YAVP: Faithful heart, healing and fire.

[Remora]

With my first post, I shall give the details my first victory!

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Demon Party Dump File
Version 9/19/2016, Scoring Model: 9/18/2016
Dump file created at: 9/25/2016 6:13:30 PM


Summoner Faara...
was chosen by the Faithful Heart,
selected Healing and Fire as their starting elements,
is currently at Tower:20,
and is still alive!



--==== Main Character ===--

Name : Faara
Level: 21
MaxHP: 120
MaxSP: 125

Strength: 9
Magic   : 105
Vitality: 37
Agility : 4
Cunning : 10

Resist: Body
Weak  : Fire

Abilities Known:
1) Affection (Type: Healing, 25 SP. 60-125 Power heal, based on your remaining HP (more HP = higher Power).)
2) Mending (Type: Healing, 25 SP. Cannot be used on Mended targets. 150 Power heal. Applies Mended.)
3) Combust (Type: Fire, 5 SP. 100% chance to Ignite the target, causing damage over a short duration. Free action. Cooldown: Cantrip (3))
4) Vigorous (Type: None, Passive. Increases SP regeneration by 50%.)
5) Tireless (Type: None, Passive. Increases MaxSP by 25.)
6) Lifegiver (Type: Healing, Passive. Reduces the SP cost of Healing abilities by 5, to a minimum of 0.)
7) Greek Fire (Type: Fire, Passive. Increases the duration of your Ignite effects by 3 turns.)
8) Warmth (Type: Fire, Passive. Increases HP and SP regeneration based on the number of Ignited characters you can see (more characters = larger bonus, with diminishing returns.))

Relic Upgrades:
Nightingale (Doubles the rate of HP and negative effect recovery for inactive demons.)
Revelation (Unlocks the Revelation transmutation, which grants a demon a random ability based on the modifier it would pass if used with Fuse Demons.)
S.E.P.I. (Generates a small amount of Credits each time you fully explore a level.)
Capacity Up I (Grants additional storage capacity for demon allies, allowing for a total of 7 at once.)

Inventory:
3 Might gem
2 Silver offering
2 Pure stone
4 Chakra stone
1 Meteor rune
2 Peace offering
1 Bolt glyph
1 Calm card
3 Flame glyph
1 Night rune
1 Chakra gem
9 Heal stone
1 Pain glyph
1 Frost glyph
1 Pure gem
2 Venom rune
1 Guardian gem
1 Zephyr card
1 Heal gem

Current Credits: 17706



--==== Current Party ===--

Name : Deadly Preta
Level: 16
MaxHP: 92
MaxSP: 100

Strength: 34
Magic   : 14
Vitality: 14
Agility : 35
Cunning : 33

Resist: Body
Weak  : Fire Ice Light Dark

Abilities Known:
1) Ghost Bite (Type: Pierce, 15 SP. 70 Power attack.)
2) Fade (Type: Buff, 5 SP. Briefly improves evasion by 25%. Free action. Cooldown: Cantrip (5))
3) Infectious (Type: Body, Passive. Provides a 35% chance for your Slash, Impact, and Pierce attacks to apply Infection, which hinders HP and SP recovery.)
4) Evasion (Type: Defense, Passive. Provides a 10% chance to dodge attacks.)
5) Numbing Bite (Type: Pierce, 15 SP. 70 Power attack. Has a 35% chance to inflict Paralysis, causing the target to frequently miss their turns.)
6) Bloodthirst (Type: Body, Passive. Heals you for 25% of the damage you deal with Slash, Impact, or Pierce abilities (affected by Body resistance).)
7) Shocking Stab (Type: Pierce, 5 SP. 85 Power attack, split between Pierce and Electricity. Has a 10% chance to inflict Shock, causing the target to miss their next turn.)
8) Flesh Rot (Type: Body, Passive. When you apply Infection, Poison, or Paralysis, you have a 50% chance to reduce the target's defense by 20%.)


Name : Miodchaoin
Level: 20
MaxHP: 107
MaxSP: 100

Strength: 54
Magic   : 18
Vitality: 42
Agility : 18
Cunning : 18

Resist: Body
Weak  : Mind

Abilities Known:
1) Smash (Type: Impact, 10 SP. 85 Power attack.)
2) Flesheater (Type: Body, Reactive. Responds to an adjacent character's death by draining them, healing yourself for 15% of their maximum HP.)
3) Juggernaut (Type: Defense, Passive. When your last action was movement or a movement ability, you have 25% improved defense and your next turn comes faster when damaged (excluding Ignite, Poison, and reactions).)
4) Oppressor (Type: Dark, Passive. Increases defense by 25% against enemies with lower HP. (Bonus is affected by Dark resistance.))
5) Second Wind (Type: Healing, 0 SP. Restores 30 SP and resets Breath cooldown. Cooldown: Endure (3))
6) Mighty Roar (Type: Impact, 40 SP. 0-85 Power attack, based on the user's SP (more SP = more Power). Has a 35% chance to inflict Stun, causing the targets to miss their next turn. Cannot miss. Cooldown: Breath (4))
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Name : Holy Haietlik
Level: 17
MaxHP: 80
MaxSP: 100

Strength: 17
Magic   : 35
Vitality: 17
Agility : 26
Cunning : 40

Resist: Fire Electricity Light
Weak  : Ice

Abilities Known:
1) Shocking Stab (Type: Pierce, 5 SP. 85 Power attack, split between Pierce and Electricity. Has a 10% chance to inflict Shock, causing the target to miss their next turn.)
2) Shock Dart (Type: Electricity, 15 SP. 70 Power attack. Has a 10% chance to inflict Shock, causing the target to miss their next turn.)
3) Focus (Type: Buff, 20 SP. Improves accuracy by 25%.)
4) Bolt Chain (Type: Electricity, Passive. Shocking a target also inflicts a 55 Power attack on and has an 8% chance to Shock an adjacent enemy. Shock applied by Bolt Chain cannot trigger Bolt Chain.)
5) Expel (Type: Light, 25 SP. Attempts to instantly kill the target (lower HP = higher chance, 0% chance until 30% of maximum HP, 100% chance at 20%). Cooldown: Light (3))
6) Light Veil (Type: Light, Reactive. 50% chance to respond to damage dealt to you by adjacent enemies with a 40 Power attack. Cannot miss.)
7) Censure (Type: Light, 10 SP. 40 Power attack. Cannot miss.)
8) Pounce (Type: Slash, 15 SP. Must target a character. Leap to the target with a 70 Power attack. Inflicts Stun, causing the target to miss their next turn. Cooldown: Charge (6))


