Might and Magic Playing Might and Magic VI for the first time

[Electryon]

The Might and Magic series, volumes 1-9 (yes, I'll even include the flawed, incomplete last entry in there) are collectively the best series for pure, straight-up fantasy adventuring that have been made. You can argue whether World of Xeen might be better, but Might and Magic VI has everything. One of the most massive worlds in any RPG, a true step-up in technology at the time, endless dungeons against endless enemies, and a totally open, non-linear world, yet one that will still punish you for going where you shouldn't be yet. You can't get more bang for your buck than snatching up this whole series on GOG for what will amount to about 30 dollars, in exchange for which you'll have about 1000 hrs of content at your disposal.

I dunno...I love the M&M series, but I think I'll rate the Gold Box and Wizardry series even higher. MM 3-5 were too much of a disappointment to me with its very simplified combat compared to MM2, and then there's MM9...

I agree those 3 are the main contenders, unfortunately Ultima simply doesn't make the list because the first 3 aren't actually that interesting, and 8 and 9 are FAR worse than Might and Magic's 8 and 9. I do think Might and Magic has the most charm of the 3, is the most addicting gameplay. Gold Box is the ultimate realization of Pen and Paper D&D (even more so than the Infinity Engine) and Wizardry is the most hardcore and challenging.

Might and Magic IX is unfinished more than bad, it still plays just like it's 3 predecessors, it has a great Might and Magic soundtrack, and the dungeons are actually pretty great, as are the class quests. The problem is that (much like the later Ultima games) it was forced out 3-6 months before it was done. The cities are clearly not finished, and some of the quests just aren't fleshed out. I don't think it's the fault of the designers so much as the developer, as has been the case with Troika and Obsidian in later years. They weren't allowed to finish their games.

 

[Scroo]

Currently trying to clear out Castle Darkmoor, this has been a nightmare of flying eyes and a million status effects. There are still so many left to kill and dark magic seems to be the only thing that puts a real dent in them. Whoever designed this dungeon is very evil.

Yeah it's the worst dungeon in the game imho. Very ragequit-worthy material. Save often and try to pull tiny groups of the eyes. Also make sure to scream at your screen a lot, it helps.

 

[Pope Amole II]

Eh, you people probably have no right to complain about Darkmoor. Try going through it as the solo druid so that you don't have the access to the dark magic (as toxic cloud and especially dragon's breath pops them with an incredible ease - they're not protected at all against poison) and you have to kill them with, like, Deadly Swarms.

Of course, it can also be easier if you have 60 ranks in the water magic & acid blast/toxic spray them to death, but I chose earth magic maximization (as Mass Distortion & Rock Blast are awesome in VI and in VI only) and so Deadly Swarm was the only thing that worked. I guess there were also blades, but in Vi the damage differense between them is pathetic and blades requires a hit on the attack roll while swarm is an auto-hit.

Though, even in such conditions it took slightly more than an hour to complete so it's not that bad.

 

[A user named cat]

Just finished it a bit ago, took hours to clear it out and grab everything. Had to abuse Lloyd's Beacon a ton to keep healing and replinishing SP. I love how glitched out that dungeon was too as you're getting hit with dispels and missiles through the ceiling. I killed a few eyes which were completely stuck in the walls too. So glad that's over with. Even with dark magic pumped up to rank 20, it still wasn't easy at all. A few of those areas had upwards of 20+ floating eyes and lich armies just waiting for you.

 

[mindx2]

Ah, good times remembering my first play through of MMVI. Those dungeons!! They seemed to go on for miles and miles yet I love the dungeon crawling! I only rank MMVI's dungeon crawling behind Ultima Underworld. Both those games, still to this day, hold up excellently. I play them again every few years and my enjoyment doesn't fade.

 

[Pope Amole II]

Even with dark magic pumped up to rank 20, it still wasn't easy at all.

It's not obvious to the newcomer player, but 20 is really not that much. From an experienced viewpoint, by that time you should have at the very least 30 basic which then should be amplified by both basic ring of dark magic and an artifact one. Add spell master + mystic hirelings into equation and you're looking at the effective skill level of 74 - that's what makes running through the Darkmoor much less unpleasant. Especially if two chars have such level of dark magic.

 

[A user named cat]

Even with dark magic pumped up to rank 20, it still wasn't easy at all.

