Just started bit ago, a few questions and thoughts

[Raistilyn]

Game kicks some serious ass. I am at lvl 8-9 and just about to enter Anika. I have a party of :
Liz Fighter
Farie Ninja
Mook Ranger
Felpar Bard
Elf Bishop
Faire Mage

Ok questions on the classes, im thinkin about starting over...

My fighter....unless the mob is KO'd or paralized my fighter hits about...1 out of every 15 times. Im duel wieldin some sword and a ***** dagger. I have been putting max points into close combat, sword, and duel wield. He just isnt hitting worth ****. Any ideas? If i restart anything i should/can do to make it so he can actually hit.

Ninja...well im hoping the ninja with CoC will be good Right now just pumping into Duel/wand/Crit/stealth etc, she hits alot but pretty weak due to wand weapons that suck. Her throwin is alright considering im not puttin anything into it/

Mook ranger....has like 3/4 of my kills but starting to not be as good since dont have a good bow yet but will soon. Also threw just some pike or something and hes doing more melle damage in fights then my fighter since he hits alot more with it. He rocks, i love the ranger

Bard....is great, also seems to hit way more then my fighter with duel wielding, but i usually use the music. He also rocks and i love using him with my magic users to cast alot of aoe ****.

Mage..i started him a mage to duel with a bishop but i had to wait to lvl 4 or 5 to get his stats that high. I really like the offensive power mages have, im sure later they suck but atm he helpos the most with his status affection spells and fireball and cloud stuff. If i start over im really thinking about starting a bishop then turing him mage after a lvl or 2 after i get a few of the spells that allow me to croud control and stuff and work up my other skills. Any schools i should concentrate on or?? I need some advice on castor development.

My pries swiched to bishop is alright but sometimes just seems like i waste. I think i took to long to get him switched, i will make him priest then switch to bishop after a lvl or 2 to get him more healer orinated but i need him to be able to be useful like the mage/bishop

Alright a few things i need help on...
I don really understand the walk/run thing in combat ...how do i use this effienctly, anyway i can run/walk and still attack? Also whats the diffrence between walk/run?
Thanks for any info you can help me with.
This is my first time threw, and i am on expert but i had to lower ot novice twice, once to kill the golem and once for the battle hogger in the wilderness< i went there before heading to arinka. Was...intresting heh. Anyways and geneal tips you guys could give me would be helpful, but so far this game rocks.

[ 03-29-2002, 06:50 PM: Message edited by: Xignal ]

[GenXCub]

general tips...

1) DONT level up just because you can. Monsters get more difficult based on your level. Stay at a lower level for awhile, then level all your characters at the same time. You shouldn't be more than level 5 when you hit Arnika.

2) for your spellcasters, Just do Bishops... you can advance just as much with them as with Mages because for most of the early game you're going to be saving level-ups.

3) don't choose a new spell when you level up. Save them because you'll get plenty of spellbooks for low level spells.

I'm not sure why your fighter is doing badly, do you have a high strength? If you're a lizardman fighter, you can have 100 Vit and 100 strength by 8th or 9th level. Close Combat and Dual Wield are skills to work on.

Don't worry about training your ninja in throwing. When you use the Cane of Corpus, you can't switch... it's cursed, so just work on the wand & staff.

Rangers do great with Doubleshot and Tripleshot crossbows... you need a gadgeteer to make those (you can hire one in Trynton, but I LOVE gadgeteers in a party... next set of characters, dump a bishop and use a gadgeteer instead). Rangers are probably my favorite class of the game next to gadgeteers.

Walk/Run, use that at the beginning of combat to bring enemies closer before you act. The difference? Run lets you go farther, but you use more stamina when you move. You don't get to run/walk until your slowest party member gets their turn.

[Raistilyn]

Thanks Im gona start over i think and try not to level up as much. However, should i put it on the hardest lvl in the monastary so the fights are really long so i get skills up? My fighter is one lvl away from having maxed str, and has had max vit for like 3-4 lvls. He just sucks though...is it because of beserk or?? So ill go with :
Liz Fighter
Ninja Faire
Mook Ranger
Felp Bard
Some type of gad
Farie Bishop

How should i go about developing the Bishop? Also, is there any ncp that is a strong melee front liner that stays with me the whole time unlike Vi?> Also, on formation....should i put my bard up front or on the flanks since her ac seems alot higher then any ones but my fighter? Atm, i have and will have Ninja and fighter as the only 2 in front, with ranger mostlikely using a 2hander of some type from the middle row. Should i just give the bard a shield and have him infront? Then he will be able to tank some, while casting songs . Should i develope weapon or bow with my extra points with the bard since i put some into music/locks is all atm. One last thing, i just bought it and it says version 1.24 and i dont need to patch...this mean the PP is screwed up know? So i just should not do it periid?

