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leptomeninges · 09-28-2006, 02:42 AM

A few random thoughts and suggestions... Take them or leave them as you will

Dwarven Fighter "Norry"
I think the "fun" of the character always trumps powergaming. Besides, you may decide to play a second time with a different character composition.

Dracon Samurai "Aro"
The key reason to dual wield the swords is that every time you attack you have a chance to critical hit (instakill) or lightning strike, but it's not like there's a law or anything

On the other hand, I'd strongly recommend that you stop spreading stat points. The incremental benefit of having a samurai with slightly higher int for instance is much lower than unlocking powerstrike or iron skin earlier in the game. For most characters you'll only unlock two elite skills by a reasonable point in the game to level them up significantly. Exceptions to this are some "pure" classes and stat-rich races (Lizard, hobbit). For a samuri I'd go with STR and either VIT or DEX. Opinions are split on what is better, iron skin or reflextion. (Or at least they were when I played a lot. Perhaps it has been settled by now.) When leveling my samurai I rarely put points into swords as it leveled fast on its own. Most of my points went into criticals and wizardry with odd points into close combat or ranged weapons if I used them.

Felpurr Ninja "Ebon"
Just stick with it throwing-wise. The supply does improve a bit, but you always need to buy every throwable every vendor has. When visiting cities you may want to visit vendors multiple times to stock up.

Mook Bard "Naddy"
The best thing about bards is that they are strongest when your other characters are weakest (early and mid game). He will tail off a bit end-game, but the rest of your party will be so strong that it won't be noticable.

Rawulf Priest
The low spell points illustrates a few things. First, this is one other big benefit of a bishop. Since they unlock all spell schools they end up with far more spell points than any other caster class. Secondly, make sure you have at least one spell in each realm (earth, fire, etc.) and try to cast a spell from each realm in every fight. Every time you cast you get that chance to skill up (the chance increasing when you cast at orange or red difficulty). Having all realms maxed by endgame won't give you as many spell points as a bishop, but it makes a difference. Remember to put your points at level up into the priest spellbook rather than a realm whenever possible. There is a formula (that I can't recall) that determines the max spell level you can cast. It includes the realm, but is *heavily* biased to the spell school (ie: mage, priest). Another thing you can do to increase your spell points is to buy and learn every spell that you can. When playing with bishops you have to save your spell picks for spells that can't be purchased, but with pure casters you shouldn't have this problem.

Elven Mage "Ed"
As above I suspect that you'll want to advance all his realms if you can. Not only for the spells, but also for the spell points.

Answers to quesitons:
1) They will become available as you level. You won't struggle to find them as long as you level your main magical school first.

2) You're doing fine.

3) There are several tricks and secrets like this in the Monastery, but the nice thing is that none of the items or benefits are so important that if you miss them you're in trouble. If you want to avoid walkthroughs for now there really isn't any reason that you have to unlock these things. You will find better items than anything here later. Be aware that there is one area in the monastery that you can't access right now. You have to return later.

EDIT:
You can find a full listing of spells by spellbook and realm here:
http://www.flamestryke.com/wizardry8...llindexw8.html

[ 09-28-2006, 02:57 AM: Message edited by: leptomeninges ]

09-28-2006, 02:42 AM	#14
leptomeninges Elite Waterdeep Guard Join Date: November 6, 2003 Location: New York Age: 58 Posts: 34	A few random thoughts and suggestions... Take them or leave them as you will Dwarven Fighter "Norry" I think the "fun" of the character always trumps powergaming. Besides, you may decide to play a second time with a different character composition. Dracon Samurai "Aro" The key reason to dual wield the swords is that every time you attack you have a chance to critical hit (instakill) or lightning strike, but it's not like there's a law or anything On the other hand, I'd strongly recommend that you stop spreading stat points. The incremental benefit of having a samurai with slightly higher int for instance is much lower than unlocking powerstrike or iron skin earlier in the game. For most characters you'll only unlock two elite skills by a reasonable point in the game to level them up significantly. Exceptions to this are some "pure" classes and stat-rich races (Lizard, hobbit). For a samuri I'd go with STR and either VIT or DEX. Opinions are split on what is better, iron skin or reflextion. (Or at least they were when I played a lot. Perhaps it has been settled by now.) When leveling my samurai I rarely put points into swords as it leveled fast on its own. Most of my points went into criticals and wizardry with odd points into close combat or ranged weapons if I used them. Felpurr Ninja "Ebon" Just stick with it throwing-wise. The supply does improve a bit, but you always need to buy every throwable every vendor has. When visiting cities you may want to visit vendors multiple times to stock up. Mook Bard "Naddy" The best thing about bards is that they are strongest when your other characters are weakest (early and mid game). He will tail off a bit end-game, but the rest of your party will be so strong that it won't be noticable. Rawulf Priest The low spell points illustrates a few things. First, this is one other big benefit of a bishop. Since they unlock all spell schools they end up with far more spell points than any other caster class. Secondly, make sure you have at least one spell in each realm (earth, fire, etc.) and try to cast a spell from each realm in every fight. Every time you cast you get that chance to skill up (the chance increasing when you cast at orange or red difficulty). Having all realms maxed by endgame won't give you as many spell points as a bishop, but it makes a difference. Remember to put your points at level up into the priest spellbook rather than a realm whenever possible. There is a formula (that I can't recall) that determines the max spell level you can cast. It includes the realm, but is heavily biased to the spell school (ie: mage, priest). Another thing you can do to increase your spell points is to buy and learn every spell that you can. When playing with bishops you have to save your spell picks for spells that can't be purchased, but with pure casters you shouldn't have this problem. Elven Mage "Ed" As above I suspect that you'll want to advance all his realms if you can. Not only for the spells, but also for the spell points. Answers to quesitons: 1) They will become available as you level. You won't struggle to find them as long as you level your main magical school first. 2) You're doing fine. 3) There are several tricks and secrets like this in the Monastery, but the nice thing is that none of the items or benefits are so important that if you miss them you're in trouble. If you want to avoid walkthroughs for now there really isn't any reason that you have to unlock these things. You will find better items than anything here later. Be aware that there is one area in the monastery that you can't access right now. You have to return later. EDIT: You can find a full listing of spells by spellbook and realm here: http://www.flamestryke.com/wizardry8...llindexw8.html [ 09-28-2006, 02:57 AM: Message edited by: leptomeninges ]