Ancient Domains Of Mystery, forum overview / Spoilers / Guide to Being a Druid
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Silfir Registered user Writer of Overly Long Guides Last page view: 4069 days, 7 hours, 20 minutes and 54 seconds ago. |
I've definitely taken long enough now, so here it is, the Guide to Being a Druid. It's the longest of those I wrote yet, and I think the last for quite some time. Hope you enjoy reading it, in any case! Now excuse me while I weep in a corner at my failure to get a life. (I kid, I kid...) You drop the golden ball. You kick the golden ball. It slides to the west. Suddenly Harry Potter, the apprentice wizard, appears! "That's not how you play Quidditch! are you even listening?" Which direction? (123456789) 4 Harry Potter, the apprentice wizard, is hit by a bolt of acid! Harry Potter, the apprentice wizard, is annihilated. You hear the ecstatic cries of a large crowd! |
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Darren Grey Registered user Last page view: 4240 days, 6 hours, 38 minutes and 44 seconds ago. |
Very nice, especially the spell guide. Some additional comments you might like to use: Dispel Undead is actually the most damaging spell in the game. Honestly. It benefits hugely from being trained (just as burning hands does) and can instantly kill the vast majority of undead - including some of the more powerful ones. Unfortunately emperor liches shrug it off reasonably often, so I prefer burning hands for them. Invisi- I mean, "Veil of the Gods" works exceptionally well in conjunction with bolt spells - the enemies will still never see you and you can slaughter them easily. It's great to use against vortexes and all forms of ghost (trolls take note), and is also extremely useful in the Big Room, SMC, ToEF, DH, AF and Water Temple. Using ball spells or burni- uh, Baptism of Fire will reveal you to the enemies hit. Remove Curse is especially handy for Food Preservation (look out for the rotting messages) and when using autocursing items. It should maybe be noted for the curious that Earthquake does not produce gems or ore. Darkness disabling titans and greater titans is very useful to know. And the Snake From Beyond of course. Also it rather strangely diables grues of all types. Monsters summoned by the appropriate spell are restricted to the danger level of the area you're casting it in. Wish should be called Divine Intervention for druids. Stun Ray can be trained without a monster nearby - go to a wilderness square and keep casting it. Since it's cheap (and you regenerate doubly in the wilderness!) it's incredibly easy to train up quickly. Your own death rays will not kill you unless zapped from a wand of death. It's also worth noting it has a very low range regardless. It might be worth stating explicitly that willpower increases ball range in steps of 16 (so the further steps are 48/64/80/96). Acid ball notably doesn't work on diamond golems, greater titans and karmic dragons - magic missile is the only magic that'll hurt them. Drakelings can also use wands of fire targetted at 5 to warm themselves up a bit. And not only can this be used as a great way to speed yourself up before certain fights, but it is pretty much necessary after traversing D49. Just be sure any burnable equipment is properly protected... As for missiles compared to spells - you said missiles are better than any spell other than Rain of Sorrow. Not true - Acid Ball does not compare to slaying ammo at all. The likes of Nuurgy or the emperor moloch can fall to just 2 or 3 of the appropriate slaying ammo, whilst acid ball requires several castings just to get thier attention. Of course you emphasise quite well already the importance of missiles, but a druid especially should not consider Rain of Sorrow to be better... Purifier un-ided is simply "heavy mace", and it is not two-handed! It's an awesome weapon, especially against all the demons and elementals you fight in the game, and benefits well from the Basher line of talents. The Wi bonus is particularly nice for spellcasters (lower than Nonnak, but on a useful weapon). I would actually rate it the best possible crowning gift for druids - Nature's Companion can be outstripped by decent eternium mail (I often find nice ego ones of these), whilst good slaying weapons can be hard to find. I'd personally add "eternium tower shields" to wishes as an early game item. Going around wearing two of them and blasting everything with spells can be quite satisfying. Potions of willpower can be decent too, if you rely on ball spells and aren't far from going up a range. Keethrax can drain stats, making him very difficult in melee. Zapping him in the dark is dangerous because there might be a cat behind him. The best and most reliable method in my books is using missiles and a light source. It doesn't take too many normal arrows to down him. Dispel Undead works nicely on Griffy I find, as does burning hands of course. But yeah, holy water method's a little easier if you have teleport. Snake from Beyond does not resist cold. All spells work nicely on him. And again, darkness especially disables him. Should be noted that the door to the skeletal king guarding the RotHK