79 replies to this topic

[Svlad]

Hm.

Neat, the people on the game's own site aren't this interested in the game.

The answer to the 'how do you find your way around in the depths' problem, in my book, is Star Magic/Star Sight - full level map.  Also, I *think* levels stop expanding after a while.. but don't quote me on that, I haven't been counting squares.

Dark Mana is nice, but I always take Scroll Lore, and I find it's a spell I can rely on finding on a scroll.  Be careful with it - it encourages you to take your time and wander around levels, and that's wound up killing me.  That said, it's especially nice in combination with White Magic/Exorcism or whatever the Spellsong is named that prevents skeletons from rising.

Obviously, I play magic-users.

[A. J. Raffles]

Oh, so you're one of those amazing people who've managed to get that far down, then. Just out of curiosity: could you do that with a non-magic user as well?

[Svlad]

I'm currently wandering around level 75 with about 13,000 points.  I'd be deeper, but I'm trying to see how high a score I can get, so I'm moving very slowly.  I've been down this deep before, but restarted to get a higher score. I've got a couple Heartstones in inventory at this point, I've got high enough spellpower to destroy every trap on the level from the entrance, etc, so I'm fairly confident of diving as deep as I care to go.

I think you could get pretty deep as a thief-type.  I haven't really played with sneaking past monsters, but comments on the official forums lead me to believe that you can sneak past just about everything.  Especially if you took some magic to help - Earth and Star magic would make a pretty potent thief, just off the top of my head with no real thought invested.

There seem to be 'warrior' type characters on the high-score list - someone made it to level 56 with a character with the 'no spellcasting' disadvantage, so it's possible to do fairly well.  After a while, though.. I just don't see how you're supposed to kill anything really deadly as a warrior.

(Edit: I should add, I'm only looking at the high score list for the current version)

[A. J. Raffles]

Right, so I suppose that means level 20 is already quite good for "no spellcasting"?

[Svlad]

I'm certainly impressed by that feat, for whatever that's worth.

[A. J. Raffles]

Dang, so I do need to change my tactics after all. I managed to get to level 21 this afternoon, though...

[Svlad]

I can give you advice on spellcasters, if you like.  It seems a bit spoilery to me, though, so I'll hold off til you say you want it

I do recommend the list of spells available from the FAQ at the game's site.  Spoilery it may be, but making characters with each spell category and taking notes on what each one contains is a pain.

Thanks for turning me onto this game; I found it from here, and one of my original inspirations for wanting to see how far I could survive was you and Eagle of Fire comparing scores here.  That and my general love of roguelikes.

You may be amused to know that I've owned a copy of Mordor for years, that I've lurked on Braindead's for a while and recognized your name from there before you set your sig, and that I've only been down to level 6 or so.  One of these days I'll get around to playing it again

[A. J. Raffles]

Hmm, I don't think I want that many spoilers yet, but thanks anyway. I'd be interested in knowing which non-magical traits would you recommend for a magic user, though, because that's something that has always given me some trouble (which is why I stick to non-magic using warrior-thieves).

What I find easier about Mordor is that you can go back if you realise you'll need some more time before you can advance to the next level. In Lost Labyrinth, there are no stairs leading back up to the previous level (well, there are, but somehow you can't climb them), so if you fall through a trapdoor before you could explore a level, you can't go back.

[Svlad]

I don't take many abilities that aren't purple or grey.  Here's a list:

Abilities I'm currently using:
Hunter.  Free points, plus an utterly unlimited supply of food.
Witch Hunter.  Produces incredible numbers of scrolls.  If scrolls are useful to you, this is useful to you.
Dragon Slayer: Not really useful, unless you can kill a lot of dragons and really want points.
Monster Sense.  New in the latest version, so if it's not on your list you know why.  Immunity to ambushes is a huge asset.  Free, permanent See Invisible and the ability to work well without a light source make this an awesome pick in my book.

Abilities I have opinions on:
Herb Lore.  Mushrooms can occasionally raise stats!  Wow!  ..yeah, but the ones that do are so rare you might as well take Wisdom instead.
Alchemy.  Most potions are useless.  Using a point to turn time spent getting mushrooms into potions is as iffy as Herb Lore.  Yes, there are amazing potions.. but they don't happen often enough.
Wisdom.  I'm not using this ability at the moment, but it's not a bad choice.
The various Chosen abilities are popular, and for good reason, though I've never taken one myself.

[Eagle of Fire]

I never noticed losing a turn brewing a potion. When I have only a portion of my movement left I still keep it and monsters don't shoot at me (etc).

[Svlad]

Quote

time spent getting mushrooms into potions

Meaning, you're turning the time you spent getting to the mushroom and picking it up into potions.  Sorry for my lack of clarity.  I'd rather just leave the mushrooms on the dungeon floor.

[A. J. Raffles]

Yesterday I played for about half an hour wondering why my characters with the "hunter" characteristic kept starving to death until I realised I was still playing version 4.010 e.
I still need to get used to the new version, I think. Is there any way of switching off that annoying auto-pickup of rocks?

[Svlad]

There's an auto-pickup option in the options menu.  In my opinion, you should turn it off, now.  Among the other bonuses for turning it off is the revelation that you stepping on a teleporter doesn't automatically teleport you.

[A. J. Raffles]

Svlad, on Aug 9 2005, 04:49 PM, said:

There's an auto-pickup option in the options menu.  In my opinion, you should turn it off, now.  Among the other bonuses for turning it off is the revelation that you stepping on a teleporter doesn't automatically teleport you.

Hmm, I tried that, but it's a bit awkward that you also have to remember to press T if you want to get healed at a sanctum. I wish there was a way of enabling auto-pickup only for certain item classes, like in ADOM.
So far I haven't really got much further than I did in the earlier version, but some things (like the tutors) are definitely a nice addition. I stand by my high rating of the game.

About magic, I've tried Druid Magic for a bit, but I'm beginning to wonder whether that's really a very good choice. Basically, I'd like a thieving fighter character who can also use a bit of magic if he's in a tight spot. The Open spell was what initially appealed to me about Druid Magic, really, but my spell circle never got high enough for me to cast it anyway...

[Svlad]

Druid doesn't really have much to offer, in my book.  For the character you're trying to make, I'd recommend Earth.

Earth offers:
Earthen Strength, a useful buff if you're fighting things in melee - raise spellpower instead of strength, since the bonus ES gives is equal to your spellpower..
Excavate.  More loot is good.  It's not a huge bonus, but it's a bonus.  Careful about being lured into moving too slowly..
Earth Ripple and Portal.  Portal is an awesome tool for avoiding fights, creating safe routes through the dungeon, and just getting around.  Earth Ripple is also nice, but can be replaced with a pickax, so it's not all that impressive.
Trap Alert.  With just a little investment in spellpower (or Arcane Lore, if that's the mastery-to-spellpower talent), this can easily bring your trap detection over 100%.  And you get a 50% bonus to evading a trap once you've detected it, so even if you blunder into traps just after detecting one (I do this), you've got good odds of walking away.
Earthquake.  Not a very good screen-killer spell, but it's better by far than none.  Screen-killers are handy for spellcasters and other monsters you don't dare look in the eye.
Remove Traps.  The radius of this is affected by your spellpower.  A supremely high (40 to 50, more attainable than you think, with items) spellpower will allow you to destroy all traps on the level with a single spell.  That's probably not an option for your current playstyle, of course.. but even so, Remove Traps is a guaranteed method of defeating traps.

Other viable choices for a thief/fighter/mage would include Warlock, Illusion, Star, and conceivably White.  

I'll stop there.  I could write a couple sentences of notes on every single spell in the game at this point.