Warning: You may use this file for your own personal use, but to
claim that you wrote it...well just kind of sad that that's your life,
and you want recognition so badly that you have to steal FAQs from
other people and claim it as your own. Anyhoo....
This FAQ is designed solely for people who want a usefulness
breakdown of each character. It has a few spoilers on weapons and such
so beware! The choice of race for each character is
purely my own opinion, not based on maxing stats or how quick they'll get
their personal skills. Also the importance of stats is again my opinion.
I have also put a * next to the race, I think is best for each class.
It's also been brought to my attention that I have a very direct
way of speaking. This is NOT a roleplaying guide. I'm going to
tell you exactly what I think. I'm never going to tell you not
to try out a character or try different builds. This guide is more
for beginners, than experts who want to experiment. Ok, Here goes:
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
A note on speed
Section I: Classes
Section II: Development Tips
Section III: Party Creation
Section IV: Vanilla and Chocolate
Section V: Weapons
Section VI: General Adventuring Tips
A note on speed
As I'm finishing up my latest run of wizardry 8, i tried something different
this time: Putting no speed in any of my characters with the exception of
my bishop to whom I got to 100. This was triggered by discussions with
many people on the steam forums. I was planning on haste being the
catalyst to getting all kinds of attacks that speed was supposed to
generate. The result was this. Not only did I get those attacks I liked
so much by just using haste, my Bishop with 100 speed was going AFTER
a bunch of my guys with 55 (55!) speed. BEFORE SHE CAST HASTE. It semeed
like level affected the attacks more than speed at all. In short, it
really feels like speed is a dump stat and no need to bring it hugher
than 55. I will not tell you what to do, but this has been my experience,
and the experience of many others apparently.
SECTION I: CLASSES
Fighter:
Rating: B+
Special Abilities: Berserk, Stamina Regeneration, May knock out
opponents
Spellbooks: None
Skill Bonus: Close Combat
Experience Requirement: Light
Difficulty to maintain: Easy
Options for Race:
Dracon:
Extra points at creation: 60
Obvious. Great starting attributes, and lots of extra points to distribute.
Low Senses and intelligence however, so you might not want to dual
wield with them before investing many points into senses. Also, they
have a slight penalty to divine and mental spells. This can be
troublesome when enemies are trying to make your fighter turncoat or
insane.
* Mook:
Extra points at creation: 40
These are a good option too, they just start off with less speed than a
dracon or hobbit. However there's a great sword you can find in the
game, that only mooks can use, so think about that. Also they have
much better magic resists than a hobbit, and their senses and int are
higher, making them even better candidates than hobbits for dual
wielders. They'll get powerstrike two levels later than dracon though.
Hobbit:
Extra points at creation: 40
Less points to distribute at startup, but if you want to dual wield with
your fighter, this is another good option. He starts with higher speed
than a mook, but a little less senses and int. He has more than a dracon
however. He also has the worst resists of all three.
Some might think I'm crazy by not naming the lizardman, but his -10
to Mental AND Divine just makes me sick. He also has atrocious
starting Int and senses, making close combat rise even slower than a
dracon. Dwarf is an ok option, but less starting speed than the Dracon
and senses and intelligence are just as bad. Also less points to
distribute.
Non biased Explanation:
The fighter gets the most hit points, and can hit the hardest, just as one
would expect. His berserk ability allows him to dish out huge amounts
of damage, even if it does mean less accuracy. Cons: The main
problem with this dude is his lack of spells. You can't really do
anything with him except attack. By mid to late game, he starts getting
a little outclassed by his peers who can cast spells and what not. Also,
and this is not a horrible con, but fighters generally dominate
the killing in battles, esepcially by the end game, preventing hybrids
from training their much needed combat skills as well as they can.
Biased Explanation:
He's great to have up front taking huge amounts of damage, as well as
dishing it out. He is equipment based, but that's ok, there's plenty of
stuff to go around. The lack of spells can sometimes be frustrating
though. Either way though, in my opinion he's the best guy to have up
front. (A valk is a close second though)
Attributes to work on, in order of importance:
Str
Dex
Vit
Sen
Options of Skills to work on:
Sword - Swords are generally the most powerful weapons in the game.
Keep in mind the best sword in the game (that's not randomized)
can only be used by a mook.
Axe - For a change of pace....can't dual wield or use shields with these
though. The good axes are two handed.
Mace and flail - The best secondary weapon in the game is a mace. If
you want to dual wield put points here.
Dagger - Again for dual wielders. There are some decent daggers with
Kill % on them. However, mace and flail will allow you to use the best
secondary weapon in the game.
Close combat - More important if you're dual wielding different
weapons. Otherwise it's ok to go up by itself.
Bow - A good ranged weapon for him because he has so much extra
strength, and will do good damage with bows.
Shield - for a tank. Gives good armor bonuses. Doesn't work well
with axes though.
Dual Weapons - Um.....if you're dual wielding?
Lord:
Rating B- (B+ if you use the mace build in the tips section, B for the staff
build)
Special Abilities: Health Regeneration.
Spellbooks: Divine
Skill Bonus: Dual Weapons
Experience Requirement: Medium
Difficulty to maintain: Medium/hard
Choices of Race:
* Human:
Extra points at creation: 20
Hands down, look no further. In order to utilize all his skills, a good
lord needs to have competent figures in every category. Humans have
the best stat distribution of all.
Dracon:
Thanks to BioGoo on the Steam forums for this one. This one will start as
a priest, but switch to a lord at level two with a focus on staffs. See
below in the tips section.
A dwarf has low senses and intelligence, meaning poor dual wielding
and very slow raising of the realms and close combat. A Rawulf has low
int, causing realm skills and close combat to rise slowly.
Unbiased Explanation:
Can wear most armor and use most weapons. He can also equip
cursed items that deal damage to their wearer, and not take a single
point of damage from them which can be useful. Dual wield bonus
allows him to use dual weapons more efficiently than most other
characters, especially in the beginning. Cons: It takes a looong time to
get him to be a great character. He doesn't have as many hit points as a
fighter. Plus the divinity spellbook, doesn't have too many options for
ranged attacks, so you either have to use make wounds, or try somehow to
give him a ranged weapon. That's difficult because he already has a lot of
skills to learn.
Biased Explanation:
Hes most useful in a party that doesnt have a divinity caster, and
pretty useless in a ranged party. To make up for his lack of strength
try dual wielding maces. It gives him one less skill to worry about
raising (Sword and dagger, sword and mace etc.) and those usually
have KO percentages. See the tips section for more details.
Attributes to work on, in order of importance:
Str
Dex
Sen
Vit
Pie
Options of Skills to work on:
Sword - Again, most powerful weapons in the game
Dagger - You want to Dual wield with a Lord. There are some
interesting daggers.
Mace and Flail - Again the best secondary weapon is a mace.
However, there are many good maces and flails with status ailments,
so it might be good for a lord to dual wield them, and avoid raising
two different weapon skills.
Close combat - If you're dual wielding maces and flails, let it rise by
itself unless you have extra points. Otherwise you might want to put
points here, at least until you unlock divinity.
Dual Weapons - Put points here....otherwise you might as well take a
fighter. There is one build however that ignores this skill. See
the tips section.
Bow - If you want to shoot bows with him. However, you should probably
just focus on divinity due to the amount of skills that need to be
pumped.
Divinity - To get the priest spells on time. Lords should really focus on
combat, but there are builds that allow the lord to shine with both
priest spells and weapons. Plus you should be able to put a couple of
points here each level. See below in the tips section.
Realms - The lord has plenty of other stuff on his plate. Let them rise
by themselves.
Valkyrie:
Rating: A+
Special Abilities: Cheat death.....come again???? Yes, I did say cheat
death.
Spellbooks: Divinity
Skill Bonus: Polearms
Experience Requirement: Medium
Difficulty to maintain: Easy
Options for race:
Dwarf:
Extra points at creation: 25
They start with great strength and vitality. This allows them, to get
powerstrike faster than humans. Their senses and int will be low, so
you might put some initial points in Int. Senses are not as important,
because the only skill that will affect is their close and ranged combat
skills. Int affects those, but more importantly, realm skills as well.
Since Valks will not be using shields, a dwarf's damage resistance will
also come in handy.
* Dracon:
Extra Points at Creation: 25
Same as Dwarf, with a slight difference. The dracon starts off with
more int, but less senses than a dwarf. But since we determined Int is
more important, this is actually a benefit. She'll be able to start on other
attributes earlier than a dwarf will. The dracon has decent Magic
resistances, even though they have a slight penalty to Mental and
divine spells. Still, it's better than dwarves. What's good is that since
divinity doesn't have many offensive options, the dracon breath of the
dracon can REALLY come in handy. And you don't have to put a
point into it, allowing more points to be distributed to divinity, and
realms.
Human:
Extra points at creation: 25
A good alternative. They are much more rounded in all their abilites,
making a balanced valk. However, they start off with less
strength and vitality, so they'll get powerstrike 2 levels later than a
dwarf or dracon will. Also no magic resists. But if you want them to
not have to waste points in int at startup, then they are a good
alternative to Dwarves or dracons.
Unbiased Explanation:
The Valkyrie is a great fighter, coming close to the fighter himself.
