Conflux III discussion thread - potential spoilers

[MasterWuuf]

Phoenix!!! You are totally HEARTLESS! And I was hoping to have coffee with you someday. Oh well, you already know I killed them first, while they were begging me to save them, so perhaps coffee may still be a possibility.

I would think a person could run awhile, killing the monsters while retreating.
But surely taking a stand in a doorway would limit the monsters enough to be able to finish them off,
unless there's 10-Vigintillion of them (and that's way more than a thousand).

[Phoenix]

LOL. If they didn't want to be killed they shouldn't carry usefull items.

Deth knights are much quicker in Conflux than DM/CSB. You really can't stand your ground against minotaurs. Minotaurs, golems and stone elementals have a knock-back abiltity that will push your party back two tiles if they hit. Monsters will also flank you given the chance. It will be a little different with your game given you have 3 champions. These days, I take a single champion. Taking on the Altar of the Assault with a single champion is hard. I'm usually an ON master in all disciplines before I try it. At that level, with Furx or Caliburn, deth knights and minotaurs can be killed with 3-4 hits.

[MasterWuuf]

Found the map to the sewers, as well as another sling. I'll check the map. Hope that helps. I'd hate to think I'd have to resort to sending pictures of people 'glaring' to ZYX, for making me suffer so much (hmmm, he'll probably never know how I have threatened him here, in spite of my appreciation for him).

That always-burning torch. Is it of any use, other than the obvious; a light source?
Also found a 'funereal' axe. Is this a good item, or do I need to do something with it before using it?

One thing has caused me quite a bit of confusion: So many doors and gates I couldn't seem to beat/blast down. Not seeing an means to open them, I've left many behind. While I'm thinking about that, there's a metal door with a gem-hole to the left of it, when just coming down the stairs to the hall of the Dwarven Fortress. I've tried all the gems, so should I be trying something else?

[Phoenix]

Nope, it's just a light source. Torches burn faster in Conflux. When the eternal torch goes out, you can just take it out of your hand and put it back and it will be at full brightness.

Funereal weapons poison monsters, but they continually drain your strength for as long as you use them. The only exception is the rapier, fleshbite sustained.

There are no gem-hole locks on the Mines level. Do you mean the one in the Crypt just down from the Mines? You need to defeat the Dark Councillor are retrieve the powergem(Heart of the Dwarven Fortress) to open that one. That's one of the game endings behind that door.

[Chaos-Shaman]

It's a tough dungeon Masterwuuf, keep going at it hard.

[MasterWuuf]

Been kicking myself for something I hadn't considered, although I actually didn't have it along when I had opportunity knocked.

That alcove that allows you to make a copy of any weapon. I chose a second vorpal blade. May still be the correct item for me. However, that Leviathan. It seemed a good weapon. The 'reproduction' would have had all the power, with none of the negative problems. Oh well, two vorpal blades are still pretty nice to have.

[MasterWuuf]

I've been doing the 'quick' reply. Guess I need to do the regular post to be able to edit.

Found that hall (again) with the dust on the floor.
Made sure I didn't have any on my gang.
I didn't do anything with the dust on the floor.
That mirror sure doesn't work on many of those wall eyes.
I tried putting everything I could think of, up again each of those eyes. Nothing happened.

I even stuck my dirty socks up there. No good. (Naah, not really. You mean you BELIEVED me?)

Wonder where Jan went to? Miss a number of these old friends. Beo...why don'tcha write? (Dancing With Wuufs pun). Good to hear from Chaos Shaman though. Hello, friend!

P.S. Phoenix: You mentioned the Antmen drop clubs. You weren't referring to the hulking, blue characters, were you? If you are talking about Ant-looking baddies, I haven't any in the sewers.

[Phoenix]

You chose wisely. The weapon replicator can duplicate a weapon, but NOT any special powers. If you had tried to duplicate Leviathan, the new copy would be just a normal axe(executioner).
If you reached this area, you must have defeated the Sudden Death. How did you like that battle?

The, as you say, hulking blue creatures are Trollins, and they throw and drop clubs. They can even poison you with a thrown club. There are some antmen in the Temple, and they do drop clubs as well as shoot poison from their clubs.

When you post and submit a message, there's about a 5 minute window where the edit icon appears above your message and will allow you to edit only your last post. After that it disappears.

You have to pick up that dust on the ground and eat it to pass through.

Yeah, the mirror of dawn only works on one eye, and there it's a trap. Try it on the mirrors in the minotaur maze on the top level(Guilds). Some eyes unlock with ZO KATH RA. The eyes in the Repository open to specific items referenced by their riddles.

