[MINIMAL SPOILERS!] What's the best team, mod, and technical setup for a Wizardry 6-8 team?

[Endarire]

Greetings, all!

A friend and I recently returned to the world of Wizardry 8 after having not played any Wizardry game for about a decade. I have never or barely played Wizardry games aside from 8, despite getting the Ultimate Wizardry Archive (games 1-7) about 20 years ago. I had already finished Might and Magic games 2-5 (and probably also Swords of Xeen but never M&M1), various Final Fantasy games, and other games by the time I got Wiz1-7 and generally wasn't in the mood to learn another complicated set of mechanics with underwhelming graphics.

Here we are again, many years later, and I have also with the same main character beaten Baldur's Gate 1 & 2 and Throne of Bhaal (but not Siege of Dragonspear since it wasn't released yet). Now I'm curious as to what the seemingly best games in the Wizardry series were like - Wiz6, Wiz7, and Wiz8 - when played with the same group for plot and mechanical continuity.

[Forenotes]
PLEASE MINIMIZE SPOILERS!

These are for plot and mechanical reasons. This is effectively my first impression of these games in action. I don't want to wait another decade or more to unspoil these things from my mind!

I won't be using the Steam versions of these games since I don't have them and don't want to get them. I have legal copies of these games from another source (Wizardry Archive and GOG.com).

[Point 1: Mods, Patches, and Versions]
1-1: For Wizardry 6, which mods and patches should I get, where, and how to install them?

1-2: Which version of Wizardry 7 (Wizardry 7 DOS or Wizardry 7 Gold) should I use? Which mods and patches should I get, where, and how to install them?

1-3: I already have Wizardry 8 installed on this machine with all the relevant mods and patches I want (Wizardry 8 Enhanced also known as Wiz8+).

[Point 2: Party Construction with Minimal Spoilers!]
2-1: What party composition of 4 to 6 members do you advise (for race, sex, class/multiclassing, etc.) considering this group is meant to handle a game trilogy?

Naively, in terms of classes, I intended a 6 member party as such based on my understanding of Wiz8:

-Bard (spiffy instruments in 8)
-Fighter (KILLKILLKILLKILL!)
-Rogue (Locks, Traps, and Skullduggery)
-Fairy Bishop (spiffy 'Archmage' in 8)
-Fairy Ninja (Cane of Corpus in 8)
-Priest?

2-2: How does grinding for skills/EXP work in Wiz6/7?

2-3: In Wiz6/7, of what other mechanics should we be aware from the games' start?

2-4: What else should we discuss at present?

[Finally]
Thankee for your aid!

[Tyler Durden]

1-1 I wouldn't really use mods for these games, at least for your first playthrough. Part of the fun is figuring everything out, yourself, and a good deal of challenge is removed otherwise.

1-2 Wizardry DOS for sure. Gold is slower, buggier, and there is (apparently) some game-breaking bugs present that can prevent you from finishing the game. Plus, I never did like the new art style, but that's just me.

1-3 I don't know anything about that one, unfortunately. I've only played with Angelfire's and Christian Coder's mods.

2-1 One of hte beautiful things about the Wizardry games is that most all party makeups are viable. I woild put a various group of mixed races though. The games come with a PDF manual that you can use to research your classes and the races best suited for them. The party you listed is fine. You need 3 melees to make up the front line, one dedicated healer/buffer, and one person that can deal with traps and locks. A rogue or ninja can take care of that, easily. A DPS caster or debuffer is also very helpful, too. I would definitely take a Priest.

2-2 You just fight mobs to level. In 8 finishing quests gives good experience, too. Easy enough.

2-3 Get mapping skill levelled for one character, not all six. It makes the game much easier. Swimming is mandatory for everyone, but you can get it to 10 and raise it by use after that. Anything lower than 10 and your character(s) will drown.

2-4 That's up to you!

[Endarire]

Wiz6: For mods, I used the Automapper Mod (and Wiz6 Steam Edition to ensure compatibility); and all the Cosmic Forge Editor's built-in patches. I also used Cosmic Forge to maximize all the HP values of classes so I'm not reloading/remaing characters as much. (I very much dislike forced randomization in character generation and progression!) I also followed the advice of the guide below and increased the mana regeneration of all classes using Cosmic Forge so we aren't resting 3+ times to recover our mana.

For characters, I used the general advice found in this guide but changed some races due to personal preference: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/pc/564807-wizardry-vi-bane-of-the-cosmic-forge/faqs/63361. This means this party for us:

-Male Dwarf Priest "Thondre," multiclassing to Lord. (Knows Heal & Bless.)
-Female Elf Priest "Ryala," multiclassing to Valkyrie. (Knows Heal & Stamina.)
-Male Fairy Mage "Hesed," multiclassing to Monk.
-Female Fairy Bard "Aura," multiclassing to Ninja.
-Female Mook Mage "Wooshy," multiclassing to Samurai.
-Female Hobbit Mage "Lunara," multiclassing to Ranger.

All the Mages start knowing Energy Blast & Armor Shield.

Finally, we'll play on Expert difficulty since 'beating it on hard' means we can be done with the game once we're done.

(Updated stats with revised characters. 'Woohy' should have been 'Wooshy.' Lunara's humanity has been revoked. She is now a hobbit.)

[Tyler Durden]

Woohy, haha. I love that name so much 😂

[Endarire]

Updated post with revised characters.