What classes from MM7 did you miss going into MM8?

[UndeadHalfOrc]

When first playing MM8, assuming you played MM7 before, what class did you miss the most?
Here are the options along with explanations of what happened with their skils:

1) Thief:
Their GM dagger carried over to the Vampire.
Stealing was gone in MM8 (not a bad thing, since it was useless)
GM Leather went to the troll.

2) Monk:
Their Unarmed & Dodging skills went completely missing in MM8. Not an entirely bad thing, since I think it was poorly implemented in MM7 due to the over-reliance on skill boosting items.

3) Paladin:
Their abilities got split into 3 classes, Troll, Vampire, Minotaur.
The paralyze from GM Mace went to the Troll, their Plate armored fighter + backup healer role went to the Minotaur, although Vampire got the better deal out of the clerical magic with Master level.

4)Ranger, 5) Druid:
Completely gone. Nobody in MM8 can cast both cleric and sorcerer spells, a first since MM2. (edit: corrected from MM5)
GM axe carried over to Minotaur, although I have yet to ever see what "halves armor class" is supposed to do in battle.

6) Dark Priest (Cleric able to cast Dark magic)
7) Archmage (Sorcerer able to cast Light magic):
No explanation required for those two

[MMXAlamar]

What I really missed was having a party of 4 characters. Only having one character made it kind of strange because you would keep hiring and firing characters as your recruits got better and better...

[tolich]

since MM5.

since MM3, there were both druids and rangers in MM3-5.

[GreatEmerald]

Monks, they were probably the most original class in MM7. Even if it doesn't make much sense.

Overall mixing classes and races was a bad idea...

[UndeadHalfOrc]

What I really missed was having a party of 4 characters. Only having one character made it kind of strange because you would keep hiring and firing characters as your recruits got better and better...

I'm with you there; I solved that problem by using a save game editor to start with five level 1 characters with start game equipment. Just like in MM7 and MM8. And they stay with me the entire game - I forbid myself to use any characters I come across (except Dyson Leyland and Overdune Snapfinger, momentarily, of course)
To make sure the initial stats I give don't "cheat", I create a new game with a template character (so that's, let's say, the trolls I create in the save game editor have corresponding high Might and Endurance values).

I use MM8CHE. Here are the steps I use as soon as I create the first character:
1) Immediately save game
2) Assign Devlin Arcanus, Fredrick Talimere, Simon Templar, and Elsbeth Lamentia to your party (Don't worry, this won't mess up Fredrick's quest, you still get to complete it)
3) Load your game again. Remove all of their equipped stuff into their backpacks (MM8CHE doesn't know how to edit equipped stuff)
4) This step takes long. Create your other 4 characters and save a different game for each one. These will be your templates.
5) This step also takes long. Use MM8CHE. In the original game, cange the aformentioned 4 chars to be identical to your templates, including equipment.
6) Make sure to keep Fredrick's Power stone quest item ( I also like to keep Simon Templar's plate armor, just because)

Additionally, I replace all starting bows with crossbows and all trollish shields with bucklers (the weakest stuff... like in MM7)

tolich: Read my post again. I meant, MM8 was the first game since MM5 to NOT have druids.

I recently just started a game with 5 dark elves this way. Very low starting HP. Great at shooting pirates thanks to bows and high accuracy, but they die as soon as they set foot in the temple.

[tolich]

I meant, MM8 was the first game since MM5 to NOT have druids.

Correct. That means that MM5, MM6, and MM7 have Druid class, but MM8 does not. I just added MM3 and MM4 into this list. BTW, there was no Ranger class in MM6.

I recently just started a game with 5 dark elves this way. Very low starting HP. Great at shooting pirates thanks to bows and high accuracy, but they die as soon as they set foot in the temple.

IIRC, MM8 was the game where I found how ordinary clubs (not maces) could be useful. This weapon has no recovery time. It makes hit-and-run tactics extremely good.

[UndeadHalfOrc]

tolich you're right, I worded it wrong, I should have said:

MM8 is the first game since MM2 not to have a Druid class
There!

[hatsforclowns]

Many might not agree with me, but I thought MM8 was the best of the 6-8 series. It lacked some minor things seen in MM6 and 7, and the game and world was shorter/smaller, but overall I find it to be the best game. The gameplay and graphical style had reached maturity.

