Hi Guys.
I've never had much to do with this forum for which I apologize, but I thought that after having played the game since almost it's release, I might just chuck out some little tips. Apologies if they're all already covered in random posts on this site somewhere. But here goes anyway :P
I started playing PD just over a year ago. Back then, level 10 was it; the be all and end all; and let me tell you.. that ninja was a lot harder to kill then! Anywho, after 100's and 100's of games throughout the development of the game, I've picked up on some tricks I want to share all at once.
Equip Stuff
Sounds stupid but do it. If you find a ring, or punchdagger, or cloth armor, in the first couple of levels.. Just equip it. If it is cursed, just restart. The amount of games you go through is silly, you may as well take the chance. A +3 punchdagger is going to get you through the first 5 levels easily.
Doors
After a certain update in the past, doors became the most amazing weapon you have. They give you 100% accuracy, if a creep walks through behind you. This can be used for multiple different things, but I will illustrate 2 main ones to you.
Firstly, GHOSTS DIE! If you want to activate a grave, do it! Then simply walk through a door, turn around, and kill the ghost. It's so much easier than it used to be.
The second, and probably more useful, tip is being able to use something like a Glaive at level 1. Because of the 100% accuracy, if you walk through a door and hit a creep with your lvl 18 weapon, they WILL die. This is amazing until the boss, but certainly keep it in mind. The downside being, you can only use this method with a weapon you KNOW will 1 hit kill. Otherwise, you might not kill, and then get wailed on for a while, which isn't fun.
Armor
Armor is everything in this game. Upgrading weapons is really tempting, but this tactic only works for the first 15-20 levels, or so, of the game. Beyond that, you will just be merc'd by creep (dem evil eyes :S). Getting plate armor in the first 4 levels is the best thing that can happen to you in the game. It should essentially render you invulnerable, till at least the 16th level. Dump all of your upgrade scrolls into armor early on. Argue if you wish. But I can promise that +8 Plate armor is never a waste of scrolls!
Pick Your Fights
Don't be afraid of running the @#$% away! If you're in a room with 3 crabs, and only 1 health potion left, just run. Yes, they will get in hits on you, but finding that all powerful doorway is going to increase your chance of living, 1,000 fold. Don't forget, that a room with a ladder in it is the safest place to fight; don't be afraid to just bail out of the room to a different level, and use the rest function to let your rations heal you. There are other ways to heal than just the health pot (use these methods early on, if you can, as well, save HP pots at all times).
Ankhs are a Scam
Each to his own on this point, I guess, and it does depend. But 9 times out of 10, it's not worth buying this stupidly expensive item, until at least level 20. Early on, you should be fighting tooth and nail, with everything in your inventory, using seeds to poison creep, wands to run away, or kill, projectiles to maim and stop.. Everything. Whilst yes, the Ankh will give you a second life, this is normally essentially just a few more minutes of frantic running before death.
The only reasons for them is as follows.
1) You're a lucky bastard; and really only have good weapon, armor, and upgrades, so your inventory doesn't matter. Or
2) Much later in the game, when the Ankh can be used as an OP health potion buy, dropping all your items on the level below, and going and suiciding on the one above.
Bosses
These guys are scary right? Wrong. These are the easiest fights in the game. They are completely predictable, and if you know how they work, then you're fine. I'm not saying they're easy. But by the time you get to them, you're either ready, or you're not; nothing you can do about it.
Goo
Just kill him in a door. Chuck down some seeds on his attack path; don't let him sit on water, avoid the first powered attack, by retreating through the door and getting off your 100% accuracy hit, and then just tank him. Easy.
Tengu
Wand of slow is helpful, but basically, you're just following him around, nailing him in the face. With a couple of HP pots, strategically placed seeds of sungrass, and a decent set of armor, you will be fine.
DM-300
Screw this guy. This, I would say, is the main boss in the game. He is a very serious waypoint. There are two main strats for him.
The first requires a ring of haste or a wand of blink. Essentially never let him near you, throw potions, seeds firebolts, darts anything, just never let him near you.
The second is the easier of the two ways. Essentially just take him to the face. You need armor and a decent weapon; curare darts help, but not essential, and a lot of HP pots. Don't worry about the gas; it's not that bad. The problem with trying to kite him away from it is that, if he gets you with his avalanche, you're gona have a bad time! Ironically, this actually works most of the time. He hits hard, but not so much that it's unbearable. You'll get there eventually.
