Any tips for fighting spell casters?

[rollinginownfilth]

My level 10ish party (fighter, ranger, monk, gadgeteer, bishop, ranger) is getting its ass kicked by spell casters--currently the kung-fu master, lizard types that like throwing around mental spells in the swamp (forget their name and am at work). My current strategy is to retreat and try to level up with easier critters, but there must be a better solution!

Thanks for any tips!

[hghwolf]

Buffs and Debuffs. Soul Shield for your guys, pretty much any debuff you have for them.
Or grab some mental resisting gear.

[Seewhyseeoh]

Lure them to a corner or place where your outta sight, then as they close in jump out and attack in melee.

Plus, fight somewhere your at an advantage. In the open where you can be surrounded is bad...try walls, cliffs, and other obstacles to prevent getting surrounded. A door way is good so only 1 or 2 can attack at once.

[Louis]

The Rynjin are too big a match for a lvl10 group, I'd say. So yes, the best way to deal in this case would be to retreat. Especially because they are guarding the passage to their realm, and if you have already trouble with the guards, that's a good indication to not go forward.

Apart from that, if you have a bishop, you should definitley look for the anti-magic buff spells: magic shield, soul shield, elemental shield. You can also hire some NPC character who can cast 1 or 2 of those shields. Then you should look out for items which grant you a higher immunity against magic ("shield +20% against water, etc."). Look closely what spells the magic user casts, often the spells will be mostly from 1-2 realms, so you can try to adapt especially to that realm.

If it comes to a fight, the disabilities are your friend. A blinded spellcaster has trouble casting, same goes to one who is afraid, unconcious, sleeping, etc. There are some weapons which grant you a higher chance of inflicting those disabilities. As you have 2 rangers and a gadgeteer, you could maybe hope to inflict some problems from afar.

Last option could be to just close your eyes, storm through and hack them to pieces, as most spellcasters (especially in the early game) will not have a lot of HP. That depends a bit on your melee qualities. Or, as seewhyseech said, try the trick where they are following you around the corner, and then use that 1 round to your advantage.

[Thick McRunFast]

The already mentioned shield and screen spells will be a massive step in the right direction. Curing and sane mind spells will help too.

Furthermore, don't overlook the "heal all" spell. Your bishop can (and should!) eventually learn it. There's also a gadget that can give your gadgeteer this function. You're going to run into even more hostile spellcasters and "spellswords" later on, and their area spells will whittle down even a strong, shielded party without a good way to offset the incoming damage.

[Sue]

All of the above information is valid, but the main reason why your party is getting it's **** kicked is because they are not at a high enough level yet.

Before you fight the Ryjin (hope I've spelt that right!) explore the swamp further and find the T'rang, or locate the Umpani (back via Trynton and Arnika is the best route at this level) and do some of the quests they give you. This will give your party a chance to increase their level and locate/learn some of the spells mentioned above.

Wizardry 8 has many areas and some will be too tough at this stage. Don't worry about retreating and coming back later. Enjoy your game :)

[biogoo]

Wizardry, Divinity: Magic screen (Divine), long lasting buff
Wizardry, Alchemy: Elemental Shield (Earth), short combat buff
Psionics, Divinity: Soul Shield (Divine), short combat buff

[Seewhyseeoh]

Tbh, I should have mentioned raising you level - sorry I missed it.

On this play through, 5 of my 6 are lvl10 and 1 lvl 9 (Darn Bishop's take much more exp to lvl up!!) and I've yet to reach Arnika.

By the time I reach the Swamp, I'll be ready for Rynjin casters, I'll have lots of Magic points and all the Buff spells :)

[rollinginownfilth]

Thanks for all the advice everyone! Will get the magic buffs (just got the Magic Screen one) and spend some time leveling up before I try to take on the Ryjin! Cheers.

[St. Haborym]

You should always have enchanted blade, armorplate and magic screen cast at all times. Throw in missile shield if you want and are running around an area with lots of ranged attackers.

[misterbill5]

One thing not mentioned yet is the Gadgeteer's Lava Lamp (is there an equivalent spell?). Just recently got it and it is a great defensive item--causes mobs to stare at it and move toward it, allowing your party to whittle them down a few at a time...

[Thick McRunFast]

Definitely a good item. It's counterpart spell is "hypnotic lure" from the Psionic spellbook. Possibly the only thing that bugs me about it is that seems to have disproportionately high volume or at least feels that way. I end up hitting the mute button on my keyboard when it's in use nearby. :)

[Louis]

The sound is absolutely horrible, I agree.

Every gadget and every music instrument has an equivalent as a spell. This is also important because the resistances against those items are measured againt the equivalent magic realm. Hypnotic lure is Fire Realm, so creatures resistant against fire will not fall for the lure as easily.

[misterbill5]

Also have the Jack-In-The-Box which casts a fear/terror spell, the gizmo that gives you Armorplate, and one for Guardian Angel...I thought the Gadgeteer was not very useful at first because of low damage output, but I am starting to change my mind...He runs out of stamina pretty quickly when I use several gadgets, but my Priest takes care of that...The Omnigun is starting to dish out some punishment now with better ammo.

[Louis]

Gadgeteer is a wonderful class, if not alone for the role playing atmosphere of merging useless stuff into useful stuff. His gadgets will be as powerful as any spell in the late game, and the omnigun can create havoc among enemies. And you can even train him in lockpicking, if you're missing a rogue.

[azxcvbnm321]

I love Gadgeteers, they can also make/improve weapons for your party, like double shot slings and triple shot crossbows. Overall Bards are better IMO, but I always have either a bard or gadgeteer for lockpicking instead of a rogue.

Magic Shield, Missile Shield, and Armorplate are the three most important spells in the game with the first two being leaps and bounds more important than Armorplate. Add to that elemental resist and soul shield plus bless and enchanted blade and you have the spells that you will cast most often and have up at all times (bless, elemental resist, and soul shield can only be cast in combat). X-ray is another spell you should constantly have on. In Wizardry 8, the best magic spells are the ones that buff/shield debuff enemies. With so many spells that need to be up, I like having the specialty classes like Samurai, Monk, Valk, Ranger because they can help your bishop. Sometimes you will have to cast both soul shield and elemental resist on the first turn, not to mention Haste.