I had to slaughter the entire group of Rynjin to get to Jan-Ette. I basically committed genocide against all Rynjin on the island, like how I committed genocide against all Rattkin in the Sixth Bough.
I'm leaving Glumph for when the Umpani quest calls for it. I suppose I should attempt 2 *Light Swords* and 2 *Light Shields* for the Bard and Gadgeteer? My Bard is stuck with a crappy weapon (Mercucio's Blade) because she doesn't want to be cursed with Bloodlust. The Gadgeteer has Fang, but I think the *Light Sword* would be an improvement.
This is going to take a looooooooooooong time, probably at least several days.
The only notable level 7 spell that can be cast at power level 7 in the green is Tsunami, with the limitation of thrown range. It's great against scorchers, but sometimes you have to wait for them to walk into range. Admittedly, I don't like the risk, so I always cast the "hit all enemies" spells at power level 6.
Fireball really starts to fall off in damage after the mid-game, however, it does stack with other AOE spells, so that instrument could be a welcome addition, allowing the Bard to do AOE. Maybe the reason it felt overpowered is that the Bard can cast it "for free" because stamina recharges very quickly after battle, similar to how both the Bard and Gadgeteer can cast Heal All "for free" as well.
Good idea with the Demon Weapons chest. I don't think Bard and Gadgeteers can use Demonsbane, so my party didn't benefit much from that side quest (admittedly, there was a portal next to Burz, so I did it just for completion's sake).
You can get the Book of Holy water from the Arnika Tower Orb, but only 1, so Braffit should sell that spellbook. And yes, Anna should sell the Book of Mind Stab so a Bishop doesn't have to pick it at level up.

Cleared the Mountain Wilderness Dungeon (used 1 renewal potion), got the treasures.

The Ripper, which can cast Instant Death, has no charge count. In testing, it appears to have unlimited charges.

Drawback of this dungeon is that the encounters are all pretty much melee encounters, so I didn't get much of a chance to use offensive magic. (This is at level 18; maybe offensive magic might be more viable if you wait a couple levels.)

One death (which didn't survive the battle because I have multiple characters who can cast Resurrection), and I had to use 1 Renewal Potion (but still found more than I used). No Magic Nectars or Mana Stones used.

(First time I've ever been in a retro dungeon.)

Currently, my Elf Bishop has the highest AC (Amulet of Nebdar + Cloak of Stealth) and my Valkyire has the worst.

Those are actually the same weapons my Bard and Gadgeteer are using (but note that I'm not using any ranged weapons).

Axes are generally poor weapons, though maybe that weapon would be an exception. I have nobody in my party capable of using Axes (Fighter, Lord, Valkyrie, Ranger).
Retro dungeons seem kind of strange to someone like me who didn't play the earlier Wizardries before W8. I hear that the map is annoying because, if you have X-Ray active, the maps are stacked on top of each other, so you will constantly see enemies and items that are not in that current dungeon.
Strange that a Bishop would have higher AC than a Valkyrie. Of course, the Valkyrie has much better hit points, and the cheat death ability.
As far as Cloaks go, most of the time, a party is better off with 6 Cloaks of Many Colors (+3 AC to every body part, +10 Resist All). This is what I have.
My Bard and Gadgeteer wanted 2 Light Swords and 2 Light Shields, so that's 4 items total. The Buccaneer Ghosts are in a group of 7, so this means that I had to carefully damage them all with a lower level Banish, and the Priest killed 3 of them with Holy Water, carefully placing the cursor, to get them out of the way. After that, the remaining 4 were paralyzed, and I ran away and saved.
I had to kill 2 more, 1 at a time, killing, paralyzing, running away and saving, etc. In the process, the Bard got a Light Sword and Light Shield, one of each.
There are 2 more damaged Buccaneer Ghosts remaining, waiting to be farmed so that the Gadgeteer can have the same items.
It didn't take as long as I thought. This is because I managed to farm 2 Staves of Doom from the Rapax Corpses with a 10% drop rate. The Buccaneer Ghosts have a 20% drop rate, double the drop chance.
Edit: If you don't plan on using any ranged weapons, Bloodlust would be far superior to Mercucio's Blade. Early game Swords are: Mercucio's Blade, Diamond Epee, Bloodlust. Neither the Bard, nor the Gadgeteer, can use Demonsbane, Ivory Blade, or Giant's Sword. Fang and the Light Sword are probably the best bets for the late game, but the Light Sword seems to be better than Fang, if you can handle the farming.

It's largely a factor of how I've been prioritizing equipment. The Valkyrie has high HP (highest in my party) and can cheat death, so she has no problem surviving. The Elf Bishop, on the other hand, has the lowest HP (though her Ankh of Sanctity partially addresses it), and I'd prefer if she doesn't die because she has lots of important spells, so I gave her lots of good equipment to try and address that issue.