Name : Polar Druj nasu
Level: 21
MaxHP: 100
MaxSP: 100

Strength: 10
Magic   : 43
Vitality: 36
Agility : 16
Cunning : 50

Immune: Ice Body
Resist: Dark
Weak  : Fire Light

Abilities Known:
1) Corrupt (Type: Body, 15 SP. 70% chance to inflict Infection, which hinders HP and SP recovery.)
2) Sepsis Wave (Type: Body, 25 SP. Only affects Infected characters. Inflicts Poison, causing damage over time (can stack three times). Can't miss.)
3) Contagion (Type: Body, 15 SP. Must target an Infected character. 70% chance to Infect an enemy near the target. Free action. Cooldown: Cantrip (3))
4) Filth Veil (Type: Body, Reactive. 35% chance to Infect adjacent characters that deal damage to you, which hinders HP and SP recovery.)
5) Frost Arrow (Type: Ice, 20 SP. 85 Power attack. Chills the target, reducing their accuracy, evasion, and movement speed by 12%.)
6) Sublimate (Type: Ice, 20 SP. Reduces the SP of all Chilled enemy targets by 10.)
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Name : Maj. Shisa
Level: 20
MaxHP: 94
MaxSP: 100

Strength: 42
Magic   : 26
Vitality: 34
Agility : 34
Cunning : 14

Resist: Mind Light Dark
Weak  : Fire

Abilities Known:
1) Holy Word (Type: Light, 30 SP. 0-85 Power attack, based on the user's SP (more SP = more Power). Cannot miss. Cooldown: Breath (4))
2) Cursebreak Cut (Type: Slash, 20 SP. 70 Power attack. Removes Offense Down, Defense Down, Accuracy Down, Evasion Down, and Speed Down from you or a nearby ally.)
3) Leap Attack (Type: Slash, 20 SP. Must target a character. Leap to the target with an 85 Power attack. Inflicts Stun, causing the target to miss their next turn. Cooldown: Charge (8))
4) Exorcist's Mien (Type: Light, Passive. Your Light and Dark attacks deal 20% more damage to targets weak to Light.)
5) Draw Wounds (Type: Healing, 0 SP. 105 Power heal. Costs HP equal to the amount healed. Healing and HP cost are limited to what will not kill the user and what the target needs to reach maximum. Free action. Cooldown: Cantrip (1))
6) Guarding Cut (Type: Slash, 15 SP. 70 Power attack. Briefly increases your or a nearby ally's defense by 25%.)
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Name : Imbued Oni
Level: 17
MaxHP: 91
MaxSP: 100

Strength: 47
Magic   : 10
Vitality: 36
Agility : 21
Cunning : 21

Resist: Fire Body Dark
Weak  : Electricity Light

Abilities Known:
1) Shellbreaker (Type: Impact, 10 SP. 70 Power attack. Has a 50% chance to reduce defense by 20%.)
2) Double Impact (Type: Impact, 15 SP. 85 Power attack split between two Impact attacks.)
3) Juggernaut (Type: Defense, Passive. When your last action was movement or a movement ability, you have 25% improved defense and your next turn comes faster when damaged (excluding Ignite, Poison, and reactions).)
4) Heavyhanded (Type: Mind, Passive. Provides a 20% chance for your Slash, Impact, and Pierce attacks to apply Stun, causing the target to miss their next turn.)
5) Vigorous (Type: None, Passive. Increases SP regeneration by 50%.)
6) Haste (Type: Buff, 35 SP. Improves speed by 33%.)
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--==== Recently Slain Allies ===--

Name : Shoggoth
Level: 22
MaxHP: 102
MaxSP: 100

Strength: 45
Magic   : 12
Vitality: 45
Agility : 26
Cunning : 32

Resist: Impact Ice
Weak  : Fire Mind

Abilities Known:
1) Speedbreaker (Type: Impact, 20 SP. 70 Power attack. Has a 35% chance to reduce speed by 33%.)
2) Healing Factor (Type: Healing, Reactive. Bestows Regeneration when an attack reduces your health to 50% or less, restoring health over time. Cooldown: Factor (1))
3) Eat Alive (Type: Pierce, 10 SP. 100 Power attack. 50% accuracy. Heals the user for 50% of the damage dealt (affected by Body resistance).)
4) Dazzling Veil (Type: Mind, Reactive. 20% chance to Stun adjacent characters that deal damage to you, causing them to miss their next turn.)
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Name : Bonnachon
Level: 21
MaxHP: 90
MaxSP: 100

Strength: 42
Magic   : 31
Vitality: 42
Agility : 15
Cunning : 25

Resist: Fire Ice Body
Weak  : Mind

Abilities Known:
1) Bull Rush (Type: Impact, 10 SP. Must target a character. Charge to the target with a 70 Power attack. Inflicts Stun, causing the target to miss their next turn. Cooldown: Charge (6))
2) Smash (Type: Impact, 10 SP. 85 Power attack.)
3) Putrid Breath (Type: Body, 35 SP. 0-85 Power attack, based on the user's SP (more SP = more Power). Has a 50% chance to inflict Infection, hindering HP and SP recovery. Cannot miss. Cooldown: Breath (4))
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Name : Bonnachon
Level: 21
MaxHP: 90
MaxSP: 100

Strength: 42
Magic   : 31
Vitality: 42
Agility : 15
Cunning : 25

Resist: Fire Ice Body
Weak  : Mind

Abilities Known:
1) Bull Rush (Type: Impact, 10 SP. Must target a character. Charge to the target with a 70 Power attack. Inflicts Stun, causing the target to miss their next turn. Cooldown: Charge (6))
2) Smash (Type: Impact, 10 SP. 85 Power attack.)
3) Putrid Breath (Type: Body, 35 SP. 0-85 Power attack, based on the user's SP (more SP = more Power). Has a 50% chance to inflict Infection, hindering HP and SP recovery. Cannot miss. Cooldown: Breath (4))
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Name : Imbued Archangel
Level: 20
MaxHP: 92
MaxSP: 100

