Basic Equipment

At the start there are very few options for equipment configuration. You should resist buying cheap, low-damage items. The upcoming quests will quickly open access to far better weapons, but you still need to establish a basic offensive capability first.

Step by Step

1. After receiving extra funds from the Regent of Castle Ironfist, go downstairs and buy membership in the Berserk Fury guild; also pick up the quest to find the harp.
2. At the guild next door, buy Bow and Chain skills for the whole party.
3. Go to the weapon shop and save your game. Enter the shop and buy the best bows available. If the stock is poor, reload and re-enter — the inventory re-rolls. Repeat until you get something worthwhile (e.g. bows +4, 5d2+4) or run out of patience. Yes, this is an exploit, but we love Might and Magic with all its quirks.
4. You can spend the remaining gold (~1200) on better leather armour for a Sorcerer if you have one. Nothing else is affordable yet.
5. Head outside the city and start culling the Baa cultists. Be wary of enemy archers early on and keep your distance. Fight exclusively at range — at this stage melee does 1–5 damage. Set the Cleric's quick-spell to First Aid. If you have no Cleric, use bottles and rest in the stables.
6. You can also open the chests near the castle — consider spending horseshoes on Disarm Trap first.
7. If bows alone are struggling, return to New Sorpigal (deposit gold, collect 100 from the well) and begin clearing the map.
8. Before leaving, talk to all residents in the area around the castle and recruit a Scholar as an NPC. They will identify all items and add 5% to combat experience.