Hey there! Glad you found it! That's exactly what it was meant for, a video to get you started as a new player with solid information that will help you up to Expert (hardest difficulty)! Have fun watching and Happy Gaming :)
Thanks for the guide. You're preaching to the choir though, as I've been playing this game on and off since 2001. I have a powerful Magic Damage Party (MDP), that I've been working on for over a year. Six classes that level relatively quickly: Bard, Gadgeteer, Priest, Alchemist, Psionic, and Mage. Also, all Humans for the maximum total attribute points (non-Humans get a reduced number of total attribute points, not everybody knows that.) I prioritized Strength and Dexterity for the Bard and Gadgeteer, as they're the tough girls in this party. They unlocked Powerstrike and Reflextion fairly early. Next, I maxed Speed and Senses by level 30 (they were kept about equal so they maxed at the same time). Snake Speed and Eagle Eye are unlocked for them, making them killing machines in both melee and ranged combat. The four specialist casters maxed Speed first, unlocking Snake Speed early on. I kept Intelligence at 95 before the Trynton Well (free +5 to Intelligence) so no points were wasted. At that point, Powercast was unlocked for them. Piety and Senses were kept about equal, until they both maxed by level 30, unlocking Iron Will and Eagle Eye. To sum it up, non-casters (Fighter, Rogue, Bard, Gadgeteer, non-casting hybrids) should max Strength, Dexterity, Speed and Senses first. Casters (Bishop, Priest, Alchemist, Psionic, Mage, casting-heavy hybrids) should max Intelligence, Piety, Speed, and Senses first.
Hey hey, yes, very good stuff from you as well, always fascinating to listen to other experienced players. This video is mostly for new players, so I can point them somewhere.. gotta recruit new ones where we can haha. - About your conclusions: Everyone has their own special take and I'm compelled to a next Playthrough usually by having someone give me new ideas like that of a Magic Damage Party. Quite interesting, did you play the game through with it yet? STR and DEX are quite my favorites, too, regarding physical characters. I rarely reach level 30, that's a cool adventure! What was your highest level then? :)
@@ImmanuelCan Thanks for the quick reply. I posted about my party on the GOG forums, but I don't get many replies from it. Not many people have the patience to do what I do, intense grinding. I only tried an MDP for the first time a couple of years ago, as it's not a "normal" type of party. It's a lot of fun though. I actually ground the Monastery until level 21, because I'm terrified of the Arnika Road the first time. At that point, you get good treasures from chests with a sensor. Reaching Arnika at level 21, I did all the quests there, and cleaned it out, grinding on the Savant machines there (they give pretty good experience, and Arnika is a great place to level). There are many places to hide and rest, and no magic-using enemies spawn there. I made a bee-line for Trynton once the casters had 95 Intelligence (that's something to point out to new players, don't put Intelligence above 95 until the Trynton Well). I remembered to cast a portal in Arnika before that, so I could portal right back, after the casters maxed Intelligence, and unlocked Powercast. Currently, everybody is level 32, in Arnika, and I'm grinding all my skills to 100, especially the expert skills that just unlocked. What's the point of unlocking four expert skills, if they won't be increased? My take is this: The Bard and Gadgeteer are jack-of-all-trade characters. They can fight in melee combat, ranged combat, mimic magic with instruments and gadgets, and pick locks decently well. That's why I maxed Strength, Dexterity, Speed, and Senses. They hit hard, fast, and often (note that by level 34, the Bard and Gadgeteer unlock the third attack per round). They get a tier below the Fighter and hybrids, in terms of number of swings and attacks, but with the Light Sword and Light Shield, they will kick @$$ (I have some grinding to do later on with the Buccaneer Ghosts). The four specialist casters cover every spell in the game, with some spells in multiple spellbooks (Set/Return to Portal are in all four). I maxed all four spellbooks just by picking spells, with a few spellbooks bought from Braffit and Anna. The Bishop is the only one you need to worry about with saving spell picks. Maxing Intelligence is obvious for Powercast, even for the Priest (he gets a few offensive spells, and Powercast makes defensive spells and buffs more powerful). Maxing Piety is obvious too, for Iron Will, so the four casters will be resistant to magic, and of course more Stamina and Spell Points. Speed and Senses being maxed makes a lot of sense, because then you have the best initiative in the game (my four casters have Snake Speed in the 90s, because I unlocked it so early on). I never have to worry about going first. Senses being maxed grants Eagle Eye, which helps with their slings, making up for the casters ignoring Strength and Dexterity, two stats which are more suited to physical damage dealers. What's people's take on this?
