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dteowner
Shoegazer
Joined: 21 Mar 2002
Posts: 7570
Location: Third Hero of Erathia |
My old HDD went "doink", so I had to populate my new one from scratch. I don't have install disks for several of my games with me, but Wiz8 I've got! Since this drive hasn't seen the endings, I figured I should put together a crew and run 'em thru.
Thought I'd try some race/class combos I haven't used in a while.
Lizzy fighter (OK, that one wasn't new)
Rawulf valk (a brand new combo for me)
Mook ranger (always have a ranger, but usually use halflings)
Faerie bishop (haven't had a bishop in a while, strangely enough)
Halfling rogue (hardly ever use rogues since I don't pickpocket)
Mook psionic (only the second psi I can remember using)
_________________
=Proud Member of the Non-Flamers Guild=
=Benevolent Dictator, X2/X3 and Morrowind/Oblivion Forums=
Sorry. No pearls of wisdom in this oyster.
RIP Red Wings How 'Bout Dem Cowboys! |
Sat Sep 18, 2004 3:11 pm |
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_gator
High Emperor
Joined: 28 May 2003
Posts: 530
Location: Kentucky |
Make sure you report your progress here. I always like to hear about new things people find in this game.
Specifically, let me know about the Psionic. I usually play Bishops and I find I will use the Psionic spells heavily early to mid game, but less late in the game. So I haven't played a Psionic much and prefer to go with the versatility of the Bishop.
What difficulty level/mode will you be playing in? |
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Mon Sep 20, 2004 2:43 pm |
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dteowner
Shoegazer
Joined: 21 Mar 2002
Posts: 7570
Location: Third Hero of Erathia |
We're done with Arnika, took the wheel key back to the monestary, and will be headed up to Mt Gigas next. Since I've already taken my turns with expert and/or ironman, I ran this one on normal difficulty.
I'm not very happy with the party, to be honest. The bishop in particular doesn't have a clearly defined role. The psi is supposed to handle the offensive magic, and the valk has nearly the same divinity skills as the bishop (that was probably a development mistake on my part). With most buffs and offense covered, there really isn't much left for the bishop. I've ended up building the bishop as an alchemy specialist, which isn't too useful.
As for the psi-- he's got 4 useful offensive spells at this point (~level 8 ): mind stab, psionic fire, shrill sound, and insanity. It's tough to build up fire and air skills, so those two are a bit weak. Since mind stab and insanity both draw out of mental, he runs out of spell points in that realm too quickly. A long battle or a couple short ones without rest in between, and he's out of juice.
I don't care for my rogue. The minor increase in melee damage doesn't offset the loss of music or gadgets. I'm also finding that a full rest period won't always fully recharge a char's magic since I don't have the bard boost I usually have. I thought a full rest was supposed to fill you up completely, but I've had a couple instances now where the psi didn't get all his spell points back.
So far, the valk has been the only pleasant surprise. I've never needed the "cheat death" bonus, but she's a beast with her polearm. Right now, she's doing more damage per hit than the fighter plus she just started getting 2 attacks per round while the fighter still has just one.
It should be mentioned that my style is combat-heavy. By midgame, my casters are generally casting buffs and area-of-effect damage spells. By endgame, the casters often melee after the buffs are in place. Once the monsters start getting decent resistances, I find steel far more reliable than magic.
_________________
=Proud Member of the Non-Flamers Guild=
=Benevolent Dictator, X2/X3 and Morrowind/Oblivion Forums=
Sorry. No pearls of wisdom in this oyster.
RIP Red Wings How 'Bout Dem Cowboys! |
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Mon Sep 20, 2004 5:23 pm |
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_gator
High Emperor
Joined: 28 May 2003
Posts: 530
Location: Kentucky |
IMO, Bishops are better when you have 3 or 4 in your party. Laying down 4 area affect spells on a group of monsters usually works pretty well. Also, they will be able trade off duties if spell points run low in particular realms. In your party, I think I would see a Mage or another "fighter" (Samurai, perhaps?) in place of the Bishop.
More spells and more Piety: only cure for low spell points.
