Wizardry Wizardry 8 - first time playing

[xuerebx]

So, I recently purchased Wizardry 8 from GOG and it's my first ever blobber.

For seasoned veterans:

1) what are the recommend mods and/or patches? I know there's the speed mod, but are there any others I should install? http://www.zimlab.com/wizardry/mods/wiz8mods.htm

2) any gameplay tips and party building ideas so I don't build a party destined to fail? I literally know nothing about the game or series bar watching a few review videos, and I'm looking for a decently challenging experience.

Thanks!

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EDIT:

I completed the game, thanks to the hints and tips in this thread, a month later. Took me around 100 hours but I visited everywhere I could. Had a blast, definitely consider it one of the better games I have ever played.

My final stats were as follows:

Faerie Wizard, Level 22, 406 kills
Felpurr Rogue, Level 23, 327 kills
Felpurr Samurai, Level 21, 313 kills
Hobbit Gadgeteer, Level 23, 152 kills
Mook Psionic, Level 21, 149 kills
Vi Valkyrie, Level 20, 139 kills
Gnome Bard, Level 22, 125 kills
RFS 81 Monk, Level 18, 92 kills (switched him mid-late game so he never got to the level of the rest of the team)

 

[smaug]

Take a bard, one of the best classes.

 

[King Crispy]

You'll likely be wanting WizFast p. soon. After a few of the larger fights where your enemies start from far away and after five minutes you're still waiting for them all to reach you it gets irritating.

Other than that I'd recommend playing it as-is.

 

[Strange Fellow]

Get Wizfast and this:
https://rpgcodex.net/forums/index.php?threads/wizardry-8-enhancements-a-call-to-arms.79581/
(only the faster combat component, not the whole thing)

Any party works.

 

[Piotrovitz]

Get Wizfast and this:
https://rpgcodex.net/forums/index.php?threads/wizardry-8-enhancements-a-call-to-arms.79581/
(only the faster combat component, not the whole thing)

Any party works.

Ditto.

Above mentioned mod is superior to wizfast, since it also speeds up projectiles speed.

As for party - go with any build you want - game is extremely forgiving and it's hard to fuck yourself up.
Also there's no multiclassing bulshit, so you don't have to worry about stat allocation and planning everything in a fucking excel spreadsheet.

If you want to have easy times, roll two bishops with complementary magic schools (wiz/psi and alch/div combos work the best).

 

[luj1]

1) what are the recommend mods and/or patches?

You'll want wiz8fast as others have pointed out. Since you're playing for the first time, I wouldn't recommend anything else or it'll change the original experience too much.

) any gameplay tips and party building ideas so I don't build a party destined to fail?

You'll probably want a Valkyrie and Bishop in there somewhere. Valkyries are great tanks due to their special, you'll thank me later. Bishop is a type of a versatile caster, combining different schools of magic which is a huge asset. An engineer is not required, but I found having one quite enjoyable. He has a weapon which levels along with him and you'll need someone to use gadgets anyway. You also need a Priest, obviously.

 

[Matador]

Casters: Focus on utility, buffing/debuffing and crowd control, not damage.

Sadly Multiclassing is very badly implemented in this game, unlike all previous previous Wizardries. I would not touch it.

 

[xuerebx]

Thanks all for your advices. I've downloaded the speed mod (Wiz8fast) and set the speed to around 50x (625x is instantaneous!).

As for the class advice, I'll try out some classes myself just to get used to the system first. I'll make sure I've got a versatile party.

Get Wizfast and this:
https://rpgcodex.net/forums/index.php?threads/wizardry-8-enhancements-a-call-to-arms.79581/
(only the faster combat component, not the whole thing)

Any party works.

So I 'installed' Wizfast, but I've got a stupid question for Faster Combat. It seems it's already got Wizfast, so I guess I should only be running Wiz8FastAnim? Also, I couldn't find an explanation on how to install it. Do I just overwrite the Data files in the root directory?

 

[Piotrovitz]

You also need a Priest, obviously.

Actually, the priest is the only truly useless class in Wiz 8. That said, game is easy and you can still finish it with almost any party combo.

Priest's spell repertoire is very underwhelming comparing to other schools - there is very little offensive potential, and the buffs that you need (armorplate and magic screen) are level 3 spells, meaning your Valk or Lord will learn them rather early. Not to mention bard has instrument for magic screen, and gadgeteer has some thingy for armorplate. Soul shield OTOH, can be learned by psionic/monk/bishop, or you can just steal certain instrument from one NPC and let your bard take care of casting it.

 

[DraQ]

2) any gameplay tips and party building ideas so I don't build a party destined to fail? I literally know nothing about the game or series bar watching a few review videos, and I'm looking for a decently challenging experience.

You pretty much need to try to make a bad build on purpose to end up with something non-viable in Wiz8.
Make something you'd consider cool.

 

[Kalin]

just be urself

 

[Strange Fellow]

So I 'installed' Wizfast, but I've got a stupid question for Faster Combat. It seems it's already got Wizfast, so I guess I should only be running Wiz8FastAnim? Also, I couldn't find an explanation on how to install it. Do I just overwrite the Data files in the root directory?

Just get the installer (0.9), point it to your wiz8 folder and toggle everything off except faster animations. I don't think this incorporates Wizfast, so I'd get both separately.

