CrawlWiki - User contributions [en]

Tips and tricks

2013-10-23T07:52:10Z

XaltVelmo: /* If There is a Monster in View */

{{version}}
[[image:crawl-flowchart.jpg|thumb|100px|right|Flowchart]]

This is a collection of random tips and tricks for those who are starting to play ''Dungeon Crawl''.

==General==
*Don't forget that ''Dungeon Crawl'' is a turn-based game: monsters won't act as long as you don't do anything either. If the situation grows dire, stop and think about every aspect before picking a solution and making your move. Indeed, you can even save your game and leave the computer to do something else then come back later. You may have a brilliant idea that you wouldn't have had in the heat of the moment! Note that "remembering stuff" costs no game time; this includes looking through your inventory ('i' command), your maps of the dungeon ('X' command), and using '^F' to search for (but not travel to) known items in the dungeon. Note that within the 'X' command, you can use '[' and ']' to switch levels -- to descend into a branch, put the cursor on its entry stair before using ']'. Don't hesitate to simply save the game and come back later -- some time to calm down and think, can often let you salvage a situation that originally looked hopeless.
*You do not have to fight and kill all monsters ''now''. In roguelike games such as ''Dungeon Crawl'', there is no guarantee that you'll be able to overcome all the challenges you meet, and escaping or ignoring some monsters or branches for the moment is a perfectly valid strategy. Remember, your goal is to survive.
*While it's best to [[Specialization|specialize]] early on and invest all your XP into a couple of skills to ensure you've got some reliable means of surviving, as the game progresses you should diversify your skills to ensure you can meet any challenge. Melee fighters will want to learn [[Spellcasting]] to dabble into magic, and conversely, spellcasters will want to invest some XP into [[Fighting]], Weapon Skill, [[Dodging]], and perhaps [[Armour]] and/or [[Shields]]. Don't forget about [[Invocations]] and/or [[Evocations]] either, depending on your god choice or equipment.
*If you collect 3 or more potions of the same kind on the first 5 levels of the dungeon, there's a 95% chance they'll be safe to drink. The rest you should identify some other way, or wait until you're equipped to deal with the effects. Scrolls, on the other hand, are rarely dangerous. Use-ID them all you like early on, but be cautious about what equipment you risk cursing until you've got remove curse handy (Also be cautious if you're vulnerable to fire, as the [[scroll of immolation]] shows up well before [[torment]] or holy word). For more details and tips on identifying items, see the [[Identification]] page.
*Knowing which dungeon branches you should tackle, and in what order, will make your game smooth and your progress quick. See the [[walkthrough]] for more information.
*If you haven't won yet, stick with the basic 3 rune plan, but as you gain skill, start exploring the optional endgame branches.

==Monsters==
*Do your best to learn every monster's strengths and weaknesses, behaviour, and pattern of attack. The information in this [[Main Page|CrawlWiki]] helps too! Another resource are the Knowledge Bots in IRC or their [http://crawl.develz.org/info/index.php website].
*Whenever possible, fight in corridors that are one-tile wide to avoid being surrounded by monsters. If there isn't a convenient corridor, you can use a [[wand of digging]] or the [[Dig]] spell to create one. If you use ranged abilities or spells, there's even a chance the projectile will continue past its first target, damaging the monsters lined up behind it! Doorways are another option, although intelligent monsters will move past you to give their companions a shot at mauling you.
*If neither are available, you can fight on a staircase leading to the previous level. When a monster moves next to you, it will follow you if you go upstairs: you can break up groups of monsters and kill them one by one this way.
*To "pull" single monsters without waking their neighbours, shoot them with missiles (such as stones) or with a spell (other than an area effect spell) such as [[Magic Dart]]. Yelling (tt) should only be used when you want to wake all nearby creatures, including nearby ones out of sight.
*Stones are also good for killing a [[jelly]] if you have the patience. Jellies can't eat stones, and with a handful of stones and a bit of Throwing skill you'll take it down fast. This works best on a clear level where you have a loop without edible items or doors to run around.
*Some monsters avoid known [[trap]]s; you can therefore take shelter behind a trap and kill these creatures with missiles or spells. Likewise, most monsters avoid damaging areas such as poison or flame clouds created by [[Conjure Flame]] and [[Fire Storm]]. On the other hand, many mindless monsters will walk into traps and clouds to get to you; you can exploit this advantage by standing next to a blade trap, for example, and letting a zombie walk up to you. The trap will turn it into minced meat for you.
*[[Boring beetle]]s are a poor man's wand of digging: hit them until they are severely wounded and flee, then position yourself to influence their direction. You can even lure them to disconnected levels.
*Known teleport [[trap]]s can become a means of escape. Step on them to escape a horde of enemies, or trick a tough monster into stepping on them.

