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[Scatty]

To answer your question, there is technically no level scaling, only higher number of monsters on higher difficulty. For example, you'll still encounter Demented Monks in New City even with level 70.
In different areas of the game though, there're certain ranges of monsters which can be encountered. Some are more rare than others, those are usually stronger, too. On the road from New City to Munkharama, for example, you already encounter stronger monsters than on the road from the starting location to New City. Those floaters you encountered are actually among the most (if not THE most) dangerous there since they poison and almost never miss with their shot tentacles, so no wonder they tore you to pieces.
If you manage to meet 1 group of like 4-5 and defeat them, they give a very high (for your level) amount of experience though. Enough to maybe even rise a level for everyone. Missile Shield (I think it's called that) helps a lot there.

[Sacred_Path]

I've decided to delay Munkharama and go to the Gorn castle instead. Maybe there I'll get some better weapons

The fact that no good gear is being sold in New City really hurts the game if you import a new party. I think it's a difference if you start with chain/plate and a 20 damage weapon than wearing cloth armor and whacking things with quarterstaffs (even if, as I've heard, you start in a harder area).

In Wizardry 8, getting to Arnika is a real milestone because you can upgrade your gear in a way that lasts easily until mid-game. Ok there's the "money cheat" with Alchemy so you can buy plate for everyone right away, but there's no perfect game, it seems.

[Sacred_Path]

Random observation of the day... when you start breaking into houses, you also start provoking a lot more random encounters.

My party hadn't picked any locks in New City until level 8. By then I'd wondered why I never saw any rattkin, I had run into lots of them in my last game. But now after I've fought with rattkins in the houses, they start appearing. Also lots of Savant Guards. Just another random fact about this multi-faceted game; I think I love and hate it.

[Scatty]

There will be good gear in New City, however it starts to appear after you've been a while in the game already. Important to notice is that it doesn't depend on how much you've explored the game world, but rather on how much time has passed. So after many battles, when you've rest many times, the stock in New City shops begins to upgrade to better.
Theoretically, you could rest, for the full 8 hours, something like 40-50 times in a row (if you manage to survive it without being hit by random encounters, which is very unlikely), however I wouldn't advise that. NPC's in the game make their efforts to get possession of the Map pieces which otherwise would be lying in their origin places which are covered by walkthroughs, so you'd have to kill those NPC's, steal the maps from them or trade (10.000 gold each). Also NPC's battle each other, so you might end up with only 4-5 NPC's survived from something like 15 (or more) which are in-game from the start on. Not a good thing.

Just explore the game normally and don't save on resting, and don't forget to return to New City once in a while (you'll have to from time to time, anyway), you'll have better things to buy yet.

[Sacred_Path]

Hmm, I thought I had rested quite a bit. I rest after every 2nd battle because I'm running out of magic fast (for the very reason that my equipment sucks). I will have to check the stores in New City after I'm done with the Gorn castle. Also it is as I expected: looking at a gameplay video someone encountered 6 Gorn Lancers in a square where I had encountered 6 Gorn Lancers and 18 Gorn Rangers arranged in 4 groups. So next time I'll want to keep my level down until I get some better equipment.

[Scatty]

Not quite found so far by searching so I have a question to anyone who knows the game well *glances at Kmonster* - if switching classes, like for example from Mage to Ninja at level 1 then at level 10 to Samurai, do ALL those levels (1 Mage, 10 Ninja, 10 Samurai, 21 together) count for the CharLevel < -- > MonsterLevel comparison when affecting the probability of a weapon's special effect to be set off?
It makes me wonder because after all this switching, when the Samurai reaches level 10 it is displayed that he has level 10, which would be hardly beneficial for a weapon's special if he fights with level 20 enemies. If only the current level counts for the probability of the special to effect an enemy, than single-classed characters might have a big advantage in the game, compared to switching classes, after all single-classed characters get higher (visible) levels.
Looking at the Game Info in the Cosmic Forge editor right now but don't seem to find any info on that in there.

Also another question I have is about Class + Racial resistances of characters. Does class switching:
- add up to previous resistances? or
- change previous resistances to current class? or
- retain fixed resistances set at the first class at creation?

Any detailed info on that would be very appreciated

[Sacred_Path]

In the Wiz6 thread, kmonster told me that resistances are always current class base + current class level modifier + racial modifier.

I'm still stumbling around in the Gorn castle, but with a walkthrough. I really can't stand any more crap combat I provoke by walking around.

One more mechanics question: when you knock out an enemy (i.e. by Sleep), if they awaken in the same round (i.e. by getting hit), sometimes they get a turn at the end of the round, and sometimes none. This seems to be consistent, i.e. it doesn't only happen with enemies that are lower in level whose turn would have been at the end of the round anyway. Any ideas?

[Scatty]

Originally Posted by Sacred_Path

One more mechanics question: when you knock out an enemy (i.e. by Sleep), if they awaken in the same round (i.e. by getting hit), sometimes they get a turn at the end of the round, and sometimes none. This seems to be consistent, i.e. it doesn't only happen with enemies that are lower in level whose turn would have been at the end of the round anyway. Any ideas?

They can use up their turn for Parry or Rest option just like your character can After all, they also have Stamina with all it's drawbacks if decreased, not sure if unlimited magic points though (I Think all monsters have unlimited casting ability, but they fall asleep after a lot of casting - Stamina).

About that with resistances, you got it right, I found some info somewhere also which says the same. Also just to make it known for everyone - it seems a weapon's special effect (like Poison or Stone) depend on a character's CURRENT level, not on the entirety of all the levels he has had so far in any other classes. So with much class switching, characters will get lots of different cross-class skills and spells, but their combat performance should be poor when they're hit by an enemy spell or cast a spell on enemy.
It would be probably best to switch once or twice, like making a Mage for best Mana regeneration and after that to Monk, then maybe at level 5 to a Ninja, but beyond that would start to hurt the character already.

[Sacred_Path]

Eh, I hadn't though of that. But if it's really parrying, the AI is pretty bad, since in the cases where the awakened monsters get no turn, it happens right from the beginning (I often have mobs knocked out and awakened from the start because I use the Poet's Lute a lot). Weevils for example always seem not to act in that round, while Gorn Spearmen and Rangers do.

[Scatty]

Ah, that's probably because their initiative is already spent after you had yours, I think, or something like that. I'm not sure of the exact game mechanics there, but it seems to have to do with the initiative value which every enemy, and player characters, do have. You can look it up for your party characters with the Cosmic Forge editor through Save Files Viewer, the value raises with each level. If yours is higher than that of the enemies, you begin the round first.
The enemies seem to be able to act only in the next round then. It seems to be random, so sometimes they also act in the same round you awoke them through melee hit or spell.