Conflux III discussion thread - potential spoilers

[Sealtiel]

As soon as you started giving a roundabout answer, I'm pretty sure it hit me. Like a ton of bricks, you could even say. *wink*

I'll go try that out right now, since I just got past the invisible guardian only to learn I need a billion more emerald keys; a sapphire (I think, anyways) key and that I also really enjoy eating ashes. Yum! They're even vegetarian friendly, plus they stay crunchy in milk.

Edit: OK, so maybe I don't have the right answer. I can't find a place to use what I think is the answer anyways. I tried chunking them at the door, but that just gave me a headache. Maybe I just have the wrong answer & I need ten of the big ones on me at once. But man, those are so heavy...

2nd Edit: Alright, so I was on the wrong track. But I think I've narrowed it down to 2 possibilities now. Is part of the puzzle figuring out where to use it, or am I just being stupid? I have no idea where to put these ten things I'm lugging around.

[beowuuf]

Huh, if it hit you like a ton of bricks, you might have the wrong answer! If it gave you an annoying cut then that might be ok

[Sealtiel]

Blah, I still can't figure out where to use those ten items at in the sorcery guild. I've been re-exploring the dwarven forge area, as it just seems like a logical place to find what I need to advance in the fighter's guild. I've been trying all the spells I still just can't use on the forge, trying to see if I can turn something else into what I want.

Other than that, I have no idea where to go next. I used the onyx key where the high priest was, but that little room that opened is entirely useless as far as I can tell. I found the "shortcut" between the dwarven burial chambers & the crypt by accident, and there's still one door in the forge region that is stumping me. The lock's jammed, and nothing I'm trying is working. I suspect the wall nearby that says "no plasma" but I can't figure out how to work it just yet.

If I'm totally out of the ballpark on any of this, let me know.

[beowuuf]

If you SCROLL through the posts, you might get an idea for the sorcery guild.

I am embarrassed to say that the areas where the item you need for the fighter guild are, i have yet to find. Let's jsut say that if you have some furs, and if you can find him, maybe you can trade for what you need! Otherwise the only one i know of is deeeeep down

if doors don't work, try the usual brute force standbys but one or two need specific characers to open

[Sealtiel]

So then I was right about the item for the sorcery guild. Now I just need to know where to use them at. The corbum slots won't take them, the alcove wasn't impressed with them, throwing them doesn't work, and trying to smash them into the walls where the riddle is displayed has failed too. I'm sure this is something completely obvious I'm just not seeing.

Oh, and Leif mentioned a weak wall somewhere in the forge region; but now I can't find where. I know the region where he said it, but I can't seem to damage any of the walls and/or doors there. Figures.

Edit: I found a new zone I haven't been to before. Near the garden of nostalgia. I ran across a room with a few gems in it, and one of those obelisks that turned into a guy; that wanted to share a fireball with my face. How sweet of him to do that. Now I get to go find my way back. And I still never figured out where to put those stupid sorcery guild items.

Edit #2: Right, I solved the sorcery guild. Now all the guilds are done for me. I'm beginning to think the bald-headed man in the black robe in the Pit D Region is immortal. I found a sapphire key, and 4 locks in a row with blue on them have refused it. Awesome. I'm fairly stumped on where to go next at all. I have a few gold keys, a sapphire key, an iron key & a square key; and I can't find locks for any of them. By the way, that bug with the sar shield is very strange. My Leif rapidly shot up to Mon Master Fighter from being only Adept. Iaido can't seem to get any xp for it, which is funny since Leif got the fighter levels from Iaido using the shield. Enemies seem to be getting a little easier, since I now have 2 good weapon. Furx & Mace of Order (with group stun!!) for those wondering. Any nudgings in any direction at all would be welcome, doesn't even have to be the right direction. I can't find my way back to the "Altar of Rose" & the "Altar of Ancient Doors" area, I remember it needed some gold keys.

[beowuuf]

The dark robed man is the dark councillor. The pit D is supposed to be a death trap, but is a short cut to the concillor if you survive I guess! IF yuo went the right way, there is a way to find ut he is immortal yet has a weakness...

The blue locks need tourquoise keys, which you get on the council level when you solve its deeper reaches. The saphire key is useful i nthe sider level i seem to recal, the square key rings a bell - is that not for the proper end area of the cellar? Iron keys open low level nice bonuses, gold keys higher bonus areas.
The shield definitely sounds all kinds of broken Must be a new mechanic

[Gambit37]

Conflux3 sounds comprehensively more elaborate and frustrating than C2. Part of me feels like I'm missing out, but another part is happy not to have got involved, I think it would have claimed my last threads of sanity.

[Trantor]

Conflux3 sounds comprehensively more elaborate and frustrating than C2. Part of me feels like I'm missing out, but another part is happy not to have got involved, I think it would have claimed my last threads of sanity.

