Man, the more I think about the possibility of Helia being scrapped, the more dire our options seem, as far as party compositions go on the caster side. The lack of a Druid, Paladin or Bard companion means that if your MC isn't either of those three classes or a Cleric themselves, your only source of divine magic is Shadowheart. Minsc or a Ranger MC would also be your only source of nature magic. Healing magic options would also be very limited, being restricted to Shadowheart and Minsc (the latter of which is nowhere near a good substitute). Though I suppose that the devs would also now balance skill checks around the assumption that most parties won't have a Bard in it.
I think at this point, I've finalized my main party comp to MC Bard/Shadowheart/Gale/Karlach. Though I suppose there's a hope in that we might get companions of the remaining classes in later acts that AREN'T origins.
