Third Party Program Notes
I already have the Cosmic Forge editor with all its Wiz6 & Wiz7 patches applied.

Wiz8Fast & Wiz8FastAnim are active. Wiz8+ includes 1.26 and its own fixes.

Main Party as of 6 21 18
Our newest group is:
Thondre: Male Dwarf Priest >> Eventually Lord
Ryala: Female Felpurr Priest >> Eventually Valkyrie
Aura: Female Fairy Bard >> Eventually Ninja
Hesed: Male Fairy Priest >> Eventually Monk
Wooshy: Female Mook Mage >> Eventually Samurai
Lunara: Female Elf Mage >> Eventually Ranger

The intent was to maximize benefits for our group short- and long-term. (We're new at Wizardry 6.)

However, since our group is meant to play through Wiz6-8, what party setup do you advise having at the end of Wiz6 for the start of Wiz7?

Thankee!

Main Party as of 6 19 18
After reconsideration, this is our Wiz6 setup. We've barely played and have fought 0 lifetime Wiz6 battles yet:

Wiz6
Thondre: Male Dwarf Priest >> Eventually Lord
Ryala: Female Elf Priest >> Eventually Valkyrie
Hesed: Male Fairy Mage >> Eventually Monk
Aura: Female Fairy Bard >> Eventually Ninja
Lunara: Female Hobbit Mage >> Eventually Ranger
Wooshy: Female Mook Mage >> Eventually Samurai

The intent is to multiclass before the end of Wiz6 then play at least most of Wiz7 with this party setup. At a convenient place in Wiz7 near the end, the some in group change class again. (Remember, we're playing the mod Wiz8+ AKA Wizardry 8 Enhanced*. This is our proposal:

Fairy Monk >> Bishop.
Hobbit Ranger >> Something spiffy for its transfer abilities. (Going Gadgeteer ASAP after reaching Wiz8.)
Elf Valkyrie >> Bard? Bishop? Specialty caster?
Dwarf Lord (tank) >> Dwarf Monk? My playing partner suggested this in part due to 'Donk/Dunk' jokes like 'Get Dunked on!' but how viable it this as a tank?
Mook Samurai >> Fighter? The Mook exists for access to the Giant Sword. Perhaps keep him as Sam for most of Wiz8 then dual to Fighter later for Stamina regen and +KO chance on hit.

I was concerned that with so many front-liners, the front would be overcrowded.

*Wiz8 Enhanced Link with Change Log: http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/index.php?threads/wizardry-8-enhancements-a-call-to-arms.79581/

END EDIT

Greetings, all!

A friend and I recently returned to the world of Wizardry 8 after having not played any Wizardry game for about a decade. I have never or barely played Wizardry games aside from 8, despite getting the Ultimate Wizardry Archive (games 1-7) about 20 years ago. I had already finished Might and Magic games 2-5 (and probably also Swords of Xeen but never M&M1), various Final Fantasy games, and other games by the time I got Wiz1-7 and generally wasn't in the mood to learn another complicated set of mechanics with underwhelming graphics.

Here we are again, many years later, and I have also with the same main character beaten Baldur's Gate 1 & 2 and Throne of Bhaal (but not Siege of Dragonspear since it wasn't released yet). Now I'm curious as to what the seemingly best games in the Wizardry series were like - Wiz6, Wiz7, and Wiz8 - when played with the same group for plot and mechanical continuity.

[Forenotes]
PLEASE MINIMIZE SPOILERS!

These are for plot and mechanical reasons. This is effectively my first impression of these games in action. I don't want to wait another decade or more to unspoil these things from my mind!

I won't be using the Steam versions of these games since I don't have them and don't want to get them. I have legal copies of these games from another source (Wizardry Archive and GOG.com).

[Point 1: Mods, Patches, and Versions]
1-1: For Wizardry 6, which mods and patches should I get, where, and how to install them?

