I thought I'd start a post to see if anyone would like to tell us what kind of party they have. Maybe add a comment on why and how far they are.

Started a new one:

Rawulf Valk F
Human Bard F
Dracon Samurai M
Elf Alchemist M

Going well so far but still in Monastery. Although major magics except Psi are covered, this will be a difficult party. Will let you know how far it gets.

I only just got the game, so this is my first ever party:

Male Lizardman Fighter
Male Dracon Samurai
Female Felpurr Ranger
Female Rawulf Priest
Male Faerie Bishop
Male Mook Gadgeteer
(plus Myles and Vitalia)

Seems like a solid party for a first run-through, all the basics covered: melee and ranged combat, all schools of magic at least once and someone who can disarm traps and pick locks. And so far it's been indeed going well enough, at least since I got the hang of the game's combat system. At this point I'm about to leave Arnika, maybe make for Trynton or so, not sure where I'm supposed to head next. But that's no problem, just exploring is fun enough.

I've got two going, one's a Bard and Bishop duo (Hobbit and Human, both female) that i wanted to check out some things on Bishop development with, they could Ascent now, but i'm playing for a few more levels to finish the development ideas.
The other one is a trio: Rawulf Lord, Hobbit Alchemist, and Hobbit Rogue--mostly because i've never run a pure caster (only Bishops and hybrids) nor have i run a Rogue in a trio--always opted for Bard or Ninja for the L&T/PP. They're in the Monastery just finishing Stealth (The Aclhemist is being a Rogue for her 5th level, and the Lord is still a L1 Rogue--my favorite start for Lord, because they get the Speed and Dex up nicely that way)

[ 11-09-2003, 04:05 PM: Message edited by: Scatter ]

i've been taking a break and havent run a party in some time. however the only party i have active, and not at the peak, is my 3 bishop, 1 ninja party.

each bishop is a different race (elf, gnome, human) and specialising in one book (none specialising in divine). however, just through practice they are developing 2 books each anyway. the ninja is going two-handed sword for now.

Waiting for Light? Get a Bushido and a Enchilada Whackislashy! 2 weapons are better than one!!!

You are most welcome here, J'aran. Hope we can help if you need it.

Scatter - A Bard and a Bishop? That sounds interesting but dangerous. Lord, Alchemist and Rogue seems hard enough as a party. This game lets you push limits, but you are changing professions and such to survive. I've done that but try to avoid it, but c'est la vie. I lose patience on "training" stealth and other things, my current party has no stealth. But it may not survive either.

[ 11-09-2003, 08:14 PM: Message edited by: Ziggurat ]

actually, scatter, i havent put much thought into what weapons my ninja will use long term, other than sword. i had hoped to go sword and shield but didnt realise ninjae cant use shields!

in any event, bushido/wak looks most likely. but we're only lvl 7 in arnika right now, so havent even headed up that way...yet!

the nice thing about the 2-handed sword this early is that it multiplies the damage nicely, and i dont have to worry about the dual weapon penalty. and then, when i do get the second sword, i'll have a nice sword skill to fall back on.

i once tried a rogue, alchemist, monk party. i was enjoying it quite a bit, but then started *experimenting* with dual classing and it turned out disastrous. that might be one to try again, tho.

At lev 10 or so I might want to change classes as well. I will fight this urge. It will be the right time to change if I need to do it, tho. I had a hard time time switching a rogue to fighter last game. It did pay off. These thimgs get more critical with smaller parties. My 3 cents.

My current party is:
Hobbit Bard (female)
Hobbit Gadgeteer (female)
Lizzie Fighter
Elf Bishop


The bishop is going for all four spellbooks, ad the party always goes early to places where books can be bought to help him. The fighter is the tank in front with the bard and gadgy being on the sides. The party just got to Ferro after doing whole Bayjin section at level 15. Haven't went to see Nesie yet though.

I've got a few parties going but this is the one I've been playing mostly.

