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Low-Spoiler Wizardry 8 Walkthrough

There are several walkthroughs and spoiler pages for Wizardry 8 out there, but none of them told me what I wanted to know--namely, whether I'd missed any quests, puzzles, character interactions, or other cool things to do on any of the maps, WITHOUT telling me the solution at the same time. Strategy and riddles I can figure out on my own, but was there any more to the Rapax Royal Family subplot that I was missing somehow?

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So I've written this Wizardry 8 walkthrough myself, and I hope you'll help me out by emailing me any cool character/questy bits I've missed. The emphasis of this guide is on pointing gamers towards things they might not have tried, not divulging puzzle solutions or giving step-by-step walkthrough instructions. There are plenty of other sites that do that already... besides, some people don't want that stuff spoiled, they just want tips on where to look for more things to do. So I've been vague where possible, trying to include only the starting point for each quest so as to let you work through the rest of it on your own, and I haven't indicated every fight or treasure source. If you want a more explicit hint, please check out my Links page, where several good Wizardry 8 walkthroughs and messageboards can be found.

I. Lower Monastery
II. Upper Monastery
III. Arnika Road
IV. Northern Wilderness
V. Arnika-Trynton Road
VI. Arnika
VII. Trynton
VIII. The Swamp
IX. Southeast Wilderness, Wilderness Clearing, and Mountain Wilderness
X. Mine Tunnels
XI. Marten's Bluff
XII. Umpani Base Camp
XIII. Mt. Gigas
XIV. Rapax Rift/Castle
XV. Bayjin/Sea Caves/Underwater Areas
XVI. Rapax Away Camp
XVII. Ascension Peak

Lower Monastery

You start the game in a small outdoors area just outside a monastery building. The outdoors area is completely bounded by natural barriers (the ocean, big rocks, a mountain, etc.) so you should just wander around it for a few minutes getting used to the interface and the landscape--which slopes you can ascend and which you can't, and so forth. You can't hurt yourself on the scenery (the ocean just becomes unenterable when you get too far from the shore), so explore with impunity. You'll find a few weak monsters and a few hidden objects out here. I assume the metal pieces jutting out of the sand are meant to be the remains of your crashed skyship; you can't do anything with them. You may also see a white dot on your radar screen as you approach the waterfall, indicating that there's an item there. However, you won't be able to get up the waterfall no matter what you do, so just leave it for now. You'll be able to reach it later. There is only one location of any interest in the outdoors area, a little pagoda up a winding road across the river from the monastery. Once you've found that and are comfortable with the game interface, go back and enter the monastery itself.

The monastery dungeon uses enough sloping tunnels to make mapping a real pain in the ass. You probably won't want to bother with the automap, which is confusing due to the slopes and overlaid layers, but see what works for you. I found the tried and true method from the Mad Overlord days to work well: follow the left wall (or the right wall, it doesn't matter) all the way around the dungeon. It doesn't matter in the least what order you do the rooms in. Things not to miss while you're in the lower monastery:

1) There's a book on the desk in the library which you can read for a little information about the monastery. Search around all the bookshelves for possible spellbooks, too.

2) After you fight your way through the brown tunnels, there's a grate that can be unbarred and opened for easy access back to the front door. Be sure to open this and leave it open, as you'll probably be passing that way at least once more and it saves pointless travel time.

3) In the room with the bridge and the water, you can jump into the water, but because of the way the banks are sloped, you can't climb back out. That's okay, as you can just follow the water out of the monastery and ride down the waterfall. You'll be able to get back inside, and you'll get a nice item this way.

4) Once you've gone up the elevator in the water room, there will be a door you can't open that asks for a round key. You'll find this in another area, so don't pull your hair out looking for it. Remember the location of this door for later: it's across the bridge from Burz, on the upper level of the lower monastery. I forgot where it was and had to walk through the whole stupid monastery again.

5) If you follow the wooden walkway on the other side of the bridge you'll find the first NPC, Burz. You can pump him for information, trade with him, use him for pickpocketing practice, whatever. You can even open the chest on his table and take the stuff from it without getting him mad. This is true throughout the game: no one notices or cares if you take anything out of a chest or pick up any loose item. Unrealistic, but less annoying than waiting for NPCs to leave your line of sight to grab things all the time.

