scatter and zig are correct, loudhy, in as much as you dont need that particular key to get to the castle/get access to ferro and/or becoming a templar. having said that, i always go back and complete everything for the experience.

thinking of ferro's items and experience, i seem to recall that i picked up quite a few levels on the way in with those lower level parties. so i probably managed to make level 14 before reaching ferro the first time. that's probably why i've never experienced the dearth of items. lucky me ;)

The lowest level I got there was 12. Quite fun, since then it was quite a challenge compared to on lvl 26.

You are all very impressive. I'm on my first time through and at lvl 16 at the rift I just got hit with 7 berserkers & 2 warlocks - and creamed. Still trying to get the hang of which spell to throw first to keep my fig from taking too many hits but that doesn't help much with those warlocks in the back. Oh, well.

Wild Rose with your bishop you should already be able to cast magic screen, although i am not sure about element shield, and those should protect you fromthe warlocks, and against the berserkers, if your fighter has good enough armor, he shouldn't have any problems.

dplax, I keep all the buffs running at highest lvl cast, and have been keeping the armour light, to keep out of the blue. But my party keeps getting tied up in web and/or paralized. Haven't been useing element shield, but have been casting superman and GA with the vik and bis. I also prefer playing continous rather than turn - more like Might & Magic. What am I doing wrong. Thanx!!!

I think in an earlier discussion it had been said that element shield is a t least as good as magic screen, so I think in a battle like that it would just give you the resistance you miss. And if you have problems, with CC then try selling some things. It might help.

dont let early experiences knock you down rose. we all went through a bit of a learning curve the first time we entered new areas. my first time into the rift i was level 18 and still got whipped. half the fun is trying new tactics and figuring out the best way to survive against the new challenges.

regarding the rift, dplax is spot on. keep your magic screen running at full blast, and at the beginning of every fight cast element shield (and maybe soul shield). you'll eventually learn which enemies are the bad@ss casters and which are likely to cast mental/divine attacking spells. then you can pull back on how you use the shields.

With my two level 11 groups, all of the great stuff was available, except the mauler (which i got only at level 17 or 18)

For me, it was some kind of 'themed party' i played twice. I called it 'infinity casters'. The party included priest, mage, and alchemist. At level 11, i stopped levelling for a long time and headed for the rift. When i had lots of XP and 3 infinity helmets and robes of rejuvination, i switched to valkyrie/samurai/ranger, and levelled them up (to level 5 in their new profession). I didn't take any other advantage of their new class (didn't melee or shoot at all), but i had quite unlimited spell points due to the regeneration. I stopped levelling at 11 since i wanted to play them as pure casters.

Wereboar where did you get the infinity helmets of and the robes of rejuvination? I thought there was only one infinity helm in the game? Also how did you avoid melee?