Turdak's Sanctum, YASD and ramblings

[Sandman25]

Doesn't Zaji have Auraward which grants resistance to fire/ice/electro for next turn when using any fire/ice/electro abilities? That would explain why Zaji resisted fire while being displayed as weak to it a turn before.

[Ferret]

Ooooh. Reading the messages in the log this time helped me un-derp, I get what's happening now.

Auraward isn't active, but Heroic Resistance still is. Short version: Status effects have greatly reduced odds to land on heroes under any and all circumstances. So Combust, even with its base 100% hit rate, on a Fire weak Hero, can still manage to be resisted.

That said, once status effects land on a hero, they work fully, and many of them can be pretty devastating, especially control effects like Panic, Charm, Paralyze, etc.

[Ferret]

Sorry, I have more time for a slightly longer response now. Busy me has been busy. (19 new monsters in the new build was probably too many, or so I think now that I'm doing my version of the character sprites!)

Congrats on the 1-2 wins between you. Guilt is fairly underused, in my opinion, probably because *on its own* it isn't a massive source of healing. But, as part of an overall healing-heavy strategy, it can be an important component. Vodun Mask Fire also leans that way potentially if you pass Bask and/or Warmth around. Is that what your friend did, maybe?

What you talk about w/ the Raiju is, in general, the main "sneaky" ways to wipe: a demon group gets the upper hand to a degree you can't summon out of it. This can happen with enemy summoners frequently, especially ones who use buffs heavily... though, you can also do it to them if you can keep the pressure on.

Your score in Demon is based, entirely, on experience gained. So yeah, you did lose a bit by just diving into Victory. I don't use turn count as a factor because I don't like that it discriminates against some strategies.

The Anomaly is definitely eating its fair share of characters. It may still make what comes *after* easier though... which makes sense I guess, since you have access to a larger pool of abilities and demons for Tower:6-17 than you did before. Of course, I muddied the issue slightly by increasing the modified demon % at about the same time. We'll see how things go after that's dialed back a bit in the next build.

[wizzzargh]

I tried to convince my friend to get a Fotia, but to no avail. He had Vigorous and Tormentor and tended to have 2-3 healers in his party at all times and favored Bloodthirst/Flesheater-type frontliners, so I could see why he thought Bask was redundant with that sort of party. I know he was having great success SP wise with Emit Sparks and Tormentor, though.

Agree on the 'sneaky wipes.' The other way that has got me a few times is when a melee-weak guy gets caught with their pants down around stunners or something like Panic Paralysis- my guy who died to Chachapuma was also weak to physical and a single Chachapuma slipped by with Bullrush (their pack had split in two when flowing around a pillar so they were coming from both angles) and then I was stunlocked to death quite quickly. The rest of my party was fine, it was just poor me who got pancaked... And of course that was what kept happening to me in Turdak's until I got wise to his tricks.

I know he got Pele in the lategame too, and of course she must have been a fantastic upgrade to his pyrokinetic abilities. Everyone loves Pele, to the point where I can barely imagine someone getting the Boar-guy instead. In that vein, Artemis is a lot cooler than Actaeon as well, honestly...

Agree on the Anomaly being tricksome for some characters but very useful for the subsequent main tower. I did end up seeing the Chaos link enemies- they seemed weaker than normal but that was still a far cry from a Peasant horde, whew. I'm just waiting for the inevitable 'Protect Me' link that spawns Body and Dark Immune enemies to shut down the easy survivability Soul/Flesheater affords...

Good to know about points, not that I'm much of a points-hound. Still though, a 0-Point pacifist run could be funny to pull off. In that vein, my friend and I were discussing conduct runs for Demon. He said he thought playing with only 2 Demons summoned would be a real challenge, but I thought since corridors exist and having 2 demons to cover your retreat is fairly typical anyway it wouldn't be THAT much harder. Going through the game only being allowed to have 1 demon summoned though(perhaps even disallowing use of unsummon- to swap demons you must permanently dismiss them/have them die) sounds like a truly terrible challenge though. I might try some of those ideas and document the terror in another thread. The game may not be finished yet, but soul-crushingly masochistic optional conducts are a staple of any roguelike, I'd say.

