Wizardry The Wizardry Series Thread

[Jaesun]

Only the remaster that ports it to the Wiz7 engine.

There's a remaster for Wizardry 6?

 

[Butter]

Only the remaster that ports it to the Wiz7 engine.

There's a remaster for Wizardry 6?

 

[luj1]

I used another mod for Wiz 6 but forgot how it was called. It had a mapping feature and few others (see item properties, etc.)

 

[MjKorz]

Just finished the castle area:

Spoiler

The monotonous gray stone environments are really starting to wear me down, although the combat and character customization/advancement are fun and the enemy creatures are colorful and pleasant to look at.

One thing I have to ask about making my mage more useful: is there a point in trying to level melee skills on a pure mage? I don't plan on switching classes into a hybrid with this guy, I want him to remain a pure full arcane caster, but it'd be nice to have him dish out some damage with an extended reach quarterstaff in order to preserve mana for tougher enemies, though so far I've only found the basic quarterstaff. Or should I just forget the staves and try to find some wands instead for blasting trash and conserving mana?

These are the character stats:

Spoiler

Spoiler

 

[octavius]

Yes, I'd give him a Staff and have him a-whacking. Every bit helps, and having him do nothing in a round doesn't help.

 

[TheDeveloperDude]

After Wizardry 5 buggering out on me
I've explored most of level 3, and there's quite a few places with locked doors for which I have no key (or maybe my guys were too low level when first picking and DESTOing the locks), and several places needs an item.

Do I need to cast DESTO then the thief should lockpick? Or is DESTO enough itself?
If the lockpicking a door unsuccessful, keep trying or rather level up?

 

[MjKorz]

Dark areas in the Mines are a special flavor of cock&ball torture.

 

[grimer]

One thing I have to ask about making my mage more useful: is there a point in trying to level melee skills on a pure mage? I don't plan on switching classes into a hybrid with this guy, I want him to remain a pure full arcane caster, but it'd be nice to have him dish out some damage with an extended reach quarterstaff in order to preserve mana for tougher enemies, though so far I've only found the basic quarterstaff. Or should I just forget the staves and try to find some wands instead for blasting trash and conserving mana?

mages have lower accuracy with weapons due to their base attack bonus, get less attacks/swings and only have very few weapons they can use so their melee contribution is negligible anyway. it's even worse when you put an enemy to sleep and your mage gets the 2x damage bonus with his quarterstaff instead of your dedicated melee characters. idk about wands but there are some good bombs in the game like fire bomb/deadly poison but since you can't craft potions in this game, stocking up on them might be an issue.

are you against switching to other spellcasting classes as well? because that's what i would do so he can learn new spells and make better use of his other realms. for example, mage/psionic gives him access to new aoe damaging spells for when you run out of fire sp for fireball (although psionics suck in 6-7 compared to 8).

Dark areas in the Mines are a special flavor of cock&ball torture.

i watched some dude on youtube play wizardry 6 for the first time and he managed to get through the mines without any maps, just memorizing the layout which is insane to me. do you have a character with scouting? otherwise, you might be stuck there for a while lol.

also, wizardry 7 has dark areas with teleporters and the only cue you've been teleported is a sound. so if you play without sounds (because it drastically slows down the combat), you won't know whether you've been teleported and how many floors you've actually moved. it's also impossible without scouting but by then you should have every important skill maxed out to spare the points for it.

 

[MjKorz]

are you against switching to other spellcasting classes as well?

I want to do a straightforward run without wasting any more time on Wiz6 than I have to as I intend to play the entire Dark Savant series with the same party. For this reason I'm not going to switch anyone's class, the advantage of higher levels should be enough to beat the game.

do you have a character with scouting?

No, does it help? At this point I'm just using online maps for navigation.

 

[grimer]

No, does it help? At this point I'm just using online maps for navigation.

it's mandatory for a first playthrough imo as there are several instances in 6 and 7 where you have to find something in a dark zone in order to progress as you'll realize soon enough. otherwise, you'll have to search every tile in the dark and that's after you figure out to search there since there are no clues whatsoever. i skipped it on my first playthrough (because i thought it was useless like in 8) and had to resort to walkthroughs several times as a result.

 

[MjKorz]

it's mandatory for a first playthrough imo as there are several instances in 6 and 7 where you have to find something in a dark zone in order to progress as you'll realize soon enough. otherwise, you'll have to search every tile in the dark and that's after you figure out to search there since there are no clues whatsoever. i skipped it on my first playthrough (because i thought it was useless like in 8) and had to resort to walkthroughs several times as a result.