is always trapped. If he doesn't set it off himself (always amusing - you open the door and he stumbles out stunned) be sure to disable it first. You do *not* want to be stunned in the middle of a lake of chaos pirahnas being attacked by the skeletal king (ear-cleaning and applying skills still stop you staggering at least though). Dragon slaying ammo is still incredibly useful against the Wyrm, particularly quarrels. I've used the tactic of a stowed crossbow and dragon slaying quarrels on him several times, equipping then only when necessary, and I've never had them burn on me. Even when they're lying on the floor after I've shot him and I had to go pick them up again. They make extremely short work of him too - 3 or 4 hits (though he can be hard to hit). If you're invisible in the air temple then the air elementals are unlikely to move and Yuglash will be trapped in the middle - allowing you to easily bolt him to oblivion. When fighting Nuurgy it's worth noting that the sword of nonnak also gives death ray resistance, alongside it's handy Wi boost for spellcasters. But the AMW is still advised so you can see invis too. Balors only resist fire, so that's 3 ball spells that work nicely on them (acid's still the best obviously). Humanoid slayers work well on them too (especially blessed), and I usually find it's best to take them out with missiles (thus avoiding their corrupting attacks, and usually downing them faster). Summons can get in the way, and can potentially be nasty. I'm considering a Thief guide I could write after playing about with them more. Would likely be fairly brief though - could be summed up mostly with "not as good as assassins, who aren't that great either". Could also do a Bard guide, but that means covering every skill in the game. I also care little for pets, though I know enough tactics about their use. Waldenbrook, the dwarven shopkeeper, mumbles: "I'd offer 9 gold pieces for yer dwarven child corpse." |
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Sardaukar Registered user Last page view: 5631 days, 11 hours, 1 minute and 10 seconds ago. |
Very nice ! Now that you have done Wizard and Druid guides...may I ask for Priest Guide ? :) |
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gut Registered user Painted this one too. Last page view: 4898 days, 8 hours, 55 minutes and 40 seconds ago. |
Consider mentioning the allignment benefit of starting out as N in the 'dark elves verdict'. > Walking around in Strained! mode will increase > it to 18 or 19 eventually The highest that I have ever gotten the St stat, by being Strained!, is 18. > Apparently, dwarves really don't have any women Oh, but they do! It's just that their beards make them blend in so well, that the game can't tell the difference : ) > Sure, you won't get XP for the animals you don't > kill, but what do you want XP for? That got me laughing, it's funny because it's true : ) Druid class powers are just horrible. > So, why play a Druid instead of a Priest? You left out GARDENING! *joking* > so you summon an animal to let it stand > between you and the Ancient Chaos Wyrm Actually, I'm not sure that would work. I have never tried that method, using a friendly meat shield. I know it works fine with hostiles, but I'm 99% sure the friendly would just get quickly toasted. > c) First Aid You didn't mention bleeding. Does first aid really help fight sickness? I've always noticed that my HP's stop decreasing, after a bit (maybe to 1/3 of the original). I don't think that first aid does even give a few extra steps. > A Literacy value of 100 will enable you to > read anything, anywhere, anytime, Not rain of sorrow. > unless you wish for a manual of bridge building > - a move so addlebrainedly idiotic you should > delete ADOM in an instant if you actually find > yourself even contemplating it. I couldn't agree more. It would be insane, not to wish for 'manuals of bridge building' : ) > and watch the neutral ants dig up all the walls. > Search through the rubble and rake in the jewelry! Might be worth mentioning Auto_Pickup here. Adding the * symbol, saves a tremendous amount of hassle. > if you try to kill Kherab, you'll notice he will Maybe mention the trick about using the water squares, in the pool room, as shields. > you don't need to heal 150 HP in one go instead Does the Heal spell really heal 150 HP's in one casting? I thought it was more like ~60. ------------------------------------------------ I'm about half way through this monster, and will come back for round two later. I did skip to the bottom out of curiosity, before quitting. > Balor asses are easily kicked with Rain of > Sorrow, and I think Freezing Fury might work too. Yep. Balors and greater balors are only immune to fire. You know, I should really start thinking about maybe capitalizing my handle. I realized this, after reading the following sentence at the bottom of the guide. > Sigh. Special thanks go to gut, That just sounds a bit wierd, doesn't it? Now, if it was capitalized it would read: "Sigh. Special thanks go to Gut" There, now it doesn't sound the slightest bit wierd. Does it? Put me in the 'fool filter', where I belong! |
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Hilter Unregistered user |