Alright , a sum up...if you could address the following issues id appreacte it.
1_bishop development
2 Formation with a Fighter, melle ninja, ranger, bard, gadgeter, bishop.
3 A melee NCP that i can count on thru the whole game since for this first run i want to do it with 8.
4 any general tips again for the first part of the game that i might not think of or miss, and any general thoughts on how i should develope any of my chars
5_ PPing with v.1.24
6 and if i should put it on the hardest lvl in the monastary just to get my skills up. Thanks in advance for all ya pros out there, i usually like to be the one who gives advice and be one of the first to do stuff but untill recentaly i was stuck on EQ Finally sold it and got out but i couldnt handle sitting here doing nothing. So i supose since you all have so much knowlege ill get what i can from ya heh thanks. Oh should i do dagger or sword or something along with wand for a off hand for my ninja?

[GenXCub]

Well, the Fighter is your choice, but I get bored of them. Try a Samurai. Once you get Bloodlust from the bank vaults, he'll be able to berserk just like a fighter, and he'll have mage spells (since the sword is cursed, you can't use a bow).

Make sure your Bard and Gadgeteers are Female, there are quite a few items in the game that give +1 stamina regen for females only.

Training Bishops are EASY... especially if you only have one. Wizardry will go up fast by casting Enchanted Blade and Missile Shield(you can get EB book from Braffit in Arnika, MS is from Fuzzfas in Trynton I think), so only put in enough points to do level 2 spells. Psionics are easy to raise with Mindread, but you need 30 points in psionics to get to that point. Easiest to raise by practice is Alchemy... do it by mixing your potions... 15 alchemy will let you do Light Heal + Mod heal = heavy heal. Divinity is easy to raise by doing your healing, but make sure it's higher than Alchemy or Psionics or casting heal wounds won't raise divinity... Easy way to do it? have Make Wounds as one of your initial spells at character creation.. 2 great spells to start off with are Mind Stab and Make Wounds. You don't need to heal just yet, you can usually get by with resting.

With your one bishop, you should be seeing points going up all over the place. Books for Fire Spells don't come around a lot until you get to Crock, so practice light a lot to get your fire realms up, Fireball, Blinding Flash are books to get then. Your 9 points should only go into those 4 skills... pick the ones that are lacking. one of the best spells in the early game is Web. Get that ASAP, even if you have to use a spell pick at level up. Once monsters are webbed, they're as good as dead.

Divinity/Psionics (whichever has a higher rating) goes up VERY fast when you learn Identify Item... you get that from Anna in Arnika, so don't waste a spell pick on it... just have 3000 gold ready to buy it.

Formation. When you build your party, put the Ninja in the 1st slot. When you use Walk/Run to get enemies to come to you, it goes in order when you start your moves... when I had my ninja in 3rd spot, most monsters were dead before my Cane of Corpus would be of any use. Remember, since you choose formation, you don't need to have your bishop sitting in the last spot... then he always goes last when you use the run/walk.

Put your Figher/Ninja/Bard up front, Gadgeteer, Ranger, Bishop in the Center. Use this until you get to Arnika.

When you get to Arnika, you'll get 2 recruits quickly. Myles the rogue (who's a good fighter, move your bard back to the middle and stick him up front) and Vi the Valkyrie (give her a spear, put her in the middle).

your formation after this point will be Myles/Fighter/Ninja up front, Bard/Bishop/Vi in the center, Ranger and Gadgeteer on the flanks. If you REALLY wanna stick someone in the rear, use your bard... she'll be using a bow a lot too.

Myles doesn't go very many places... replace him with the Android Monk you'll find near the mine tunnels (past the swamp). He goes EVERYWHERE with you (make sure you get the NAS-81 from behind the savant's tower in arnika to fix him up). The trade off... he's an android... doesn't use magic, cant change class.

PP is pretty much useless, but you can get by without it IMO. Doing expert in the Monastery is fine... maybe not for the Gregor fight though. But it will definitely train you.

Ninja offhand... just use the Fairy Stick you start with until you find another wand. Winterwands are easy to find once you get to the Mountain wilderness, or just use Nunchakas... yeah they're mace & Flail, but 15% KO is good (the winterwands have 15% Paralyze)

[ 03-29-2002, 08:13 PM: Message edited by: GenXCub ]

[Ziggurat]

My 2 cents...

I'm at lev 8 and have similar problems. The faerie ninja is not that good until you have the Cane of Corpus. I work her on speed, strength, vitality. My bishop hasn't learned armor shield or element shield or magic screen. The samurai is so so. Vi does better damage. The battles are d* hard. Haven't even made it to the swamp, yet. But if you can survive, you will do OK. If you can survive a few more levels...But, that's what makes it a challenge, n'est pas? (excuse my french)

[Raistilyn]

Thanks for the info. I have my bard learning Music,sword, and shield every time...i figure at 18 ill be switching them to a better melee, and i want the shield so he can tank up front. Any time he isnt in melee range he definatly can be found useful playing some tunes. Thanks for the tips.

[45464748]

This is prolly amatuerish, but I do two valkyries
for fighters. Then when I pick up Vi, I have
a nasty front line to buff. Or two in front and one in back. 2 valks, 2 bishops, a bard, a mage with them.