Strength: 36
Magic   : 24
Vitality: 30
Agility : 36
Cunning : 24

Immune: Light
Resist: Fire Body
Weak  : Dark

Abilities Known:
1) Soothing Cut (Type: Slash, 20 SP. 70 Power attack. Also grants a 105 Power heal to you or a nearby ally whose HP is more than 50% of their maximum.)
2) Grand Cleave (Type: Slash, 20 SP. 85 Power attack.)
3) Exorcism (Type: Light, 25 SP. Only affects enemies weak to Light. 10-100 Power attack, based on the target's current HP (more HP = more Power). Cannot miss. Cooldown: Light (4))
4) Crusader (Type: Light, Passive. Provides a 35% chance for your Slash, Impact, and Pierce attacks to apply Guilt, healing those who damage the target (excluding reactions).)
5) Alert (Type: Buff, 20 SP. Improves evasion by 25%.)
6) Battle Cry (Type: Buff, 35 SP. Briefly improves offense by 25% for you and your allies. Cooldown: Presence (6))
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Name : Demas
Level: 17
MaxHP: 80
MaxSP: 100

Strength: 16
Magic   : 38
Vitality: 38
Agility : 10
Cunning : 33

Immune: Fire
Resist: Electricity
Weak  : Ice

Abilities Known:
1) Flame Orb (Type: Fire, 25 SP. 55 Power attack. Has a 33% chance to Ignite the targets, causing damage over a short duration. Cannot miss.)
2) Firestarter (Type: Fire, Passive. Increases your chance to apply Ignite by 50% of the original chance.)
3) Pyrokinesis (Type: Fire, 20 SP. Must target an Ignited character. Only affects enemies. 40 Power attack. Has a 33% chance to Ignite the targets, causing damage over a short duration. Cannot miss. Free action. Cooldown: Cantrip (3))
4) Spellbinder (Type: None, Passive. Reduces Cantrip cooldowns by 1 turn, to a minimum of 1 turn.)
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Name : Profane Echeneis
Level: 15
MaxHP: 82
MaxSP: 100

Strength: 16
Magic   : 35
Vitality: 28
Agility : 20
Cunning : 26

Resist: Ice Dark
Weak  : Electricity

Abilities Known:
1) Chilling Touch (Type: Ice, 5 SP. 70 Power attack. Chills the target, reducing their accuracy, evasion, and movement speed by 12%.)
2) Deep Chill (Type: Ice, Passive. Increases the duration of your Chill effects by 3 turns.)
3) Headwind (Type: Ice, Passive. Ice attacks delay the next turn of targets that moved during their previous turn.)
4) Wraith Touch (Type: Dark, 15 SP. 70 Power attack, split between HP and MaxHP damage. 66% of the MaxHP damage is drained to the user as bonus MaxHP.)
5) Cull (Type: Dark, 25 SP. Only affects enemies whose HP is 50% or less of their maximum. 70 Power attack. Cannot miss. Cooldown: Dark (4))
6) Censure (Type: Light, 10 SP. 40 Power attack. Cannot miss.)
7) Pounce (Type: Slash, 15 SP. Must target a character. Leap to the target with a 70 Power attack. Inflicts Stun, causing the target to miss their next turn. Cooldown: Charge (6))
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Name : Vishap
Level: 22
MaxHP: 91
MaxSP: 100

Strength: 32
Magic   : 48
Vitality: 29
Agility : 22
Cunning : 29

Immune: Electricity
Resist: Body
Weak  : Ice

Abilities Known:
1) Shock Arrow (Type: Electricity, 20 SP. 85 Power attack. Has a 12% chance to inflict Shock, causing the target to miss their next turn.)
2) Storm Breath (Type: Electricity, 30 SP. 0-85 Power attack, based on the user's SP (more SP = more Power). Has a 12% chance to inflict Shock, causing the targets to miss their next turn. Cannot miss. Cooldown: Breath (4))
3) Poison Veil (Type: Body, Reactive. 35% chance to Poison adjacent characters that deal damage to you, causing damage over time (can stack three times).)
4) Dragon Soul (Type: None, Passive. Your abilities that use your current SP to determine their effect use your maximum SP instead.)
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I have figured that a healer reliant on fire magic is a viable build in Demon, given them nice fire passives. It wasn't long before I had my skillset figured out; I am sure affection was the final ability I acquired, in Vikhor's sanctum, and it was to replace soothe. It was rather late in the game when I realized pyre rite was something to be considered a part of such a build. Nonetheless, I am excited that I managed to make it to the end of the game and win. In all honesty, though, I did chicken out at Tower:17 and tried to reach the end as quickly as possible; for the final two floors, I was lucky to spawn to portals to the next floor and the ending portal. I had a bad run in with a mob led by a Ruler on Tower:17, although on the next floor I did manage to dispatch such a lot. It didn't help that my next previous best run ended at Tower:17, either. At least I have learned a lot about the late game in these runs, but in this run the only thing I really learned in the last few floors are the ikiryo are a scary enemy.

For the second cycle I am in I went with the same beginning. Things will surely go differently this time around, with pyre rite being considered for a healing ability. I will also try to make it through the endgame more bravely, provided I do well enough to reach there again in the first place. I still got a lot to learn!

[Ferret]

Hey, and welcome to the forum. What a note to start on too, congrats on the win. Even better, you won a sort of build that I don't *think* I've seen a win on before (and that's saying something around here, some of these folks have dozens of wins under their belts!)

Something else to consider for your next run: Warmth, Bask, and Pyre Rite do not require you to be the one who Ignited folks in order to benefit. Warmth can be helpful for any demon who is going to run in a party with lots of Ignites going on, even if the Warmth-bearing demon itself is terrible at Magic/Cunning. Bask and Pyre Rite do check your Magic stat to determine healing, but once again, they can be used even if the user wasn't the one to throw the Ignite. (Pyre Rite may require some caution here though, unlike passive Warmth or free action Bask, it takes a turn, and you may not want every demon stopping to heal every little scratch with it. )

Warmth on allies in particular bears special mention for another reason: like Regenerate, the HP regen effect is based in part on the MaxHP of the demon in question, so high Vit/MaxHP allies may actually see a stronger boost from it in terms of raw HP than you yourself if you're running iffy Vitality.

No shame in running for the exit if you can get away with it. It lowers your score, but a win is a win, especially when it is your first. And some of the stuff in the last few floors in particular can be horrifying.

Good luck on Cycle 2.

