When I had my bishop in back, the grouping pic showed her facing backward. Then in melee she would take more damage by being hit from behind! I got tired of this and moved her up to the middle. She is much better now. I have RFS so have 2 on left and 2 on right and 3 in middle. She gains more protection (except from certain enemies who hate magic users) by being one of three targets and by facing forward. Sometimes the other members also have screwy directions of attack and are vulnerable. I guess this depends on a number of things, like from where you are being attacked, who you are targeting, and where you are in the group. Any thoughts here?

[ 09-10-2003, 07:27 PM: Message edited by: Ziggurat ]

i'm a big fan of the empty front with a line of melee'rs across the middle. so, i've experienced the same frustration with vulnerable, backward-facing spell-caster(s) in the back row.

i've been moving towards extended range weapons so that i can put three on the outer shell (left, front, right) who can each cover the adjacent zones (eg left can cover left and front), putting the spell-caster(s) in the middle, facing forward.

i'm not entirely pleased with this solution, primarily due to the lack of continuity between the better extended range weapons at the various stages of the game. maybe i should consider a focus on ranged weapons... hmm....

so on the back of that, i'd say you may be on to something, particularly for large parties where damage can be spread around. also, it's a great excuse for the bishop to cast guardian angel and body of stone on herself.

If you build your party sideways, then turn the side with the tanks to the enemy when you engage, then nobody is facing the wrong way. (instead of your combat line LeftCenterRight with casters in Back, try making the line FrontCenterBack with casters on Left or Right, then do a 90 when you engage: the rear-facing ones will then be facing sideways to the enemy until they start swinging, and can't get hit from behind.)

Formations are very Party-dependent, but I have played enough similar parties to get a feel for a good way to play the particular type I do. My party is typically Bard, the four "Mustcasters" and a ranged character, Gadgeteer or Ranger.

It varies, but I often have Vi and RFS-81 along.

With these 8 a typical formation, for my current preferrences is Bard and Vi with a Sword definitely (yeah maybe Polearms with her bonus are better... so sue me) in the front row. With the Monk RFS-81, lately I have been going with a Bo and Sling, rather than Martial Arts (again ignoring the Bonus). I either put the Priest with a Mace in the front row and RFS on a flank, or RFS in the front row and Priest with a Whip on the flank. The other flank is filled by the Alchemist with a Staff.

Both the Mage and Psionic, in the center are equipped with a Staff, but all of their Combat Skill increases are focused on the Sling and Ranged Combat. The Range - Focus character, Gadgeteer or Ranger, is placed in the back row. With the front and middle both containing characters, even extended range monsters in front of the party can't reach the rear ranks. The rear-facing for this character is exactly what I want since it doesn't matter for their Ranged Attacks and has them facing the right way if surrounded.

I think this kind of formation is why it works the way it does, but it would be nice if one could control the facing of characters in the back row or have it done intelligently so they always face the nearest enemy.

..having used a 4 member party the last two games I don't think I could ever go back to more than that; I'm just having too much fun with four.

Three's even more fun--no formation issues at all, just put'm all in the Center!