She can take lots of damage, and you RARELY need to worry about
her dying. Her cheat death is AWESOME. Because she has so few
skills she needs to focus on, you can work on both her divinity, and a
ranged weapon skill if you so choose, and she'll be proficient at all of
them. There are some nice polearms out there too, she'll do good
damage with them. Cons: Pretty much limited to polearms seeing as
that's what she's best at. (There are nice polearms though). Also
Polearms are heavy, so you'll more than likely find her going last in a
fight. Also, as you get near the end of the game, the valk ends up
falling behind the other hybrids who begin to really shine.
And you have to pick a female.
Biased explanation:
The only reason I wouldn't make a valkyrie, is cause you find a VERY
good one early in the game. I could kiss her, if I wasn't worried she'd
stick me with a spear. Cheat death is AMAZING. I can't count the
amount of times that ability has helped me through a tough battle. The
valkyrie has so few weaknesses that are relevant, that it makes me
wonder if the game designers didn't spend much time working on
them. She was great in Wiz 7, and she's great in Wiz 8. My favorite
character.
Attributes to work on, in order of importance:
Str
Dex
Vit
Sen
Options of skills to work on:
Polearms - Weapon of choice. Otherwise take a fighter or Lord.
Close Combat - Not too important for her, but you'll probably have
extra points (At least before she unlocks her divine spells) so shove em
in there
Divinity - Gets her those priest spells.
Realm skills - She has so few skills she need to focus on you can
throw some extra Points in here. Water and divine most importantly.
Bow - With her extra strength she'll do some decent damage with
these. I myself prefer to just use her priest spells though.....
Ranger:
Rating: C+ (B- for Modern Weapons users)
Special Abilities: Chance of Critical Kill at range, Able to
mix potions and powders together
Spellbooks: Alchemy
Skill bonus: Ranged Combat
Experience Requirement: Medium
Difficulty to Maintain: Easy/Medium
Options for race:
* Human:
Extra points at creation: 25
The human will have good stats in all categories, particularly piety.
Piety is important for hybrids, for 2 reasons; stamina and spell points.
The five extra speed that the hobbit has, and 5 extra starting points to
distribute in my mind does not make up for this. They will be terrible
casters as compared to a human.
Hobbit:
Extra points at creation: 30
Since the Ranger will most likely not be casting too often, you might
want to take a hobbit just for their extra speed and extra points to
distribute. They also have a little better magic resistance than humans
(Not much though).
Mook:
Extra points at Creation: 40
Some will claim the mook to be the best Ranger, and he does gets Eagle
eye the fastest. However, his piety and speed start off at an atrocious
level meaning poor initiative and spell points. You'll have to put a
bunch of points in there or just say spells don't do anything for my
ranger. It's only one level earlier.....please....
Unbiased Explanation:
He's the only one in the game who can scout...which really isn't that
important if you have a character with high senses. On the plus side,
he's great in a ranged party, especially with his critical kill ability.
Cons: Limited armor selection, and little desire to use melee weapons
with him make him useless in a melee party. Also, because bows are ranged,
you're very rarely going to use his alchemy skill, a shame because that's one
of the best spellbooks.
Biased explanation:
You're gonna want to focus on Dex, and Sen With him in the
beginning so str is out, making him do very weak damage with bows.
Scouting is not that important and he doesn't really do too many
criticals until much later in the game. Also, if you use modern weapons,
ammo is scarce. I'd skip this one unless I was creating a ranged party.
Attributes to work on, in order of importance:
Sen
Dex
Str
Int
Options of skills to work on:
Bow - If you want to use bows with him. He'll start off with a bow so
that's usually A pretty good option.
Modern Weapons - This is probably the better option for a ranger. It
allows him to forgo any need for strength. You don't get a modern
weapon for a while though....
Ranged Combat - 3 POINTS A LEVEL!!! This controls the amount of
criticals he gets.
Scouting - CAN be useful, but you can also keep the search button on.
Put some initial points here if you want. It goes up pretty fast by itself.
Alchemy - for casters. Gets you them alchemy spells. However,
you'll prob use the spells less than your bows....
Realm skills - for most hybrids I say let em rise by themselves, but
since you'll be using Spells less with him, I say try to put a point into
Earth and water each level.
Polearms - Honestly.....these are not the melee guys, I wouldn't even
worry about putting points into this. If you do however, polearms are a
good choice, cause it allows them to stick to the backrows.
Samurai:
Rating: B
Special Abilities: Critical Kill, Lightning Strike, immune to fear
Spellbooks: Wizardry
Skill bonus: Sword
Experience Requirement: Medium
Difficulty: Medium/Hard
Options for race:
* Human:
Extra points at creation: 20
Again, as with the ranger, the decent starting piety allows the Samurai
a good amount of spell points for casting spells. Other than that, there's
not much else to say, he's the best for a true hybrid Samurai.
Hobbit:
Extra points at creation: 25
The hobbit starts of with more senses than the human. He'll also have
more points to distribute at startup making him a great candidate for
Samurai. However, you will have to deal with the fact, that he'll be a
much poorer spellcaster than the human will be throughout the game.
You don't really want to put initial points into piety.
Unbiased Explanation:
The Samurai is a good fighter, and he gets critical kills at melee. He
CAN use bows, but where he really shines is his Melee plus wizardry
combo he has going on. His lightning strike ability is cool
ESPECIALLY with a certain sword in his hand. Cons? You want to
focus a lot on Dex and spd early on so he won't be doing too much
damage. This is offset by a certain weapon you can get early in the
game. Still, he's not as good of a fighter as the fighter, and he can't
use as much armor as the fighter Valk or Lord. Even so you want him
up front. Take a human for a true hybrid, or a hobbit if you want a
combat specialist.
Biased Explanation:
I would go for the true hybrid with the Samurai. Making him a pure
fighter is like having a Diet-Fighter in the party. It would be a spot
better suited for someone else. He can deal death to many opponents,
and can freeze flesh, fireball, etc. Takes a little while, but he's
a Very useful member to have around.
Attributes to work on, in order of importance:
Dex
Str
Int
Sen
Options of skills to work on:
Sword - Pretty obvious. You can also use staff and wand with him, but
with that build, you could take a monk.
Close combat - Let it rise by itself. Maybe a couple of points before
you unlock Wizardry.
Critical Strike - Please put points here. Otherwise suck it up and take
a fighter
Dual Weapons - If you want to use the secondary swords like an
enchanted wakizashi. The more swings the better.
Wizardry - Get them Wizardry spells!
Realm skills - If you have a point or two left over, pump em into fire
and water.
Bows - Honestly, use the wizardry....good support spells, and multi
damage attacks. Also Samurai won't really have good strength for a
while, thereby minimizing damage with bows.
Ninja:
Rating: B- (A- if Faerie)
Special Abilities: Auto Penetrate Thrown weapons, Thrown and
melee Criticals, Able to mix potions and powders together
Spellbooks: Alchemy
Skill bonus: Critical Strike
Experience Requirement: Heavy
Difficulty to maintain: Hard
Options for race:
* Faerie:
Extra points at creation: 5
Faerie ninjas have terrible starting points, but they're the only
ones who can use the best weapon in the game. If you want to use it,
this is who you take. Keep in mind too that faeries are made very
difficult to kill. In combination with the nasty staff you'll be using,
you'll have an unstoppable force. Also, they have MUCH better magic
resistances than a hobbit. However this build doesn't make use
of their auto penetrate ability...
Hobbit:
Extra points at creation: 30
Normally piety kills the hobbits and hybrids, but not so much in the
ninja's case. This is because quite frankly, he'll rarely be using spells.
He already has auto penetrate, and good weapons to boot. He's a
combat specialist.
Unbiased Explanation:
Where do I begin? A bonus to criticals is great, and while it takes a
while, the ninja will be a great death dealer. His auto-penetrate with
thrown weapons is amazing, especially when that's combined with
thrown criticals. Also, he has access to a lot of cheap weapons, with
kill% and KO percentage on them, so you'll want him to be dual
wielding at all times. He can use slings: they won't auto penetrate, but
he can get criticals with them. Cons: He'll never do a lot of damage
until you pump his str. or use a special weapon. He's a very luck
based character, and he has so many skills to max to make him good,
that it takes an eternity to get him to that point. His alchemy is wasted
considering you really need to focus on the other skills for a long time.
This can be offset by taking light and heal wounds early on and just
practicing them. Also severely limited weapons and armor choices.
Faeries are only good with them for one specific reason...otherwise
take a hobbit.
Biased Explanation: I write this with tears in my eyes (not really).
The main problem for the ninja besides all the skills that need to be
pumped, besides the heavy experience requirements...and besides
the fact that they are luck based...is the SEVERE lack of thrown
weapons. Like seriously...what the hell?? This can be offset
by a certain thrown weapon later on, but you must go through an
INCREDIBLY difficult fight to get it. (Although to be fair, when I did
finally win that fight my ninja was the only one left standing. Then
she said, "This is what happens when people like you are put in
charge!"). But still, this fight is nearly impossible to win until
you're at least level 14, or 15, and the fact remains is that these
weapons do little damage. And if you're gonna go the martial arts
route, you may as well take a monk...at least he can consistently use
his psionics, and has less experience requirements. But the lack of
thrown weapons, minimizes the ninja's special abilities. This is really
why it's usually better to take a faerie, and exploit the strongest weapon
in the game. Ninja's also take a loooong time to really develop.
