In Wizardry 8, the developers supposedly fixed the races, so that they were more or less balanced. What do you think? My vote goes to Humans, as they get a solid 45 to all 7 attributes (315 points total). Remember that attribute points, unlike skill points, are locked in stone, and can only be increased upon character creation, and level ups (6 points per level up).
Most people seem to prefer more specialized races, as they can get those expert skills unlocked sooner. I used to do it too, unlocking, in my most extreme example, a Lizardman Fighter with Strength, Vitality, Dexterity, and Speed maxed by level 21. However, his other stats sucked, he was vulnerable to Mental and Divine spells, and no Eagle Eye expert skill (his Senses sucked, giving poor initiative, less chance to hit, and slow growth in Close/Ranged Combat).
A Human party can get 4 expert skills unlocked by level 30 at the absolute worst (a Gadgeteer with a 55 Intelligence requirement, an Alchemist with a 60 Dexterity requirement, etc.) The remaining 3 attributes will be at worst, 45 (higher with attribute requirements demanded by a specific profession).
What does everybody think?

Humans are definitely better than they were in the past, *especially* better than they were in 1-3 and 5. (Seriously, the lack of a really good stat is a significant drawback, but they further had to give them terrible piety *and* the worst stat sum as a result. What were they thinking back then?) With that said, they do still have a couple disadvantages:
* They still have the lack of focus on a particular stat. This tends to mostly hurt classes that have fewer requirements (like Fighter and Priest (though human Priests are at least a reasonable choice, unlike in 1-5)), but it still is a disadvantage, and means no expert skills until level 13. (The ideal time to get an expert skill is level 10 or lower, as that way you get it before the time where your level basically stalls for a while (and which is my least favorite part of the game otherwise, aside from the fact that I with Arnika Road first time were easier). It's not always possible, and if you can't, it's not as big a deal if you have to wait a level, as in the case of a Human vs. Elf Bishop.)
* They don't have any racial resistances. (At least it isn't as bad as the downsides that the Lizardman race has.)

(In other words, I'm thinking that Humans may be most suitable for hybrids that require multiple stats, and aren't as good for more focused specialist classes like Fighter or Mage.)

Worth noting that I'd probably rank Dracon higher than Lizardman. They don't have the Lizardman's disadvantage (well, they do have reduced mental/divine resistance, but it isn't as bad as the Lizardman's), and a Dracon Fighter can get Power Strike at level 10, which is still soon enough to be really useful. It's a shame their breath doesn't seem to be that useful (unlike in Wizardry Gaiden 4/DIMGUIL, where it's probably too powerful). Their mental stats aren't as bad, which makes them a better fit for some hybrids (though Senses is still just as bad).

Faeires are an example of a race that seem rather interesting, but which I find doesn't work so well:
* Low strength combined with reduced carrying capacity essentially affects your entire party; your party can't carry as much before being overloaded.
* Faster SP regen, except that they can't use either of the easier to get SP regen equipment, so they end up worse off once you manage to reach Ferro. (I would fix this by giving them something like the Robe of Rejuvenation that can reliably be obtained, and I would also take the SP regen away from the Infinity Helm.)

Dwarf, incidentally, is a great choice for a battle Priest. High Piety satisfies the stat requirement, high Strength gives you Power Strike, and Dexterity/Speed are less important in the long run when you might not get the extra attack even with those stats high.

One other thing: These days I tend to value low levels more than other players. Think is, the difficulty isn't a steady increase as it should be; rather, the difficulty spikes early on your first visit to Arnika Road, and then tends to drop from there, so having characters who are powerful in the long run really isn't the best strategy here. (I still like using Bishops, but I haven't been saving all their spell picks, as I find it more fun if I use them right away (or as soon as practical, if I don't meet the skill requirement right away).) Thing is, the game really doesn't take you that high. In other words, I would consider "level 30" to be the same as "never", at least as far as Wizardry 8 is concerned.

