initiative is crucial to getting your hits in before the baddies.
my teammates have 62-69 in both Speed & Senses (base level before adding in stat building equipment) and always get the drop on the baddies. i plan on taking that up to 70, base stat, then stopping (except for rogue, sam and ranger who will keep soaring till they get SnakeSpeed and Reflexion!)
i beleive its also important to start the combat yourself. if they initiate it, they get the first round. in my game usually 2 monsters will go first when that occurs.
if you find anything that adds to speed or senses, buy it! equip it!!
i always add points to Spd/Sns at character creation to the ones that are low. and at every level up Speed +1, Senses +1, unless its a rogue, samurai or ranger, where Dex, Speed, Senses are the most important stats to raise. ::still drooling over snakespeed and reflexion::
i avoid the races that are low in that area also. my first 2 groups had members with extremely low spd/sns and i NEVER got them up to a level where they could be first in line.
so, i ended up having to weigh them down with heavy armor and just let them absorb the damage, instead.
V***V
[ 01-25-2002: Message edited by: vesselle ]