Very good advice. You CAN use other races, but humans are a good race. And vitality is really the lowest priority attribute. My "good party check" advice: after crash landing, before entering the building, move through the water to the little temple. There are some crabs. If your "absolute beginners" party can kill the crabs without using healing potions: very good party. If you need healing potions: average party. If one or more characters die: bad party. One cheap trick is to create a lord and change him/her immediatly to a fighter or rogue or create a priest and change to a mage.
@@paulfalke6227 I used to use more specialized races for my party, but as I got older (I'm 40 now) the perfectionist in me came out. Humans get the highest total attribute points (45 to everything), which is 5 more points than the Hobbit, and 10 or 15 more than every other race. Try totaling them for yourself. Vitality is a low priority because it's retroactive, meaning you get the same HP total no matter when you increase it, early or late. Also, it helps NO skills rise faster. I usually wait until my party is level 2 or 3 before tackling those crabs at the pagoda. Also, I always have a Bard in my party, so I can put some of them to sleep with the Poet's Lute (Sleep instrument).
I also wait with the crabs a little bit as they can have some random hit combo that can just cost you dearly but of course that is down to playstyle. I generally try to avoid to reload as it disturbs my experience and flow so I avoid the crabs until they are safe. But it's an interesting method as an early test that surely shows, on average, how strong your party is early on.
Two things: 1) It always irritates my eyes if I see points "wasted for nothing" (sorry not as offense) but if I have a fighter whom I want +3pts/level until reaches 100 then I wanna have not 77 but 76. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 76 79 82 85 88 91 94 97 100 2) I think I can easily talk in lot of other player's mouth too that I cannot form in enough words how great there is someone like you Immanuel Can to be so enthuistic gamer with this old gem of game universe to talk deeply about the system "mechanic part" of this complex attributes and class/race, what are the suggestion next to eventually unlimited possibilities without questioning if the party is playable at all. Thank you for having these videos! :)
Yeah I've often timed it like that, too, not this time. I don't know why I didn't say it, wanted to keep it as functional and as detail-low as possible while still reaching a good result for a beginner. The less things you get said you have to remember, the more open the gate to the game :) Beginners will figure out what you said eventually, I trust that (it's a very good suggestion, too!). Thank you, I try to do my best to make it easy to get into this gem of a game, trying not for the totally optimal but instead the most easy to get into tips that will (imo) still be good enough to beat the game on Expert. Finer points everyone will discover themselves or discussing with others, or diving into the message boards that still exist. I love that there's people here like you giving me that feedback and joining the community :) All the best and Happy Gaming!
For an extra challenge (maybe a bit sadistic even), play a solo game with the following restrictions: Take a Fairy Bishop. Doesn't have to be Fairy, but it's an extra challenge. Choose only one realm to cast spells from, and only learn spells from that realm. No spells from other realms allowed. Using only your chosen spell realm, raise your realm skill and all 4 spellbook skills to 100 using only the realm you chose (if you choose the mental realm, you'll need to mix actual potions to raise the Alchemy spellbook skill, since there are no Mental spells in the Alchemy spell book). Raise only Intelligence and the attribute associated with the realm you chose on each level up. (on the initial character creation, you're allowed Str or Vit for the third attribute, since these don't directly contribute to any magic realm ability): Earth realm: Strength Divine realm: Piety Water realm: Vitality Air realm: Dexterity Fire realm: Speed Mental realm: Senses You definitely need to work on combat skills since your magic will be limited for the first part of the challenge. For a Bishop, that is Staff/Wand, Mace/Flail, and Throwing/sling. The real trick to getting all 4 spellbook skills to 100 is understanding how the skill system works. For example, for spells that appear in more than one spell book, only the highest spellbook skill is trained by casting that spell. This means, given the limited spells you have to work with (only 1 realm), you have to take into account which book(s) each spell appears in and plan ahead. You also have to understand the spell skill AND level requirements to qualify to learn new spells. And the skill requirement must be met at least one level BEFORE the level requirement. Finally, you have to understand how each spell can be used to train a spellbook skill, which is not the same for each spell. For example, the game has a mechanic that tries to prevent spell training from repeated casting over and over, but it can be bypassed by casting and then doing a quick save / quick load, then casting again, and repeating. This works with some party spells. Other spells can only be trained during combat (stamina, heal). Casting more times at lower levels trains more than casting at higher levels. Some spells train by casting at subsequently higher levels, then resting until the spell wears off and then repeat (light). These are just hints to show that training can be done with any spell, but the most important thing is to look up the spell and level requirements (zimlab.com/wizardry) and which books each spell appears in (JeffLudwig.com/wizardry8), so you can plan out a strategy to get to 100 book skills. And maybe just as importantly, DON'T level until your skills are high enough to face the higher level creatures you will run into just from leveling. And also make sure you will meet the skill requirements for spells before you level to try to get them at the lowest level possible. Every 10 points in your realm skill adds 1 point to the book skills requirement. Creatures ramp up fast in this game, and they will murder you if you level too fast. Save before leveling so you can go back for more skill training if things get too tough. Pick a realm and have fun with the challenge.
