Review Our Wizardry 8 review

[Vault Dweller]

Tags: SirTech; Wizardry 8

New to RPGs? Looking for a perfect gift for your Bar-Mitzvah? Tired of posting "recamend me a good gaem!" all over the internet? Well, look no further. Wizardry 8 is a perfect gift that just keeps on giving. Don't believe me? Read this <a href=http://www.rpgcodex.com/content.php?id=138>Wizardry 8 advertisement</a> and tell me it aint so.
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<blockquote>Factions. Your dealings with some of them can influence how you progress in the game, along with providing some different endgame slides. The two main ones are the T’Rang and the Umpani, who arrived on Dominus looking for the same as the party. Each side will have a score to settle with each other, as well as with the Dark Savant. Their missions range from diplomatic to covert to all out combat and will require you to investigate other factions and possibly exploit their weaknesses, then to report back. The final missions for each of these two factions will grow in complexity and one will take into account your past dealings with the faction that directly opposes the one you’ve been working for. One mission requires you to find a lost agent. When you do find him you’ll discover a plot that seriously affects both factions – but it’s up to you on how to decide. Do you inform both or do you continue working for one? Do you try to bring peace to both or will you keep serving your employers?</blockquote>They don't call it the tyranny of choices for nothing.
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[Jim Kata]

It's too bad this game was ruined by autoleveling crap.

"wield interesting results" -> yield interesting results

 

[Perishiko]

It's too bad this game was ruined by autoleveling crap.

"wield interesting results" -> yield interesting results

The autoleveling didn't bother me one bit... Not to mention they had alot of "static" level creatures put in different places. Made it to where I found some encounters hard, and others easy... I suppose that's what I like in a game.

What did bother me a bit though, is running into two-three groups of enemies while having two-three allied groups nearby... Made the battles too long, even for me.

 

[Direwolf]

What pissed me off when playing Wiz 8 was when I lost my saves and had about 10-12 hours of gameplay to get through, just to get back on track. It was just too much.

 

[undead dolphin hacker]

If this game's monsters hadn't scaled (or at least didn't respawn so quickly...) I would have enjoyed it much, much more.

 

[Perishiko]

If this game's monsters hadn't scaled (or at least didn't respawn so quickly...) I would have enjoyed it much, much more.

I do believe they only respawn/scale when you camp... You can use potions here and there to get the job done.

It's too bad so many people got frustrated by that, heh.

 

[Jim Kata]

If this game's monsters hadn't scaled (or at least didn't respawn so quickly...) I would have enjoyed it much, much more.

I do believe they only respawn/scale when you camp... You can use potions here and there to get the job done.

It's too bad so many people got frustrated by that, heh.

The problem is that if you switch classes a few times your 'level' as far as the game is concerned becomes very high. And any wiz hardcore player can't help but switch classes a lot.

I think I might give it another try soemday now that I realize there is autoleveling. I would literally have combats where every creature had more hitpoints than the entire party. OVER AND OVER AND OVER.

 

[Perishiko]

The problem is that if you switch classes a few times your 'level' as far as the game is concerned becomes very high. And any wiz hardcore player can't help but switch classes a lot.

I think I might give it another try soemday now that I realize there is autoleveling. I would literally have combats where every creature had more hitpoints than the entire party. OVER AND OVER AND OVER.

You know, I don't believe I ever switched classes on any of my guys... Why exactly couldn't you help but switch classes alot?

 

[ady5]

Well, i played it with Deathstalker's mod on and it was a very different experience than the stock game. I think the mod resolved some of the autoleveling issues with a simple solution: it made all the battles hard as hell. Even the starting location was nearly impossible without starting with a balanced team, using all your spells and thinking out of the box.
Fun times i had with Wiz8+DS 2.1... Now i saw it's 3.0. Even better reason to start playing again

 

[bozia2012]

Insane hackfest, non-stop respawning level-scaled mobs waiting behind every corner. Even the cities (at least the two first) are infested with monstarz thus making the it completely "unplayable" for me. If the fights wouldn't be so often it could be a great game (character system, combat, immershun etc.)... Or maybe I didn't equip the ring? Does it get any better after the "tree-top city"?

 

[suibhne]

Did anyone ever beat Nessie without cheesing her with disabling magic?

 

[Perishiko]

Did anyone ever beat Nessie without cheesing her with disabling magic?

I did, but it was pretty cheesy anyways...

I entered combat pretty far from him and used summon creatures to kill him off. He would never come closer to attack me... Then again, I did have three caster classes that could summon really high leveled summons... So basicaly, summon, let them attack, wait for them to die, summon more, rinse/repeat.

I don't even recall what the monster dropped, but I do believe you're talking about that hulking beast that was under water.

 

[Limorkil]

Its not that hard.

But the repeated encounters when travelling from place to place do get tiresome.

There is not much need to change class in Wiz 8. In fact, like with D&D 3rd edition rules, changing class does not lead to more levels. I think people are thinking of a different Wizardry game.

The autolevelled content is not that bad in Wiz 8. Unlike Oblivion, the map locations have a min and a max level, so if you go somewhere too soon it is very hard (certain death) whereas later on it becomes easy.

If you want to have a less arduous time, install Flamestrykes mod. It balances a lot of the classes and the encounters, making it much harder to have a gimped party. Personally, I think it makes the game too easy, but I did not find the vanilla game all that hard.