1-2: Which version of Wizardry 7 (Wizardry 7 DOS or Wizardry 7 Gold) should I use? Which mods and patches should I get, where, and how to install them?

1-3: I already have Wizardry 8 installed on this machine with all the relevant mods and patches I want (Wizardry 8 Enhanced also known as Wiz8+).

[Point 2: Party Construction with Minimal Spoilers!]
2-1: What party composition of 4 to 6 members do you advise (for race, sex, class/multiclassing, etc.) considering this group is meant to handle a game trilogy?

Naively, in terms of classes, I intended a 6 member party as such based on my understanding of Wiz8:

-Bard (spiffy instruments in 8)
-Fighter (KILLKILLKILLKILL!)
-Rogue (Locks, Traps, and Skullduggery)
-Fairy Bishop (spiffy 'Archmage' in 8)
-Fairy Ninja (Cane of Corpus in 8)
-Priest?

2-2: How does grinding for skills/EXP work in Wiz6/7?

2-3: In Wiz6/7, of what other mechanics should we be aware from the games' start?

2-4: What else should we discuss at present?

[Finally]
Thankee for your aid on this topic and in previous topics of Wiz8 party composition!

Wizardry 7 DOS. Wizardry 7 Gold has some annoying bugs, like one that makes diplomacy useless, I believe.

(In any case, Wizardry 8 will accept endgame saves from either version of Wizardry 7.) In Wizardry 6 and 7:
Bishops are not that good. You have to divide your skill points between the 2 (Bishops don't get Alchemy or Psionics in 6/7) magic skills, which do not improve through use. Furthermore, you alternate learning Priest and Mage spells; you can't just choose to focus on one type of magic. I recommend, instead, that you class change between the pure caster classes if you want to learn spells of all types; after class change, you level up quickly and will get more skill points and spell picks (which can't be saved). One more thing: Using books to learn spells doesn't get you SP, so don't do this if you don't already know a spell of that realm. Then, once you get near the end of Wizardry 7, class change that character to Bishop so that you can have one in Wizardry 8.

Fighter isn't that interesting in 6 and 7; I recommend other classes instead.

Class changing works well for boosting skills in 6 and 7, and is a good strategy early on. Once you have the important skills and a decent spell selection, you can change into your final class and remain in that class until the end of the game; high level characters get better resistance, for example.

In 6, Valkyries level up faster than Priests, and therefore make a better final class; the only advantage the Priest gets is a head start on learning spells. Alchemists also level up faster than Mages or Priests. Rangers are garbage in 6; don't bother with that class.

The Poet's Lute is not easy to get if you don't start with it. To start with it, you have to create a Bard that is not a Fairy; otherwise, you won't get it until later. To my understanding, in 6 you need to be a Bard to use it, but in 7, you can class change away and still use your Music skill. Note that Bards get Mage spells in these games (but don't in 8). Also, if you have a Bard, you don't need a Rogue, which isn't that interesting a class in 6 or 7.

After reconsideration, this is our Wiz6 setup. We've barely played and have fought 0 lifetime Wiz6 battles yet:

Wiz6
Thondre: Male Dwarf Priest >> Eventually Lord
Ryala: Female Elf Priest >> Eventually Valkyrie
Hesed: Male Fairy Mage >> Eventually Monk
Aura: Female Fairy Bard >> Eventually Ninja
Lunara: Female Hobbit Mage >> Eventually Ranger
Wooshy: Female Mook Mage >> Eventually Samurai

The intent is to multiclass before the end of Wiz6 then play at least most of Wiz7 with this party setup. At a convenient place in Wiz7 near the end, the some in group change class again. (Remember, we're playing the mod Wiz8+ AKA Wizardry 8 Enhanced*. This is our proposal:

Fairy Monk >> Bishop.
Hobbit Ranger >> Something spiffy for its transfer abilities. (Going Gadgeteer ASAP after reaching Wiz8.)
Elf Valkyrie >> Bard? Bishop? Specialty caster?
Dwarf Lord (tank) >> Dwarf Monk? My playing partner suggested this in part due to 'Donk/Dunk' jokes like 'Get Dunked on!' but how viable it this as a tank?
Mook Samurai >> Fighter? The Mook exists for access to the Giant Sword. Perhaps keep him as Sam for most of Wiz8 then dual to Fighter later for Stamina regen and +KO chance on hit.