Attributes to work on, in order of importance:
Dex
Sen (Or str if faerie)
Str (Or Sen if Faerie)
Int
Options of skills to work on:
Staff and Wand - Faeries only. Gets you the best weapon in the game
Dagger - Sai have kill % on them. These are a good option for your
ninja
Mace and Flails - Nunchuka are cool, with 15% KO, and the ninja can
use the best Flails in the game. However they can't use diamond eyes,
which is absolutely incredible, and if you want maces and flails, you
should really go with a priest switched to lord at level 2. See tips
section below.
Martial Arts - If you don't want to use weapons. But if you're gonna
do that take a monk. Less experience requirements, and a bonus to
Martial arts to boot.
Close/Ranged combat - Yeah.....don't waste points here. Let it rise.
Stealth - Put points here, or train him by allowing weak enemies to attack
him. Either way get it up there.
Throwing and sling - Auto penetrate is great, and thrown criticals are
fun. However if you're taking a faerie for the staff and wand, don't put
points here. Let it train by itself. You'll regret it later on....
Dual Weapons - You're really missing out if you're not dual wielding
with a ninja. However there are builds that allow you to forgo putting
points here....see below in the tips section.
Critical strike - The ONLY reason one takes a ninja. If you're not
putting points here, may god have mercy on your soul.....
Alchemy - I'd love to tell you you're gonna have plenty of points to put
here, but most likely you won't. Hard work is what allows this to rise.
It's easier with a faerie ninja however, since you likely won't be putting
points into throwing, or using throwing too much.
Realm skills - DO NOT put points here until you've absolutely
finished everything else.
Locks and Traps - I will murder you if you waste points here. Let a
gadgeteer or bard do it. Or keep inspecting a trapped chest. (Set the
game on easy if you do that)
Pickpocket - See above
Monk:
Rating: B+
Special Abilities: Damage Resistance, Immune to Blind, May KO
opponents later on, Critical Strike
Spellbooks: Psionics
Skills Bonus: Martial Arts
Experience Requirement: Medium
Difficulty to Maintain: Easy/Medium
Options for Race:
* Felpurr:
Extra points at creation: 25
Felpurr have great starting speed. This is great for martial arts monks
cause the damage from that rises as martial arts does. Since the
felpurrs have less strength, they are not as affected by it. Piety is not a
factor here cause monks already have a piety requirement. They also
have great resists, which really tips the scales over the other races I
chose. Their -15 to water can be countered by an item you get in
arnika early in the game.
Human:
Extra points at creation: 25
Humans have better starting strength and vitality than felpurr do. This
means more hit points, and better damage with weapons. If you want
a staff and wand monk, he should be your man. He'll have better
damage earlier in the game than the felpurr. No resists brings him
down a bit though.
Dwarf:
Extra points at creation: -15
While a dwarf has a horrendous -15 points to start off with, they also
have damage resistance. This is VERY useful combined with the
monks own resistances. However, they're probably better in a smaller
party since they won't be really kickass until the higher levels.
Unbiased Explanation:
The monk's main weapon is martial arts, a very powerful
skill to have. While each hit won't do much damage, he gets a lot of
them eventually, and they increase in power as Martial arts goes up.
He's effectively dual wielding without needing to put a single point into
the dual wield skill. He doesn't need expensive weapons or armor to make
him effective, which is also nice. He is a luck based character to a
degree, but less so than the Ninja, and he requires less experience to do
so. He can also use the best staffs in the game which may or may not be
useful to you. Cons: Not as much damage as a Fighter and SEVERELY limited
armor choices. These are offset by the stealth skill, and damage
resistance. Also, he has lower hit points, which are also offset by these
skills. Very poor ranged fighter, must rely on psionics, which aren't
always useful in those situations.
Biased Explanation:
I LOVE martial arts fighters, always have, in any RPG. Critical kills
will be good later on, and the monk gets the chance to swing many,
many times, thereby increasing the chance of those criticals. While
Ninjas can do that too, monks have less of an experience requirement,
and less skills to worry about pumping (Martial, Stealth, Psionics and
Critical. That's it.)
Attributes to work on, in order of importance:
Dex
Str
Sen
Int
Options of skills to work on:
Martial Arts - Weapon of choice. They are bad boys with their fists.
Staff and wand - To use the second deadliest staff in the game (and use
it well)
Close combat - Not too important for him, and plenty of other skills
to work on. Let it rise.
Stealth - Put points here, or train him by allowing roaches to attack
him. Either way get it up there.
Critical Strike - Put points here please.
Throwing and sling - You can setup your monk to use this. However,
he doesn't auto penetrate like a ninja, or have thrown criticals. You're
better off using Psionics.
Psionics - Points here gets you psionic spells!
Realm skills - Don't put points here until combat oriented skills are
finished. Mental and fire.
Rogue:
Rating: B
Special Abilities: Backstabbing with Swords and Daggers
Spellbooks: None
Skill Bonus: Locks and Traps
Experience Requirement: Light
Difficulty to maintain: Hard
Options of races:
* Felpurr:
Extra points at creation: 55
As stated above, they have great resists. Their penalties to piety and
Vitality don't make a huge difference here, because with such high
speed and dex they will not be getting hit too often, and they don't cast
spells. Plenty of points to distribute at creation ensures good scores in
it's important attributes.
Hobbit:
Extra points at creation: 60
A little better starting vitality than a felpurr, but his lack of resists in
my opinion pulls him further down the totem pole. Plus you can
always distribute points to bring up a felpurrs vitality. Otherwise, very
comparable stats, and 5 extra starting points.
Unbiased Explanation:
The rogue is good at dealing out lots of damage. He can pick locks
well, pickpocket, dual wield, very little experience cost, and be
stealthy. This limits the needs for heavy armors. He can also backstab,
doing double damage, with NO hit penalty. Cons: There are just too
many skills for him to pump. Unlike a fighter, he needs to put points
into a skill to get good AC, tough cause you already want to be
pumping Swords Daggers, dual weapons, and a ranged weapon. The
ranged weapon can be offset By making him a dracon and using breath
attack for ranged however. There's another build I've made, that will
allow you a ranged weapons. See below in the tips section. They are
also really limited to swords and daggers for melee weapons. His locks
and traps bonus is really wasted considering you're not going to want
to devote points to it.
Biased Explanation:
If you want a dual wielding combat specialist, this is your guy. He'll
deal more damage than a lord. However, it might be easier just to set
up a fighter to dual wield. The fighter does not need to put points into
a skill to have high AC. The Rogue WILL always backstab at no hit
penalty so that's nice. And he can use some very good weapons. Just
don't expect him to be everything at once. If you want to take him,
take a bard or gadgeteer along too, to do Locks and traps.
Attributes to work on, in order of importance:
Str
Dex
Sen
Int
Options of skills to work on:
Sword - Put that in your primary weapon. He'll do more damage with
these than with a second dagger.
Dagger - For your secondary weapon.
Close combat - Will help him. however there are so many skills he
needs to work on, that it doesn't make sense to put points here.
Bow - He can use bows, and he'll be pumping strength so it's a good
option for him.
Throwing and sling - You can dual wield knives and darts, and it will
allow your Dual weapons skill to rise as well. Another good option for
him. Can't use shuriken however....
Dual Weapons - This guy was made for this. However, I've
constructed a build that allows you to forgo putting any points in this.
See below in the tips section.
Stealth - You should put points here. However rogues can use better
armor than monks or Ninjas, so they have more time to build it up.
Lock and Traps - It' better to have a Gadgie or bard do it, but if you
don't have either (What is wrong with you!) this is your man. It will
take away points from combat skills though...
Pickpocket - I never used this but some people like it. Again, it will
take points away from combat skills. If you really want it, I would
suggest taking a bard and having him do it, or wait till you get myles
or saxx.
Shield - If you don't want to dual wield with him. This will take
some killing potential away, but the merit to this build is that
he also won't have to raise dual weapons as well. Plus swords
are the stronger weapon.
Bard:
Rating: B
Special Abilities: Plays music. When resting everyone regenerates
quicker.
Spellbooks: None
Skill Bonus: Communications
Experience Requirement: Light
Difficulty to maintain: Easy
Options of race:
* Hobbit:
Extra points at creation: 35
The hobbit has a good amount of points to distribute at starting and a
GREAT score in dex. This will be good for the bard, for it helps in
many of his key skills. You may want to put some initial points into
vitality though, as the hobbit has very poor piety.
Unbiased Explanation:
The Bard has many instruments that allow him to cast spells at the cost
of a little stamina. He can also take over locks and traps duties, and
pickpocketing as well, due to his lack of skills he needs to focus on.
His ability to help everyone regenerate quicker while sleeping is mildly
useful. He can also use some good swords, and even dual wield.
Cons? He might be able to use swords, but he doesn't really have anything
else to supplement them with. A rogue has backstabbing. A fighter has
berserk. He is just an OKAY fighter. He can use bows, but you're more
likely going to be using instruments at range. Later on his instruments
are weaker compared to the gadgets that gadgeteers can make. Having an
unlimited haste spell is really nice though...
Biased Explanation:
The bard is a jack of all trades. Almost everything he can do, other
classes do better. I think a gadgie is better for locks and traps and
spell "casting". Both have heal all, and the gadgie has more versatile
mass damage spells.
Attributes to work on, in order of importance:
Str
Dex
Vit
Pie (Or Sen if dual wielding)
Options of skills to work on:
Swords - A good option for attacking. The bard can use a great sword
with kill % on it too...
