Wizardry 8 tips.

Is it wise to learn different schools with mages, psionics, alchemists and priests? I usually concentrate on a single school(2 schools with mages) but Im wondering if it is such a good move. What effects would such specialisation have in the end etc.

Also, is it completely and utterly nessecery to invest in to fullest arcane/divine skills? Or can I, for example with a psionist, divide my skillpoints in to psionics and another magic school and still be succesful?

I cant understand how to play these half caster half warrior classes. They need all of the stats, it seems. Having messed a bit with a ranger I can see it right away that his casting powers are almost useless because other skills require investment. Do you have any suggestions for these classes?

 

I usually recommend learning multiple schools for single-skill casters (mage/priest/psionic/alchemist). I wouldn't go all-out, though; you can usually get by with 3 or fewer schools per character. A priest, for example, should take both the divine and water schools.

Half-casters tend to be tricky. What I usually do with, e.g., a samurai is use him as a caster until things are in melee range for each fight. Not optimal, I'm sure, but at least he gets some fireballing experience before working on that critical strike skill.

 

What caster are you using? Mages don't have psionics, divinity e.d. so I'm assuming you're playing as a Bishop? The bishop can cast all spells but needs more XP to level up and you have to micro-manage him a lot more often. This also depends on your playstyle and other party members. So, if your party is magic-heavy, have one bishop concentrate on magic realms the other users don't have. For instance if you get both the bishop and alchemist, don't pump too much alchemy-specific spells for your bishop. Also, the magic realm "earth" is the stongest in alchemy so you could ignore earth for your bishop all together. Some are more effective than others (fire as a mage of course, divinity as a priest, etc).

So your second question makes no sense at all, since a psionist does not have other magical schools except psionics. They *do* have all magical REALMS (air, divine, fire, water, ...) but only ONE school - their own. The only class to have all schools is the bishop. And some spells are cross-school classed: for example heal wounds is both alchemy and divine. Your HIGHEST magic school attribute will raise if you cast it. Knock knock is also both alchemy and divine (all earth realm), so if you plan on rising alchemy but your divine skill is higher, don't bother casting it on the vault in arnika! First raise your alchemy one point above divinity with a pure spell.
Divinity = magical school, for a priest, bishop and Lord or Valkyrie hybrids after lvl5
Divine Magic = magic realm, for all divine specific spells.
(Do note divinity's primary determining statistic is NOT INT but PIE! Psionics also requires SEN)

Read some stuff on hybrid classes, they're actually quite easy to develop once you figure out how, and that's the beauty of the whole system.
http://www.flamestryke.com/wizardry8/fl ... es_w8.html
http://www.jefklak.com/Guides/Wizardry8-bishop

A ranger is soo easy to develop, the ninja is the most difficult one. Rangers primary stats are DEX, SEN, SPE and INT. a ranger can cast alchemy spells at level 5, and INT determines the success. You have to powerplay a lot with hybrids (e.g. step into fire in arnika crash site, constantly cast heal to raise your skills) - especially with bishops and ninja's.

 

Thanks, Psilon and Jef. Yes, I meant *realms*. I only picked the game up a few days ago and its quite confusing.

Jef, do you agree with Psilon that casters should focus on more than 1 or 2 realms? As I mess around with psionists, I only put points in to psionics(or is it mental magic realm?). Should I develop him with more realms? Same question for mages. How many realms are generally picked?

How should priests be played? They are half fighters, I take it? How can you succesfully build them if they ask for at least 2 different realms *and* combat skills?

And how the heck do you enter stealth and what does it do?

One more question... which class should invest in to artifacts? Only bards and alchemists have the skill, but I dont want to use them. My party includes the following: Ranger, Psionist, Mage, Fighter, Priest, Gadgeteer. I can never find any room for it.

 

I prefer to start with 6 monks - they can learn psi, ninjutsu and kirijutsu.
After lev 8 they were assigned to new classes :
Samurai, Ninja, Lord, Psionic, Mage and Priest.

