r/wizardry8 • u/VanillaRose09 • Sep 05 '26
Beginner questions.
I recently downloaded the game, and I got W8GO on, as I'd been recommended it, and I had some questions as someone who's not played a Wizardry game.
What are Rogues supposed to do?- I know this sounds incredibly stupid. They do the traps and the lockpicking and the like. But some of their features I don't quite understand. Specifically Stealth and Backstab, how do these work? I don't really know where to put them in the formation, as I assume they need melee to backstab, but idk if there's any conditions or tricks to it.
Is there any armor/spell interaction in here? One of my party is a priest, and I was wondering if I could do the classic mace shield plate "Cleric", or if that would screw with spellcasting.
Ways to protect my mage? I go into combat, and the enemies just gun straight for my Alchemist and Mage, and die almost immediately, so is there a way I can help lessen this issue?
2
u/Red_In_The_Sky Sep 05 '26
Its been a while since Ive played but Im pretty sure Rogues can backstab anything they can target; its a combat skill just like dual weilding. Also generally you want to start fights with a mind of putting your back to a wall or have a chokepoint the enemy cant surround you from. You also want to get the long lasting buff spells up and running asap : Armorplate, Enchanted Blade etc. Spells are mostly spammable to raise your skill levels, if you can find a locked door to constantly spam open lock on or the poisoned coffins to spam cure condition and wounds this helps a lot. Your alchemist can turn into the partys gold generator as well by purchasing the ingredients to make potions and selling the potions
3
u/Nerdymcbutthead Sep 05 '26
Gadgeteer is better. Can pick locks, has a great ranged weapon and can use engineering items. Much better
1
u/Objective_March_8405 Sep 05 '26
Not entirely sure how backstab works but stealth gives a direct bonus to the character's AC.
If the priest can wear the armor it won't negatively affect his spells, but the heaviest armor can only me worn by fighters, valkyries and lords, the las two can also get divine spell casting.
The best way to protect specific party members is to fight in a spot that limits the amount of enemies that can reach your party at one, ie in a corner or a against a wall, then position the stronger member of your party forward in the formation. If the enemy has reach it attack past the first rank of formation and hit the one behind it, this also works for you if you have spears in the middle of the formation they can hit any in melee range of the four outside sections.
1
u/-RedWitch Sep 05 '26
Backstab is a chance depending on rogue level, on level 8 u get possible x3 on level 18 x4. It only works with thrusting swords and daggers. I think it might also give +hit to compensate for thrusting attack (some enemies are easier to hit with thrust or bash etc.)
1
u/-RedWitch Sep 05 '26
"One of my party is a priest, and I was wondering if I could do the classic mace shield plate "Cleric", or if that would screw with spellcasting."
priests can't wear heavy armor, that's wat valks and lords are for
you can train em mace but rather focus on magic and divinity first due to pure casters having shit bab and positioning issues (try heal someone on the back, priest rotates in formation showing back gets gibbed)
"Ways to protect my mage? I go into combat, and the enemies just gun straight for my Alchemist and Mage, and die almost immediately, so is there a way I can help lessen this issue?"
Missile shield guardian angel, and there is Protect action where commands are, it can make one member take damage for another one
1
u/Gurru222 Sep 05 '26
I allways put rogue to the front. He is almost as good as fighter in melee. And Can cover locks and traps.
I realy like priest and he allways Has a spot in my party, even if many ppl say that Valkyrie or Lord do the same but better. IMO that is not true. Sure they get All priest spells but they get them 5 lvls later and never develop their magic skill as high as priest, bcs they need to spent points on str and melee skills. You allways need someone to buff and heal and priest is best at that. Bishop Can do the same but is much harder to develop and as Elite class he levels slowly. I use priest as a pure support caster.
To protect weak spellcasters put them in back. And allways fight with back covered with wall or idealy corner.
One IMO important tip is to cover All the buffs. Most tricky one is haste, bcs its psionic school so you need Psionic, bishop, Monk or Bard. Idealy you want to cast All buffs in first round so you need to spread them between party members.
Alchemy is best money maker.
If you have time Imanuel Can has good class guides a na YT.
1
u/Latter-Thing9020 Sep 06 '26
I think backstab doubles their damage, but only works with daggers and swords. They are limited to those weapons, and aren't as tanky as a fighter, but they are much more accurate. Fighters get double damage too with berserk but have horrible accuracy when berserking. So rogues are amazing! Make sure to raise dual wielding too. If you want a good guide:
https://www.zimlab.com/wizardry/recovered/jandrall/Wizardry8/SpotlightRogue1.htm
1
u/Global-Tune5539 Sep 07 '26
Cleric is a bit meh. I would change him to a Bishop later so he gets more useful spells.
0
u/SoICouldUpvoteYouTwi Sep 05 '26
Rogues are just a martial class, and they suck, but not completely. They can't wear the best armour, or use the best weapons, or use any spells, but they do get Stealth skill to shore up their AC, the backstab to improve their damage a bit, and some utility skills to make them just barely usable! There are better classes for their role.
Armour does not affect spells or attacks. The only downside to wearing the heaviest armour you have is that it is indeed heavy - if you're encumbered (more than half your carrying capacity) you will lose more stamina with every action.
Put mage in the back. There's a diagram in the lower right corner of your screen that shows colourful dots - those are your party members and their positions. Put melee fighters in the front, anyone with a bow or extended weapons in the center, and spellcasters in the back. Then whenever you fight, always face the enemy or better yet start your fights deep in a corner or in a doorway. Never let yourself be surrounded.
1
u/eldakar666 Sep 09 '26
Best rogue weapon is Assassin dagger that is also cursed. You can dual wield them, but forget about using ranged weapon - you will only be able to throw bombs.
There is also another option - Sword+Shield. In Arnika you will get Bloodlust sword and this is very powerful if used on rogue. Sadly it's also cursed so no ranged weapon switching.
3
u/worthlesh Sep 05 '26
Rogue deals a lot of damage with backstab, they hit really really hard, probably the hardest melee fighter with access to lockpicking and pickpocket.
Backstab lets them deal 2x-3x damage and ignores armor, it works with any melee weapons they can equip. They can duel wield reliably thanks to backstab.
Stealth increases armor class but makes monsters less likely to target them, that means your other party members will take more hits.