[wizzzargh]

Yeah, a Fire Healer is pretty neat. I wonder how much damage 6 turns of Ignite from Greek Fire and Combust actually did...

Also congrats on getting a Deadly Preta to survive to the end of the game, even if you did skip a bit at the end. All those weaknesses tend to get them in trouble sooner or later.

[Ferret]

Ignite deals damage equal to 4% of your MaxHP per turn. At 6 turns, you get 24% of the target's MaxHP over that duration. (Poison 1 also deals 4% of your MaxHP per turn, by the by.)

Not earth shatteringly powerful perhaps, but it isn't meant to be: Ignite, Shock, and Chill are all usually given to the appropriate damage type abilities for "free" (i.e.: the ability is not made more expensive or otherwise adjusted based on the presence of those effects.) This is easiest to see when comparing Needle Shot vs Flame, Frost, or Shock Dart: all cost 15 SP, have the same range, and deliver a 70 Power attack, but the three elemental ones also do their elemental add-on effects.

The only time the effects aren't free is when they're present in a stronger form than normal in terms of chance to hit or duration. Sometimes too, when you see a spell that only does these things at normal odds but still has a SP cost, it's because you're paying for other aspects of spell like it being a free action, multi-target, etc.

[Remora]

This is the first fiery healer win you have seen on here, Ferret? I'm honestly surprised about that. It seems like one of the less subtle combos given the abilities in the game, and some of the builds I have seen on here are very creative. Nonetheless, I figure that I should have taken advantage of those passive fire abilities by giving them to my allies; it probably could have helped me in some situations. This second run will likely have a somewhat different moveset; I'd probably have something substitute the highly situational mending, although that's some to think over more when I get back to the game.

Also, thanks for the info on how regeneration can vary from demon to demon. It sounds like it works similarly to DCSS, at least in regards to a PC with no regeneration mutation.

I had some problems throughout the run. I think I'll list a few details:
1. I disregarded Turdak's and Ninkasi's sanctums, the former for not being quite prepared for akateko and acheri and the latter for having a bad encounter with jinn. I also found Phoenix's sanctum on Tower:17 but I didn't get to enter it because of the Ruler's mob mentioned in the OP post; its group found me while resting after a battle with imbued onis and mananangals.
2. On Tower:14 I ended up being caught between a pack of archangels with angels and a pack of cynocephali with bonnachons. I linked with two of the bonnachons out of desperation, hence why there's two part of the fallen allies. In spite of their negotiations leaving me with low health, I still managed to heal my PC and barely escape. I think this situation was when I lost my major shisa the first time, perhaps before the cynocephali and bonnachons even found my party.
3. The preta I simply didn't bother with deleting; even in the midgame it was useful in a few situations, albeit its use is very limited with things like angel packs running around. I finally realized how well the deadly modifier goes with it, with all of its status effecting inflicting attacks and the strength boost. I consider preta to be an "assassin" demon similar to dipsas: it is designed to be good for finishing off some troublesome enemies, although generally not as good in crowd situations. I once had a major dipsas that was really good at dodging attacks and made for a decent panic button in some situations, though.
4. Echeneis is my favorite starter demon, so a good amount of the time I let it stick around. I gave it the profane modifier to fulfill that niche and gave it censure to help kill those pesky light-weak demons. It also made a decent "assassin" against Charliss and Adria thanks to its pouncing ability. I think it died on Tower:16, either to Liothe or Baphomet's entourage. I decided not to bring it back as it wasn't fulfilling much of any unfulfilled niche by that point.
5. Like I have said, I lost the major shisa a couple times. I revived it because of its abilities quickly made it a valuable member of my time. It was the first "hero duo" link I have tried and succeeded at. We ran into some banshees and mananangal towards the end of it but ignite, warmth, and the shisa's rushdown abilities did well enough. I actually did pretty fine without cleanse throughout about half of the game.
6. Even this build can be killy by itself, albeit only early in the game. At one point in Anomaly I finished off some blobs with only my PC by using ignite. Pretty reliable ability; you just gotta figure out how to make your party ready to deal with enemies that are less likely to be ignited or are even immune to it. I didn't have that much trouble with fire enemies aside from the jinns near the entrance of ninkasi's sanctum; the fotia were quickly smited by my haietlik and my echeneis while later threats like demmas were frozen up by my polar druj nasu. A good amount of the time I wasn't even wary of my character's own fire weakness! That's how well I did against fire-centered enemies.

[Ferret]

It may not be the most subtle combo, but some parts of it are relatively new (Pyre Rite is *very* new, and even Bask hasn't been around a super long time in the scheme of things) Also, it tended to be overshadowed in the "alternate healing" department by the old as Demon itself "Dark Healer" builds (which use a combination of Dark's MaxHP draining abilities and Draw Wounds, supplemented with traditional healing)

Regarding the troubles:

1. If you didn't like Ruler groups (at least at the time), you're happier for having never gone in Phoenix's Sanctum. I don't necessarily want to say I'm happy you got chased out of the other two, but I admit I'm glad they're not just free experience even for newer players.

2. Ooof. Double encounters are very rare, but quite nasty when they do occur. Good job on escaping that one.

3. "Assassin" pretty much describes Preta perfectly. They're well suited to using physical attacks + status adder passives.

4. Echeneis is probably among the more well-rounded and all around good picks from the starter demons, no argument there. It has good stats, useful abilities, can help you easily defeat Malingee (which is usually the toughest starter to recruit), and does not do poorly against any of the starters in combat except Raicho. That said, many of the other starters have strong niches for specific builds: Red Caps work well for ranged characters in that they give you another ranged attacker right away if you want to go heavy in that direction.

5. Major Shisa makes me happy I don't know that I've seen many people use demons with the "support Slash" abilities before either.

6. That makes sense: early on, damage abilities are typically limited to 55-70 Power, so you can afford to wait a bit for Ignite to do its work, especially if you're strong on healing. But, as you get a bit higher up and start hitting 85 Power abilities, Ignite by itself would start to wear thin. Re: Fire resistant/immune demons, the challenge for most builds is figuring out a solid Plan B. Unlike in DCSS, you may need the Plan B even before your Plan A is entirely online... but also unlike DCSS, you have a party full of demons who can potentially be working on developing multiple plans at once without stepping on each other.