Dagger - If you want to dual wield. Stilettos are nice for a bard
due to their kill %.
Staff and wand - To use the second deadliest staff in the game. Staff
and wand also allows him to stick to the backrows, and participate
in melee.
Dual weapons - What do you think? We put points here to cast spells?
Music - Um....put points here??
Locks and Traps - If you got no gadgie, he's your man. Won't start
with any points here though...
Pickpocket - Unlike the rogue, he has so few skills to work on that you
can put points here. However if you have the patch, don't. It's
absolutely useless.
Communications - If you want. It WILL go up very fast by itself
though. Plus I can't remember when this skill EVER helped me.
Gadgeteer:
Rating: A-
Special Abilities: Only one who can use Omnigun, Makes Gadgets
Spellbooks: None
Skill Bonus: Modern Weapon
Experience Requirement: Light
Difficulty to Maintain: Easy/Medium
Options for Race:
Hobbit:
Extra points at creation: 30
The hobbit has great stat distribution, and to make a good gadgeteer
you need good points in every category (except piety). He starts off
with good speed, which takes him a major step above the other races
for this class. His low piety means you should put some points into
vitality initially though
Gnome:
Extra points at creation: 25
Decent piety ensures more stamina than either the mook or hobbit. He has
the same speed as a mook however, but other stats are comparable.
Mental and earth resistance are good too.
* Mook:
Extra points at creation: 30
Good vitality and strength to start off with and great resists puts him
near the top for a gadgie. He has TERRIBLE piety, (low stamina) and
low speed however, so you'll find yourself putting points into speed
initially, and possible a bit into Vitality. But his resists really bring him
a step above all the others.
Unbiased Explanation:
On top of being able to create some pretty badass Gadgets, the
Gadgeteer can use the locks and traps skill and is pretty good at it.
The major bonus is the omnigun, which can inflict all sorts of different
ailments on the enemies. He'll never do great damage with it, but he
holds his own, and all it takes is the shot that KO's the opponents,
criticals, insanitizes him etc. I can't count the amount of times the
omnigun made a tough battle a cakewalk. Cons. From level 1-9 you'll
be cursing my name screaming why did I ever let him talk me into this
horrible character!! In the beginning, he'll have access to VERY few
gadgets, and poor ammunition for the omnigun. Those are really the things
you want to focus on with him, so he'll be weak for a while. Also he's
not the biggest damage dealer, relying more on either gadgets, or the
nasty effects of the omnigun. Gadgets also don't come formed, you have
to figure out which pieces go where.
Biased Explanation:
It's worth the wait. Since he has very few skills that need to be
worked on, once he gets off the ground he soars. The omnigun is
amazing, especially when he firing off nine shots a round. By the end
of the game the bard's instruments pale to this guys gadgets. It really
all depends on whether you're willing to wait or not. But for me, he's
a requirement in any party I make. In my first ascension, my gadgeteer
led the group in kills.
Attributes to work on, in order of importance:
Dex
Sen
Str (Only to 60)
Vit
Pie
Options of skills to work on:
Modern Weapons - Omnigun. Period
Engineering - Gadgets. Period.
Locks and Traps - In my opinion, since he has so few skills to work on
he's the best candidate for this skill. He also starts with points in it
unlike the bard.
Ranged combat - Max Modern weapons first, then start working on
this.
Sword - If you want him to get involved in melee he can use some
good swords. More than likely however, he will not.
Shield - If you don't want to use your omnigun(Sniff!), or if you want
a sword and shield plus omnigun gadgeteer. Please do me a favor and
take a fighter or ranger if you're gonna do that. Or at least don't tell
me...
Priest:
Rating: C- (B- for a Battle Priest)
Special Abilities: Pray for miracle, Turn undead
Spellbooks: Divinity
Skill Bonus: Divinity
Experience Requirement: Light/Medium
Difficulty to maintain: Easy
Options for race:
Rawulf:
Extra points at creation: 50
The Rawulf is a natural priest, and gets a lot of points to distibute
initially. He also has great resists and decent starting dexterity,
speed and senses. This means That he'll be able to fight well, but not
nearly as good as a lord or a Valk. You might want to put initial points
into intelligence however, cause he's dumb as a brick.
Dwarf:
Extra points at creation: 50
Better strength, so if you're making a battle priest this is your guy.
HOWEVER; Horrendous scores in intelligence, Dex, spd, and sen
means you might want to put a bunch of points in those skills. At least
Dex and int. Speed and senses can wait, unless you really need your
priest to have good initiative.
* Human: Only take a human if you're planning to switch to a lord at
level 2. See below in the tips section.
Dracon: Only take a dracon if you're planning to switch to a lord at
level 2. See below in the tips section.
Unbiased Opinion:
For a caster the priest can use some decent weapons and armor. He'll
also get the Divine spells faster than any other class, which can be
very useful because divinity has some very important spells. He can also
use some great staffs and maces as well. Cons? Divinity has nearly 0
offensive options, it's all about defense. Also, it's not so important
for a priest to get to spell level 7, all the best spells are in levels
1-5. Turn undead is rarely useful and a bishop has it as well.
I never used pray for a miracle.
Biased Opinion:
You can take a lord or a Valk, and get the important spells soon
enough. Soul Shield, Superman, Rest all, Armorplate, Heal all, etc. And
ALL of those have gadgets or Instruments you can use to cast them!
Seriously, this dude is a waste of space. I would only create him, to
change to a lord at level 2. See the tips section below.
Attributes to work on, in order of importance:
Str
Dex
Pie
Vit
Options of skills to work on:
Mace and Flail - The priest can use the best extended Maces and Flails
in the game.
Staff and wand - Can use the second deadliest staff in the game. This
is probably the better option.
Divinity - Why are you taking a priest again? OH, that's right.
Realms skills - you'll have points left over. Put points into Water and
divine.
Shield - Mace and Flail users only. If you want to tank with a priest.
Don't need to put TOO many points in here though...
Alchemist:
Rating: B-
Special Abilities: Creates Potions while resting. Can mix potions and
powders together to make new ones.
Spellbooks: Alchemy
Skill Bonus: Alchemy
Experience Requirement: Light/Medium
Difficulty to maintain: Easy
Options for race:
* Elf:
Extra points at creation: 45
Less starting speed than the faerie, but MUCH better piety, important
to get more spell points. Also has a bit better vitality, meaning more
hit points which are always important. Still, pump some extra points
into speed and bring up his initiative.
Faerie:
Extra points at creation: 50
Great starting speed allows her to go first in battle. She'll have a lot of
points to distribute at startup, but you'll need a lot of them to pour into
piety at startup for more spell points. Poor hit points too, you might
want to put some extra points into vitality as well. Great Magic resists
as well.
Unbiased Opinion: Being able to mix potions and powders together is
a GREAT skill. You can do this to make money, and it helps build
your alchemy skill. He'll also get the best alchemy spells quickest,
which is great, because Alchemy spells are VERY powerful. He also
starts with some points in throwing, making him an ideal choice to toss
some of those bombs around. Cons? Limited armor selection, weak
hp. Not a very big deal, cause you're not gonna be putting him on the
front lines. Also, and the problem with all casters is that he has less
versatility than most other characters. His throwing ability makes him
a step above the others, but not a huge one.
Biased Opinion: I would rather have a bishop that casts alchemy
spells. It leaves open spots that other, more versatile characters can fit
in. On the other hand there's something nice to be said about getting
uber spells early on.
Attributes to work on, in order of importance:
Int
Piety
Dex
Vit
Options of skills to work on:
Staff and wand - Can whack and smack from the back!
Alchemy - Don't put points here.....see if I care.
Realm skills - PLENTY of points left over. Water and Earth
Throwing and sling - He starts off with some points here, so he can
throw some bombs around if you want him too.
Bishop:
Rating: A-
Special Abilities: Remove Curse, Turn Undead, Can mix powders and
Potions together.
Skill Bonus: Artifacts
Spellbooks: All
Experience Requirement: Heavy
Difficulty to maintain: Hard
Options for race:
* Faerie:
Extra points at creation: 25
Again, great magic resists brings her far up the totem pole cause
bishops will more than likely only be damaged by magic. Great
starting speed assures her going pretty quickly in battle as well. Their
low piety is not a factor here as bishops have a starting requirement in
it. Also, they have great magic regeneration. Poor Vitality does not
ensure too many hit points however.
Elf:
Extra points at creation: 30
Better vitality than a faerie. But the real factor is that elf bishops will
be able to wear much better armor than a faerie will. This can be good
in case the party gets surrounded. Elves also get powercast a level
quicker than a faerie does. Less Magical resists though.
Unbiased Opinion: As long as you pick a non-faerie, The bishop can
use decent armor and weapons for a caster, not that you'll be attacking
with him too much. If you take faerie, he can't use them, but he will
have faster magic regeneration. His remove curse ability can be very
useful, turn undead is all but useless. Mixing powders and potions
together is another great skill for him to have. His versatility with all
four spellbooks, will make him an important character to any team.
Cons? He's not going to be overly powerful for a while, and you really
shouldn't pick too many spells with him, saving all the choices for
level six and seven spells. Purchasing a lot of books, can get VERY
expensive too.
Biased Opinion: You NEED one of these in any party. They are such
a staple with their versatility of spells, forgoing the need for any other
specialty casters. I'll go into more depth in the tips section.
