7th PC or summons?

[Jemni]

I guess it's sort of akin to a summoned NPC, but do many people use the dragon from the dragon egg? Any tips there?

[Visstar]

The baby dragon was an OK companion, but became angry with some regularity. Also, like summoned creatures, did its own thing -- you can't tell it to attack the demon or breathe fire on a group of orcs. You don't know what it will do, so you can't plan accordingly.

[Jemni]

Thanks for that. Sounds like I'll just keep my usual party.

[Visstar]

That's what I did. One of these days, I'll give astral dragons a try, though!

[HunterOfEvil]

Unless I do a dedicated summon run (sounds like a challenge!), I don't bother with them. They cannot be controlled and their AI make them somewhat unreliable. They also hog XP rewards, so you have to grind more to bring all of your roster to the level you want. The big problem: they turn on you. Either you have a minion that sucks at fighting or you have a super powerful creature that kicks your @r$e because it went mad. Although I think it only applies to summoned monsters, and "wandering creatures" don't do that If it's true, then getting an orc shaman in your team should make the initial Orc battle much easier. Strong AOE, high HP, free spells, though I still recommend Gabriel's Cloak to resist opposing Spirit Strikes.

I tried using summons early on but just didn't find them appealing. The magic points were better used for healing party members or utility spells.

Someone suggested on this forum using 3 magic users and that's what I eventually stuck with. (Along with Paladin, Hunter, Bard and Rogue.) It was a breeze! Kept them loaded with throwable ranged weapons to conserve spell points, they didn't hit hard but would connect more often than you'd think magic mumblers would! I just never bothered with summons again - maybe I denied myself an experience? I'll have to load it back up!

3 magic users make for a very money intensive training, but do it right and nothing will stop you from slaying thousands of evil forces. I wouldn't use throwing weapons for them, as I tend to max their LK instead of DX. So they have better SV and find better loot.