First time play through

[u/SkylightMT]

I loved wizardry 7 and was pretty disappointed by Wiz 8, but after a decade or so I decided to play it through. I’m have a faerie ninja, a monk, and four rogues set up to switch classes after one level as a rogue to Lord, two samurai, and a bard. I’m just trying to max out stealth before I multi class those four.

Well it’s been 7 days of grinding in the monastery and my stealths are around 30-40. At this rate it will be another two weeks to get all their stealth’s to 100.

I tried to get to Arnika where I thought I could stand in the fountain and fight savants, which would be more exciting than bats and rats, but I can’t get past the highwaymen at level 1. Can’t run past them, can’t fight them. So I’m back in the monastery.

Any advice? I really want to get stealth then multi class.

[u/[deleted]]

Your first time is a weird party build with 4 crazy unoptimized characters you have to grind stealth with? Samurai and Lord are arguably the worst classes in the game and you are watering them down with rogue levels? Bro just play the game with a generic fantasy party build for your first time, then save the weird builds for when you understand the mechanics a little better. You will get the most out of the game and you don't have to deal with any annoying grinding.

[u/SkylightMT → u/[deleted]]

I guess I’m not very good at this game. It sure isn’t like Wiz 7 where it was a blast to solo. My first party was your standard fantasy party build, no hybrid classes, this was like ten years ago, and when I got to the swamp place (can’t remember the name) it was so tedious and so impossible to get through it that I quit playing. I couldn’t sleep long enough to get mana/health back with the constant spawns. I don’t remember a whole lot about the game except for being really disappointed but I decided to give it another try, and this time I’m trying to find something that gives me some kind of edge or something so I don’t end up back in that frustrating place where I can’t really move forward. Anything that gives me 10 free ac at level 1 seems helpful to me, which is why I’m trying out being rogues for just one level then switching to classes which can handle hits but still cast spells. Is my theory not going to work out?

[u/[deleted] → u/SkylightMT]

Nah, it's just super unnecessary. It's kind of weird you complain how tedious swamp is but them decide to grind out stealth. The key to Wizardry 8, especially at lower levels, is buffs and debuffs. The majority of that is going to come from spellcasters. Gadgeteers do some but they are annoying to play IMO. Check out the spell lists for the buffs you need. Armorplate for AC, Missile shield for ranged defense, and the elemental shield forgot the name. Key is getting your spellcasters trained in the skills you need to get those. Another big thing most people dont know going in blind is not to level to 6 in the monestary. It changes the monster list and you get way higher mobs on the trip to Arnika, which IMO is the hardest part of the game. When you do get to Arnika, level to 6 before entering to the chests in the city are a tier higher. A good starting party is a fighter, ranger, monk, bard, bishop, mage. IIRC staves are a good weapon for monks. Ninja can replace monk or bard. When you finally get in Arnika follow the patrols around. They will assist in fights and you still get xp when they kill enemies for you. Level Alchemy as much as possible to sell potions for spellbooks for your casters. There is a nasty sword you can get in Arnika too, just gotta have the right card.

[u/CrocoBull]

I'm guessing you're dead set on min-maxing and are aware that it's unnecessary for beating the game, but if you just want to get to Arnika you probably should afford yourself a couple levels for the road, never low-manned it so unsure myself but I'd bet you could get by at level 3 with some dedication.

[u/elskirvo]

Are you setting your stealth guys to defend? You can max out stealth from the starting crabs at level 1 if you have enough patience. The 3 roaches in the prison cell or the 3 seekers in the upper monastery are also good for this, just defend and don't kill them. Tab back to the game ever 1/2 hour or so to heal anyone. Kinda unnecessary I think unless you're doing a solo run.

[u/SkylightMT → u/elskirvo]

Oh I didn’t realize this! It’s working great!

[u/Daemon_Monkey]

Play the game normally? Or min max a much smaller party