I was concerned that with so many front-liners, the front would be overcrowded.

*Wiz8 Enhanced Link with Change Log: http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/index.php?threads/wizardry-8-enhancements-a-call-to-arms.79581/

Some recommendations for you W6 - 8 playthrough:

Even the Wizardry 7 DOS version has some flaws/bugs or whatever you may call it,
to fix them get madgods Cosmic Forge Editor for Wiz6/7/8 here: mad-god.webs.com/downloads.htm

Install and run the editor, point to your Wiz7 install folder and select patches in the upper menu,
there you can activate 3 fixes and some mild cheats.

For detailed info on the fixes&cheats pls check the cosmic forge forum:
cosmicforge.freeforums.org/index.php
as my CF expertise is limited to wiz8

Regarding Wiz8
Kaucukovik666s accelerated combat animations was mostly made for wiz8 veterans who had seen them thousands of times,
for 1st playthrough i recommend to keep anim speed in the range of ingame settings,
but always recommend wiz8fast.exe which only accelerates movement and also allows to set desired value.

Also recommended is 1.26 exe which allows higher stats before they wrapound to zero,
and also higher resistance values.
Dunno whether gog hasnt already used 1.26 in its Wiz8,
you can see version in main menu on game start,
in case find link to 1.26 exe on CF fprum and also here in a message ~ aug 2013 here.

p.s.
1.26 exe may already be part of Kaucukovnik666s mod

I already have the Cosmic Forge editor with all its Wiz6 & Wiz7 patches applied.

Wiz8Fast & Wiz8FastAnim are active. Wiz8+ includes 1.26 and its own fixes.

If you want a Gadgeteer in Wizardry 8, I suggest replacing a character with a brand new one immediately on starting Wizardry 8. The new character will start at level 1, but she* will not be permanently one level behind on her gadgeteering abilities. Also, you will need to do this in order to buy the starting equipment, which most importantly includes the Omnigun.

* In Wizardry 8, you want your Bards and Gadgeteers to be female because many of the stamina regen items are female only (unless, of course, a mod changed that).

digreene: Thanks for the update for Wiz8!

Wiz8+ definitely made the stamina regen items work for all characters.

How do parties of mixed imported characters and new characters work in Wiz8?

Thankee!

Switching classes just before the end of W6 will let you start wizardry 7 with characters having bad stats in classes with bad spell regeneration rates who get academic skillpoints very slowly.

Wiz6 to Wiz7: What group do you advise then considering our party's composition?

If want to switch classes in W6 do it early so you benefit from it during the game. Else it's better not to switch at all.

A good level for switching 8, the more XP you leave for the final class the more level ups and stat raises you get.

A bard is great and staring the monk as mage can counter the nonexistence of fire spells for psionics. But I don't see the reasoning behind having 3 mages, if you're going to switch to ninja or ranger you'd better start as alchemist so you can keep on raising alchemy instead of having to start from zero after the switch with now useless thaumaturgy skill.

Our newest group is:
Thondre: Male Dwarf Priest >> Eventually Lord
Ryala: Female Felpurr Priest >> Eventually Valkyrie
Aura: Female Fairy Bard >> Eventually Ninja
Hesed: Male Fairy Priest >> Eventually Monk
Wooshy: Female Mook Mage >> Eventually Samurai
Lunara: Female Elf Mage >> Eventually Ranger

The intent was to maximize benefits for our group short- and long-term. (We're new at Wizardry 6.)

However, since our group is meant to play through Wiz6-8, what party setup do you advise having at the end of Wiz6 for the start of Wiz7?

Thankee!