(One thing I don't like about Wizardry 8, and about Sir-Tech Wizardry in general (though 6 and 7 may be different), is that it ends around the time that primary casters get their best spellcasting, before hybrids have a chance to catch up, and before high level behavior really comes into play.)

I guess that I'm in the minority here, but I've never played Wizardry 1-7. I grew up in the 80s, 90s, and 2000s, having played many games in that era (NES, SNES, Sega Genesis, N64, Diablo 2, Morrowind, etc).
The only game that I relate to here is Wizardry 8, so I can't retro-like some of the older games that I never grew up with. I can try to play them, but the quality of life will probably suffer (note that I grew up with Super Mario Bros 1 as a kid).
With hybrids, Humans are the way to go, as you can get your 4 attributes maxed by level 30 or so (Ranger comes to mind, maxing Strength, Dexterity, Speed, and Senses). The Ranger will still have decent (45 or better, in Intelligence, Piety, and Vitality).
With the more basic classes, it's more of a domination thing. Yes, Humans might max their 4 best attributes a few levels later than more specialized classes, but they win out in the long run with their remaining 3 attributes, especially for someone as psychotic as me to max every available skill.
Take my level 34 Female Human Mage. She has 100 Intelligence, Piety, Speed, and Senses. Her Vitality is 60, and her Strength/Dexterity is 59. I challenge anybody to get there with any other race.
Any resistance penalties can be fixed with Magic Screen, and Element/Soul Shield. I don't see why people would pick a specific race for resistances, more for stats.
Humans are a long-run race. Other races are more to finish the game quickly.
I used to actually "play the game" until I did multiple party combinations. I hit a wall with my current MDP. They were so weak to start, and since Burz sold no Magic Nectars, I felt the need to grind, and it never stopped.
Perhaps if I played a party with more powerful characters, like a Fighter, Rogue, Bishop, etc., it would have been different. There are so many possible ways to play.
I really do like Bishops, however, the psychotic in me likes to perfect every character, so I would have to make the Bishop save every spell pick (dead weight the entire time until Arnika).

Personally, I think it may be helpful to try and move away from aiming for end-game perfection. It may be hard, but doing so may make the early game easier.

Also worth noting that, if you're going to level up far above the expected level, you'll still eventually get to learn all the spells. In particular, if you spend every spell pick up through 13 as soon as you get them, and spend the picks from 14 onward solely on level 6 or 7 spells, you'll still get all the spells at level 13 + 25 = 38, or 37 if you use a Banish tome. Even if that's too later for you, you might still be able to spend spell picks on a few key spells.

Another thing I've been trying to move away from is the tendency to hoard consumables rather than using them, but unfortunately Sir-Tech seems to have overvalued them throughout the series, and Wizardry 8 is no exception. Essentially, consumables are rarer pricier than they should be, and they're not powerful enough to get over the tendency to not want to use them. (Exceptions include Latumofis Potions in the early games (cures poison, which if not cured doesn't go away until you return to town) and Magic Nectar in Wizardry 8.)


One other thing: Wizardry 8 is actually the only Sir-Tech Wizardry game where I would actually consider Bishops to be useful, as in the earlier games they learn spells too slowly, and the games end before they have a chance to catch up. Hence, they were only good for item identification.

(Worth noting that Bishops *are* worthwhile in Labyrinth of Lost Souls, if you ever decide to try that game.) Except that, either:
* By the time the long run comes, the game is easy enough that you don't need those better stats.
* The long run never comes. There's one feature that the early games had that is absent in 6 and later; the ability to teleport to an arbitrary location using a 7th level spell. Thing is, in Wizardry 1-5, there's a spell where you specify how far you want to go in each dimension, and are then teleported there; that spell is missing later in the series.

Another issue is the MADI spell, which would fully heal a character, and meant that, at high levels, you didn't need to repeatedly cast weak healing spells for minutes just to heal a single character who is at low health. Wizardry 6 took that spell away, and it didn't return until Wizardry 8, as Restoration (while not a full heal, it heals enough).