The Cloak of Stealth provides a total of 5 AC and makes the character less likely to be targeted. She doesn't need the Cloak of Many Colors as much because:
* She's an Elf, so that provides a good bonus to Mental resist.
* She has high scores in realm skills, which boost the corresponding resistances.


I may go get a Cloak of Many Colors for my Valkyrie, however, just to boost her AC a bit.

For a build like my Elven Bishop, the Cloak of Perception would also be a reasonable choice, for even more initiative from the Senses boost (especially since the Amulet of Nebdar slightly lowers Senses). Catch is that it's not guaranteed, though some of the tree enemies might have a chance of dropping it.



Worth noting that my Bard and Gadgeteer are normally in the back, so that I have an all-extended range front,

For some battles, particularly those in the retro dungeon, I would move them to the front, mainly because offensive magic isn't that useful there. (With that said, I note that the Cornu of Demonspawn, if I had it, would have helped the Bard, given the amount of undead present in this dungeon.)

I think you're overdoing it.

Consider that your levels are high enough that getting the 3rd attack and swing on full casters either is possible or close to being possible. That should be enough physical offense for even powerful enemies.

If you are having trouble hitting, even at your levels, you can use the standard options:
* Bless gives your party +2 to hit, I believe; not bad for a 1st level spell.
* Armormelt weakens the armor of enemies, and it ignores resistance. Cast it at PL 7, and the enemy should be noticeably easier to hit.
* Superman PL7 will boost all stats by 35, and that's *without* Power Cast. Add in Power Cast, and you could see as much as 43, or perhaps more, of a stat increase. Similarly, Haste PL7, when you factor in Power Cast, should be able to raise Speed by over 80 points, a boost so high that you may need to worry about overflow.

Also, it looks like that ArmeGazer enemy is only level 43 for spell resistance purposes, so if you're close to (or better yet, above) that level, and you have Power Cast, you might actually be able to do some spell damage through its 100 resistance. You'll probably want to use something like Cerebral Hemohrrage or Concussion, perhaps at PL7 (don't forget the Cap of Wiles exists!), for this purpose, as higher level spells at higher power levels are better for piercing resistance.

(By the way, Wizardry 4, the one game in the series where you can't level up by killing enemies, does let you feel powerful late in the game.)

Edit: One advantage of damage spells over kill spells is that the resistance value used in the damage formula can fluctuate, and if you're lucky it can be something like half normal, allowing damage spells to sometimes get through.

This is why I was so insistent on maxing out every weapon skill for everybody. In order for a full caster to open up the 3rd attack per round, you would need: Level 50, white encumbrance, maxed Dexterity and Speed, maxed Close or Ranged combat skill (whichever applies), and maxed weapon skill (Mace and Flail or Staff and Wand). It probably won't happen, however, a full caster can still get 3 swings per attack and 2 attacks per round.
I noticed that, when the Psionic and Mage were training with their Quarterstaves for the Staff of Doom, they were missing a lot. This is probably due to the fact that, unlike the Bard and Gadgeteer, the casters ignored Strength and Dexterity, so their chance to hit is lower. Granted, every attribute is in the 60s now, but that's far from 100. I always make sure to have my buffs active, and sometimes cast Bless, Guardian Angel, Body of Stone, etc.
I forgot about Armormelt. Admittedly, that's how I trained my Psionic in his Earth realm (that, and recasting Chameleon, the only other spell in that realm). Armormelt is unique in that it always hits.
Stat overflow is why you don't stack Superman with Haste. Granted, Haste is almost useless for my party, as everybody maxed Speed, and Snakespeed, and Snakeskin Boots from Ferro are a thing.
As you said, I'm probably overdoing it. The only enemies where I will have to worry about melee combat are Nessie, Lava Lord, El Dorado, Al-Sedexus, and the Dark Savant. I just have to prove that I have a "perfect" MDP, except that Intelligence, Piety, and Vitality are not maxed for the Bard and Gadgeteer, and Strength, Vitality, and Dexterity aren't maxed for the specialist casters, only in the 60s.
Against a level 50 Armegazer, I don't really know if damage spells would get through. I remember in past parties, where I would have a Ranger, he would usually score the kill. Note that my casters have Wrist Rockets and Medusa Stones, so that might work out better than magic.

