ok I just started the game and I am around level 5 or 6 and I have an elf bishop female in my party. Everyone else is pretty solid but my bishop is all over the place. The only reason I have him is for cursed items as she can remove them no problem. Though I have not encountered them yet as I am still in the upper monastery. Now i'm thinking about creating a new party without the bishop on the front lines and use a valkrie or ninja instead... are cursed items hard to find someone to unequip them in the game??? who should I use instead of the bishop if I should??? here is my party:

Rawulf Lord Male

Elf Bishop Female

Dwarf Priest Male

Mook Ranger Male-- my favorite besides my bard.

Hobbit Gadgeteer Female-- another favorite of mine.

Hobbit Bard Male -- one of my favorites

Also instead of having 2 hobbits in my party I only want one, what should I replace what with????

Please advise...
oh yeah this is for WIZ 8

Your party is very similar to the first party I ascended, except you need at least one solid fighter, so you might want to replace the Lord with a Fighter, especially considering that you've already got a Priest. Remember, you don't want your characters to overlap each other in skills. As for the magic part, the Bishop is hard to develop properly; you really need to know what you're doing. What I would do is replace the Bishop with a pure caster, say a Mage or Alchemist. The latter will bring your party much profit, but lacks some crowd control spells. The Mage is a more all-around caster with spells for every occasion. Coupled with a Priest for healing and buffing, and you've got yourself a solid magical support. The Bard and Gadgeteer complement each other well (Bards rock in the first half of the game, while Gadgeteers only come into their own in the second half), although many people opt for just one. The Ranger is also indispensable in all my parties. They work wonders with ranged instakills later.

Thanks man that was extremely helpful. cheers.

To answer your first question there is the priest spell 'Remove Curse' that can also do this but you won’t get it until about level 10... not a major issue imo.

Edit: I forgot that Mages can get this spell as well.

Outside of combat;

The Bishop has the highest artefacts skill and is normally the best at identifying items.

Most pure casters will max out their spell list by level 16 (allowing for books) but the Bishop will continue to improve all game... there is good argument for having at least one pure caster in any party and I personally like the Psionic because of the immunity as much as the crowd control but that’s another topic.

During combat;

Casting combat spells successfully requires the maximum spell points to overpower a targets resistance and this is why people take a Bishop i.e. all those extra spells increase spell points and will eventually add up to a massive punch.

Turn un-dead is a once per combat ability which a Bishop gets to damage/ paralyse targets based on piety and level... it is useful against Ghosts and Vampire Bats but not a major reason to take a Bishop.

My Rawulf Bishop spends most of his combat time casting ‘Magic Missiles’, ‘Shrill Sound’ or ‘Rest all’ but IMO you already have more devine than you need.

As for replacing one of the Hobbits;

A Mook Bard would open some extra content and can switch to Fighter or Rogue for the late game... they have good Melee and ranged builds for people whom wish to have swords, dual weapons or tripleshot crossbows but it’s generally pick one at the start of the game and build it to use that specialized attack most of the time.

A Dragon Gadgeteer (strength & vitality) makes a useful melee specialist but you already have Priest and Lord so I’d recommend the more traditional Felpurr (Dexterity, Senses, ranged attacks, engineering & locks) range specialist which can make/use double shot crossbow to build her skills and they all can quickly (around level 12) become back up healers with the ‘Heal all’ spell and one of your best damage dealers if you can keep their Stamina up.

I wouldn't put a bishop on the front lines, either - they're a caster first and foremost and liable to go splat if targeted by anything significant. The bard, even as a hobbit, is probably better suited to standing alongside the Lord, at least until you get a recruitable NPC who can help to cover that role.

Given the presence of a Lord and a Priest, the Bishop should probably focus on the other spellbooks. Alchemy (even with a ranger present) is a good bet because of the potion-mixing, but any two of the three put together will do. Splitting your focus between three will leave the bishop struggling to cover them effectively, so leave one for later development.

My 2 cents ...

the bishop is the best spell caster in the game. He can cast every spell from every book. I always take a bishop and he is always the main spell caster (who gets all books first!). All my other characters focus on combat skills.

He does learn skills a bit slower than pure casters but that is a no-issue. Heal before resting. Keep casting your buffs after resting. Always cast Light, Missle Shield, Armor, etc. That alone will keep 5 of the 6 realms climbing steadily.

And if that isn't enough, start "exploiting" circumstance ... locked door? Cast knock knock, rest, repeat. Trapped chest? Cast divine traps, rest, repeat. ... you get the picture.

