Back in Arnika, I beat up on two level 17 monsters (savant berserkers). I then went to the mountain wilderness and was having moderate trouble with a single Death Lord (level 16).
Similarly, I had little problem with an Anthracite Golem (level 20).

I'm level 14. Their level seems to mean nothing. Seeing information like class (ninja, alchemist, etc) might be more useful than the (seemingly meanless) "level"

• Ya, not sure what that is supposed to indicate,Llevram, 08:09 AM, Dec-15-01
• RE: Is "Level" the most useless monster statistic?,LittaGuy (Guest), 08:35 AM, Dec-15-01
  • RE: Is "Level" the most useless monster statistic?,Pischle, 08:58 AM, Dec-15-01
    • RE: Is "Level" the most useless monster statistic?,hans (Guest), 04:00 PM, Dec-15-01
• RE: Is "Level" the most useless monster statistic?,Djaran (Guest), 11:15 PM, Dec-16-01
• RE: Is "Level" the most useless monster statistic?,Tiburon (Guest), 07:20 AM, Dec-17-01

I found the alligator types (like level 8 iron skin crocs) to be the most misleading .... they would snack up 2, 3, or 4 of my party in one round (getting 3-4 attacks, biting 2-3 times each attack, doing 25-50 damage each bite, .... )

Tools for Wizardry(r) 7

In some ways, yes.

I still say the hardest encounter in the game for me was in the Sea Caves. The combination of the 5 Death Rays and 5 Psi Sharks even though an even match in terms of levels, was an impossible battle for me.

I wouldn't say it is useless, or misleading, only incomplete information. For example, a level 10 monster would do various amounts of damage if it were a lvl 10 fighter (good weapons, armor and HP, but can't heal themselves) vs a lvl 10 psionic (lousy HP and armor but kickass spells and can self-heal). I can see the logic in not telling us whether is it a fighter or mage. If you come across some monsters knowing that they are pure spellcasters, you will cast element shield, silence, etc in your first round. There is only so much info you should know about an enemy, otherwise you would defeat them too quickly because you casted just the right spells.

Just my opinion.....

Thanks,
Pischle

i noticed that my level 15 bard can charm easily level 10 monsters, but when it comes to higher level monsters than himself (eg. 18-26) the result is uncertain.

I've noticed that the lower the monster level is relative to the party, the more effective the party's status attacks become (not spells, physical attack). This is useful information because you don't end up dumping mana for various status spells. You can wail confident that the monster is going to get some spell effect. This is especially relevant if you have a ninja, samurai or monk in the party. They get a lot more criticals on Hogars than they do on, say, anthracite golems or blistering scorchers.

The monster level tries to summarize an enormous number of variables that impact just how dangerous a particular critter is. Clearly, that's not going to be an exact science. Take a few of the critters listed:

various alligators/crocs: good hit points, high-damage attack...but melee only, no special attacks, and very poor resistances. They're really not that hard to take out, so they get a lower monster level.

psi sharks: nasty, but one spell basically neutralizes them. If you don't *have* that spell, you have problems. (I didn't have it, the first time I went through that area. Had to use the terrain to isolate them, so I could take them out one at a time. Still consider that fight one of the better-executed fights I've run in the game...couldn't just overpower them.) The psi shark/death ray combo...there were 10 of em. You can *expect* to have problems. They're also using more diverse attack types, and all can attack from range.

death lords: nasty buggers. Very tough if you have to move to get to them; not nearly so bad if you're on top of em.

Fundamentally, it's a matter of recognizing what the monster does well, and denying that. As the monster level increases, that does tell you that either a) it does several things well, or b) the one thing it does well, it does VERY well.