[Shadowdweller]

I know he got Pele in the lategame too, and of course she must have been a fantastic upgrade to his pyrokinetic abilities. Everyone loves Pele, to the point where I can barely imagine someone getting the Boar-guy instead. In that vein, Artemis is a lot cooler than Actaeon as well, honestly...

Pele is, of course, awesome; particularly for a pyrokinetic. But I'm not sure I'd personally scoff at mass healing all the same. YMMV. Can't really think of a good reason to ever go Actaeon though.

[wizzzargh]

I guess my feeling is that if you incinerate the enemy before they ever reach you, the need for healing is fairly low

[Ferret]

Hah. And here I thought Demon was already soul-crushingly masochistic on its own.

Apparently I have work to do

[Ferret]

Pele is, of course, awesome; particularly for a pyrokinetic. But I'm not sure I'd personally scoff at mass healing all the same. YMMV. Can't really think of a good reason to ever go Actaeon though.

Actaeon is definitely intended to be the less loved of the two. He has some good abilities, and his matrix modifier is... interesting... but Artemis is the better pick most of the time. As it should be, after all, in the legend, she was a goddess, he was just a mortal who got on her bad side.

Pele and Kamapua'a are a much closer match. They divided the Big Island of Hawaii between them, after all, at least according to one story. (And there are a ton about them, especially Pele. Heck, there are myths about her formed only in the last few decades that still significantly influence humans: http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Hawa ... 920041.php )

[wizzzargh]

Ugh, had a stupid death. I was ignited or something, mostly paying attention to the Paracelsus fight, and I saw that I had 3 HP while ignited and thought 'well ignite probably only does like 1-2 damage since all my Ember Burst builds are always terrible so I'll dash out of line of sight and then heal" but of course I died from the ignite damage.



Mainly I was annoyed with myself because I had some really cool demons. An Artemis with absolutely brutal arrows


A very cool Smog-Storm that I hadn't much chance to use


And a Python that I had high hopes for being as hard-to-kill as my usual frontliners of Gluttonous BLoodthirsty Soul+Flesh eating Jiang Shi +Ghoul.


As for myself, I had randomly rolled up a character and got Slow+Offense Down+Mind Blank, which I believe Shadowdweller had coincidentally just won with. I didn't really care for those abilities though, and I ended up ditching all my starting abilities. I found a lot of Blessed demons early on (4 modified demons by tower 2 after doing 1 1/2, not sure if luck or if this build still has the high frequency of modified demons) and the blessings coupled with my debuffs was very effective. I actually used a Redcap for quite some time because it had Blessweaver and Might and Protect and Intent and Fade... In any case, Mighting my own demons, then Hexing the enemy was incredibly effective, and Piercing Cry was only adding to the speed at which I could cut down the enemy, and my HP-draining frontliners barely ever needed healing unless fighting something they were vulnerable to.

Code: Select all

Demon Party Dump File
Version 2/3/2016, Scoring Model: 2/3/2016
Dump file created at: 02/03/2016 21:10:54


Summoner Shadeliver...
was chosen by the Orb of Power,
selected Debuff and Mind as their starting elements,
is currently at Anomaly:3,
and is quite dead!



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

Name : Shadeliver
Level: 8
MaxHP: 68
MaxSP: 125

Strength: 4
Magic   : 17
Vitality: 18
Agility : 4
Cunning : 47

Resist: Mind Dark
Weak  : Slash Impact Pierce

Abilities Known:
1) Piercing Cry (Type: Debuff, 25 SP. 70% chance to briefly reduce defense by 20% for enemies. Cooldown: Presence (6))
2) Hex (Type: Dark, 15 SP. 50% chance to apply Hex, which reduces physical resistances (not immunity) by one level, and reduces physical damage dealt by 50%.)
3) Might (Type: Buff, 20 SP. Improves offense by 25%.)
4) Healing Charm (Type: Healing, 25 SP. 80 Power heal. 25% chance of an extra, random benefit as well.)
5) Dash (Type: None, 20 SP. Move to the target position instantly. Cooldown: Charge (8))
6) Pink Whisper (Type: Mind, 20 SP. 65% chance to cause Charm, turning the target against its allies. Free action. Cooldown: Presence (8))
7) Vigorous (Type: None, Passive. Increases SP regeneration by 50%.)
8) Tireless (Type: None, Passive. Increases MaxSP by 25.)

