Survey: Most Useful Profession in a Party

[the_Avatar]

I don't know about anyone else out there but I believe that the most usefull type of profession would have to be a Bard. In the beginning of the game his lute is fantastic and I found it very usefull in those first few fights. Plus the bard can double as a thief. Whats your thoughts?

[Throg]

I love my rogue. I've always had a rogue in the Wizardry games, and have always used him/her in the front line of fighters, letting my priest hang back and heal.

My current rogue, Mousteria, is one of the best little fighters I've got. I've trained her from the beginning in sword and bow, rather ignoring dagger, actually. She backstabs often - sometimes doing over a hundred HP damage - and lately she's been getting more InstaKills than anybody.

All the advanced characters are, um, fine ... but give me the basics every time.

[ 02-19-2002: Message edited by: Throg ]

[Nordoki]

I agree with Throg. One of my favorite characters is the Rogue. Excellent addition to any party.

[jsteng]

Fighter, Samurai, Monk, Ninja, Valk, Lord, Ranger are all damage dealers. But one thing I noticed as mistake in my first party was the lack of support. I did not have Bard.

Bard can do Bless level 7. She can do Haste Level 7. She can do Heal All with amazing 50~70 HP per member. She can do Magic Screen Level 7. She can do restore. She can do insanity. She can cast Pandemonium. She can do melee as well all at a cost of an easily regenerating Stamina!

Once i learn she can do just that, I no longer play with 2 bishops and throw one out into pergatory in favor of a bard.

So what if bard cant do 50~100 damage per hit. But can you Heal-All indefinitely to keep everyone alive to the next round? Bishops cant do that!

Supports are spell casters. But all lack the mana to do magic rounds after rounds and if they run out of mana, they got no melee power to back their big mouth. Only Bard and Gadgeteer are best supports, bard being a little better. Nonetheless, you WILL need at least one spell caster.

They should rename this game Bardry 1 instead of Wizardry 8.

[Harry WhoHaa]

IMHO it has to be the bard for sheer versatility.

Offensive spells, Defensive spells (for free out of combat if you stand still long enough), decent armour and communication giving you bargain basement prices...

[Nix]

Well, since you're asking about the most useful, not necessarily the most powerful or interesting, I agree that the bard is very useful in the early part of the game. At mid- to late game, my vote would go to spellcasters (at least a pair) simply because of the convenience of the portal spells. Traveling and exploring Dominus without it could become too tedious/boring for me.

[Nix]

quote:

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Originally posted by jsteng:
Supports are spell casters. But all lack the mana to do magic rounds after rounds and if they run out of mana, they got no melee power to back their big mouth.

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If you have a pair of spellcasters who know the portal spells you can have practically infinite mana. Old hands of the M&M series will remember the trick of setting a portal (Lloyd's Beacon in M&M) right at a mana well. You can do this in Wiz 8 too, no need to camp/rest.

[Paladin2000]

Bard and Gadgeteer. Those cool musical items and gadgets only use up stamina instead of mana. My favorite gadget is the X-ray scanner

[dale]

quote:

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Originally posted by Nix:


If you have a pair of spellcasters who know the portal spells you can have practically infinite mana. Old hands of the M&M series will remember the trick of setting a portal (Lloyd's Beacon in M&M) right at a mana well. You can do this in Wiz 8 too, no need to camp/rest.

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Where is there a mana well? (I am at level 15/16 and about to leave the swamps for the mines).

I've seen a couple of fountains in Anrika that restore mana for a short while, but they seemed to dry up and do nothing anymore.

[dale]

I think the answer might vary depending on what level you are at.

My characters are level 15/16. I have a lord, ranger, Valeryie, samurai, bard and mage. The one with the most kills is the mage by far. That is due to his liberal use of area spells such as fire bomb, often responsible for taking out entire groups.

The bard has been quite useful as others have said. Her insanity and slow seem to be less effective against the monsters I am meeting resently though. Bagpipes was fun for a good while, but pretty much minor effect these days in comparison to her disabling music.

My SAM is pretty interesting -- except that she seems relutant to swap out her ranged bow for bloodlust and poison dagger even when enemys are fairly close. She ought to know that it is not that difficult to swap them back out again (or use ranged spells).

Most disappointing is the LORD. He barely seems to be contributing, but I'm told that he is just coming into his own and I should be more patient.

The Ranger is good for detecting goodies along the way and for ranged attacks.

The VAL does a decent job of healing and combat both.

All around -- its a team.