6) There is a non-lethal but very, very annoying trap on the statue with the skull. Save before you mess with this statue. You'll thank me; reloading is faster than dealing with the possible consequences of the trap. Don't leave this room without getting the statue to reveal a key for you. It opens something on this level.

7) You won't be able to get through the western exit to the Upper Monastery till you dispose of the big locked portcullis. You'll be able to find the controls to open it in one of the other rooms adjoining.

Upper Monastery

1) All the doors in the Upper Monastery are openable. You can find keys to the "specific item needed" doors somewhere on this level.

2) The boxes in the first large room you enter can be opened for goodies. You can also get into the center of the ring of boxes for an extra bonus item, but you'll have to work at it to figure out how, since you can't jump or climb in this game. I won't spoil it for you here, just let you know that yes it's possible.

3) There's no way to access the computer that says 'permission denied', so don't bang your head on it. The door in that room is permanently sealed, so the only way into the enclosed area is to break the glass of the window. You can find the means to do this somewhere on this level. (The same goes for the armor floating in the glass case in one of the other rooms, incidentally.) There's a special item in the enclosed area which you will need later, so make sure you've done this.

4) You can't cook anything in the microwave, unfortunately, but if you play with it enough it will cough up a gadget for you.

5) The sign isn't kidding: you can't cast spells in the Hall of Meditation. So if you get into a battle there, either rely on musclepower or flee into an adjoining room to do your fighting.

6) In the temple area you should get some plot information from two mysterious NPCs. Once you've done this you'll be ready to head on to Arnika.

Road to Arnika

This area is fairly useless except as a source of experience. If you proceed slowly and with much resting you can jack your levels up quite a bit here. Alternatively you can just zip through it towards your destination. It just depends on your playing style. If you walk on the shoulder of the road instead of on the road itself, you can find a couple of hidden items and will have better cover from the monsters. If you find you're struggling or dying a lot, just turn the difficulty level down till you get to Arnika. This is a tough stretch and the monsters scale to your level, so the fights are always hard at this stage of the game no matter how many levels you earn.

1) When you first arrive, don't look at the automap, which will give you a confusing glimpse of the other side of the map for some reason and may get you horribly lost. Just pass under the great big arch in front of you, then follow the road through the canyon. It will branch at one point; there's a fight with some items down the southern branch, and the western one leads out of the canyon.

2) The building here may be accessible to you later in the game. For now, it is completely locked up. You can sleep next to the building in safety if you like, though.

3) There's a cave with a fight and some items off on the east side of the dirt road as you travel north.

If you go north from here, you will get to the Northern Wilderness, another place to fight monsters for experience. It's a tough zone, though, so make sure you save before trying it. If you go south you'll get to the Arnika-Trynton Road.

Northern Wilderness

This area is primarily important for the bridge to the Umpani areas, which you will make use of later. Otherwise, you can use it to build up a little experience. The three places of interest on this map:

1) There are some perplexing ruins here. Besides the obvious thieves holed up in them--and the stolen diamond in their possession, which you can either nobly return to the bank or sell for a profit, as you see fit--there doesn't appear to be anything here. However, if you click on the water in the well, it makes a noise as if something has happened. It will do this for two clicks and then say "nothing happens" thereafter. I've had three separate emails suggesting that what drinking from this well really does is regenerate some of the party's stamina. If so, it's a small and rather useless effect.

2) There's a lake to the northeast of the map which it's safe to swim in (well, safe except for any monsters lurking there, obviously.) Explore the island in this lake thoroughly.

3) There's a small cave just off the road containing a tough monster and a few items.

Arnika-Trynton Road

Arnika is your first left as you head down this road, so that's probably where you'll want to stop off first, to sell items and recruit NPCs and so forth. Click here to read about Arnika.

The road continues on to the next town, Trynton. Points of interest along the way:

1) Another locked building which you will not have access to until later in the game no matter what you do, so don't waste energy trying to figure a way in.