Inventory:
2 Sage's tome
2 Meteor rune
2 Heart rune
2 Heal gem
12 Heal stone
5 Pure stone
1 Might gem
2 Chakra stone
1 Curse rune
1 Mind matrix
1 Frost rune



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

Name : Blessed Faerie
Level: 7
MaxHP: 54
MaxSP: 125

Strength: 8
Magic   : 22
Vitality: 8
Agility : 26
Cunning : 21

Resist: Mind
Weak  : Fire

Abilities Known:
1) Healing Charm (Type: Healing, 25 SP. 80 Power heal. 25% chance of an extra, random benefit as well.)
2) 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))
3) Fade (Type: Buff, 5 SP. Briefly improves evasion by 25%. Free action. Cooldown: Cantrip (5))
4) Protect (Type: Buff, 20 SP. Improves defense by 25%.)
5) Tireless (Type: None, Passive. Increases MaxSP by 25.)
6) Blessweaver (Type: Buff, Passive. Reduces the SP cost of Buff abilities by 5, to a minimum of 0.)
7) Calm (Type: Healing, 15 SP. Removes Stun, Sleep, Panic, and Charm.)
8) Reshape (Type: Healing, 0 SP. Removes all negative status effects, then applies a 125 Power heal. Free action. Cooldown: Endure (5))


Name : Fiery Ghoul
Level: 10
MaxHP: 67
MaxSP: 100

Strength: 19
Magic   : 21
Vitality: 18
Agility : 22
Cunning : 20

Immune: Body
Resist: Fire Ice
Weak  : Mind Light

Abilities Known:
1) Numbing Bite (Type: Pierce, 15 SP. 70 Power attack. Has a 35% chance to inflict Paralysis, causing the target to frequently miss their turns.)
2) 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))
3) Flesheater (Type: Body, Reactive. Responds to an adjacent character's death by draining them, healing yourself for 15% of their maximum HP.)
4) Choking Veil (Type: Body, Reactive. 50% chance to delay the next turn of adjacent characters that deal damage to you.)
5) Souleater (Type: Dark, Reactive. Responds to a visible character's death by draining them, healing yourself for 7% of their maximum HP.)
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) Gluttony (Type: Body, Passive. Provides a 50% increase in healing and MaxHP bonuses from drains and abilities that heal based on damage dealt.)
8) Pink Whisper (Type: Mind, 20 SP. 65% chance to cause Charm, turning the target against its allies. Free action. Cooldown: Presence (8))


Name : Jiang shi
Level: 6
MaxHP: 52
MaxSP: 100

Strength: 19
Magic   : 8
Vitality: 19
Agility : 21
Cunning : 13

Immune: Body
Resist: Ice Dark
Weak  : Fire Electricity Light

Abilities Known:
1) Leech Bite (Type: Pierce, 10 SP. 70 Power attack. Heals the user for 50% of the damage dealt (affected by Body resistance).)
2) 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))
3) Souleater (Type: Dark, Reactive. Responds to a visible character's death by draining them, healing yourself for 7% of their maximum HP.)
4) Bloodthirst (Type: Body, Passive. Heals you for 25% of the damage you deal with Slash, Impact, or Pierce abilities (affected by Body resistance).)
5) Gluttony (Type: Body, Passive. Provides a 50% increase in healing and MaxHP bonuses from drains and abilities that heal based on damage dealt.)
6) Fade (Type: Buff, 5 SP. Briefly improves evasion by 25%. Free action. Cooldown: Cantrip (5))
7) Flesheater (Type: Body, Reactive. Responds to an adjacent character's death by draining them, healing yourself for 15% of their maximum HP.)
8) Pink Whisper (Type: Mind, 20 SP. 65% chance to cause Charm, turning the target against its allies. Free action. Cooldown: Presence (8))