By middle game the bishop is a powerhouse no other caster class can hold a candle to.

Regarding your party, given you use a bishop i would change the dwarf priest for something with a little more oomph. Fighter, Samurai, Thief (love these), Monk, Ninja, ..

As for your hobbit problem. With a Ranger and Gadgeteer present i would scratch the bard. They become almost obsolete in the late game. Music will be outclassed by your bishops magic and regardless what fighting skill you opt for they wont be as good as a real meatbag class.

As a compromise, i may keep the priest as an extra "healer" and change the bard for a fighter type.

Music will not only be ouclassed by the Bishops Magic, but also by the Gadgeteers Gadgets. High tier Gadgets are stronger and more useful than most Instruments you'll find imo

Okay, in Wiz 8 you can start with any party format from 1 - 6 and the game should be possible to complete. During the course of the game, from Arnika onwards, you can add 2 other members to your party. In Arnika you'll meet a Rogue and a Valkerie. Yes, you could start the game again, in which case I would suggest a lizard fighter to replace the Bard or Gadgeteer as you meet both in the course of the game and can add them to your group.

However, if you decide to continue with your current party I'd suggest the following:

1) If you've not discovered it already, click on the circle towards bottom right of your screen and organise your party so the Lord is in front. Place the Bishop and Priest in the centre. Place the ranger on one side of them, the Gadgeteer the other and the Bard at the rear. Your Ranger is effective even at close range, your Bard comes with a sword and your Gadgeteer's Vitality can be increased to assist both with using her gadgets and survival. You can also develop Close Combat and equip your Gadgeteer with a sword or axe as her secondary weapon. The purpose of this arrangement is to protect your weakest - the spell-casters - from close combat. Once you have a second fighter, place him or her in front with your Lord.

2) For the moment, cast spells up to and including the 4 level only. At the beginning your Bishop and Priest are rookies and it takes time to develop their casting powers. There is a lot of good advice here about casting protective spells/gadgets. As early as you can, gain the Shadow Hound spell and use it - it's incredibly useful. Shadow Hound, plus protective spells will increase your Bishop and Priest's abilities. The more you use them, the better they'll become. Also, if you use lower level spells (1-4) to start with they will be effective, and will not fizzle out/damage your party. Again, this will increase their ability. Once you've got to Arnika, experiment with increasing the spell level and see how high you're now able to cast without just about every spell fizzling etc.

3) Spell casters have very low Vitality. It's worth increasing this from the beginning of the game. You only need to allocate 1 point each time. I'd suggest doing this up to and including level 10. As you are probably already at level 5 or 6, just allocate 2 for the next 5 times your Bishop and Priest level up.

4) The road from the Monastery to Arnika can be a hard one. If you find it too tough for your current party, use the edge of the map instead of the road. There are also places on the edge of the map where you can rest safely. Aim to get to Arnika in one piece and the game will then become easier both from the perspective of spell-casting and fighting.

5) Finally, once you've stabilized the abilities of your Bishop, you can choose to change her profession to a fighter or Ninja and dual-class her. That way you can have a spell caster for protection and distance combat, a fighter for close.

There is nothing wrong with the party you've created. Wiz 8 is a pretty challenging RPG compared to many current games as it involves a fair amount of strategy in respect of party organisation, character development and combat. But it's incredible fun.

I hope this helps and you enjoy the game.

I feel that the Bard is getting something of a bad rep here. A Gadgeteer is nice to have but I consider the jack of all trades Bard to be a valid swap for an early Rogue or Fighter. Take a Mook Fighter to level twenty and then ask yourself if you’d be willing to lose about 30 hit points & the heavy armour for 18 levels of medium (with speed/ strength bonus) and the ability to use musical instruments;

Bless, Freeze All, Hex, Pandemonium, Freeze Flesh, Cerebral Hemorrhage, Nuclear Blast, Armormelt, Slow, Heal All, Magic Screen, Shrill Sound, Sleep, Restoration, Haste, Silence, Insanity, Slow, Turncoat, Lifesteal & Charm.

Possibly add in Itching Skin, Terror & Banish if they are imported.

If these spells are already covered by other party members or you need that spot for a Fighter/ Rogue because these classes fit your party better then so be it. Imo the fact that my Bishop can spend his first turn casting say Shrill Sound does not mean that I don’t also want the Bard to cast Haste.


p.s. the Bard can also do the party pickpocketing.