Dwarf King
So... I've never died to this guy. My favorite strat was to throw Toxic Gas and sit invis for a while, but that got nerfed, I think. Basically, save fire potions for him and just chase him around. NEVER ATTACK THE SKELETONS! They're a waste of time. By this point in the game, if you don't have plate armor, or really upgraded scale, you're dead anyway. The most terrifying thing about this boss is the occational stun, and the consequent faceful of damage that follows. But I've never had a problem with him.
Yog-Dzewa
Same goes for him as with the Dwarf. Kill the burning fist first (less hp), then the rotting one, then just walk up to him and keep hitting him. Ignore the other little maggots that spawn. (wtf?)
That's it for bosses.. They're not that bad really.
Utility
The utility items in the game are the best and I highly recomend stockpiling them all. Things like: Potion of invis, wand of amok, fadeleaf seeds, and wand of teleport, are arguably some of the most powerful items in the game, if used well. Save them!! You'll only get so far by bulling your way through the game. Being able to teleport enemies away from you, or just hiding from them, is going to save your life more than once!
Take It Steady
Rushing a level set never works. Always make sure you are the same level as the dungeon level you are going to. Be level 8 at the end of the 7th level ect. This may require a little grinding, but nothing too unbearable and it's a safe rule. Don't be afraid of heading all the way back down to level 9 to farm some flies, if you're running low. Know your enemies and bosses. You probably can't beat the DM-300 with only 1 or 2 HP pots.. so don't try. Just take it steady. Once you have a 'sucessful' run going, don't screw it up.
Don't be a [...]
I am pretty sure I've died in pretty much every way humanly possible in this game, from intentionally walking onto massive monster traps, to poisoning myself a couple of hits away from the amulet of yendor (so much rage you have no idea).
Here are some things you don't ever want to do.
1) Drink an unidentified potion when you are levitating (if it's fire you are so stuffed!)
2) 'Walking off' poison.. -_- the game doesn't stop you if you've told it you want to walk. If you judge it wrong, you WILL die, and that feels [...]
3) Standing on grass when identifying a wand; again, if it's fire and you're standing on grass, you're gonna have a bad time.
4) Trying to tank piranhas, yes you want to save the invis potions.. but kill from a distance for God's sake; they are powerful pricks! and
5) eating mysterious meat... 1/100 times it might be fine and you'll stop yourself from starving.. 99/100 you'll die a [...] death that really didn't need to happen.
Finally HAVE FUN!
This is a crazy fun game that I never seem to get tired of. Enjoy it. Enjoy beating the DM-300 for the first time; enjoy meeting an evil eye for the first time and getting annihilated; enjoy those flukey hits that instakill you; and enjoy leaving a trail of blood behind as you run for your life. Enjoy skeletons killing you by attrition and running from enraged knoll warriors; enjoy finding glitches in the game and exploiting them to their max, only to be killed by some fluke anyway; enjoy the crazy getaways and the clutch health potions; enjoy the hillarious screw ups and the face-table worthy miss clicks. Just have fun guys.
Thanks so much to the developer, you're doing an amazing job; everyone donate to that guy, it's totally worth it. Love the game, love to hear from anyone/everyone.
Peace out :P
P.S.
[Transferred from there.]
Pro Targeting Mechanism
Heya, guys!
Just thought I'd put this in here. It's a very useful tip that I forgot to mention.
I'm sure everyone has noticed that if you're standing in a doorway and a monster is along the wall near you (a couple of blocks away), you can still hit it with a projectile, or wand bolt. However, similar to the knight in Chinese chess, if the positions are reversed, and a monster enters the doorway, you can't hit it right?
Wrong..
There is a fun little game mechanism where by, if you aim in a way that would allow you to throw the projectile normally, and happens to go through a space with a mob in it, that mob gets hit. This means that, by aiming for the piece of wall on the otherside of the doorway, you can actually hit the mob. The funny thing being that, this hit will trigger the auto fire option on your hud, BUT the auto fire doesn't work!! If you use auto fire, it will specifically target the mob, which we know doesn't work, so this is a little bit more of a laborious way of attacking; however, it is extremely helpful in some circumstances.. :)
Attack method for around walls.. Must be manual not autofire ;)
[edited by Sannse to remove slurs]