Sounds like more cock&ball torture, but it's too late for me to level it now. I'll see how it goes with online maps. So far I'm doing fine collecting rubber beast tentacles in the mines.

 

[Butter]

Detect Secret is a viable alternative to Scouting.

 

[Reality]

I did wiz 6 drawing my own maps, and I distinctly remember that the mines have 1 or two places that technically have stairs inside the dark zones (so if you assume it's flat your map runs into itself)

 

[grimer]

also forgot about the wizard eye spell which brings up a minimap displaying a 5x5? area around you. i probably should've used that lol.

 

[octavius]

After Wizardry 5 buggering out on me
I've explored most of level 3, and there's quite a few places with locked doors for which I have no key (or maybe my guys were too low level when first picking and DESTOing the locks), and several places needs an item.

Do I need to cast DESTO then the thief should lockpick? Or is DESTO enough itself?

Desto is enough.

If the lockpicking a door unsuccessful, keep trying or rather level up?

I usually try five times, and if no luck I return later.
I returned much later for the locks on lvl 1, and now lots of new areas opened up.

 

[Clockwork Knight]

Probably relevant to the thread's interests

https://www.timeextension.com/featu...e-brought-the-rpg-classic-into-the-modern-age

For the last couple of decades, the original game has not been readily available commercially, with the series instead being subject to various Japanese follow-ups and spin-offs (some of which have also been localized into English). Last September, however, Digital Eclipse announced that it had partnered with two of the original rights holders Norman and Robert Sirotek, alongside the video game investor/IP holder Justin Bailey to create a remastered version of the classic. This launched in Early Access last year and has since hit 1.0 on May 23rd, 2024 across Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, receiving an amazing 9/10 review from our friends at Nintendo Life.

As a result, we took it upon ourselves recently to reach out to Norman and Robert Sirotek, as well as Justin Bailey to find out more about how this classic title was resurrected. You can read part one of our interview with Norman, Robert, and Justin Bailey below (edited for length and clarity), which focuses on the remaster. Part two will be released in the near future and will cover the original Apple II release as well as the initial commercialization of the game in Japan. Enjoy!

 

[MjKorz]

Managed to free Xorphitus from his crystal prison in the mines, should be almost finished with the mines now.

Spoiler

Have to say: that was some VERY user-unfriendly game design. How the fuck are you supposed to know that despite needing to crack every side of the prison with the miner's chisel, the final blow that shatters the prison can be inflicted ONLY from the southern side? Endless trial and error while running back and forth through the labyrinthine mine levels while hammering the sides at random and wondering where you went wrong? Literal sadism.

 

[gman42]

I vaguely remember that being something I just happened to get right the first time I played (I'm not sure if there's something about the way most people explore the area that leads them to the southern face last?) and then years later upon replay, I was convinced the game was bugged because I hit all four sides and it just "didn't work". Really annoying.

 

[MjKorz]

I vaguely remember that being something I just happened to get right the first time I played (I'm not sure if there's something about the way most people explore the area that leads them to the southern face last?) and then years later upon replay, I was convinced the game was bugged because I hit all four sides and it just "didn't work". Really annoying.

That entire area was testing my patience. At least I don't have any problems with combat, both the mine boss encounters were easy since I managed to silence the spellcasting giant early and the rock guardian was a joke with missile shield:

Spoiler

Spoiler

Now I'm exploring the pyramid with hot amazons:

Spoiler

The pyramid levels are still confusing, but they're smaller than those in the mines so it's much easier.

 

[octavius]

I've started exploring lvl 4 in Wiz 5, but all the going back and forth is testing my patience with this game.
Ten years ago I was convinced the Wizardry series has aged better than the Bard's Tale series, but now I'm starting to think it's the other way around. I thoroughly enjoyed replaying BT 1 and 2, and somewhat less BT 3, last year, but replaying Wiz 1 was rather meh, and now it's slow going in Wiz 5.

Obviously the BT games have a huge edge in the audiovisual compartment, but they also have better level design if you like mapping. So there's more of a sense of accomplishment when making progress in the BT games, and it's quicker to get in and out of the dungeons since you get mobility spells earlier (and mistyping co-ordinates does not carry the risk of Game Over).

 

[OndrejSc]

 

[Silvanus]

What's the recommended starting point for a newcomer, Wizardry 8? I bought 6-8 recently and spent some time picking through the manual and putting a Wizardry 8 party together for when I'm done with what I'm currently playing. I might make an LP out of it if anybody would be interested in a first-timer's experience.

 

[Nikanuur]

What's the recommended starting point for a newcomer, Wizardry 8? I bought 6-8 recently and spent some time picking through the manual and putting a Wizardry 8 party together for when I'm done with what I'm currently playing. I might make an LP out of it if anybody would be interested in a first-timer's experience.