 

Here's another recent thread on Wizardry 8 characters and parties:

http://rpgcodex.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=16918

My suggestion is that you should take whatever classes sound interesting to you. There really aren't any bad classes; however, its fairly easy to make a bad character. I strongly recommend you focus your characters on only a couple skills. You'll have a very difficult time trying to create jacks-of-all trades, as they'll become severely limited in the mid, and probably later, levels.

For any of the fighter types (including all hybrids), I tend to stick the vast majority of points into their fighting skills. If you attempt to split their points between the fighting skills and the magic skills, they won't be particularly good at either. Once they're reached higher levels, I start broadening their skill base by adding some magical ability. But the main focus is usually still the combat skills. Fighting is their primary ability, spellcasting is secondary

As for spellcasting, initially I don't really worry about realms. As I recall, the level of skill in each of the schools is what determines what spells you can learn. I try to have my casters cast constantly, and this usually gets them a respectable level in several of the realms without actually putting any hard points into them.

Personally, I'm not a fan of priests. I would say that you should focus on their healing abilities, and not worry about fighting with them. At least not at the beginning. However, I feel that several of the other classes can heal nearly as well as the priest, and have stronger combat ability (like the Valkyrie and Lord) or stronger spellcasting ability (like the Alchemist and Bishop)

If I remember correctly, you don't 'enter' any sort of stealth mode. Its constantly on. It grants an armor class bonus to the character.

Here's the party I usually start with:

Monk - frontline fighter
Ninja - frontline fighter
Ranger - ranged attacker and scout
Bard - the strength of the bard's musical instrument at the beginning of the game can't be overstated, and later they find others
Gadgeteer - gadgets are always fun
Bishop - primary spellcaster

No one can really wear heavy armor, but there's a Valkyrie you can pick up early in the game, and she can wear just about anything.

 

If stealth is always on, then how come my rogue has always the lowest AC? And whats the difference between the 2 ACs? Base and some other...

Also, is bard useful if he doesnt have *any* combat skills?

 

Well, I know Stealth improves the armor class of the Monk and Ninja. I believe armor class increased by 1 for every 10 points in Stealth. I don't think I ever used the Rogue, but if it doesn't improve armor class, its probably used to determine their chance for backstabbing (extra damage).

I think Base AC is the character's armor class without any armor, but it includes racial bonuses, skill bonuses (like stealth), and magical protection (from rings and that sort of thing). The other AC includes everything.

While a bard doesn't really need combat skills - their musical skills are certainly sufficient to make them a useful class - they do have some. I always gave mine a bow, so I'm certain they have the appropriate skills. The bard is more like a spellcaster, but their spell ability is limited by the musical instruments they find. They start with one that can cast Sleep, which is very handy. Plus, they only have one skill governing their 'spellcasting', Music, as opposed to the half dozen or so for other casters.

The gadgeteer is very similar to the bard, in that they cast spells by using items. However, their items take more effort to find. You find components for their gadgets in various places, and must merge them together for them to work. They also have the very useful Omni-Gun. Its not spectacular in the beginning, but its impressive later.

 

Honestly, play a game with two Mook Bards and nobody else in your party. It can get a little painful at times, but being a mook will get you good resistance to a lot of the nastier effects, and bards are versatile enough to do just about anything. Instruments will give you a better range of spells than any single caster.

It's challenging, but rewarding as hell if you can get the hang of it.

 

That really depends on your playstyle. Obviously, as a psionist, your mental realm is the strongest and should be focused on. But do note that most wizardry players do *NOT* raise more than one realm (e.g. by putting level up points into it). Put points in one realm, next level in the other you also want to frequently use, but not both at the same time - dividing skill points is never a good idea. The realms should increase more often and quicker than your spell school by simply regulary casting the spells. (again some abusable powerplay exploits available right here). So to answer your question, in general at levelling up, do not distribute your skillpoints, always add max. points to the spell school and ONE realm.
Fire and divinity are also semi-usable as a psionist, but as I recall correctly, water is not.

They are *horrible* fighters. Why? One simple answer: they miss 99% of their swings thanks to the statistic distribution of the priest. Your primary stat is PIE of course as a caster, and you think "oh he's also a fighter let's pump some STR" - never do that or your build is doomed forever! DEX and SPE determines chances to hit and high SPE also gives you more turns per round to act (so also to cast a spell). SPE is a "general" stat which should never be ignored for all classes - some only need it earlier than others (monk, ninja etc).
If you do want your priest to be in the front lines, consider pumping DEX first, and then PIE (but pick a high-PIE starting race like the rawulf or dwarf to start decent, otherwise all your spells will fail).