==Items==
*Many items can be identified by trying them out. You can read tips about identifying items this way [[Identification|here]]. Also, when looking at inventory or stack lists, notice the color items are displayed in, as this can tell you things your character knows but the player might not:
;Dark Grey: item is unusable or inapplicable to character
;Light Grey: item is unidentified or is standard identified item
;Dark Green: item is unidentified and uncursed and possibly magical
;Blue: item is unidentified and possibly branded and magical
;Bright Green: item is uncursed and wielded/worn
;Red: item is unidentified and cursed or bad to use or is discouraged by god
;Bright Red: item is cursed and wielded/worn
;White: item is a unique artifact
;Purple: item is potentially dangerous to use (emits warning prior to use)
;Yellow: item is beneficial
;Cyan / Light Blue: item is highly beneficial
*Even if you're playing a character with phenomenal Strength, you won't be able to carry every worthwhile item you come across, since you're limited to 52 types of items in your inventory. Find a safe place to establish a [[stash]] as soon as possible.
*A [[scroll of blinking]] is the most reliable means of escape for characters early on. Use them wisely to avoid death. Keep in mind that some levels (the last levels of the [[Slime Pits]], the [[Elven Halls]], and the [[Realm of Zot]], for example) will not let you control your blink location.
*A [[scroll of teleportation]] can also be used to escape, but are riskier, especially if you're on a level you haven't fully explored. Still, it beats dying.
*If a [[scroll of detect curse]] shows that some of your items are cursed, don't toss them away just yet if they are jewellery or artefacts. When some of your normal equipment gets cursed, put on those cursed items too before reading a [[scroll of remove curse]]. They may turn out to be useful despite being initially cursed.
*Try to find a weapon of [[protection]] as a secondary weapon. +5 AC is handy when you stumble into a pack of enemies that you want to either bypass or run away from.

==Spells==
*[[Mephitic Cloud]] (or tossing potions of confusion with [[Evaporate]]) is one of the best tools at your disposal. Any monster not resistant to poison can be confused via this spell. While in their confused state, monsters will move and attack randomly, and may even damage themselves or their friends!
*In emergencies, you can use the [[Sublimation of Blood]] spell to restore MP. While it's usually better to wield a chunk of meat before casting this spell, not doing so will instead drain your HP and convert it to MP, a viable option if you're playing a tough species with lots of HP.
*[[Fulsome Distillation]] is a great spell to find early. Not only does it train [[Transmutations]] and [[Necromancy]] (which you'll need for [[Necromutation]] if you're planning that far), it also allows you to identify bad potions (poison, strong poison, confusion, paralysis, decay, degeneration and mutation) at no cost!
*You can use [[Sticks to Snakes]] to get rid of cursed wooden weapons (such as clubs). Beware, though, as the snake(s) created will be hostile!

==Miscellaneous==
*Always save your permafood (such as rations) and try to rely on chunks of meat instead. If you're having trouble beating starvation, then consider playing a species with a slow metabolism (such as [[Spriggan]]s) or ones that are carnivorous and can therefore eat meat at any time (such as [[Kobold]]s). Or learn the joys of being a [[mummies|mummy]], and ignore hunger completely.
*You can also look for for an [[amulet of the gourmand]] or a [[ring of sustenance]]. Both of those items help dealing with the "food clock" aspect of the game, allowing you to play more carefully. [[Poison resistance]] is also helpful as it allows your character to eat chunks from poisonous monsters, broadening your menu.
*Each level has 3 staircases down and 3 staircases up (the bottom floors naturally lack the down stairs). When you see fewer staircases you know the level is not fully explored yet. The opposite may not be true: just because you see 6 staircases does not mean the level is fully explored. Also, missing stairs might only be reachable by going through an adjacent level -- many levels are split into multiple disconnected sections, and those sections need not be connected.
*The experience system changed sharply between [[0.8]] and [[0.10]]. The old practice of 'victory dancing' is gone. Now, skills are available to be trained based on what you are wearing, can currently wield, and can cast. See [[Experience#Skill_Experience|skill experience]] for more details.
*If you're going to stand in one spot for an extremely long period of time -- say, while waiting for a status to time out -- do so on a down stairway. The reason for this is so you can flee quickly when the game starts spawning dangerous [[out-of-depth]] monsters after a few thousand turns.

