I've been playing Wiz 8 for a couple of weeks now, about 7 days in-game, and am not happy with my current party. I made the mistake of thinking that I would be able to change classes at about lvl 10 and then level up in the new class like I did in Wiz 7 so my first party is kind of boring, 2 Fighters, a Ranger, a Bard, a Priest and a Mage.
Since I have not completed the game yet I'd like to explore as much of it as possible with a fair amount of character diversity.

Here's what I'm thinking of for my new party:

Lord - Male Dracon
Samurai - Female Felpurr
Ranger - Male Mook
Gadgeteer - Male Hobbit
Bard - Female Human
Bishop - Female Elf

My reasoning goes something like this:
I'd like to be able to use most anything I might find in the game, thus the variety of classes.
At levels 1-5 the Bishop will probably concentrate on Healing spells, followed by Party protection spells. Once the dual classes begin to learn spells the Bishop will go for ones that inflict individual damage or group status effects while the others learn Party protection and enemy group status spells. meanwhile the Bard and Gadgeteer get the most they can out of thier instruments and gadgets.

Sounds workable to me, what do you all think?

Cerberus, Guardian of Hades

[ 02-28-2002: Message edited by: Cerberus ]

[ 02-28-2002: Message edited by: Cerberus ]</p>

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Cerberus:

Sounds workable to me, what do you all think?

<hr></blockquote>

Go for it! It is a good and balanced party.

Edited: Welcome to the forum btw. [img]graemlins/viking.gif[/img]

[ 02-28-2002: Message edited by: Warhammer ]</p>

Yes. But I only go with two figher-types when I create a party. The last full party I created was:

Samurai - Male Felpurr
Ranger - Male Felpurr
Bard - Female Hobbit
Gadgeteer - Female Felpurr
Bishop - Female Farie
Bishop - Female Felpurr

Why this racial mix? I'm a SPEED player. 3pts at level up, every level up, without fail, until 100. This is a FAST party. I don't play Mooks or Dwarfs or any other race with a speed less than 45 unless it has a SPEED class requirement of 50 or better.

Why the emphasis on speed? Is in order to get the initiative in combat?

Cerberus

And Thanks for the welcome, WarHammer

[ 02-28-2002: Message edited by: Cerberus ]</p>

as for party creation, go with what you like, and what works for you. myself, my latest party is definitely an advanced one, with no pure magic users. Hobbit samurai, dwarf lord, human monk, human ranger, hobbit gadgeteer/thief (explanation in a sec) and mook bard. hobbit samurai is good all around, no area is seriously lacking. dwarf lord gets dmg resistance, and lotsa HP and str. human monk and ranger, again no deficiencies. my hobbit theif/gadgeteer, while his omnigun will advance slower, his first 2 levels and 1 every 10 after that will be thief, for the benefit of stealth... an extra 3 ac out of nowhere makes a nice difference. the mook bard, because they get lots of Sta and carry capacity with high vit and str. my bard has 5 HP less than my lord in my party right now. he also helps alot with his sword. I have enough instruments/gadgets to cover about half the usefull spells in the game, with the frontline fighters contributing as well, although their spell levels are a little behind what a normal party would be at this point. I just got the heal all instrument for my bard, and i'm doing great!

Your party might start a little slowly, but by midgame you'll have no problems -- a powerful bard/gadgeteer/bishop combination will ensure that -- if it's what you want to do, go for it!

[ 02-28-2002: Message edited by: Solomon ]</p>

ratchild,

The leveling method you are using for your hobbit thief/gadgeteer sounds interesting. Have you gone far enough to see if it is really viable?

Also, I read on another board some comments about an all hobbit party. Sounds like a fun diversion to me!

Cerberus

Hi,

Since u're running a hybrid party, I'd recommend dropping the bard coz it peaks and plateaus much earlier than the rest. Unless u want to switch it to a ranger...then you can drop the ranger. Then I'd replace that with a faerie ninja coz the CoC is unbelievable. But that's just my opinion =)

I kindof have a similar party. Mine's

Human Samurai - LS, Enchanted Wakizashi
Faerie Ninja - CoC, Winterwand
Human Monk - MA, Zaitoichi Bo
Human Lord - Fang, Diamond Eyes
Hobbit Gadgeteer - Omnigun
Elf Bishop (4 realms)

I love this party coz I've got 2 casters for each of the 2 realms. No ammo needed except for Gadgeteer, so my payload is low and AC/attacks are maximised for melee. All the others spend time building up their spell realms. Currently, my samurai is averaging over 200+ damage with 1 crit per combat while my ninja is doing close to that with 2 crits per combat (and paralyzing/poisoning almost half the targets). Amazing. And my bishop's got almost every spell worth having. The Gadgeteer is firing off medusa stones and lightning bolts, tsunamis and earthquakes. Amazingly fun. =)

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Cerberus:
Why the emphasis on speed? Is in order to get the initiative in combat?
[ 02-28-2002: Message edited by: Cerberus ]<hr></blockquote>

Initiative, yes. Higher speed also gives you additional swings per attack and raises your base armor class.

I was thinking that at some point I may switch the Bard to a Rogue for the PickPocket skill, which is absent here, but I'm not sure what that ponit will be. From info on the boards I'd say either after level 14 or 18. If I change classes will my Music skill continue to increase with practice or will it be frozen?

BTW, I started this party up last night and so far it is doing very well. Everyone is level 3 - 4 and I am about to move into the upper part of the Lower Monastery. I am taking things slow and looking for battles since my multiclass types require so much XP to advance. I'd like them all to be about level 7 - 8 before I head for Arnika.

Thanks for all the help,

Cerberus

Doh! I must be blind! Bards have the Pickpocket skill already! So skip that part about changing her class...

[ 03-01-2002: Message edited by: Cerberus ]</p>