 

[FrancoTAU]

The most important thing for someone who's playing this game for the first time is to not level up too much in the starter dungeon. You will get butchered by the level scaled monsters outside of the dungeon because you won't have any decent gear yet. Level 4 at the most I think?

Also, it's not a universal leveling system. I'm pretty sure each area had a min/max level for the monsters in the area. If not, enemies became pretty neutered relative to you after a couple level ups due to your ever improving skills and gear.

There is also a mod that speeds up the combat turns for the more impatient. I don't know the name or link off the top of my head.

 

[Shagnak]

Also, it's not a universal leveling system. I'm pretty sure each area had a min/max level for the monsters in the area. If not, enemies became pretty neutered relative to you after a couple level ups due to your ever improving skills and gear.

Yes, you are correct. There was always the opportunity to come back later and find yourself more than capable of taking out the 'leveled' monsters. There was never the case of everything in an area always being leveled to your party. (I'm pretty sure this has been over with with some of the same posters in another thread, months ago).
Sometimes you would enter an area and find that the creatures were just way too high level for your party, sometimes you would return to an area and find that you had completely outstripped enemies' ability to compete.

I found the game satisfying. It was a challenge, but not an impossible one. I don't claim I'm some ubar old skool game player, or inhumanly patient, but if you found this game too hard then I don't know how you could have possibly enjoyed the challenging games that this game harks back to. I certainly found it more forgiving than a lot of the oldies it aspires to update (e.g. Wiz 7).

 

[Nael]

Best dialogue system in a game. Period. The way they implemented the Wiki style was absolutely genius and it's a real shame so very few (if any IIRC) picked up the idea. Perhaps it has something to do with whenever Wiz8 is discussed I never hear anyone else mention this aspect of the game. Am I the only one who really liked the dialogue system?

 

[Jasede]

I loved it. Why? My imported party could ask all sorts of questions regarding Wiz. 7 in 8. An they got ANSWERS!

 

[undead dolphin hacker]

Wiz8's a game I've always been meaning to replay, if only because the first dungeon is so elaborate and interesting that I thought I was missing out on a crapload of more fun when I inevitably got frustrated and quit due to the insane difficulty of walking to (and moving around in) the first town.

So yeah, I guess I always overleveled in the Monastery.

 

[Diogo Ribeiro]

I loved it. Why? My imported party could ask all sorts of questions regarding Wiz. 7 in 8. An they got ANSWERS!

You could also ask Saxx about a couple of bands and get a comment. Out of character, but amusing nonetheless.

 

[Stalin]

Using doorways and terrain (plenty of crevices on the way to arnika) to shield the casters and force the enemy to attack your tanks reduces a lot of the problems but that is just sound tactical thinking. Getting surrounded nets you dead casters/healers and "OMG you wiped" nearly evey time: Stamina potions ara a must for fighters in the early game or they won't hit anything in the REALY long fights. Otherwise I am still waiting for a game to match the sheer compexity and immersion of W8.

 

[theverybigslayer]

Did anyone ever beat Nessie without cheesing her with disabling magic?

I did, it was a long fight, Nessie run out of stamina and fell unconscious

 

[Nevarion]

Best dialogue system in a game. Period. The way they implemented the Wiki style was absolutely genius and it's a real shame so very few (if any IIRC) picked up the idea. Perhaps it has something to do with whenever Wiz8 is discussed I never hear anyone else mention this aspect of the game. Am I the only one who really liked the dialogue system?

Heck no! Dialog was great in my book. Reminded me of the parsers of old like in text adventurers. Chances given you could tailor a question and the person you asked reacted accordingly to their personality and knowledge about a topic. Could have had more depth or variety in cases, yeah, but a great system nevertheless.

Makes me think about Ultima 7. The scene with the theatre in Britain anyone? The actor playing the Avatar and his three hardest lines ^_^ Priceless!

 

[FrancoTAU]

I'm a pretty big Wizardry fanboy, but the one word typed style of dialogue wasn't that original. You can look back to a bunch of RPGs and Adventure games in the late 80s/early 90s that did it. Wiz 8 probably did it the best as far as adding the more critical words automatically into your dialogue choices while leaving you to ask about more obscure stuff on your own.

 

[Nael]

I'm a pretty big Wizardry fanboy, but the one word typed style of dialogue wasn't that original. You can look back to a bunch of RPGs and Adventure games in the late 80s/early 90s that did it.

I didn't say it was original. I said I liked it.

It sure beats having a handful of options like "Yes milord, whatever you say." or "I hate you so much I want to rape your grandmother."

 

[Torin]

Wiz 8 is a great game, the best in my book in the last 10 years along with the Fallouts.

It is very difficult if you don't understand how character development/skills/stats work (which is poorly explained in the manual).

The biggest thing is that you need fighters (with the berserk attack always enabled - this doubles damage) instead of the other hybrid-melee fighter classes. The melee hybrids are pretty much worthless - they do half as much damage as fighters and you don't have enough skill and attribute points to be both an effective spellcaster and melee combatant. Bishops with 2-3 casting domains are also powerhouses when compared with the regular 1-domain spellcasters.

If you are having trouble with the difficulty you should google 'Flamestryke Wizardry 8' - it is a great site with walkthroughs, item lists, speel info, etc...