[Remora]

The second cycle didn't last very long. I died on the first floor of Anomaly to a group of Aeras. I failed at keeping my character's distance and got stunned a lot in the process to defeat. Things weren't looking too good for my party, as I did lose a violent aeras to modified fotia not long before that. I picked up transpose soul and managed to get lifesaver and tireless. Also, Ccoa remains a demon I've yet to successfully recruit. Oh well. I think I'll try other kinds of builds for now and find out what can stick. I did count and this win happened to be my 96th go at the game. Not too shabby compared to how many attempts it took for me to win once in Crawl.

Also, I thought that Headless is a popular demon to keep around in a party. It seems like he does fairly well until a few floors into the later half of the tower, where he may be sacrificed in favor of another melee-oriented demon. It does make sense as he's a unique and uniques are more powerful than other demons at their jobs, at least by where you first meet them. I found the shisa a nice candidate for the fusion thanks to already being melee-oriented and having an attack that closes its distance from enemies. In hindsight, I could have taken more advantage of revelation than I bothered to. It may be random, but it is likely to provide a nice ability.

[Ferret]

The faster moving retreaters are tough to catch sometimes. Generally speaking, you will often need to use items or have prepared by learning specific abilities if you want to be able to deal with these. Wind Card, Pain Glyph, and Night Rune are the three items most useful for this, though Curse Rune will work in a pinch. For abilities, besides the obvious cases like Dash and Swiftness, you can also consider abilities such as Haunt, Mind Blank, many of the Whisper/Gaze/Glare spells, etc.

96 tries for a win isn't bad at all. Though as a point of order, the current content only covers the early and mid game: Demon's planned late game content is not implemented at all yet.

Headless is pretty good. He may be slow himself, but his presence tends to lead to lots of buffs/turn accelerations for other allies, and he's quite tanky in most situations. Later, his modifier gives a useful resistance (Mind) that, unlike the usual modifiers that provide it, doesn't muck up melee stats.

Revelation is the only way to get lots of abilities of a given type relatively quickly: this is particularly useful for casters, who will often benefit heavily from early access to passives from their favorite element(s). It's somewhat less useful for physical builds, because physical modifiers often tend to be loaded down with many abilities, making it less likely you'll get the ones you really want by random selection.

[Remora]

Well, whaddya know! I have already won a second time! This time I won as a titan's fist character with the pierce abilities and the icy veil. I guess I'll use this thread for my victories.

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Demon Party Dump File
Version 9/19/2016, Scoring Model: 9/18/2016
Dump file created at: 9/28/2016 10:58:12 PM


Summoner Line...
was chosen by the Titan's Fist,
selected Pierce and Ice as their starting elements,
is currently at Tower:20,
and is still alive!



--==== Main Character ===--

Name : Line
Level: 28
MaxHP: 128
MaxSP: 100

Strength: 105
Magic   : 6
Vitality: 42
Agility : 42
Cunning : 15

Resist: Mind Light
Weak  : Ice

Abilities Known:
1) Impale (Type: Pierce, 10 SP. 85 Power attack.)
2) Riposte (Type: Pierce, Reactive. Responds to attacks by adjacent enemies that miss you or that you dodge or parry with a 70 Power attack.)
3) Arctic Veil (Type: Ice, Reactive. Responds to damage dealt to you by adjacent characters with a 20 Power attack that inflicts Chill, reducing the target's accuracy, evasion, and movement speed by 12%. Cannot miss.)
4) Refresh (Type: Healing, 5 SP. Transfers up to 15 SP from the user to the target. Free action. Cooldown: Cantrip (1))
5) Tormentor (Type: None, Passive. Restores 5 SP when you deal damage to one or more characters that have negative status effects.)
6) Regenerate (Type: Healing, 25 SP. Bestows Regeneration, restoring health over time.)
7) Crusader (Type: Light, Passive. Provides a 35% chance for your Slash, Impact, and Pierce attacks to apply Guilt, healing those who damage the target (excluding reactions).)
8) Battle Cry (Type: Buff, 35 SP. Briefly improves offense by 25% for you and your allies. Cooldown: Presence (6))

Relic Upgrades:
Fusion Saver (Reduces the cost of Fuse Demons by 25%.)
Soul Armor (Unlocks the Soul Armor transmutation, which lets you sacrifice a demon to copy its MaxHP modifier, Speed, immunities, resistances, and weaknesses to yourself.)
Capacity Up I (Grants additional storage capacity for demon allies, allowing for a total of 7 at once.)
Far Summon II (Increases the range of Summon by 4.)

Inventory:
1 Curse rune
2 Zephyr card
2 Frost glyph
8 Heal stone
2 Heart glyph
10 Pure stone
8 Chakra stone
1 Venom rune
1 Peace offering
1 Blizzard rune
3 Bolt glyph
1 Chakra gem
1 Flame glyph
1 Calm card
3 Heal gem
1 Meteor rune

Current Credits: 11549



--==== Current Party ===--

Name : Hulking Actaeon
Level: 20
MaxHP: 128
MaxSP: 100

Strength: 54
Magic   : 9
Vitality: 33
Agility : 42
Cunning : 12

Resist: Ice
Weak  : Fire Mind Light Dark

Abilities Known:
1) Quelling Cry (Type: Debuff, 20 SP. 70% chance to briefly reduce offense by 20% for enemies. Cooldown: Presence (4))
2) Fade (Type: Buff, 5 SP. Briefly improves evasion by 25%. Free action. Cooldown: Cantrip (5))
3) Swiftness (Type: None, Passive. Reduces the turn cost of movement and movement abilities by 20%.)
4) Evasion (Type: Defense, Passive. Provides a 10% chance to dodge attacks.)
5) Mob Cover (Type: Defense, Passive. Gain a 15% chance to dodge attacks when adjacent to an enemy other than the attacker.)
6) Evade Step (Type: Defense, Passive. Gain a 25% chance to dodge attacks when your last action was movement or a movement ability.)
7) Focusbreaker (Type: Impact, 10 SP. 70 Power attack. Has a 50% chance to reduce accuracy by 20%.)
8) Lob Stone (Type: Impact, 10 SP. 85 Power attack. Cooldown: Luck (4))


