Here's my question -- I've searched the forums under lightning strike and have not yet found an answer --

How does the game determine how often the Samurai gets his lightning strike? Is there anything I can do to help?

I know it is fairly random, but I'm wondering if I can increase that ability by perhaps the sword choice, the speed characteristic, or dexterity, or maybe having less weight on the Samurai. I seem to get the effect very little, and am wondering why.

Thanks,
Paul

• RE: Lightning strike for the Samurai,gilmorej, 06:44 PM, Feb-23-03
• RE: Lightning strike for the Samurai,Barny, 07:03 PM, Feb-23-03
  • RE: Lightning strike for the Samurai,nomad, 07:44 PM, Feb-23-03
• RE: Lightning strike for the Samurai,AC Vox (Guest), 03:29 AM, Mar-27-03
  • Just curious ....,Llevram, 07:51 AM, Mar-27-03
    • RE: Just curious ....,AC Vox (Guest), 10:39 PM, Mar-27-03
      • Still not satisfied :),Llevram, 08:34 AM, Mar-28-03
        • RE: Still not satisfied :),AC Vox (Guest), 00:06 AM, Mar-29-03
          • RE: Still not satisfied :),myrddin, 01:45 AM, Mar-29-03
          • Which editor?,Llevram, 07:40 AM, Mar-29-03
            • RE: Which editor?,AC Vox (Guest), 08:58 PM, Mar-29-03
              • RE: Which editor?,myrddin, 10:29 PM, Mar-29-03
                • RE: Which editor?,Dragon2k, 02:52 AM, Mar-30-03
                • RE: Which editor?,AC Vox (Guest), 09:41 PM, Mar-30-03

No answers, but my Samurai just hit 6x for 45 each time.
Love it.

LAST EDITED ON Feb-23-03 AT 07:04 PM (Pacific)

Do a search for a thread titled "Best Attributes for Samurai?".

This will probably tell you what you want to know.

Diane

My Valkyrie did WHAT!!!!

LAST EDITED ON Feb-23-03 AT 08:54 PM (Pacific)

I did a search on this forum for 'lightning strike' and got 20 hits. Have you looked at all of these? From what I can tell from this and other forums, noone really knows what effects lightning strike. I know I am baffled and Atlus7 could never find a concrete answer.

There isn't any way to increase lighting strikes.
How it works is the computer picks a random number. Either you'll get a normal hit, lighting strike, or critical.
put in small scale from 1 to 20.
A normal hit being 1 to 14
lighting 15 to 18
critical 19 to 20.
But when you raise your critical stats. it will be more like this
normal hit 1 to 14
lighting 15 to 16
critical 17 to 20

the higher your critical stat is the lower your lighting strike is. So injoy all the lighting strikes in the beginning of the game, because there no way to raise them.
p.s. found that out figuring out critcals

How do you know this so precisely?

Tools for Wizardry(r) 7

It accually wasn't very precise. I was a very crude lamen scale.
It isn't accually on a scale from 1 to 20(I was just trying to get you to understand the concept of it). There other factors that play into the chance for getting a critical like what level your at and the level of the monster your fighting. So accually you have a better chance at lighting attacks, fighting monsters that are higher then you, because your criticals are less.
How I know, I do some programming myself(no I'm not a pro, and I don't work for sirtech). I talked to another programmer that looked into it.
Side note (you can increase your lighting attacks through speed and dex, only because you get more swings and attacks per round. Every time you add a extra swing of the sword on a round its another chance for anything.
and yes you can build a formidable character on instakills.

Ok, you are losign credibility, when you go from saying "it is like this ..." to "well, its not really like that, and there is a lot more to it, from what someone else told me ..."

I get that you were trying to simplify, but what was the method to get the actual data? I am assuming it had to be a spy program of come sort.

Tools for Wizardry(r) 7

Accually a editor,
In simple I was trying to coment on lighting strikes. In that there is no way to increase it per hit, and why it goes down as you go through the game. Criticals on the other hand are complex. There is a few factors that go into it. Some monsters are even immune to it. Ever instakill a ghost? I know that the computer first rolls to see if you get a critical on the crude scale from above(I don't know the spefic numbers). Then it rolls again against your lvl, then the monsters lvl, then your critical %, then monsters critical resist(which I haven't figured out, could be a unseen resist or its using the monster hit points or stamina(of course nessie would be one of the highest in that area and yet I've never scored a critical, which makes me think he's immune)). If no hit then it rolls for lighting. If no hit its considered a normal hit. Rolls again to see if you hit the dumb monster. Lastly rolls to see if the hit pentrates(Ex. thrown dart from ninja never says no damage, either hits for damage or misses). As you can see all those things have to happen in order for you to get the instakill. You might get lucky and get hits on everything, but if on the last roll you don't hit on the pentrate; no instakill.

>Lastly rolls
>to see if the hit
>pentrates(Ex. thrown dart from ninja
>never says no damage, either
>hits for damage or misses).

That's because one of the Ninjas special abilities is auto-penetrate with thrown weapons. So, he always either misses or hits for damage. Ninja is also the only class that can get a critical with a thrown weapon.

Usually editors will give you the data items that would go into algorithms, like you spell out ... but they have no way of telling you in which order they are applied.

i.e. An editor might tell you you have a 10% chance for a critical, but it won't give you the knowledge "I know that the computer first rolls to see if you get a critical ...", right?

Tools for Wizardry(r) 7

I don't know what editor he was using. and yes critical-lighting-then normal. Which it rolls first in the critical area isn't important because there just rolls that all have to hit. I've been playing role-playing games since ultima 1 and might and the magic 1, and I must says Wizardry 8 has some of the most complex programming. Which I think is one of the reasons the game is so good, unlike says the sims where you grasp the programming in like 3 days, and the game becomes boring. The beta testing for Wizardry8 must have been long and painfull.
I'm done doing all my testing with critical char.(which I thought was a great element of Wizardry8). Now I'm going to try to beat the game solo, with every character; starting with a human psi. And yes I have that much time. I rack up a bunch of bills on the credit card. So now I work, and just go home a play the comp.
Cheers

Every char as in every profession or every combination of race and profession? If the latter - thats 165 possiblilites.

well over 300 if you include Female/male
either way, it's gonna take a looooong time. can't have a personal life if he has the time for it (no offense)

Woh Woh Woh
I just gonna try every profession.
Went with a fairy psi instead after seeing what kinda armour psi can wear. lvl 7 trying to get out of the monstary basement. psi spells don't do much against slims