Is this game really hard?

[ebayles]

Or am I missing something. I finished the Tryton quest (which was difficult) and went to the swamp. I am dying just about every battle-at least one of my guys for sure. Since I dont have the money to keep buying resurrection, I just have to restart. It takes like an hour to get by each battle because I keep dying. My characters are mostly lvl 9 with 2 lvl 10's-is this too early to be in the swamp? Should I go else where? Am I just stupid?

Any advice appreciated.....

[jfunk]

YOu can lower the difficulty to novice if you want.

You could also go back and level up some. If this is your first time through, it is also possible that you just haven't leveled your characters in an efficient manner and they are not as powerful as they could be.

Try reading some of the character hints posted by other users here and see how you match up with their various strategies. You're still pretty early so its not a big deal to restart now if you wanna try a different party (it will go A LOT faster your second time through).

My characters didn't have TOO much trouble in the swamp about 1-2 levels higher than yours, but then again I avoid a lot of combats when I am in an area the first time and don't know how far to a safe area, and they are also my third party and are much more powerful than my first attempted party.

j

[Knip Dyolf]

ebayles;
1. you are not stupid
2. what characters do you have?
3. are you being surrounded all the time? Keep next to the hills to prevent this.
4. set difficulty level to novice (if it isnt already)
5. I found the swamp area hard also but not to the extent you are experiencing. It may be too soon for you. My av level was about 12. There are some tough monsters in the swamp. I found shielding spells very useful.
6. If you have at least three good melee fighters in your party initate battle first and run up to them (have your spell casters prepare their shield spells first). If your initiative is high enough you will get a couple of hits in first and your spell casters will cast before the enemy knows what hit them. This tactic worked for me most of the time and still does. (I have made it to Rapax Rift so far)

Knip

[Warhammer]

Did you manage to kill the rattkin breeders with your party ? (That's what you ment by saying "finished the Trynton quest" ?)

If you did you should be able to tackle the swamp.

I have finished the game twice, on normal level, with an average of 3 deaths per game. Not boasting, but if your characters keep dying you may be doing something wrong.

Just one general advice: Focus all your points into 2 attributes and 3 skills per character.

One more specific advice: Many swamp dwellers (Seekers, a variety of flying bugs and slimes...) have attacks that can be deflected by the "Missile Shield" spell,...

[krayzkrok]

Throughout the game, I've found that if I'm having serious difficulty in an area, there's somewhere else that I should be instead. [img]smile.gif[/img] When I first entered the swamp, I spent most of my time avoiding the red dots on the radar. The occasional encounter was spent with much running away to find a safe spot. Eventually, it was all too much and I retreated with tail between legs. After travelling back along the Arnika road (which was still tough back then) I decided to try going to Mt Gigas instead. I hadn't been there yet! About three days of play later, I found myself ready to give the swamp another try. With my newly acquired missile shield, and a more savvy party (and player) I was able to do pretty well.

Until, at least, I started to find those spellcasters! Aaargh... I remember considering writing a message to a forum asking for helping fighting spellcasters, but again I figured I was in the wrong area at the wrong time. I think the difficulty balance on Wizardry 8 is absolutely perfect because it's so non-linear.

Yesterday, I finally beat Nessie. [img]smile.gif[/img] Last week I got slaughtered, but after exploring Bayjin and more of the upper levels of Mt Gigas, I felt I was ready at last. I lost my faery mage to two earthquake spells, but otherwise it went swimmingly.

krok

[ebayles]

Thanks for the advice. I think I may have spent too many points eraly on in skills I didnt need. I figured being balanced would be a better choice. Whoops. Bunch of really average nice guys. Oh well.
My party is Myles and Vi...then
Lvl 9 Samurai Human
Lvl 9 Mook Ranger
Lvl 9 Hobbit Thief
Lvl 9 Elf Bishop
Lvl 10 Human? Mage
Lvl 10 Dracon Figher
Gave bloodlust to the fighter....which is great-but especailly in the swamp he rarely gets an attack, unless i move-which often results in a wasted turn. I think I missed a bunch of stuff in the monastary because I just whipped through there. But yeah, even the Tryton/Arnika road is a tough spot. Maybe I should leave the swamp and head back? Seems like all is done for me in Arnika...where to? I think I made bad spell choices with my mage too (Shrill Sound?-Sounded cool...sucks IMO)..thanks folks!

I waited forever to go back into the swamp after being handed my hiney over and over and over again LOL.
It is a tough map!

I went back and forth down Arnika-Trynton road until I leveled up enough to survive those pesky swamp critters. I don't remember what level I was when I did go back mainly ecause I explored as much of the map including some of the Northern Wilderness before I tried again.
I am mainly making this post to tell you not to write off shrill sound completely...it is good to scare off as few critters and fight them one on one after the initial battle rather than to try to take on the whole pack at once. Packing a lot of Cure Poison potions helps too...that's what killed me most often at least, not having any. [img]graemlins/1dizzy.gif[/img]
My favorite swamp spells: Fireball, Iceball and Whipping Rocks. Even Energy Blast came in handy a few times. It is onr of the best places for gaining skills in magic lol.

[Nightowl2]

One of the most important things is to develop your spellcasters properly. In particular, you want them to have protective spells and group disabling spells early on. Enchanted Blade, Armorplate, Missile Shield are the first to come along. Then Noxious Fumes. Insanity. Your bishop and mage between them can learn these by the time you head out from the monastery.

Magic screen is another one to have; you can usually buy this from Braffit. Later you can learn Element Shield and Soul Shield.

Bloodlust is a nice weapon, but not worthwhile for the straight Fighter. Fighters can fight berserk naturally. Give it to your thief, who will do great damage with it. They always attack via backstab for 2x damage, and Bloodlust's berserk mode will bring that to 3x.

Nightowl2

[Xerin]

Hi. I'd have to say my favorite spells are paralyze and freeze flesh. When a monster is paralyzed it is easier to hit and you generally do more damage. If you need a place to rest in the swamp, I was told go to the abandoned huts. There are 2. Resting there doesn't prevent encounters but it will prevent monsters flanking and attacking from behind.

[ebayles]

with my bishop and mage, I still havent had the insanity spell choice. What's up with that?