Heyo, I might think about it :D Sorry, UA-cam put you in the autoban category for some reason, so I only discovered you on my monthly "spam" check. That sounds really crazy all in all :D
fighter, monk,: STR, DEX, SPEED, SENS archer, rogue, ninja, samurai: DEX, SPEED STR/SENS for casters: INT SPEED PIETY VIT (speed is especialy important for casters i think, u can buff/debuff before enemy. Many fights become easy buffed. special classes that i dont know to well: gadgeteer, bard and lord.
There are many theories on how to best distribute the attributes. Yours is definitely in the top tier :) I don't know the best way to distribute them as noone can really say "the" optimal way. So yours might also be best.
i do put points in vit for my casters later in game after i maxed int speed en piety... whats ur favourite/best party? me frontline. mook figher (giant sword) fairy ninja (cane of corpus) than open meleeslot: last playtrue i tested monk and he can be a beast (the most underestimated class). Rogue is also fun with the backstabing. or crit samurai. on easy game is easy u dont need valk (maybe for harder difucultie) than my backline (i power level both my bishops with mindread and force lock in arnika vault) 1 tri school bishop with fire, water wind. 1 tri school bishop with divinity, earth and psy. ranger (for scouting in beginning is so easy and make u easy money) or maybe i should try gadgeteer
That's pretty good groups :) My best group? Hm, I always love a Ranger for Utility, Search mostly :D I want to have all Magic Schools. Liking someone who can pick locks. At least one frontline Damage Dealer. In general I prefer close combat damage dealers and the rest of the party supports them. Fairy Ninja has to be one of them ofc, also multiple school bishops are great always. Mooks are definitely a super good species for most jobs. What I want is 6 or more group members as I like to build characters so much, so I won't go into less personnel challenges :) That's really all, it's just a set of rules that I will break often to do something fun, irregular, new :D
I purchased the game when it first came out, played over and over for years, and only just recently was able to beat it. I always play ironman setting and would get my whole party defeated usually in the dang Umpani obstacle course. Then you have to restart game from the beginning all over again. My nephew would tell me stop playing ironman setting but i would not listen. He would say dont go thru the Umpani obstacle course but I would not listen and get party crushed. I always ended up cussing and having to start over.
Oh man you're tough and stubborn :D I don't play Ironman because I've been repeatedly stuck in some textures with no way to get out, even not teleport. I need my backup saves. But Ironman is usually good so you make sure you give your all and don't slack that much e.g. with potion distribution or optimizing equipment. Respect!
@@ImmanuelCan Thanks. I'll have to watch some more of your stuff today. From what I've seen so far you did a really good job on your videos. maybe I can pick up some tips. I am starting back to see if I can win once more. I hope it doesnt take me over 20 years again. I wish they had made a Wizardry 9. That type of game has fallen out of favor.
Have fun :) My guides are all in this playlist: ua-cam.com/video/FH51D7ogU00/v-deo.html - and of course there's the playthroughs, too that you can find on the channel page!
There is some great Bard gear you can only get early on from Higardi bandits (Ariel's Slippers, Mercucio's Blade, Prospero's Cloak). This is done by knocking an enemy down to a few hit points, one hit away from death, webbing/paralyzing them, running away, saving, and reloading until he drops the desired item. This can't be done in Ironman mode, not to mention the bugs the game has.
@@ryanchurasthemgtow7522 I dont like using Bards in Ironman mode because their instruments backfire sometimes. With magic users I just always cast spell in the green range once that is possible so no worries of backfiring.
Hey there! I have not used any mods. It is best to experience the original game before you use mods as most mods tend to make the game harder and some change it completely. Mods are good for second, third etc playthroughs if you want more of the game. That said, there is a mod that can speed up animations, the so called "speed mod" which can help you if you think the turn-based battles are too slow. That will happen once you get a bit of routine, so typically after quite a while. You can install that mod later, too, and still play your save. I wouldn't recommend going Ironman until you have a lot of experience in the game. Save often, and in different saves, is key for a new player :)
@@ImmanuelCan Thanks. I got the speed mod only. But I will probably first finish Morrowind playthrough and a new one in Skald Against the Black Priory before tackling this one as it is a really long game from what I understand
Yeah, Wizardry 8 is also quite long the first time, ~100 hours, but if you get a routine and don't comment everything, it's more like 40 hours on a chill playthrough.