I remember that Guth'alak gave me some equipment different for what he normally gives, when i was a human druid. Unfortunately I cannot recall what it was. |
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Darren Grey Registered user Last page view: 4240 days, 6 hours, 38 minutes and 44 seconds ago. |
>I'm 99% sure the friendly would just get quickly >toasted. Are friendlies affected by the tower heat? >I've always noticed >that my HP's stop decreasing, after a bit >(maybe to 1/3 of the original) Always half the current (which may well be a third the original counting in the toughness decrease). Never seen first aid to help (other than it being a good way to train first aid) but Silfir seems to be suggesting there that first can actually cure sickness on a very lucky roll - something I've never seen nor heard of. >You know, I should really start thinking about >maybe capitalizing my handle. It looks bad when quoted I guess, but... I dunno, "Gut" just looks weird in comparison. Would take some getting used to :/ Waldenbrook, the dwarven shopkeeper, mumbles: "I'd offer 9 gold pieces for yer dwarven child corpse." |
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Nick Unregistered user |
Heal healed 10d6+something Hitpoints, last time i checked. |
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asdfasdf Unregistered user |
Companions are affected by the Tower heat. I once summoned an ancient white dragon against the Wyrm, sadly he died quickly from the heat. I also saw the old barbarian die from the heat. |
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Silfir Registered user Writer of Overly Long Guides Last page view: 4069 days, 7 hours, 20 minutes and 54 seconds ago. |
I've always wondered, why "gut"? I mean "intestine" would've had more character... As always, thanks for the minute dissection of every single last mistake! I am PRETTY SURE Purifier is two-handed, though I grew suspicious before as well. At least I always used it two-handed with my Priest. If it actually is one-handed, though... I guess I have to go bang my head against a wall. I've heard that First Aid can cure sickness, but I'll have to admit it never worked out for me. If it actually doesn't help jack shit, it doesn't help fighting sickness at all - feverish fits simply reoccur if they are healed because they always occur until you're at half HP or below. Are you saying that only companions are affected by Tower fire? I've summoned monsters with wands of monster creation and they held out for a while before they were utterly slaughtered. In that case, you'd be lucky if your meat shields held out long enough to actually help... Another punch in the gut (no offense) for that level 25 class power... You drop the golden ball. You kick the golden ball. It slides to the west. Suddenly Harry Potter, the apprentice wizard, appears! "That's not how you play Quidditch! are you even listening?" Which direction? (123456789) 4 Harry Potter, the apprentice wizard, is hit by a bolt of acid! Harry Potter, the apprentice wizard, is annihilated. You hear the ecstatic cries of a large crowd! |
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zv Registered user Last page view: 5661 days, 6 hours, 54 minutes and 5 seconds ago. |
IIRC companions are only affected on the last level of ToEF. Don't know about other non-fire resistant monsters. Purifier is definitely one-handed. |
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gut Registered user Painted this one too. Last page view: 4898 days, 8 hours, 55 minutes and 40 seconds ago. |
> I've always wondered, why "gut"? The reason for the handle 'gut' is in honor of one of my first PC's I really liked, and did well with. I know the game automatically capitalizes names, but not me. I think I'll keep it lower case for a while. > As always, thanks for the minute dissection > of every single last mistake! Well, you knew we would! : D Actually, I refrained from taking note of (m)any spelling anomalies. *mediocricy = mediocrity* Sorry couldn't resist : ) Seriously, I'm in awe of your spelling prowess. It's obvious that you don't use a spellchecker, and still you have fewer typos in 200 KB's than I usually make in 2 KB's. > Are you saying that only companions are affected > by Tower fire? Not that I'm aware of. What I meant, is that a friendly monster would be attacked by the ACW's bolt attacks. The ACW won't attack monsters that are trying to help him kill you, but he will dispatch those that aren't. Meat shields work best if they are hostile. Curse that white baby dragon figurine of wonderous power, before dubbing it 'meat shield'. If hostile monsters are damaged by ToEF heat on any level, I haven't seen it. Don't ask me about tower heat on monsters that are nuetral to you, because I have no clue. Same goes for how the ACW would react to them. ------------------------------- Finally finished it! It's a good guide, full of really helpful info. I do wonder though, if the size of it might be daunting for a new player. I suppose it's not a big deal, one could just scroll to the parts they are really interested in. Having said that, here are a few more ideas for consideration, so