It's not obvious to the newcomer player, but 20 is really not that much. From an experienced viewpoint, by that time you should have at the very least 30 basic which then should be amplified by both basic ring of dark magic and an artifact one. Add spell master + mystic hirelings into equation and you're looking at the effective skill level of 74 - that's what makes running through the Darkmoor much less unpleasant. Especially if two chars have such level of dark magic.

Thanks for the tip. I wasn't sure about how much I should be ranking up the magic skills and didn't realize it made that big of a difference. I've also been using the merchant and banker NPC's but I have almost 200k in gold so I don't really need them anymore. I'll be sure to grab a mystic and spell master then. Working on the Temple of the Sun dungeon. Ran into another nightmare room with that massive space filled with grand druids and warlocks but I got them cleared out eventually. Now just need to figure out this puzzle.

 

[lukaszek]

deterministic system > RNG

 

[A user named cat]

Great game, good choice of you to play it

Currently playing with 3 mages + 1 Cleric

Haha yeah that's my favourite party too. At the beginning it's a bit weak but becomes so ridiculously overpowered and unbalanced in lategame you just breeze through it like nothing.
The party isn't as useful in M&M VII anymore unfortunately due to skill restrictions on classes.

Initialy loved that party but lack of dual daggers on cleric bothered me a lot... Thats why If i replay this(probably soon) Ill go with druid instead.
At least from my experience my wizards were quite effective with their daggers and I preferred it to wasting mana

I have my 3x sorcerers and druid all dual wielding daggers. I've found it's pretty much a must when dealing with all the swarms of projectile shooters in dungeons or you're just standing there playing spellamole while getting bombarded. I like bumrushing many of the more annoying enemies and slicing them to death. Truly satisfying even if it's nothing more than a swoosh sound and a little red speck showing on the enemy.

 

[Scroo]

Yeah M&M VI manages to make the mass murder of hordes of monsters incredibly satisfying. Nothing better than turning all these red dots on your minimap to yellow dots within seconds

 

[lukaszek]

deterministic system > RNG

 

[A user named cat]

since druid cant have black magic... where do you waste all those points? air for sparks/star fall/single target spells?

I wasted some extra points ranking up body and mind magic just to be on the safe side when it comes to treating status ailments. I noticed my paladin would fail often when trying to cure things like weakness and fear. My druid is also my main water magic user so that is pumped up as well.

 

[Electryon]

The one thing that is more useful than really anything in every Might and Magic game from 3 onward is getting the Bow skill on each of your characters. In fact (like most RPGs) the ranged weaponry is borderline overpowered. You can kite and shoot just about anything above ground, and most things below if you can get them to path where you want them to (at least in 6-9).

 

[lukaszek]

deterministic system > RNG

 

[Pope Amole II]

since druid cant have black magic... where do you waste all those points? air for sparks/star fall/single target spells?

Dark magic is only overwhelmignly OP in the VII and VIII, because the spells are great and everyone is highly resistant to anything but the light/dark. In VI, however (and that's one of the many reasons why I respect VI the most), it's actually rather fair. For an easy example, Shrapmetal.

First, it does physical damage and plenty of mobs have decent enough phys resistance. Second, it has a very heavy cost (which got significantly discounted in later games). So while it still remains the best damage dealing spell of the game, against certain monsters it can get outperformed or, at the very least, evenly matched by the other spells. Fire blast or mass distortion are the two primary competitors here. And, when it comes to the damage done to the mana spent ratio, it's actually pretty horrible. Sparks or Toxic Spray (two most convenient grinding spells) outperform it easily. So, unless you wish to teleport to the temple every two minutes or so, you don't want to rely on the dark magic alone.

In VI, all of the elemental schools are good, just in the different scenarios. So you may invest into any one of them and expect good results. Yeah, even earth - I've been giving it plenty of flak previously, but after soloing as an earth-based druid I must confess that it has its merit too. Not sure how convenient it is for the party play, but hey, look at this russian LP of mine for about 3 seconds:

Spoiler

And unlike VII, where the same is possible, only extremely unlikely, in VI distortion is pretty reliable. Rock Blast is pretty cool too - it makes soloing lots of areas rather easy as you can shoot it from around the corner, essentially killing foes without giving them any chance to fight back.