Name : Holy Bmola
Level: 25
MaxHP: 111
MaxSP: 100

Strength: 22
Magic   : 57
Vitality: 28
Agility : 28
Cunning : 40

Immune: Ice
Resist: Light
Weak  : Electricity

Abilities Known:
1) Frost Arrow (Type: Ice, 20 SP. 85 Power attack. Chills the target, reducing their accuracy, evasion, and movement speed by 12%.)
2) Chilling Blast (Type: Ice, 20 SP. 55 Power attack. Chills the targets, reducing their accuracy, evasion, and movement speed by 12%. Cannot miss.)
3) Headwind (Type: Ice, Passive. Ice attacks delay the next turn of targets that moved during their previous turn.)
4) Weigh Sin (Type: Light, 15 SP. 70% chance to inflict Guilt, healing those who damage the target (excluding reactions).)
5) Halo (Type: Light, 20 SP. 85 Power attack. Cannot miss. Cooldown: Light (2))
6) Martyr (Type: None, Reactive. Reduces Light and Dark cooldowns by 1 turn when you are damaged by an attack.)
7) Spite (Type: Dark, 10 SP. 40 Power attack. Cannot miss.)
8) Fool's Mien (Type: Dark, Passive. Your Light and Dark attacks have a 50% chance to inflict Pariah on targets whose last action was not a damaging ability.)


Name : Chthonic Miodchaoin
Level: 23
MaxHP: 126
MaxSP: 100

Strength: 55
Magic   : 16
Vitality: 63
Agility : 16
Cunning : 15

Resist: Slash Impact Body
Weak  : Mind

Abilities Known:
1) Smash (Type: Impact, 10 SP. 85 Power attack.)
2) Flesheater (Type: Body, Reactive. Responds to an adjacent character's death by draining them, healing yourself for 15% of their maximum HP.)
3) Juggernaut (Type: Defense, Passive. When your last action was movement or a movement ability, you have 25% improved defense and your next turn comes faster when damaged (excluding Ignite, Poison, and reactions).)
4) Oppressor (Type: Dark, Passive. Increases defense by 25% against enemies with lower HP. (Bonus is affected by Dark resistance.))
5) Second Wind (Type: Healing, 0 SP. Restores 30 SP and resets Breath cooldown. Cooldown: Endure (3))
6) Mighty Roar (Type: Impact, 40 SP. 0-85 Power attack, based on the user's SP (more SP = more Power). Has a 35% chance to inflict Stun, causing the targets to miss their next turn. Cannot miss. Cooldown: Breath (4))
7) Mightbreaker (Type: Impact, 10 SP. 70 Power attack. Has a 50% chance to reduce offense by 20%.)
8) Block Physical (Type: Defense, Passive. Provides a 20% chance to block Slash, Impact, and Pierce attacks.)


Name : Pele
Level: 26
MaxHP: 115
MaxSP: 100

Strength: 21
Magic   : 70
Vitality: 32
Agility : 32
Cunning : 25

Immune: Fire
Resist: Electricity
Weak  : Ice

Abilities Known:
1) Flame Arrow (Type: Fire, 20 SP. 85 Power attack. Has a 33% chance to Ignite the target, causing damage over a short duration.)
2) Rain of Fire (Type: Fire, 40 SP. 85 Power attack. Has a 33% chance to Ignite the targets, causing damage over a short duration.)
3) Firestarter (Type: Fire, Passive. Increases your chance to apply Ignite by 50% of the original chance.)
4) Warmth (Type: Fire, Passive. Increases HP and SP regeneration based on the number of Ignited characters you can see (more characters = larger bonus, with diminishing returns.))
5) Alluring Veil (Type: Mind, Reactive. 20% chance to Charm adjacent characters that deal damage to you, turning them against their allies.)
6) Vigorous (Type: None, Passive. Increases SP regeneration by 50%.)
7) ------------
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Name : Lifebender Pixie
Level: 26
MaxHP: 122
MaxSP: 100

Strength: 11
Magic   : 59
Vitality: 35
Agility : 35
Cunning : 40

Resist: Mind
Weak  : Body

Abilities Known:
1) Muddle (Type: Mind, 30 SP. 50% chance to inflict Panic, causing the target's actions to sometimes be randomized.)
2) Healing Charm (Type: Healing, 25 SP. 80 Power heal. 25% chance of an extra, random benefit as well.)
3) Lucky Dodge (Type: Defense, Passive. Provides a 20% chance to dodge attacks. This works even when Stunned, Paralyzed, etc. Triggers a Luck cooldown when activated. Cooldown: Luck (3))
4) Healing Rain (Type: Healing, 35 SP. 105 Power heal.)
5) Rallying Cry (Type: Healing, 25 SP. Only affects allies whose HP is more than 50% of their maximum. 105 Power heal. Cooldown: Presence (6))
6) ------------
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Name : Impundulu
Level: 27
MaxHP: 105
MaxSP: 100

Strength: 26
Magic   : 52
Vitality: 26
Agility : 44
Cunning : 37

Resist: Electricity Dark
Weak  : Ice

Abilities Known:
1) Storm Strike (Type: Electricity, 30 SP. 85 Power attack. Has a 12% chance to inflict Shock, causing the targets to miss their next turn. 70% chance to hit, unaffected by accuracy and evasion.)
2) Stormfront (Type: Electricity, Passive. Increases your chance to apply Shock by 0% to 75% of the original chance, based on proximity to the target (adjacent = 75%, maximum range = 0%).)
3) Mobility (Type: None, Passive. Reduces the turn cost of movement and movement abilities by 30% if no Charge abilities are on cooldown. Cooldown: Charge (0))
4) ------------
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Name : Polong
Level: 25
MaxHP: 96
MaxSP: 100

Strength: 14
Magic   : 49
Vitality: 21
Agility : 35
Cunning : 56

Immune: Body
Resist: Mind Dark
Weak  : Electricity Light

Abilities Known:
1) Major Pain (Type: Mind, 25 SP. 55 Power attack. Has two 70% chances to delay the next turn of the target.)
2) Wither (Type: Debuff, 30 SP. 70% chance to reduce offense and accuracy by 20%.)
3) Calm (Type: Healing, 15 SP. Removes Stun, Sleep, Panic, and Charm.)
4) Tormentor (Type: None, Passive. Restores 5 SP when you deal damage to one or more characters that have negative status effects.)
5) ------------
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--==== Recently Slain Allies ===--

