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[AlStar]

I saw the game was on sale, so I picked it up. After a number of false starts, I finally manage to get a possessor up to level 12. I'm doing pretty well, and feel pretty solid about my build - I'd even managed to get a rare psychic bear in my collection of bodies.

But then it came - blazingly fast, it killed my grizzly bear form that I normally used to tank things, and it blinded me almost continuously. Finally, all my heals on cooldown, I succumbed to the horror... of Sileta, the large brown snake.

I must say - I actually really dig the play style of possessors, although I unlocked both summoners and archmages this last game, so I'll probably fool around with them a bit before going back and trying another.

[Arcvasti]

But then it came - blazingly fast, it killed my grizzly bear form that I normally used to tank things, and it blinded me almost continuously. Finally, all my heals on cooldown, I succumbed to the horror... of Sileta, the large brown snake.

Snakes have high global speed, which means that named snakes can unload nasty class abilities at absurd speed. Named Hornet or Midge swarms, which have DOUBLE your global speed, are even more terrifying.


Today I found out that if mice get the Warshout ability for whatever reason, it comes out as a Warsqueak This is the best thing.

[Darkmere]

It's that swarm of little bees, all trained in bulwark, with their tiny little shields...

[AlStar]

Named Hornet or Midge swarms, which have DOUBLE your global speed, are even more terrifying.

How does that even happen?
"Oh, go not under that willow over there adventurer, for a fell beast lurks! DeathCry, the swarm of midges! They'll flay the flesh from your bones! Beware!"

The random rare/elite/boss generator is crazy. I honestly feel more trepidation opening a chest then I do against the end-of-level boss. (But the chest is just so shiny...)

Currently running an archer, and wow, do I feel like an arrow-slinging envoy of death. I've got all the stopping power of a warrior - along with a bunch of control, AoE, and escape options that the warrior doesn't get... and I can do it all from 6 squares away! Stamina use can be harsh... but you start with the stamina regeneration skill, so as long as you throw a couple of levels into that, it's manageable. Running out of arrows is a problem, but it's just one turn to switch over to my sling. So far nothing's managed to outlast both a full quiver and a full sling shot pouch.

I suspect that I'm about to hit some kind of wall shortly, but it's been clear sailing thus far.

[ChairmanPoo]

It helps to add the taunt mechanism and take randbosses a bit unseriously. "You're a tiny, tiny potato"

[AlStar]

Well, my archer died rather ignobly - took the quest that pits you against a necromancer in a tomb... several levels before I really had any business being there - died to ranged magical attacks almost before I had a chance to do anything. (Learned afterwards that, even if I'd managed to take out the boss, my decision to not desecrate the graves I'd left behind me probably would've killed me anyway... ah well - serves me right for playing a rogue-like without the wiki open at all times, I suppose.)

Went back to possessor - decided to get possess up all the way up to level 7, and I've now got both The Dreaming One (honestly rather underwhelming), and, just now, Wrathroot (who, if nothing else, should prove to be a great tank at a massive 1239 HP) as bodies in my stable. I'm now looking forward to opening chests, since they'll now give me both an item and potentially a powerful ally/form.

[Aoi]

It helps to add the taunt mechanism and take randbosses a bit unseriously. "You're a tiny, tiny potato"

What? Did the guys who made SanctuaryRPG start working on TE4?

[Frumple]

Amusingly enough, al, the graveyard is often easier when you go in early. Less chance of higher tier undead with nastier talents to pop out. I usually hit it around level seventeen or so. Tends to fit into my early game circuit after the fortress but before the mountain.

... though yeah, never leave the graves undisturbed unless you're farcically overpowered. Trying to take the boss with a junkload of classed undead pouring in behind you is like an early game room of death, except probably less survivable, ha.

[AlStar]

I usually hit it around level seventeen or so.

I was only level 15 at the time, so that much less powerful (although I think I may have gotten unlucky - reading some comments, it seems like the main boss usually isn't that big a deal, and I really should've died to the hordes of high-level undead at my back). I think my undoing was focusing on the minor undead that spawned around me instead of the boss, who was hitting me with rather nasty spells.

There seems to be a fair number of "gotchas" in ToME - the game seems entirely happy to dump you in places where you have no business being, and virtually the only defense is knowing (either through dying or wiki-reading) that you shouldn't go there.

[Frumple]

Eh... there isn't, really. Just about everything in the game like that has pretty clear warnings (zone entry feelings, vault warnings, popups, etc.), though it's entirely willing to let you go ahead and bumrush a gaggle of ancient wyrms if you're going to insist on it. Even RNG based stuff (rares, randbosses) have unique coloring and information on their talents and a bit on their kit just an inspect away. Knowing ahead of time certainly makes it easier, but in general if you're in over your head you put yourself there pretty intentionally, heh. Not too much in the game that isn't pretty explicit one way or another it's about to try abnormally hard to kill you. People just seem to like ignoring all the bits and bobs implemented to tell them to be careful, for some odd reason

Though yeah, if you were fighting the minion undead in the main chamber you were basically committing suicide. Dealing with them first is workable (usually a decent idea, even) if you can break line of fire with the boss by ducking into one or the side rooms, but trying to do it while in plain sight of the necromancer is just asking for a bucketload of arcane death to be dropped on you, heh. If you're stuck fighting in there you pretty much have to blitz the boss down if you're going to survive, at least if you're not silly overpowered for one reason or another.

[IcyTea31]

Tip: if you mouse over a dungeon entrance on the world map, it tells you the minimum level the enemies there can be. If your own level is a lot below it, you probably aren't ready for it unless you've lucked out with really good gear. Additionally, the level of enemies on a dungeon level is decided when you first enter it. When you enter a dungeon level with a boss, you can leave it for another dungeon and come back 5 levels later for an easier fight.

[Frumple]

Pretty sure that last bit just got patched out, actually. Seem to recall mention of the behavior being nixed in the 1.5.0 changelog.

[IcyTea31]

• All zones now update their base level each time the player enters

Huh. Guess that strategy no longer works, then.

[ChairmanPoo]

It helps to add the taunt mechanism and take randbosses a bit unseriously. "You're a tiny, tiny potato"

What? Did the guys who made SanctuaryRPG start working on TE4?

It's an add-on. Look for Verbose Enemies

[Darkmere]

For what it's worth, I never do the graveyard before going East unless I have a damn good reason (and there aren't many damn good reasons at all). Many games I just skip it through forgetfulness or irritation.