Mr_Strange's Unofficial Strategy Guide

After a few hundred hours, I thought it was time to write up a strategy guide. I hope somebody enjoys reading it / learns something.

Update: Well, this has now expanded to 5 distinct parts - the last part is about RotDG specifically. And all of the previous content has been updated to reflect the changes in v1.0.10.

Part 1 - Game mechanics, archetypes, and what all those stats mean.
http://strangedesign.typepad.com/st...r-strategy-guide-part-1-skills-mechanics.html
Part 2 - Comprehensive overview of half the basic skills.
http://strangedesign.typepad.com/st...or-strategy-guide-part-2-skills-in-depth.html
Part 3 - Overview of the rest of the skills.
http://strangedesign.typepad.com/st...rategy-guide-part-3-more-skills-in-depth.html
Part 4 - A bunch of interesting character builds, with guidelines for success.
http://strangedesign.typepad.com/st...or-strategy-guide-part-4-skill-selection.html
Part 5 - An overview of RotDG content - discussion of the 6 new skill trees, and new builds they make possible.
http://strangedesign.typepad.com/st...rategy-guide-part-5-new-builds-for-rotdg.html
Part 6 - Even more builds made possible by RotDG!
http://strangedesign.typepad.com/st...redmor-strategy-guide-part-6-more-builds.html

 

Is there going to be more? I've put quite a few hours in Dredmor myself and yet I still picked up some fun facts and useful pointers from your guide. Very well written, very informative, and only a very small portion of it was made "out of date" by the recent 1.0.6 patch. Kudos to you, it was a very enjoyable read.

 

Indeed, I started writing it before 1.0.6. I tried to go back and update - but I'm sure there are things I've missed, or not experienced enough of. Please feel free to let me know (message here, comment on the blog, or personal e-mail) anything glaring you notice, and I'll correct it!

I've finished what I initally set out to write - but I've had a few requests for specific builds, along with descriptions of what makes them work well, or not well. Is there something else you'd like to see added?

 

Hey. Great work. I agree with most of the things you wrote, with a few minor exceptions. It should be really good for anyone looking for helpful pointers.

A couple of thoughts I had while reading it:

1. Some of the best AE thrown weapons (at least my favorites) can be crafted with Alchemy, which you don't mention. I like the gases better than the explosives for dealing with zoos.
2. Also, Alchemy is great for making mage shields (i.e. orbs -- the best orbs can't be crafted, but they are rare, and alchemy can be very helpful as a supplement for at least the first 3/4 or so of the game.
3. Imho, you understate the importance of Alchemy's potions. First of all, with alchemy, once you get past the first level or two, you should never be short on healing potions. Also, there are a lot of potions that can be incredibly useful on some levels and to substitute for some power sets. Especially notable are hyperborean potions, displacement potions, invisibilty potions (assuming you don't take burglary), and potions of steeling (for late-game melee).

 

Interesting - I don't believe I've ever done the thrown gas bombs - mostly because I NEVER find the empty bottles required. I was just about to start on the throwing challenge - so maybe I'll work on correcting that... plastic ingots to the rescue!

I do like potions - but in my experience making lots and lots of alcohols to keep Mana up is dramatically more important. So I focused on then non-intuitive elements. I suppose a non-spellcaster could take Alchemy - and wouldn't need the Mana so much, so the potions might be more important.

In any case, only invisibility and purification really seem like lifesavers to me. I do like having 30+ healing potions on hand, as well. Then again, the survivability of a mage should come from how well they are casting spells, so I wouldn't want to mislead folks into brewing health potions too much.

Thank you very much for the comments!

Fixed! Thank you!

 

Alchemy is indeed the most versatile of the crafting skills, able to support any class well. Even if all you make is healing and invisibility potions, you're practically invincible -- you can go invisible at any time (rendering you immune to all attack) and chug healing until you feel ready to resume attacking.

Alchemy for booze is only an issue if your mage hasn't gotten their mana regen up yet. Starry orbs will help a lot in that area, giving you +4 regen; at that point you only need 2 more points to get to 1MP/turn, which in turn tends to mean that you only need booze for zoos. Of course, if you don't get your regen up then alchemy is still useful for making brandies, but that's far from its only purpose, and certainly not its best purpose.

 

Disagree with Astrology. I have never seen it successfully used with hybrid, especially after they murdered solar inscription at 1.06. Blinding Flash is an absolute NO for anyone. You don't get into melee range just for a 33% chance of stun. Yes Syzygy is good, but everyone and their dogs got Syzygy from a drink. Buffs that break on hit is not melee friendly. Besides even if Celestial Aegis doesn't break on hit it's still questionable if it's worth 4 skill points. Last skill? Big mana waster that miss.

Radiance aura is the only reason why that tree should ever be picked, and exclusively for the mages to get past level 1 and 2 sight range after. The rest of the skill tree are so bad you don't want to cast them even if you already wasted the skill points.

 

I have to agree with STW, you get Astrology mainly for Radiant Aura (no point invenstment), because it serves 2 useful purposes: it can stun and damage enemies that hit you in melee (great for Floors 1 and 2 when you're weak), and later on, it makes any Teleporting ability much more versatile because of your increased sight radius. More sight = longer potential teleports. I usually take it to help my Mage characters get going and only put points into it (usually enough to get to Syzygy) if I'm running out of options in my other trees.

As for Thrown weapons, Noxious Brimstone Flasks are nearly as powerful as Bolts of Squid (and become ridiculous when stacked with said Squid Bolts), and are a really solid use for Brimstone once you reach Level 4+ in Tinkering. They are also a good way to use up Diggle Eggs if you're a Mage, since you won't need Deep Omelettes as a caster character.

 

Whew! That's quite a read, and very useful. I now (finally) think I have a handle on the way stat increases work, and how they affect your character, so it was worthwhile just for that! I've bookmarked it for further reference; thanks for writing it!

 

Anyone who can casually bust out a semicolon like that deserves a treat now and again.

 

For those who have asked, part 4 is complete. It won't go live until 9am (Pacific), but links are in place from the rest of the guide. Part 4 is just a listing of seven of my favorite builds: The Heavy Thumper, the Magical Overlord, the Untouchable Ghost, the Fighter-Mage, the Necromancer, the Peltast, and the Honorable Monk.

Update: ...and we're live! Direct link: http://strangedesign.typepad.com/st...or-strategy-guide-part-4-skill-selection.html

 

That's so great. Thanks, Mr. Strange!

 

The link at the beginning of the thread is broken.

 

It isn't, the hotlink is broken. Just copy/paste the whole thing in your adressbar and hit enter.

 

Well, after a few months I thought it was high time I give some official opinions on the RotDG content. Read about it here in Part 5!
http://strangedesign.typepad.com/st...rategy-guide-part-5-new-builds-for-rotdg.html

I've also re-edited parts 1 through 4, to make their content reflect the latest (1.0.10) patch.

 

Your guides are a wonderful resource. I was wondering if you'll be taking a crack at the new skills released in the You Have to Name the Expansion Pack DLC.