On the other hand, Wizardry 8 did boost the Heal Wounds and Heal All spells, so that they don't feel uselessly weak as the game progresses.

Piety and vitality can be dumped in the long run easily, which is why hobbits and felpurrs are actually very good. Dracon breath is arguably the best special ability. Human tend to be best for classes that require high piety, but other races are fine. Faeries want stealth, and ninjas benefit from their regeneration most. Fighter and rogue can help counter-balance faeries' reduced cc, but they are a weak race indeed. Lizardman is arguably just a worse dracon, especially since you either have to deal with lower regeneration or lack of breath on a non-caster. Other races are for more particular builds.

So I'd say dracon, hobbit, felpurr, human, ..., faerie, lizardman or thereabouts.

I haven't found it to be that useful in Wizardry 8. (It's very useful in Gaiden 4 and DIMGUIL, but not so much in 8.)

Breath is almost as good as throwing auto-penetrate. Sure, it's the weakest water realm cone, and its damage is relative to remaining stamina, but it's still multitarget. Since this is Wiz8, it follows that the more one stacks it, the more effective it is. Sure, six bishops spamming magic missiles is going to be more effective... once it opens up, but two or more dracons can make the pagoda crabs absolutely trivial for certain parties that have no right rushing them. Especially since physical damage is significantly worse than magical at level one. Mayhap, I am just biased due to playing expert. Don't forget, it keeps progressing past the point most parties of six will finish the game.

I also dropped a qualifier along the way, I meant to state that breath is the best racial special. I will concede that a dwarf priest could stack his racial with iron skin, which is useful for certain party builds.

How about a 6 Dracon Bishop party? Is it worth spamming Dracon Breath with *that* party?

(If you're prioritizing Strength and Vitality, Dracon is a decent choice for Bishop, though maybe not as good as Dwarf or perhaps Mook. Note, however, that this is not how people usually build Bishops.)

At times... Absolutely. The biggest issue is that breath leeches skill ups, which is a nonfactor for specialists, but could be for, say, a four-school bishop—I wouldn't know. Also, remember that the better water cones are not available as books, and, depending on build, might not even be picked—once again: a nonfactor for specialists. Since bishops get deep wells, it's usually optimal to use it, however.

I think one can usually fit either Blizzard or Tsunami into a Bishop build, especially since neither spell is a good first choice for their level.

Also, I don't really like cone spells in general, particularly when there are other alternatives. In particular, I would just use Iceball if I need an ice attack.
* Iceball is radius targeted, making it far easier to hit more targets, especially if you're surrounded (an extremely common situation in this game).
* Blizzard has the annoying property of blinding enemies. Also, either of the effects (ice damage or blinding) is available with a lower level spell with radius targeting.
* Tsunami is potentially strong, but to safely use it at a power level where it's noticeably stronger than Blizzard, you need to be at least level 21. Furthermore, it still has cone targeting at a level where all-enemy targeting is available.
* For enemies that are weak against water, there's Freeze All, which hits all visible enemies even at long range (unlike Blizzard/Tsunami), and Freeze Flesh for enemies you can't see.

(Dracon Breath is at least available *before* spells with better targeting.)

Hmm, indeed? I've never noticed that myself, and, since I'm bad at computer game software, must assume it's not a skill issue. What was that thing Charles Miles was trying to get at when designing Arnika Road again? But, I digress.

What I've noticed is that efficient spell use—for the trash mobs, if nothing else—is often to stack damage spells, prioritizing the highest level and cost ones, relative to resistances, of course. With how fast magic damage slays, crowd control is often just filling space. Not to mention how powerful defensive spells are in this game. Often, when it would be useful, the monsters are too higher in level for it to be reliable. But, Freeze All is clearly the most useful such spell later on.

And cones are wonderful until, say, middle-to-late mid-game, when enemies love to fight at extreme ranges. Higher damage than balls for a long time, too.

Also, practical example, my level six dracons are doing more damage with breath than whipping rocks in early game, i.e. not yet at Arnika. Since most people seem to agree that early or late game is the hardest portion of the game...