i have completed dm and csb and several created created dungeons alltogether over 100 times. this doesnt mean i play perfect or there isnt a trick i dont know, but this guide will help you to your first 100 succesful fuses.
i already posted this one at the encyclodpedia, but i just cant see an empty forum here
--2 characters--
you can have up to four heroes in your party. nothingtheless, i recommend strongly to use only 2 of them. this has the advantage, that you have 2 strong characters with loads of hitpoints and you dont need to much training. 2 characters may almost have the power of 4, if you train them properly. when the first fireballs fly onto your party, you will be glad to
have to heal only 2 strong heroes
first of all, if you play DM, reincarnate them. you dont lose life or attributes in this way, only the levels you have. this will end you up in having better attributes in the end. having only 2 characters means, you will have to train both of them in all 4 disciplines. this happens mainly automatically
within the game. it still helps, to train a bit extra. im DM for example, you will happen to envounter a screamer very soon. before hacking it into slices, warcry them a bit. within few minutes, both of your heroes will be novice fighter and priest each. this will give you a nice bonus. and, if you resurrected, brings back the levels you have lost this way. 2 characters only eat as the half of four heroes. so you have twice the time to solve puzzles. this evens out, because you can only carry the half, but you dont really want to have mules in your party, do you?
--ninja--
you might not want to use ranged weapons, especially if you play with 2 heroes only. but i still recommend to train ninja to a certain level, like artisan or adept. this will increase your attributes, life and, also important, stamina. monsters to punch are mainly rock piles and screamers- you can regenerate some screamers in the worms-level of DM, for example. punch some of them down, you will not regret it.
--drop crappy items--
you will find lots of stuff during your adventure. but you will need only a tiny part of it. of course there are some items needed to complete the game, like keys and essential items, like the 4 items you need in the riddle room in DM. its not always easy to decide what you could need later. but there is many you can drop, such as replacement weapons and clothes,
food, missiles or chests.
i always carry 1 chest full of food with me. if you are new to a dungeon, you might want to carry a second one with you, to have more time for the riddles. the best food to keep is brean and drumsticks. corn, cheese and apples are the first ones to eat, same counts for screamer slives and worm rounds. of course nothing can beat dragon steaks
--use up wands, bombs and freeze boxes--
use them up or drop them. you wont need them later. i keep 2 green freeze boxes with me and pa/ful versions of the 2 bombs.
all others i use up the time i find them or simply ignore. the first time i encountered the dragon in DM, i had the full set of all boms and freeze boxes with me. nice, but useless. wands are something i dont like too much, because i prefer to cast spells by myself.
--items you keep. or: your battle suit--
the best equipment to have is: crown of nerra/dex helm. flamebain/plate of darc. power towers. speed boots. inquisitor/hardcleave (dragonfang/executioner in csb). 2* vorpal blade.
that is all you need and in general the best part of each equipment. heavier armor seems to protect more, but i prefer to increase important stats, like anti-fire with the flamebain or wisdom with the nerra crown. it doesnt matter too much if a knight does 70 or 90 damage anyways. your heroes will be able to take these blows.in the right hand, always have a vi-potion ready. shields are kind of useful, but its more handy to have a potion there to be able to recast it in time. dont bother using des-ew as long as you have vorpal blades. these wonderful weapon gives you experiece, too. its able to hit faders, when they are nearly vanished, des-ew can hurt them only as long as they are fully materialized.
--exploration--
explore all of a dungeon. visit any room, tackle any wall. there are many secret rooms to find. this also has the advantege, that you will find all monsters. this does not only give you experience, but keeps your back free, too. its always better not to encounter surprising monsters from behind.
--regenerating monsters--
many dungeons use regenerating monsters. keep your eyes open to avoid surprises. close doors behind you if possible. but use them also for training if you want to spend the time. there are special training rooms in DM. visit them, if you want to.
--fighting--
dungeon master isnt made for toe-to-toe fights. use all your wit. close doors, use stairs to retreat. catch monsters below doors and hit them on their head. use rooms to walk around them and hit them in their back. cast spells and dont forget to heal yourself. have always shields cast, ya-ir (physical shield) or ful-bro-neta (fireshield), whatever serves its purpose.
retreat from stronger monsters to avoid blows. in fact, you can finish DM with taking nearly no blow of a monster. there are tactics to find out and details, which i leave open to discover by yourself.
--spellcasting--
dungeon master provides you with 24 spells. infact, you dont have to use half of them. i only cast healing potions (vi), shields (ya-ir, ful-bro-neta), some attackspells (ful-ir, des-ven, oh-ven) and, if necessary, ku-potions (ful-bro-ku)
--overload--
as mentioned before, dont carry to much useless items with you. try to avoid having your characters overloaded, this will decrease your mobility strongly. if you cant avoid to, cast ku-potions. this will help you in fights also and it is nice priest-training.
--store--
the are places which you gonna visit more than once during the game. this is a nice opportunity to drop some stuff you might need later, like overabundand food. in DM, its the stairs connecting the deeper levels, opened with a skeleton key. in CSB, its the junction of ways or the DDD.
--sleeping--
this is one of the most important features in the game. sleep as often as you can, and if its for only 30 seconds. so you wont have to bother with stamina at all. it will also help you to have your mana on a decent level, to be ready to fight.
--full mana--
this is something i dont really like to have. your characters regenerate mana all the time, and if your manabar is full, they wont, which is a waste. so i try to keep it always at about 3/4. if it is full, fill some flasks with healing potions, cast light or a shield. there is always something to cast.
--safe early, safe often--
whatever you do, you die only if you didnt safe for a long time. murphy is everywhere
ok, this is all for the moment, i might add something to another time. feel free to commentate this and excuse my bad english
many thx for reading, regards,
Benni
