Party Recommendation

[Vraul]

I have tried all different sorts of party combinations, and I think the best method is to pick class/race combinations based on the items you know will exist. Also I favor melee. I've read the posts about using magic, but in my experience, excluding defense, magic pecks later in the game.

Along those lines:

Lizardman Fighter: (Fang or Ivory Blade or Light Sword and Diamond Eyes)
Mook Fighter: (Giant Sword (30% Knock Out))
Mook Fighter: (Giant Sword (30% Knock Out))
Fairie Ninja: (Cane of Corpus (paralyze, poison, critical))
Mook Ranger: (Eagle Eye Bow & Giant Sword)
Elf Bishop: (Staff of Doom (various))

RFS: (Zatiochi Bo (various))

Line these guys up across the middle and sides, with the Ranger and Bishop in the back.

Indestructible at every phase of the game.

nice combo vraul. you also nicely explained your reasoning. it's always great to get other people's experiences and strategies, both for new ideas and for comparison.

now that you've found your ideal, perhaps the next challenge is to play something 180 degrees away from it.

[Scatter]

You forgot Samurai for Muramasa, Monk for Zatoichi, and maybe a non-Valk to take advantage of Dread Spear's 20% Polearm bonus (eg Fighter with Close bonus) and the unbeatable combo of Lord (Dual bonus) with Mauler (Mace bonus) and Diamond Eyes (works sooooo much better with that combo of boni)

[ 10-23-2003, 10:39 PM: Message edited by: Scatter ]

[HolyWarrior]

Too many tanks for my taste. I like more magic in my party.

scatter - you're spot on with the muramassa and zatoichi, those are good choices. unfortunately, i've found the muramassa almost impossible to get. and the monk, with 25% bonus to martial arts, doesnt really get better with a weapon. but the zat bo at least makes it a choice (rather than being forced to default to MA).

regarding the valk and dread spear, the valk gets a 25% bonus to polearm, which means the dread spear bonus is virtually wasted.

and my personal experience with dual mace, with both lords and fighters, is that they're strong, but there are multiple swords available that are better (more damage, faster swings, comparable effects such as KO, IK). and in spite of less damage, the 10% IK on the stilleto makes it a decent alternative to DE.

[Scatter]

"regarding the valk and dread spear, the valk gets a 25% bonus to polearm, which means the dread spear bonus is virtually wasted."

err, that's why i said a Non-Valk for Dread. Another example for Dread would be Ranger, who then has a bonus for both ranged and close combat.

(edit: From the 100 or so reloads to get it, I estimate Muramasa around 15%, a bit less than Light, but it's not really all that much to reload--no fights, just a lot of getting stuff and operating the environment.)

[ 10-24-2003, 12:23 AM: Message edited by: Scatter ]

[Ziggurat]

Some of you guys sound like you are going for power alone. Many parties work well but are not ideal. You just have to develop them, best you can. Of course, go for the best weapons. 2nd (or 3rd) best works pretty well. I win with less than perfect.

I remember going after Excaliber (or *Light Sword*). Wasted much time on them. Sometimes you get it, but move on if you don't if it goes past the hassle factor. I rarely got them, if ever. (Never got a *Light Sword* dammit) Depends on your patience. You can win without the best weapons. Perhaps I am sorry for this pragmatic view. I don't have the insistance of some here. Feel free to flame me if this is too alien a concept of building the party that works without being uber. But make them a strong party as best you can.

I've had a long day (week). The stitches come out tomorrow. Stupid fall at a RenFest. I blame it on Sir Treemaine DeRoot. Decent duel but he was a low character.

[Scatter]

LOL!
For my part, i just throw out suggestions. I learned from my 3 Ironmode wins, from 12 IM starts, about winning without reloading to get Item X.
And for some of my games i still like the idea of getting the uberest stuff as young as possible, my record now is Light with a Duet (Bard and Bishop) on Normal at L12...

[Ziggurat]

I heard you can reload in IM mode, just harder. Never tried it. Is there some trick to it? My guess is you can't save without quitting.

apologies, scatter. clearly i misread your post.

after 30+ tries, i've never gotten the muramassa. my wife's gotten it twice tho. (on the other hand, i've had two light swords, and she's never seen it )

in spite of the advice i give on powering through at maximum effectiveness, i agree with zig that a lot of the fun comes from the challenge of making work a concept party, particularly ones that dont suit my "natural" style.