I know for example that fighters don't really need a lot of int but if you go too low int on a fighter you will get penalty for raising the skills (like close combat) associated with it. If my memmory is correct a 50 int for a fighter is ok, no need to go any higher but something like 25-35 meens that skills associated with it will raise a bit too slow for my taste. So my question is : is there a minimum value of each attribute under which you will get heavy penalties?
There are a lot of discussions about values like 31, 39, 41 etc for bonuses and penalties but I have never tested what exactly would be optimal if anything. In general, if you use a melee character, you will optimally use only one weapon type (as physical damage is all the same to the game, there is no difference between piercing, bludgeoning, slashing like in Dungeons and Dragons). If you use only one weapon type, any amount of intelligence will be enough to learn the skill sufficiently, especially if you put points into the relevant melee attributes (STRENGTH and DEX). DEX also gives you more swings which in turn give you more chances to learn. So I don't think it's really relevant for gameplay. With 40 or 41 INT you should be on the good side (and this is counting the well you will visit later on in Trynton that will give you +5 INT) - so you're on the safe side with something like 36 INT if you're concerned about learning skills speed. Also I have not found any detailed calculation on why you'd need a special INT or PIETY or whatever value, nor any try to statistically prove these values are really relevant. As long as it's only about feels, I generally ignore it. I have not yet tried myself if there was a significant difference. For that I would have to play through half of the game testing a bunch of nearly identical characters that need to be in the same position with the same weapons and their only difference needs to be the INT value (I'd have to dump other points into VITALITY which I think has no influence on anything but... some resistances (which is also relevant for learning, as you'll have more attacks with higher resistance values as you'll not be stunned etc as often)). So TLDR I would ignore it until I see a proof for these effects from the people who insist that it is relevant, which I have not seen so far. I have always ignored INT for melee or ranged characters that need no casting and it was always totally fine. Classic Lizardman dumb fighter worked excellently. So, long thing, because so many people have been on this so often but I have never seen any proof or experiment recorded that would be relevant :) Just chill and develop the right stuff.
I play Wizardry 8 since the beginning in 2001. I LOVE this old school RPG. But I disagree to your "Strength is everything" video. For a fighter, relevant is Strength, Dexterity, Senses and Speed. Senses and Speed are like Intelligence and Piety for the mage classes: two attributes that are basically the same. Senses is more important than Speed. The three attributes Strength, Dexterity and Senses/Speed control three "dimensions" of the fighter: force, accuracy and agility. A lot of force without accuracy gives you no benefit. You want to hit the opponent, not the air. My fighters get at creation maximum bonus in dexterity and senses and bonus in strength. A human fighter has start strength of 67 - that is a "To Damage" value of +34%. I increase every dexterity and senses until both are 100. The classical fighter "career" increases strength and dexterity. But the dexterity and senses fighter has more kills and the game play - specially the boss fight with Gregor - is easier. For a "how good is my party" test I use the very first boss fight to the five crabs (after game start, swim through the lake). If no party member dies and I don't need healing potions the party is fine. Two last topics: If I want a fighter or a rogue, I create a Lord. The starting equipment is better. If I want a mage, I create a priest. I like the "double" mage: two mages in the party as "glass cannons" are great.
I did the same with my Bard and Gadgeteer in my Magic Damage Party. I maxed Strength and Dexterity first, then Speed and Senses. They're level 32, and really tough. Intelligence is almost useless for them (Powercast won't help them). Piety is sub-optimal, as all it gives is stamina. Vitality is ok, but it helps no skills go up faster, although I'm raising it last for extra hit points, stamina, and carry capacity.
@@ryanchurasthemgtow7522 Bard and Gadgeteer are interesting. They are fighter class (STR, DEX, SPD, SEN), but can do magic spells without intelligence or piety. As far as I know, Wizardry is the only RPG that has these "non-magic magic users". On level 32, every character should "kick ass".
Thanks for taking the time to produce this video. I'm playing Wizardry 8 for the first time and this was very helpful.
Hey there! Glad you found it! That's exactly what it was meant for, a video to get you started as a new player with solid information that will help you up to Expert (hardest difficulty)!
Have fun watching and Happy Gaming :)
Thanks for the guide. You're preaching to the choir though, as I've been playing this game on and off since 2001. I have a powerful Magic Damage Party (MDP), that I've been working on for over a year. Six classes that level relatively quickly: Bard, Gadgeteer, Priest, Alchemist, Psionic, and Mage. Also, all Humans for the maximum total attribute points (non-Humans get a reduced number of total attribute points, not everybody knows that.)
I prioritized Strength and Dexterity for the Bard and Gadgeteer, as they're the tough girls in this party. They unlocked Powerstrike and Reflextion fairly early. Next, I maxed Speed and Senses by level 30 (they were kept about equal so they maxed at the same time). Snake Speed and Eagle Eye are unlocked for them, making them killing machines in both melee and ranged combat.
