Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar/Equipment

Weapons
Every character can use two pieces of equipment: one weapon and one armor. A character can change weapon during combat, but he/she would use up his/her turn.

Ranged weapons

 *  See also: Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar (NES)/Equipment

Ranged weapons give the strategic advantage of hitting the enemy before it can reach you. If all the party is equipped with bows, the battle will be often won before the enemies can land even one blow on the heroes.

The Magic Axe and the Magic Wand deal the same damage both at long and short range.

Close-combat weapons

 *  See also: Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar (NES)/Equipment

If the enemies manage to get close the heroes, the melee weapons actually deal more damage and will finish them off quite quickly.

The Mystic Sword can only be obtained by the hero once he/she reaches Avatarhood.

Armours

 *  See also: Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar (NES)/Equipment

Combat strategies

 *  See also: Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar (NES)/Equipment

Ranged weapons offer tactical advantage over enemies capable of melee attacks only, and also they remove the same disadvantage against long-ranged enemies. As Clint Eastwood and Sergio Leone could say: "When the man with the bow meets the man with the sword, the man with the sword is a dead man".

On the other hand, if the enemies manage to get close to the companions, they would better switch to melee weapons, that deal more damage.

A smart strategy against close-combat enemies could be the following:
 * At the beginning of the combat, let the enemies get near, because if they're heavily wounded too early, they would escape out of weapons range.
 * While the enemies approach, arrange your characters on two lines: a smaller number with strong armor on the front line, and a greater number on the back line.
 * When an enemy is just one step from your front line, shoot!
 * (In the unlikely event that many enemies get in touch with your front line, have them switch to melee weapons, while the back line should keep attacking with ranged weapons.)

A completely different strategy is required against long-range enemies:
 * First of all, seek cover behind rocks to avoid the projectiles; split the party in two if necessary;
 * Let enemies walk around the rocks, so that they can be taken down one by one.

Support and debuff spells can be useful against the most powerful enemies. Direct attack spells, instead, can be avoided, being less reliable than long-ranged weapons and expensive on the long run.