Unfortunately, Cosmic Forge doesn't have the option to change the value I want to change.

(Also, one annoyance: Why is CF distributed as a .rar archive, which can't be decompressed using fully open source software?)

Why are we the only ones keeping the GOG W8 forum going? This isn't like Steam, where there is lively discussion.

Note that the Alchemist, Psionic, and Mage are stuck with the Dagger, and Staff and Wand skills (the latter of which everybody else gets). These classes suck unless getting a good extended range staff, like the SOD, which anybody can use.

The Priest and Bishop sacrifice the Dagger skill (which is unholy)?, in exchange for the Mace and Flail skill, as well as the Staff and Wand skill that everybody else gets. The question then becomes, which weapon skill to focus on? The extended range, Mace and Flail weapons (of which there are only two, Cat 0' Nine Tails, and Vampire Chain), get a reduced benefit from the Strength bonus, and cause no status ailments to enemies. The close range Mace and Flail weapons (Mauler and Diamond Eyes), require you to be in close range to enemies, and suffer retaliatory attacks.

The Priest and Bishop can focus on the Staff and Wand weapon set (obviously, extended range Staff of Doom is the best, which also benefits from the Strength bonus). You can farm Rapax Corpses (it's not that hard, maybe a decent night of drinking to offset all those non-drops).

The Fighter obviously is best Dual-Wielding with Sword, and Mace and Flail skills (*Light Sword* and Diamond Eyes).

The Rogue obviously is best Dual-Wielding with Sword, and Dagger skills (*Light Sword* and Stiletto).

The Valkyrie and Ranger are best as flank characters, and I made sure that they got a decent Polearm to train their melee skills.

The Bishops are training their Close Combat, and Staff and Wand skills with the Quarterstaves given to them at character creation. This will ensure that they will be decent with their Staves of Doom, gotten later on.

I find myself preferring these weapons on Bishops that *aren't* battle bishops. It allows them to attack from the back row while still being able to equip a shield, like that one shield with the speed bonus.

There's two other weapons in this category:
* The Bullwhip, which can often be found early in the game (Monastery or in the Arnika Road chest with Piercing Pipes), is an early game weapon.
* The Chain, which actually has a 5% KO chance. So, this weapon does cause a status ailment to enemies.

Also, worth noting that:
* A fighter can inflict KO with any weapon, including something like a bullwhip.
* Some classes get Critical Strike (though I don't know whether it actually works with whips).

You're expected to get through the Mountain Wilderness, as well as the Rapax areas, only to get to AP, and have to fight Pee Wee (optional), as well as the Souleater, Djinni of the Clouds, etc. all at level 20 or so? You would have a hard time, especially against the Dark Savant.

I wouldn't imagine that race should matter that much in keeping a character alive, even less gender. Class/Profession seems to matter way more than the other two.

The Valkyrie is pushed towards Polearms, due to HER (female only), skill bonus to said skill. The Fighter and Rogue can do anything, and should put their focus into the Dual Weapons skill, to max out on their Berserking and Backstabbing abilities.

Rogues, I believe, can get a 2X-4X attack bonus from Backstabbing, so don't go Staff and Wand, go Dual-Wielding Sword and Dagger. This should be obvious.

So, how would you go about doing that, assuming Ironman and no force quits or intentional crashes/getting crushed?

Even ignoring this issue, it's still tedious, particularly since, if you're reloading, you don't get to keep any XP or skill increases while doing so.

(Also, assuming you're referring to drinking alcohol, not everybody does that.)

But can still equip the Canezou Dagger because it's a quest item. (Then again, said dagger appears to be holy to the Rapax.)

Level 20 or so (with 20 being a lower bound) is what an experienced player could be expected to reach.

A new player who takes their time will be around level 25.

The Dark Savant's high level doesn't affect your ability to hit and damage him with physical attacks. Also, the enemies he summons aren't as high in level. Also, the Dark Savant isn't meant to be easy, even if he actually is in practice.

I find myself doing the Rapax areas in the teens, and I don't really have much of an issue there, aside from the fact that this is the point of the game where spell damage isn't as useful, making encounters less fun from that standpoint. (Well, that and Vi, if you're using her, being less effective in this part of the game, not to mention needing to be smuggled in (via the T'Rang teleporter, for example).)

