I haven't really progressed since getting to Arnika. My party is rather high level for being in this spot, I guess. I've tried going to Trynton and I find myself up against the better version of piercer modai (behemoths?). I've tried going to the graveyard and when I try to return to Arnika I have to fight a queen ant who kills like half my party.

I guess I could try to go from Arnika back to the monastery and use the wheel key to get whatever treasure that gives you (I think I read one of the items is a magic sword?), but combat seems like such a chore.

Is it worth persevering? I could also start a new party, as mine is not ideal (I've got a wizard who seems pretty useless, and a priest who I've been leveling like a combat-centered dnd cleric, so I'm sure I could improve).

This is my first time really playing a blobber. Might just not be my cup of tea.

Try Wiz 4 instead.

Try lowering the difficulty; that should help. (In particular, on Novice difficulty, you will notice your attacks missing less often.)

Battle priests are a thing (and are actually one of my favorite setups), but if you want better combat capability, you can change into a Lord (if you meet the stat requirements). Your spellcasting ability will stop improving for 4 levels, but you will get the Lord's equipment selestion, access to the Dual Weapons skill, and faster HP growth, and you won't lose the spellcasting ability you already have. Plus, at Lord level 5, your priest spellcasting will continue to improve.

Also, note that PetrusOctavianus's suggesting is a joke; that game is *not* meant for beginners, and should not be played without playing at least Wizardry 1 first. Alternatively, you can look into the old Bard's Tale games or the Might and Magic series, both of which tend to be less punishing than Wizardry. Or, of course, there is Elminage Gothic, which starts out rather gentle (but doesn't stay that way).

Edit: What is your party composition?

You know there is another way right?

mild spoiler... go visit the rhinos area... perhaps stop to chat with that diamond merchant camped in the tent?

One other thing: Status ailments are useful in this game. This is especially useful when fighting low level enemies with lots of hit points.

Against enemies like the Piercer Modai, try using Paralyze.

Freeze Flesh is really good, as is Noxious Fumes (which I prefer over fireball).

Does it work with the gog version?

For the original game, cm-wz8tr.exe only works with version 1.0,
to be specific it requires stringdata.dat from 1.0.

While i dont have the gog version, i read its based on 1.24, thats why i ask.

Status ailments that turn enemies against one another (Insanity, etc) or force melee enemies to run away (Terror) are among the best you can get, especially early on when they tend to have better attacks than you do.

I remember there was some cheat file which activated in-built cheats and you could do anything with it in the game.

If OP doesn't want to risk these files, they can attach their savefile in this thread and I can alter all the stats in it for ease of play :) Something like Lv.1 characters with powers of Lv.50 in several classes :)))

I've started playing Age of Decadence and really enjoying that, so if I do revisit this game it will be after that.

My party

Fighter - Sword/Shield
Rogue - Dual Daggers
Vi and my own Valkyrie-guarding flanks
Priest - Mace/Shield, misses 90% of the time
Ranger w/ crossbow in the rear
Wizard - I have some status effect spells, but otherwise seems useless (in the center)

Also, I've tried playing Might and Magic World of Xeen, but it was a little too old school for me right now. Should I try a newer one?

Thanks for all the replies! I may try novice or cheating

You might try Might and Magic VI. Don't try MM 7, 8, 9 until you played MM 6. To be honest, MM 6 is one of the reasons why I couldn't get into Wizardry 8. MM 6 looks a bit like W8, but MUCH bigger (W8 is very small game actually, but it is padded by very slow battles and all the other wrong stuff), better and no level-scaling nonsense. Battles are also quite fluid unlike W8's slog, loot is much more interesting, and dungeons are much more exciting. Wizardry 8 might have better graphics, better looks, but that's basically it.

Some thoughts:

If your fighter is missing to often, don't go Berserk. If your fighter is hitting consistently, go Berserk for more damage.

Priests become better at fighting if you boost their strength an dexterity. Make sure your Priest learns Armorplate and Magic Screen (in that order): Those two spells make a big difference and should be cast immediately after resting. (Note that you need them only on one character.)