that maybe you can make it longer : D > Veil of the Gods: Makes the target invisible. > Works on you, works on enemies. Why you would use > it on enemies is beyond me, It is supposed to double the exp. points you get from kiling the invisible monster. Likewise, casting it on yourself halves the gained points. This is new info to me, and I haven't tested it thouroghly yet, but I believe it is true. > Earthquake (C): I have experienced crashes when using this spell. It doesn't crash the game by the casting of it. It just generates such a HORDE of rocks, that when monsters pick them up (and drop them when killed), that it causes 'drop crashes', for lack of a better term. These crashes are also somewhat likely when using the 'ant diggers' technique, but it's much more likely with the earthquake spell. > Disarm Trap (C): <snip a few lines> > This spell is one-hundred percent reliable It is 100% reliable 99.9% of the time, but there are rare instances that it will fail. I haven't tested this thoroughly, to find out what is the exact cause of failure. I strongly suspect that just waking up an Orb guardian, is the cause. Then again, it might be the case, that you have to be in their direct line of sight. When I fight the Archmage, I sometimes like to disarm some traps first. This is useful for door or webbing options, if needed. However, I forgot to do this once (how?!), and so tried to do it in the middle of battle. I got the message 'your magic fails you'. I have gotten the same message, when trying to cast the 'summon monsters' spell, in a similar battle with the ACW. > Invoked Devastation If my memory serves, there is something especially dangerous about this spell. The PP's cost that is listed in your spell inventory, doesn't accurately reflect the actual PP's cost for casting the spell. I'm 99% sure that the PP's cost is DRASTICALLY increased, as the distance of the spell is increased. This is deadly, because the listed cost may be 50 PP, and you may have 45. So you decide to cast out of your HP's. You cast the spell half-way across the screen, and go from 170 HP's down to -20. Very depressing. That's also worth remembering, if you get one of these from a wand of wonder, in the early game. > The potion of blindness <snip a bit> > absolutely no one in ADOM is immune to the > awesome power of this little flask. I think some might be. I don't know all of the monsters that it doesn't work against, but I will try to remember a few. Stone grues, earth elementals, skeletal kings, golems. I can't remember any more, and I'm not 100% sure about these either. That isn't much help, I know. Just going from memories, which are sometimes glitchy. > 1) Ancient Stone Beast None of the Earth Temple goons have any elemental immunities... except the stone golems. *snicker*. They are immune to acid and cold. I just can't believe that silly stone golems have immunities the ASB doesn't. > m) Nuurag-Vaarn <snip a few lines> > If faced with a simple door made out of fucking > WOOD, all he can do is go "Hurrh durrh durrh" I have tried this only a few times, and I do not try it anymore. The reason is that the last time I tried it, he did panic. I stupidly sat on my side of the door going "Blarrh blaahr blahhhh", casting acid balls, and waiting for my exp. level to increase. Of course, I was blasting nothing but thin air, the Archmage having already ran back into the temple. I finally caught on, chased the Archmage down (inside the temple), and got killed. This method is not a sure-fire victory. Put me in the 'fool filter', where I belong! |
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zv Registered user Last page view: 5661 days, 6 hours, 54 minutes and 5 seconds ago. |
> The potion of blindness <snip a bit> > absolutely no one in ADOM is immune to the > awesome power of this little flask. using it on Great Water Dragon, Fistanarius or Andy is not very effective though. |
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Sardaukar Registered user Last page view: 5631 days, 11 hours, 1 minute and 10 seconds ago. |
"I am PRETTY SURE Purifier is two-handed, though I grew suspicious before as well. At least I always used it two-handed with my Priest. If it actually is one-handed, though... I guess I have to go bang my head against a wall." Neither Purifier or Justifier are 2-handed, both are 1-handed, Grod is, which I think you are confusing Purifier with. Straight from the Andy W. Guide (and I play lot of Priests to know it is true): *rune-covered heavy mace "Purifier" rune-covered heavy mace 200s (+5,4d5+5) [-4,+1] (+0,1d4) {Wi+4} +Luck !Demo !Unde !Unli maces and flails Maces and Flails are 1-handed, compare to: *mighty morning star "Grod" mighty morning star 220s (+16,5d10+5) [-8,+0] (+0,2d6) =Fire -Stun +Crit !Gian !Demo twohanded weapons Even +lead-filled mace "Big Punch" lead-filled mace 800s (+1,8d5+3) [-6,+0] (+0,1d4) -Stun maces and flails is 1-handed. Justifier, of course is quite neat sword, 1-handed too: *holy avenger "Justifier" (+4,3d5+10) [+6,+2] long sword 60s (+4,3d5+10) [+6,+2] (-6,3d5) !Unde !Demo swords These can be easily assessed with Scroll of Great Identify etc. [Edited 1 time, last edit on 5/3/2008 at 10:39 (GMT -5) by Sardaukar] |