The four specialist casters maxed Speed first, unlocking Snake Speed early on. I kept Intelligence at 95 before the Trynton Well (free +5 to Intelligence) so no points were wasted. At that point, Powercast was unlocked for them. Piety and Senses were kept about equal, until they both maxed by level 30, unlocking Iron Will and Eagle Eye.
To sum it up, non-casters (Fighter, Rogue, Bard, Gadgeteer, non-casting hybrids) should max Strength, Dexterity, Speed and Senses first. Casters (Bishop, Priest, Alchemist, Psionic, Mage, casting-heavy hybrids) should max Intelligence, Piety, Speed, and Senses first.
Hey hey, yes, very good stuff from you as well, always fascinating to listen to other experienced players. This video is mostly for new players, so I can point them somewhere.. gotta recruit new ones where we can haha. - About your conclusions: Everyone has their own special take and I'm compelled to a next Playthrough usually by having someone give me new ideas like that of a Magic Damage Party. Quite interesting, did you play the game through with it yet? STR and DEX are quite my favorites, too, regarding physical characters. I rarely reach level 30, that's a cool adventure! What was your highest level then? :)
@@ImmanuelCan Thanks for the quick reply. I posted about my party on the GOG forums, but I don't get many replies from it. Not many people have the patience to do what I do, intense grinding. I only tried an MDP for the first time a couple of years ago, as it's not a "normal" type of party. It's a lot of fun though.
I actually ground the Monastery until level 21, because I'm terrified of the Arnika Road the first time. At that point, you get good treasures from chests with a sensor. Reaching Arnika at level 21, I did all the quests there, and cleaned it out, grinding on the Savant machines there (they give pretty good experience, and Arnika is a great place to level). There are many places to hide and rest, and no magic-using enemies spawn there.
I made a bee-line for Trynton once the casters had 95 Intelligence (that's something to point out to new players, don't put Intelligence above 95 until the Trynton Well). I remembered to cast a portal in Arnika before that, so I could portal right back, after the casters maxed Intelligence, and unlocked Powercast.
Currently, everybody is level 32, in Arnika, and I'm grinding all my skills to 100, especially the expert skills that just unlocked. What's the point of unlocking four expert skills, if they won't be increased?
My take is this: The Bard and Gadgeteer are jack-of-all-trade characters. They can fight in melee combat, ranged combat, mimic magic with instruments and gadgets, and pick locks decently well. That's why I maxed Strength, Dexterity, Speed, and Senses. They hit hard, fast, and often (note that by level 34, the Bard and Gadgeteer unlock the third attack per round). They get a tier below the Fighter and hybrids, in terms of number of swings and attacks, but with the Light Sword and Light Shield, they will kick @$$ (I have some grinding to do later on with the Buccaneer Ghosts).
The four specialist casters cover every spell in the game, with some spells in multiple spellbooks (Set/Return to Portal are in all four). I maxed all four spellbooks just by picking spells, with a few spellbooks bought from Braffit and Anna. The Bishop is the only one you need to worry about with saving spell picks. Maxing Intelligence is obvious for Powercast, even for the Priest (he gets a few offensive spells, and Powercast makes defensive spells and buffs more powerful). Maxing Piety is obvious too, for Iron Will, so the four casters will be resistant to magic, and of course more Stamina and Spell Points. Speed and Senses being maxed makes a lot of sense, because then you have the best initiative in the game (my four casters have Snake Speed in the 90s, because I unlocked it so early on). I never have to worry about going first. Senses being maxed grants Eagle Eye, which helps with their slings, making up for the casters ignoring Strength and Dexterity, two stats which are more suited to physical damage dealers.
What's people's take on this?
Very good advice. You CAN use other races, but humans are a good race. And vitality is really the lowest priority attribute. My "good party check" advice: after crash landing, before entering the building, move through the water to the little temple. There are some crabs. If your "absolute beginners" party can kill the crabs without using healing potions: very good party. If you need healing potions: average party. If one or more characters die: bad party. One cheap trick is to create a lord and change him/her immediatly to a fighter or rogue or create a priest and change to a mage.
@@paulfalke6227 I used to use more specialized races for my party, but as I got older (I'm 40 now) the perfectionist in me came out. Humans get the highest total attribute points (45 to everything), which is 5 more points than the Hobbit, and 10 or 15 more than every other race. Try totaling them for yourself.
Vitality is a low priority because it's retroactive, meaning you get the same HP total no matter when you increase it, early or late. Also, it helps NO skills rise faster.