Attributes to work on, in order of importance:
Int
Pie
Sen
Spd
Vit
Dex
Options of skills to work on:
Alchemy, Divinity, wizardry, Psionics - Pick three or four of these,
and stick with em.
Realm Skills - Let them rise by themselves. It's more important to put
points into the schools.
Artifacts - If you put points here, I will beat you over the head with a
lead pipe. Artifacts will rise fast by itself, and the spell Identify is
available very early on. No need to waste points here, even if you
really feel the need to use the scrolls you find. Again, it goes up fast
enough by itself.
Psionic:
Rating: C
Special Abilities: 100% immune to mental ailments
Spellbooks: Psionic
Skill Bonus: Psionic
Experience Requirement: Light/Medium
Difficulty to maintain: Easy
Options for race:
Faerie:
Extra points at creation: 45
See Alchemist
* Rawulf:
Extra points at creation: 25
The Rawulf may not have as many points to distribute, but has MUCH
better vitality and piety than a faerie so he'll have more hit points and
more spell points. He does have lower speed, but it's not as big of a
deal, because they have a starting senses requirement, giving them
good initiative anyway. They do have comparable resists to a faerie though.
It's a trade off. You want a lot more piety and vitality, and don't mind
getting Powercast two levels later, go with a Rawulf. For better speed,
and powercast two levels earlier, go with a faerie.
Unbiased Opinion: He'll get psionic spells quicker than everyone else.
The 100% immunity to mental spells can be nice. Cons? The
main problem here is that he's EXTREMELY weak in regards to hp,
and armors. Also, as with all casters, he will not be very versatile by
the end of the game. all he can do are psionics.
Biased opinion: 100% immunity to mental spells on a weak caster CAN
be useful since when the rest of your party is laughing, he has the
ability to heal them. But honestly, that situation doesn't come up
THAT often and by mid to late you'll have plenty of ways to reduce
that chance. You're better off making a bishop and giving
him iron will. A monk can be an ok substitute too, but there are some
strong level 6 and 7 psionic spells that will be difficult for a hybrid to
get to.
Attributes to work on, in order of importance:
Int
Pie
Sen
Vit
Options of skills to work on:
Psionics - And here I thought he'd be using axes....
Realm skills - Lots of points should be left over. Mental and fire.
Mage:
Rating: C+ (B- for Faerie Mage)
Special Abilities: +5% Resistance on all realms
Spellbooks: Wizardry
Skill bonus: Wizardry
Experience Requirement: Light/Medium
Difficulty to Maintain: Easy
Options for race:
* Faerie:
Extra points at creation: 45
See Alchemist. Also the +5 Resistances on all realms, combined with
the Faeries own resistances make him an insane magic resistant,
speedy little guy.
Elf:
Extra points at creation: 45
See Alchemist
Unbiased Opinion: The 5% resistance is a great feature to have,
especially because he has low hp. Wizardry spells especially at their
highest levels can be very powerful, and the mage gets them the
quickest. Cons? Weak Hp and armor. Also a lot of enemies become
very resistant to a lot of the mage spells later in the game, making him
a less important member of the team.
Biased Opinion: Again, as with the other specialists, I would say
you're better off making a bishop. The bishop can be just as powerful
as a mage, and is MUCH more Versatile, so he doesn't drop in
usefulness near the end of the game.
Int
Pie
Sen
Spd
Vit
Options of skills to work on:
Wizardry - Psssha, what does a mage need with Wizardry
anyway.....oh wait....
Realms skills - Please put points into fire and water.
SECTION II: DEVELOPMENT TIPS
These are some tips for some of the trickier classes out there.
Lord:
There are a couple of ways to develop an effective lord character, but
my favorite way is to have him dual wield maces. First of all,
by dual wielding the same weapon, you're getting more swings with it,
therefore increasing it quicker. Second, it's one less skill that you
need to worry about at level ups; instead of pumping Sword and
dagger, or sword and maces, you just pump mace. Also, close combat
becomes less important, though you should still not completely ignore
it. Third, Maces usually can inflict status ailments on the enemy,
and the lord needs all the help he can get. There are also some GREAT
maces out there, particularly one that's a secondary weapon. My route is to
create a human priest. Build his stats so he'll be ready to switch to Lord
at level 2. At creation put five points into Mace, Divinity, and whatever
Realms of your choice. Pick 2 spells that you want, personally I'd take
heal wounds and stamina. Now he'll start with a mace, and have a GREAT
boost to divinity and maces and flails. Eventually, He'll be an effective
fighter, and spellcaster, making him a VERY useful character in your party.
Another interesting build for the Lord is this. There's an amazing staff
that he can use that's cursed. Normally this staff drains the hp of the
person equipped with it, but not so the Lord. Create a Dracon Priest, and
prep him to switch to Lord at Level 2. The dracon's low int and sen don't
mean much in this case since he's not dual wielding. Follow the build above,
but instead of increasing Maces increase staff and wand. With this build
the lord will not make use of his dual weapons skill (The staff is two handed)
which leaves a little extra room for increasing realms, making him an excellent
caster and fighter.
Ninja:
Ok, he's a little tricky. First of all like I said before if you want a
martial arts master, you're really better off with a monk. The key to
the ninja are his weapons. And when I say weapons, I really mean staff and
wand. If the ninja could use the really deadly swords (Fang)
then swords would be great, but he can't. Mace and flail would be awesome
if he could use diamond eyes, but even if he could there's no kill % on
maces so his criticals aren't being exploited. But staffs and wands are
great with a faerie or non-faerie ninja. The faerie ninja can use the
strongest staff in the game. The non faerie can use the second best staff
in the game, but a monk can use it too however, and he takes less experience
points, AND the staff is cursed so your auto penetrate ability goes to waste.
So if you're gonna go the staff and wand route, you might as well go faerie.
If you really want him, this is what I would suggest:
Faeries are a double edged sword. You're trading off the great thrown
auto penetrate ability for the best melee weapon in the game. Why can't
I use both you make ask? Good question. The melee weapon is cursed, which
means you will not be able to switch between them in the middle of battle.</pre><pre id="faqspan-2">
Now this makes them easier to manage than hobbits, because they will not be
using throwing and sling but auto penetrate is a great ability.
Anyway, pump Dex and str each level with a faerie. Dex controls most of the
important skills for a ninja and gets him the reflexion skill. With str,
the ninja will be doing even more damage on top of the weapons extraordinary
damage. Start off by pumping Staff and wand, critical strike, and dual
weapons. The only time i advocate grinding is this with stealth. There's a
set group of roaches in the monastry you can save for this purpose till you
come back. After about an hour, his stealth should be over 60 or so. You can
do it to your hearts content, but make sure you have enough healing. you'll
have to babysit a bit.
Anyway, once Alchemy is unlocked, you can quit putting points into
too many points into staff and wand because with his str and dex so high,
it'll go up well enough. Another trick, take a faerie whatever at creation,
then drop it for a character you really want so your ninja will have a second
fairie stick right from the start.
For the hobbit, at level ups Dex and Sen, then Str and Int. As with the
faerie, you want to get dex to 90 asap. As far as skills go pump Melee
weapon, throwing, Criticals and stealth. Why no dual weapons?
Because since you will be dual wielding ALL the time, dual weapons
will go up extremely fast. (You are dual wielding right???) Also,
you're probably not going to want to put points in Alchemy for a
while, cause it will take points away from the important melee and thrown
weapons. Because of auto penetrate, you will be using alchemy less as well.
During that time take light and heal wounds and cast them all the time.
Alchemy will go up slowly but surely, and once you max critical strike
you'll be able to start putting points into it.
Mixing potions help with all of this too.
Also, if you know you're going to use daggers, create him as a rogue,
and set up his attributes so that he can switch to ninja at level two.
He'll start off with points in daggers, stealth, and dual weapons. At
creation pump Stealth, daggers, and dual weapons. Then when you switch
him to ninja at level 2 he'll get five free points in Critical strike
and throwing and sling. He won't have the ninja garb though, so create a
bum non faerie ninja and then discard him in the beginning of the
game and take the character you really want.
Rogue:
If you take this guy, stick with his combat abilities and let a bard or
gadgeteer do the lockpicking. He really does excel at melee combat.
Here's a couple of things that might help. At creation max out on str.
and dex, and split the remaining between speed and senses. Then, all
you need to do is put points into Sword, Dagger, Throwing, and stealth.
By pumping Str and Dex every level up, not only will you get reflexion
very quickly, but Dual weapons will SKYROCKET. You'll have such high
dex and senses it will seem like it's going up every level. To make it
even easier, put a dagger or dart in each hand so he dual wields at
Range too. However, keep in mind rogues can't use shuriken. You might
wanna use bows with them, and suck it up, cause the best thrown weapon
in the game, (cause it never gets used up) is a shuriken.
Bishop:
This one requires a lot of patience but in the end will be VERY worth
it. In the beginning, forget about initiative and work on Int and Pie.
Int will get power cast, and Piety for Iron will and more spell points.
Most of the time the Bishop will not be taking physical damage, but
will be taking magic damage. Also, I would take these spells as spell
picks. Level 1 Heal wounds and Mind Stab. Why mind stab? Cause it
will start building the mental realm, which will be important if you
make your bishop any kind of psionicist. Then pick missile shield and
Web, and DONE. You'll get light and Stamina in two books early on,
thereby putting one spell in each realm. I usually take 3 books, letting
my lord or Valk work on divinity, but if you want a 4th here's what I
would do. I would put 3 into one book and 2 each into the others.
