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Might and Magic IV, Mandate of Heaven
 Computer Game
[7-08-2001 01:00 PM]

I think this is the best game in the series. It brought a large variety of skills, magic, and items but was still simplistic enough to understand. Characters must train to learn new skills. When leveling up you can put points to improve previously learned skills. It leaves a large amount of customization available.

Although it might seem tempting to make a melee heavy party, by the end of the game magic plays a big part. I defeated the game with two knights, a cleric and a sorcerer, although I would not recommend this party to others. The group started very quickly because of the two knights but by the end of the game the knights were punching bags while my sorcerer did most of the killing.

I found the Light and Dark magic to be relatively inefficient compared to the Element type magic. A few of the Light and Dark spells I liked, but for the most part I stayed to the standard Element realms of Earth, Fire, Water and Air. Having a mix of some melee and healing with a large section of Elemental Magic makes the best group:

Knight
Archer
Druid
Sorcerer

The Knight is the rock of the group. While unable to use magic he can use nearly all weapons and armor and has the greatest amount of Hit Points. There are some monsters that are immune to magic, where having at least one strong swordarm helps. Plus there has been times where my Knight was the only one to survive a fight and I was able to limp back to town.

The Archer can't wear as heavy of armor as the Knight, but is still tough. Although all classes are capable of using bows, which is a must in this game since fighting from a distance is an advantage, the Archer seems the most proficient. Also, a big point is the Archer gets to use the highly offensive Elemental magics.

Although the druid can never use the Light and Dark magics, he can use both the Healing/Protective realms of MIND, BODY, and SPIRIT and the Offensive/Utility realms of EARTH, FIRE, WATER, and AIR. Towards the end of the game, the more nukers the better.

The Sorcerer is the pure, drop dead nuker of the group. Getting a large magic pool with the ability to use the Elemental Magics and Light and Dark magic, the Sorcerer ends up being your most valuable member by the end of the game.

BODY is the main healing type of magic. FIRE and AIR are the primary offensive types of magic. WATER is the most utility realm of magic, with one of the most useful spells in the game, Lloyd's Beacon. You can set beacons on far reaches of the map and teleport back to them later. This saves large amounts of travel time and also allows for you to be at the shrines during the right months to get the power ups.