I usually wait until my party is level 2 or 3 before tackling those crabs at the pagoda. Also, I always have a Bard in my party, so I can put some of them to sleep with the Poet's Lute (Sleep instrument).
I also wait with the crabs a little bit as they can have some random hit combo that can just cost you dearly but of course that is down to playstyle. I generally try to avoid to reload as it disturbs my experience and flow so I avoid the crabs until they are safe. But it's an interesting method as an early test that surely shows, on average, how strong your party is early on.
Two things:
1) It always irritates my eyes if I see points "wasted for nothing" (sorry not as offense)
but if I have a fighter whom I want +3pts/level until reaches 100 then I wanna have not 77 but 76.
2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
76 79 82 85 88 91 94 97 100
2) I think I can easily talk in lot of other player's mouth too that I cannot form in enough words how great there is
someone like you Immanuel Can to be so enthuistic gamer with this old gem of game universe
to talk deeply about the system "mechanic part" of this complex attributes and class/race, what are the suggestion next to eventually unlimited possibilities
without questioning if the party is playable at all. Thank you for having these videos! :)
Yeah I've often timed it like that, too, not this time. I don't know why I didn't say it, wanted to keep it as functional and as detail-low as possible while still reaching a good result for a beginner. The less things you get said you have to remember, the more open the gate to the game :) Beginners will figure out what you said eventually, I trust that (it's a very good suggestion, too!).
Thank you, I try to do my best to make it easy to get into this gem of a game, trying not for the totally optimal but instead the most easy to get into tips that will (imo) still be good enough to beat the game on Expert. Finer points everyone will discover themselves or discussing with others, or diving into the message boards that still exist.
I love that there's people here like you giving me that feedback and joining the community :)
All the best and Happy Gaming!
Thanks and I totally agree with you btw! :)
This IP needs a serious remake they need to completely remake the original 4 Wizardry games since Dungeon Crawlers are actually rising in popularity.
Yeah, some UI improvements, a little bit of graphics, and that's all, for that I'd buy a remake :D
There is an remake of the OG in early access currently. Looks pretty good.
For an extra challenge (maybe a bit sadistic even), play a solo game with the following restrictions:
Take a Fairy Bishop. Doesn't have to be Fairy, but it's an extra challenge.
Choose only one realm to cast spells from, and only learn spells from that realm. No spells from other realms allowed.
Using only your chosen spell realm, raise your realm skill and all 4 spellbook skills to 100 using only the realm you chose (if you choose the mental realm, you'll need to mix actual potions to raise the Alchemy spellbook skill, since there are no Mental spells in the Alchemy spell book).
Raise only Intelligence and the attribute associated with the realm you chose on each level up.
(on the initial character creation, you're allowed Str or Vit for the third attribute, since these don't directly contribute to any magic realm ability):
Earth realm: Strength
Divine realm: Piety
Water realm: Vitality
Air realm: Dexterity
Fire realm: Speed
Mental realm: Senses
You definitely need to work on combat skills since your magic will be limited for the first part of the challenge. For a Bishop, that is Staff/Wand, Mace/Flail, and Throwing/sling.
The real trick to getting all 4 spellbook skills to 100 is understanding how the skill system works. For example, for spells that appear in more than one spell book, only the highest spellbook skill is trained by casting that spell. This means, given the limited spells you have to work with (only 1 realm), you have to take into account which book(s) each spell appears in and plan ahead.
You also have to understand the spell skill AND level requirements to qualify to learn new spells. And the skill requirement must be met at least one level BEFORE the level requirement.
Finally, you have to understand how each spell can be used to train a spellbook skill, which is not the same for each spell. For example, the game has a mechanic that tries to prevent spell training from repeated casting over and over, but it can be bypassed by casting and then doing a quick save / quick load, then casting again, and repeating. This works with some party spells. Other spells can only be trained during combat (stamina, heal). Casting more times at lower levels trains more than casting at higher levels. Some spells train by casting at subsequently higher levels, then resting until the spell wears off and then repeat (light).
These are just hints to show that training can be done with any spell, but the most important thing is to look up the spell and level requirements (zimlab.com/wizardry) and which books each spell appears in (JeffLudwig.com/wizardry8), so you can plan out a strategy to get to 100 book skills.
And maybe just as importantly, DON'T level until your skills are high enough to face the higher level creatures you will run into just from leveling. And also make sure you will meet the skill requirements for spells before you level to try to get them at the lowest level possible. Every 10 points in your realm skill adds 1 point to the book skills requirement. Creatures ramp up fast in this game, and they will murder you if you level too fast. Save before leveling so you can go back for more skill training if things get too tough.
Pick a realm and have fun with the challenge.
Heyo, I might think about it :D
Sorry, UA-cam put you in the autoban category for some reason, so I only discovered you on my monthly "spam" check.
