Talk:Cernd/@comment-35434313-20200209100638/@comment-8506165-20200214172741

Eh... Respectfully disagree. Cernd is just bad.

Minsc and Edwin have lower stat totals, yes, but Cernd's problem is that unlike them all of his stats are poorly distributed except Wisdom. He doesn't get a single bonus off any of his other stats, except very small bonuses like a little extra carry weight and slightly higher reaction checks. And while his Wisdom is good, it only grants him extra casts of spell levels 1-4, which are the weakest levels for druid spells (druid level 2 spells in particular are infamously bad).

If you take Jaheira instead of Cernd, she's useful in a melee without having to shapeshift and disable her spells (shapeshifting also clouds aura, so you can't just un-shapeshift and immediately cast something), is better with a sling, is better lategame because she can use Fighter HLAs while still having access to the Druid's power spells and has access to the Harm/Critical Strike combo for a guaranteed kill on anything with 0 MR, can raise dead party members without needing to spend money at a temple or use a Rod of Resurrection, and can either dual-wield competently or use better shields than Cernd. While wearing full plate. Oh, and she's got 30% charm/sleep resist from being a half-elf and her unique Harper Pin from her quest is pretty awesome too for -5 bonus to saves vs. spells.

Or... you can roll up a druid of your own, and without even really bothering to min/max them super hard can make them better than Cernd. Fighter/Druids are great for all the reasons Jaheira is. Avengers have bonus spells that fill out their early level spellbooks quite nicely, in particular Web to bolster their horrible level 2, which also combos nicely with their web-immune Baby Wyvern and Sword Spider forms, making them arguably more useful than the Werewolf. And Totemic Druid's summons are actually pretty tanky and thus are useful all the way into ToB. Shapeshifter is probably the weakest druid kit, but even if you wanted one of your own you could roll one up with a stat total of 80 and just distribute them a little better than Cernd's.

Can you use Cernd in a party if you really want him? Yes, you can complete the game with basically any party. Is he good? No, not really, he's easily the single worst NPC in BG2. If you want a WIS 18 divine caster you're probably better off going for Viconia because generally cleric spells are better than druid spells, and she also has her natural Drow MR and her 19 DEX going for her. If you just want Insect Plague, Fire Elementals, Iron Skins and Nature's Beauty then Jaheira gets all of those too.