Might and Magic VI -- three knights, one druid party

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Yup, I decided to give this game a shot with not one, not two bur THREE freaking tanks, and one caster of elemental/self. So far, I am plowing through the opposition at a damn impressive pace. One knight uses axes, the other spears/halberds, the third one and the druid both use the mace. All three Knights have Plate, Shield and Body Building. Druid is the merchant.

I'm having fun with this run. Having one party member casting both elemental and self magic is hard on mana, thankfully the Meditation skill helps... and I found some rings, amulets that give a bonus to mana, and the helm regenerates mana, so it helps.

Currently level 6, cleaning out the Abandoned Temple. Goblinwatch was an absolute farce. Such a strong party should make the first Temple of Baa easier, too.

*EDIT* Level 10, attempting to clean out the Temple of Tsanta. Tough job so far.

 

It may get harder as you progress though. There is a strong incentive in unlocking the knight's special rank (I can't remember the name).

Besides iirc late game with only a druid you can't have dark or light magic.

 

Cavalier? Yes, I am heading there as soon as I am through with the Temple of Tsanta.

As for the increasing difficulty... perhaps. That's what this run is all about. As for light/dark magic... the druid casts both elemental and self magics, so I can make due with the lack of Hour of Power, Days of the Gods and Day of Protection. Besides, casting both elemental and self magics, there is no way in hell I'd have the mana to sustain the cost of light/dark magic, if I even could get my hands on it.

Time will tell whenever this run will be decent or a royal PITA. So far, so good...

 

I haven't played the game for ages so I don't remember very precisely, I guess your party will hit very hard but you'll have to be very careful not to let your druid get hurt too much. If he loses consciousness that will be a pain.

What about companions? Are you using one (or two) at the moment? They charge an arm and a leg but they have their uses.

 

Yes, I have hired a teacher or something that gives a 10% XP bonus, though I am looking for an Instructor for the extra 5% to make it 15%, plus the bonus from the learning skill. I also got a Merchant to tilt prices in my favor... money rules the world.

Being extra careful about the Druid doesn't really bother me. While casting healing spells, the other three tanks are shredding the opposition to ribbons. All of them got Expert skill level in their own weapons, so Expert Axe, Expert Spear, and Mace Expert. Shield and plate expert, too. I exploited a bug from an old version and my Druid got Chain and Shield. It's not cheating when just using a glitch in the game...

More seriously, though, the Druid has got Chain and Shield, so AC should be decent.

 

Forget about the Instructor and get the... forgot his name... the guy that gives you 5% XP AND can identify any item anyone is holding. He makes the Identify Item skill completely useless (not to mention you no longer need to constantly move unidentified items into your identifier's pack whenever you want to know what they do).

This should be fun. I don't remember about MM6, but in MM7 melee-only actually becomes MORE useful later on. There was a fun LP-ish article when someone tried an all-knight party, and while she had some trouble at the beginning (no Torchlight, no Wizard Eye, no Water Walk...) she was blasting through the game after about the mid-way point. If you're already finding it easy then I can only expect it to get easier... not to mention that you do have the Druid for all the "utility" spells (and IIRC you WILL need Water Walk and Fly).

My guess is that you're going 2-handed axes and spears? or are you giving the axe and mace guys shields instead?

 

All three knights including the Spear Knight all have shields as well. Spears can be wielded one-handed for a slight damage penalty, and the Master bonus of the Shield skill just make it too good to pass. Besides, higher defense has so far allowed this run to be pretty painless. I briefly attempted the first Temple of Baa, but I bailed out to Mist to buy some elemental spells -- more specifically Water Walk -- and then decided to head to Bootleg Bay to do the Wizard promotion... free XP is good. Besides, the quicker I can do the Hero promotion quest and get Master in Plate, the better.

If cash allows it once I'm done with the Temple of Tsanta, I'll take a gearing trip. The Axe knight is lucky enough to have a Dwarven Axe, but the Spear Knight is still stuck with a Stout Spear, and the two mace wielders are stuck with Dark Hammers...

 

My only concern would be for situations in which a monster can kill your druid in one strike. If the druid gets killed you can't escape.

But since you know exactly what to do and where to go that shouldn't be a problem.

Reading this thread brings backs some good memories of playing MM6.

 

Still level 10, though I can train to level 11. Still going through the Temple of Tsanta... I brought a crapload of blue potions, I heal a lot, but it's challenging, which is a welcome relief.

 

Temple of Tsanta... mmm, is that the one in Bootleg Bay full of snake things? I remember doing this one very late in the game and it was a pushover as a result. Or am I mixing up with another dungeon?