You don't. Stealth is a skill only for ninja/monk/rogue which increases their armor class because they're restricted to not many armor types (dependant on SPE and DEX I think). You can however cast chameleon (earth realm), and with a little bit manouvring you can avoid an enemy mob by walking past it (don't turn you camera right in their face or they'll spot you)

Rangers. A ranger is also a bonus to your search skill, it's always on without penalties.
Don't waste too much points, artifacts should raise rather quickly when you aquire and successfully identify new items. (ALL members' artifacts stats will raise then). The bishop is also "good" at it, but don't put points into it as he'll desperatly need other stuff like x magic schools!

 

I went with a Gadgeteer. Its more fiddling with combining items, but a nice fancy triple crossbow for everyone (who can use it) some great inventions that do similar things to the bards music and to top it all off, the 'Crippler' (Omnigun) can knock out the toughest of foes.

They are also the second best at thief skills in the game.

 

Yeah, I've found that Bards are easier to play in the beginning, but tend to max out through the game. The Gadgeteer just keeps getting stronger. Whichever you take, make that character a female, though; necklaces of stamina regeneration are crucial to firing that Lightning Rod every round.

 

Hey, how can you use gadgeteers abilities in using these various technological items I keep finding?

EDIT: Is there a website that has collected Wizardry lore?

 

If it's random technical crap to be used as ingredients in a new item (e.g., Orange Goo), use the Merge Items feature in inventory. This is the same way that Alchemists create new potions.

If it has a spell effect listed (e.g., the Lightning Rod), just Use Item from the main game screen or in combat.

And yes, there are Wizardry 8 sites all around the Internet.

 

Does anyone know Wizardry lore sites? I did a little searching and came up with nothing. Maybe Im missing something everyone knows about...

 

You are stupid not to pick up spells in every realm because you regenerate on a real by realm basis. So if you ignore all but one then you are only using 1/5 of the total casting power you could have per amount of time rested. Some monsters are also virtually immune to one or more realms.

Also keep in mind effect spells are far more useful than damage, and that you generally can get away with using a 2-3 power spell 99% of the time.

So you should constantly be casting dazzle, sleep, mass insanity or whatever it's called (best spell in game), and stuff like that.

 

Just "insanity" is enough
And yes, that spell rocks my socks off.

WD, what do you mean by "lore"?
Check flamestryke's site on gadget combination lists and more stuff.

 

Bryce: True, but in the early- to mid-game you can't afford that many spellbooks. As I prefer to have multiple shots of a few really good spells versus 8 spell points in all the realms, I tend to concentrate my level-up spells into about 3-4 realms.

And yes, the insanity spells are godlike. I'm also a fan of paralysis effects, but insanity will let you crush just about everything.

 

The Bard makes a good fighter. You're pumping Vitality to increase her stamina for instrument use already, so just increase strength and you have something that can tank damage.

 

Is Ranger a must have for any party? Or is there no serious loss without the scouting ability? I think there may be more worthy addiotions to the party. Although my rangers did instant kill a breeder rat who had hundreds of hitpoints.

Also, is the mage a rather poor class? I am at level 10 now and I prize my priest and psionist higher because of their disabling and buffing spells. The mage doesnt have much spells either. I have about 5 or so picks unused since nothing new, especially in the fire realm, arrives. The result is that the priest and psionic have both a higher level in their magic skills because their nondamaging spells are used more often, since direct damage at low power levels is often pointless and is used only on tougher monsters.

Is the alchemist better?

Im also not really fond of the gadgeteer. His damage may be moderate, but penetration and to hit are low. I havent found much use for his combining skills. In fact, I have never done so becuase nothing is ever possible to merge. I dont want to look at spoilers, can he make some serious doomsday devices?