That sounds really crazy all in all :D
fighter, monk,: STR, DEX, SPEED, SENS
archer, rogue, ninja, samurai: DEX, SPEED STR/SENS
for casters: INT SPEED PIETY VIT (speed is especialy important for casters i think, u can buff/debuff before enemy. Many fights become easy buffed.
special classes that i dont know to well: gadgeteer, bard and lord.
There are many theories on how to best distribute the attributes. Yours is definitely in the top tier :)
I don't know the best way to distribute them as noone can really say "the" optimal way.
So yours might also be best.
@@ImmanuelCan we can confirm that vitality is useless..
Just dont put points in that.
Yeah at least as something like a Fighter :D
But there is this tempting Dwarven Monk build... xD
Vitality is useful for fun and bards sometimes.
i do put points in vit for my casters later in game after i maxed int speed en piety...
whats ur favourite/best party?
me frontline.
mook figher (giant sword)
fairy ninja (cane of corpus)
than open meleeslot: last playtrue i tested monk and he can be a beast (the most underestimated class). Rogue is also fun with the backstabing. or crit samurai.
on easy game is easy u dont need valk (maybe for harder difucultie)
than my backline (i power level both my bishops with mindread and force lock in arnika vault)
1 tri school bishop with fire, water wind.
1 tri school bishop with divinity, earth and psy.
ranger (for scouting in beginning is so easy and make u easy money) or maybe i should try gadgeteer
That's pretty good groups :)
My best group?
Hm, I always love a Ranger for Utility, Search mostly :D
I want to have all Magic Schools.
Liking someone who can pick locks.
At least one frontline Damage Dealer.
In general I prefer close combat damage dealers and the rest of the party supports them.
Fairy Ninja has to be one of them ofc, also multiple school bishops are great always. Mooks are definitely a super good species for most jobs.
What I want is 6 or more group members as I like to build characters so much, so I won't go into less personnel challenges :)
That's really all, it's just a set of rules that I will break often to do something fun, irregular, new :D
I purchased the game when it first came out, played over and over for years, and only just recently was able to beat it. I always play ironman setting and would get my whole party defeated usually in the dang Umpani obstacle course. Then you have to restart game from the beginning all over again. My nephew would tell me stop playing ironman setting but i would not listen. He would say dont go thru the Umpani obstacle course but I would not listen and get party crushed. I always ended up cussing and having to start over.
Oh man you're tough and stubborn :D I don't play Ironman because I've been repeatedly stuck in some textures with no way to get out, even not teleport. I need my backup saves. But Ironman is usually good so you make sure you give your all and don't slack that much e.g. with potion distribution or optimizing equipment. Respect!
@@ImmanuelCan Thanks. I'll have to watch some more of your stuff today. From what I've seen so far you did a really good job on your videos. maybe I can pick up some tips. I am starting back to see if I can win once more. I hope it doesnt take me over 20 years again. I wish they had made a Wizardry 9. That type of game has fallen out of favor.
Have fun :) My guides are all in this playlist: ua-cam.com/video/FH51D7ogU00/v-deo.html - and of course there's the playthroughs, too that you can find on the channel page!
There is some great Bard gear you can only get early on from Higardi bandits (Ariel's Slippers, Mercucio's Blade, Prospero's Cloak). This is done by knocking an enemy down to a few hit points, one hit away from death, webbing/paralyzing them, running away, saving, and reloading until he drops the desired item. This can't be done in Ironman mode, not to mention the bugs the game has.
@@ryanchurasthemgtow7522 I dont like using Bards in Ironman mode because their instruments backfire sometimes. With magic users I just always cast spell in the green range once that is possible so no worries of backfiring.
Piety increse your resistance to status effect like paralysis. You can easy see this when you play 1 solo charakter on hard.
Yeah it's true, like vitality and diseases etc, or strength and web.
Are there mods I should use for first playthrough?
Hey there! I have not used any mods. It is best to experience the original game before you use mods as most mods tend to make the game harder and some change it completely. Mods are good for second, third etc playthroughs if you want more of the game.
That said, there is a mod that can speed up animations, the so called "speed mod" which can help you if you think the turn-based battles are too slow. That will happen once you get a bit of routine, so typically after quite a while. You can install that mod later, too, and still play your save.
I wouldn't recommend going Ironman until you have a lot of experience in the game. Save often, and in different saves, is key for a new player :)
@@ImmanuelCan Thanks. I got the speed mod only. But I will probably first finish Morrowind playthrough and a new one in Skald Against the Black Priory before tackling this one as it is a really long game from what I understand
Yeah, Wizardry 8 is also quite long the first time, ~100 hours, but if you get a routine and don't comment everything, it's more like 40 hours on a chill playthrough.
