach along because she’s positive and approves of my choices… but I’d RATHER take Lae’zel because she has great banter with Shadowheart and Astarion.”
I decided to just respec my favorite companions as needed to keep them in the party. So Karlach is a ranger now. She’s not as combat-effective as a rogue or bard, but it’s a lot less of a stretch for her background.
Have you found rogues to be super combat-effective? I’ve been running Astarion consistently for traps and locks, and I’ve found that he really takes a backseat to my warlock and Minthara in combat. Provided he can get in position to hide and pull off a sneak attack, he’s more effective than Shadowheart, but only if I’m playing conservatively, i.e. trying not to use any of her spell slots.
Astarion with his default trickster subclass trades melee effectiveness for a selection of spells. If you respec him to a thief, he can hit pretty hard, and there are some build guides out there that can make him (or any thief rogue) downright fearsome. This one looks pretty good: https://mobalytics.gg/blog/baldurs-gate-3/rogue-thief-build-guide/
Which of course is a valid choice too. Personally I prefer the banter of other companions but that’s just subjective 🤷
I’m having fun with her in my evil party. Next run she won’t fit in but I’m enjoying her character. I wouldn’t know there were haters if it weren’t for the articles lol.