[MasterWuuf]

I don't recall the Sudden Death battle. Could I have bypassed that somehow? If so, there's always later.

I guess the vorpal blade will serve better than the executioner, although it is a fancy-looking weapon. Need to have one hung over the television in the front room, you know, to threaten the family and such.

I don't believe I've seen the Antmen, so I must not have wandered around the temple area enough yet.

I did find out on that "Leave an offering" or something like that spot, that I wasted a silver coin earlier. Seems a person can leave anything and get out.

Hard to believe the 'dust' problem is so simple. I haven't desired to swallow any dust since, well, since I saw my younger brother eat the dirt off my dad's boots when he came in from coon hunting (only 13 stars on the American flag, back then). And yes, little brother did have a geophagy habit, as a runt. When I took 'specialized' psychology classes in college, I believe the teacher called it pica. Sorry, off subject, so back on track.

Finally decided to face the half-buried rock creature. Why was I worried about him? I guess my gang is probably getting a bit more 'burly' now.

That Swap Shop, where I traded furs and daggers for an axe and a battle glove: Any other stuff worth spending money on there? I seemed to be inserting my coins for nothing...other than opening walls that led nowhere.

[Phoenix]

I don't see how you could bypass it. It looks like a flying gargoyle, but it attacks like a poisonous deth knight.

You can find your offering in the Temple storage area.

If you read the scrolls, Solune has a fetish for making people eat ashes. What many people don't realize is that eating dust (ashes) cures poison in Conflux. It kills your water levels and won't cure any disease like Serum(anti-venom) can, but it is usefull until you have spare flasks.

Do you mean the stone elemental? If so, did you find the Dwarven treasure?

While the merchant maze at the Fur Trader's has expanded in whe later WIP's, there really isn't anything worth wasting coins on in that area.

[MasterWuuf]

I did face the flying, yellow gargoyle. Other than taking some time, I guess my group was strong enough to handle him.

I also found the dwarven treasure. The fireball trap, near it, was fun.

Thanks for clearing up the merchant maze.

I also used a (SAR?) key, finding a couple more, plus a turquoise key and other stuff. That door was worth spending a key to open.

Found a white-robed gentleman (with a green button before him) near what looked like an old transformer or something. I beat him up for awhile, then decided to wait until the next time I find the place, before trying to kill him entirely.

[Phoenix]

Hmm...was that the Altar of Love? Did the green button say, "yes" when you pressed it? Otherwise I don't know where that is off hand.

[MasterWuuf]

Hmm...was that the Altar of Love? Did the green button say, "yes" when you pressed it? Otherwise I don't know where that is off hand.

Yes. It was the Altar of Love. Should I be killing that loveable guy?

[MasterWuuf]

Used a key in the spider area to open a door and see my first quartet of the yellow spiders. Winged key or flask? I hate to leave behind a flask, but it's my first winged key...which I've already found out will not open the first wing-keyed door.

ZYX must have been an ornery child, getting only lumps of coal from Santa at Christmastime.

I did use my turquoise key. Wow. Great fight! Constant poison blobs, when I am in the hall. And what, three or more magic doors to open? And they all lead to some less-than-friendly types. Lost one of my gang (RIP), but decided to play around with the two left, to see how hard it would be to kill all those unfriendly welcoming committees.

I did manage to find the safe spot, near the end of the hall, so I cleared out at least two of the rooms before learning to spell EXPIRE.
Oh yes, and when I picked up the 'holy?' armor pieces??? Who turned out the lights??? Always more fun to fight in the dark, right?

Done for the evening. Carpal Tunneling surgery might be an option.
Is this a great game or what???

[Phoenix]

You can't kill him or the fire demon if you want the SAR wedding ring.

Yeah, about that key at the Topaz cross. It doesn't open anything. There's only one winged key lock and it's in Mophus's guildmaster quest. The flask is the optimal choice as you can never return here.

The White Chambers of the Council is an interesting fight, just remember, that which opens those doors can close them as well. Fireshield is very helpful here as well.

[MasterWuuf]

I went ahead and saved the winged key. Perhaps I can work a trade for it with those white-robed individuals on the giggler/moving hole floor. They haven't been all that kind, so I doubt it. Missed out on a flask? Why must I suffer?

I waded through the turquoise key area. All that armor. Should I wear it, or try to trade it for something with those "white-robed individuals" in the paragraph above?

I many have to pick out my fourth hero, so I can lug around more stuff. I'll have to give some thought to just 'who' I want to pick, since the right person could use some of the neat stuff I've found.