==Fighting Strategies==
Whether your character is a melee fighter or a spellcaster, you can use the general pattern described by the flowchart at the top of the page in the vast majority of situations. Here are some situations and the proper responses.

===If There is a Monster in View===
*If it is a [[statue]] or [[Roxanne]], leave it be and return to kill it once you have cleared the level, assuming you have the tools to do so (a [[wand of disintegration]] works great against statues).
*If it is a hydra, switch to a flaming or non-edged weapon, then proceed as usual. This does not apply to zombie or summoned hydras. If it is a shapeshifter hydra, you may want to wait until it changes form.
*If it is attacking you with an element you don't currently resist, but can with appropriate randart weapons or jewelery, wield/put on that item. '''Do not switch other equipment (especially body armour) since this will take many turns during which the monster can attack you freely!'''
*If there is a highly dangerous monster in view, you may want to kill it as soon as possible, even if it is part of a larger group. If that would be too dangerous, run, teleport or blink away. Dangerous monsters include:
**Paralyzing monsters, such as [[giant eyeball]]s
**Monsters who can summon [[fiend]]s, such as [[ancient lich]]es and [[Pandemonium lord]]s
**[[Torment]]ing monsters (which remove 35-50% of your HP with a single hit unless you are immune to torment) such as [[fiend]]s, [[Pit fiends]], [[Shadow fiends]], [[curse skull]]s, [[curse toe]]s, [[greater mummy|greater mummies]], [[mummy priest]]s, and [[tormentor]]s
**Monsters who can cast [[Lehudib's Crystal Spear]], such as deep elf/draconian annihilators and liches
**Mutating monsters, if you don't have an amulet of resist mutation: [[neqoxec]]s, [[shining eye]]s, [[orb of fire|orbs of fire]] and [[Mnoleg]]
**Player ghosts
**Monsters who attack you using an element you aren't resistant to
**Smiting monsters, such as [[orc priest]]s and [[smoke demon]]s
**Unique monsters
*If there are several monsters, retreat to a chokepoint.
*If you get swamped by summoned monsters, wear an [[amulet of warding]] and try to kill the summoners first, then high tier demons (as they will summon lower tier ones). If you get swamped by rats and bats, the cause is a vampire. Use [[Abjuration]] if you've got access to it.
*If it has a ranged attack, either run up to it to force it to melee, or run for cover behind a corner, whichever is faster.
*If your character's life is at risk, read [[Escaping from (and avoiding) trouble]].
*Once all monsters are dead, butcher their corpses and eat the chunks if hungry/carnivore/gourmand. Alternately, use the chunks for [[Sublimation of Blood]] to restore MP. Alternately, sacrifice the corpses for Piety if your deity appreciates such offerings.

=== If There is no Monster in View===
*If you are hurt and you are a regenerating species, rest by holding Shift and pressing '5' on the NumPad until your HP is full. As the game progresses, you'll acquire other means to heal yourself, but the consumable versions should generally be saved for emergencies.
*If you need MP, rest or use a means of restoring some MP: either a crystal ball of energy, a staff of channeling, [[Sublimation of Blood]] or Sif Muna's MP channel.
*If your inventory is full, wear rings of sustenance and an amulet of the gourmand, then go drop off items you don't need at your stash.
*If you are not on a special level, press 'o' to auto-explore.
*If you are on a special level, carefully explore manually in circles from the upstairs until fully cleared and explored.
*If you are done exploring the current level, follow the [[walkthrough]] for the next steps (which will often be to just continue down, but be careful not to enter branch ends earlier than you should).

