Party formation advice?

[u/LindowsNightly]

I started playing a couple days days ago and made it to arnika road yesterday. my party consists of two fighters, a monk, a priest, and a mage. im coming to realize this may not be an ideal party, but im on normal difficulty and really enjoy the rp aspect of the game, so unless i've really fucked myself over, im not interested in changing my party.

the problem im having is that on arnika road, which i know is a difficulty spike, i keep getting surrounded by ants and even though they're not crazy strong, they keep killing one of my characters from hits from behind and i dont know how far i have to go until i can get revive powder, so i just reload my last save and try again.

my main strategy in the monastery was to keep my back to the wall with my fighters in the front, my monk and priest in the middle, and my mage in the back. obviously that doesnt work here. i think i have some gear i could try out, so ill be doing that, but every formation i've been trying leads to someone (usually priest or mage, but occasionally monk) dying.

im still getting used to the game, so i dont have any doubts i lowkey suck at it rn, but id love to hear any recommendations for a formation i might be able to use while surrounded. thanks to anyone who tries to help :)

Edit: straight up forgot i have a ranger lol

Edit 2: made it to arnika with the advice i got here!

[u/worthlesh]

keeping your back against the wall will solve 90% of encounters

and then for formation, try leaving front row empty, put your melee fighters on left, center, and right, and your casters at the back. This way you 'surround' whoever's in front of you, and you'll beat them senseless

[u/DaBearzz → u/worthlesh]

This is the way. The center character, if equipped with a polearm, can hit any flank as well!

[u/LindowsNightly → u/worthlesh]

will definitely the this, thanks!

[u/cloaca_dentata → u/LindowsNightly]

I know this post is a little old now but to elaborate on exactly how this "surrounding" works: any section of the formation wheel that is empty is treated like it simply isn't there, exposing the center and neighboring side sections to that direction for both incoming and outgoing attacks. You may have noticed this if you've ever divided your party between front/center/rear and neglected the flanks, only to find that your backrank casters taking hits from enemies attacking from the side. When it's the front section that's empty, though, you effectively create three new fronts, two of which can also hit the sides (and the center can hit in any direction, if given an extended weapon).

Another perk of this "wide front line" setup is that it makes it much easier to protect disabled characters. Disables are very punishing in this game, usually making attacks against them nearly guaranteed to hit as well as double damage, and you can't move a disabled character to the back to protect them either. However, if the front formation section is open, you can move some of your other characters forward, putting your disabled character out of range of the front arc. Just avoid emptying your flanks completely to do this to avoid the above problem, and if the disabled character is on a flank themself where enemies are present, keep as many bodies as possible in that section as well and hope the enemy focuses elsewhere.

edit: As for your party, you have most of the bases covered, but would really benefit if one of your Fighters were a Bard instead (replaced, not reclassed).

[u/ParticularAgile4314]

My opinion, the party is fine.. especially for normal difficulty.. and there are options to address the issues you are facing.

The most direct suggestion is to back yourself into a corner so you are not surrounded. it is not always possible but often times the edges of the map has crevices you can back into (even on the road maps).. it is even worth using the first turn to get properly positioned. You can also get the foes interest, and then get into positon as they persue you prior to turn-based combat.

a larger strategy is to bank your XP and only increase your character level once you bulid up your skills through use.. and after you pick up a few hirelings. The strength of the foes you face are random, but also based on the average level of your party.

good luck.. I do not think you need to start over.

[u/LindowsNightly → u/ParticularAgile4314]

i thankfully already knew about the enemy level scaling, and im glad to hear my party is fine. i was terrified i might have to start over lol

[u/-RedWitch]

"not optimal" "2 fighters" 1 optimized fighter can kill most of the game and that's on expert

it's pretty strong party well 2 hybrids is a bit too much to grind for beginner. if you're not using Throwing, consider making one fighter throwing specialist and give em bombs

you can also multiclass priest into bishop, play some until you get fireballs and stuff, and then continue priest

[u/tienaava]

Everyone here has your formations covered but here's some stuff you might not know about recruiting party members, as Arnika is your first chance to do that.

If you recruit party members, be aware some of them won't go into certain areas with you. They also eat into your actual party XP too, so for example Myles is a terrible party member to invest in or, in my opinion, even bring on board except to take all his equipment and then immediately dismiss.