@@ImmanuelCan What do you mean by commenting everything? Completing?
It's just that I need much longer to play through the game as I comment when I play :D I'd be like 2-3 times faster if I didn't do that.
I know for example that fighters don't really need a lot of int but if you go too low int on a fighter you will get penalty for raising the skills (like close combat) associated with it. If my memmory is correct a 50 int for a fighter is ok, no need to go any higher but something like 25-35 meens that skills associated with it will raise a bit too slow for my taste. So my question is : is there a minimum value of each attribute under which you will get heavy penalties?
There are a lot of discussions about values like 31, 39, 41 etc for bonuses and penalties but I have never tested what exactly would be optimal if anything. In general, if you use a melee character, you will optimally use only one weapon type (as physical damage is all the same to the game, there is no difference between piercing, bludgeoning, slashing like in Dungeons and Dragons). If you use only one weapon type, any amount of intelligence will be enough to learn the skill sufficiently, especially if you put points into the relevant melee attributes (STRENGTH and DEX). DEX also gives you more swings which in turn give you more chances to learn.
So I don't think it's really relevant for gameplay. With 40 or 41 INT you should be on the good side (and this is counting the well you will visit later on in Trynton that will give you +5 INT) - so you're on the safe side with something like 36 INT if you're concerned about learning skills speed.
Also I have not found any detailed calculation on why you'd need a special INT or PIETY or whatever value, nor any try to statistically prove these values are really relevant. As long as it's only about feels, I generally ignore it. I have not yet tried myself if there was a significant difference. For that I would have to play through half of the game testing a bunch of nearly identical characters that need to be in the same position with the same weapons and their only difference needs to be the INT value (I'd have to dump other points into VITALITY which I think has no influence on anything but... some resistances (which is also relevant for learning, as you'll have more attacks with higher resistance values as you'll not be stunned etc as often)).
So TLDR I would ignore it until I see a proof for these effects from the people who insist that it is relevant, which I have not seen so far.
I have always ignored INT for melee or ranged characters that need no casting and it was always totally fine. Classic Lizardman dumb fighter worked excellently.
So, long thing, because so many people have been on this so often but I have never seen any proof or experiment recorded that would be relevant :) Just chill and develop the right stuff.
I play Wizardry 8 since the beginning in 2001. I LOVE this old school RPG. But I disagree to your "Strength is everything" video. For a fighter, relevant is Strength, Dexterity, Senses and Speed. Senses and Speed are like Intelligence and Piety for the mage classes: two attributes that are basically the same. Senses is more important than Speed. The three attributes Strength, Dexterity and Senses/Speed control three "dimensions" of the fighter: force, accuracy and agility. A lot of force without accuracy gives you no benefit. You want to hit the opponent, not the air. My fighters get at creation maximum bonus in dexterity and senses and bonus in strength. A human fighter has start strength of 67 - that is a "To Damage" value of +34%. I increase every dexterity and senses until both are 100.
The classical fighter "career" increases strength and dexterity. But the dexterity and senses fighter has more kills and the game play - specially the boss fight with Gregor - is easier. For a "how good is my party" test I use the very first boss fight to the five crabs (after game start, swim through the lake). If no party member dies and I don't need healing potions the party is fine.
Two last topics: If I want a fighter or a rogue, I create a Lord. The starting equipment is better. If I want a mage, I create a priest. I like the "double" mage: two mages in the party as "glass cannons" are great.
Thank you for this deep insight and the whole experience you shared :) I'll try out the DEX and SEN fighter definitely to test it out!
Do you then also regularily use a ranged weapon instead of charging in? As these attributes are perfect for ranged as well.
Speed is good but you can just use Haste to compensate
I did the same with my Bard and Gadgeteer in my Magic Damage Party. I maxed Strength and Dexterity first, then Speed and Senses. They're level 32, and really tough. Intelligence is almost useless for them (Powercast won't help them). Piety is sub-optimal, as all it gives is stamina. Vitality is ok, but it helps no skills go up faster, although I'm raising it last for extra hit points, stamina, and carry capacity.
@@ryanchurasthemgtow7522 Bard and Gadgeteer are interesting. They are fighter class (STR, DEX, SPD, SEN), but can do magic spells without intelligence or piety. As far as I know, Wizardry is the only RPG that has these "non-magic magic users". On level 32, every character should "kick ass".
This game haves furries?.
Something like wookie men, wolves, cats :)
Race mook looks like Cheetah from Star Wars. There are a cat race, a dog race, a lizard race and a "tiny dragon" race, too.
About to start this game soon and im enjoying your video but its relaxing me so much im gonna listen and sleep lol
Haha good you enjoy :) Also, should I stress out more? :D