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Looking for some party advice
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RPGDot Forums > Wizardry 8

Author Thread
Mark Withers
Village Dweller
Village Dweller




Joined: 23 May 2002
Posts: 2
Looking for some party advice
   

I would really appreciate some advice about my party, mainly about my use of Bishops.

I've got to Arnika with three different parties, each time realising that they weren't quite what I wanted as I learned more about the game. My latest party has pressed on past Arnika to the Umpani Camp and beyond, so I'm not completely useless!

Here we go then.

The front two
==========

Singe, my Dracon Fighter. Big Damage + crowd control vs little monsters with breath.

Jack, my Human Samurai. Advancing as a battlemage, as per the advice on the Jandrall site.

The Shooters (I developed these two really badly last time!)
==========

Robin, my Human Female Ranger. Maxing out Senses (Last time I played I didn't put a single point in, Doh!). Complete bow specialist. Magic used for healing and putting bad status effects on enemies.

Lara, my Human Female Bard. The thief of the party, a great musician, pumping points into bow every level (I forgot to raise INT the last time I played - I'm so bad!)

The Mages
========

I'm going for two Bishops this time, because I was so impressed with the last one I used.

Sagus, Elven Bishop. Wizardry and Divinity. Healing and shielding. Maybe a fireball or two at later levels!

Halen, Elven Bishop. Alchemy and Psionics. Persistent damage and bad effects on monsters. Makes money at the start of the game using the Light heal + Mod heal trick.

What does everyone think?

Has anyone used two Bishops before? Did they work well together?

Thanks in advance.
Mark.
Post Thu May 23, 2002 9:43 am
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Guest Dare
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My only suggestion to you is to try some new races!
There's a lot more to select than just dracon, human, and elf.
Post Thu May 23, 2002 10:57 am
 
Danicek
The Old One
The Old One




Joined: 15 Dec 2001
Posts: 5922
Location: Czech Republic
   

You will have easier life if you exchange your two bishops for 1 priest and 1 mage. But I do not say your party is unplayable, just a little bit more diffucult because bishops need more exp. points to reach each level than preists/mages.
Post Thu May 23, 2002 11:34 am
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dteowner
Shoegazer
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Joined: 21 Mar 2002
Posts: 7570
Location: Third Hero of Erathia
   

One thing to consider is which spell books you're choosing for each bishop. Wizardry and alchemy both have the majority of spells in the elements. Psinoics and Divinity center on mental and divine. With your current plan, you'll have to increase skill level in all 6 areas for both bishops. If you go Wiz/Alch and Psi/Div, each bishop will be able to concentrate on a portion of the 6 areas. Obviously, you'll want to build up all 6 areas eventually, but an early concentration in a few will get your bishops up and running a little quicker.

Feel free to play any party you like (there is no "right" answer), but I'd probably advise you to avoid the double bishop your first time to the end of the game. Trust me, you'll want to play the entire game again and your experience will make it much easier to develop those bishops.
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Post Thu May 23, 2002 2:51 pm
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Mark Withers
Village Dweller
Village Dweller




Joined: 23 May 2002
Posts: 2
   

I don't fancy going back to a Mage and a Priest. They're probably more powerful at the start of the game, but I have a Bard and a fighter to get me through the monastry, and I'm patient enough to have the rest of my characters improve over time. I know I'm a newbie, but I think I know enough now to develop my hybrids and Bishops properly.

The last time I played I used a Wizardry/Divine Bishop and he was doing really well. The Alchemist I was using was being easily outperformed by the time I'd got to the mountain wilderness, so I decided to improve on him by combining Alchemy with Psionics for more versatility.

However, your ideas about having a Wiz/Alch and a Div/Psi makes a whole lot of sense.

The only problem I have with splitting this way is that my Wiz/Alch will need high divine at early levels anyway for enchanted blade (that is a wizard spell, right?).

Even so, I think I'll split my bishops the way you suggested. Thanks for the advice!

P.S. I picked the races for several reasons. I just don't like the idea of the dog and cat races, every faerie I've used was rubbish, lizardmen are cool but inferior to dracons, dwarves are so slow, and I just can't picture hobbits as anything other than rogues! And don't get me started on Gnomes!
Post Thu May 23, 2002 4:06 pm
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dteowner
Shoegazer
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Joined: 21 Mar 2002
Posts: 7570
Location: Third Hero of Erathia
   

Go Forth and Smite, my son!

By the way, on the enchanted blade spell, spells that you cast outside of combat are not as important from a skill standpoint. If the spell fails, recast. In fact, the "buff" spells should almost always be cast in the orange in order to improve your casting skills. It's not like a character will die if a buff spell fails, unlike a "combat heal" or well-timed fireball.
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Post Thu May 23, 2002 5:41 pm
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If you let them practise their skills enough, your Bishops can have 100's in all schools by the time you leave Arnika. This is outlined on Avenstar's page. My favorite finish so far has been a party of four who changed back and forth between Bishop and; Samurai (Hobbit), Monk (Gnome), Ranger (Rawulf), and Ninja (Faerie). The most important advantage of Bishops is that by L11 you can learn all the spells there's books for, which way more than doubles your mana pool compared to that of a 'pure' caster. Then the hybrid fighter classes can continue to learn their school and by total char level 22 they can cast all their respective nuke spells and have multiple att/round as well.
Post Thu May 23, 2002 8:58 pm
 
Bilbo
High Emperor
High Emperor




Joined: 12 Mar 2002
Posts: 1620
Location: New York
   

Since you're not a newbie, going for 2 bishops instead of 1 priest + 1 mage is playable. Long term, you'll have more power; short term, I think you're losing power.

But my bigger objection is to your ranger! Why are you using him purely for bow / alchemy? Get him on the front line and have him start wailing with a sword! His bow skill will still go up fast, but you'll save lot of arrows. Seriously, you'll do way more damage giving him a short range weapon IMHO. My ranger is 95+ in both sword and bow this way. There are at least 3 kick-butt swords, and I think my ranger is using Sword of 4 Winds.
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Post Thu May 23, 2002 11:28 pm
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HiddenX
The Elder Spy
The Elder Spy




Joined: 20 Jul 2001
Posts: 749
Location: NRW / Germany
   

One of the strongest characters in Wizardry 8 is the Bard. He is the character with the most unique items in the game. Having a Bard in the party makes the game easier to play.

he is good with a bow, with a sword, and he can cast tons of spells with instruments, and he is good in thief skills, too.

my other favorites are:

Felpurr Samurai
Dwarfen Valkyrie
Faerie Ninja
Mook Bishop
Dracoon Alchemist
Felpurr Bard

i am playing with this party since Wizardry 6, and the most killings have the Samurai and the Valkyrie.
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Post Thu May 23, 2002 11:52 pm
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