LAST EDITED ON Oct-05-00 AT 12:11 PM (Pacific)See PDF link below for quick reference stats chart.
(UPDATED MANY TIMES: Revised my plans based on comments below and discovering more gameplay rules).
First off, I'm glad to have a familiar forum to post this message in; hear hear on the new W&W forums.
(RFC=Request For Comments)
Ok, has anyone else tried to map out the class development for their party? I'd like to hear other players' ideas on doing so. I haven't gotten past the "Stranger, a word with you..." yet, so I'm looking for advice.
As I understand it, you can't backtrack changing classes; once you leave a class, you are ineligible to return to it. Having formerly been a member of a class, however, allows you still to train at their guilds, plus you can still gain those skill areas which you've starting earning points in, as well as former spell books at a halved rate.
This message in the HP forum:
http://www.heuristicpark.com/wwwboard/messages/1374.shtml
suggests a way to fudge extra guild memberships without actually changing classes (start a class changing quest, join the other accompanying guild, then cancel the quest - this works).
In order to join and train at all the guilds, there's also an essentially infinite gold trick:
http://vnboards.ign.com/message.asp?topic=7036147
The 10/1 post (pool gold to character #1 outside of town, go to the Inn and pool gold to character #2, drop character #1 from the party, then add #1 back and they will retain the pooled gold - this worked for me to the tune of a cool million in about fifteen minutes).
Anyway, there was no handy chart in the manual showing what classes learn which spell group, so I had to make the list (includes thief and music skills):
Wizard: Sun, Stone
Priest: Spirit, Vine
Rogue: Thief
Samurai: Sun
Paladin: Spirit
Ninja: Moon
Monk: Spirit
Bard: Music, Thief, Moon
Barbarian: Thief
Ranger: Vine
Warlock*: Moon, Fiend
Assassin: Moon, Fiend
Valkyre: Spirit, Stone
Zen Master: All
* Can someone verify this? There's two contradictory passages in the manual:
"Excepting Warlocks and Zenmasters, who are eligible to learn *all* books of magic..." - page 26
"Warlocks learn Moon and Fiend magic" - page 33
Changing to anything but the first three classes requires completing a quest, and the quests for the last three are not included in the manual (I'm guessing they're hard to come by). Based on the above, here's what I had in mind for my characters' development:
Johne: Warrior > Barbarian > Paladin > Zen Master
Birgitte: Warrior > Bard > Ranger > Valkyre
Subotai: Priest > Samurai > Assassin
Shamino: Priest > Warlock > Samurai
Polgara: Wizard > Warlock > Ranger
Raistlin: Wizard > Monk > Warlock
This requires use of the squeaking into extra guilds method described above, and therefore needs advanced stats planning! This is because only certain guilds offer advancement and membership:
Priest: Paladin, Monk, Warlock
Warrior: Ranger, Samurai, Barbarian, Ninja
Wizard: Bard, Samurai, Warlock
Pawn Shop (Rogue): Bard, Barbarian
Dojo: Monk, Ninja, Samurai
So, for example, to change my Warrior to a Bard, I'll need to:
(0) Join the Warrior's Guild
(1) Have the warrior initiate the Samurai Quest
(2) Join the Wizard's Guild
(3) Drop the Samurai Quest
(4) Initiate the Bard's Quest
As well as not being able to return to a former class, you can't change to one of the basic four classes!
I was able to complete the Barbarian quest quickly. So what are other people doing? Does the above plan seem to have a good balance? I'm especially interested from people who have played the game and can discuss the needs and strengths for each of the six spell books (there are transport spells that appear crucial, for example) and the various skills sets (esp. music & thieving), as well as verify the facts above!
Thanks for any comments or feedback,
- John 
Prepare Yourself for the Ultimate in Fantasy Games
Email this topic to a friend
Printer-friendly version of this topic
Bookmark this topic (Registered users only)
RFC: Class Path & Related Trick$ ,
analander, Oct-04-00, 09:42 AM
, Oct-04-00, 10:35 AM (1)