i keep getting killed, need party help

[whick3]

hello there, I've tried to beat this game for wow, 2 years now, I've been playing it alot now, first off i get killed so easy, bad luck i don't know, but the skill is even on novice and the monsters are like 4-5 lvls higher than me.

First off i can't seem to find a party i really like, my normal parties are, fighter,ranger, sam, FN, bard, lord. I don't see all the talk about a bard, FN is so slow at first, but after coc its all good. I guess i'm looking for the "super" party but how the game was built there is no such thing. My next party is going to be a FN, Liz Fighter, Mook fighter, hobbit sam, and an elf bishop, i would like my 6th character to be a magic user of some sort.
IF you have any advice on this party I will make in the future, please post.

2nd, when i get around lvl 9-12 the monsters just out number me, and out lvl me, I need to do some more lvling up I guess, I read people talking about spending hours in the monastery. When do monsters respawn??? Is there an ideal level to be before moving on? This is my main question here.

Some more thoughts
When I use my ranger or sam, it takes forever for them to get any points in magic, and when they are around 12th lvl, the simple spells they cast do about 8 damage, not worth it at all, and the spells they get to pick are pretty much useless I have found out. Maybe I'm going at this the wrong way, or its my playing style.

Please post any ideas, thoughts, I'm willing to try anything

Thanks

[Gimli]

"...FN, Liz Fighter, Mook fighter, hobbit sam, and an elf bishop."

The FN and Lizzie Fighter are very powerful choices. The Mook won't be too shabby either (don't want to spoil you but there is a great sword only Mooks can use that can always be had). Hobbits make very good Samurai, and Elves are a great choice for a Bishop, so I think this is a pretty strong group. There are alot of ways you could go with your last character. To make developing the Bishop easier, you could take another Bishop and have each work on 2 schools only. You have no locks/traps guy yet, so you could also try a Bard or Gadgie and get that skill plus some more magic. I would go with a Bard for the unlimited Haste spells (again don't want to spoil you but there is a Bardic instrument which can always be found that can cast Haste).

"2nd, when i get around lvl 9-12 the monsters just out number me, and out lvl me, I need to do some more lvling up I guess, I read people talking about spending hours in the monastery. When do monsters respawn??? Is there an ideal level to be before moving on? This is my main question here."

Where are you when you hit that level? Some areas in the game are definitely tougher than others. Also if you find yourself outnumbered in general, try to use the terrain to your advantage - if you can find a "bottleneck", ie, a doorway, cave, etc, try to position yourself so that you are only dealing with one monster at a time. Also *always* have every protective spell you know up at all times.

"Some more thoughts
When I use my ranger or sam, it takes forever for them to get any points in magic, and when they are around 12th lvl, the simple spells they cast do about 8 damage, not worth it at all, and the spells they get to pick are pretty much useless I have found out. Maybe I'm going at this the wrong way, or its my playing style."

It definitely takes more effort to develop a hybrid's magic but it can be done. My own style with them is to focus on only 2 or 3 realms and try to be strong in those and forget the others. Getting good in divine magic is the easiest for a hybrid early on IMO since you can cast lots of heal wounds spells. Basically if you want the skills to develop, use your spells often in combat and devote some level-up points to them as well. When I ran FNs for example, I abandoned throwing weapons completely post-CoC and cast spells for all ranged combat (develops alchemy and spares me from having to uncurse him a million times to use throwing weapons with the CoC).

[Nightowl2]

The "super party" is the one that's right for you. The game is designed so that almost any group can get through with proper play, but the actual mix is a matter of personal preference and playing style. Many players like hybrids, but I've never been all that fond of them myself. So you'll be getting some tips from those people soon, I'm sure.

The lower monastery respawns constantly. You just keep walking around (or resting) and they keep showing up. Best place to rest is in one of those two small cells, in a corner out of sight of a door (those doors have windows and critters can see you).

The problem is that it's very, very boring. I've stayed in Lower section in some games up to 11 (for portal spells) and I dunno how I managed to keep with it.

Nightowl2

[GMK]

Well your first party lacks a pure protection caster, things like magic shield, soul shield, element shield, magic screen help so much, and a pure caster can get them 4 levels earlier, and generally cast them at higher powers. As to your hybrids, i tend to use mine to cast buffs and status spells rather than damage spells. By the time they get magic monster hp's are too high for you to really damage them. Whereas a good paralyse works on anything [img]smile.gif[/img] (given resistances ofc). their magics wont be so high, but you can use your ranger to mix potions and raise his alchemy.