[[Category:Strategy Guides]]

[[Category:Tips]]

Deep Dwarf

2013-10-22T09:24:01Z

XaltVelmo: /* So What Does All This Mean? */

{{version013}}
''This article is about the player [[species]]. For the monster, see [[Deep Dwarf (monster)]]. For a list of all monstrous deep dwarves, see [[List of deep dwarves]].''
{{flavour|Deep Dwarves are short, hardy people who, unlike their extinct surface relatives, never left the underground homelands. Living there for countless generations made them turn pale and lose all ability to regenerate on their own (nor are they receptive to any effects which merely hasten regeneration), as well as all ability to recover from losses to their primary attributes over time. On the other hand, Deep Dwarves have developed the ability to instantly counteract small doses of damage. Their empathy with the earth makes them sense their surroundings; this ability increases in power as they gain experience levels.

Given their lack of innate healing, few Deep Dwarves venture out for adventures or even combat. Those who do bring a wand of heal wounds, or rely on divine assistance.

Naturally, Deep Dwarves are quite adept with all arts of avoiding blows and damage. Offensively, they are skilled users of axes, crossbows, and slings. Deep Dwarves are highly spiritual beings, often portrayed as actual spirits by outsiders; because of this, their skill with invocations is great. They are most at home with the magic of earth and death.

Deep Dwarves are gifted forgers. Their armour and weapons are very well-crafted and much more durable than the products of lesser artisans, and particularly dangerous when in the hands of a true Dwarf. In addition, Deep Dwarves can tinker with gadgets so as to recharge them. However, each time they do so, they lose a bit of their magical essence.}}

==Innate Abilities==
*[[Bad mutations#Slow Healing|Slow Healing 3]]: Deep Dwarves cannot [[heal]] lost HP or attributes naturally, nor benefit from any form of regeneration (including the [[Regeneration]] spell).
**Deep Dwarves will not passively regain MP if wearing an [[amulet of guardian spirit]].
*[[Good_mutations#Passive Mapping|Passive Mapping 1]]: Deep Dwarves can sense parts of the layout of the dungeon around them.
*Damage Reduction (also known as "damage shaving"): Deep Dwarves suffer less damage from every source. Among other things, this generally negates the effects of being [[poison]]ed.
*Deep Dwarves receive bonuses from dwarven weapons and armor, in addition to the bonuses this equipment already provides from its superior construction. For Deep Dwarves, dwarven armour impedes spellcasting less than other armours and improves their effective Armour skill. They do slightly more damage when using dwarven weapons.
*[[File:Device recharge.png]] Device Recharging: Deep Dwarves can recharge wands and rods at the cost of 1 permanent MP.
{{flavour|At the permanent loss of one magic point recharge a wand or rod.}}

==Preferred Backgrounds==
*'''Warriors:''' [[Fighter]], [[Gladiator]], [[Hunter]]
*'''Zealots:''' [[Berserker]], [[Healer]]
*'''Warrior-mages:''' [[Warper]]
*'''Mages:''' [[Necromancer]], [[Earth Elementalist]]
*'''Adventurers:''' [[Artificer]]

==Level Bonuses==
*+1 [[strength]] or [[intelligence]] (equal chance) every 4th level.
*20% more [[HP]] than average.
*Average [[MP]].
*+6 [[magic resistance]] per level.
*At level 14, gain [[Life Protection|Life Protection 1]].
*At levels 9 and 18, your [[Good mutations#Passive Mapping|Passive Mapping]] is upgraded to ranks 2 and 3, respectively.

===Damage Reduction===
The formula for Deep Dwarves' damage reduction is 1d(2 + (1d(1 + experience level / 3) - 1)). This is applied against all damage they receive, even against attacks that are normally irresistible like [[smiting]] or [[hellfire]]. The table below only lists selected levels; unlisted levels also see small increments in damage reduction. It is not applied to damage from spell activation sources, such as [[Makhleb]]'s abilities.