Wish more of the old gang, who seem to have disappeared, were here to comment on what a poor dungeon-crawler I'm proving to be.
I'm actually pleased to see a few of you folks still around. Still remembering a few of the pictures Beowuuf had on here...of some of the gang. Wow! That's been 10-years back, so everyone probably looks quite a bit different. Life is a great adventure...and friends to share it with make the adventure even more amazing.

Still haven't managed to find those Dwarven Forges, however. That sewer...stinks.

[Phoenix]

Didn't you get the Sewer map from http://dmweb.free.fr/Stuff/conflux3maps/index.html ?

There's still one more flask at the entrance to the Tower of Mampang you can get.

The Holy armor can only be used by Mophus without penalty.

Judging from where you've successfully explored, I wouldn't say you're a poor dungeon-crawler. You took on the Spider level far earlier than I ever did. You'll also never find out everything Conflux has to offer in your first time trying. Even after all the times I've "completed" Conflux, there are still a few things I don't know yet.

Conflux is hard. It's so hard, that once you've adapted to playing it, you've ruined yourself for the original DM. I used to need four champions to complete DM, but the last time I played DM, I took a solo Tiggy and completed the game without dieing once.

[MasterWuuf]

Already have the sewer map. Finding the map password scrolls hasn't been an easy task for me.
I don't believe I've seen any Antmen in the sewers.
Are there sections of the sewer that can only be reached by climbing down certain holes from above?
I've dropped down almost every hole in the temple area, not really finding anything that was worth the effort.

I did notice one last electric/energy door in the 'holy armor' area that remains closed after cleaning the place out.
Can a person gain access to that room by doing something near there?

[Phoenix]

You won't find antmen in the Sewers. As far as I can tell, the maps where made prior to Conflux 3.8B, so Zyx may have changed it.

Spoiler

On the Sewer map, there is writing that says, "How did this open?" with an arrow pointing towards two walls with X's in them. There is a tiny square with a plus sign inside right next to that arrow. There's a spitter tree on that square and behind it is a button on the north wall. When you press the button, water will start flooding out of the walls. Map squares with a solid black square inside denote pits. Three pits north of that button should now be open. You'll want to explore all three, but the center pit drops directly into the Dwarven Forges.

re:"Are there sections of the sewer that can only be reached by climbing down certain holes from above?"

No.

re:"I did notice one last electric/energy door in the 'holy armor' area that remains closed after cleaning the place out. Can a person gain access to that room by doing something near there?"

No.

[MasterWuuf]

Found the "No Winds" area. I'm 'holding my breath' and getting nowhere there. Ha.

Found the place that asks for four emerald keys to get a SAR key. Had one SAR key. Too bad I used up all but one of my emerald keys.

I gave up a silver to get the shortcut back to safety. I then moved some stuff down the hall to have it 'close to hand' when wanted.

Also found my way to the room with the footprints. I'll probably wait a bit on that room. I tried to get through it when I played 10-years ago and missed something. I also remember going down the stairs to the water area. I spent a lot of time down there before, pretty much getting to the other side and (if memory serves) killing some screamer trees, etc. but not really accomplishing much.

It's hard to believe how much time I spent back then, plodding through this wonderful game, yet getting nowhere near as far as I have this time. I figure I'm surely halfway through in this attempt. I need to find the seized city again, so I can figure out how to defeat the invading army; if for no other reason, then for my own hard-headedness.

I decided to spend a coin to get a third Flamebane, giving up my elven armor (+2 dexterity) for the 12 or whatever points added for fire protection. The elven armor was such a fashion statement that it was a difficult decision. Perhaps I'll wrap the elven armor up and send it to someone as a Christmas or birthday present???

Is there a thread on the best weapons? If so, I missed it. The Caliburn is surely one of the best ones. I've been considering taking up the Leviathan again. When a person gets their strength back up, after wielding the monstrosity, it seemed to be a potent weapon...as long as I didn't forget to leave it 'in hand' after equipping it.

[Phoenix]

The "No Winds" barrier is followed by the "No purses" and then "No rings". After that you get to fight the Council.

Re: four emerald keys for a sar key
That's the entrance to the Emerald Forest. You'll need two SAR keys to enter. This is a tough fight due the constant poisoning.

The room with the footprints is the Soap & Water puzzle on the Apprentice level. Aquatana, the water level, has a few goodies and is the home of the Coral Crab.

It's a bit of a toss up for what is the best weapon, but you are correct that Caliburn is one of the best. Furx is the best weapon against dragons. The vorple blade, Mourneblade, regenerates mana with every hit. The spiked mace, Demons bane, does excellent damage against undead. And the unique mace of order(attacks groups) is just about the only weapon able to effect Vecna. The most powerful weapon is the DES sabre, but it's only active/usefull on one level.