2) A new NPC, Rattus Rattus, who will offer you a job. You don't have to complete it if you don't want--read the note he gives you and make up your own mind. Unfortunately there is no alternative to this quest (showing the note to the authorities is bootless). You can keep the gun he gives you either way. It's basically a BB gun, but it's a good way to practice modern weapons. You can kill Rattus if you want, but it will cause some NPCs that would have been of use later to attack you on sight.

3) A graveyard, populated as graveyards in CRPGs always are. There's a malevolent spirit in the central crypt which you can dispatch to restore peace to the cemetery; you'll need a particular kind of item to accomplish this, though. Make sure you pick up a couple of special items for Antone Rapax while you're here (he'll tell you which two he needs when you talk to him).

If you have sharp eyes you may notice blue runes on some of the tombstones which light up when you click on them, and/or a pillar on the cemetery wall which says "a specific item is required here" when you pass the mouse over it. These are not actually part of a quest or puzzle; they are part of an exceedingly badly designed easter egg. If you light up all five runes and then use an ordinary dagger on the pillar and then find a patch of mushrooms that will appear in a corner of the cemetery and step on it you will get teleported to a little throwback dungeon that looks like something from the Wizardry games of my youth. Well, whoopee, but a puzzle should be something you can figure a way into on your own (there are no clues anywhere allowing anyone not in the know to find this dungeon) and an easter egg should be something that doesn't call attention to itself and frustrate people who are playing the game without a walk-through (the runes and pillar are obtrustive and seem to a seasoned gamer like they SHOULD be part of a puzzle.) I spent hours trying to decipher the runes and figure out what they had to do with anything. The answer is nothing. You just have to have read a cheat page to know this. I very nearly quit this game at this point. It really pissed me off. The throwback dungeon isn't much to write home about, either, unless you needed a reminder that computer games have evolved a lot since the early 80's.

Arnika

You're safe to loiter or rest in any of the populated buildings here, but be careful outside, as Savant Troopers occasionally wander through. Points of interest while you're here:

1) The fountain at the entrance to the city will heal some very minor wounds.

2) Myles, the first joinable NPC, will accost you as you enter the main gate. Ask him about 'jobs' and he'll point you towards a few things to do in Arnika, though you could just as easily find each of them yourself. You can ask him to join you or not, as you please.

3) The HLL Headquarters won't admit you until you have an HLL ID card. Once you've found one, you can go inside and loot the place (this does not make the guards hostile) and also chat with the chief of police, Tramain. I haven't found any actual use for Tramain--he doesn't seem interested in any of the illegal activities in the course of the game, either rewarding you for those you might try to tell him about or getting on your case for those you've committed yourself. He does have some generic information for you, though.

4) There are two minor quests that may bring you back to the bank, but its main purpose is, of course, as a place to rob. Careful with the buttons behind the teller--pushing them will open some of the vaults, but also cause her and the guards to go hostile. There's really no need to anyway; show ('give') her a bank passcard and she'll open the elevator door for you and you can pick all the locks yourself. There are three keycarded locks, and three keycards you can find in the city. The biggest vault has a very difficult lock on it, but there's another way into it elsewhere in the city, so don't drive yourself crazy with it.

5) In He'li's Inn you can talk to the proprietess, and listen to what she has to say to Myles and/or Vi if they're in your party. She has a few things for sale, and you can also rob the inn rooms without repercussions. Check back with He'Li at various points throughout the game, as she has comments to make on the unfolding game events and will periodically give you items. (She'll also try to blackmail you at one point--I would have held this against her a little more if I hadn't already pickpocketed her blind.) Make sure you check in with her after acquiring the Destinae Dominus, and turn the sound on--she says something amusing that isn't written in the text. (-:

6) Search the statue of Phoonzang in the town square carefully.

7) The temple--the big white building with ramps--has a few different sections and it can be a little hard to find your way around. The ramp from the town square (with the statue in it) leads to a room with a pool that restores spell points and a priest named Braffit. He has some information for you, especially if you give him the Fellowship Pass, and can also sell you many items including low-level spellbooks. Try talking to him both with and without Vi in your party, as he'll say different things; he will also comment on the game's unfolding events as you check back in with him periodically, and when you eventually find a Helazoid flag, he's the one who will be interested in it. Walk through the door on the other side of the building and you can find several areas to loot. Make sure you pick up the Wheel Key.