According to a table linked from a post on the other site, a priest with maxed stats and 125 Speed (Skaneskin Boots, a Thieves' Buckler, and an Ankh of Speed will do that without having to cast Haste) will be enough to get that 3rd attack at level 44. (3rd swing, which remember doesn't always happen, at level 37,)

The table doesn't account for the weapon, so if you go with The Mauler, you can get the 3rd attack sooner at the expense of the 3rd swing. Worth noting that 3/2 gives you average 4,5 total swings per round, while 2/3 only gives you an average of 4. (The number of swings you get is 1dX, where X is your max swings. Actually, technically it could be 1dX+Y, where Y is the number of extra attacks your weapon gives you (1 for Bloodlust, 2 for Tripleshot Crossbow), but for most weapons, Y is 0.)

Also worth noting that you could get the extra attack sooner by investing in some Dexterity boosting accessories, as there is one you can buy from Ferro. Note that, once your attacks aren't trouble hitting, it's only worth the slot if it actually gives you this extra attack, though if you;re using Hast, it's likely still better than booting Speed beyond the point where it can reach 125.

Perfectionism 101 for the win! The Bard and Gadgeteer have *Light Swords* and *Light Shields*. The Priest has Diamond Eyes and a *Light Shield*. The Alchemist, Psionic, and Mage all have Staves of Doom.
The Bard and Gadgeteer have Tripleshot Crossbows, and the casters have Wrist Rockets.
The Bard has instruments, the Gadgeteer has gadgets, the Priest has the Divinity spellbook, the Alchemist has the Alchemy spellbook, the Psionic has the Psionics spellbook, and the Mage has the Wizardry spellbook (the last 4 are enhanced with maxed Powercast).
What is more perfect than that?
I tried out the new weapons against Nessie. I put the Bard, Gadgeteer, and Priest up front, with the Alchemist, Psionic, and Mage in the back.
The Bard and Gadgeteer hit Nessie with their *Light Swords*, the Priest hit with Diamond Eyes, and the Alchemist, Psionic, and Mage hit with Staves of Doom, managing to paralyze her, so she could be dealt with in a few rounds.
I did manage to get Excalibur from the Davy Jones chest, although nobody can use it.
I also took a "test drive" for a few battles against 4, then 5, enemies (Depth Dwellers and Depth Flayers, they are ugly). The Bard and Gadgeteer wasted them in melee with their *Light Swords*.

Thing is, The Mauler is often better than Diamond Eyes.

What they offer:
* Diamond Eyes: Better to hit (only matters if you're not consistently hitting, and to-hit can be boosted other ways), better initiative (only matters if it gives you an extra swing, and remember that extra attack > extra swing, as mentioned above), can paralyze (undead aren't immune to his)
* The Mauler: Better damage per hit (and damage can't otherwise be boosted except by increasing Strength), can KO and (rarely) instant kill, boosts Maces (possibly allowing an extra attack, and remember extra attack > extra swing)

I didn't check the Davy Jones Locker chest. (Do you know what the reference is here? Because I don't.)

If you *really* want to see the power of the Light Swords, try fighting some androids, as they take double damage from them Personally, I prefer not to consider them in my strategies, due to their rarity. Haven't decided if that weapon is too powerful to use if I actually manage to acquire one, however.

Used the falling shortcut to leave Trynton, so 5 more deaths (6 if you count the activiation of Cheat Death).

Fortunately, I have 4 characters with Resurrection (the Valkyrie being one of them), and no encounter spawned at the bottom, so I could just cast Resurrection to bring everybody back to life, then have my Elf Bishop auto-recast Heal All to try and boost her Divinity. She has 80 Divinity as a result, and 97 Divine Magic; just 1 more Divinity is needed to learn Restoration.

I needed a break indeed. I think for the other of the two game ideas I might actually pursue, I might need to play Thief: The Dark Project and Resident Evil. Anyway, I've started a new, more balanced, game of Wiz8. Seeing what I used to complete Infinite Adventures, what I'm currently running for Voidspire Tactics, and some of my favorite parties from games I've played across the years, I've decided on a bishop, gadgeteer, ninja, ranger, lord, and valkyrie party. All dracon; all str/dex-spd/sen save for the bishop pushing int. All extended ranged. Yeah, a staff gadgeteer. I think it'll not only work, but it won't have too much trouble for most parts of the game. Might even try four stun rods, obviously strong enough. The idea was a bishop for quick enough long-term spells, and a spell-casting thief for quick enough locks & traps. Neither are strictly necessary, but both are fun. The spells are more game changing than the locks & traps, obviously. That allows for four warriors, and I find spell-casting warriors the most fun classes in the game, personally. And, I really wanted the special abilities of the ninja and ranger. So that left four classes and two slots. I decided on heavy armor, of all things. I then realized that I had all the spell-casting warriors capable of using doubleshot—and thus tripleshot—crossbows, so gadgeteer made a lot of sense. That's great, because I like how the gadgeteer blossoms later than the bard, is a slightly cooler class fantasy, and has great late-game items. But the bard's armor, passive, and communication aren't too shabby. Also, the gadgeteer is a slightly better locks & traps character, which isn't bad. Obviously a magic heavy party, but not an MDP—even if it does act as one at times. It's also a variant of the "classic" bishop, bard, monk, ranger, samurai, and valkyrie party. I do like samurai and monks, but having only one stealth/light armor character and all polearm warriors is rather nice. (All schools of magic are useful in multiples, actually.) Also, I'm only, really, throwing away two class skills: modern weapons and dual wield.