Name : Blessed Carbuncle
Level: 16
MaxHP: 74
MaxSP: 100

Strength: 13
Magic   : 15
Vitality: 21
Agility : 42
Cunning : 39

Resist: Mind Light
Weak  : Ice

Abilities Known:
1) Distract (Type: Debuff, 15 SP. 70% chance to reduce accuracy by 20%.)
2) Low Profile (Type: Defense, Passive. Always dodge projectiles fired by allies unless directly targeted.)
3) Dazzling Glare (Type: Mind, 20 SP. 50% chance to inflict Stun on enemies, causing them to miss their next turn. Cooldown: Presence (10))
4) Mind Reader (Type: Mind, Passive. Increases accuracy and evasion by 13% versus all opponents. (Bonuses are affected by Mind resistance.))
5) Blessweaver (Type: Buff, Passive. Reduces the SP cost of Buff abilities by 5, to a minimum of 0.)
6) Focus (Type: Buff, 20 SP. Improves accuracy by 25%.)
7) Numbing Bite (Type: Pierce, 15 SP. 70 Power attack. Has a 35% chance to inflict Paralysis, causing the target to frequently miss their turns.)
8) ------------


Name : Fiery Raiju
Level: 22
MaxHP: 88
MaxSP: 100

Strength: 15
Magic   : 55
Vitality: 15
Agility : 43
Cunning : 32

Immune: Electricity
Resist: Fire
Weak  : Ice Mind

Abilities Known:
1) Pounce (Type: Slash, 15 SP. Must target a character. Leap to the target with a 70 Power attack. Inflicts Stun, causing the target to miss their next turn. Cooldown: Charge (6))
2) Electrocute (Type: Electricity, 10 SP. 85 Power attack. Has a 12% chance to inflict Shock, causing the target to miss their next turn.)
3) Evade Step (Type: Defense, Passive. Gain a 25% chance to dodge attacks when your last action was movement or a movement ability.)
4) Electropulse (Type: Electricity, 20 SP. 55 Power attack. Has an 8% chance to inflict Shock, causing the targets to miss their next turn. Cannot miss.)
5) Searing Touch (Type: Fire, 5 SP. 70 Power attack. Has a 33% chance to Ignite the target, causing damage over a short duration.)
6) Combust (Type: Fire, 5 SP. 100% chance to Ignite the target, causing damage over a short duration. Free action. Cooldown: Cantrip (3))
7) Bask (Type: Fire, 0 SP. Must target an Ignited enemy. No effect on the target, but triggers a 60 Power heal on and restores 10 SP for the user. Free action. Cooldown: Cantrip (3))
8) Fiery Veil (Type: Fire, Reactive. Responds to damage dealt to you by adjacent characters with a 20 Power attack that has a 13% chance to Ignite the target, causing damage over a short duration. Cannot miss.)


Name : Drop bear
Level: 18
MaxHP: 100
MaxSP: 100

Strength: 46
Magic   : 11
Vitality: 45
Agility : 22
Cunning : 16

Resist: Electricity
Weak  : Fire

Abilities Known:
1) Leap Attack (Type: Slash, 20 SP. Must target a character. Leap to the target with an 85 Power attack. Inflicts Stun, causing the target to miss their next turn. Cooldown: Charge (8))
2) Maul (Type: Slash, 15 SP. 85 Power attack split between two Slash attacks.)
3) Eat Alive (Type: Pierce, 10 SP. 100 Power attack. 50% accuracy. Heals the user for 50% of the damage dealt (affected by Body resistance).)
4) Innocence (Type: Mind, Passive. Increases offense, defense, accuracy, and evasion by 33%, and status accuracy and status resistance by 16%, versus opponents at full HP. (Bonuses are affected by Mind resistance.))
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Name : Blessed Scarab
Level: 20
MaxHP: 79
MaxSP: 100

Strength: 24
Magic   : 24
Vitality: 42
Agility : 48
Cunning : 12

Immune: Light Dark
Resist: Slash Pierce
Weak  : Impact

Abilities Known:
1) Alert (Type: Buff, 20 SP. Improves evasion by 25%.)
2) Protect (Type: Buff, 20 SP. Improves defense by 25%.)
3) Absolution (Type: Healing, 15 SP. Removes Guilt, Mute, Pariah, and Hex.)
4) Uncurse (Type: Healing, 15 SP. Removes Offense Down, Defense Down, Accuracy Down, Evasion Down, and Speed Down.)
5) Might (Type: Buff, 20 SP. Improves offense by 25%.)
6) Blessweaver (Type: Buff, Passive. Reduces the SP cost of Buff abilities by 5, to a minimum of 0.)
7) ------------
8) ------------


Name : Vishap
Level: 24
MaxHP: 96
MaxSP: 100

Strength: 34
Magic   : 52
Vitality: 31
Agility : 23
Cunning : 30

Immune: Electricity
Resist: Body
Weak  : Ice

Abilities Known:
1) Shock Arrow (Type: Electricity, 20 SP. 85 Power attack. Has a 12% chance to inflict Shock, causing the target to miss their next turn.)
2) Storm Breath (Type: Electricity, 30 SP. 0-85 Power attack, based on the user's SP (more SP = more Power). Has a 12% chance to inflict Shock, causing the targets to miss their next turn. Cannot miss. Cooldown: Breath (4))
3) Poison Veil (Type: Body, Reactive. 35% chance to Poison adjacent characters that deal damage to you, causing damage over time (can stack three times).)
4) Dragon Soul (Type: None, Passive. Your abilities that use your current SP to determine their effect use your maximum SP instead.)
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Name : Baphomet
Level: 27
MaxHP: 118
MaxSP: 100

Strength: 14
Magic   : 68
Vitality: 29
Agility : 22
Cunning : 52

Immune: Dark
Resist: Fire Mind Light
Weak  : Slash Impact Pierce

Abilities Known:
1) Malice (Type: Dark, 10 SP. 55 Power attack. Cannot miss. Cooldown: Dark (1))
2) Combust (Type: Fire, 5 SP. 100% chance to Ignite the target, causing damage over a short duration. Free action. Cooldown: Cantrip (3))
3) Ember Burst (Type: Fire, 15 SP. 70% chance to Ignite the targets, causing damage over a short duration.)
4) Pyre Rite (Type: Fire, 10 SP. Must target an Ignited enemy. No effect on the target, but triggers a 60 Power heal on and restores 10 SP for allies.)
5) Inspire (Type: Buff, 20 SP. Cannot target a Shocked, Stunned, or Sleeping character. Gives the target an extra turn immediately.)
6) Witch's Mien (Type: Dark, Passive. Your Light and Dark attacks may apply Ignite, Poison, Charm, Hex, and Pariah at random to targets who have a negative status effect.)
7) ------------
8) ------------


Notes:
1. I used a carbuncle that was Ludoc's for soul armor. It's got some nice resists and I did manage to get around ice enemies mostly OK thanks to Actaeon.
2. Speaking of Actaeon, he's surprisingly good for a frontliner. He came in handy quite well while linking with Pele, and I gave him the hulking modifier from a drop bear to be even beefier. Of course he is fragile thanks to his four weaknesses, but he usually dominated any time those weaknesses couldn't be taken advantage of. He would even be useful against archangels if no other light-attacking monsters were around.