 

DotW will confirm it but I think it's the one. I loved these snakes.

 

The temple filled with cobras and cannibals, yes. I'm level 10 so it's pretty hard... I usually do it level 15-18, but the boat back at Mist offered travel to Bootleg Bay, so... I think it's the first Temple of Baa that's going to be a pushover.

 

You're doing this before even the Temple of Baa?! Yeah I can imagine it being a pain. The sequence of starter dungeons is pretty well laid out - Goblinwatch, Abandoned Temple, that dungeon with the sewers in Ironfist, then Temple of Baa in Ironfist. Jumping straight from Abandoned Temple into some of the later ones would certainly provide an interesting challenge.

Also, my memory may be failing me completely but I remember the Temple of Tsanta being rather small. Is it giving you trouble because of the cobras are that powerful?

 

I think, without dark magic, you are in for trouble. Dont you need Dark Containment, to beat the game? Its the top spell in the dark magic school, I belive.

 

Spoiler

No. You need the Ritual of The Void to beat the game, and it's a scroll given to you by Archibald.

As for the lack of dark/light magic, it's just going to be extra challenge. I can cast all the spells from Day of Protection, Day of the Gods, Hour of Power on my own. I don't get to armageddon every town like I always do -- that master level ain't going to get itself by being a nice jackass.

The cobras in the temple are Queen and King, and they pack quite a punch. I have more or less problems with Cannibals, but Witch Doctors that cast spells are a pain in the ass. I got about 50% of the temple done, I went back to train to level 11, and I'll try to finish it in one run, then go to Free Haven, gear up, then do the Temple of Baa. This temple isn't a pushover, those damned SKELETONS and CLERICS OF BAA!

 

I remember the Sparks spell being very helpfull in the Temple of Baa. Getting Master Air Magic early was something I did every time, i remember.

 

Yeah, but to get Master Air Magic, you had to go through Corlagon's Estate to get the Crystal of Terrax... you know what, I just might be insane enough to try this once I'm done with the Temple of Baa. Hell, they're both in Castle Ironfist, I'll at least give it a shot. Dragoons' Caverns too, maybe?

*EDIT* Just finished the Temple of Tsanta by the absolute skin of my teeth. Damn, that was enjoyable! The challenge pumped me up, I'm heading to Free Heaven to gear up then I'm going to whoop the first Temple of Baa... maybe a stop by Kriegspire of Blackshire for some kickass weaponery... 28,612 gold and a lot of junk from the ToT to sell.

*EDIT2* Level up too! The ToT gave me two levels for my trouble! Sweet!

*EDIT3* All three knights promoted to Cavalier!

 

AHA HA HA HA I am just remembering that big, big, BIIIIIIIIIIIIG ambush in Temple of Baa!

You are going to have SUCH a good time in there

That said... 3 knights may well be the best way to tackle this ambush. You need beefy characters with lots of hit points after all, and that's exactly what the knights do best. The clerics could be annoying, but keep in mind you're also at a higher level than what the temple was designed for... not to mention all the good gear you must have picked up in ToT.

Dragoons' Cavern in Ironfist! (NOT to be confused with Dragoons Keep I forgot where (Mist maybe?), or Dragoons Cavern in the frozen north) That was the name of the dungeon I was looking for! I'm pretty sure it's the 3rd in the "optimal order" list (after Abandoned Temple and before Temple of Baa). Depending on how much of a challenge you want the ToB to be, you should either head there straight away or leave it for later. Although... remember the sewers I mentioned? they're full of those slimes... and the slimes are IMMUNE to physical damage, so you'd better either make sure your Druid can cast a LOT of spells, or stock up on wands and scrolls, because if you don't once your Druid runs out of mana you have no way of damaging them.

Heh, you are reminding me just how much FUN this game is

 

DotW, have you done the quest where you are to rescue Sharry from the rogues yet? I think that one is in the Ironfist area as well. I remember doing that one fairly early. Pretty small dungeon, with alot of loot. Brigands Hideout? Was that the name of the place?

 

Rawgrim, I think you have the Shadow Guild Hideout in mind. Yeah that dungeon was pretty straightforward, in fact I think it's the easiest dungeon in Ironfist (so my earlier ordering was wrong and that's the one that should be done after Abandoned Temple).

(Which also reminds me that what I called the Dragoon Cavern in the frozen north was actually the other Shadow Guild in Frozen Highlands - got the Dragoons and Shadow Guild mixed up.)

Anyway I think you should do both Dragoon Cavern and Shadow Guild Hideout before Temple of Baa. Leaving either of these for later in the game will make them unbelievably easy and dull. Then again if you are looking for a challenge... go straight to the temple.