Lizzy Fighter
Mook Samurai
Elf Monk
Human Valkyrie
Elf Ranger
Human Gadgeteer

They are at level 15 now and I am in Bayjin. Killed Nessie and opened Davy Jones Locker and got ring of regen HP, Excalibur and the Faust Halberd. Boy did I get lucky this time around! lol The ring of regen Hp is perfect for the Valkyrie since I gave her the Faust Halberd which has a -3 to HP and My Fighter is really kicking butt with Excalibur. Didn't get the light sword or light shield and I didn't bother to try and reload to get it. Since those two items are so rare it really doesn't make it worth my time to reload a hundred times to try for it.

My little Elf Monk has turned out to be quite a little butt kicker too. She's doing martial arts and hits for 25 to 30 plus damage and attacks about 3 times per round.

This is my first time playing a Gadgeteer all the way through and I have to say I am impressed. She has a Mk 9 Omnigun which can shoot all amo now, ko 5% blind 10% and Kill 1%, plus the repeater allows her to shoot the thing 3 times per round now.

The only RPC's I have taken along with this party are the quest mandatory RPC's and I dumped them when the quest was completed and RFS. I have kept RFS with me as he is a good fighter and I just like him lol

My Samurai and Valkyrie have the portal spells, I need to find one more book of return and then either the Monk or Ranger will have portal spell too. The Sammy, Valkyrie, Monk and Ranger's magic has really come along nicely [img]smile.gif[/img]

I'm going to pick up the two gadgeteer items that are here in Bayjin, take glump back to umpani base camp and then head on over to the mountain wilderness to get the stuff behind the water fall and then go fight for diamond eyes!

My current party is a melee-heavy one (since last one was range-oriented). I have 3 fighter-types, each using a short and an extended weapon instead of a bow. Thus, when i move up to an opponent and kill him, tere's usually some others in the range of the extended weapons.

samurai (mook) - dualing swords, and giants sword
valkyrie - dualing mace&flail, and polearm
monk - martial arts, and staff (bo)
bishop - for buffs and offensive magic

My last party had the 'music' theme: three bards and two gadgeteers, using mainly instruments/gadgets and ranged weapons. Plus a bishop/priest for the buffs.

wearboar - i like the variation focussing on extended weapons. what is the party formation, out of curiousity?

i find that in my small parties, if i rely on the bishop to do the lion's share of spellcasting, they end up doing a whole lot of utility casting (ie heal this, rest that, buff this, cripple that) but very little attacking casting (ie damage this, instawhack that). maybe that has to do with my style, but when i have multiple casters, they get that stuff out of the way within a round or two and then start laying on the hurt. [img]graemlins/showoff.gif[/img]

Actually my party finished AP . It is a combination with no magic users.

Dracon Fighter
Fairie Rogue
Human Gadgeteer
Gnome Gadgeteer
Mook Bard
Felpurr Bard

I've RFS-81 and Saxx with me too. It was an interesting game with many problems ( money , potions , missiles , no elemental or good missile protection etc ) but in the end I think the game wasn't that difficult because later on they had enormous melee power.
Changed the Mook Bard to Fighter at Lvl 20 because I wanted to use the Giant Sword.
Had some dead memebers especially in the beginning and some died in action fighting difficult monsters like Souleater or others. But I had lot of fun so I think I'll try it again with a little modification :

Dracon Fighter
Felpurr Ranger ( only Alchemy skill for creating potions , no spells
Fairie Bard
Human Gadgeteer
Mook Bard ( later again to Fighter )
Elf Bishop ( for uncurse and with only one spell : Set/Return Portal because I want to make travel a little bit easier )

This time I do not hire RFS-81 and Saxx ( I'll only hire Saxx to let him die in battle and steal his instrument [img]graemlins/evillaughter1.gif[/img] )

You don't have to kill or PP Saxx to get the SS. Right-klick it onto one of your char's while in Saxx' inventory screen, and give him something from the party invy & take that back. Then dismiss him.

