|
|
Post by Merkin on Dec 22, 2001 16:37:32 GMT -5
Well, after installing the newest patch, I realized that my party wasn't balanced to optimize the new thieving rules, so I started again. After playing around with the exotic classes, I went back to basics for this party:
Drac Fighter (Axe)
Drac Fighter (Sword)
Hobbit Ranger
Hobbit Bard
Rawulf Priest
Elf Mage
Right now, they are on the road to Arnika, and doing very well.
The fighters put all thier att. points in STR and DEX, and all skill points in Weapon, Close Combat, and Bow. The Ranger puts everything into STR and DEX as well, and skill-ups into Bow, Ranged, and splits the other 3 between Myth and Alchemy. The Bard is pure DEX and SPD, skills into Music, Locks, and Pickpocket. She will max out music soon, and put points into Communication. The Priest and Mage put all attribute points into PIE and INT, all skill points into Magic, with each of them pretty much specializing in two realms. water and divine for the priest, fire and air for the mage.
The mage is the kill leader, her fireballs are getting wicked, with the two fighters and the ranger neck-and neck for the #2 kill slot. Bard and Priest are light on kills, but that's not their job, they are support specialists.
Anyway, that's my current party, how about yours?
|
|
|
|
Post by 'Guest' on Dec 22, 2001 20:51:38 GMT -5
I wouldn't bother putting any points into Mythology or Communication. Those skills get plenty of practice on their own, and they don't appear to be of much use.
Are there really any good axes out there? I think I'd go for polearms instead. Actually, I'd use a Valkyrie instead of your Axe fighter.
|
|
|
|
Post by Merkin on Dec 23, 2001 3:58:12 GMT -5
Except that I pick up an NPC Valk right away. And yes there are good axes in the game...not quite as high-powered as the swords, but I want to share the love. Partly for rp, partly because my bard and ranger can also use swords (and the bard is pretty fair at it).
RE: Myth and Comm. I disagree strongly about Myth, I think it's a critical skill (at least for my play style), and doesn't ramp-up nearly fast enough on it's own for me. I find it incredibly useful to be able to identify an enemy's attack types and resistances before a battle starts.
As for Comm, I would have agreed with you before the latest patch, but theiving has changed radically. Shopkeepers will now develop a negative reaction even on sucsessfull steals after awhile. Charm is a temporary fix, they will be pissed at you again as soon as it wears off. Comm raises their reaction permanently, letting you steal from them again. I'll admit that I'm not sure how it will pan out in practice over the long run, but I thought this party through pretty carefully, and so far it's kicking ass.
|
|
|
|
Post by jersey on Dec 23, 2001 8:10:59 GMT -5
Well, I don't want to begin again if I don't have to. At least not until I finish with this team. Here'e my team:
Male Felpurr Samurai (Sword, Crit., Close, Dual)
Male Rawulf Lord (Axe, Close, Dual, Bow)
Male Elf Ranger (Bow, Ranged, Scouting)
Female Human Bard (Music, Locks, Pickpocket-started this after music was 75, sling&throwing)
Female Elf Bishop (Priest & Mage spells)
Male Mook Psionic (All psionic spells all the time)
Right now they are all level 12 and I have Madras and the andoid monk along.
With the patch changing pickpocket and my bard never having had me add Comm. points, I may not be using pickpocket at all really. Don't know how this will change the game. From what I have read it may change my ability to unite the Umpani and T'rang. I guess I will see. Right now my Samurai and Lord have the most kills and I don't remember how the rest were doing. The only one I don't think I like much is my Lord. If I were to start this team over I would probably make him a Liz. or Dracon Fighter. My Bishop and Psionic and Bard are always casting defensive stuff ( I love freeze flesh so much).
I love this game (as I loved Wiz 6 and especially 7). It is a shame it is the last. I hope someone else decides even if it is a niche, to make a FP party based crpg again. It is just too much fun.
