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Fantasm · 01-31-2002, 08:14 PM

To the original poster, your second party is EXACTLY like MY 2nd party. =) It's the one I'm currently playing now, and it's the one I'm going all the way through with.

Like you, I wanted to maximize my "fun" factor, and that meant having both a bard and a gadgeteer, so I could actually use all this nifty stuff I was finding. I love my ranger too, and after reading posts on here about developing powerful bishops by not using spellpicks early on, I chose to go that route and have just one pure caster (she's level 14 now and simply rocks

. Having a Bishop, a Bard, and a Gadgeteer is great; I really think that a bard and a gadgeteer suppelements my Bishop's magic VERY nicely. Even at 14-15th level, they're still providing needed magic help with some of the stuff they find (I swear the Siren's Wail must be permanently glued to my bard's lips

.

As for your Samurai, refer to the post I made earlier today in response to somebody complaining about their Samurai (the one that talks about his party's exploits up 'til now). Basically, the ideal use of a Samurai IMO, at least in Wiz8, is to equip them with Bloodlust and an enchanted Wakizashi, and use their magic for all ranged attacks. Instead of building up a bow skill, build up their magic by ALWAYS casting a spell if you're not in melee range. By going this route, I have developed a very powerful character who can cast Freeze All and then walk up and chop away for either 4 or 6 attacks with each weapon (2 attacks each with either 2 or 3 swings per attack), with Bloodlust doing double damage. With only one pure caster, it's almost like having a bad-ass mage in the party to get off extra attack spells while the monsters are still far away...

Ironically enough, I consider the weakest link in my party to be my fighter. Without any intention of doing so, I have what is essentially a range-heavy party; I ALWAYS stand still and cast magic and fire bows/omnigun in the first round or two, and by the time I get close to the enemies or they finally make their way to me, the opportunity for melee attacks is quite small; usually a couple swings here and there will finish them off. And since my fighter is a lizardman, his speed and senses sucked at first, meaning he usually went last, and only got the scraps that my samurai and ranger (and later RFS-81) had left over (which usually wasn't much

. I felt good if he got 2 swings in during combat.

At level 16, his sword skill is only 78 and his close combat is 76 (and that's with his class bonus

. On the plus side, he likes his triple-crossbow quite nicely, and kicks major booty with it (his bow skill is in the 60s). I figure him advancing slowly isn't so bad, since the knock on fighters is that they usually get boring at higher levels. I guess I'm keeping things interesting by growing him at a snail's pace. =)

If I had to do it over again, I would make a valkyrie instead of a fighter, and leave everything else the same. I'm just now entering the water to go to Bayjin, and I find myself very reluctant to give up Vi. That extra heal or paralyze spell came in handy a few times, and a good polearm can do almost as much damage as a fighter's berserk attack.

01-31-2002, 08:14 PM	#6
Fantasm Elite Waterdeep Guard Join Date: January 9, 2002 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 17	To the original poster, your second party is EXACTLY like MY 2nd party. =) It's the one I'm currently playing now, and it's the one I'm going all the way through with. Like you, I wanted to maximize my "fun" factor, and that meant having both a bard and a gadgeteer, so I could actually use all this nifty stuff I was finding. I love my ranger too, and after reading posts on here about developing powerful bishops by not using spellpicks early on, I chose to go that route and have just one pure caster (she's level 14 now and simply rocks . Having a Bishop, a Bard, and a Gadgeteer is great; I really think that a bard and a gadgeteer suppelements my Bishop's magic VERY nicely. Even at 14-15th level, they're still providing needed magic help with some of the stuff they find (I swear the Siren's Wail must be permanently glued to my bard's lips . As for your Samurai, refer to the post I made earlier today in response to somebody complaining about their Samurai (the one that talks about his party's exploits up 'til now). Basically, the ideal use of a Samurai IMO, at least in Wiz8, is to equip them with Bloodlust and an enchanted Wakizashi, and use their magic for all ranged attacks. Instead of building up a bow skill, build up their magic by ALWAYS casting a spell if you're not in melee range. By going this route, I have developed a very powerful character who can cast Freeze All and then walk up and chop away for either 4 or 6 attacks with each weapon (2 attacks each with either 2 or 3 swings per attack), with Bloodlust doing double damage. With only one pure caster, it's almost like having a bad-ass mage in the party to get off extra attack spells while the monsters are still far away... Ironically enough, I consider the weakest link in my party to be my fighter. Without any intention of doing so, I have what is essentially a range-heavy party; I ALWAYS stand still and cast magic and fire bows/omnigun in the first round or two, and by the time I get close to the enemies or they finally make their way to me, the opportunity for melee attacks is quite small; usually a couple swings here and there will finish them off. And since my fighter is a lizardman, his speed and senses sucked at first, meaning he usually went last, and only got the scraps that my samurai and ranger (and later RFS-81) had left over (which usually wasn't much . I felt good if he got 2 swings in during combat. At level 16, his sword skill is only 78 and his close combat is 76 (and that's with his class bonus . On the plus side, he likes his triple-crossbow quite nicely, and kicks major booty with it (his bow skill is in the 60s). I figure him advancing slowly isn't so bad, since the knock on fighters is that they usually get boring at higher levels. I guess I'm keeping things interesting by growing him at a snail's pace. =) If I had to do it over again, I would make a valkyrie instead of a fighter, and leave everything else the same. I'm just now entering the water to go to Bayjin, and I find myself very reluctant to give up Vi. That extra heal or paralyze spell came in handy a few times, and a good polearm can do almost as much damage as a fighter's berserk attack.