Personally, I absolutely want Linnea on the final team. However,
right now, there are a couple options where we can get away without a healer for the day, and I'd like to have time to spend with other character options.
If our main objective to taking new people is in identifying who to pull into our long-term group, then the fact that they cannot and will not be part of that group is a strong argument to not take them.
For the twins, I don't expect them to be part of the final team. Their shops are too significant a part of their active life. However I wouldn't mind having them as actual friends, rather than continue to be nothing but customer #88. Ilina is highly reluctant to be social, and Gemnus is equally friendly with
everyone. Neither one actually seems to be friends with anyone aside from each other.
Basically, the fact that they are
not going to be in the final team is impetus for going with them. It's a bonding that isn't going to interfere with the normal team composition, while still improving connections to a couple of the important people of the campgrounds.
Also, I wanna blow up some sarcophagi.
However, for the purposes of identifying who we want on the final team, Du+Lona is pretty much the best option to get info we're notably lacking right now.
Having looked at the situation, I personally don't think that we should be building a hot-swapping team. We should be building a semipermanent team.
I largely agree, I think. The question then becomes, is there something that one of the people we haven't met yet can offer that would be a strong argument to allow them to replace an existing candidate?
Based on the people-watching descriptions, 5 people seems to be the max. Probably look into alliances if you need to go higher than that.
Current candidates:
Yuuka — Strong melee, good defense. Tank/hate gatherer. [mandatory]
Linnea — Healer. Some CC. Minor magic attacks. [no other options if we want to go for high-challenge stuff]
Du — Pure support. Boosts gear. Unknown other capabilities. [high value; no others in same slot]
Shadow — Strong DD with some unique skills, though they come at a cost.
Ansom — Strong physical DD.
Murdan — Broad magical capabilities.
Lona — Unknown specifics. Magic-based.
Du issues:
Du may not be able to boost Shadow's abilities, since her weapons all seem to be flesh-shaping.
Du probably cannot boost Murdan's summoned familiars.
Du can probably work well with both Yuuka and Ansom.
Shadow issues:
Social problems. She managed OK with Yuuka and Linnea (even with Linnea's simple bluntness), but I suspect would not get along well with Ansom or Lona. Murdan and his spirits are also likely to be very uncomfortable with her.
On the other hand, when you absolutely need something horribly powerful, she's probably the one that can pull it off in a pinch.
Ansom issues:
Potential personality issues with anyone of high station (eg: Murdan, Lona).
Somewhat redundant build vs Yuuka.
Murdan issues:
Very broad skill base means that, while he can fill about any role, there's probably always going to be someone better for any given role he fills. (eg: Linnea or Du for defense; Lona or Ansom for offense; etc)
Selecting him means we should have a well-balanced team without him, and he can shore up any weaknesses on demand.
Lona issues:
Not enough info.
My current inclination is a selection of 4: Yuuka, Linnea, Du, Shadow. However selecting a 5th out of the other 3 is problematic. All of them are likely to have issues with Shadow. Taking Ansom means we have little to no magic capability in the team. Murdan is unlikely to benefit from Du (unless Du can help with Murdan's 'stamina' issue, if there's equipment that helps boost it). And we just don't know for Lona. Would likely put Ansom and Murdan as first picks, with the choice based on how badly each of them deal with Shadow.
If I pare down to just start with Yuuka + Linnea, which other three would provide a good synergetic benefit? My first pick would probably be Du, Ansom, and Murdan. Being equipment-focused, both Yuuka and Ansom would benefit a great deal from Du's buffs, while Murdan provides a variety of magic options (and can possibly benefit from Du, given the right equipment). Lona is an option in place of Murdan. Mainly, though, it would be removing Shadow from the group.
However, while it's probably a better working team, I rather dislike dropping Shadow. I kind of got to like her, and she's likely to have a very hard time getting a team of her own otherwise (with the possibility of scary psychological damage if things go too badly).
An alternative without Du would be Ansom, Murdan, and Shadow. However that brings up the issue of healer strain. The more people the healer has to keep healed, the harder it is on them. Though I guess Murdan and Shadow would take little to no damage, leaving it almost entirely as what Yuuka and Ansom take.
Honestly, though, I'd still put Ansom as the lead of her own team. Just doesn't seem right to have her as second DD on our team, when she and Yuuka are filling such similar roles. Though having Du boost both of them would probably be pretty scary.
Going back to my original question, though: I see Du as having a high likelihood of being worth having on the team, but I don't see Lona as having a strong chance of displacing Murdan.
