Originally Posted by Black_Elk
all her kit in Act I seems geared for a different Class almost. As it stands usually all her kit is being traded out for better stuff we already have in the camp chest, except for the boots of course.

That's because it was, specifically a Cleric ^^

Minthara was originally a support Cleric (therefore [Xyanyde]) and Clerics can't hit anything to save their life (thus Faerie Fire). She did not become a Paladin until the very end of EA with the Patch #9 - Holy Knight that switched her generic shield with a generic mace to dual-wield.

On top of that due to entire development focus going towards the good path; she was always treated as a mini-boss loot-piñata first and a potential companion second, which is why she has so much unique equipment (unlike Halsin who as her direct counterpart does not have any at all).

  • [Xyanyde] is a Lolth-inspired Cleric support weapon that never made sense for her in terms of lore as she's an infiltration Drow (not to mention it becomes permanently deleted when recruiting her).
  • [Spidersilk Armour] is lore-accurate to what noble Cleric(s) Of Lolth wear and it plays into her being an infiltration Drow.
  • [Boots Of Striding] played into her Cleric class due to so many concentrating spells (and if I recall Minthara did use a ton of them while she was a Cleric)
  • [Amulet Of Misty Step] played into her being an infiltration Drow as it used to be HER necklace, but then got relocated to Polma's chest instead as random loot.

    An absolutely absurd change because it gave Minthara an interesting tid-bit of lore; "This necklace allows the wearer to cast Misty Step. Made of blue gems unique to a privately-owned mine in Menzoberranzan, this necklace was likely a token of esteem - or perhaps a desperate attempt to win its recipient's mercy".

Very little care went into maintaining her consistency, as her being shoehorned into the Paladin class is 100% due to Shadowheart already fulfilling the role of a Cleric and Wither's respec not existing at the time. If one wishes she can still fully utilize her [Spidersilk Armour] by being a DEX Paladin wielding [Phalar Aluve] or [Larethian's Wrath]. Or if dual-wielding by going fully critical with [Knife of the Undermountain King] and [Bloodthirst], along with [The Dead Shot].