|
|
|
|
Post by Runiel on Dec 23, 2001 8:53:20 GMT -5
Well, I currently have three active parties (hey, I did say I was a Wiz addict  ). They go like this: Party#1 - The Veterans from Wiz7 Faerie Ninja Dwarf Lord Dracon Samurai Human Bard Gnome Alchemist Elf Bishop Party# 2 - The Spellcasters Hobbit Bard Mook Gadgeteer Dwarf Priest Dracon Alchemist Elf Psionic Faerie Mage Party#3 - My first group Dracon Samurai Dwarf Lord Human Ranger Hobbit Gadgeteer Mook Psionic Faerie Bishop So far the Spellcasters one is my favorite, probably because they have to struggle more than the others but still come out victorious. I'm a little worried about the later stages but we'll see how that goes, they're currently in Bayjin and so far they're doing great.  |
|
|
|
Post by Runiel on Dec 23, 2001 9:02:58 GMT -5
jersey - You really don't have to start over, the pickpocket fix is not retroactive, so the characters that your party stole from don't "remember" anything from before. Pickpocket still works, you have to use more caution and be sure that your skill is high enough. Most of the NPCs just turn neutral towards your party if you get caught, that can be easily fixed by giving them some gift or money (usually property that was already theirs and you can't use) and everything is rosy again. If in doubt, keep a separate savegame before you attempt anything and revert to that if catastrophe strikes and then try again later when your skill has gone up. At least that's what I do and so far it works wonderfully. |
|
|
|
Post by 'Guest' on Dec 23, 2001 11:12:03 GMT -5
Wow, you're all a lot better at this game than I am.  My first party used all pre-created characters: Canus the Lord, Gudrun the Valk, Taku the Samurai, Fingers the Rogue, T'lan the Bishop and Flicker the Mage. I got a little frustrated with them after a while -- I was used to Wiz7's ability to switch classes left & right, and that's just not feasible in Wiz8. My second party is all Hobbits, for fun. I chose a Samurai, a Fighter (switched to Ninja at about level 10, try to train Critical hits), a Ranger, a Bard (I *love* the Bard's power, and Saxx always decided it was time to leave whenever I needed him), a Psionic-changed-to-Bishop, and an Alchemist. They're about 16th level now. I'm still in the puzzle-solving stage; there are a lot of parts of the game I haven't seen. (I have *no* idea how you managed to get Madras to join you at 12th level. It seems I need to vanquish the Rattkin breeders first, for which I need to be able to OPEN these ^!@%&^ DOORS in the Rattkin tree, and I have *no* clue how to open them, except that I apparently need some sort of item. Gee thanks, what a helpful clue.) |
|
|
|
Post by Merkin on Dec 23, 2001 13:49:36 GMT -5
Glad to hear that an all-hobbit party is working out. I've thought about one, and it sounds both playable and fun.
|
|
|
|
Post by judee on Dec 23, 2001 16:00:32 GMT -5
I tried starting an all fairy group, just for fun. Limited to four, because there are only four portraits, and I didn't want repeat faces.
I had a fairy ninja, fairy monk, and two fairy bishops.
Lol, took me about 3 reloads just to get them into the monastery. Those crabs kept chomping them to bits!
I left them there, I decided to go on with my two other groups, (one close combat, one ranged/magical combat). I'll come back to the fairies every now and then for a change of pace.
I've also got an "explorer" group a bit further in the game, I do them to check out the territory, and make strategical decisions for my two main groups.
Lol, who says character generation isn't addictive???
judee
|
|
|
|
Post by Merkin on Dec 23, 2001 16:06:11 GMT -5
Gads, character/party creation is one of the most addictive parts of this game. I have a horrid confession to make, I've been playing this game obsessively for a month now, and haven't even gotten to the swamp yet. I keep building parties, getting them to Arnika or Tryton, and then thinking to myself "self, I bet this would be a cool party", and then it's back to the Monastery. *sigh* |
|
|
|
Post by Runiel on Dec 23, 2001 22:20:43 GMT -5
I tried starting an all fairy group, just for fun. Limited to four, because there are only four portraits, and I didn't want repeat faces. Hmm, I'll probably give an all faerie group a try (while waiting for a patch to fix the patch). I finished Wiz7 with one, I used to call them my "Mosquito Squad", but I can't find the diskette with the savegame anywhere. Found all the others but not that one and that's the one with my T'Rang ending. |
|
|
|
Post by Runiel on Dec 23, 2001 22:26:53 GMT -5
I keep building parties, getting them to Arnika or Tryton, and then thinking to myself "self, I bet this would be a cool party", and then it's back to the Monastery. *sigh* Heh, welcome to the Club! And here I thought I was the only one doing that. I went through nine different parties, getting them all the way to Trynton (around level 10 - 11) and then starting a new. I finally settled for two (couldn't decide) and one of my imported parties, I just switch between and that seems to ease the need to create a new one, but it's slow going... ;D |
|
|
|
Post by Runiel on Dec 23, 2001 22:32:57 GMT -5
Just finished the game today actually! I used: Dwarf Fighter using Swords Lizardman Fighter using Axes Human Fighter using Polearms Hobbit Ninja using thrown weapons Felpurr Bard using her instruments Faerie Bishop using all of his lovely spells Congrats on finishing! I had the *exact* same party at one point, but it wasn't doing it for me because I couldn't deal with having only one spellcaster. I still have the savegame in storage so I might give it another go in a year or two when I manage to finish the game for the first time (unless I stop creating new parties, if you know what I mean... ) |
|
|
|
Post by mescaline450mg on Dec 25, 2001 18:38:32 GMT -5
Has anyone tried a three man party yet?
|
|
pjw
Novice
Posts: 1
|
Post by pjw on Dec 29, 2001 22:36:56 GMT -5
Has anyone tried a three man party yet? Just for laughs, I tried it with two.  A ranger and a rogue. I managed to pretty much clean out the Monestary, but it was disgustingly difficult, even on "Novice". Lots of dying. Lots of trying to get monsters hung up on open doorways so you can hack at their elbow (or whatever) while they're confused. They leveled very quickly, but it didn't really get any easier. I gave up on the experiment, just because it was way more difficult and way less fun . . . |
|
).
A ranger and a rogue. I managed to pretty much clean out the Monestary, but it was disgustingly difficult, even on "Novice". Lots of dying. Lots of trying to get monsters hung up on open doorways so you can hack at their elbow (or whatever) while they're confused.