So I dual classed Imoen (then a level 10 thief) in Irenicus' dungeon as soon as I found Yoshimo. She then got abducted as a level 2 mage. I realise level 10 is an odd level to dual a thief but I needed her trap detection up til that point.

The thing is, I accidentally spoiled the Imoen/Yoshimo plot for myself and I know that at some point around the middle of BG2 I will regain her and lose Yoshimo. At that point will she still be a level 2 mage (i.e. useless)?

I'm a fighter/cleric multi and I'm in my first playthrough, so I'm trying to keep my party as vanilla as I can: Anomen, Minsc, Jaheira, Yoshimo and Aerie. However I'm conscious that I'll lose my thief when I regain Imoen. If she's still miles away from (a) getting back her thief skills and (b) being a decent mage, I may need to change my party now.

The best option to me seems to be swapping Aerie out for Jan, since he has the best of both worlds and I'm not exactly short on priest spells. This would kinda feel like a waste of the spells I've had Aerie learn tho.

Does anyone have any tips? I'm still in Athkatla but I've done a few side quests (de'Arnise keep, planar prison, bridge murders,etc) so Jan could be a little behind the rest of my party.

Aerie actually is really good at higher levels, as she has the ability to put Cleric spells into sequencers and contingencies. At 3 million experience, she can cast Project Image and have the clone use Greater Restoration, fully healing your party without fatiguing the real Aerie. At 4.5 million, she can put three Mass Cures in a spell trigger, providing a very nice emergency healing spell. (Remember, triggers are instant cast.) At 6 million experience (which you might not reach, I believe) she can even put Quest spells in Chain Contingencies. No other hireable character can do any of this.

There are alternatives to using a thief. There's a Cleric spell that allows you to find traps, and you can tank many of them. For those you can't tank, you can use protective spells to survive them. Locks can be opened with the Knock spell.

Also, Jaheira is actually good on the front line. She can cast Ironskins, which allows her to be hit without taking any damage. Also, she can fight well thanks to her fighter levels.

(This is, of course, assuming you don't have any mods installed that changes any of this behavior.)

Ah ok, I didn't realise that Imoen would get a bunch of XP when I pick her back up. That's a relief. I guess I'm mainly worried about not having a thief when I lose Yoshimo, but if she's anywhere near getting her thief skills back then I should be able to make do.

As annoying as Anomen is, I kinda want to do one playthrough with him. His quest line seems interesting enough and it feels like the devs planned for him to be a main character.

Thanks for the replies!