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The Lord

The Lord. Probably the single most ridiculed Class in all of Wizardry 8. With good reason, too. On the surface, they're just sub-par fighters who can cast spells from (arguably) the weakest of Spell-Schools (Divinity). Their special abilities are pretty lackluster at first glace as well--Health Regeneration that doesn't regen fast enough to be noticable..........a 25% bonus to Dual Weapons which doesn't do anything at all past a score of 100.........

But there has to be SOMETHING that makes the Lord class good, right? Something that puts them on-par with the rest of the Hybrid classes?

Indeed there is. But as hinted at above, it's not apparent at first glance.

Special Abilities

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Here, we'll go into a bit more depth regarding the Lord's special abilities--

--Dual Weapons--This is the Lord's Primary Skill, in which he/she recieves a 25% bonus to on top of whatever points you've invested into it or accrued through practice. When your characters in Wizardry 8 opt to wield 2 weapons at once, they recieve some hefty combat penalties in the form of reduced number of attacks and swings, and reduced To-hit and penetrate bonuses. To help off-set those penalties, one must invest in the Dual Weapons skill. Having a score of 100 in this skill eliminates all of the penalties that wielding 2 weapons at once imposes. However, having a score of more than 100 does absolutely nothing. So what good is having a 25% bonus to this skill?

Well, for starters, it allows you to somewhat skimp on investing level-up points into this skill. You can get away with a 1 or 2 point investment per level, therefore allowing you to invest more points into other areas during level-up such as Sword, Close Combat, or Divinity. Secondly, it means that the Lord will reach a score of 100 a bit earlier than any other class. This is good because it means that the Lord can start working on other skills earlier than most other classes who are dual-wielding. It also means that during the early game, you won't be penalized for wielding 2 weapons as much as your other dual-wielding capable characters. These are minute advantages at best, but still worthy of note.

--Health Regeneration--This innate ability allows the Lord to regenerate Hit Points without the aid of a Heal Wounds spell. Basically, by just sitting there doing nothing, the Lord can gain all of his/her Hit Points back. It also comes into play during battles, but doesn't regen fast enough to really be of benefit.

The Lord's innate Health Regen's true power, however, is not evident to 99% of the Wizardry 8 players out there. I discovered quite a while ago that this innate ability allows a Lord to equip ANY number of negative Hit Point regen items......and NOT take a SINGLE point of damage. You'll still see your Lord's face pop out and see a message that he/she's taken damage while traveling around, but if you pay attention to their Hit Points, you'll notice that they haven't gone down one bit. I was suprise by this, and also suprised at how few gamers knew that his/her ability did this.

This can be either amazingly good, or amazingly useless to players. It all depends on what equipment you decide to use for your Lord, as well as what items you happen to aquire throughout the game. As chance would have it, the single best Polearm in the game carries with it a hefty -3 Hit Point regen. Outside of a particular super-rare item, only the Lord's innate HP Regen can offset this. Also, the best Robes (both upper and lower) in the game carry a -2 Hit Point regen. Equiping all 3 of those items imposes a WHOPPING -7 HP Regen. That's enough to slay any character in just a second or two while resting. A Lord can equip ALL of these items at once, however, and again, not suffer whatsoever from them. Even while resting.

That does it for Special Abilities. Now let's talk about Stats.

Stats

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Lords make very competent front-line fighter types. They can use pretty much all the same equipment that a Fighter can, so it's pretty obvious that you'll want them up front. Since he/ she will be in the front, it's only natural that you develop them to maximize their combat skills. The most important stats for a Front-line Lord, then, will be STR, DEX, SPD, and SEN.

Really, you can opt to focus on any of these stats in any order and still have a pretty decent Lord character. However, I'll still go ahead and give you my recommended Stat allotment methods.

The most important Stat, IMO, would be STR. I recommend that it be one of the primary one's that you focus on, investing 3 points per level-up into it. STR will give you great To-hit and penetrate bonuses in melee, as well as grants huge damage bonuses when using melee weapons and Bows/Crossbows. This stat is important because Lords can't Berzerk like a Fighter can, nor can they Critical Kill (not without certain weapons that is) like a Samurai, Ninja, or Monk. They need something to keep them competetive with those classes on the front-line. STR is also one of the controlling attributes for many of the better weapon skills out there, most notably Sword, Mace and Flail, and Polearms. 100 STR opens up Powerstrike, which further enhances a characters ability to successfully hit and penetrate an enemy with Melee weapons. VERY useful for a Lord.

The second most imporant stat would be SEN. SEN grants some pretty good Initiative bonuses (the same amount as SPD), some decent melee and ranged combat bonuses (half that of what STR or DEX would give), and is one of the controlling attributes for 2 of the Lord's better skills--Close Combat and Dual Weapons. 100 SEN opens up Eagle Eye, which grants increased chances to hit and penetrate with Ranged weapons. Not very useful for a Lord, however.