I also dont understand the whole priest bashing. His Guardian Angel is basically immortality. The first danger, the Gregor bug in the monestary, was handled with that spell. I removed all of the party members from its reach and placed the fighter directly at it, so the warrior was the only one he could attack. I gave the fighter Guardian Angel and in the end Gregor couldnt do anything to me. The priest has many other useful spells as well.

Right now Im loving the game. Although I think the wandering monsters should have been lower levels and the placed ones higher. It gets annoying to having to fight everyone at every step, and when they are so powerful. I also really like the setting and the characters. Good game.

EDIT: Why exactly is the alchemist so focused on dexterity and throwing?

 

Here is a site that has a lot of good info http://www.geocities.com/jandrall/

As for those random monsters rest as little as possible and don't be afraid to use the radar to run around them when you don't want to fight.

Before resting make sure you use up all magic points. Try to get a spell in every realm that can be cast out of combat if possible

And wow only took me four years for 22 posts

 

Hmmm, I never powergame. I wont cheat by casting and casting spells without a cause. Why shouldnt I just use a code to give me the desired number?

 

I find Rangers to be utterly worthless. You can use the Gadgeteer's "Searchlight" invention to keep "Detect Secrets" constantly up and Ninjas with slings/boomerang shuriken can cause ranged crit's as well.

I prefer the Alchemist over the mage. If you are really having trouble deciding between priest and mage or whatever then just go with a Bishop(priest/mage hybrid with a stupid class name).

Then you are doing something very wrong. By the mid game in my last game the Gadgeteer was right behind the tanks for kills and late in the game his omnigun can take down ANYTHING(even Nessie, who is immune to magic pretty much). His damage is very high with the right ammo and he is never really without ammo since the omnigun can use everything from bullet stones to arrows to throwing knives as ammunition.

The items he makes duplicate most of the important(and not-so important) bard instruments and magic spells and do so at a cost of only some stamina. Late in the game he and my bard became the primary healers AND debilitators using their gadgets/instruments.

HAHA...you will find out differently. Guardian Angel has very limited use and later in the game it is so useless that casting it to protect against the monsters you will face woul;d be a serious waste of an action. Plus gadgeteers can invent things that duplicate these abilities...

Yeah when you get deep into Trynton or the swamp try using that...

I think you may have gotten lucky. IIRC larger monsters like Gregor can reach into the second ranks pretty easily to attack other party members beyond the tanks.

He isn't. Dexterity a bit because he makes potions(which requires a steady hand).


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Actually I did make it to Trynton and still found Guardian Angel useful. Specifically in the place where you find the robot monk there were a ridiculous swarm of flying bugs and troopers that surround your party. Without the spell my weaker characters would be dead. And I didnt have to waste my time healing them every turn either.

But sure, I imagine it will become useless at a high enough level considering its only a level 2 spell.

 

There are a couple other nice things about the Ranger, besides their Scouting ability. For instance, they don't need to develop an extra skill for critical hits. As I recall, their critical hit ability is based on their Ranged Combat skill, which you'll undoubtedly be building up anyway. When using ranged weapons, they also gain all the bonuses from both the weapon (most likely a bow or crossbow) AND the ammo. There are a couple pretty decent bows, plus the Tripleshot Crossbow. Having class critical hit, plus weapon critical hit, plus ammo critical hit can add up pretty fast. Obviously, a lot of classes can use these weapons as well, but never as well as the Ranger. The Ninja can use a sling with their special ability, but I don't remember any particularly special slings, so they really only gain the bonuses of the ammo.

They may not necessarily be the best class, but I wouldn't go so far as to say they're useless.

The Gadgeteer takes some time to build up. A lot of gadgets take two parts to build, and you usually don't find the second until later. The Omni-Gun becomes an exceptionally strong ranged weapon, later in the game.

Did you find the Lightning Rod in the Monastary? This gadget works immediately, and can do fairly decent damage, especially early in the game. You should probably be using it instead of any other weapon for a while.

I guess the Priest isn't a terrible class; I just found others that suited me better. It doesn't take the Valkyrie much longer to build up some decent priest skills, and they have much stronger combat ability. The Bishop, while they also build slower, have access to everything the Priest does, plus a significant amount more. The Priest is probably going to be more useful in the early to mid-game, while others are going to be stronger later.