From StrategyWiki, the video game walkthrough and strategy guide wiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search

You can have the Avatar and up to seven companions in your party. The avatar starts at level 3 and can always use magic. The next chart shows the values of the characters at the point you acquire them. This guide contains a few spoilers.

The Avatar[edit]

Character creation[edit]

When creating a character, the player has to answer a series of questions about virtues. Each answer gives a specific bonus to the starting attributes of the character. Pay attention to the capitalized keywords in each question!

Every time you answer a question, one of the two virtues is given to your character, and the other one is discarded forever. In the end, 4 virtues will be discarded for the character creation, 2 virtues will be taken once, 1 virtue will be taken twice, and 1 virtue will be taken three times.

Ultima6 char creation.png

Character portrait[edit]

Twelve different character portraits are available for the Avatar. A few of them correspond to box art or cutscenes.

In the introduction cutscene, the Avatar is shown with long, brown hair, while he Avatar sprite is always dark-haired and wears no headgear.

Portrait In-game images Box artworks
Ultima6 portrait c1 Avatar1.png Ultima6 sprite Avatar.png Ultima6 intro1.png Ultima6 intro2.png Ultima IV box.jpg
Ultima6 portrait c1 Avatar2.png (no screenshot corresponds to this portrait) Ultima VI MS-DOS box.jpg
Ultima6 portrait c1 Avatar3.png (no screenshot corresponds to this portrait) Ultima5 cover.jpg

Experience and levels[edit]

Level Exp Max HP
1 0-99 30
2 100-199 60
3 200-399 90
4 400-799 120
5 800-1599 150
6 1600-3199 180
7 3200-6399 210
8 6400-9999 240

When a character in the party has enough experience to reach the next level, he/she can talk to a shrine and meditate at it to gain a level. Depending on the shrine, the character will gain a different upgrade in the three attributes (Dex, Str, Int). Experience maxes out at 9999.

Strength, Dexterity, and Intelligence max at 30. Keep in mind that the Avatar gets Dexterity +1 for training with Loubet in Serpent's Hold for the first time.

  • Dexterity affects how fast a character moves and attacks; it also determines the hit rate of most weapons.
  • Strength affects how much equipment a character can carry. The total weight of equipment (weapons and armors) a character can wear is equal to a his/her Strength, the total weight he/she can carry is equal to twice his/her Strength. Strength also determines the hit rate of the few blunt weapons.
  • The Avatar's magic points are equal to twice his/her Intelligence; companions who can use magic have magic points equal to half their Intelligence; the primary limiting factor of magic, however, is usually the availability of reagents. Intelligence also determines the hit rate when using one of the three magic staves.

Dexterity and Strength are the most important; Intelligence is important for the Avatar, who is by far the best spellcaster in the game.

In the table below, the columns to the right show the total upgrade received by each character class at each shrine. The difference is due to the different amount of Magic Points that each class receives.


Shrine

Location

Mantra

Str

Dex

Int

Ultima6 sprite Avatar.png

Ultima6 sprite Ranger.pngUltima6 sprite Bard.png
Ultima6 sprite Paladin.pngUltima6 sprite Mouse.pngUltima6 sprite Druidess-Artisan.png
Ultima6 sprite Juggler.pngUltima6 sprite Farmer.pngUltima6 sprite Gargoyle.png
Compassion Mainland Mu - +3 - +3 +3 +3
Spirituality Moongate Om +1 +1 +1 +4 +2.5 +2
Sacrifice Mainland Cah +1 +1 - +2 +2 +2
Justice Mainland Beh - +1 +1 +3 +1.5 +1
Valor Island Ra +3 - - +3 +3 +3
Honor Mainland Summ +1 - +1 +3 +1.5 +1
Honesty Island Ahm - - +3 +6 +1.5 +0
Humility Island Lum - - - +0 +0 +0

The ant mound east of Sacrifice shrine (sextant location 22°N, 70°E) is a good place to earn experience. The ants are very easy to kill and you should be able to go into solo mode and roam the dungeon without any problems. If you use a moongate to get there, the gargoyles at the shrine could be a problem.

Companions[edit]

Locations are grouped in four sets:

