What's the best starting class? The guide says bard but if Iolo is a companion...

There's not really one hard-and-fast 'best class' to play, in my opinion. I've played through the game numerous times with multiple different classes, and they're all enjoyable, it all depends on your preference, really. Most characters end up pretty much the same at endgame anyway, once you pick up mystics, the main differences are in MP pool and how they got there.

- Mages have the highest MP to work with in the game and are one of the only three classes to wield magic wands, the best ranged (and arguably best, period) weapon in the game. In exchange, they've got pretty much zilch in the way of armor selection and not much in the way of hard-hitting weaponry until you can find/afford a magic wand.

- Bards are about average at everything, getting access to an average MP pool and a nice range of weapons (including the magic wand). Still not much in the way of armor, though a little better than a mage.

- Fighters have no magical capability, but get all the hard-hititng melee weapons (and a few less-powerful ranged ones) along with the heavy armors. Tends to be viewed as one of the weaker classes overall due to not having access to a magical ranged weapon and no spellcasting ability.

- Druids have a higher-than average MP pool, but not quite as high as mages. They're limited in armor as well, but can make use of a fairly good-sized variety of weaponry (again, including magic wands). A personal favorite class of mine.

- Tinkers have a very minimal MP pool, but some small magical capability. I haven't played them much, but if I remember right, they have a good-sized weapon selection and a better armor selection than most.

- Paladins are basically fighters with added magical capability, with an average MP pool and access to magical ranged weapons and magic armor, the best in the game before you get your hands on mystics. Another personal favorite of mine.

- Rangers are akin to bards, on the other hand - average MP pool, decent variety of weapons, limited in armor. No magic wands, though.

- Shepherds are the tricky class - no magic, very few weapons, and very little armor. They also are the only class that starts at level one, though that means more opportunity for stat-increases without having to go seeking out extras in dungeons. Tend to be viewed along the same lines as fighters.

All that being said, they'll all provide an enjoyable experience. There's not a whole lot of differences between classes as things play out, especially by the time endgame rolls around. The only stark differences you'll probably note are the lack of magic and effective ranged weaponry in the cases of the fighter and shepherd.

There's eight potential companions in the game, one for each class, and the only one you won't have access to is the one that shares your starting class. So if you start as a bard, no, Iolo won't join your party - but he'll still be around to say hi and wish you well on your adventure. ;)

Hm, so I guess I'm more between Bard, Paladin, and maybe Druid. What's great about the wand? I remember in Ultima 3 (finished it yesterday) I really liked the balance that Paladins have.

While not the most powerful weapon in the game in terms of sheer numbers, the magic wand is the most powerful ranged weapon, which gives it something of an advantage - enemies can and will flee the battlefield in Ultima IV, and if you're using a melee weapon, you probably won't get back in range quick enough to finish them off before they do. It's a somewhat significant margin of difference between it and the next-best ranged weapon, too, though certainly not enough that it's a disadvantage for the classes that don't get access to it, either. My paladins have been quite content with magic bows in the past.

Hm, I might just go with paladin then, I understand that armor and whatnot even out by the endgame, but until then there's plenty of beefing up to do. I suppose good companions would be Bard, Druid/Mage, and something else.

Thanks for the tips by the way, this is my first time playing Ultima (I was more of an FPS/RTS person myself back in the day), and I managed to scrape through 1-3 over the past few days (with much assistance, I'm hoping to not have to resort to as much in 4).

Edit: Also, is the VGA patch worth it/which patches from the master patcher program do you recommend? I ask because it says that my "party must be completed" before I can do it, however, I have read that you assemble the party as the game progresses... so the wording in the patch means that I would have to finish creating my party before I could apply it.

What a wonderful thread and I'm so glad it got bumped yesterday. I've tried playing the game so many times but never really understood some of the concepts. This helps for the next time I decide to play it.

Personally I'm usually perfectly content with the game as-is, but the VGA patches included via Pix's Ultima Patcher make a nice little aesthetic change. I've never had a problem switching back and forth between them at will no matter what stage of the game I'm in.

Yah, I ended up doing that because I was worried that the savegame editor wasn't working when it turned out that I had the wrong directory. Right now I'm just exploring, though I will say that the monster spawn rate is a bit on the high side.

So.. the final dungeon. How do I get past this awful mess of tedium? It feels like punishment. I'm this close to quitting because this is just not a good use of my time.

A wise Avatar can always consult the Codex.

http://wiki.ultimacodex.com/wiki/Dungeon_Solution_for_Ultima_IV#The_Abyss

Yes, it helps to have a map. There's plenty on the web.

Also I personally think that fighters and sheperd are the least useful classes, because they can't use magical ranged weapons, which makes them practically useless in the Abyss. But you're bound to have two of those anyway (since the player character usually is the one with the highest level, it is adviseable that he is not one of the useless ones, though) and the other six characters will shoot everything down that moves, anyway. The difficulty of the Abyss lies in getting lost and maps help against that. And of course you'll want to have a large amount of gems. As many as you can carry.

My problem isn't so much getting lost or anything like that, I'm definitely not against consulting a map on a dungeon as high risk as this, but for a long spot with zero saves that enforces such tedium... the scope of the undertaking is kind of numbing. I would probably need a good several continuous hours uninterrupted as well as... some way to keep my characters constantly healed.

It was fine in other dungeons but this is just head desk worthy.

Can't you rest as long as you're not in one of the combat rooms? Or maybe I'm thinking of Ultima 5...

Obviously you can mix up a load of healing spells in advance (though this takes a while), and also buy more reagents to carry with you if needed. At any rate, if you're using a guide it certainly isn't an hours-long undertaking.

The whole experience for the Abyss just seems like such a holy pain in the ass. Is there any way to save the game during the dungeons? It may or may not be an hours long undertaking, but I don't exactly have time to bank on that uncertainty.

If not, is there a nice place to find saved parties for Ultima V?

(Q)uitting and saving should work in the Abyss and the dungeons just as it does in the overworld, at least in the version that GOG offers. Just booted up my old save to double-check, and sure enough, there's my party on level 6 of the Abyss.