Posted May 28, 2019
Just a thought that I've had: In Bard's Tale 2, if you're familiar with the game, the fastest way to get powerful might actually be to not waste time with spells like Restoration (which is surprisingly not that important in BT2) but instead work for spells that will speed up your leveling; once you can level up quickly, you can go back and level up new spellcasters who don't skip spells. I think that is a better use of your time than trying to get your initially created spellcasters to get all the spells.
Anyway, there are really a small number of spells that are particularly useful:
* Baylor's Spell Bind: The most important spell to get, as it allows you to recruit monsters that can cast Mangar's Mallet for free. Note that there i a bug in at least the Commodore 64 version that makes this spell not that useful there (monster party members never use spells or breath attacks when there are enemies present); fortunately, this bug isn't in the Apple 2, DOS, or Remastered versions.
* The Dreamspell. The requirements are a bit different between versions, but in many classic versions (but not DOS), all you need is access to 7th level Sorcerer spells.
That's really all you need, though it might help to get Mind Blade (classic) or Rimefang (remastered) early to make it easy to clear out entire parties of weaker enemies in order to get their drops.
So, we make our initial spellcasters with the goal of getting access to those spells as soon as possible (note that Conjurer and Magician can be swapped, but you will want at least one of each for MACO and SCSI):
* Conjurer 5 -> Magician 5 -> Wizard 9 for SPBI. This takes 320,000 XP.
* (Classic versions) Conjurer 5 -> Sorcerer 13 for the Dreamspell. This takes 410,000 XP, but gets MIBL after only 140,000 XP (sooner than you get level 7 Conjurer/Magician spells without class changing). (In the Remaster, MIBL is much weaker and the Dreamspell is no longer a level 7 Sorcerer spell.)
* (Remastered version) Conjurer 5 -> Sorcerer 5 (want LOTR early) -> Magician 5 -> Wizard 5 -> Archmage 1 (gets you Rimefang, and takes only 180,000 XP, and this character qualifies for the Dreamspell).
The basic outline is this:
1. Get MIBL or RIME to wipe out the enemies in the earlier dungeons.
2. Using MIBL or RIME, get SPBI.
3. Go into the Destiny Stone, get a Scathe Mage (which can cast MAMA, and in the remaster always will if the party is full).
4. Use the Scathe Mage to level up quickly and hunt (in the later dungeons) for Speedboots.
5. With Speedboots, you can now easily get a Wacum the Wiz (if playing classic versions, don't bother in the remaster because you can't save monsters at the Adventurer's Guild). This monster always casts MAMA in all properly functioning versions.
6. If playing the remaster, train a character to Conjurer level 7 and get APAR; this spell will help you get the Dreamspell (3 of the 5 words you need are in squares you can teleport to). In classic versions, you'll still want this spell, but it actually won't help you get the Dreamspell.
7. Get the Dreamspell. (Note that, in some classic versions, you can just skip steps 5 and 6 and go straight here; level 13 Sorcerer = can cast Dreamspell. In DOS and the remaster, however, you'll want Speedboots, and in the remaster you'll want APAR as well.)
8. Now it's just a matter of getting the treasures you skipped and perhaps training some true archmages who know all the spells.
Also, perhaps I should mention Bard songs; the most useful one when you're doing this is probably Sanctuary Score, which in the remaster protects against both physical attacks and spells. With a decent Bard and the rest of your party decent levels (and the Luck stat is helpful here), the enemies will have trouble hitting you with spells or getting to the back row, which means you can more easily survive long enough to use SPBI and then run away.
So, any thoughts on this approach? (I do want to try this some day.)
Oh, one more thing: In the DOS version, due to the way the XP table works, you might actually want to level most of your spellcasters as Conjurers or Magicians after getting the Dreamspell; you only need one Archmage and Archmages need 4 million XP for each level past 13, which is too many (the only feasible way to level at this point is to abuse the level drain bug).
Anyway, there are really a small number of spells that are particularly useful:
* Baylor's Spell Bind: The most important spell to get, as it allows you to recruit monsters that can cast Mangar's Mallet for free. Note that there i a bug in at least the Commodore 64 version that makes this spell not that useful there (monster party members never use spells or breath attacks when there are enemies present); fortunately, this bug isn't in the Apple 2, DOS, or Remastered versions.
* The Dreamspell. The requirements are a bit different between versions, but in many classic versions (but not DOS), all you need is access to 7th level Sorcerer spells.
That's really all you need, though it might help to get Mind Blade (classic) or Rimefang (remastered) early to make it easy to clear out entire parties of weaker enemies in order to get their drops.
So, we make our initial spellcasters with the goal of getting access to those spells as soon as possible (note that Conjurer and Magician can be swapped, but you will want at least one of each for MACO and SCSI):
* Conjurer 5 -> Magician 5 -> Wizard 9 for SPBI. This takes 320,000 XP.
* (Classic versions) Conjurer 5 -> Sorcerer 13 for the Dreamspell. This takes 410,000 XP, but gets MIBL after only 140,000 XP (sooner than you get level 7 Conjurer/Magician spells without class changing). (In the Remaster, MIBL is much weaker and the Dreamspell is no longer a level 7 Sorcerer spell.)
* (Remastered version) Conjurer 5 -> Sorcerer 5 (want LOTR early) -> Magician 5 -> Wizard 5 -> Archmage 1 (gets you Rimefang, and takes only 180,000 XP, and this character qualifies for the Dreamspell).
The basic outline is this:
1. Get MIBL or RIME to wipe out the enemies in the earlier dungeons.
2. Using MIBL or RIME, get SPBI.
3. Go into the Destiny Stone, get a Scathe Mage (which can cast MAMA, and in the remaster always will if the party is full).
4. Use the Scathe Mage to level up quickly and hunt (in the later dungeons) for Speedboots.
5. With Speedboots, you can now easily get a Wacum the Wiz (if playing classic versions, don't bother in the remaster because you can't save monsters at the Adventurer's Guild). This monster always casts MAMA in all properly functioning versions.
6. If playing the remaster, train a character to Conjurer level 7 and get APAR; this spell will help you get the Dreamspell (3 of the 5 words you need are in squares you can teleport to). In classic versions, you'll still want this spell, but it actually won't help you get the Dreamspell.
7. Get the Dreamspell. (Note that, in some classic versions, you can just skip steps 5 and 6 and go straight here; level 13 Sorcerer = can cast Dreamspell. In DOS and the remaster, however, you'll want Speedboots, and in the remaster you'll want APAR as well.)
8. Now it's just a matter of getting the treasures you skipped and perhaps training some true archmages who know all the spells.
Also, perhaps I should mention Bard songs; the most useful one when you're doing this is probably Sanctuary Score, which in the remaster protects against both physical attacks and spells. With a decent Bard and the rest of your party decent levels (and the Luck stat is helpful here), the enemies will have trouble hitting you with spells or getting to the back row, which means you can more easily survive long enough to use SPBI and then run away.
So, any thoughts on this approach? (I do want to try this some day.)
Oh, one more thing: In the DOS version, due to the way the XP table works, you might actually want to level most of your spellcasters as Conjurers or Magicians after getting the Dreamspell; you only need one Archmage and Archmages need 4 million XP for each level past 13, which is too many (the only feasible way to level at this point is to abuse the level drain bug).