Then next level 3 into another book and 2 in the others. And so on.
One final tip, don't put points ANYWHERE else. Realms skills will
go up very well by themselves. Just keep casting spells from each of
the different realms. And forget artifacts, or any weapon. If you must
use weapons, let them rise by themselves.
SECTION III: PARTY CREATION
There's a few things you should always keep in mind:
1. Have fun. This is a more complicated subject than some people
realize. There are definitely certain parties that will make the game
much more difficult and some that will make it easier. It all depends
on your playing style. Pick the characters you're gonna be happy with.
You'll be with them for a while....
2. A fighter or a Valk up front can help you avoid a LOT of trouble.
Fighters have the best hit points and Valks cheat death. They're both
very good for taking hits.
3. Locks and Traps is very useful. Make sure you have a dedicated
guy to this skill. Preferably a bard or a gadgie. It will help you open all
the chests, and some of the important locks are HARD.
4. You need at least one bishop or specialty caster. It'll help you out a
lot, ESPECIALLY in the early game. You can use potions, but potions
aren't refillable. Some one needs to be casting heal wounds.
5. Although it's not necessary, giving each of your characters a ranged
weapon can help you avoid some trouble. Especially during mid to late
game when you're fighting Rapax and plants. The ranged weapon can
be spells too.
6. Make sure your hybrids (With the exception of the ninja) have at
least a 45 in intelligence and piety. Intelligence allows their realm
skills to increase quicker, which is very helpful with hybrids, and piety
gives them more spell points.
7. Characters that are good in the early game, are not necessarily good
in the late game, and vice versa. A perfect example is a bard. A bard
starts off strong and gets some good instruments early on. But by late
game, you won't be using too many of them except Haste, rest all and heal
all. By the time you get the real good ones, most enemies are resistant
to them. A Gadgeteer on the other hand, will be a little weak in the
early game, but a powerhouse by the middle and end when you can make the
higher level gadgets, and use the best ammo in your omnigun. The
gadgets he creates are very versatile, allowing you to damage all sorts
of enemies. Choose a balance between these characters. It will make
the whole game a lot easier. And believe me, the very early game, and
the very late game can be VERY difficult. Especially if you're playing
on expert.
Good Early Game Characters:
Fighter
Valk
Bard
Rogue
Priest
Alchemist
Psionic
Mage
Good late game characters:
Fighter (Lots of hit points and great damage dealing make up for lack
of spells)
Valk (While her damage does taper off, she still hits hard, and can cast
great support spells)
Lord
Samurai
Ranger
Ninja
Monk
Rogue (Great damage dealing, and great AC make up for lack of
spells)
Bishop
Gadgeteer
If you want to use alot of different items in the game, and have every
mode of attack...
Dracon Fighter - Axe, Bow
Human Priest/Lord level 2- Mace and Flail
Felpurr Monk - Martial arts
Hobbit Rogue - Sword, Dagger, Throwing
Mook Gadgeteer - Gadgets, Modern weapons
Faerie bishop
Vi - Polearms, Modern Weapons
Saxx - Staff and Wand, Music
If you're a beginner:
Dracon Fighter
Human Valkyrie
Felpurr Monk
Hobbit Bard
Elf Alchemist
Faerie Mage
Vi - A good option. She's easy to maintain, and stays with you most of
the game.
RFS-1 - same as Vi.
If you want a party that'll be amazing by the end of the
game.....(Tough early game though)
Human Samurai - Sword (Fang/Muramasa/Enchanted Wakizashi)
Human Priest/Lord level 2 - Dual Wield Maces (Mauler/Diamond
eyes)
Felpurr Monk - Staff and wand (Staff of Doom)
Faerie Ninja - Staff and Wand (Cane of Corpus/Rod of sprites)
Hobbit Gadgeteer - Omnigun, gadgets
Elf Bishop
Vi - Polearms
RFS-1 - Martial Arts
My New party:
Dracon Fighter (Sword/Shield/Bows)
Dwarf Valkyrie (Polearms/Divinity)
Human Monk (Staff and Wand/Psionics)
Hobbit Gadgeteer (Omnigun/Locks and Traps/Gadgets)
Dwarf Priest (Staff and wand/Divinity)
Elf bishop (Wizardry/Psionics/Alchemy)
SECTION IV: VANILLA AND CHOCOLATE
The vanilla game is pretty simple, but certain mods come with
twists that only experience will allow you to overcome.
1. The Priest
In the vanilla game this guy is just really unnecessary.
The vanilla game, even on expert doesn't push you so far
to the brink early on that you can't survive without a
pure healer. I can't speak for most mods, but if you've modded
the game to Dodd's mod, you'll understand how vital having a
priest is. Forget heal wounds, or stamina, having the cures
magic screen and armorplate are all extremely vital.
This mod, esepcially on expert is brutal, that having a pure
caster priest is essential. You can even set him up to do
some decent damage with Staffs and wands which will also
allow him to stick to the backrows.
A bishop won't even cover it, because unless you're spending
hours training and sleeping, divinity won't go up fast enough to
help out, and with a bishop you don't wanna pick too many spells.
2. Psionics and alchemists, Bards and Gadgeteers
Psionics I've allready discussed how useless they are, but I
did toot the horn of the alchemist. Now I'm gonna crush it too.
Even in the vanilla game a bishop will satisfy your alchemists and
psionics if you so choose to have them. But ever notice the spells
a gadgie gets? Or a bard? This game does not do well with offensive
magic, preferring to rely on physical attackers instead. Psionics
have one unique supporting spell, and that's haste, and a bard
(or saxx) gets that very spell. Insanity, another cool unique spell
can also be cast by.....come on....you can guess it!.....the bard!
The alchemist has some nasty damaging spells, but guess who can cast
a good amount of those?? the gadgeteer! If you have a Samurai in
your party, you can pretty much elminate the need for a bishop, and
take just a priest instead! The alchemist has the curing spells,
but no major support spells like the magic screens, etc. The only
reason to take an alchemist character (Alchie, Ninja, etc.) is
to mix potions. If that's not your thing, then forget it!
3. Tank man! Starring, The fighter as tank man, Valkyrie,
Ninja and monk!
Having a high hit point, high ac dude right up front in the modded
more difficult game, will help you avoid some pain. And I don't
mean a samurai....the fighter will be indispensible to have up
front with a shield and Iron Skin. Take a dracon or lizzie too,
so they have the highest hit points possible. On the flanks you
can put a couple of valkyries or a monk with extended Staff and wands.
Valks can cheat death AND wear heavy armors, they're very much an
asset in these roles. Monks and Ninjas can get VERY high AC between
Stealth and Reflexion. Monk is better, but if you like ninja, a ninja
with a staff of doom can be a powerhouse...
4. Ranger?
Well, if you're used to the vanilla game, a ranger will DEF allow you to
spot things you might normally miss with their scouting ability. Plus,
their instant kill will be cool in the late game. Their alchemy
skill can help you substitute as a potion mixer, but quite frankly
so many better classes can handle ALL these things. In short, unless
you can't figure out a better class to put there, there's no point.
5. The Rogue
Hmmm....well, until you get his AC WAY up there, he's kind of a liability.
Unlike the fighter, or Valk, he can't use strong armors or have high
hit points, and unlike the monk or ninja, he's pretty inefficient with
extended weapons. Unfortunately, this Vanilla game powerhouse got punked
in these modded, more difficult and higher early pressure games.
6. Lords and Samurai
These two can be interesting if you can look past how they were designed,
and focus on what they're able to do. You don't want either up front
with a fighter, YET the game tells us that's where they're meant to be!
I say NEIGH!....um....nay....sorry....
Anyway, try letting them use staff and wands....WHAT? WHAT? WHAT?!!!
That's right I said it. Lords can use one of the deadliest staffs in
the game, and Samurais can use ALL the staffs in the game. To even
amplify that, Create a priest, then switch to a lord at level two.
Or for a Samurai create a mage (Hobbit is good) or a monk (human)
and switch to samurai at level 2. For actual numbers:
Priest-->Lord Staff and Wand 14, divinity 14
Mage---->Samurai wizardry 14
Monk---->Samurai Critical Strike 12 Staff and Wand 14
Put these guys in the center, away from the flanks and let them
whack away with extended weapons. A Samurai changed from a mage
will also be able to replace having a mage in the party! Changed
from a monk he can do the same, but it'll take quite a bit longer.
7. Mage and bishop
Mages have important spells like enchanted blade and missile shield.
I may be incorrect so please correct me if I'm wrong, but these
spells can only be replaced by scrolls. Not very efficient.
Bishops are a great way to replace them, Cause not only are these
spells not so urgently needed, but you can cast spells from the
other spellbooks as well. Just because bards and gadgies get some
of the critical spells, doesn't mean it's not fun to have all the
spells!
8. Parties:
The party I'm running right now is this:
Dracon fighter
Dwarf Valkyrie
Human Monk
Hobbit Gadgeteer
Dwarf Priest
Elf Bishop
It's very simple and vanilla, but sometimes that's what you need
in order to survive. My fighter focuses on Str and Vit to get as
many hit points as possible. My valk is on str and dex for killing
potential, while my monk Dex and sen to focus on accuracy, critical
strike and stealth. They're both on the flanks with extended weapons,
while the fighter bravely tanks from the front.