Hi Scatter,

I know I'm a little bit crazy but I do not steal from NPC's , I do not kill them myself but if I dismiss them and they die from other enemies:

:D why didn't he run away ? :D

Hi, I am currently playing a party of four,

Faerie Ninja M
Faerie Ninja F
Human Priest F
Human Mage F

I started out with the faerie ninja for COC and thrown criticals. The priest and mage both did 2 or 3 levels as ninja for the stealth and other skills. Not sure how powerful we will be, but am having a lot of fun. I also just picked up RFS and boosted his stealth. My party are all around level 10-11 and everything we fight dies in just a few rounds.

jk - i did a faerie-ninja, rogue, priest, mage party that was just dominating by the end of the game. i actually put the priest and mage on defend just to pick up the challenge a bit ;)

they're a lot of work early, tho! [img]graemlins/crying.gif[/img] ;) :D

Hey y'all. My current party is:
Mook fighter
dracon lord
hobbit rogue
felpur samuri

the basic idea is for everyone to duel-wield weapons and become a melee-killing machine. i've never used the giant sword, thus the mook fighter (is it one-handed? if so, i may use it for a little while, then dump it). right now we're around level 11-12. Lord using Diamond epee/poignard & crossbow; samuir has bloodlust/whatever she started with; rogue has thieves/poison dagger (just waiting to kill the don for a second thieves dagger) and fighter is using something and a hammer (build mace/flail to possible duel maces later)

so far so good, but the lack of magic is a little bothersome. The lord is becoming quite the healer, though. i picked up lt. sparkle just to do a little mixing and money-making for me. i've yet to try the retro-dungeons, so that's the next step.

on a random note, i killed Rattus just after he gave me the note to rob the bank, and now i can't see the don because his handy-man (forget the name) is hostile to me. has this happened to anyone else? (by the way, he's not worth killing- doesn't drop anything good)

KR - i usually kill rattus the first time i meet him. although milano is then automatically hostile to you, you can get past him pretty easily to search the other rooms of the don - so it isnt actually a plot stopper.

the don will be automatically hostile too, so you wont be able to chat. but my parties usually chat with their fists, anyway [img]tongue.gif[/img]

as a side note, i actually prefer this because then i can fight the don alone rather than with milano helping him - and since i like to take the don out before level 10, every little bit helps!

LOTR party:

Aragorn - Human/Ranger
Legolas - Elf/Samurai
Gimli - Dwarf/Fighter
Gandalf - Human/Bishop
Frodo - Hobbit/Rogue
Sam - Hobbit/Bard

Where: They are currently at Lower Marten's Bluff.
Why: Try to finish the game for the third time (as a challenge).

Hobbit monk, hobbit bishop, hobbit ninja, hobbit fighter, hobbit bard, hobbit ranger... I like hobbits :/

I'm currently playing a "Noah's Ark" game.

2 Lizard Fighters - 1 male, 1 female
2 Elves - 1 female mage, 1 male priest

and the oddballs:

1 Human monk - female
1 Mook Ranger - male

(Everybody has someone to curl up with when they camp, wink-wink, nudge-nudge, say no more!)

Found Excalibur and a Raven's Bill. Those were the main weapons for my fighters until I got the Ivory Blade. Now it's Excalibur and Ivory Blade.

My main problem w/ this group: nobody to pick locks! And Knock Knock seems to set off more traps than it opens, even though the casting percent is at 105! Had to have my Ranger do 3 levels as a Rogue. He uses Poseur's cap and a Thieves Buckler to pick the tumblers that Knock Knock doesn't get.

Been a fun party. Have done 2/3 of AP and will probably finish tonight after I get home.

I just started a solo elf party. He just exited the Monastery at level 2 (rogue) and I'm going to see what the Arnika road is like for him (the crabs at the entrance were level 2 softshells so I actually was able to kill them; I will level more as a rogue only if necessary). I did some stealth training and stealth is about 55.
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In the monastery I killed the king crab although I had not intended to (I ran by him the first time, but he got out of his room and cornered me later - for that reason I leveled up to level 2 to kill him). I ran by Gregor and used a stink bomb and magic missile sticks to kill the spiders guarding the portucullis switch to the upper monastery. I got around Gregor again by going into the room with the statue/trap door/key. I locked Gregor in the lower monastery, then ran around the rats, killed one higardi and ran around the rest and exited. My plan is to get to Arnika and take all the levels I have built up as a bishop. I have senses, dex, and speed at 60, str/vit at 35, level -up points will go to int/pie first. I'm planning on dual wielding mace as a bishop, I haven't decided how far to go as a bishop or what to do after that.

