Umm...hello. Having never posted anywhere before, I thought this might be a good place to start. I should be getting the game in the mail on Tuesday (my oh-so understanding Mom has mailed it from the States), so I figured I'd ask a few questions in the meantime.

I'm kinda curious about Psionicists. Is there anybody out there who's keen on them? Is there any advantage to having a specialized psionicist, as opposed to a hybrid character?

For better or worse I've not played any of the Wizardry series, but I'm curious as to how this class in Wiz8 compares to psionicists in the other games.

Anyway, I'd appreciate thoughts/opinions on the topic. The idea of a female Mook Psionicist seems cool to me...nothing sexier than a toned cerebellum, right? Uh...if Mooks have cerebellums.


<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Never argue with a woman who's holding your schmeckle.<hr></blockquote>

Well Psionics are one of the few that get Eye for an Eye which is incredibly useful... then in a sticky situation (ahem, Sorceress Queen, you will know who and what I mean when ya meet'em, LOL!), the chameleon trick was mentioned as getting a drop on them... which would have proved extremely useful. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Though I don't have one. :(

I had a Psionic in my first party (Umpani affiliation). She was fairly weak in capabilities to start - my Mage was much more effective. Later on she had some nice spells but nothing overwhelming. In my second party (T'Rang affiliation) I replaced her with a Gadgeteer and really didn't miss her.

Psionics are pretty good, almost all my parties so far have one. In Wiz8 the most useful spells are the ones that incapacitate enemies and that's where the Psionic excels. Nothing compares to slapping an Insanity spell to a group of critters and watch them beat each other up while you rest your feet ;) A Bishop can learn those spells but a much slower pace, but it is a good substitute. The only other choice would be the Monk and that will be even slower because most of its level up points are better used for pumping up the combat skills, so you won't be able to focus on the magic side until much later in the game.

I think the trick to develop a good Psionic is to specialize in a couple of the magic realms (Mental and Fire) to pump as much as possible and then work on Divine spells later on, which include the Eye for an Eye spell that Vaprakgruumsh mentioned .

I've only played up to about level 8, but I've played as far as finishing Arnika many times [img]smile.gif[/img]
If you like to play smart then a psionicist is a good mage replacement. Mages do damage whereas psionicists mess up the enemies.
If you like chucking fireballs around and yelling "MUAHAHAHA!" then stick with the mage. If you like hasting your party and watching your enemies slow down, beat themselves up, run away and generally turn into a bunch of drooling losers then give a psionicist a go. They can also ID stuff and heal. Very useful.
Another way of looking at it is by what spellbooks your hybrids *eventually* have access to. Rangers are almost mandatory, so they can pick and choose the good alchemy spells. Likewise samurai/mage, ninja/alchemist, monk/psion, valkyrie/priest, bishop/everything etc.
If you don't have a monk or a bishop, then get a psionicist.
I currently have a ninja, samurai, priest, ranger, bard and psionicist - which covers every spell book.

I love my Faerie Psionic. Insanity is one of the best spells in the game. Granted it does nothing to plants but it works on most other creatures. Psionics can also heal, cast soul shield, haste, slow. Their upper level spells have random effects so you just have to like that sort of thing. In my game I have two pure spell casters a Psionic and a Bishop (Priest/Mage concentration). I also highly recommend a Ranger. Excellent archers, good scouting, instant kills, and Alchemy magic.

As far as the Psionic is concerned...I only have a few tips...first of all they are fantastic! Psionic Blast is two words you shouldn't be soon forgetting when a group of 10 mobs sees 8 go insane. Your tank classes will love the Haste (Haste+bloodlust= 3x 3x hit combos)

They will also act as a back up healer should you need one. many of their spells don't require line of sight...making those times where the elemental is doing your dirty work around a corner much easier.

Davrem

My current party has only a psionic for magic, no priest or alchemist. As other people have pointed out, they are not as "powerful" as a mage, in mid-game nothing kicks butt like fireballs. But insanity is perhaps my favorite spell of the game, I just love seeing the monsters do my work for me. And the combination of slow on the enemy, haste on your party will have your fighters bowing down and singing your praises. And they do have some good damage spells as well. And if you are going to have a single magic user doing both offensive and defensive magic, I think they beat a bishop all to hell.

One tip. There are far fewer "found" spellbooks for a psionic, so really study the spells ahead of time, and plan carefully how to allocate points and spells as you level up.

p.s. Welcome to the board, Mr. Mopery!...and what in the devil is a "schmekle" (or should I assume the obvious here?)

Thanks for all the input! I've run into a little snag with getting the game to run (which I'm about to post separately about), but that doesn't keep me from reading the manual and salivating.

But how do they compare to Psionicists in previous Wizardry's?

And, in response to the above post...assuming you know what a merkin is, a schmeckle is the thing just under it.


<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Never argue with a woman who's holding your schmeckle.<hr></blockquote>

WARNING NPC slight SPOILER:
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There is a male mook pisonic recuitable PC in the game.

i dont use a psionic but my bishop's PSI spells are some of his all around most useful ones in combat. starting to see a lot of mobs with a lot of AIR EARTH and WATER resistance. FIRE and its raw damage is nice but i fought 2 waves of 5 and 6 ironskin crocs last night back-to-back. insanity was the only spell i used the whole time. i feel incapacitation is a better route than direct damage. but better than incapacitation is when the mobs kill each other for you.

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Mr. Mopery:


And, in response to the above post...assuming you know what a merkin is, a schmeckle is the thing just under it.


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ROTFLMAO! Touche!

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Aramas:
If you like chucking fireballs around and yelling "MUAHAHAHA!" then stick with the mage. <hr></blockquote>

OMG, okay you win the funniest quip of the day award. :)