Some General Questions

[Raphael Argus]

Greetings everyone,

This is my first trip through Wizardry 8 and I have just a few questions. After reading over the beginners guide I decided to make a party comprised of 3 fighters, 1 bishop, 1 priest and a mage. Now onto the questions!

1. Should I make any changes on my party lineup?

2. Will I need a thief? Seems I can bash earlier locks and use magic to open some later, I also read that an NPC thief can join you early so guessing NO thief = OK.

3. Dual-wield. Is Dual-wielding the way to go on my three fighters or should I stick to a shield for more AC?

4. out of the three fighters, should I have one of the use a polearm? Or would sticking with axe/swords be fine? I've tried not to look too far ahead to spoil what weapons are available.

Feel free to answer any of these questions. Just looking to get a good idea of where I should be heading in terms of party development.

-Raphael Argus

[Scatter]

1. Might be a little boring with 3 fighters, but then i'm into smaller parties. Success-wise, you've got a good lineup.

2. Rogues are fun, Myles is not. Maybe you could make one of your fighters a tanky rogue...

3/4. I dual-wield everyone i can, but again, i like small groups...If you start right away dualling, bestly with Sword and Mace, you'll be very pleased with what's available. All in all, most of the really good weapons are swords. Some of the Staves are nice (good for the Casters), and a couple Polearms, if you want variety among the tanks' weapons. The best axes are too slow.

[Ziggurat]

In your party -

I would put one Fighter with polearm who can dwell in back, to make room up front. But I would make one of them a magic caster as well (Lord or Valk). Not too fond of fighters. They do major damage (but vulnerable).

You need some lockpick-type. You can settle for Ninja or Bard. A Thief is as good as a fighter in damage with backstab.

The Priest and Mage will take care of all important spells.

Dual wield is great if you plan to use it. Plan is the word. If you don't know if you will need it, go ahead and dual. It may be wasted but it is a talent you want if you get 2 great weapons. Doesn't do too much harm if you stick to a two-hander. Some points of dev are always wasted, IMO. My 2 c.

[Raphael Argus]

Thanks for the replies! I have dropped one of the fighters and picked up a Bard. I'll use him for Music, Artifact, and Traps.

Now THIS will be a newbie question, but how do I equip a weapon in an offhand to use dual-wield? When I remove the shield and try to drop a weapon in the slot it will not go there. Do you need to use small weapons in offhand like daggers? Any info would be great. If no one replies I'll start digging for the manual =)

[Silpion]

A bard is an excellent choice. [img]smile.gif[/img]
I would recommend Music, Locks&Traps and Swords for your bard because your bishop has artifacts as his primary skill (which means he gets a 25% bonus). The downside of this would be that your bishop will develop his magic skills slower.

Most bigger weapons can only be used in the main hand. Within the weapon description there is something like:
primary weapon (big weapons) or
secondary weapon (ammunition) or
primary weapon, secondary weapon (small weapons)

[Holywhippet]

Personally I use a gadgeteer for all my lockpicking needs. I usually take along a ranger so that I don't need to use the search button (plus you can run and search at the same time). I'd swap the priest with something else - you don't need a priest and a bishop.

[Wereboar]

Most weapons can only be used in the primary hand. When you inspect the weapon, it states if it is primary, or primary and secondary. At the start, there aren't many good off-hand weapons.

[Gadgeteer Tom]

Bard is also good for communication. Also suggest a female Bard, there are stamina enhancing artifacts which are only usable by females...same for gadgeteer, or possibly Ninja. I like Monks and Ninja, because along with some magic ability - they develop Critical Strike (which actually shook me up once with Nessie !)- ninjas also tend to tire faster.
My favorite group is Ranger(M), Ninja(F), Monk(M), Gadgeteer(F), Madge(M), and Bard(F)

[Raphael Argus]

Thanks all, I decided to stick with 3 fighters, one bard (female), a Ranger and Bishop.

I'm moving along well, but I have to say thus far the ranger seems HORRIBLE. He is great for scouting out hidden items, but his damage has never been more then 10 on a bow hit. I'm maxing his primary stats, and raise his bow/ranged/scouting abilities +3 every time he levels. Am I doing something wrong? So far besides helping with some minor healing and scouting he's a waste! Oh, he is using a long bow. Should I be going with a crossbow or something?

[Loudhy]

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A Ranger can buy/find some very good ranged weapon. Some like Crossbows and some bows. IMO both are equal. The ability to score critical hits with a bow is the rangers best abilitiy. Max out senses because Eagle Eye makes every ranged weapon and his ability much better.
IMO there is not much need for build up scouting too much. It builds up fast itself nearly every time you find something. And there are spells like Detect Secret that can help you, too.

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