The Bard can certainly spoil someone when it comes to resting. I think I played my first three games without a Bard and I never noticed the lack of one. When I played the Bard for the first time, I did notice then. Try to stick with the Rogue longer as it seems you are more lamenting the lack of the Bard. I hope you have the Rogue using Bloodlust.  |
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Mon Sep 20, 2004 5:47 pm |
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dteowner
Shoegazer
Joined: 21 Mar 2002
Posts: 7570
Location: Third Hero of Erathia |
I usually take a mage for offensive magic plus the critical "missle shield". I also tend to grab either a priest or a bishop for "magic screen". This time, the psi took the mage's slot, which left me with a hole. So the bishop went wiz/alch (my bishops either go wiz/alch or psi/div to limit the realms that need increased). That left me with a gaping hole for divinity. The valk simply won't have the skills for "magic screen" any time soon. Sometimes, I can cover a gap in spells with a bard or gadgy, but this time I took the rogue (dual daggers, BTW). SOL I be.
I'm giving serious consideration to trashing this crew. I'm thinking a magic-heavy (to supply ranged attacks) sammy with Bloodlust would be a sight to behold. That would get me "missle shield" by level 8 if I played my cards right. Later than I like, but do-able. Part of me wants to slog through with this flawed party just because I can. The other part (currently winning the argument) says Wiz8 is far too long of a game to mess with a party you don't like (flawed or not).
_________________
=Proud Member of the Non-Flamers Guild=
=Benevolent Dictator, X2/X3 and Morrowind/Oblivion Forums=
Sorry. No pearls of wisdom in this oyster.
RIP Red Wings How 'Bout Dem Cowboys! |
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Tue Sep 21, 2004 12:33 am |
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_gator
High Emperor
Joined: 28 May 2003
Posts: 530
Location: Kentucky |
I have to agree that I would not stick with a party that I was not happy with. I definitely takes too long to play this game to do otherwise. Trash away.... |
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Tue Sep 21, 2004 3:49 am |
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dteowner
Shoegazer
Joined: 21 Mar 2002
Posts: 7570
Location: Third Hero of Erathia |
After much debate, I trashed 'em. Put together a new crew, but tried to recycle much of the old one. They finished the upper monestary last night.
Rawulf Valk (exact same char, she can't hit anything this game  )
Human Sammy (gonna try the Bloodlust plan)
Mook Ranger (almost ditched)
Dwarf Priest (kinda bland, but I rarely use dwarves for some reason)
Hobbit Rogue (forced myself to recycle this one)
Mook Psi (wanted to recycle this one)
Managed to resist putting in a monk somewhere (my favorite class)...
_________________
=Proud Member of the Non-Flamers Guild=
=Benevolent Dictator, X2/X3 and Morrowind/Oblivion Forums=
Sorry. No pearls of wisdom in this oyster.
RIP Red Wings How 'Bout Dem Cowboys! |
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Tue Sep 21, 2004 3:21 pm |
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_gator
High Emperor
Joined: 28 May 2003
Posts: 530
Location: Kentucky |
Good makeup.
Just curious, what's the formation for this group? |
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Tue Sep 21, 2004 5:16 pm |
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dteowner
Shoegazer
Joined: 21 Mar 2002
Posts: 7570
Location: Third Hero of Erathia |
For now, 3-2-1. Valk, sammy, and rogue in front; psi and priest middle; ranger in back. The ranger is a meat shield in case I screw up and get attacked from behind since low level casters are so fragile.
Since I generally equip my casters with extended range weapons in the beginning, they can melee from the middle if not casting. At the endgame, I might shift to a more creative formation (0 front, 1 left, 3 middle, 1 right, 1 back) to maximize melee potential with a wider variety of weapons.
_________________
=Proud Member of the Non-Flamers Guild=
=Benevolent Dictator, X2/X3 and Morrowind/Oblivion Forums=
Sorry. No pearls of wisdom in this oyster.
RIP Red Wings How 'Bout Dem Cowboys! |
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Tue Sep 21, 2004 5:55 pm |
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dteowner
Shoegazer
Joined: 21 Mar 2002
Posts: 7570
Location: Third Hero of Erathia |
Well now...
We went into the Graveyard Egg Dungeon a little early. Apparently a lot early. I've always called that one a level 10 dungeon, but my level 8/9 party was soundly toasted. The room with the 3 morax put us in our graves...
Me thinks I've had enough Wiz8 for now. Gonna get back to X2 for a while.
_________________
=Proud Member of the Non-Flamers Guild=
=Benevolent Dictator, X2/X3 and Morrowind/Oblivion Forums=
Sorry. No pearls of wisdom in this oyster.
RIP Red Wings How 'Bout Dem Cowboys! |
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Sun Sep 26, 2004 1:38 am |
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