Might & Magic VI: Choosing Character Classes by James Daniel
The following is my personal analysis of character class choices in MM6. This
material may be reproduced and redistributed (especially as an inclusion in
any eventual FAQ list), as long as it remains unaltered and attributed to
me (James Daniel, daniel@ziggy.ph.utexas.edu). Mild format editing for .html
and other (non ASCII) formats is allowed.
There's been quite a bit of discussion about what realistic choices there are
when picking character classes at the beginning of the game. The actual
attribute scores and skills chosen are largely irrelevent for long-term
gameplay, since they get averaged out by choices made in the game. Your
classes, however, are set in stone, and can only be changed if you decide
to start from the very beginning (or figure out how to hack the game). There's
three main sections to this analysis: a class chart (which should have been
included in the manual, I think), a discussion of the advantages and disadvantages
of each class, and final section about overall strategies to consider when
choosing classes.
Class chart:
<--------- Magical types -------->
Class name | Arms | Armor | Elemental | Clerical | Light/Dark
-------------------------------------------------------------
Knight | All | All | No | No | No
-------------------------------------------------------------
Paladin | All | All | No | Yes | No
-------------------------------------------------------------
Archer | All | ~PS | Yes | No | No
-------------------------------------------------------------
Druid | DSB | LS | Yes | Yes | No
-------------------------------------------------------------
Cleric | MSB | ~P | No | Yes | Yes
-------------------------------------------------------------
Sorcerer | DSB | L | Yes | No | Yes
Notation: DSB -- Dagger, Staff and Bow
MSB -- Mace, Staff and Bow
~PS -- No Plate or Shield
LS -- Leather and Shield only
~P -- No Plate
L -- Leather only
Class Merits and Disadvantages:
-Knight-
The Knight is the pure fighter. With only one major disadvantage (no spells), the
Knight has several advantages. Ironically, I think one of the biggest advantages
is the lack of spells. No spells means that you can develop all of the miscellaneous
skills much more fully than with any other class. Also with the lack of spells comes
another big advantage: lots and lots of hit points. Knights have more hit points
than any other class, by leaps and bounds. As they gain ranks up to Cavaliers and
Champions, they far surpass other classes which must all improve spell points as well.
The Knight is the one that will carry all of your mangled party members back to the
temple to recuperate.
-Paladin-
The Paladin has all the benefits of the Knight except for hit points. They have
access to just the Clerical spells (three spell groups), which focus on healing,
protection, and buffing up the party in general. Aside from the weakness of fewer
hit points, a Paladin is a good addition to any party who likes to have an extra
healer along (to heal/raise/ressurect the party's primary healer). In a bizarre
party, a Paladin could be the only healer, but I don't consider this a viable
design since it implies no Cleric or Druid, which is imbalanced. A Paladin helps
the party by being able to heal and help directly with spells, by casting damage spells
at those nasties that are immune to normal weapons, and basically by being able to
survive long enough to cast backup healing spells.
-Archer-
The Archer has been much maligned on c.s.i.p.g.rpg as being a "useless" class. I
heartily disagree. As a fighter/spellcaster, the Archer has more weaknesses than
the Paladin, certainly. In return, though, the Archer has access to all Elemental
spells. Only the spells of Light and Darkness are more powerful. In another game,
such as *D&D, this would be the "Elf" or the "Fighter/Magic-User" multiclass. The
Archer has full offensive melee capability. Due to the lack of a shield, an Archer
is wise to wield a two-handed weapon, or employ two weapons (as a Dagger expert or
Sword Master). Archers also can't handle plate mail, but chain is a close runner-up.
A party with an Archer needs to be more offensive than defensive: the ability to
absorb damage is less, and there is likely only one character in the party
(not the Archer) that can take a lot of damage (Knight or Paladin). I haven't
noticed that an Archer is any better with a bow than any other class with an
equivalent bow skill and equivalent stats, so this might give the impression
that the Archer is "useless". Rather, I think the Archer is misnamed: this is
the Sorcerer/Knight. This is the one that casts another Fireball after the
Sorcerer's to clean up what's left over. This is the one that casts yet another
Sparks spell. And when finally out of spell points, the Archer still hits hard.
The Archer is well-suited to MM6 playstyles: the best defense will always be to
keep your distance and run away, and such hit and run tactics are the Archer's
combat forte. The Archer will help your party not by absorbing damage, but by
dishing it out and casting that last Meteors spell to finish off the enemy.