As to the bard. a very powerful class. If you dont already, get a list of instruments from somewhere so you can make sure you get the effective ones as you pass. There are two certain 'guitars' (lute shapes) that are incredibly useful in combat. I normally build my bard as a dual wield fighter, pump 2 into str and spd, 1 into vit and dex. The str and vit give him stamina for his instruments. I give him a crtain sword that mimics a certain fighter ability and a nice dagger you can buy from antone, usually, and he rules on the front line. Obviously not as good as a pure fighter, but its not a compromise, really. you need to put 0 (zero) points into music, as long as you use instruments in every battle you can (use weapons only when trying to raise skills, or in hard battles), so you can concentrate (presumably) on your locks and traps (again dont need much here, it will build itself after a while) and dual wield/sword skills. When looking at him this way, a good fighter (not as good as rogue/fighter, maybe not valk or sam) but also has access to some of the most powerful spells in the game on his instruments, and he can be incredibly effective.

If you run into fights that are too hard, run. Period. Sometimes the spawns are horrible and gang up on you, and theres nothing to do but escape and come back a few levels later to get revenge .

on your sixth party member. Your bishop can take most necessary spells for the rest of the party while the hybrids wait to get them, but if you want to go with another caster i think any would do, personally i like alchemists, so thats what i would do. It looks like a well balanced party, although personally i would take a bard/gadgeteer (my fave class endgame)/rogue over the mook fighter, unless you have an eye on that sword . Good luck with whatever you decide to take in the end.

[ 03-07-2004, 10:56 AM: Message edited by: GMK ]

[Ben Lauritson]

The first party I completed the game with was:

Lizardman Fighter
Lizardman Fighter
Mook Psionic
Dwarf Priest
Faerie Alchemist
Faerie Mage

However, I'd reccomend the next party over the first one, since the first one has no one for locks & traps:

Lizardman Fighter
Hobbit Rogue
Mook Psionic
Dwarf Priest
Faerie Alchemist
Faerie Mage

Basically you'll have all four spellcasters, and since all the party is specialist/pure caster, you'll level up fairly quickly compared to hybrid parties for example.

[ScottG]

hmmm, perhaps you missed my article above "The Beginner's Reference"

I know its long, but please try reading through the entire thing.

You'll find that most of your difficulties are not related to your party - but instead to the way you utilize your party during combat.

As far as the party itself is concerned GMK has pointed out the real weakness you'll have - magic resistance spell casting.

[Aelia Jusa]

Just to add to what others have said, I found that the easiest way to say alive when traveling was to always hug the walls. Most areas like the arnika-trynton road, and the wildernesses, have roads, but don't use them! Walk up on the raised sides against the wall, that way when monsters come into view you can easily back up so your weakest members in the back can't be targetted as easily. Make sure your configuration is the best it can be too. I don't like to have anyone in the front - I have my tough guys in the middle or on the sides (depending on how many people you have), then weakies at the back. You don't want to spread out too much because if monsters get on your flanks, people up the front may not be able to reach them if they're not using long weapons so you waste time having to move to reach them.

Also, make sure you use protection spells. As soon as you can cast missile shield, have it up at all times, as strong as you can. Same with magic screen and armourplate. And as soon as they are offered, take element shield and soul shield and use them in battle against casters. They soak up a lot of damage.

Finally, some areas have much tougher monsters than others. Monster level is dependent on your level, however some areas have like a minimum level requirement and if you go too early, the monsters will be way way above you. It's generally best to head for arnika after you do the monastery and then to trynton. I would say going to the northern wilderness straight after the monastery (unless you've spent a lot of time leveling up in the monastery) would be too difficult.

[Ragash]

I stopped playing full parties a while ago. I created a party with a Lord, a Valkyrie, a Bard and a Bishop, and they owned heavily. I have a problem with xp sharing which is why this works best for me, 4 party members at the most. If I let anyone tag along, it's usually Vi in the beginning if I need more muscle then, and RFS later on. I tend to avoid it tho.

Then I was lead onto the path of soloing and the game was never more fun [img]tongue.gif[/img] No xp sharing *at all*! It can be a pain really early on though, since everything will basically kill you if you don't watch your step, and it can get boring past level 25 since you just butcher everything. But in between that it's a riot [img]tongue.gif[/img] You should try it.

Anyway, I'd recommend reducing the party size to level faster and get beefier quickly. It may seem like weird advice, but you could always try it. As for which classes to play, I'll follow the line of the others; what's right for you.

As for offensive magic, I never bothered with it much since I'm disappointed by the damage output. I use high level spells like Falling Stars and the like to clear out armies of smaller enemies that I can't bother walking up to, like millipedes and stuff.