I really like the infinity engine games. They may be hard but they are some of the best games to play for an old school rpg fan.

I decided that I wanted to go rogue and try something new. I just played through baldurs gate 1 with 2 melee rangers one of which I created as my character. It was fun as anything and I wanted to know if 2 plate wearing rangers in Icewind Dale as a party will work? I noticed that I would have to change things up a bit.

Seeing as the furthest I got was the acolytes, I want to know if its possible. You supposedly get some healing spells at lvl 7 so I guess if I exp farmed a bit I could lvl there for some healing spells. I also thought that I could store some studded leather armor in case they can sneak up in unison to enemy mages to kind of sidewind them with melee.

It might not be a backstab but would this party be able to complete the game, or should I forget it. Ive read some people say the game is too hard.

It would definitely be a challenge, but it should be possible, since people have completed the game with a solo fighter before. Not going to be easy though.

Do you have any character recommendations? Should I focus each characters on specific weapons/what not?

If it were me, I'd make sure my STR score is 18/95 or better (18/95 to 18/99 is all the same), preferably 18/00. 18 CON and 18 DEX. The rest is no big deal. I'd avoid Elf and go with Human or 1/2 Elf (Elves cannot be raised from the dead, only resurrected, which is very expensive).. Something to consider is perhaps going Human and dual classing to Cleric later down the road. Or at least keep that open as an option. This means you'll want high WIS as well.

Rangers can't put any more than 2 pips into a weapon, so you'll have plenty of points to spread around. I'd make sure to cover the different damage types (blunt, slashing, piercing) and have a ranged option available as well. (If you go the dual class route to Cleric with one of your Ragners, don't waste points on non-cleric weapons).

Keep in mind that if you have nothing in the offhand you get an extra attack, so a two-handed weapon might be a good option as well.

For favored enemies, I'd consider trolls and skeletal undead. To a lesser extent, orcs or goblins may be a good idea as well.

I thought rangers only got that bonus when using either long or short swords

Could be, but my understanding is that was the intended behavior but in-game it actually works with any melee weapon as long as you have no shield in the shield slot.

I just checked and you were right. As long as you're proficient with the melee weapon, you will get the extra attack. Fists, one handed and two handed weapons were all affected. Also tried it with the throwing weapons but only got the extra attack when I switched throwing axe to melee. Note to self, use two handed weapons for rangers from now on.