(I tend to do Rapax areas before Bayjin because the rewards are greater, particularly with Ferro being there.)

Race actually does matter here.
* A Dwarf gets high VIT and damage resistance. This means that a dwarf will be more durable in melee than a character of a different race (except maybe Lizardman, who has more VIT but no damage resistance). While this isn't important for most builds, it feels like it might matter for a battle Bishop, as the human I used with melee did have a few deaths.
* Resistances are also a factor. If the wrong resistance is low, a character might be paralyzed, turncoated (*very* bad if it's your Lizardman Fighter that happens to), or even outright killed instantly. Remember that Element/Soul Shield takes a turn to put up and costs SP (both resources that aren't always available), and that neither spell persists outside of battle (which could result in a character dying to a trap).

I'm just saying.

Fighter: *Light Sword* and Diamond Eyes.

Rogue: *Light Sword* and Stiletto.

Valkyrie/Ranger: Best Polearm possible.

Bishop: Staff of Doom.

Unless you hack your save, of course.

Also, Rogues, aside from not having magic, don't have useful extended range attacks. You *could* give a rogue the Staff of Doom, but they can't backstab with it, and can't easily switch to backstab capable weapons (at which point, why are you using a Rogue?).

Having only extended range weapons on your front line can be quite useful, as it means not having to move around in combat as much, and is especially nice when the enemies also have extended range weapons (see Crabs and Rynjin, for example).

Fighter: *Light Sword* not reliably available, so I don't consider this option when theorycrafting.
Rogue: ditto
Ranger: Would probably end up using a Giant's Sword.
Bishop: Staff of Doom means no shield, and there are shields with useful bonuses, like that Speed bonus (good for a fast Bishop).

So what do you expect me to do in Arnika?

I'm expected to tolerate level 17 Savant Berserkers, level 21 Savant Slashers, and level 22 Savant Minion.

With the first two, you're fine with short-range weapons. With the last one, you can't just rush them, as they can hit your back-line Bishops.

You want to be able to hit all enemies, with both close, and extended-ranged attacks.

Extended range weapons aren't weak. In fact, of the reliably available weapons, the extended weapons are probably the best for most of the game (if you ignore Bloodlust, but that's only one cursed weapon), and are still strong enough to be useful later on. (Also, nothing prevents you from using extended range weapons in close range; this isn't like Ultima 4 with it's nearly useless Halberd that can't hit an enemy right in front of you.)

All those Dread Spears, Stun Rods, and the Staff of Doom should be enough to handle enemies of that strength, assuming you're at the level where said enemies would appear.

Nice thing about using extended range weapons is that you can fight at a range where extended range enemies *can't* hit your back line.

Enemy ranged attacks are weak, just like yours are, so they're not that serious a threat if you have decent healing capabilities, and there's also Guardian Angel if you need it.

Enemy spells are really the thing to watch out for, but these enemies don't cast spells. Well, maybe also the attacks of Rapax Berserkers.

I didn't nod out on you, I had originally crafted a well-thought-out response, but the GOG forum let me know, with a "Human carrying the world globe" picture, that I had over-strained the forum, despite the fact that you and I are the only ones heavily contributing to said forum.

Where do I go from here? A "perfect" party will want a healthy mix of short-ranged, extended-ranged, and long-ranged weaponry, as well as spells when needed.

Fighter (Up Front): Dual-Wielding to take maximum advantage of Berserking (X2 damage), and KO chances to the enemy (his HPs are the best in the game). He can fire ammo from range (can even KO from range). Sword and Mace and Flail skills.

Rogue (Up Front): Dual-Wielding to take maximum advantage of Backstabbing, up to 4X damage, though only with Swords and Daggers (benefits from Stealth, meaning he will rarely be targeted, and if targeted, has a high AC). He can fire ammo from long range as well. Sword and Dagger skills.

Valkyrie (Flank): SHE (female only), is steered towards Polearms, as that's her class bonus skill. She can also fire ammo at long range. She has the Divinity spellbook for magic.