I am a new poster here, but a fairly experienced CRPG player. Wizardry 8 is my current obsession, I have taken one group to the end and am in Rapax Castle with my second.

My current group has five members. Twin Dracons up front, a Lord and a Valkyrie, and three Faeries fluttering along in their wake, a Ninja, a Mage, and a Psionic.

I gave the Dracons mellow, noble personalities and gave the Faeries the anti-social, maladjusted one. I love the image of the nasty little Faeries muttering and cursing along shouting about "Pillaging the bodies" and muttering "Good Riddance" and trying to con the group out of their dead companion's goods while the sweet tempered Dracons mash and mangle the opposition.

I play on non-IM expert and am having little trouble this time through. IM next, where I think I will go with a more balanced, less themed party.

welcome to IW ae3!

i like playing around with the different voices to give the game new flavours every time. with so much focus on character development and teamwork, it sometimes gets forgotten. but never not appreciated :D

Welcome to the boards Ae3!

I like playing around with the different voices as well. My favorite is the chaotic voice "If it walks I can change that" I usually give that voice to my human ninja's lol

Welcome to the boards Ae3.

My favourite voice is the one with the french accent. Usually my rangers get that.

[ 11-14-2003, 06:24 AM: Message edited by: dplax ]

I really enjoyed my first party, so much so that after they ascended, I immediately began a second game with the same group. I went through the second time very slowly, taking the time to smell the Crimson Poppies, trying to get all the good stuff, and saving games all along the way so that I can go back and replay any area. Also the first time through, I wasn’t that good at developing my characters. This time my Bard is a major killer with Bloodlust, my Ninja is deadly throwing when she is not using the Cane of Corpus, and my Bishop excels in everything (and presently her Powercast is 113 with the added points from the Amulet of Nebdar). My Samurai really came into her own once I slapped two Anks of Might on her. Only the Rapax Army and placing the last artifact is left for this group.

The party is:
Dracon Fighter
Felpurr Samurai
Human Ranger
Elf Bard
Faerie Ninja
Faerie Bishop

***

Aftrer playing this group, of course, I wanted to try the specialist casters. So I’ve also got a game going with all 4 specialist casters where everyone eventually will use extended weapons.

2 Mook Fighters - Giant’s Swords
Human Priest - Vampire’s Chain
Gnome Alchemist - Flame Staff
Elf Psionic - Ebon Staff
Faerie Mage - Staff of Doom
RFS - Z’Bo
Vi - Dread Spear

I’m maxing intelligence for all four spellcasters and will try to get powercast as high as possible. My Priest will also have powerstrike.

***

My third game is a party of four. No RPCs except for quests.

Human Lord
Elf Bard
Faerie Mage
Human Ranger

This party gives you all the protective spells. I always wanted to play a Lord because I had read they were weak, but mine is killing everything in sight, just like the Bard.

Those that say the Lord is weak, I suspect are not developing their Lords properly. I am running 3 parties as well and in the 2nd party I have a Lord who is doing very well especially since this party has not even gotten out of the monastery yet (just created them lol) I've prgressed to playing the game on normal rather than novice now and you can definitely tell the difference between the two settings lol it's harder for the characters to hit and penetrate on normal than on novice. I hate to think what expert is like! lol

I like Lords a lot. Their Dual-Wield bonus really pumps up the Mauler-Diamond Eyes combination. Their HP Regen bonus is very helpful, too. I even finished one game with a trio of all Lords. (Human, Dwarf, Rawulf)

(edit) Wanted to post an update, forgot what thread i was in...:

Lord, Alc, Rogue party is now at the entrance to Beyjin. I'm going to split the saves here and take one through without reloading--Fang is enough for now, as the Rogue is going for Samurai when i get Muramasa, for which i will reload. The other save i think i'll go for ten tries, and take the best of them, just to see if i can get one of the Lights or an extra Phaser. Too bad you can't put a Phaser in both hands, i think you should be able to...