For Mages, Missile Shield and Enchanted blade are the important spells that should be cast immediately after resting. Freeze Flesh and Noxious Fumes are particularly nice status spells. Fireball isn't as useful IMO. When you reach a high enough level, Summon Elemental comes in handy (but watch out when fighting enemies that can inflict Turncoat status). Also, try to max Intelligence so you get Power Cast. (If you haven't used the Trynton fountain yet, you can stop at 95 Intelligence and use the fountain to reach 100.)

If you can raise your Ranger's Alchemy to 15, you can have her start combining potions for money. Also, if you can recruit a Gadgeteer RPC, you can have him make a doubleshot crossbow for your Ranger. (Note that you will go through ammunition quite quickly with one, however.) If you decide to make a Gadgeteer for yourself, make her female so that she can wear the stamina regen necklaces you can find in Arnika's temple. (The same advice applies to bards as well.)

For a future playthrough, an alternative to a Mage is a Bishop. I would still advise those spell I mentioned (though note that in Arnika you can buy the Enchanted Blade spellbook, and I recommend conserving some spell picks for later with one).

Remember that Enchanted Blade, Missile Shield, Armorplate, and Magic Screen are actually only needed on one character each (though ideally that character should be a regular party member, not an RPC like Vi, because RPCs won't follow you everywhere).

For Bishops and pure casters (non-Priest), I recommend raising Speed alongside Intelligence so you can act sooner. (Senses also lets you act sooner, but its expert skill doesn't, though it would be good for your Ranger.)

Wizardry 8, IMO, has better growth mechanics (skills increasing by use) and has more interesting classes as well (Bard and Gadgeteer come to mind).

Thanks for the tips. I actually embarrassingly have never used beserk. I was going to get resurrection before any other spells for my priest because I am constantly blowing my money on resurrection powder, but I guess with getting my ranger 15 alchemy I can circumvent that problem (but which will take less grinding, I wonder?)

A level 5 Ranger gets 5 alchemy, plus 3 more from skill points. Each level lets you add 3 more skill points, allowing you to get 17 skill points at level 8, and that's assuming no skill points from practice. (One way to get practice: Have your Ranger learn Heal Wounds and let her handle some of the healing.)

A Priest can't learn Resurrection until level 14, and also needs 75 Divinity (base 60 + 25% bonus works here.)

Therefore, reaching 15 Alchemy is much faster than learning Resurrection.

Also, as you make potions, your Alchemy will rise even further, letting you make even more potions. (It's also worth noting that, eventually, your Ranger can learn Resurrection, though not until level 18; in the meantime, there are plenty of status curing spells your Ranger can learn, as well as other useful spells, like Noxious Fumes.)

Here's a strategy I used in a fight with Piercer Modais and a Sige that worked rather well:

First, I dispersed the Piercer Modais with fear and blind effects. This gets them out of the way. (Having a Gadgeteer with the Jack-in-the-Box helped here.) Note that enemies that run away use up stamina to do so, and their stamina isn't that high relative to their HP.

Second, I ran up to the Sige and killed her. This meant I no longer had to deal with fear effects.

Third, I ran into a corner. This way, the enemies can't surround me. (This is a useful tactic to use when fighting outdoors.)

Finally, I just had to wait for the enemies to come to me. Since I was in a corner, only 2 could attack me at once, and my back row was safe. Furthermore, because the enemies kept running away, they were low on stamina. Some stamina spells from my bishop (who can currently only safely cast the spell at level 1; she's a latecomer to the party) and I can keep my party awake while the enemies get tired and doze off.

The downside of this strategy is that it takes a while, but that does mean more opportunities for skill increases. It also shows how fear effects can be useful in the early game. (You *might* want to max out the monster speed setting; it should save time in this situation.)

I also had a fight with a bunch of ants and bats. Here, getting into a corner before the battle started meant that cone attacks would hit all the enemies. Then I just spammed cone attacks (although my Bard had some difficulties playing the right notes and she was also blinded during the fight). Also, if you have a Dracon, don't forget that breath attacks can be useful, and later on, cloud spells are useful in long fights.