Should I be using picks, or wait to buy books?

[Jonni Voodoo]

I dusted off my Wiz8 CDs determined to finish the game this time.

Right now my Mage and Bishop are level 7 and have 7(if I remember - I chose only one spell at creation) picks. I am doing alright so far in Arnika with pure melee and the few books I have found along the way (party is Fighter, Monk, Rogue, Bard, Mage, Bishop, Vi and Myles.)

Would it be worth it to wait, or pick some on their next level so I don't get slaughtered once I leave Arnika?

Thanks.

[ 09-16-2003, 07:15 PM: Message edited by: Jonni Voodoo ]

[EEWorzelle]

For the Mage, I hold off only between new Spell levels. That is, when a new Level of Spells becomes available at Level-up, I take as many as I have spell picks for, and will even use a spell pick at Level 15 (since there are only 3 Level 7 spells).

For the Bishop, it is another matter. They can get 12 Level 7 Spells and I think it's 15 or 16 Level 6 Spells, so you want to get as many as possible from finding them or vendors in the case of the Bishop.

[ 09-16-2003, 08:40 PM: Message edited by: EEWorzelle ]

[rbeane1]

This time around I saved picks to begin with. I tried to
keep 4 picks in reserve and it worked out ok.

for the bishop, a good rule of thumb is save your spell picks for those level 5/6/7 spells you're not going to want to wait for once you qualify for them.

for the four purecasters, however, there arent as many spells to pick from in total, so saving spell picks isnt nearly so important.

in general, i feel you have to spend some spell picks early, if for no other reason than to have something your caster can be practicing with until they get the books you're holding out for. however, you can, and should, be picky (no pun intended) about which spells you choose to spend points on, and when.

[Wild Rose]

The thing that gets me is that Ferro has so many of the spells I want and getting to him takes awhile - to say the least. Is the wait worth it for the bishop? It's frustrating when I have to pass up Portal and such when my Mag gets it so much earlier.

[Scatter]

Hard to say what you'll find important, that's all about how everybody plays differently. I do think there are some more essential spells; Portal being one example (when you pick it, you get both for the price of one), and then maybe the group instakillers like Quicksand (which is L6! ), Death Cloud, and Death Wish, and the WMD's, of which there are many for Bishops; if you take one for each Realm there's another 6 spells. For me, in a Solo, Resurrection is pointless except for the SP for learning it--plus there are many artifacts with that spell for larger parties. So if you save 6 by L14 (taking Quicksand), and 4 more for L18, you'll get a good variety of stuff and have had 8 other picks along the way.
I very often get to Ferro as young as L15 with a party of 3 or more; i've gotten there sooner, and he's like Crock, holding out on the good stuff, so it really doesn't matter...

if you go from the trang to the umpani directly, you will pick up a set portal (marten's bluff) book and a return to portal (northern wilderness hogar cave) book, by level 11, saving yourself the pick.

with regard to level 5's, there's some i cant live without, like toxic cloud, so i'll *waste* the pick. but others, like heal all, my bard will cover, and still others, like dehydrate, i'm not keen on until later in the game, so dont mind waiting.

i agree with scatter, too, about getting to ferro earlier. he's got great spells and weapons, so the sooner you can take advantage the better. and, fortunately, the rift/castle appear to be one area that the auto-leveler does go down in toughness for parties as low as level 13.

[Scatter]

My favorite source for Heal All is Amulet of Healing. Everybody gets one, for the 3 AC, HP regen, and 50% vs Divine; whoever has the most in Artifacts uses theirs whenever it's needed. They cast at PL6, which is enough for me.

since i usually have a bard (7 out of 9 parties that went to the peak have had them), i leave the amulets of healing in favour of ankhs or other items which raise stats.

for example, in a melee-heavy party, damage is the only way to chop up the enemy, so ankhs of strength are the norm. alternately, for a criticals-heavy party, getting in first and furious is called for, so ankhs of speed are the norm.

of course, if i stumble across a ring of stars or cameo locket, i'll find a way to work them in!

[Variol (Farseer) Elmwood]

Originally posted by sultan: since i usually have a bard (7 out of 9 parties that went to the peak have had them), i leave the amulets of healing in favour of ankhs or other items which raise stats. for example, in a melee-heavy party, damage is the only way to chop up the enemy, so ankhs of strength are the norm. alternately, for a criticals-heavy party, getting in first and furious is called for, so ankhs of speed are the norm. of course, if i stumble across a ring of stars or cameo locket, i'll find a way to work them in!

I got a Hydromancers Ring this week. That was a first for me. Does the extra water magic help much?