Bard and Bishop have ascended, but i still kept the save around the corner from the End, i think i'm gonna fool around with them whenever i feel like mashing a bunch of mobs just for fun...

So i started another bunch, this time i'm taking my Bishop's Stealth level as a Ninja, and have with her a Bard and a Fighter. Bishop is Human, the others are Hobbits.

[ 11-14-2003, 04:16 PM: Message edited by: Scatter ]

Sultan, Dplax, & Starfire,

Thanks for your welcome. This is a great board with a wonderful exchange of ideas on how to enjoy this game.

I took my 2-Dracon, 3 Faerie group to the Circle last night so am now working an Ironman Expert party. I am going to start a new thread on the problems there, but for the purposes of this thread, I have:

1 Lizzie Fighter (never played a fighter before).
1 Human Monk ( top killer in my first group)
1 Mook Ranger (Finally a chance to use Giant Sword)
1 Rawulf Valkyrie (Love Valks and Cheat Death seems real good for Iron Man)
1 Elf Mage (For buffs and offense)
1 Hobbit Bard (Bards are so strong.)

Ae3than

Good luck with your party Ae3.
BTW it sounds like quite an interesting party to me, although usually I prefer less muscle in my parties and more ranged/ magic using chars.

I'm on my first party. This may sound boring, but this is what I started with.

Dwarf Fighter
Dracon Fighter
LizardMan Ranger
Dwarf Priest
fairie Mage
Cat (can't remember what this race is called) Mage

At level 20, I switched the Ranger to a fighter to take advantage of much better armor. This group can pretty much squash anything pretty easily. I didn't like trying to train the ranger with the minor spells when he started receiving them. he was primarily a bowman while the two fighters killed everything. I casted spells every round, with every spellcaster, and now their spell points and spell availability are just about maxed.

It believe everyone is around level 25 now, and were just kinda cruising around now. I have the 3 artifacts, but am still trying to figure out how to get into the savant tower at Arnika.

My fighters are using Fang, The Avenger Sword, and the Dread Spear. I found the Light Shield somewhere (don't remember) where, so I think I got a fair shake on the better items. I was a bit disapointed when I found Davey Jones locker and found a bunch of crap, the best item was some Tinkers Carryall Bracelet which I couldn't even use.

This is my first game, and I've been having fun. Probably doing everything in the wrong order, but what the hell. I spent a few hours at Accension Peak early in the game and my people leveled up very fast. Now I'm just running around cleaning things up.

Well thats a long enough post.

Later,

Daven

welcome daven! i dont think the party sounds boring at all. the things you lack in favour of simplicity will also create vulnerabilities. in any event, you made it this far, so you probably dont have much to worry about anymore.

btw, i'm keenly jealous about avenger. in 50+ games neither my wife nor i have ever seen it! :mad:

if you want a hint on the tower, let us know ;)

Welcome Daven!
Just to add to your post, that if you enjoy it, then the party is not boring.

