Major thanks to Bookwyrm627 and macAilpin for answering all of my questions so far. A few basic other quick ones popped up that I was wondering if someone could help me with.

1) Rings/Amulets: I have found a bunch so far, but they have no enchantments or properties. I have been putting them on my character to maybe save for later, but will I have a chance to enchant them later, or do you have to FIND jewelry with enchantments already on them? Should I be selling the rings with no properties on them?

2) Bow Mastery - The mastery x2 arrow Master Bow skill looks sweet as hell to me at the moment, especially since I'm bow kiting everything, but I read that you have to be a Battle Mage + level 8 to get it. Can only the archer class get Bow Mastery then? Or can any class get it after you complete the relevant quest?

3) Best Weapon Class for Knights? There's a plethora or one or two-handed choices - is there a general consensus for best weapon class for a knight? Are weapon-specific skills worth putting points into? Edit: to add, I'm basically just actually using the bow for my knight at the moment, so I have him holding a basic sword + shield for extra armor. I rarely fight melee unless I get cornered

4) Best armor class for Knights - same question as above but for armor. And I guess for all classes, is armor something we should be investing in?

Thank you!

you can enchant em later, by that point you probably wont care much for it though so probably better off selling em for early gold. I don't remember if this was mm6 or 7 but in one of em you couldn't put good enchants on low tier rings so.

all classes can master it after you complete the quest.

spear + knife, think it was cause knife had high crit rate or something? its been a while.

plates probably the best for all classes unless you're literally never near enemies.

1. You can enchant them, but trying to get something good can be tedious. It does raise their sale value though.

2. Honorary status is good enough.

3. Sword is the best because you can double your damage with dual wielding, and AC is irrelevant in so many cases as the game goes on.

4. All armor skills have the same effects in MM6, so it doesn't matter much which type you use. Armor skills are a pretty low priority for investing points compared to weapon, magic, and misc skills.

If the ring or amulet has no magic on it, then it doesn't do anything. Just sell it for now.

There is a Water Magic spell, Enchant Item, that make a non-magic item into a magic item as long as the item's base value is high enough, but you'll have ample opportunity to enchant things later so don't bother wasting your inventory space trying to hold it for now. In MM6, any character that can learn a skill is also able to Master the skill (7 and 8 restrict which classes can get which levels of expert/master/grandmaster in a given skill). The skill Expert and Master teachers will have various conditions before 'selling' you their expertise/mastery, and they'll tell you what those conditions are. In general, Expert requires at least skill level 4, and usually doesn't have an additional pre-req. Master requires anywhere from 4 to 12, iirc, and is more likely to have a pre-req (for example, Master Axe requires you to complete the Kill Snergle quest and have 4 skill points in Axe). Master always requires you to be an Expert in the skill. You can pretty much use whatever, just don't pick a weapon that any of your other characters are focusing (probably mace, staff, and maybe dagger). I like to dual wield with the Knight for the extra offense; between his natural hp pool, Body Building, plate armor, and (eventually, hopefully) a life leeching weapon, he simply doesn't need a shield. I like to dual wield so I can use the best of two different weapons, instead of best + second best sword. If you find a second sword better than the axe/spear you're currently using, don't be afraid to dual wield the swords.

If you find a 2 handed weapon that you're skilled in that is better than 2 individual weapons, feel free to switch. Use what works.

Do go ahead and get Master in the weapon(s) you decide to use, but I wouldn't bother putting points in any other weapon skill since he only has two hands. Yes, but each character should only master a single kind of armor. Knight goes for Plate, Cleric for Chain, and Sorcerers for Leather. I like to Master the skill, and then I don't put any further skill points into it.

If I remember correctly, Sword and Spear were a great combo.

But I always like twin swords but with different enchantments. Why. Because I always thought twin swords looked cool. It is RPG.

And if you try to enchant a low grade item, the game tells you it is too low grade.

Later with Master your enchantments can be put on mid-level equipment. Master Enchantments don't seem to be better but you can enchant more numerous items. At expert level, the ring (or whatever) has to be very high quality.

I've played the game so often it is an embarrassment, but I never understood AC. I stop learning the rules when it begins to feel like homework.

take your armor off n go fight some doomy gloomy knights n you'll very quickly start appreciating AC lol

My last words--- should have done my homework

Spear and sword is a good combo in MM7 and 8; less so in 6 because spears held in one hand deal reduced damage.

But is armor worth the hastle of maintaining your armor? In World of Xeen, reaching -10 HP would cause your armor to break, forcing you to go back and spend money to repair it, and AC is useless in many areas (including the starting town). Has MM6 improved the situation here?

In 6,7,8 certain enemies can break certain types of items with their attacks - weapons or armor or accessories. Your party can learn a repair skill to fix them without paying gold. In 7 and 8, you can use alchemy to make a hardening potion that renders an item indestructible.

There are still many enemies that ignore your AC due to spell use however.

Another AC question: Does AC in MM6-8 still work like in the older games, where it only affects the chance of being hit by an attack, or does it instead reduce the damage you take when you do get hit?

AC is the same as ever, but there are some armor skills in 7 and 8 that reduce the damage taken as well.

When using those armor skills, does the armor you wear affect the damage you take, or is the damage reduction independent of your armor?

(In particular, does this make it worth upgrading your armor if you can't upgrade it to the point where the AC bonus will matter against whatever enemies your fighting?)

The skills are only in effect when wearing the relevant category of armor. Chain can reduce damage from attacks by a third, and Plate can cut it in half, but not every class can reach those skill levels. It's nice for whoever can get it, since all party members will get attacked often.

So, the type of armor matters here.

But, in this respect, is there a difference between, say, obsidian plate versus wooden plate? (Other than the AC bonus and price, of course.)

(I am, of course, assuming that these materials still exist in MM6 and that the power relationship between them still holds at least roughly.)