If anything, I'd call the two best offensive spells of VI to be Fire Ring & Rock Blast. In solo, at least. Shrapmetal won't help you to become super goober. These two - easily.

 

[A user named cat]

Holy shit, Castle Alamos. It's a thing of beauty and dread, now this is a dungeon layout. I keep getting lost and turned around searching for all the tree clues and everything else in between.

 

[duchU]

I'm playing through this now for first time ever. [...]

You lucky bastard...


Here is probably the best walkthrough to check things (if needed)
http://www.the-spoiler.com/RPG/New.World.Computing/might..magic.6.1/mm6.html

 

[A user named cat]

I'm playing through this now for first time ever. [...]

You lucky bastard...


Here is probably the best walkthrough to check things (if needed)
http://www.the-spoiler.com/RPG/New.World.Computing/might..magic.6.1/mm6.html

I knew someone would be jealous, nothing like the first time. I'm probably going to play Ultima 7 next, which I've only tried once. Never played through. I've also admittedly never finished Fallout 2 for some reason, which I'll also get to.

Thanks for link. I've found myself checking guides a little too often for this game when trying to find things, probably just spoiled on all the dumbing down nowadays. Been making it through mostly all dungeons on my own though but trying to find a stonecutter and carpenter without Googling for example was just silly.

 

[muds_animal_friend]

Been making it through mostly all dungeons on my own though but trying to find a stonecutter and carpenter without Googling for example was just silly.

The first time I played M&M 6 I found them with no problems. Playing through last year I had to consult a walkthrough, and even then I was a little confused. This only goes to prove that repeated exposure to modern RPGs reduces IQ by at least 30 points. Oblivion literally gave me brain damage.

 

[A user named cat]

Been making it through mostly all dungeons on my own though but trying to find a stonecutter and carpenter without Googling for example was just silly.

The first time I played M&M 6 I found them with no problems. Playing through last year I had to consult a walkthrough, and even then I was a little confused. This only goes to prove that repeated exposure to modern RPGs reduces IQ by at least 30 points. Oblivion literally gave me brain damage.

I also think as we get older, our gaming skills as a whole go down the dumper. From reflexes to simple puzzle solving, or maybe we just get that much lazier. Possibly even Idiocracy just slowly sinking in and we're all developing mild retardation and ADHD. I no longer have the patience to do things like pixel hunt in adventure games, work out stupid slide puzzles or even deal with starting over levels in platformers. Who has time for that shit anymore when there is lesbian porn to watch, photoshop and endless stupidity like the Codex to indulge in?

 

[Jack Of Owls]

I did notice that as I got older that I do tend to finish fewer and fewer games. They're either way too easy (just about every game after 2010 is fit only for manic chimpanzee button smashing n mashing ) or way too hard (most old school stuff). I think I'm a bit of a Goldilocks in my old age, needing things not too hard, or not too soft, but juuuuust right. Might & Magic VI would probably be actually challenging for me these days.

 

[muds_animal_friend]

Yeah. Playing blobbers is a young man's game. I recall those long nights as a young buck meticulously mapping out The Bard's Tale dungeons on graph paper while the next level oh so slowly loaded from cassette tape. I'd probably just break a hip trying to do that now.

 

[Quigs]

Kind of glad someone else is trying this stuff out. Always loved the HoMM series, and I remember if you clicked the door in HoMM 2 you got a preview of one of the might and magic games, looked super amazing. About a year ago I bought them all, watched a video on how to play, and realized they suffered from some old game tropes. It's a bit like playing the original Zelda on NES. How any one person is supposed to know that bush 15 on screen 72 needs a blue candle to burn away and reveal a dungeon without someone telling you is kinda crazy. Might and Magic is the kind of game I'd love to convince a group of friends to play so we can find all that goofy shit together, but the odds of that happening are really slim.

 

[BlackGoat]

I played this on release when I was young and I thought I had played a lot of it but after firing it up again earlier this year it seems I didn't actually play much of it at all and this game is actually huge. After getting pretty far (I think?) I abandoned my party because I was upgrading random skills left and right and was beginning to feel weak. Starting again with 3 sorcerers and a druid. Love the dungeons in this game. Love the ultra-cheese aesthetic.

 

[Wulfric Pinewood]

I love this game, yeah , im fanboy of this fukin franchise. Have loads of FUN Phantasmal.