Ascended the last party, started a new one. I've been playing on normal and decided to step it up a notch and try expert (no ironman yet - maybe after some more times through). anyway, i decided since the last two parties i ascended had hybrids i would try a non-hybrid party. i went with the four pure magic users and two fighters for protection (imagine 4 scrawny guys casting spells behind a couple of big, dumb strong lugnuts - that's the basic idea). And because i like my parties to have themes, this party is the disabling party. i plan to put the most little circles above every opponent possible - this includes paralyzing, freezing, webbing, nausiating, concussions, irritating, blinding, and eventually tossing various clouds thier way. My two fighters (one dracon (Meathead), one lizardman (Stone)) have become a little peeved because they rarely get to duke out a good battle. My casters (fairy mage (Buzz), dwarf Priest (Father), Mook Psionic (knowitall), & elf alky (Bomba)) have been fairly effective through the monestary and into arnika. With two having paralyze, the mage throwing freeze flesh and webs from the alky and priest, there are few who make it to me. and those that do get up to melee range are usually nausiated from noxious fumes or irritated and my fighters have no problems. the only issue is keeping mana from running out if i have two big battles in a row. i certainly look forward to later in the game when i can get my hand on some SP regen. items! This is the first time i have run an alchemist in a while and its nice to have plenty of cash! The only death so far was the fairy mage died because i have the bright idea of having him unlock chests with the magic hat and a dart killed him in the monestary. i look forward to seeing how this party goes - fun so far and that's whats important.

Sounds like a fine party, I would have reloaded after the death but maybe you are doing Ironman. It also sounds like you are leveling pretty fast to get those spells. I think I may try Expert next time, never tried it.

All characters are level 14-15.

Tinst (Felpurr Samurai):
Wielding Bloodlust and Wakizashi. He has very high Spd/Dex/Sen, and decent strength. Didn't focus on magic at all, very few magics (only Light and Energy Blast, and I'm not the type to keep casting). However, is a major powerhouse, as he can hit up to 6 times with Bloodlust (!) each round, and about 90% of them hit for ~30 damage. Very powerful indeed, although with no ranged skills at all, thanks to the cursed status of Bloodlust.

Celia (Felpurr Ranger):
Sister of Tinst. Recently maxxed out Sen, and Spd will soon follow. She can fire lots of arrows per round. Recently purchased the Eagle Eye Bow, and althou she just started investing in Eagle Eye she already has high skills due to the Helazoid Pendant. Seems to score Critical Hits a lot. Wields the Stun Rod at close range.

Dram (Gnome Gadgeteer):
The fundamental, staple Gadgeteer I almost always have in my party. Has a good Omnigun that can fire a lot (6 with haste), but usually uses the Frontier Phraser, which is much more powerful. Has an assortment of useful gadgets, and maxxed Sen.

Rim (Hobbit Rogue):
The powerhouse of the party (surprisingly enough!). Dual-wields Thieve's Daggers. At close range, his daggers can do ~35 damage, almost never misses, and can attack a LOT (8 with haste!). Great for softening up enemies. Has maxxed Dex and Spd with high Str and Sen.

Lani (Elf Alchemist):
Kind of useless in the party, actually. She has insanely high Earth realm skills and relies on Whipping Rocks to get her point across. Her Element Shield is also very useful when dealing with the Rapax. Wields the Ebon Staff, which is a very good weapon for mages as it can do a lot of damage (well, good enough damage to kill weak enemies, at least). However, while useless, she is the only one who holds the Resurrection spell and therefore is still important.

Kamath (Human Bishop):
Ah, yes. Kamath rarely uses weapons, but he wields a Disruptor Mace with Diamond Eyes. His highest realm is Divine (his story is "Fallen Priest", so it fits), and he uses Magic Missiles a helluva lot. Enchanted Blade is also very useful, and he casts Fireball, Energy Blast, Make Wounds and such to kill off weak enemies and potentially disable tough ones. Focuses on Divine (that has been past the point of no return), and now focuses on Psionics and Wizardry (completely ignoring Alchemy, of course). He has maxxed Int and Pie, currently working on Sen and...Dex or Spd I guess.

RPCS:

Saxx (Umpani Bard):
Saxx is fully decked with the Bard equpiment (+ Shield of the Wind and Tripleshot Crossbow), but he uses his instruments to attack. When that fails, both his weapons can do a decent amount of damage. His primary role is to buff up the allies with Rousting Drums mainly. Focusing on Vit/Int/Dex mainly.

RFS-81 (Android Monk):
The monk we all know and love. You just can't go wrong with him. Frontliner, of course, can do a helluva lot of damage, especially since he can knock people out. Uses a spear for extended purposes (Spear of Death, to be precise). He pokes people to death in a long distance, and rips people's throats out close. Also has high Spd/Sen/Dex (sensing a pattern?) and Critical Kills quite easily.