Ranger (Flank): He can do anything, but I chose to focus on Polearms, as he can hit his own flank, as well as enemies in front of the party. He has Scouting for free, as well as ranged crits. He has the Alchemy spellbook for magic.

2 Bishops (Center): These 2 ladies are best off training with their Quarterstaves for Staves of Doom, as said weapon gets the standard Strength bonus, causes status ailments to enemies, and allows them to hit from extended range, usually avoiding retaliatory enemy attacks. They are practicing with Slings for either the Wrist Rockets, or Doubleshot Slings, for range. All 4 spellbooks available, though time is required to master them all.

When I get to Arnika, I will be faced with higher level Savant machines. In particular, level 17 Savant Berserkers, level 21 Savant Slashers, and level 22 Savant Minion. Therefore, I have to be prepared.

With the first 2 groups, I want them to run up to the front lines, where all 6 characters can hit them in melee.

With the last group, ranged combat is the way to go, as they will run up to the front line, and engage them from extended range.

Suggestion: When you're about to make a big post, copy it to the clipboard first. That way, if it fails, you can just paste it back in once you get the reply window to load again. (This can be useful on other sites as well.)
At the cost of accuracy.

To me, the issue isn't finding the "perfect" party, but rather the one that is the most fun to play.

I find magic to be considerably more fun than melee (boring, since you're using the same attack all the time) or ranged (also boring, but in addition you have ammo management to worry about). Hence, I think my preferred party might be an MDP, either a mostly-MDP or a pure-MDP (all 6 characters being full casters).

This is why I ran a MDP last time of all 6 "flavors" of magic, just to test the waters, and compare and contrast each "school" of magic. Note that these were the fastest characters in the game to level up.

These were: Bard, Gadgeteer, Priest, Alchemist, Psionic, and Mage.

Representing 6 "schools" of magic: Instruments, Gadgets, and Divinity, Alchemy, Psionics, and Wizardry spellbooks (the last 4 enhanced by PowerCast).

It was, to say the least, very fun. They dominated 95% of the game, up until Ascension Peak.

Around level 35-40, you dominate everything, but then AP gives you equal level enemies, and suddenly, your magic doesn't work so well anymore.

This is why I stress the Senses attribute, and Eagle Eye expert skill upon maxing. Ranged combat doesn't seem to suffer the same penalties that magic does, with both same-level enemies, and bosses.

Level 19:
Valkyrie: Heal All
Ranger: Body of Stone
Wizardry/Divinity Bishop: Holy Water
Alchemy/Psionics Bishop: Magic Missiles

The Bishops have maxed their six realm skills. Bishop one has maxed her Wizardry and Divinity spellbook skills (in that order). Bishop two has maxed her Alchemy and Psionics spellbook skills (in that order).

The reason for the spell picks is that I can have closure that both Bishops will have gotten all level 1-5 spells. Level 1 Mind Stab was picked by both Bishops. Level 2 Holy Water was picked by one Bishop, while the other Bishop will farm the Savant Orb at the Arnika Tower for a Book of Holy Water (shouldn't take too much time, as there is a 25% chance to drop it).

Level 6 Banish is guaranteed, and at the level I will enter Arnika, will be buyable by Lord Braffit. The reason for the Magic Missiles pick is that the Alchemy/Psionics Bishop already has Divinity skill at a high level from casting Bless (these spellbooks are available all over the Monastery, from slime drops). She wants to work on Wizardry, but is so far away from Arnika, and Wizardry tends to max the fastest anyways (due to having high Intelligence, the one controlling attribute).

The Valkyrie and Ranger have 86 skill to all but the Mental realm. There are two different reasons, the Ranger has no Mental realm to worry about, and the Valkyrie's Mental realm sucks outside of combat (Charm, Divine Trap, Identify Item, Sane Mind). The Valkyrie can buy a book of Identify Item in Arnika, and ID all the mixed potions.

Doing this, the right way, by level 21, I should be near max skill at everything.

Just cast Return to Portal. (You did set one near Arnkia, right?)

(If, for some odd reason, you haven't even passed Arnika Road, there's no need to delay, as you should be well above the enemy level cap for that area, so the enemies there should be trivial.)