-Druid-
The Druid has access to the greatest number of spells, and will gain access to
all of them long before the Cleric or Sorcerer even _finds_ light/dark magic.
The Druid is a spell generalist, capable of filling in holes left in other
party designs. In an Elemental-heavy party, the Druid can specialize as a
healer, with a few nasty Fireballs for when the party isn't in need of much
healing. In a party with several Clerical casters, the Druid may well be
the only Elemental caster, and would be suited to specialize in these.
In a balanced party, the Druid is a very large pool of mana to be exploited in
casting any spell but Light and Dark. Druids are as vulnerable to damage as
Sorcerers, even though they can wear a Shield. In general, I would use a Druid
as a 2nd spellcaster for extra Clerical or Elemental spells, with the primary
spellcaster being a Cleric or Sorcerer. I heartily recommend Expert Dagger
skill for Druids!
-Cleric -
The Cleric is the the ultimate defensive spellcaster. With only three classes
of spells to choose from early on, progress in spell skill is rapid. As a
melee fighter, the Cleric can take more damage (able to wear Chain and Shield, and
sturdier overall than Druid or Sorcerer), but isn't able to dish out so much
with only Mace and Staff (and Bow, but this is about melee strength) to choose
from. The Cleric has some decent damage spells, such as Harm, that are generally
useful, but not very powerful. The Cleric's main strength is to bolster the
party's overall combat skills (with Bless and Heroism, for example), and to aid
recovery from damage and other ailments. Later on, the Cleric gains access to
Light/Dark magic, which greatly increases the party's offensive strength. I would
choose a Cleric for a more defensive party design, or to get someone to master
the Clerical groups of spells early on. Don't get me wrong, though: a Cleric can
indirectly increase the party's offensive capabilities. There's nothing like
being able to revive that unconscious Sorcerer that still has beaucoup mana (and
zero hit points) so that the party can start casting Fireballs again.
-Sorcerer-
I can honestly consider leaving out any class from the party, and still think I have
a strong party. Any class, that is, except for the Sorcerer. The Sorcerer is your
magical offensive damage pump, and also has access to a great variety of utility
spells that make your quests easier. Early Water Master skill is essential for
quick progress in MM6, and the Sorcerer is the class to do it. For the first
twenty or so levels, the Sorcerer isn't going to spend points on much other than
better Elemental spell skills (Expert Dagger skill, Expert Meditation, and
Expert Learning are notable exceptions). The Sorcerer is quick to die in close
melee, and will focus all efforts upon killing lots of nasties before they can close
to melee range. Eventually, Sorcerers gain Light/Dark magic access, by which point
they are expert in most Elemental spell skills and perhaps Master in one (best
choice is Water Mastery!). Only Druids have access to more spells, and Sorcerers
have access to all of the most powerful offensive spells in both the early and
late game. You may certainly try a game of MM6 without a Sorcerer, but I'm not
going to.
Party Design Strategies:
There are quite a few different possible party designs, even if we neglect all the
variations based on different statistics and starting skills. I consider nine
relatively balanced designs in this discussion. This is based upon a couple of
assumptions that I think every beginner will make:
1) Every class chosen is different. No duplicates.
2) There are two "fighter-type" slots and two "magic-type" slots, each with
three possible choices.
Obviously, these assumptions are easily broken, but the result is an imbalanced
party: too many fighters, too many mages, or too many of a single class. I
wouldn't recommend playing an imbalanced party until later.
So if we let the first letter of each class stand for that class, here are the nine
combinations:
Light/Dark Elemental Clerical
Clerical 1) KPCS 2) KPDS 3) KPDC
Elemental 4) KACS 5) KADS 6) KADC
Cler/Elem 7) PACS 8) PADS 9) PADC
The columns indicate the emphasis of the spellcasters, while the rows (across) indicate
the spell emphasis of the fighters. Combination (7) is the default combination in MM6,
and is perhaps the most balanced choice. Combination (5) is my personal choice with
which I'm currently playing. Each combo has its strengths and weaknesses, but is
generally balanced between fighting/spellcasting. The main consideration in design
is which of the main spell groups you wish to emphasize.
Light/Dark:
In order to have strong access and use of Light/Dark magic, you must have two casters
capable of it. Cleric and Sorcerer is the only balanced choice, since these are the
only two classes with Light/Dark magic access, and the only alternative is to duplicate
classes. Choose this emphasis if you want lots of spell power late in the game:
Cleric and Sorcerer can each choose one of the two spell groups and specialize.
