I imagine that if you're on this forum, you've either played, or are planning on putting gameplay hours into this game by dozen. Possibly both. The question before you clear GRPD is well - how do you do it? After you've done it, well, where do you go from there? Most people point you to the modding scene, where an infinity of new content awaits. Or like essence and co., you make threads and provide feedback that goes towards the creation of new content, or create new content yourself. But before you go there, i need to ask - have you really maximised your experience of the base game? Have you really seen everything there is to see? For the most part, we all go into this game with "some" kind of build in mind. Some of us think more about the mechanics, others less, but we all end up fine-tuning a build that works for us and sticking with it until we beat the big bads (the evil Mr. Ds). Some of us go back trying a slightly, or radically different build. With that many abilities to choose 3 from, the possibilities are endless. However, "maximising" your experience implies that you have seen "most" of what the game had to offer. That's a big proposition, in and of itself. To "maximise" your experience, you will need to have played around with builds that allow you to fully experience every "unique" aspect of the game. With a game like DoD, that's inherently impossible in a single playthrough. How bout two radically different playthroughs then? Better, but you'd still need more, one would think. How bout three then? How does that sound? Maybe but... Stop. This is where I come in. I propose to you 3 builds that will let you get, not necessarily 100% of the game, but something close to it. Before we get to the builds themselves, let's look at 3 mechanics that are fairly unique to DoD in its CURRENT FORM (as opposed to earlier versions of the game). Unforgiving difficulty and being generally "rogue-like" don't count in my book, because well, a lot of other games do that as well. So yeah, 3 relatively unique things about DoD? 1. In-depth and mind-boggling crafting mechanics (crusts on your crusts, a bolt/bomb for every situation, clockwork powered gear) 2. Ridiculous booze-powered buff/nuke system (More buffs than can be fitted onto one screen, spells that do everything ranging from blowing something up, to turning yourself into a storm of silly procs) 3. A complex (and now actually functional) sneaking system that allows you to always fight on your terms if you build for it (Counterattacks, blocks, dodges, critical hits, invisibility, blindspots to sneak behind, abilities that let you move around). While you can go for a playstyle that will let you experience a bit of everything, what you typically end up with is something that often lacks the "oomph" to beat the big Ds on GR. Even when it does work, you will typically end up having scratched the surface of each mechanic. So yes, without further ado, I propose you 3 builds with radically different playstyles that will allow to make the most out of each mechanic. Irrespective of how they are named and how hard they are to pull, these are all builds that assume GRPD + Extended floors + Clearing Diggle Hell (Inc. Digula) Spoiler 1. Elvishly Easy (because of just how safe it is all game long) CK, Tink, Smith, Crossbow, MoA + 2 Abilities that complement those 5. The general idea here is that you will power through the first 10 floors or so by using Tinkering/Smithing/CK to craft/exploit crusted gear that you would normally only access freely towards the mid-late game, then transition, mid-late game, into blowing everything apart from a safe distance with your infinite supply of stupidly overpowered bolts. Halfway in between, you will find yourself initiating with burst from CK, then moping up with bolts/melee attack, and for most, if not all, of the game, you will essentially be a walking fortress. Complementary comboes include Dual Wield + Mace (if you want to keep jumping on stuff for as long as you can), Dual Wield + Axes (For the achievement nobody asked for, and bolts that do nothing but crit), Shield + Polearm (If you really like to watch things suffer as they hopelessly try to get through your endless barrage of bolts, only to get knocked back) 2. Dwarven Moderation (because the amount of booze you'll be drinking would only be "moderate" for a dwarf) Warlockery, Fleshsmithing, Egyptian Magic, Alchemy, Staves + 2 Abilities that complement those 5. From having one million buffs, being the proverbial eye of the storm, summoning an army of minions, having high powered nukes both close and far, surviving being in melee despite having no durability in your base stats, pulling off neat tricks (kill one dude, blow his corpse up, blow the next corpse... the gift that keeps giving) to powering the whole mess with an endless supply of alcohol, this here is the build that will let you do all the major things Mage-y in DoD. That, by the way, includes dying a million times on floor 1 until you finally get the hang of being a walking glass cannon. And dying to a random trap when you've all but won the game... because losing is fun. Complementary Comboes include Astrology + Demonology (MOAR buffs, nukes, and corruption removal), Viking Wizardry + Psionics (More procs, crowd control, mind control, AND EVEN MOAR HEALING), Vampirism + Vegan (Butcher animals that never fight back FOR GREAT MAGIC and devour their corpses. Get fruits from plants FOR MOAR BOOZE), Ley Lines + Blood Magic (boring, but it gives you DAT MANA), Emomancy + Necromiconomics (Abuse Necromiconomics for all you're worth, because you have THE CURE), Golemancy + Promethean (because old comboes don't get old), Banskter + Magical Law (because new comboes are fun too) 3. Going Rogue (Because you have to. THE DARK GODS DEMAND IT) Daggers, Assassination, Burglary, Perception, Dual Wield + 2 Abilities that complement those 5. Clear a whole monster zoo with nothing but counterattacks. Sneak around, and turn your sneakiness into your weapon. Unlock that invisible for 50 turns achievement. Steal everything that's not stapled down, and when the bad boyz come for you, move in mysterious ways, vanish without a trace, only to reappear behind them. Pick their locks and steal their traps for more experience, and turn their own tools against them. Live life on the edge of death, and enjoy every second of it. Go Rogue, or Go Home. Complementary Comboes include Tourist + Communist (a lot for a small investment, and you get to eat all the junk you have), Tinkering + Thrown Weapons (Turn your junk into stuff to throw at them, or better junk. Also, It's a TRAP.), Smithing + Archaeology (Turn your junk into stuff that you then krong. Don't Like it? Change it. Still don't like it? Send it to a museum. Then refresh the anvil and do it again). Fungal Arts + Big Game Hunter (There's nothing chewing the right shroom won't fix, no wound eating meaty drops won't fix. Releasing the hounds and/or a shroom monster will no just make your early game cake walk, but also make for great decoys late game when you need to make an inky getaway).