I started and restarted many times, and while right now I'm satisfied
I may restart yet again lol. You'll do the same. But with these
guidelines, I hope your experience will be slightly easier.
SECTION V: WEAPONS
WARNING, SPOILERS AHEAD!
In a guide based on classes, you might be wondering why I'm bringing up
weapons. Well, there's a very big reason, and it has everything to do
with character development.
In wizardry 6 and 7 your characters could switch between weapons like
James Bond switches between women. In wizardry 8 however, you’re better
off being married to your weapon straight from the start, with no messing
around.
The more options you give a character, the worse the character is going
to be for a long time. One main weapon, and one backup (Can be spells).
Thats it. The reason is weapons skills (and most skills in fact)
raise a LOT slower in this game than previous games. So you need to have
a plan. Lets go through the different weapon types with their advantages
and disadvantages. Note that I will only be referring to weapons that are
GUARANTEED to drop. It's silly to make a plan for a weapon that may or may
not show up unless you’re willing to reload three thousand times for a light
sword.
Type: Swords
Best Classes: Fighter, Bard, Rogue, Samurai, Lord
Other possibilities: Ranger, Gadgeteer
Notable Weapons: Bloodlust, Giant Sword (Mook Only), Ivory Blade, Fang,
Enchanted Wakizashi
In general, swords are the most abundant weapon in the game, and they are
saturated with strong late game weapons. They scale only slightly worse
than polearms and end up doing more damage than polearms do. Even though
the giant sword can only be used by mook you can find 4 (4!!!) in the game.
The Fang sword does great damage and has a nasty 10% Crit chance on it.
Great for all your dual wielders and classes who can't use the giant sword.
Ivory blade does more pure damage than Fang and it can cast the haste spell!
Yummy. A few issues however: With the exception of bloodlust, all these
weapons are not going to be attainable too early on, (hidden behind fights
or difficult areas) which means you'll be waiting a bit. Bloodlust is a
great early game sword, but you want it on a character that will be using
magic since it's cursed. Which means either the samurai, lord or bard.
It's too bad there’s only one of those.
Rangers usually focus on bows cause it's their strength which makes using
swords A) dangerous since they have to be on the frontline until they get a
giant sword and B) counterintuitive. Like I said earlier, you want to start
off focusing on the weapons you want to use. Since your ranger will be
shooting bows or slings, (and if he's not why are you taking a ranger),
your sword will get used very seldomly. A gadgeteer is also usually
splitting time evenly between gadgets and omnigun, giving them a similar
problem. Gadgeteers can't even use giant swords.
Where to find the noted weapons
Giant sword: Kill a death Lord (Southeast Wilderness Temple Fight,
Mountain Wilderness in a small crypt, and Bayjin)
Ivory Blade: Ferro can make one in Rapax Castle
Fang: Southeast wilderness (After the temple fight)
Bloodlust: In Antones Vault under Arnika
Type: Polearms
Best Classes: Fighter, Valkyrie,
Other possibilities: Ninja, Ranger
Notable Weapons: Mystic Spear, Dread Spear
Polearms peak early, but they peak VERY early, which means that your
polearms users will be hitting super hard for what is usually the most
difficult parts of the game. The dread spear, the strongest polearm does
significantly less damage than a giantsword or an ivory blade but on a
Valkyrie with exceptional polearm ability, they will be hitting more times,
earlier, than that particular weapon user. They do peak and by endgame are
GENERALLY outclassed by swords, but it's not that significant and certainly
doesn't mitigate their great early game strength. Also, since they are
extended weapons, they will still be able to attack those times when the
enemy is just outside the short melee range. A situation that does come
up quite often. Also, unlike most of the other weapons, the best polearms
are NOT stonewalled behind difficult fights. With a little alchemy, and a
bit of luck you can probably get dread spears at around level 8 or 9!
Rangers run into a similar problem as up above with the swords, but at
least with polearms he can hide on the backrows since they are extended.
Thanks to Biogoo on the Steam forums, it's come to my attention that a
Ninja can do good damage with polearms and it allows them to still throw
their auto penetrating throw weapons. Still won’t do as well as a Fighter
or Valk though.
Where to find the noted weapons:
Mystic Spear: Multiple places
Dread spear: Can buy from Bela in mountain wilderness or Ferro at
Rapax castle.
Type: Maces and Flails
Best Classes: Fighter, Lord
Other possibilities: Priest, Bishop, Ninja
Notable Weapons: The mauler, Diamond eyes, Vampire Chain
Maces and flails, at least early on, don't do a ton of damage. They
rely mostly on their K.O effects, more about setting up the enemy to
take hard damage from your fighters and Valkyries. This all changes
mid to late game when you find Diamond eyes. Diamond eyes is the best
secondary weapon in the game, usable by only a limited amount of classes.
This weapon is the main selling point of this skill. The payoff is
really nice on a dual wielding fighter or lord. You can even mix swords
and maces to do some good damage, but I prefer using the mauler with
diamond eyes. This way you don't have to raise two melee weapons skills.
The biggest problem is that all of this starts coming pretty late. No
easy way to get diamond eyes early on unlike some other weapons, and
both the mauler and vampire chain are buried in a rather dangerous
area. Which means your mace and flail guy is gonna be weak for a while.
Priests and bishops can't dual wield so the main selling point of maces
and flails is wasted. Bishops can stick to the back row with vampire
chain however. Ninja can dual wield but can’t use diamond eyes!!!!!
They're stuck with the mauler and one nunchucka. Not ideal, but if you
want to you can.
Where to find the noted weapons:
The mauler: Ferro Sells it.
Diamond eyes: Found in front of a crypt in the mountain wilderness
(Same one where you can get the giant sword)
Vampire Chain: Ferro can make it for you.
Type: Staff and wand
Best Classes: Ninja, Priest, Lord
Other possibilities: Any spellcaster, Samurai, Monk, Bard
Notable Weapons: Cane of Corpus (Fairy Ninja Only), Staff of Doom,
Zatoichi bo
I'm going to start this section off by saying that staffs have the
two strongest weapons in the game in their midst: The cane of corpus
and the staff of doom. One of these is a rather high probability drop
from a powerful enemy, but still beatable at a reasonable level with
the right stuff. The other is hidden in a cave in a VERY dangerous
neighborhood that you would have to get VERY lucky to avoid fighting
any enemies to get to. (I believe it's impossible, but not 100%
sure). So probably not till level 12 or so.
Now, here's the problems. Between these weapons (including the
zatoichi bo which is also hidden in a very dangerous neighborhood)
and early game weapons, there is a MASSIVE gap in damage, the hayai bo
being the strongest you can get, and that's nothing to write home about.
Your staff user is going to be doing paltry damage. This isn't as big
of a deal if you're training up a spellcaster or bard to use the Staff
of doom, but if you've created a fairy ninja for the cane that ninja is
gonna be nigh useless for a long time without some class changing
shenanigans (Which I personally don't find useful either). Again,
during the most dangerous parts of the game. The cane also has
inherent problems being cursed. See the ninja section. The staff of
doom is also cursed, but since it can be used by ANYONE (!!!!) it
doesn't carry the same problems that the cane has. Only Samurai
and monk can use the zatoichi bo and it seems like a waste when they
both can do way better things in the time it took them to get it.
Where to find the noted weapons:
Cane of Corpus: 80% drop from Don barlone
Staff of Doom: Hidden in a waterfall in the mountain wilderness
Zatoichi bo: A secret in Rapax Castle
Type: Daggers
Best Classes: Rogue, Bard, Ninja
Other possibilities: Fighter, Lord
Notable Weapons: Thieves dagger (Rogue only), Sai (Ninja only),
Stiletto (Non ninja), Poison Dagger, Canezou Dagger
Daggers are pretty good secondary weapons for rogues bards and
ninjas. Other classes usually have better options. My biggest
issue with these weapons is that they really make you wonder if
it's worth it half the time. A samurai can dual wield swords and
Enchanted wakizashi is pretty strong. A fighter and lord can dual
wield maces. But while dual wielding daggers can be fun for
roleplay purposes, for just pure killing purposes, it's not there.
The ninja is the one exception to that, but even he is better off
with either other weapons, or using it as a secondary.
Therefore, it's likely you’ll have to raise a separate weapon skill
to get the maximum effectiveness out of your dagger wielder. The
strongest dagger, the thief's dagger can only be used by rogues and
is cursed. This means when out of range, your rogue, will need to
find something else to do that's not shooting bows, which is a shame
cause that cuts down your killing potential with that class. He can
certainly throw bombs and powder and use scrolls, but that's not
really playing to his strengths. Other daggers really cap on the
actual damage they can do, but the stiletto is nice since it adds a
10% crit to it, and the poison daggers 50% poison ability is nice too.
That's cursed too, but you can put that on a bard or lord since they
have other abilities they can use. The canezou dagger is almost as
strong damage wise as a thieves dagger and has some scattered bonuses
as well.
Where to find the noted weapons:
Thieves Dagger: Sold by Crock and Antone
Sai: Sold by Crock
Stiletto: Drop from Rattkin
Poison Dagger: Sold by Antone
Canezou Dagger: By becoming a Templar in the Rapax castle
Type: Axes
Best Classes: Take Polearms (Fighter, Valkyrie)
Other possibilities: Take Polearms (Ranger?)
