The title is unwieldy, and so is the game. More complicated than Dredmor, but not nearly as bad as Nethack. The game comes with a good graphical tileset, but you can do it ASCII style if it makes you feel good about how hardcore you are. I'm not super sure what's going on yet. My human artificer is boring, so I'm going to try some sort of a Spriggan who is a moderate or strong spellcaster. Deity choice is easy: Nemelex. Class choice is hard. I know I want decent spellcasting and evocation skill level, probably some summoning or necromancy, maybe enchantment, I don't know! Anyone else played it? What were your favorite characters? What do you like/dislike about the game?
I tried it again recently but I'm still not hooked and keep going back to Nethack. Not enough action possibilities ( the game is too simplified, can you even sell your stuff ? I understand its a game design mechanic but I like to sell my stuff... ). I dont like how the challenge keeps coming from the same old boring mini bosses like frigging sigmund. Classes seem highly unbalanced. The game overall never surprises me ( No flying ogres in that one ! ) and tends to bore me.
I have fun with it from time to time. I like to play a Mountain Dwarf of The Shining One. Best way to get through Sigmund is to just not fight him until you're stronger. Farthest I've gotten down the dungeon is DL 9
Oh I can deal with Siggy, and I think I usually get to DL 7 or 8. ( Its simply I dont enjoy the challenge he stands for ) I like the spellcasting system in Crawl stone soup and play half of my times as a wizard.
I also like being able to pick from so many different races and classes. It's fun to play around with all the different possibilities.
I am really enjoying Zot Defense. It gives me a chance to test builds and try different gods with an accelerated pace of exp gain. Plus it's fun to LAY the traps instead of having them lain for me, for a change. Haven't had any luck with dedicated wizards; though - they may just be too frail for the format.
Crawl has always been the roguelike I play the most, though I've never won (farthest I got was picking up the orb and dying while going back up) but I suggest trying Mountain Dwarf Fighter, or Spriggan Enchanter if you're beginner. MDFi is the easiest melee, and SpEn is pretty easy as you can put almost everything to sleep and stab them in one shot, and gives you access to more magic when you find books, which is always fun since there's so many.
That's one of the things about this game that I really like. The way the spell system is set up. The only other game I played that did anything even remotely similar was Elona.
Oh boy, Elona is fantastic too ! And evil. I dont know how many times my character prostituted himself and got diseased, but man, that was worth it.
Reminds me of a series of Endurance checks, money exchanging hands, and a half-ogress giving birth to something that was 1/4 undead, way back in the day. #D&DNostalgia
The only characters I've been remotely successful with are spellcasters. The thing is you're basically boned mid-game as a wizardy type if you don't know how to properly use the skill system. The loadout is most important, and it's what's allowed me to have 20+ character level wizards. Here, some tips: 1) Spellcasting is the most important skill unless you're like a kobold. Don't even think about spamming Mephitic Cloud or a similarly great spell if it's not below Choko. 2) For the love of God, have something to defend yourself with when mana runs out. This won't be too often, but it's good to options like nets, teleporting, a heavily enchanted weapon.... 3) Know your enemy. An imp might be mincemeat to an ice mage, but a fire mage would have to run if he/she hadn't built up some alternative. 4) Don't spread your skill points out too thinly until you start taking down the bigger targets like Ogres. Then you can afford to blow the extra XP on other things. 5) Make sure your primary spells are at no hunger cost. This is a boon. It'll take a while to get third/fourth level spells there, but Frost Bolt, etc. will be easier. Again, doesn't apply to races like Kobolds. So yeah, don't blame the format. It's just that spellcasters and fighters in Crawl are two very different games, one of which requires a lot more planning.
I love Crawl. Naga Transmuter is my weapon of choice, but it's a little awkward and probably not the best starting choice. Cheibriados is my favorite god, needless to say. Followed by Xom.