Name : Artemis
Level: 7
MaxHP: 59
MaxSP: 100

Strength: 21
Magic   : 8
Vitality: 12
Agility : 30
Cunning : 14

Resist: Body Light Dark
Weak  : Slash Impact Pierce

Abilities Known:
1) Sure Shot (Type: Pierce, 25 SP. 70 Power attack. Cannot miss.)
2) Bloodlust (Type: None, Passive. Restores 5 SP per target damaged when you deal damage with Slash, Impact, or Pierce abilities.)
3) Venomous (Type: Body, Passive. Provides a 35% chance for your Slash, Impact, and Pierce attacks to apply Poison, causing damage over time (can stack three times).)
4) Ghost Bite (Type: Pierce, 15 SP. 70 Power attack.)
5) Tormentor (Type: None, Passive. Restores 5 SP when you deal damage to one or more characters that have negative status effects.)
6) 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).)
7) Infectious (Type: Body, Passive. Provides a 35% chance for your Slash, Impact, and Pierce attacks to apply Infection, which hinders HP and SP recovery.)
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 : Grimer (Cursed Blob)
Level: 7
MaxHP: 69
MaxSP: 100

Strength: 16
Magic   : 5
Vitality: 28
Agility : 9
Cunning : 27

Resist: Impact Electricity
Weak  : Fire Ice Body Light

Abilities Known:
1) Leech Bite (Type: Pierce, 10 SP. 70 Power attack. Heals the user for 50% of the damage dealt (affected by Body resistance).)
2) Poison Veil (Type: Body, Reactive. 35% chance to Poison adjacent characters that deal damage to you, causing damage over time (can stack three times).)
3) 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%.)
4) Piercing Cry (Type: Debuff, 25 SP. 70% chance to briefly reduce defense by 20% for enemies. Cooldown: Presence (6))
5) Hinder (Type: Debuff, 15 SP. 70% chance to reduce evasion by 20%.)
6) ------------
7) ------------
8) ------------


Name : Koffing (Vile Aeras)
Level: 7
MaxHP: 54
MaxSP: 125

Strength: 8
Magic   : 28
Vitality: 8
Agility : 19
Cunning : 22

Immune: Electricity
Resist: Body
Weak  : Light Dark

Abilities Known:
1) Emit Sparks (Type: Electricity, 20 SP. Targets up to 3 random enemies. 70 Power attack. Has a 10% chance to inflict Shock, causing the targets to miss their next turn. 70% chance to hit, unaffected by accuracy and evasion.)
2) Galvanize (Type: Electricity, Passive. When you apply Shock, you regain 30 SP.)
3) High Voltage (Type: Electricity, Passive. Increases your chance to apply Shock by 50% of the original chance.)
4) Fade (Type: Buff, 5 SP. Briefly improves evasion by 25%. Free action. Cooldown: Cantrip (5))
5) 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 (8))
6) Filth Veil (Type: Body, Reactive. 35% chance to Infect adjacent characters that deal damage to you, which hinders HP and SP recovery.)
7) Vehemence (Type: Buff, 20 SP. Briefly raises accuracy and offense by 25%. Free action. Cooldown: Cantrip (5))
8) Tireless (Type: None, Passive. Increases MaxSP by 25.)


Name : Python
Level: 7
MaxHP: 58
MaxSP: 100

Strength: 30
Magic   : 6
Vitality: 29
Agility : 5
Cunning : 15

Resist: Slash Impact Electricity Body
Weak  : Fire Ice

Abilities Known:
1) Tackle (Type: Impact, 10 SP. 70 Power attack. Has a 50% chance to delay the next turn of the target.)
2) Earth Break (Type: Impact, 20 SP. 55 Power attack. Cannot miss.)
3) Brain Knocker (Type: Mind, Passive. Provides a 50% chance for your Slash, Impact, and Pierce attacks to delay the next turn of the target.)
4) Choking Veil (Type: Body, Reactive. 50% chance to delay the next turn of adjacent characters that deal damage to you.)
5) Bloodlust (Type: None, Passive. Restores 5 SP per target damaged when you deal damage with Slash, Impact, or Pierce abilities.)
6) 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).)
7) Bloodthirst (Type: Body, Passive. Heals you for 25% of the damage you deal with Slash, Impact, or Pierce abilities (affected by Body resistance).)
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 : Lifegiver Gremlin
Level: 5
MaxHP: 46
MaxSP: 100