Davy Jones's Locker is nautical slang that became popular myth. One of those Johnny Depp Pirates films revolves around it, I believe. I only saw On Stranger Tides, which was nowhere as good as the novel.

Bards do, however, get:
* Haste, a very useful spell for weapon using parties (particularly in the midgame; late game you don't need it for extra attacks, and early game you wouldn't get the extra attacks even if you could cast the spell)
* Restoration, which can cure status aliments (including Insanity and Disease) while restoring stamina
* Increased recovery for the entire party while resting, particularly useful if someone in the party is using a lot of magic
* And, of course, some nice unique items. In particular, a Bard's Nuclear Blast can, I believe, be made 100% likely to work with Puck's Cap; there isn't a way to get a Gadgeteer to that point.

I ended up killing Don Barlone. Thing is, earlier I killed Rattus Rattos, and I think that made him and Milano Calzone hostile.

Elf Bishop now has Restoration (Mind Flay is her other level 7 spell); Dwarf Bishop has Earthquake now (Restoration is her other level 7 spell). There's been plenty of times I wished my elf, with her extremely good initiative, could cast Restoration, so that choice made sense.

One strategic difference between Phased (which I use) and Continuous; in Phased combat, fast healers are significantly more valuable. With Continuous combat, you can hold a heal until after the enemies attack, then heal whoever needs it before the round ends; on Phased you have to heal in the next round, and having a fast healer allows you to heal before enemies attack that round. Slow healers aren't that good (during combat) on Phased, as the heal may come too late, or you may have to predict who will need the healing; hence, this isn't really viable until you get Heal All (preferred) or Lifesteal. (Or having enough HP that you're not likely to be killed if you get attacked while waiting for a heal.)

By the way, one other healing tip; instead of having two characters cast Heal Wounds on the same character, have one character cast Guardian Angel instead. This will avoid wasting either spell in any situation where at least one of the spells goes off before the enemy kills that character.

So, you're planning on using the Bishop's Artifacts skill?

Ran into a couple glitches:

1. I had a long discussion with the EWAXX machine, including discussions of all sorts of topics, including General Yamo, who supposedly died to the T'Rang on Guardia. (I assume he appears in Wizardry 7. Is that correct?) Then, when I tried to use the elevator to Mt/ Gigas, the game crashed.

2. Later, when I went from Marten's Bluff to the Swamp, there were 2 music tracks playing at once, and I had to quit the game to fix it.

I had to take a couple of nights off (I had been playing W8 nonstop, every night, for weeks, grinding for *Light Swords* and *Light Shields*). I needed a break. Not to mention, I was hungover from all the beer drinking from said grinding, and the lack of sleep.
Diamond Eyes features: To Hit +2, Initiative +3, Damage 7-22, weight 4, Paralyze 20%.
The Mauler features: To Hit +0, Initiative -1, Damage 12-27, weight 14, Mace and Flail +15, Kill 2%, KO 15%.
I don't know if the Mauler's +15 to Mace and Flail skill offsets the -1 to Initiative, all I do know is that the Priest can potentially hit for 3 swings per attack with Diamond Eyes. I haven't reached Ferro yet, so the decision is already made.
I just got dtgreene's favorite instrument, the Renaissance Lute, which casts Restoration for stamina points. I had a lot of trouble with the random battles cracking the walnut of the Sea Caves, and yet I still need a board to get me across the chasm so that I can talk to Marten's Ghost, and get the Destinae Dominus.
Always have a hard save before using elevators.
The music is weird in this game. Sometimes, you get dead silence.
I actually managed to get the "normal combat" battle music from fighting the Keeper of the Crypt, with a bunch of slimes. It was much more hyped up than the usual "easy combat" happy-go-lucky theme.
The Davy Jones locker is just the placard that is placed next to the chest. Nothing more, nothing less.
Unfortunately, now that my grinding days in Arnika are over, I may never get to see the raw power of the *Light Swords* against Savant machines. However, once the bomb is deactivated, there are a bunch of tough Savant robots that I can kill quickly.