8) The jail--the large, locked grey building--is an interesting place to explore. You can learn some useful information from the bulletin boards, pick up an important item, loot the whole building, and find a secret passage with some very nice treasure in it.

9) Antone Rapax, who runs the armory near the jail, is not a very communicative fellow, but see what he has to say anyway. You'll probably be returning to him often, both to buy his wares and to commission special items (he will tell you what he needs for each one if you ask him about "custom goods," and you can simply give him items as you find them--you don't have to wait till you have all the ingredients for any given piece, since he will store them for you for free). You can also loot his store with impunity. He'll comment on one item you've stolen from his bank vault, but is luckily too dumb to actually figure out the theft.

10) There is a wrecked starship just north of the town square. Pick through it and the building it has smashed into for some items and another NPC, Vi Domina. You may remember her from Wizardry 7, though she certainly doesn't remember you. She'll tell you her story and then join your party if you let her. You should at least agree to accompany her to see He'li and Braffit, as she will tell more of her story there and you will get XP for bringing her to see them.

11) In the northeast of town, by the docks, there is a building that glows sort of green. That's the Mook Headquarters. Approach the door and a hologram will appear and talk to you. There will be more to do here later. If you have a Mook in your party he will take off to visit his relatives for a while--don't fret, he'll be back with some information after your next rest period. You can't, unfortunately, tell the hologram nor any of the Mook you meet later about Grimpak's fate.

12) Across the street is a building called Anna's Bait Shop. Anna actually sells much more than bait, and this is a good place to get ammunition and spellbooks. You can also open her chests and steal her stuff with impunity.

13) The abandoned buildings on the east side of town are useless. There is nothing in any of them that I found. The buildings in the far northwest are better, yielding a gadget and a few abandoned items. There are also a couple of minor items down by the docks.

14) All the way to the west of town is the Dark Savant's tower. You can't enter, but you can hear a recorded message about the bomb he's built. You can also fight some androids and pick up a special potion you can use later.

15) South, by the entrance to town, is the gate to the spaceport. You can open it by clicking on the sign and go on in. The automap is very confusing in this area, because the game has placed some of the underground areas over here. Just ignore the automap. There are two buildings here, one ship, and two hangars. Search the hangars for items, chat with the ship, and loot the two buildings, checking out the electronic equipment within. The black box you found on the smashed ship is too damaged for the black-box reader to make out; there's nothing you can do about that. The computer in the other building is missing a component. You can fix it and use the computer for some information once you find the component in question. (When you do, incidentally, the computer will track not only the ships with game importance, but also some vessel from "Earth" registered as "Enterprise". Cute.)

Lower Trynton

Trynton is more wilderness than urban, and monsters abound, so don't totter in here on your last legs from fighting undead things and looking for a respite.

1) You can jump in the river and explore around in the shallow water. When you need to get back out again, it is possible to get up the shallowest riverbank by just charging at it and holding the button down. Your characters will eventually clamber up. You could also just go over the waterfall down to the ocean, though.

2) There are a couple of items around the coast down by the ocean, but thorough exploring on my part hasn't yielded anything important in the ocean area. You will find a way back up the cliffs, though, so you won't get stranded if you dive down here.

3) The city itself is up in the branches of the giant tree in the south part of the map. Chief Gari is hanging around the entrance, and you can talk to him for a quest to do in the upper city, as well as some general information. Entering the tree, you just have to go up and down all the ladders (killing bugs and collecting items here and there) till you get to the First Bough. The pool of water here is pretty useless; it sometimes restores some spell points, other times hexes you, but never has any important effect. There's also a brazier in this area that says "no effect" when you click on it. To the best of my knowledge that's an error in the programming and there really is nothing you can do with it; email me if you know differently. And there's a bridge to someplace called "Marten's Pagoda," but the bridge is long-defunct and you can't fix it. Don't try too hard to cross, as you can step off the bridge to your deaths. Save before you take the elevator to Upper Trynton, too, as it occasionally malfunctions and dumps you to the same fate.