I assume you're familiar with the RPG genre, so as long as you keep your wits about you when creating an 8-member party in an extensive RPG, you'll be fine with whatever you create. Some notable points: if you don't include a Gadgeteer, you'll miss out on certain content, including the use of the signature Omnigun. The only way to obtain this weapon is by creating a character who starts with it (not 100% sure about not beign able to find an Omnigun later, someone please confirm this?). Monks and Ninjas are especially useful because of their Critical Strike ability (the chance to kill anything, including bosses, in one hit).

If you're interested in some basic min-maxing from the start, I recommend beginning with 5 Ninjas and 1 Gadgeteer. At the second level, switch the Gadgeteer to a Ninja. Level up all of your Ninjas to at least the 3rd or 4th level before changing (multi-leveling) them to the classes you ultimately want. At each level, use as much points as you are allowed on Critical Strike, and distribute the rest as you wish. I recommend using the rest for Stealth. Once you hit at least 20-30 in Critical Strike, you can then establish the desired setup with fighters, casters, healers, ranged attackers, a thief, retaining one Ninja if you so choose (my favorite class btw), etc. This approach ensures your entire party has at least some stealth capabilities and, most importantly, the mentioned critical Strike ability. The thing is, the Critical Strike chance is very low even with high Attribute score, thus, multiplying it by 8 substantially raises the possibility (and don't you wory about casters not using melee weapons or ranged attacks. In this game, running out of mana is your bread and butter. Everyone needs to learn some combat capabilities.)

The initial dungeon will be somewhat harder with the said setup, but it's manageable.

Before creating such a party, it's essential to decide which "normal" class you want each character to eventually adopt. Check that class's requirements here: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/pc/374906-wizardry-8/faqs/41767, and then create a Ninja with the necessary high Attributes accordingly.

You might also want to start with a Monk and either keep them throughout the game or change them into a Psionic later. I found that the Monk was less effective in melee combat than a Ninja, especially since I primarily used them for casting before eventually switching them to a Psionic. However, they technically share the same Stealth, Unarmed Combat, and Critical Strike abilities as a Ninja. Additionally, like many classes, there is some equipment in the game that only Monks or Psionics can use.

Last of all, I recommend using these essential mods:
Transparent Compass - A cool, little mod that provides a bit more of the viewing screen.
Wiz8 Wide Screen Extender - It's not that you can't play W8 in 1024x768, right :p ? But if you want things to look normal, this one is a must.
Wiz8fast - A very useful tool for speeding up the monster's movement speed during the combat. Later in game, the combat will be a horrible slog without this one.

I would advise caution when installing other mods that extend the itemization and skills. From my experience, FlameFinalMod was pretty good, it changed some items and skills, and added more. But one of these two: DeathStalker, DoddTheSlayer messed with monster numbers and their placements, and frankly, I found the game unplayable after exiting the first dungeon. I don't remember which one did that, unfortunately.

 

[octavius]

What's the recommended starting point for a newcomer, Wizardry 8? I bought 6-8 recently and spent some time picking through the manual and putting a Wizardry 8 party together for when I'm done with what I'm currently playing. I might make an LP out of it if anybody would be interested in a first-timer's experience.

Depends.
Wiz 1-5 have the simplest game mechanics, but also the worst UI and audiovisuals.
There's also the fact that you can transfer characters from 1-2-3-5, and from 6-7-8.

 

[Silvanus]

Nikanuur Wow! Thanks for all the great info. I've been playing isometric cRPGs for many, many years (and a fair number of JRPGs in my youth) so I'm hoping that nothing systems-wise will be too alienating, but I'm a little too young to have come up with any real familiarity with blobbers. With the state of this year's releases, this seems to be as good a time as any to change that and I'm genuinely interested in getting to experience games that I've missed out on. Widescreen support is a great plus, and I'll stay away from anything affecting gameplay for my initial playthrough.

Depends.
Wiz 1-5 have the simplest game mechanics, but also the worst UI and audiovisuals.
There's also the fact that you can transfer characters from 1-2-3-5, and from 5-7-8.

I figured that I'd acquaint myself with the format while having the niceties of a somewhat accessible UI (and hoping that I'm not missing out on crucial gameplay concepts or plot points) before exploring the rest of the 6-8 trilogy (and the earlier games) but I might be overthinking it. Some of the remakes of the earlier games (like the Llylgamyn Saga) look very readable to me, and even quite beautiful in their spritework. Pretty sprites tend to age more gracefully than 3D models anyhow.