Development questions

[LewyRay]

I am now about halfway through my first game with my characters around level 15, So far doing pretty well in expert mode...although I am somewhat at a loss to know what to put further atribute points into.

For the most part, I have maxed two atributes for everyone...strength/vitality for the fighter, int and peity for the Bishop, etc.

The question I have is whether to switch strategies a bit and start spreading the points out a little more, or to continue to specialize. For example, my Monk has Dex and Spd maxed out. Is it best to dump everything now into Senses and Int, which are both in the 60-70 range, or to add points to Strength, vit, or peity which are all around 30-50?

Besides the 'power' skill, is there any other benefit to maxing out an atribute? Is it better to avoid low scores?

Thanks!

[Nightwing]

Low scores can give you penalties and the higher the score the better chance for success. Your monk will do more damage and have a better chance of knocking out his apponent if you raise his strength. Senses is going to help with how often you hit as well as how fast you move in a round, and it helps with ranged weapons. I think you would be better off still specializing instead of spreading things out. You may have 7 to 9 levels left before you end the game, so figure out what you want.

[Scatter]

Usually after i get the two first ones, i spread them more, most often 2 points per each of three attributes. Most of the time i finish the game before it's possible to max even a third one, and still less likely to have developed it enough to make much difference.
I always go for a Dex max ASAP for Reflextion, (and being able to hit all the time) which i then practise up to around 50 right away. Casters get Powercast and whackers get Powerstrike. Then mostly it's Speed, Vit, and Sen at 2 points each (or Str for anyone who's really weak).
All the times i tried out variations they didn't do as well.

[Klutz]

I tend to be very particular about this, and plan out where my attribute points will go from the very beginning up to well into the level 20s. Starting by maxing 2 key attributes is a good general idea, as that will get you two expert skills quickly. Sometimes I will do 3 key attributes initially, focusing on one and alternating between the other two.

If you've already maxed 2 attributes and are looking for other ones to add points to next, basically you want to assess the remaining attributes, character by character, and ask yourself which ones will give your character the most benefit. Wizardry 8 makes this difficult by making every attribute have at least some minor benefit to every character, but you can still prioritize. Keep in mind that for most characters, after maxing your first two attributes you won't have enough time/levels before the game ends to max any remaining attributes, so expert skills aren't a consideration for the remaining attributes.

Avoiding low scores: There's two distinct philosophies on this. Mine is that you should focus all your points into what you consider your character's most important attributes, and not worry about one or two low scores for your character in areas that are less important for that character's success. There are always costs, but by simply reading the manual and also looking at websites like Flamestrykes you can understand what you're giving up for those low attributes and understand how to compensate (or whether you need to at all).

You've only mentioned 3 particular characters in your party: Fighter (started with Str/Vit), Bishop (started with Int/Pie), and Monk (started with Dex/Spd). Without knowing what races they are or the rest of your party, here's some quick thoughts on them:

Fighter Str/Vit: Dex, Sen, and Spd are your next 3 candidates for selection. I'd definitely pick Dex to improve chance to hit and number of attacks. Sen vs Spd vs both... I'd pick Sen if I have someone that often casts Haste to buff your party, otherwise Spd or both to pick up both.

Bishop Int/Pie: In a party, Spd and Sen are almost definitely your next two attributes to max. Both improve your Bishop's initiative, which helps get spells off earlier in the round. Vit isn't a big deal as long as you can keep your Bishop away from the front line, and Str and Dex help with physical combat but not magic.

Monk Dex/Spd: I'd go with Str and Sen next. Str is very important for any Wiz8 melee combatant, monks included, granting bonuses to hit, damage, stamina, and skill improvements. Sen helps with initiative and is important for two key Monk skills: close combat and critical strike. Vit is nice, but Monks have stealth and damage resistance, which both reduce the need for it. Int is useful if you are a monk that casts spells often, but isn't as important for a primarily combat monk as the other options.

[Scatter]

I skip Piety completely on Bishops. They learn enough spells, and there are enough Mana regen items around that the increased SP from Piety is unimportant. Plus you can practise Divinity up very easily, so the faster learning is moot. Int is very important, though, as Powercast really makes a HUGE difference in overcoming enemy resistance, and a good Bishop will easily do much more damage in crowds with all the variety of attack magic. Powercast also helps overcasting; you get much less fizzling.
Usually i go INT 3 DEX 2 SPD 1 until maxing (95) INT, then DEX 3 SPD 1 (to 75 only--Super or Haste makes up the difference) and 1 each in STR and VIT. Continuing with VIT 2 STR 2 SEN 2 (The extra damage is lovely)

[ 02-16-2005, 07:47 PM: Message edited by: Scatter ]

[Ziggurat]

I generally build up Piety for mainly-magic-users (Mages, Alchemists and Bishops for me) to get more spell casts per battle. I think 70 is a good number. A high Piety char can end up with 500 points in a magic element (which is more than you need) so I don't go much above 70. The Iron Will skill you get with 100 doesn't seem to do much later in the game.

[Wereboar]

In one (expert ironman) game, i'm sure i only survived because of the iron will skill.

It was the SE wildernesse temple fight. Maybe i was at a too low level, maybe i just was unlucky - after the second round of combat, all of my party members were dead or unconscious (sp?), thanks to a toxic cloud. Fortunately, i had eye for an eye up, so the cultists and the summoned elementals were killed by reflected death clouds / death wishes. The sorceress and the death knights continued to cast damage and kill spells on me. The other party members eventually died on a death spell, or due to poison from the toxic cloud, or sinple from magic damage. About 10 combat rounds later, the priest awoke, and started to ressurrect the other party mambers.
I'm quite sure he survived that long due to his iron will.

[Pyrates]

I usually have 2 bishops in my party (just love these guys [img]smile.gif[/img] ), and I built all schools with both. Therefore, training is essentially, which means casting-as-much-as-possible in every combat, and so I need lots of magic points, even later in the game. So I push piety to 100, parallel to Int. It's just more fun to be able to cast so much [img]smile.gif[/img]

Also, Iron Will is awesome. You'll be facing more and more gazers later on, or monsters casting death clouds et al., and Iron Will REALLY makes a difference for me (I'm always playing expert, maybe you don't notice that in lower difficulty levels...).

Cheers
Philipp

[LewyRay]

Thanks all for the input. I have a pretty good idea what I am going for my crew.

I totally agree with Pyrates about Iron Will...I think it just saved my butt against 6 ensnarling spiders. Everyone (including the two elementals I had summoned) was paralyzed except for my bishop. I think I had 4 webs thrown at me, and she never got hit. I was able to run away and regroup.