{| class="prettytable"
!Level !! Damage reduced
|-
|1 & 2 || 1-2 (avg. 1.5)
|-
|5 || 1-3 (avg. 1.75)
|-
|8 || 1-4 (avg. 2)
|-
|11 || 1-5 (avg. 2.25)
|-
|14 || 1-6 (avg. 2.5)
|-
|17 ||1-7 (avg. 2.75)
|-
|20 || 1-8 (avg. 3)
|-
|23 || 1-9 (avg. 3.25)
|-
|26 || 1-10 (avg. 3.5)
|}

==Starting Skills and Equipment==
Deep Dwarves start with the skills and equipment listed for their background, with these exceptions:
*A [[wand of healing]] with 5 charges.
*All weapons and armor are of dwarven quality, where such variants exist.

==Difficulty of Play==

{{Beginner}}

Deep Dwarves are an easy species to play so long as you quickly find a renewable source of healing. They have powerful damage shaving, which makes them immune to most damage-over-time attacks (such as poison). Starting the game with healing wands identified is also nice. They have decent aptitudes for a fighter-mage hybrid. Due to their lack of healing, they must choose their [[god]] and background with great care. Despite avoiding the loss of HP healing from [[sickness]] (since they have nothing to lose), their inability to naturally recover from ability score loss actually makes sickness a much bigger deal than for most races.

Towards the late game, the lack of natural healing becomes much more significant. Vaults:5 and Zot:5, among other locations, can severely strain your supply of potions or piety (for divine healing). However, full-HP Deep Dwarves are also much more capable of surviving battles in these places, because they take much less damage from things such as [[orbs of fire]]. The extended endgame is a different matter: while [[torment]] poses less of a direct danger to deep dwarves, damage from it can be very difficult to repair. Places such as [[Hell]] and [[Pandemonium]] will see you being tormented with considerable regularity, and this will rapidly deplete your supply of healing if you're not careful.

{{species_aptitudes|Deep Dwarf}}

==Strategy==
Initially, you start with a wand of healing, and the ability to recharge at the cost of one max MP. Use it. You're not going to regain that lost health naturally, so whenever your HP is at least 20 points or so below maximum, heal. Don't be afraid to use the recharging ability - it is better to end with 45 max MP instead of 50 than it is to die. Once you've identified [[potions of heal wounds]], you should use them before the wand, as they can break, and using them means you won't have to sacrifice as many MP to charge your wand. Save [[potions of curing]] for situations where you have a negative status effect, such as [[rot]] or [[confusion]] - using them to simply heal HP is wasteful. Use the wand instead, charging it if necessary.

Later on, you will need a source of renewable healing, in addition to the usual means of non-renewable (consumable) healing. Consumable healing will quickly be exhausted if you don't find another way to heal. There are only a few ways to go about this:

===Healing Through [[Necromancy]]===
Deep Dwarves cannot use the [[Regeneration]] spell, but they can use [[Vampiric Draining]]. This spell requires a living target in melee range to be effective; luckily, the game provides plenty of these. It is only found in the [[Book of Necromancy]], which can be obtained in three ways:
*By starting as a [[Necromancer]]
*By finding it randomly, often in a shop (one might also find a [[randart]] spellbook containing the same spell)
*While [[Kikubaaqudgha]] worshipers normally only have a 50% shot at getting Vampiric Draining, the fact that they can't cast Regeneration means that Deep Dwarves will always receive it at * piety.

Gifted necromancers can also use [[Borgnjor's Revivification]] to heal, but this is as much of an emergency spell for Deep Dwarves as it is for any other character, given its cost in max HP.

===Passive Divine Healing===
Two gods passively give HP for kills:
*[[Makhleb]] gives HP for killing most enemies. He is by far the more common choice, since his healing is useful everywhere, and his other abilities are useful to just about any character build.
*[[The Shining One]] gives HP on killing "evil" enemies (namely demons, undead, and many spellcasters). A Deep Dwarf doing the extended end game may well find TSO to be a better option than Makhleb, since virtually all of the enemies in [[Hell]] and [[Pandemonium]] are evil, and TSO gives a variety of useful abilities in fighting them.