3. Kasha + Fotia -> Holy fotia -> Holy bmola. I really needed something to fulfill those niches and it did it well by itself.
4. Turdak was a fun tagalong for the time he lasted. I didn't bother to revive him, though, mainly because I did not have the amount of credits right away and even then, I went on fine without any body status effects demon for the remainder of the game. The druj nasu was a shortlived replacement.
5. The blessed carbuncle I kept until I ran into a scarab beetle, which I then sacrificed the carbuncle to be fused with. Later I sacrificed the scarab beetle while linking with Baphomet.
6. I found the fiery raiju at Ccoa's sanctum. It carried my party through Anomaly, and it died somewhere halfway through the tower. I didn't bother with bringing it back because I had Pele which fulfilled its fire niche very well. Later on I got a vishap and then an impundulu.
7. I had to laugh some when Baphomet asked why I killed its archangels and then didn't care because it has plenty of other followers. It did okay for me until Jayle killed it. I didn't have the credits to bring it back, and I figured I would do fine without it. Its last use was against Ikiryo, which I think I had been thinking of being somewhat more dangerous than they are, as I did smack the last couple packs I encountered of them.
8. By far the most trouble I had in this run was dealing with the Phoenix and its sulfuric entourage. I failed to link with it, likely thanks to the fact that, even with two powerful dark attackers, they couldn't take the heat from its friends. I lost my vishap, Miodchaoin, Pele, and pixie to its party. I had to spend a lot of credits to revive them all but the vishap, and my party barely made it by in the final encounter. If it weren't for the phoenix, its friends would have been much easier to deal with. I had rather little troubles with the light enemies this time around.
9. The final floor was less scary than I expected it to be. The only things that I encountered that intimidated me were the Power enemies and Antoria, the latter who I didn't bother to fight with at all. Many of the other encounters were easy kills for Pele. I did pretty well at the end of the game this time around.

Ain't that a mouthful? I feel like I'm forgetting another noteworthy thing at the moment, but I'll accept this post as it is.

EDIT: Oh yeah. I wanted to comment on my PC himself. The soul armor upgrade did come in handy for some escapes, like from a group of enemies in the glitch sanctum. Sometimes I was a bit reckless given the ice weakness, but I still did fine against monsters like tuofei and bmola, but I usually only let my demons kill them unless if they were near death or I could reliably move my character towards them. I also ultimately used refresh infrequently some time halfway through the Tower, about the time I lost my dryad. I also got far summon twice because I figured that it is very useful for such a character, especially with a powerful breath attacker like Miodchaoin on the team. The time I got far summon II was in Phoenix's sanctum, just to avoid getting my character in harm's way while dealing with the bird and its allies. How cowardly! I didn't find much of anything else useful by that point, though, although quick summon/desummon would have been good too. Perhaps another time I will reach that far and find the hidden uniques with enemy sense. I really want to see what they can do.

P.S. I checked the top scores in the afternoon:

It looks like my "LiLi" run has a better score than my Faara/Rafaa run. I figure that's because in my LiLi run I managed to kill everything I met until that fateful bonnachon encounter. My Line win already has a handsome 46k; I only didn't kill Paracelsus and his summons, Joyle and her summons, and Antoria.

For the second cycle I went with an orb of power character with the fire abilities and envenom. Odd combo, but I will figure out how to get some mileage out of it.

[Ferret]

Congrats, again. Looks like you were running a melee/support build this time. Melees being solid contenders for wins is still new enough that I'm always happy to see another.

1. Modest soul armors can often be more than enough, and are far cheaper than trying to purchase modified Ehlose armor. Just Mind + Light resist alone protects you from a large number of "can't miss" attacks (helpful for a build using Agility) as well as half of the "major" status conditions in the game.

2. I wondered if anyone would ever try actually using him instead of Artemis. I will add that if you keep Evade Step on him, you should try to find Spin Slash or Ghost Pierce so he can keep Evade Step's bonus even when fighting.

3. Good Bmola is good. Good combination of debuffs and Ice/Dark damage (I guess Light from Halo too, but that probably didn't get used as much?)

4. Turdak is a hard guy to keep alive. He has an unfortunate combination of "wants to be melee" and "bad HP/weaknesses for melee". Giving him a good modifier can help: he can really use the HP boost, and you can adjust his resistances a bit that way too.

5. I don't see Carbuncles used too often, even modified. They're a good candidate for things like Numbing Bite though, if you don't mind the actual damage dealt will be a little less than optimal. Scarabs aren't usually popular either, though wizaaargh has been using them more lately.

6. That is one heck of a Raiju. I have no doubt it was able to carry you for a good third of the game, and adding Bask to it as well probably single handedly gave a huge boost to its survivability (which otherwise greatly resembles Turdak's)

7. Hah. I'm glad even my generally iffy writing occasionally leads to amusing outcomes. The problem with being a semi-lone developer is that you have to do pretty much everything, even if you're bad at it.

8. Ouch, ouch, ouch. Phoenix, especially if you attempt a link, has threatened to end a fair number of runs, though I'm not sure he has ever actually ended one.

9. Powers: higher level Chachapuma wearing angel costumes. As for Antoria, yeah... he's one of the nastiest heroes in the game, and given you don't get much chance to use anything you swipe from him, I can't blame you from not fighting him... though he IS worth a ton of points, if you care about that sort of thing.

Edit. Far Summon is something else I don't think has gotten lots of love before, but Re: Phoenix I wouldn't be so hard on yourself: it's pretty much intended for exactly that sort of use. I'd be careful with Enemy Sense though... some of the cryptids it can cause to show up are rather nasty, up to and including a Level 40 demon.

Scores: Your score is based pretty much directly on how much XP you earn: so yeah, skipping floors/fights reduces your score.