 

[xuerebx]

So I 'installed' Wizfast, but I've got a stupid question for Faster Combat. It seems it's already got Wizfast, so I guess I should only be running Wiz8FastAnim? Also, I couldn't find an explanation on how to install it. Do I just overwrite the Data files in the root directory?

Just get the installer (0.9), point it to your wiz8 folder and toggle everything off except faster animations. I don't think this incorporates Wizfast, so I'd get both separately.

Ah, I used the separate installer! It's a separate link in the first post. But I think I got it to work, since the projectile from the slimes hit me nearly instantaneously.

 

[Baron Dupek]

any gameplay tips

Don't level up your party past lvl5 to make safe passage through Arnika Road.

 

[coldcrow]

any gameplay tips

Don't level up your party past lvl5 to make safe passage through Arnika Road.

I am always baffled when I read this. Encountering harder enemies at the road is an excellent tutorial for staying out of sight and using the nooks and crannies to your advantage. Not to mention the lvl 2-3 cc spells you got. This is one stupid enduring false myth about wiz8.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

any gameplay tips

 

[Bastardchops]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_G0yeNCu5VU SsethTzeentach's review is good. As are all his reviews.

 

[xuerebx]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_G0yeNCu5VU SsethTzeentach's review is good. As are all his reviews.

In fact that was the video which I watched which sealed the deal!

 

[Darth Canoli]

Some tips :

Formation
Find what works best with your party composition, it's really important, i put my fighter types in front + both sides, the ranger behind and the mages in the middle with slings and staves.
Extended weapons mandatory for the ones on the sides but i usually go for extended range for everyone (some short range weapons are quite powerful though)
You can use more offensive formations but i don't recommend it unless you're always going to fight your back against a wall.

Don't get flanked in Arnika road, when you can't avoid a tough fight with close combat opponents (juggernauts specifically), find a nice corner somewhere and take them down "one by one".

Running & hiding
Don't fight everything when you can avoid it, specially the first time you hit Arnika Road, hide in a corner and let them pass, use chameleon if you have the spell or a tincture of shadow potion otherwise (save them for when you exit the monastery).
Running also helps.

Spells
Buffs and debuff spells are the most powerful spells early on.

Use a Ranger, any party can make it but going without a ranger is just annoying (always searching, ranged crits)

 

[Piotrovitz]

Use a Ranger, any party can make it but going without a ranger is just annoying (always searching, ranged crits)

Constant searching is useless imo, because all you can find is worthless junk. Mid-game you're swimming in gold, so most of this is not even worth picking.

Also, from my experience, insta kills doesn't proc very often, so most of the time you're just dragging average ranged dmg dealer, while you could take i.e gadgeteer whose beefed up omnigun can proc shitload of debuffs and can be loaded with everything, from lightning bolts, medusa stones, to mystic arrows. Not to mention he can use gadgets that can almost entirely replace priests spellbook (heal/armorpoate/superman/resurrection/etc)

Protip for OP - do not invest any points in axes, as for some reason they are severely underpowered in this game, which is a major fucking bummer.

 

[Dramart]

Read the manual

 

[Strange Fellow]

Also, from my experience, insta kills doesn't proc very often

Not at first, no. But when you get a few levels under your belt, maybe some weppens with kill%...

 

[xuerebx]

Read the manual

That's what I'm doing in fact, it's very informative and quite long. Haven't read a manual in over a decade, they don't make them anymore anyway!

 

[Piotrovitz]

Also, from my experience, insta kills doesn't proc very often

Not at first, no. But when you get a few levels under your belt, maybe some weppens with kill%...

Dunno man, on my last unfinished playthrough I took ranger for the first time, just to gimp myself a little, and even around mid-teens level he wasn't critting very often. Maybe this gets better over time, no idea tbh.

Bows with instakill are nothing to write home about either, as they have like 2% or 5% kill chance, plus most of them can be used by fighters/lords/valks.

 

[Darth Canoli]

Also, from my experience, insta kills doesn't proc very often, so most of the time you're just dragging average ranged dmg dealer, while you could take i.e gadgeteer whose beefed up omnigun can proc shitload of debuffs and can be loaded with everything, from lightning bolts, medusa stones, to mystic arrows. Not to mention he can use gadgets that can almost entirely replace priests spellbook (heal/armorpoate/superman/resurrection/etc)

You know the attributes have an influence on ranged and crit, if i remember correctly senses first then dex/speed and some int is the way to go for rangers.
When build right, instakill proc just right, i might be a lucky bastard but i usually get to instakill the right ones.
Also, my rangers never had to touch a melee weapon, i give them one but they never had to use it.

And i disagree about the loot you'll find while searching, first, it's rewarding to find useful stuff lying around and there is some interesting gear to discover.
Also very useful for a first playthrough before you know how to break the game's economy.

The omnigun is great but it takes forever to get to a good version because as far as i remember, engineer skill and character level unlocks the next version (and character level holds you back), gadgets are good but they use a lot of stamina and the good ones are very heavy (just like the stones for the omnigun).
So, yes, the gadgeteer is fun but anything else works just as well.

Valkyrie
I agree with whoever said they're great (better than lords) but there is a great NPC one so you shouldn't bother except if you want to go for a NPC-free run.