Curiously, I've found the rapier to be the best of the normal weapons.

[MasterWuuf]

When I figured out the rectangular button needed to be pressed to be 'out' rather than 'in', the holes finally showed up (sewer area). Now I have to go back and make sure I've entered the 3rd hole, since the 2nd one took me where I needed to go.

[MasterWuuf]

Hmmm. Wandered down to the forest. I've pushed all the buttons, staying in the forest as long as allowed (as far as I can tell, at least). Killed a few dragons (big and small), etc., but have only found some dragon grieves for my troubles.

Am I supposed to find a way through the place, or is that all I can expect? Odd. I'm probably missing something good.

[Phoenix]

Excellent! Now you can fix all the broken stuff.

I now remember why I never bothered with Leviathon beyond the strength hit. This weapon has what I consider the remaining original DM/CSB bug, aka the "hack" option. The weapon recovery time for the "hack" option is exceedingly too long.

The dragon poleyn and a couple of dragon eggs are the goal for visiting the Emerald Forest, unless you are playing the Malficient guild. The Emerald Forest is the endgame for the Malficient guild. A normal party only needs to stay there until you find and kill the adult green dragon.

[MasterWuuf]

Dragon eggs or a dragon heart?

I may have to go back to an earlier save, with intent to 'hunt' a little faster,
since I have used up (or so it seems) the buttons to go into the forest.

A 'runt' dragon followed me back to the room. Cute little guy. Tried to bite me when I petted him too.
Sadly, I decided to extinguish his life force. And he could have made such a nice pet.

[Phoenix]

Eggs. There's one lock that can only be unlocked with a green dragon egg. There is no other source for them than the adult green dragon in the Emerald Forest.

Conflux does allow you to have a pet. There are three Cerberuses that can be obtained, but they don't like inexpirienced wizards. Once you reach EE master wizard they will even purr for you.

[MasterWuuf]

Eggs: I believe I found a couple of VEN eggs, which are surely not the eggs I need, so I'll have to reload an earlier save anyway.
I was probably so worried about another dragon showing up that I didn't stop and pick anything up at the time.
If I kill another one, I'll make sure I pick up anything left behind.

I noticed that even if I move everything away from me in the room during the forest fighting, it all shifts back to where it was when I leave the forest again. Weird.

Cerberus: I had one, very early in my game. I haven't seen it for a long time. Wonder where it went? Someone STOLE my pet!!!
Probably Beowuuf, but I don't mind. He's a good guy and deserves a pet.

All three of my group are 5th-level wizards, at this point. I need to find a Cerberus. I did find a scroll that mentioned something about Cerberus. I thought it was a 'map' scroll, but I'm not so sure, since I don't think it mentioned an area.

P.S. That 'dust' storage alcove was curious. I decided, after trying the 'edible' way of doing something with it, to simply leave it alone. Do I need to empty out that alcove?

[Phoenix]

My champions should have died from cholesterol poisoning from all the cooked eggs I've fed them.

Cerberuses eye color changes depending upon the level and they will also growl in the presence of hidden demons and stone salmanders. They also move about your inventory.

The Ash Stash is a short-cut. If you take ashes from the alcove and try to move or drop them on the floor, you'll be teleported back to Solune's Ash trap. There's a scroll in the alcove that insults you, but there's nothing else in the alcove but ashes. You'll then need to eat any ashes you picked up.

[MasterWuuf]

The Ash Stash is just something I should use to take the shortcut out, when I'm finished with the area then, right?

I've been in the forest quite a bit of time, trying to find something of real value.
Dragon grieves, VEN eggs and I believe I've found one dragon heart. I already have one dragon heart (have no idea now, as to where I found the thing in the first place).
Should I continue looking for something else?

Glad I stashed a bunch of emerald keys. Otherwise I'd be keyless. I've been tempted to go back to the guilds and get the guy (only using three right now) with the SAR key (save a few emeralds, that way?).

P.S. The rich have no hearts? What a sad testimony to what people (ZYX?) think/thinks of the wealthy. Ha.

[Phoenix]

You can use the Ash Stash or don't. There's no requirement to do so, it's just something that you can do.

Once you have the Dragon poleyn and a green dragon egg or two, you are done with the Emerald Forest. There is nothing else there to do or get.

Don't worry about keys. There are keys everywhere. You can get another SAR key at the Altar of Ancient Doors. From what you have described, you have already opened all the standard SAR locks.