Notable Weapons: Take polearms
Wooooooo boy. Axes are like polearms dumber but more handsome
younger brother. Like polearms they peak early. Unlike polearms they
are heavy and clunky to use. And like polearms, they are outclassed by
other weapons by the end of the game. Unlike polearms, they are not
extended! And very much unlike polearms, the best axes are random drops!!!
WEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!
If you like the idea of a mad lizard wielding an axe, who am I to say no?
But for practicality's sake, axes really have very little going on for
them. They are stronger early game than some other weapons, (and even
then you have to have RNG on your side) but polearms are too, and those
are strengthened by the valkyrie’s bonus skill. Axes have no such bonus
by anyone.
Type: Martial Arts
Best Classes: Monk
Other possibilities: Monk (Ninja)
Notable Weapons: FISTS OF FURY, FIST OF THE NORTH STAR! MY LEFT FOOT!
FISTANDANTILUS!...sorry
To be honest there's not much to say about these. What makes them
great is that they're kind of like dual wielding weapons, without any
need for the dual wield skill. You can set them up to do good damage
per hit and they get tons of those hits. They are outclassed by the
better weapons, but not by a huge margin. Plus they're fun! Who doesn’t
love martial arts?? The reason ninja isn't the best option for it, is
monks gets a bonus to martial arts which means they will do more damage
with the skill. Also, ninja's take more experience points.
Type: Throwing and Sling
Best Classes: Ninja
Other possibilities: Alchemist, Ranger,
Notable Weapons: Boomerang Shuriken (Ninja and Monk only), Doubleshot Sling
Throwing and sling weapons themselves aren't that impressive. They
generally do less damage than bows or modern weapons, and not a ton
of impressive effects to work with. Unlike arrows and quarrels,
thrown weapons are sold in less of a quantity, so your dual wielding
ninja thrower is gonna run out of them really quickly until he gets the
boomerang shuriken…which is likely mid to late game due to where it is.
However, it is nice to get the throwing and sling SKILL to 30 or so on
someone so they can consistently use powders.
Ninjas have auto penetrate with thrown weapons, which is awesome
though unfortunately you'll be running out of thrown weapons while
dual wielding. A LOT. Also, the ninjas best weapon really interferes
with throwing and sling, and you really don't want your fairy ninja
to be the powder guy. Rangers can shoot stones from a sling and still
have ranged criticals, and alchemists can just put some points in to
throw the bombs. However, stones are EXTREMELY heavy to carry,
and if you're using the doubleshot sling, you'll be firing them off
a lot.
Where to find the noted weapons:
Boomerang shuriken: After the temple fight in the southeast
wilderness.
Doubleshot Sling: Random drops, Crock
Type: Bows and Modern Weapons
Best Classes: Ranger, Gadgeteer
Other possibilities: Fighter, Rogue, Valkyrie, Bard,
Notable Weapons: Tripleshot crossbow (Must have access to a
gadgeteer with 70 in engineering), Omnigun (Gadgeteer only),
Blunderbuss, Strong Bow, Eagle eye bow (Ranger only)
I lumped these two together, because for all intents and purposes
they are very similar. I like bows much better than modern weapons
(with the exception of the gadgeteer) for a couple of reasons
however: Unless you start with a gadgeteer you don’t get a modern
weapon for a little while. It's not a huge deal, only a few levels,
but it's something to think about. Also, ammo for modern weapons with
the exception of the amazing omnigun is only found in a few places.
It's annoying to have to go back for them all the time. The nice thing
about modern weapons however is that their damage does not scale off
strength, so for someone like a ranger, who shouldn't be meleeing a ton
he won't have to put too many points in strength. Also, you can get the
strongest modern weapon as soon as you get to umpani base camp. The
omnigun is arguably a better weapon, but it develops to that over time,
and is pretty weak early on.
However, for your big hitting melee guys bows are the way to go. Their
damage scales off strength, and especially the tripleshot crossbow will
do TONS of damage to the enemy. (To be fair, tons of stamina too). Do
not discount bows on a character with 100 in strength. If for some
reason you don't love the omnigun (WHY DAMN YOU??), the gadgeteer can
easily reach 100 Strength with the tinkers bracers (accessories that
are gadgeteer only and give +20 strength. You can wear two of them),
and he'll do good damage too! You can put bows on samurai as well,
though usually you will be using their magic instead. One of the only
disadvantages is carrying around tons of ammo all the time. It gets
heavy, especially with two tripleshot crossbow users. You might want
to just limit those to one since they rip through your ammo (and
enemies to be fair)like wet paper.
Where to find the noted weapons:
Tripleshot Crossbow: A gadgeteer with 35 in engineering can merge
two light crossbows to make a doubleshot crossbow. With 70, he
can merge a doubleshot with a light crossobow to make a tripleshot.
Omnigun: Gadgeteer starts with this, can steal from Madras.
Blunderbuss: Sold in Umpani Base camp
Strong Bow: Sold by Ferro
Eagle eye bow: Sold by Ferro
SECTION VI: GENERAL ADVENTURING TIPS
1. What's the key to winning a wizardry battle? LOCATION
LOCATION LOCATION! Some battles in this game can seem almost
impossible if you're not sure how to use your environment.
For example: A pack of 8 juggernauts; creatures with high AC
High hit points and decent damage encounter you. If they surround
your party, you might as well load from your last save cause
they're gonna trounce you. (I'm assuming you're not level 14
or above) However, if you can find a niche in the mountains to run
to you'll be able to fight these monstrosities one or two at a time.
As you can imagine, this makes the fight very long, but also, even
for a low level party, winnable.
2. If a sorcerer can see you, he can cast things at you. A quick
early game rule with these things....kill them fast. Don't bother
running up to them, slam em with your ranged weapons. This is why
I recommend all characters to have ranged weaponry. (Well it also
makes dealing with plants easier too). What if you can't? Hide
around a corner where they can't get you. They WILL follow you, and
then you slam em with your melee attacks. Later in the game, as you
get the shields (element/soul) the attacks arent nearly as dangerous.
3. ALWAYS Utilize your positioning grid. A lot of people don't
know this but you can change your characters position in the middle
of a ROUND of battle. It won't take effect till the next round, but
at least you don't have to waste another round to do it. It's good
for protecting hurt characters, taking them out of action until they're
healed. It's also good for getting characters in melee range of the
monsters.
4. There are certain areas you shouldn't go to until you are at least
a certain level. Unless you're looking for a big challenge,
(or are suicidal) you should follow these loose guidelines:
Lower Monastery: Level 1 Obviously. Wouldn't take on Gregor till at
least 4 or 5 though.
Upper Monastery: Level 5
Arnika Road: LEVEL 5!!!! Until you make it to Arnika, DO NOT raise
your characters levels before this road. It can make the trip nearly
unbearable.
Arnika: Level 6 or 7
Northern Wilderness: Level 8. But see note Below.
Arnika-Trynton Road: Level 8
Trynton: Level 10
Swamp: Level 11
Marten's Bluff: Level 13
Mines: Level 13
Southeast Wilderness: Level 12 or 13. But see note below.
Wilderness Clearing/Rapax Away Camp: Level 13 and Level 17 respectively.
Mountain Wilderness: Level 13
Mt. Gigas Caves: Level 16
Bayjin: Level 16
Bayjin Shallows: Level 17
Sea Caves: Level 17
Rapax: Level 17
Ascension Peak: Level 19 (You can go here earlier, but until you get
certain items there's really no point) Also there's a boss here that's
EXTREMELY difficult.
5. A point on the Northern Wilderness and Souteast Wilderness.
a. The northern Wilderness is easy enough, BUT, watch out for a cave
with a hogar guarding it. That is a battering hogar, and will trounce
a low level party. Wait till at Least Level 10 or 11 before attempting
to kill it. You'll be rewarded with some nice loot.
b. In the southeast wilderness, you might come across a temple.
If you do, DO NOT ENTER! Until you're at LEAST level 16, and
preferably higher, I wouldn't go in there to fight. You're
battling 6 cultists, A sorceress queen and two Death knights
(or whatever they're called). HOWEVER, if you have a gadgeteer, you
should try to sneak in there unseen and grab the metal belt and the
Lazarus stone, two items that when combined with electrodes make
gadgets that cast Superman and Heal All Respectively. Your reward for
winning this fight is AWESOME.....especially if you have a Non Faerie
Ninja or Samurai in your party.
6. Once you get them, ALWAYS have Missile Shield, Armorplate,
Enchanted Blade etc. cast and at full power. They make a huge
difference. Hogars are very difficult....until you have armorplate.
Siges are annoying as hell....until you have magic screen, or
element/soul shield. And so on. you never know what's gonna pop up
around the corner and surprise you. You don't want your casters wasting
a turn casting these buffs when they don't have to. Also X-Ray is
VERY useful for knowing where your enemies are at all times.
7. Certain enemies can seem unbearable....until you figure out the key
to stop their attacks. This is why spells like Insanity, Web, Freeze
flesh and psionic lure can help A LOT during the early to mid game. A
group of Tanto wasps can be a real pain in the ass to a low level party.
But cast insanity and those wasps will be a bigger pain to themselves.
Every battle is beatable, just a matter of figuring out the enemies
weakness. Or getting in the right position.
8. If you hide around the corner from a group of enemies, you can click
on the sword icon, and then run into melee range with them. This allows
you to start the fight, and not have to waste a round running up to them.
9. Enjoy the greatest RPG of all time!
Hope you enjoyed this! Any further questions, email me at
[email protected].
