Combat is very important part of the game. In fact most experience is gained through fighting with monsters.
Combat proceeds in rounds. Each round, both you and the monsters select a course of action and Wizardry acts as the mediator of the action. Depending on character's class, skills, weapon and position in the party you can select different options of action. When you encounter more than one group of monsters (up to 5), select your opponents by clicking on their group in the monster listing. Combat is over when either side runs away (in which case you gain no experience ponts) or is totally defeated.
Most of the time, you will only be told what the monsters look like, not what they really are. For example, you may encounter "2-Headed Lion" but you won't know whether it's a Bantari or Q'Ua-Tari. Characters who have studied Mythology have the best chance of identifying the monsters' true identity.
When your character opts to fight and swing his/her weapon at a monster, three different questions are raised:
There is several methods of fighting depending on which weapon you're using (see Items|Weapon menu or Assay weapon to see which modes your weapon use). The basic mode is a Swing, a side-to-side slicing blow. The chart below compares the other available fighting modes to the Swing in three areas:
| As compared to Swing | To Hit | To Penetrate | Damage |
| Thrust | -2 | +2 | +1 |
| Bash | Same | -1 | * |
| Melee | -4 | -4 | Double |
| Throw | -1 | +1 | Same |
| Punch | +1 | -1 | Same |
| Kick | -2 | Same | +2* |
| Lash | +2 | -2 | Same |
| Shoot | Same | +2 | Same |
For characters with the Kirijutsu skill, any fighting mode may deliver a critical kill. For Monks and Ninja fighting with their hands or feet, the Punch and Kick modes also have a chance of delivering a critical kill.
Wizardry will allow you to select any monster group. However, you will only have the Fight option available if they are within the range of your weapon (see the chart below). Monsters' weapons have their own ranges, too.
| Range allows | Members | to attack | Groups |
| Short (S) | 1-3 | 1-2 | |
| Extended (E) | All | 1-2 | |
| Thrown (T) | All | 1-3 | |
| Long (L) | All | All | |
While in the fight mode, your character may attack a monster more than once (depending on speed, experience and skill in Weaponry) - up to 4 attacks (if wearing secondary weapon) in a round. Your character may also strike more than once (depending on dexterity and experinece).
Parry - allows your characters to take a defensive or passive role in combat. But they are still involved into fight - they may be hit, and under certain circumstances, they may hit back.
Block - allows characters to use their shield skill (if wearing one) to protect against attacks. Block is useful for characters whose weapons are not within a monster's range. A character who blocks cannot be hit for double damage.
Dodge - being extremely watchful of all weapons, spells and missiles and, when the time comes, moving aside for them. While dodging, the character is harder to hit, and cannot be struck for double damage.
Guard - allows character - if attacked by a monster - to jump out, regardless of the position in the party, and attack the monster right back. Guard is useful for flying animals, such as bats, who can attack anyone, or for characters who cannot normally reach the monsters. When a character is on guard, his or her armor class stays the same.
Rest - a resting character will recoup some stamina, but he or she will be much more vulnerable to attack while resting. This option is useful if there is little danger or if the character is about to pass out anyway (if your character passes out, it's typically for a while). Rest them before they collapse, and they'll definitely have enough stamina to get through the next round.
Hide - allows character with the Ninjutsu skill to hide from monsters during combat. If they successfully hide, they can remain hidden or ambush the monsters. The monsters are easier to hit, and if hit, they incur quite a bit of damage. Characters may remain hidden even after they launch a surprise attack especially if they're able to kill an opponent before it screams to its companions.
Spell - if your character has ability to cast spell, you can use it to cast spells which deals damage to monsters, or heals your characters. The spell will be cast sometime during the round of combat. Remember, some spells attack only one monster within a group while others attack several groups. Check out the Magic Spells for further information.
Use - certain items within Wizardry have the power to cast spells or perform magical feats in other ways. You may use these items in combat against your opponents or for the benefit of your party by selecting this option. Of course, a character who decides to use an item should have a reasonable level of skill as well. The Scribe skill, for instance, comes into play when using scrolls. The Artifacts skill is used for invoking the powers of magically charged items. The Music skill is used by the Bard whenever he or she plays an enchanted instrument.
Breathe - if your character is Dracons, he or she is able to breathe acid upon their opponents. Breath attacks require a lot of stamina, so be careful not to exhaust the Dracon.
Run - if you think that fight is too tough for your party to handle, the only hope may be to run away. You won't get any experience points, but at least your party will survive. Even if one character selects Run, the whole party will follow. Characters who are running have their backs turned to the monsters, so it's easier for the monsters to hit them, and if hit, characters may take extra damage. Monsters may also block your character's escape route, and the party will have to continue combat or attempt another getaway.
Even if your party escapes, there's a chance that they may run into another group of monsters. A good strategy for potential sprinters - keep your fighting characters fighting while those in the rear run. As they do, the fighters defend their backs, and may save you and your group lots of potential damage.
Move - if one (or more) of your characters is unable to fight (because he/she is sleeping or suffering other malady) or he/she is hurt, you can move healthy character in front of the weak one to protect him/her. You can also retreat weak character from monsters attack range. When characters move, they may move to any position. If they advance, all of the characters behind their new position will retreat one rank. On the other hand, if a character retreats, everyone moves ahead by one slot. Moving requires extra stamina, and leaves the character prone to monster attack.
You can also move your characters while adventuring - just click your characters name and then click position where he/she should move.
Equip - this option allows you to change your characters equippment (if you are thinking he/she should do it) Wizardry takes you to your character's review screen where you can change equipment, drop equipment, Assay items or take something out of, or put something into, the Swag Bag. Since you are juggling all your equipment in the heat of combat, you are using up valuable stamina and are more susceptible to attack.
Equip is also used by characters who need to reload their firearms during combat. Since the character must first Merge the firearm and its ammunition, reloading firearms occupies an entire round.
While you are equipping, you may view your character's spells, but you may not cast them (use Spell instead). Of course, you can also use Equip to look over your character's statistics and other attributes while in combat.
If you are having second thoughts about your selections, the Cancel option allows you to start all over again beginning with the first character. Backup, on the other hand, just takes you back to the previous character's selection.
If you thinks you have no chances with monsters, or almost all of your characters are dead and you cannot runa way, the Terminate Game option is your only recourse. When you select this option, the game ends, and you return to the main menu. Wizardry forgets whatever has happened, and allows you to pick up where you last saved your game.
Ilnessess can afflict your characters performance in combat and also make them more vulnerable to attacks. For example sleeping or paralyzed character cannot fight nor defend at all! All of Wizardry's maladies and their effects are covered in the Player Character.
Encumbrance also has effect on combat performance. Encumbrance is what your character faces if he or she carries too much. By reviewing your character, you can see his or her total carrying capacity along with the weight he or she currently holds.
Encumbrance affects a character's ability to hit a monster and a character's armor class in the following ways:
| Percentage Load of Carying Capacity | Change to Hit | Increase in Natural AC |
| 0% - 49% | None | None |
| 50% - 66% | -5% | None |
| 67% - 75% | -10% | +1 |
| 76% - 90% | -20% | +2 |
| 91% + | -25% to -40% | +4 |
Statistics of your characters (Strength, Intelligence, Dexterity and Speed) compared to theirs opponents may improve their odds, or lower them which somewhat hinders their success.
Thanks to genetics, some characters are naturally resistant to certain types of spells. As characters progress, they develop certain resistances and immunities as well. When hit by such a spell, the character may fully resist its effects or may take less damage than the rest of the party. To see which character races offer such resistances, check Character Races.