The third most important stat would be DEX. DEX grants some great melee and ranged combat bonuses, as well as extra Attacks. DEX is also one of the controlling attributes for several of the Lord's better combat skills. Most notable are Sword, Dagger, Mace and Flail, and Dual Weapons. 100 DEX opens up Reflextion, which grants Armor Class bonuses. Not very useful for a Lord, given that they can use all the best armours in the game.

And last but not least, SPD. For most other classes, SPD is usually VERY high on my priority list. Not so for the Lord. This is because a Front-line Lord needs all the combat bonuses he/she can get due to lack of any kind of innate combat ability such as Berzerk, KO, or Critical Kill. The Lord has to rely on pure damage to win the day, thus all his/her hits must count. That makes STR, SEN, and DEX more important. Plus, SPD is one of the controlling attributes for only one skill that the Lord can make use of--Daggers. Anyways, SPD grants good Initiative bonuses, and allows for more Attacks and Swings in combat. 100 SPD opens up Snakespeed, which grants increased Initiative bonuses. VERY useful for any class, but not so much that you *need* to have it with your Lord.

Those are the Stats one should focus on for a Lord. I would recommend investing 3 points per level-up into STR and SEN, and when maxed out, move on to DEX and SPD. Even though the Lord has access to Divinity spells, one should not really invest in PIE or INT. Reason being because, once again, the Lord has no innate combat special abilities, and thus must maximize his/her skill in this area to make up for it. I think a lot of players make the mistake of investing in PIE or INT with their Lord, and as a result, find their Lord's not "up to par" when it comes to combat. I have a great method for building up a Lord that *does* take advantage of PIE and INT, but it's not for everyone, and therefore i'll hold off writing about it until a later date.

Now let's talk about Skills.

Skills

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There are several skills that a Lord can make good use of. Which particular weapons you want to use, however, will determine which individual weapon skill(s) you focus on. Here are my recommendations on which Skills to focus on, though--

Swords--This one is pretty much a no-brainer. Since, once again, the Lord lacks any kind of special innate combat ability, you'll want him/her to be able to make good use of the most powerful weapons around. Since all the most powerful weapons in the game happen to fall into this category, Swords are ideal to suite this purpose. If you're wanting to Dual Wield with your Lord, invest 2 points per level-up into this Skill.

Mace and Flail--Two words--Diamond Eyes. Any player that has come across this *incredible* Mace knows why investing in the Mace and Flail skill is important. This weapon is the single most powerful off-hand weapon known to the world of Wizardry 8. And the beauty party of the weapon is that *anyone* can find it during *any* game. None of that randomized, re-loading, or pickpocketing nonesense. Just a tough-as-nails battle is all it takes to aquire it. And don't think that Diamond Eyes is the only weapon worth investing in this skill for! There are quite a few VERY good Maces and Flails found throughout the game. Hell, I usually have my Lord dual-wielding Maces! Why? Because many of them have high innate percents to KO and/or Paralyze. And remember what I said before about Lord's not having any innate special combat abilities? Having weapons that can cause status ailments becomes an important part of building up and playing an effective Lord character. KO and Paralyze-capable weapons are the best because they'll allow your Lord (and other characters) to dish out double-damage to the incapacitated enemy. While not as reliable as, say, Berzerking, it's still a very viable aspect to utilize. Take advantage of those Maces and Flails! Invest 2 points per level-up into this skill if you want to have a Sword in one hand and a Mace in the other .

Close Combat--You'll want to invest in this skill for several purposes. First off, it grants combat bonuses that stack with those you gain from your individual weapon skill. Secondly, those bonuses are applied to ANY melee weapon you attack with. Lastly, once you get 100 in Close Combat, as well as at least 90 in DEX, you'll unlock your 3rd Primary Hand Attack. And since Close Combat acts as a "generic" combat skill, it works out great should you find yourself with weapons that you want to use, but haven't invested in said weapon's particular category. Invest 3 points per level-up into this skill if you're wanting to Dual Wield.

Dual Weapons--Since you're going to want to maximize the damage output with your Lord, you're going to want to invest in this skill so as to use both weapons well. I recommend investing 2 points per level-up into this skill. Why only 2? Well, like I said before, you get a 25% bonus to this skill, and that somewhat makes up for you not pumping as many points into it.

These point allotment methods should be practiced until Level 5, which is when you open up your Magic capabilities. From level 6 onward, your allotment method should change to 3 points per level-up into Divinity, and 2 points per level-up into Swords, Mace and Flail, and Dual Weapons. Let your individual realms (ie--Water, Mental, Divine, etc) raise through practice, as well as Close Combat from here on out.

Once you start maxing out your combat skills, however, is when you should start investing level-up points into your realms. The best realms to focus on would be Divine and Water. These 2 realms are home to the best Divinity spells around--Heal Wounds, Heal All, Magic Screen, Soul Shield, Stamina, Rest All, Superman, and Cure Paralysis.

One good way of beefing up the Divine realm is to cast Heal Wounds on all damaged characters before you rest, and always cast Magic Screen and Soul Shield with your Lord instead of your Priest or Bishop. You should also gain access to the Make Wounds spell ASAP, and use it as your Lord's long-range weapon instead of a Bow or Crossbow. Even with a low INT and/or PIE score, you should still see your Divine realm increase moderatly fast through practice by utilizing this method.