Since recovery times are significant, a 2nd spellcaster allows faster casting rates.
Elemental:
These spells have the most overall utility and offensive capabilities. Emphasizing
Elemental spells means that you'll be able to cast plenty of Fireballs and other
nasty spells at a quick clip, eliminated scores of enemies quickly before they get
a chance to hurt you very much. Each Elemental caster can choose a group in which to
become Master, spreading the burden around the party. It can be wise to emphasize
Elemental casting since the spells are mostly offensive: a 2nd or 3rd Fireball
in quick succession (before the bad guys get to go again) is very useful. One of
the quickest ways I've found to decimate enemies early in the game is to get them
into a tight hallway and have three Air Experts cast Sparks at them! Several
casters that all do Fire Ring is useful, too, since this is a costly spell in
the early game, but has the advantage of hitting everything around (even behind)
you.
Clerical:
These spells have some offensive capabilities, but mostly they heal and/or beef up
your party so that it has more staying power. The main advantage of emphasizing
Clerical magic in your party is that you'll have more than one person capable of
healing the party. You'll never be in a situation of having your only healer going
down in a fight (which can be very annoying when your healer has plenty of mana
left!). Of course, you -can- still have a situation in which all two or three of
your healers are down for the count, but no party is perfect, and a party with only
healers is going to lack much offensive ability.
Summary of strategies:
This model lets you choose an overall spell strategy and choose your party
from that initial strategy. If you like major offensive capability, emphasize
Elemental spells to be powerful in the early game, and choose Light/Dark to be
powerful in the late game. If you prefer duking it out in melee with beefed-up
characters and plenty of cure spells to go around, choose a Clerical emphasis.
Interestingly, the choices hinge upon whether or not you use a Knight or a Druid
in your game. If you choose a Druid, he or she will be either your primary
healer or primary Elementalist, thus emphasizing Clerical or Elemental magic
in the overall party. If you choose a Knight, your other fighter (in this
strategy) can cast either Clerical or Elemental spells, which emphasizes one
of these persuits in your party.
One possibility is to emphasize Clerical magic on one axis of the above chart,
and Elemental on the other, so there'll be only two Clerical types and two
Elemental types in the party, one primary fighter (the Knight) and one major
spellcaster (either Cleric or Sorcerer).
Personally, I chose combination (5) since I wanted lots of blast 'em power early
in the game. The main weakness of this choice is that I have only one healer
(the Druid), and only one character capable of Light/Dark magic (the Sorcerer)
who will have to handle all of the heavy-duty spells. The advantage is that
with widespread offensive spells, I am able to take on difficult opponents in
a series of runs which I'd be unable to take on with less offensive power (i.e.,
not even one would die before I was toast!). So I don't have a lot of staying
power in fights, but DAMN I have fun while I'm in them! The Knight will always
have enough points left to run away, dragging my power spellcasters back to town.
(If he doesn't, I load my most recent save.)
Otherwise, I'd recommend the default combination (7) that MM6 presents you. It
is maximized for powerful spellcasting in the long term, and balanced for
spellcasting in the near term. Its main weakness is the lack of a Knight, and
to me, a Knight is the 2nd most worthwhile character in the game (after the
Sorcerer). The Knight has plenty of points free for non-spell development, and
one can ignore both the Intelligence and Personality stats, allowing Might,
Accuracy, Speed and Endurance to get pretty darn high! However, the default
combo is by no means weak. It merely is the strongest balanced spellcasting
combination.
===>Special Combo:
Finally, there's one somewhat imbalanced combination that I would consider aside
from the 9 listed above, and that is the KKCS combo. This gives you every spell
access, maximizes Light/Dark access, and you can specialize your spellcasters
on SPELLS, and leave the Merchant/Identify/Repair/Disarm skills to your two
Knights, who will have plenty of free skill points to spend on them.
Obviously, there's plenty more options available, but this covers about all a
beginner in MM6 would be able to digest. It is difficult to tell what
imbalanced combination you might want until you've tried one of these balanced
ones. Only after playing for several days do you realize whether you want more
melee ability, more utility spellcasting, more offense, more defense or whatever.
It isn't too much of a cognitive leap to take the basic strategy I've outlined
so far and tweak it to your own fancy.