  • (a) Mainland: locations that can be accessed from the earliest stage of the game;
  • (b) Peninsula: locations beyond poison swamp; swamp boots are recommended;
  • (c) Islands: locations that require a skiff or ship to get to;
  • (d) Quest: locations with further requirements.
Companion Sprite Level Str Dex MP (Int) Gender Location
Shamino Ultima6 sprite Ranger.png Ranger 3 21 23 9 (18) M (a) Mainland: Initial Member
Iolo Ultima6 sprite Bard.png Bard 3 20 26 8 (17) M (a) Mainland: Initial Member
Dupre Ultima6 sprite Paladin.png Paladin 3 26 20 0 (17) M (a) Mainland: Initial Member
Sherry Ultima6 sprite Mouse.png Mouse 1 1 27 0 (12) F (a) Mainland: British's Castle
Jaana Ultima6 sprite Druidess-Artisan.png Druidess 4 16 21 0 (19) F (a) Mainland: Yew
Gwenno Ultima6 sprite Bard.png Bard 2 18 21 8 (17) F (b) Peninsula: Minoc
Julia Ultima6 sprite Druidess-Artisan.png Artisan 2 21 18 0 (17) F (b) Peninsula: Minoc
Blaine Ultima6 sprite Juggler.png Jester 2 16 21 0 (18) M (a) Mainland: nomad
Katrina Ultima6 sprite Farmer.png Farmer 5 19 16 0 (16) F (c) Island: New Magincia
Leodon Ultima6 sprite Bard.png Bard 3 15 19 7 (15) F (c) Island: Buccaneer's Den
Leonna Ultima6 sprite Druidess-Artisan.png Artisan 3 15 15 0 (18) F (c) Island: Buccaneer's Den
Sentri Ultima6 sprite Paladin.png Paladin 3 26 18 0 (16) M (c) Island: Serpent's Hold
Seggallion Ultima6 sprite Paladin.png Paladin 5 28 21 0 (20) M (c) Island: Serpent's Hold
Beh Lem Ultima6 sprite Gargoyle.png Gargoyle 2 23 24 0 (26) M (d) Quest: outside Hythloth
Gorn Ultima6 sprite Paladin.png Paladin 4 26 21 0 (14) M (d) Quest: Sutek's Dungeon
Ultima6 character attributes.png

Beh Lem, Shamino, Iolo and Dupre will not willingly leave the party. You have to let them die if you want them out, but that would be against the spirit of Ultima. Beh Lem is required when you reach the gargoyle city. He will join you only if you know the Gargish language.

Julia and Blaine get mad if you tell them to leave the party and refuse to rejoin. If you have them in your party and think you will want them back at a later time, you could kill them and leave their corpses somewhere you can easily get to.

Sherry is required to get one of the runes. You need to give her cheese in order for her to join. She can fit through mouse holes, portcullises, and fences which can make some puzzles easier. She can carry any equipment that other characters can, as long as you raise her Strength. If you want to train her so you can use her, she should be equipped with a wand, boomerang, or sling. Healers will not resurrect her; you will need to cast the eighth-level spell in order to revive her.

The original eight Companions (from Ultima 4)

Ultima6 portrait c0 Dupre.png Ultima6 portrait c0 Shamino.png Ultima6 portrait c0 Iolo.png Ultima6 portrait t3 Jaana.png Ultima6 portrait t4 Julia.png Ultima6 portrait t7 Katrina.png

Ultima6 portrait c1 Geoffrey.png Ultima6 portrait c3 Mariah.png

Recurring companions

Ultima6 portrait t4 Gwenno.png Ultima6 portrait c4 Sentri.png Ultima6 portrait h6 Gorn.png

New companions Knight of Legend

Ultima6 portrait c1 Sherry.png Ultima6 portrait h1 Blaine.png Ultima6 portrait v3 Leodon.png Ultima6 portrait v3 Leonna.png Ultima6 portrait t9 BehLem.png

Ultima6 portrait c4 Seggallion.png

Character class triangle[edit]

Legend:
Top: characters without magic powers
Bottom: characters with strong magic powers
Left: characters with high strength
Right: characters with high dexterity

Suggested party[edit]

The initial party is made of four members: the Avatar, Shamino, Iolo and Dupre. They will not leave if asked to.

There is room for four more party members (two more only in the SNES port). It is advisable to always leave one free slot in order to recruit less useful characters, just to access their equipment and then dismiss them.

There are 9 different character sprites, but only 8 slots in the playable party. In order to avoid confusion during battles, it would be advisable to have characters with different sprites.

Dexterity is probably the most important attribute: it rules hit rate, stealth and perhaps evade rate. Sherry, Blaine and Jaana are the recruitable characters with top dexterity.

N. Sprite Starter Joiner(s) Notes
1 Ultima6 sprite Avatar.png Avatar - The main character, alter-ego of the player.
2 Ultima6 sprite Ranger.png Shamino - The alter-ego of Richard Garriott.
3 Ultima6 sprite Bard.png Iolo Gwenno
Leodon
Identical sprites would create confusion in battle: stick to Iolo.
4 Ultima6 sprite Paladin.png Dupre Sentri
Seggallion
Gorn
Identical sprites would create confusion in battle: stick to Dupre.
Seggallion was an important character in Knights of Legend (1989).
Gorn was the main character in The Quest (1983) and Ring Quest (1985).
5 Ultima6 sprite Mouse.png - Sherry She can get through closed portcullises and mouse holes. Necessary at one stage in the game, but she is hard to resurrect.
6 Ultima6 sprite Druidess-Artisan.png - Jaana
Julia
Leonna
Jaana has the top dexterity of the three.
Julia has low dexterity and average strength.
Leonna has the lowest attributes in the game.
7 Ultima6 sprite Juggler.png - Blaine Very high dexterity
8 Ultima6 sprite Farmer.png - Katrina Low attributes. Keep her in the party until you meet Beh Lem.
9 Ultima6 sprite Gargoyle.png - Beh Lem Necessary to complete the game.