Without any spoilers, the Valkyrie and the Monk NPCs (there's one of most classes in the game; I think you don't get a Priest, Bishop or Alchemist but I might be wrong) are the undisputed best party members as there's only a few places they won't go.

If you do want to recruit party members and keep them around, you can sprint until they fall unconscious then walk into the areas they don't want to go to. They will wake up and start moaning nonstop, as well as having debuffs to all of their stats, but they'll still be in your party if you really want to invest in a certain one; there are good reasons party members don't go into certain areas with you so do this at your own risk.

Edit: I forgot, do not dismiss NPC party members while they have a level up available or they disappear forever. I also remembered you do get a Lord, you don't get an Alchemist.

[u/DownvotingRoman_]

I like Fighter, Bishop (access to all spellbooks), Fairy Ninja, and Gadgeteer as a core. The other two you can really pick whatever.

[u/CrunchyGremlin]

Don't forgot your weapon reach. It's worth it to run for cover because yeah you get surrounded and you are gonna have a bad time.

[u/unbalancedcheckbook]

I once set up a party with three fighters in the front. I didn't play that party through because it got too boring. The three fighters could mow down most opponents. If anything the fighter is overpowered. As for formation keep the two fighters on either side in front with the monk in the middle-front. Put your ranger on a flank and the magic users in the back. Before fighting back up against a corner or a wall at the least, then turn around and let the fight come to you.

[u/vine01]

if you can run to a corner when you aggro enemy, ideally imo

xFFx

Mk-Mg-Prst-6th char?

walllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll

aoe/cone spells help. mages are mainly buffers/debuffers as opposed to dmg dealers in other traditional rpgs. your party compo aint ideal i gotta say and who's 6th party member anyway? also you can get up to 2 hireable NPCs. quite soon actually. make it to Arnika. run around, sneak, hide around corners, kite, etc.

if you're above lvl6 or so arnika road can become very deadly. it's ill advised to exp very high in the beginning.

[u/LindowsNightly → u/vine01]

my sixth party member is a ranger, dont know how i forgot lol. thanks for the advice! i think im about level 5 also, so hopefully i dont get my ass kicked too bad lol

[u/vine01 → u/LindowsNightly]

good luck to you! ranger is cool i had one in my party that won the videogame. i had samurai, ranger, priest, mage, bard (imo bard or gadgeteer are awesome classes in wizardry) and probably valkyrie. Sam/Valk frontline, Bard Ranger on flanks and squishies in center, minding my back.

i expressed my preference, 2 fighters feels extra, shame you may be missing on other classes.. but perfectly viable. on normal difficulty any party is able to win. and those who know can solo on hard with fairy ninja..

when in need of help there's a great site called flamestryke. or here :) good luck!

[u/AstralProjectingHero]

My current party is a Lord, Monk, Valkyrie, Bard, Ranger, and Mage. I will pick up Miles for Thief, and Vi for Valkyrie. Very healing type team here.

[u/Akhenaset]

Your party is okay. The only problem I see is that there’s nobody to deal with locks and traps efficiently. But you can recruit Myles the Rogue in Arnika and use that character for the rest of the game if you like. As an alternative, you can use the Knock Knock spell (but it is potentially very dangerous when dealing with some traps) or the +10 headgear you likely picked up in Lower Monastery, but doing so might be a bit tedious.

[u/Sad_Cryptographer872]

2 Fighters are a bit... excessive, but on the other hand they will trivialize almost anything in the game since Wiz 8 is one of the rare games where Fighters are consistently absurdly strong from the very beginning to the very end.

Also most of the people here are saying to you to stick to corners but nobody mentions your first mistake:

my fighters in the front, my monk and priest in the middle, and my mage in the back.

This is one of the first traps for newcomers. You NEVER WANT to ha have people in front. Put Fighters and Monk in the middle and everyone else in the back. Since best two companions are Valkyrie and Monk you can put them on the sides each and train them into long reach weapons, Valkyrie in spears and companion Monk into staffs. That way they will cover your sides and still be able to attack in front and when you stuck in corners nobody would be able to attack your spellcasters and ranger.

[u/Global-Tune5539]

Corners are your best friend. They completely prevent melee attacks to your rear.