Strength: 7
Magic   : 14
Vitality: 20
Agility : 17
Cunning : 17

Resist: Electricity
Weak  : Body

Abilities Known:
1) Focusbreaker (Type: Impact, 10 SP. 70 Power attack. Has a 50% chance to reduce accuracy by 20%.)
2) Yellow Whisper (Type: Mind, 20 SP. 65% chance to inflict Panic, causing the target's actions to sometimes be randomized. Free action. Cooldown: Presence (8))
3) Dash (Type: None, 20 SP. Move to the target position instantly. Cooldown: Charge (8))
4) Mob Cover (Type: Defense, Passive. Gain a 15% chance to dodge attacks when adjacent to an enemy other than the attacker.)
5) Regenerate (Type: Healing, 25 SP. Bestows Regeneration, restoring health over time.)
6) Soothe (Type: Healing, 20 SP. Must target a character whose HP is more than 50% of their maximum. 105 Power heal.)
7) ------------
8) ------------



--==== Recently Slain Allies ===--

Name : Echeneis
Level: 1
MaxHP: 35
MaxSP: 100

Strength: 8
Magic   : 13
Vitality: 16
Agility : 11
Cunning : 7

Resist: Ice
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) ------------
5) ------------


Name : Psychic Preta
Level: 2
MaxHP: 43
MaxSP: 100

Strength: 8
Magic   : 10
Vitality: 7
Agility : 12
Cunning : 23

Immune: Body
Resist: Mind
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) Pink Whisper (Type: Mind, 20 SP. 65% chance to cause Charm, turning the target against its allies. Free action. Cooldown: Presence (8))
5) Madness Gaze (Type: Mind, 25 SP. 65% chance to inflict Panic, causing the target's actions to sometimes be randomized. Cooldown: Presence (10))
6) ------------
7) ------------


Name : Fiery Preta
Level: 7
MaxHP: 57
MaxSP: 100

Strength: 11
Magic   : 23
Vitality: 9
Agility : 19
Cunning : 23

Immune: Body
Resist: Fire
Weak  : 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) 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.)
5) Souleater (Type: Dark, Reactive. Responds to a visible character's death by draining them, healing yourself for 7% of their maximum HP.)
6) Tormentor (Type: None, Passive. Restores 5 SP when you deal damage to one or more characters that have negative status effects.)
7) Fire Breath (Type: Fire, 30 SP. 0-85 Power attack, based on the user's SP (more SP = more Power). Has a 33% chance to Ignite the targets, causing damage over a short duration. Cannot miss. Cooldown: Breath (8))
8) 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).)




[Ferret]

Noooo Ignite death

The special encounter rate is still higher than it used to be, but lower than it was in the immediately previous build. Four on Tower:2 and Tower:1 & 1/2 is a good roll on the new numbers (I've had expected 2-3, keeping in mind that levels outside the main dungeon have a higher chance to generate modded guys.)

That Artemis is definitely ridiculous. Poison, Infection, Crusader, and DEF Down on every arrow... and potentially two boosts of Sta recovery. Surprised you got rid of Arc Needle with such a good Stamina engine on her though. Then again, Sure Shot and Ghost Bite aren't a bad pair either.

"Koffing" Good name for him though with that modifier and the abilities it gave him.

Python was probably an amazing tank... and also good at setting up others to also survive well, with Earth Break + Crusader and Brain Knocker.

It looks like you were running what I'd refer to as "aggro support": Lots of stuff that makes it easier for baddies to die. Even Charm falls into this category, since it increases your total damage output (and also benefits from DEF down and Hex on other enemies.)

Wait... a Fiery Ghoul? How'd that happen? Oh, you did it to get +Fire resist probably. It can definitely work... but it's a shame it mucks up his stats a bit. On the other hand, if he ever learned Fiery Veil or Reshape, the high Magic could still be put to use.