===Active Divine Healing===
Three gods have [[Invocations]] which can heal Deep Dwarves. All of these abilities cost piety, although to varying degrees.
*[[Elyvilon]] gives two healing abilities, Lesser and Greater Self-Healing. Both cost piety, but they are gained fairly early on (at * and *** piety, respectively), so most players will be unlikely to lose them. It is fairly easy to gain piety with Elyvilon by pacifying monsters, and to a lesser extent, sacrificing weapons. However, Ely's pacification abilities require [[Invocations]] skill to be most effective, and they both have steep food costs.
*[[Trog]] gives a regeneration ability at ** piety, Trog's Hand. Unlike all other forms of regeneration, this works on Deep Dwarves. The ability does not require Invocations to be effective - rather, it becomes more effective with increasing piety. One must be careful about using this as one's only means of healing - it can rapidly consume piety, making it and Trog's other abilities considerably less effective.
*[[Yredelemnul]] gives worshipers the ability to drain ambient lifeforce at **** piety. This ability is quite expensive, requires considerable Invocations investment (the max it can heal you is Invocation*2), and only works on living monsters. Taking Yred explicitly for this ability is inadvisable.

===Vampiric Weapons===
Vampiric weapons will heal Deep Dwarves when they hit a living target. Unfortunately, they are quite rare, and there is no way to guarantee that they will be on a useful weapon. An early vampiric weapon may give a Deep Dwarf more flexibility in god choice, however.

===Non-Renewable Healing===
Deep Dwarves can also heal themselves through the following consumable means:
*Quaffing a [[potion of curing]] or [[potion of heal wounds]]
*Zapping a [[wand of healing]]
*The [[Elixir]] card, found in the Decks of War, Defense, and Changes. Unfortunately, none of these are gifted by [[Nemelex Xobeh]]. At low power, this card may only induce the Regeneration spell, which is a waste on Deep Dwarves.
*The Potion card, found in Decks of Wonders. At low power, this has a 54% chance of some form of HP healing (27% each of duplicating Potion of Heal Wounds or Potion of Curing). At higher power this chance drops off, as other non-healing effects also show up and dilute your odds. It hits a 21.6% chance of healing (10.8% of each potion type) at maximum power.
*The Alchemist card (Deck of Wonders) is the only card guaranteed at all power levels to give a healing effect that works on Deep Dwarves. It also robs you blind, but what use is money if you're dead?
*Xom will occasionally heal worshipers
*Drinking from a sparkling fountain gives a random potion effect, possibly including healing. This is generally a Bad Idea, given that other effects include [[rotting]] and [[mutations]].

===So What Does All This Mean?===
All of this essentially means that Deep Dwarves are fairly limited in their choice of god. Necromancers have the most flexibility; since they start with Vampiric Draining, they can do reasonably well with any god they desire, although it is still advisable to pick one who gives renewable healing. All others, with the exception of those who get lucky and find a Book of Necromancy early on, are pretty much forced to choose between Makhleb, Elyvilon, Trog, and Kikubaaqudgha. Yredelemnul is a very iffy option, while The Shining One is only effective in the late game.

At first glance, this might seem to make most of the religious classes off-limits for Deep Dwarves. However, this is not actually so:
*[[Berserker]]s already start with Trog
*[[Healer]]s already start with [[Elyvilon]]
*[[Chaos Knight]]s start with Xom. Xom is not incredibly hard to ditch, given that his wrath is simply the typical nasty things he already does to you when you're in "good" standing with him.
*[[Death Knight]]s start with Yredelemnul. They will probably want to change gods, but Yred's wrath is fairly tame. He causes necro miscasts and summons servants on you - but you can outrun all of them except for [[death cob]]s, which are extremely rare, and [[flying skull]]s, which are pathetic.
*[[Abyssal Knight]]s are the only religious class with significant trouble switching to another god. [[Lugonu]] does not give healing, and her wrath is extremely dangerous for a low-level character: you will likely be [[Abyss]]ed repeatedly. With the removal of wrath dilution in [[0.11]], early DDAK will either have to get lucky and find sources of healing (ideally a vampiric weapon or a book of Necromancy) that let them stay with Lugonu, or simply survive her wrath. Delaying the changeover as long you can reasonably keep charging the wand is a good idea: an XL12-13 character has a much greater chance of surviving Lugonu's wrath than an XL5 one. It is better to be down 10 max MP in the endgame than to be dead.

[[category: species]]
[[category: Dwarf]]