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gut Registered user Painted this one too. Last page view: 4898 days, 8 hours, 55 minutes and 40 seconds ago. |
I did a bit of testing about which monsters take damage in the fire tower. Monsters that are hostile or neutral toward you, take no background fire damage on any level of the tower. Monsters that are your companion or tame will sometimes take damage. The monsters that I tested as companions, mainly all recieved the message about 'the attack doesn't penetrate the defenses of the foo', on every level except the Orb level. On that level, all except the fire resistant monsters did indeed take background damage. The only monsters that took damage on any of the non-orb levels were extremely low level monsters. Ones generated with a scroll of familiar summoning in the wilderness, on the level of a rat. Put me in the 'fool filter', where I belong! |
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Darren Grey Registered user Last page view: 4240 days, 6 hours, 38 minutes and 44 seconds ago. |
Silfir: >If it actually is one-handed, though... I guess I have to go bang my head against a wall. Let the head-banging commence! Really man, your priest was wielding Purifier without a shield? What a waste... I actually had a stupid death thanks to it once - decided Purifier + Protector was better than the trident when missiling Andy. Alas... I think the First Aid comment should be removed without verification. It could be that someone happened to get cured of sickness naturally when using First Aid, and reported it in error. Just tested the invisibility thing - it does indeed double xp gains. Doesn't matter if you can see invis or not. Also doesn't matter if you're invis yourself. I suppose trolls would find this useful against powerful monsters. Also tested the Invoked Devastation thing. The spell seems to cost an additional 4 or 5 PP for every point of range. So at a range of 14 it costs 71 PP instead of 16! Dear Christ, I'm not touching that spell again... Waldenbrook, the dwarven shopkeeper, mumbles: "I'd offer 9 gold pieces for yer dwarven child corpse." |
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Silfir Registered user Writer of Overly Long Guides Last page view: 4069 days, 7 hours, 20 minutes and 54 seconds ago. |
I'll be damned, I MUST have tried to wear a shield with Purifier, right?! What was I thinking? I think from now on, I'll steer clear of any unambiguous statements. "100% reliable" - "No it isn't" "No one is immune" - "Actually, there are some who are immune" "There is no use to casting this on others" - "Actually, you get double XP that way" It's starting to look like *I* am the one who learns the most from writing this guide... Oh well, at lest it seams my speling is okey. You drop the golden ball. You kick the golden ball. It slides to the west. Suddenly Harry Potter, the apprentice wizard, appears! "That's not how you play Quidditch! are you even listening?" Which direction? (123456789) 4 Harry Potter, the apprentice wizard, is hit by a bolt of acid! Harry Potter, the apprentice wizard, is annihilated. You hear the ecstatic cries of a large crowd! |
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gut Registered user Painted this one too. Last page view: 4898 days, 8 hours, 55 minutes and 40 seconds ago. |
Darren: > Also tested the Invoked Devastation thing. The > spell seems to cost an additional 4 or 5 PP for > every point of range. So at a range of 14 it > costs 71 PP I had not checked the exact effect, I actually thought it was worse! Good to know the real numbers, so I can cast it if it is really needed. The deadliest thing, is it's effect in combination with a WoWo. The WoWo's force you to cast a spell, but cost you no PP's. Invoked devastation is the one lonely exception. You will lose PP's, not for the casting it's self, but for the range. Still can be an insta-death for a low level PC. Be at full HP's before zapping! Silfir: > "100% reliable" - "No it isn't" Well, how many players are dense enough, to stop battling the Archmage for a round, in order to cast 'disarm traps' anyway!? Only me, I would think! So technically, the actual success rate would be more like 99.9999999999999%. Put me in the 'fool filter', where I belong! |
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Darren Grey Registered user Last page view: 4240 days, 6 hours, 38 minutes and 44 seconds ago. |
Silfir: >It's starting to look like *I* am the one who learns the most from writing this guide... This is one of the beauties of these guides, methinks - every has something to learn. I sure as hell never knew about that Improved Fireball thing for instance (though I'd always noticed it cost too much HP to be of much use). Also, at least you know people have read it :P gut: >I had not checked the exact effect, I actually >thought it was worse! Good to know the real >numbers, so I can cast it if it is really needed. Well, keep in mind that was tested with a level 50 wizard. I have no idea about how much it would cost without the appropriate class power PP reductions. Waldenbrook, the dwarven shopkeeper, mumbles: "I'd offer 9 gold pieces for yer dwarven child corpse." |