[Nerull]

Volothamp's Comeuppance is probably one of the best guides out there for newer players to the game, and even has some great tips for more experienced players. However, here are some general tips:

• Is this your first time through the game? Then definitely get some people in the party. I would get at least 2 warrior types, one thief or thief/mage combo, and definitely at least one cleric. If you are new, then you need all of the backup you can get.
• Look at the formation buttons on the bottom of the screen. Choose one that puts your character in a better protected position (there is one that surrounds you with the other characters, leaving you well protected). Do NOT go near the enemy combatants until you are very familiar with the game, and what spells you need to survive. Swordplay is for the warriors; you are mobile artillery, and need to stay out of harm's way.
• If you are playing a mage, make sure to memorize the spells you want right when you wake up in the beginning of the game, then rest right away. Otherwise, you have no spells, and will need them to get out of the first area.
• Spell selection during character creation is a huge deal in the beginning (as you start finding and scribing scrolls, it will become less of an issue). Don't just take the offensive spells, as there are some good defensive spells out there that will help you greatly. Sure, magic missile and fireball are more flashy and more pleasing to use, but spells like mirror image, stoneskin, in the beginning mage armor, etc. will keep you alive long enough to use those flashy spells. Don't overlook protection from normal weapons, protection from normal missiles, protection from magic weapons, etc. The mage is the most fragile in physical combat, so you have to protect them long enough to dish out the damage you want to do.
• Go to the Options screen, choose Gameplay, choose the Autopause options, then make sure to highlight many of those, especially "enemy sighted", "trap detected", and "spell cast". This will pause the game when those things happen, allowing you an opportunity to give orders to everyone, which they will perform when unpaused. Makes you FAR more efficient in combat, as you are not trying to give orders while everything is going on at the same time. Also, make sure to pause regularly during combat to give out orders. If you find you are forgetting that, choose the Autopause option "end of turn". Turns last 6 seconds, thus every six seconds the game will stop and wait for you to give orders. This will get tedious after a while, so once you get the hang of things turn this off.
• Stats are important for a mage. Sure, you may want that high intelligence, but make sure that dexterity and constitution get nods, too. Dexterity improves your AC (chance of enemies missing you) and hit chance with missile weapons (to do damage to enemies when spells get low, or the enemy is too weak to waste spells on), and a constitution up to 16 gives you bonus hit points (no additional benefit for constitution past 16, however). Mages get precious few hp, so the more the better. And if you can improve your chance of the enemies missing you, so much the better.
• Make sure to visit the link above, and don't be afraid of asking questions. We are very helpful here, though my suggestion would be to try and play through without asking for spoilers (i.e. "the frost reaver is in this place, and this is how you beat the guardians"). It is much more fun to find out things on your own; it makes it a more enjoyable experience. The game has a lot of replay value, so if you miss stuff you can always hit that stuff the next time you play.

Oh, and by the way, WELCOME TO IRONWORKS FORUM! [img]graemlins/thewave.gif[/img]