If only I could play the MM6-8 games using the MM8 (updated MM6) engine ;)

Sadly they tossed the old engine and went for something brand spanking new and absolutely terrible (MM9) :(

I'm not really a fan of class systems, but I'd say light/dark magic...the race abilities weren't really all that awesome. Some of them were sort of useful or interesting, but not enough to replace light/dark magic.

[GreatEmerald]

I can understand that you may like the graphics as in textures in the world, which have been improved a lot indeed, but no way the items. Especially the lower tier ones. The basic mace has no proportions, and instead of looking poorly-forged (like in MM7), it looks poorly-modelled, as if the people who made it decided not to pay any attention to what they were doing...

[hatsforclowns]

I can understand that you may like the graphics as in textures in the world, which have been improved a lot indeed, but no way the items. Especially the lower tier ones. The basic mace has no proportions, and instead of looking poorly-forged (like in MM7), it looks poorly-modelled, as if the people who made it decided not to pay any attention to what they were doing...

Are you sure?

Might & Magic 7



Might & Magic 8



I liked the graphical style of MM7, I really prefer it over the crossover rendered/photo style of MM6...it doesn't stop me from playing MM6, and doesn't affect playability, but IMHO it's a bit of an eyesore.

MM8 does have different scale/proportions between the items, but overall IMHO still an improvement.

[tolich]

Blasted hotlink prevention.
MM VII:


MM VIII:

[Tress]

Druid, since it had to be in game in first place(druid circle/crown etc). Most other classes are substituted by new ones.
Dark elf = archer/thief
vampire = paladin/thief etc
Dark priest/archmage isnt really necessary in context of existing classes.
Also in mm8 classes have wider options than in mm7, but none shares ego/ellemental magic combo that druid had. Rest of classes would look out of place with new classes present.

[MMXAlamar]

Are there image files online of every item in the M&M series?

[hatsforclowns]

Are there image files online of every item in the M&M series?

TELP (http://telp.org/) has the items from MM7 and 8.

[MMXAlamar]

Are there image files online of every item in the M&M series?

TELP (http://telp.org/) has the items from MM7 and 8.

Excellent!! Thank you

[UndeadHalfOrc]

Druid, since it had to be in game in first place(druid circle/crown etc).

There's lots of evidence of a removed Druid class.

Maybe he would have been a Lizardman druid? There's an entire Lizardman city yet no Lizardmen heroes.

[GreatEmerald]

Yes, I still think MM7 items look better. Like I've said, the mace there in MM8 looks not nearly as good since the top of it in MM7 looks bumpy as it should, while in MM8 it simply has a texture of alternating black and white colours, the bumps are clearly disconnected spheres that are not lit from the same side for some reason and the handle is also a cylinder - perfectly smooth and ending with nothing in particular. The axe in MM8 looks like from the stone age, and even well-kept, while MM7 looks properly worn. And the sword in MM8 looks like an ordinary sword, just tinted and with a bit of photoshopping added, while in MM7 you can see that it's crudely made. And it's lit properly.

[Tress]

Maybe he would have been a Lizardman druid? There's an entire Lizardman city yet no Lizardmen heroes.

Probably human like priests or elfish. Doubt lizardman, they doesnt strike me as druidic in nature. think they weren't added ingame since they would double troll class.
Still unfortunately this loose end is just another testament that 3do/nwc started to rush their games, even before mm9.

[UndeadHalfOrc]

Maybe he would have been a Lizardman druid? There's an entire Lizardman city yet no Lizardmen heroes.

Probably human like priests or elfish. Doubt lizardman, they doesnt strike me as druidic in nature. think they weren't added ingame since they would double troll class.
Still unfortunately this loose end is just another testament that 3do/nwc started to rush their games, even before mm9.

At least they kept the dungeon. The druid circle is a nasty place.

And honestly, with 5 character spots instead of 4, the need for a "Jack of all trades" class is lessened.

[Tress]

And honestly, with 5 character spots instead of 4, the need for a "Jack of all trades" class is lessened.

Well mm8 classes have lot less restrictions than mm7 counterparts. For example knight can chose spear, dark elf essentially is merged archer/thief and so on. Only character that is left as jack of all trades is minotaur, which is most unfortunate class design.
Druid on other hand would have his spot if he could gm both ego and ellemental. Why he was left with master in mm7 which made him nearly useless(apart from gm alchemy but thats besides the point) is beyond me. As I see it, that every caster should be allowed two of schools out of elemental/ego/dark- ight/