Favorite Demons!

[wizzzargh]

I used to think Freybug were lame. Now they're one of my favorite early demons- Hinder, Tormentor, and Swiftness, and all you have to do is play tag! All great skills for cowardly summoners like me who don't like melee.

In terms of what demon I basically always want if I'm serious about progressing- Jiang Shi. They're basically self sufficient right out of the box, and slapping the easy-to-get Gluttony and Flesheater on them just solidifies their unmatchable staying power. I wouldn't be at all surprised if they lost Leechbite in some future build, making you wait for Ilomba before attaining maximum HP-drain capacity. But then that would make Jiang Shi packs less threatening... so maybe not.

My old early favorite used to be Chindi- lots of resistances and some pretty flashy moves. They can be scary to fight but are actually quite reasonable to negotiate with despite all their howling, something it took me a long time to find out, because I was too scared to negotiate with them for a long time due to the 'serious consequences' the game warned me about...

My favorite Unique is still probably Miadchaion the Unspellable. What can really compare to a bunch of hooligans shouting their enemies to death? Though I'm suddenly curious, does Mute actually prevent the use of Mighty Roar, since it's a physical ability?

The demon that is inexplicably my #1 favorite is Acheri. They're mostly just little annoyances but I always think 'well MAYBE I could do something cool with all these powers.' And then I never do Their dialogue where you warn them that you're infected and they just go 'sick shmick, gimme the goods, slick' (I'm paraphrasing slightly) cracks me up too.

Favorite Summoner- Ludoc gets props for treating his demons like friends, but really, he should've been a Pokemon trainer instead. To be fair, I haven't seen the later summoners enough to completely remember their themes, though. Paracelsus the alchemy nerd, Lioth the lategame something, and what's his face the slavering madman.

Favorite Hero- though she's not too exciting and she usually kicks my ass and sends me running to the next floor in shame, that really just reinforces my headcanon of Madevra being the true hero of the tower. Clearly she and Ludoc should team up in a wacky buddy cop comedy. Zaji can guest star as the plucky comic relief and mascot.

What are your favorite things?

[Shadowdweller]

Damn, that's a hard one. Which demons I go for really depends on my skillset and what my team seems to be lacking.

Favorite Starting Demon - I think I end up picking Malingee most often. They have great offense, which helps a bit with initial recruiting. As well as Block abilities which help with minion survival in the early game. I never keep them past the 3rd or 4th floor, however.

Favorite Early-Game Demon: I suppose the one early (ish) recruit I use most consistently is the lowly Nero. Their healing efficiency and Fire resist make them probably my most consistent and lasting ally. Also a big fan of Ogres, up until I can (sometimes) nab Miodchaoin. I've come to prefer juggernaut over pounce, for the simple reason that tanks with juggernaut are less likely to charge insanely out of position when least desired. For the record, I am relatively (if not completely) certain that mute does NOT prevent Mighty Roar. EDIT: In retrospect though, I don't really LIKE the nero, for all that I use them constantly. Maybe Chindi? Can load them with all sorts of sneaky tricks.

Favorite Mid-Late Game demons: I'm going to have to go with Yali here. Silver Hand makes the late game (though I've yet to experience the new floors) soooo much easier. They end up being pretty durable and damaging on top of that. Honorable mention goes to Raiju, for the speed bonus and magical strength; I love loading these with breath attacks.

Favorite Unique: Probably going to have to go with Artemis. She performs consistently well, is available pretty early, and proves to be a fine source of physical-based debuffs. I will, sometimes, replace Artemis or stop keeping her out in the lattermost levels; she seems to remain useful for the overwhelming majority of the game. Beyond her, Pele - who murders many things at once and possesses the ever-wonderful charm veil. I do like Miodchaoin when I can get him, and I'm more likely to keep him out than, say, Turdak unless I'm fighting MaxHP drainers or something. But Earthbreak-users make a decent alternative.

Favorite Hero: Hmm...I believe I'm most likely to pick up a skill from the Light/Dark priest. Whose name I can never remember.

Favorite Summoner: I'm going to have to go with Paracelsus. For whatever reason I find his minions most likely to hold something useful. Followed closely by Llioth. Both of these are also common causes of death, naturally. I've long since given up keeping around too many fire-vulnerable minions so I...usually...don't have too many problems with Ludoc. The insane crown-wearer rarely seems to be much of a threat. But usually by that point I have my minions well developed...and rarely do I end up wanting any of his.

[Ferret]

Hmm... let's see.

Favorite Starter: Probably Will o' Wisp. It isn't seriously threatened by anything on Tower:1 (though Echeneis can sometimes give them a little trouble), and Souleater is handy. I will sometimes pick an early Zombie instead if I have a build that wants Gluttony online ASAP, or Echeneis if I'm really worried about early fights (Echeneis can fight anything on Tower:1, and can solo recruit Malingees.)

Favorite Early Game Demon: Kasha. I love getting access to Guilt, and Fiery Veil is also fun.

Favorite Mid Game Demon: Akateko. This one I'm choosing more as a developer than a player though. :> They are one of the most feared of the mid-game monsters, or at least they used to be. I haven't heard as much about them lately... I think most of the people posting here have outgrown them maybe, but I still remember their glory days fondly. If I was picking as a player, I'd probably go with Druj Nasu. I love watching them set up and execute their Infection->Poison strategy.

Favorite End Game Demon: Archangel. Also picking more as a developer, in this case because it was one of the first pieces of art I did I was completely happy with and even a little proud of (switch to the original art set for a second next time you see one, it's quite nice! ) Player side I'd probably pick Charun, but most of you haven't met him yet. He kinda has a neat gimmick going.

Favorite Unique: Reprobus, probably as much for his lore as anything else. He's actually a Catholic saint, even with the dog-head and the openly and willingly serving the Devil bits: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Christopher (Bonus for DCSS fans: There's a link to "Saint Menas" off this page too I'm not the only one nose-deep in mythology texts )

Favorite Hero: Heh. Funny thing... all the heroes and summoners are old D&D or MMO characters of mine. This makes choosing a favorite difficult. I think I'll pick Madevra though, she was a Ret Paladin I played back in my WoW days. Completely ridiculous on battlegrounds, she was. I could also pick Antoria (who you haven't met yet) since he's based on my current D&D character, but explaining why would require nerding out on Dark Sun and a 1.5 year campaign for several pages and no one would read that.

Favorite Summoner: Ludoc, for sure. He was a tabletop character of mine from ages past, in one of the longest running campaigns I've played in. I would have picked Breska, except he had to be "translated" a bit for Demon (Breska was actually a half-orc/half-troll bodyguard in his tabletop "life".), so the one here is pretty far removed from the one I remember.