The same can be said for the Earth realm, which houses the Armorplate spell. Just cast Armorplate when needed with your Lord instead of your Priest or Bishop. Web is another decent spell to use, but be careful of backfires. Once your Earth realm has been raised a bit through practice, you should start using Web at least once per battle. It'll disable foes, and help to further raise your Earth realm up.

The Water realm, however, is a bit tougher to practice up without "cheating" a little bit. By cheating, I mean to click on the little sword icon at the bottom the screen to enter "combat- mode" when no enemies are around, and cast Stamina or Rest All on your low-stamina party members when needed. Since the game thinks you're in combat, you'll gain Water realm skill increases by casting these spells every so often. Otherwise, casting Stamina or Rest All outside of combat WILL NOT increase the Water realm.

So there you have it. In summary, from levels 1-5, you should invest 2 points per level-up into Swords, Mace and Flail, and Dual Weapons, and the other 3 into Close Combat. From level 6 onward, change your allotment method to 3 points in Divinity, and 2 points each into Swords, Mace and Flail, and Dual Weapons. You should use the Make Wounds spell as your Lord's long-range weapon until your Divine realm is at a decent score. Once it is, you should start using Bows/Crossbows instead. It'll be important to start practicing Bows/ Crossbows (but not invest level-up points into it) because the Divinity spellbook doesn't have very many solid offensive spells. The fastest way to build up your Bow skill is to make a Doubleshot or Tripleshot Crossbow (Gadgeteers can make them with a score of 35 and 70 respectively--use the RPC Madras to make them if you have to) and give one to your Lord to use. Since you'll be firing off so many Bolts per round, you'll find your Bow skill raising quite fast through practice alone.

Keep in mind, though, that there are *many* other *very* viable set-ups you can utilize. Here are 2 more of my recommendations. I'll keep them short and sweet--

--From levels 1-5, 3 PPLU (Points Per Level-Up) into Mace and Flail, Close Combat, and Dual Weapons. From level 6 onward, 3 PPLU into Divinity, and 2 points each into Mace and Flail, Close Combat, and Dual Weapons. This is the prefered method for those of you wanting to use Maces and Flails exclusively.

--From levels 1-5, 3 PPLU into Polearms, Close Combat, and any other skill of your choice. From level 6 onward, 3 PPLU into Divinity, and 2 PPLU into Divine, Close Combat, and Polearms. This is the prefered method for those of you wanting to be able to use the best Polearm in the game with your Lord.

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Now that we're done talking about Stats and Skills, I want to go into detail as to *why* a Lord can be a valuable addition to any party.

For those of you who use a Priest in your party---Does it ever bother you that once you're done healing/curing/buffing your party members in comabt, your Priest doesn't do much else? Yea, sure....you can attack with your weapon and all, but they're not very good at it. Since you've been investing all of your points into their Magic skills, they tend to be very sub-par combatants. And since the Divinity spellbook doesn't have that many good offensive spells, you might tend to find your Priest sitting idle in combat, just waiting for someone to run low on HP or Stamina so they can be of some use.

Well, one of the things I like about the Lord is that they're very solid melee fighters. Instead of sitting idle when they have no one to heal/cure/buff in combat, they can swap over to using any of the powerful weapons they can use to great effect. Versatility, in other words.

I like to look at Lords as Priests who have access to much better weapons and armor, yet progress a bit slower in the magical department. The slower progression in the magic department isn't really that much of a problem, considering that the Divinity spellbook doesn't have that many great high-level spells in the first place. The handful of spells that really stand out are of a rather low level--Heal Wounds, Heal All, Magic Screen, Soul Shield, Stamina, Rest All, and Superman. All other Divinity spells really aren't all that great. Those 7 spells I just listed are all you really need.

So why waste all that time having a Priest in your party if they aren't going to get much more powerful beyond mid-game? Wouldn't it be better to have someone who can partake in combat to a much higher degree? Someone who can cast all the best Priest spells, yet have more Hit Points, wear better armor, dish out much more damage in melee, and can stand tall and proud on the front lines of combat?

That's where a Lord really shines, IMO. In a nutshell, they're a substitute for a Priest in parties that want the extra "oomph" in melee combat, but still don't want to lose access to the 7 spells I listed above.

Played using the above methods, I think you'll find Lords to be so much more than Priests. They just do so much more, with very little sacrifice (as noted above).

Now on to which Races make the best Lords.

Humans--Hands down, Humans make the best Lords around. They don't lack in any area at all, and Lord's need competent scores in all Stats to be effective. They also start with a good number of extra points to distribute at character creation.

Rawulfs--Rawulfs make pretty decent Lords. However, they lack in INT. This can be a problem because it means your realm skills will rise very slow with practice. To offset this, you'll have to either beef up INT or invest level-up points into your Realms. I would recommend the Rawulf to those players wanting to build up a Polearm-wielding Lord. Since this type of Lord doesn't require you to beef up that many Skills, you can afford to invest a lot of level-up points into your individual spell realms.

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