Upper Trynton

Once you go up the elevator to Upper Trynton, do NOT try to talk to any of the Trynnie guards if they are yellow. For some reason this made them attack me. Better just to leave them alone; they're not hard to kill, but defending yourself ruins your faction rating (though it's very tempting when a big slow convoy of them gets in your way or pushes you out of theirs). Looting the houses, though, bothers no one, so help yourself. Things not to miss in Upper Trynton include:

1) a riddling fountain on the Second Bough with a very nice reward for a correct answer (there is more than one acceptable solution).

2) the alchemist's shop on the Second Bough, where you can buy various items and also learn some information (make sure to pick up at least one Mystery Potion, if nothing else). This alchemist, Fuzzfas, will make you an Earthshaker bomb if you return with the right ingredient. He and He'li also know each other and he will give you free potions if you bring him her greeting.

3) the Sanctuary on the Second Bough--make sure to pick up two special items in here, which you'll need later, and to search the wall trophy.

4) the Zoo on the Third Bough--you can kill the zoo creatures with impunity, but you can also use the meat dispenser and a little cleverness to drug the Hogar instead. Either way, be sure to take a special item out of the Hogar cage, and there are other items in the three cages.

5) a house on the Third Bough with zuzu petals in it, and a second house with a blue marble *and* a secret door. Secret doors are few and far between in this game. Don't miss this one!

6) Madras the gadgeteer, on the Third Bough; he will give you some information and items and will also join you when your quest for the Chief is done if you like. If you're having trouble deciding between him and Myles, bear in mind that there is only one more map area Myles will accompany you to before wussing out on you anyway, so you may want to bring Madras along for a little while.

7) the pagoda on the Fourth Bough (you'll need a special item to enter). Magic doesn't work in here, which makes fighting the poisonous plants a living hell but makes fighting the oak saplings a good bit easier. Advance and retreat to your advantage. The altar in here is for summoning the Shaman and learning about your True Destiny, which you should have learned how to do earlier. Plenty of loot in this place too. You can use incense on the four braziers to make this a safe place to camp, though I never had any problems in Madras' house.

8) a pedestal on the Fifth Bough requires a special item you don't have yet, so don't worry about it. This house is where you will meet the shaman again once you've finished his quest.

9) a broken bridge, which you need to figure out how to repair in order to get to the Rattkin tree.

Rattkin Tree

There are two kinds of rats in the Rattkin tree: the Rat Mafia (complete with New Jersey accents) and regular rats. The latter will hate you as soon as you address your quest here, but the former will not. You can still deal with the Razuka unless you decide to attack them yourself (unless you killed Rattus earlier, in which case they'll attack on sight). Things not to miss in the Rattkin Tree include:

1) A locked house you can't get into. Ignore this for now, you'll get in here later, after you've finished the shaman's quest.

2) An elevator you can take to lower a rope down to the forest floor. This will provide you with a shortcut up and down from the Rattkin Tree without having to wend your way back through the Trynnie areas. You want to do this, but don't actually go down the rope until you're ready to leave.

3) A much smaller rope down to the lower Rattkin level.

4) A room with a blocked-off cell in it on the lower level. You can't get into the cell yet, but you can learn some information here, and loot some items while you're at it.

5) The Rat Mafia's house. Talk to the gangster; he'll ask you what you're looking for. You may have to run through a few answers before you get one the mafia is interested in helping you out with, but when you eventually do, he'll let you in to talk to the Don, who will make you an offer you shouldn't refuse. You can also purchase a few choice items from him. Be sure to ask both mobsters about Rattus--not just who he is but where he is. Their answers are a poor substitute for the programmers actually finishing Rattus' subplot, but at least you can wrest some kind of closure out of it all by asking what became of him.

6) The Breeders' house, where you can finish your quest for Gari and Madras. You don't have a choice to negotiate with these guys; they turn hostile as soon as they see you, and you'll have to kill them. Don't worry, the Razuka will still deal with you. If you check your factions ratings, you'll see that they have their own separate opinion of you.

After this, you have little choice but to journey into the Swamp.



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