[ 12-01-2003, 05:54 AM: Message edited by: Deathmage ]

Update!

Now everyone is about level 19~20.

Tinst:
Holds the second highest kill count in the party and is close to maxing out a few stats (he has SPD maxed). He switches though a lot of weapons: Ivory Blade, Fang, Bushido Blade, and Bloodlust might come in useful sometimes. Armed with the Zatachi Bo, as he is absolutly hopeless in ranged weapons because of his long partnership with Bloodlust.

Celia:
Haven't changed much. Still armed with the Eagle Eye bow and the Stun Rod, although she now uses a Tripleshot Crossbow + Lighting Bolts when needed. Absoltuly deadly with that, as she can fire up to 8 shots per round!

Dram:
Also haven't changed much, although now he has the NegatAir gadget (I've actually been able to make this for a while, haven't realized -_-), which sometimes comes in handy. He also uses Lighting Bolts when necessary. Has SPD and SEN maxed out. Also has the Water Cannon.

Rim:
Holder of the highest kill counts of the party, Rim is still with his lovely Thieves' Daggers. Has DEX, SPD, and STR maxed out...powerhouse, can do about 70 or so damage with one hit. Does vary quite a lot, though.

Lani:
Still quite weak. Now armed with the Earthquake spell, however, which is a great spell. Kamath recently got Ressurection (I think?) so she won't be that useful anymore.

Kamath:
The God of Spells. Nobody, I say, nobody can beat him at spells. Looking forward to snatching Lighting soon.

RPCS:
Saxx. On my way to pick up RFS-81. Saxx is essentially the same, although now he has a bunch of high-leveled instruments. They don't come in handy much though, as I've been wondering in Rapax territory with him lately.

Things Accomplished:
Okay...they got the three artifacts.
Then, they finished the Rapax quests, and then went back and killed Al-Sedexus without pissing the Rapax off. She was killed by Tinst, who was also her lover.
And they just finished the Umpani-T'Rang alliance quest, although they didn't get to kill the Rapax King. I do plan to, however, but not with Drazic and Rodan, as they are absolutely crap at fighting (well, compared to my high-leveled party at least). Drazic couldn't hit the wide side of a barn if he was standing right next to it and Rodan has hit about two things in his short partnership with Fang. I returned them to the good general.
Hmm, what else? Ah yes, the party cleared out the southeast temple (with relative ease) and is on their way to kill Nessie (something I've wanted to do, but haven't...)
The Rapax King would also die, soon, in the hands of the heroes.
Mwahahahahaha!

I've seen a few posts commenting on how easy it is to be torn apart in combat, but perhaps that's because of the parties people choose.
On my first game I saw that the game put three people in the front row, so I chose three fighter characters: two fighters and a samurai. I had Vi tag along for much of the game, and later RFS instead. With three fighters I never had any problems, except the first few times I encountered geomancers and then pyromancers.
Obviously people like to make as much use of the different character types as possible, but fighters are very tough and never need healing during a battle; they have enough hit points to last until it's over. With the KO ability and this toughness I think they're better than lords, because a lord is primarily a fighter, so his magic is never going to be used much (another spellcaster can provide protection spells)
I did find that the opponents target my samurai more than either of my fighters; it was a day after I got the mirror armour when I first saw its special ability (the fighter did have a shield though).
My party was:
fighter x2
samurai
bishop
alchemist
bard
The alchemist learnt all the spells and eventually dualclassed becuase there was nothing left for him to do as an alchemist. That's why I prefer bishops now.

The guy who had bloodlust (all game; I didn't find many good weapons) had most kills (almost twice as many as anyone else), the other fighters had a lot, and bard and bishop had only 200 or so each. How do people build up killcount for the people in the back row? I've seen people say that it was even between all their characters.

[ 12-12-2003, 08:50 AM: Message edited by: Rawhide ]