You would. Believe me. I remember playing Conflux II.j when I first came here, and I think I saw at least 75% of it in about a month. Even though I was a beta-tester for Conflux III, I never felt I saw more than 25% of it, and it seems everything just got a lot harder; not that CII wasn't terribly easy to begin with...
I sort of gave up on it, it is just too damn hard, I even die all the time in the places I really know by now. Which is actually a shame since Zyx put so many awesome things in it that I'll probably never see, let alone understand...

[beowuuf]

Odd, maybe it's been a while since I touched it (played through to the mines on CIII) but I dn't recall it because substancially harder. t was always about a tough start, but then you got pretty powerful later on. I know the trainers have forced te guild experience change which makes it harder to speed throgh and still level up, but f you clear out the upper levels first you should eb able to open up the guilds
I know the lack of a certain item for the fighter guild was a little anoying, but only because I had not properly found the fur trader, whereever he hides!

[Sealtiel]

I haven't found the fur trader at all yet, but I've had 2 axes so far. One of them wasn't as good as the other one, and prolonged exposure to it was not good for me. I'm beginning to think I was a bit hasty in complaining about some of the monsters. Don't get me wrong, some of them I think are just ridiculous; but it may not be the conspiracy I thought it was. I still hate spiders & golems, though. Vexirks were my number one enemy, until I remembered that I have a fire shield spell. I think it's great how proper use of the defensive spells can make or break you in this dungeon. Well done!

[beowuuf]

Just because the vexirks are the level below the cellar doesn't mean I do then next, I find them hard and leave them til i have a few offensive abilities to my name and a bit more health in my champions!

[Sealtiel]

Agreed. There's quite a few instances of that in Conflux. Just because you're on a floor & have the option to explore it, doesn't mean you should. The guild system is really interesting too, but I do have a question or 2 about it. Does it absolutely require you to have desposited "x" number of the guild items properly to have any chance at getting past a certain level? For example, my Leif is a Mon Master fighter. He was at that rank when I had only put 2 maces in the fighter's guild. My Iaido was also artisan ninja before I put more than 2 or 3 shurikens into the ninja guild. Clicking on the eye told me I needed more experience in those guilds to advance, but I moved right along anyways. Is that normal, or did I somehow break the game?

In the case of Leif, I'm sure I accidentally did. There's no way that sar shield was meant to skyrocket him from expert fighter to Mon master within a few uses (by Iaido, no less). Still, the system is interesting; I'm just wondering if it's working like it's meant to.

[beowuuf]

The guild will be interrupting the normal experience mechanics to provide a fllor level. The SAR shield bug (for bug it must be) will be jumping around that floor somehow to directly increase Lief's fighter level. I assume Lief is your first party member?

The floor was added to stop trainers, as the game did get really easy if you just ground at the council food area then blew through it. I'd prefer not have have the limits, as I liked being able to explore deeper levels and allowing my skills and attrition on those enemies give me the appropriate rewards.

Still, it makes advancement in the guilds much more relevant, so it's just a part of the game

[Sealtiel]

Just to clarify, the deal with the sar shield happened on the council level; not the guild level.

Anyways, I'm pleased to report I feel that I've made great progress since yesterday. I realized that those statues that are tributes on the spider levels are actually riddles, and I solved most of them; but a few I'm still working on. I got the dwarven treasure, tied up lots of loose ends on the higher levels of the dungeon, and even found a few shortcuts to getting back to places I needed to be anyways. All in all, very productive day; at least I think so. Even if I didn't really do that much. In any case, I decided to try my hand at making maps of the place. Not easy, and pretty time-consuming; but very worth it. I think I've mapped out the entire spider level, except for one place I can't get past; which is one of those tributes.

Still have quite a lot of keys, none of which are emerald; but lots of which are gold. I may head back to the crypt *shudder* & see what's going on over there. It's better than the council level, where the fireballs fly and life sucks in general. Oh, and I'm up to fifteen points in the "contest". That's probably awful, but I'm quite happy with it.

[Gambit37]

I decided to try my hand at making maps of the place. Not easy, and pretty time-consuming; but very worth it.

There are already maps available of the main upper levels, if you can find a way of unlocking them:

http://dmweb.free.fr/Stuff/conflux3maps/

[Sealtiel]

Thanks Gambit, but I'm one of those people that won't look at a map for a game that I didn't make myself. I'd feel like I cheated myself if I did. Having my own little (crappy) maps lets me know where I haven't been yet, and where unfinished areas are. There's no way my maps are accurate, most of the time I have trouble just knowing which floor I'm actually on. Still, they're doing me some good; so I'll keep trying. Maybe after I finish conflux (yeah, that'll happen...), I'll compare my maps to the real ones so I can see how wrong mine are.

Oh, and I got some more "contest" points. I'm up to twenty one now. Makes me feel better when I get an extra point or five. The section by the apprentice room is where I just got to now, and it's pretty hard. Wish me luck, it hasn't been working out so far.

[beowuuf]

Actually, the maps are part of the game - you get codes to unlock them, so you need to find the code in game., And even then, the maps do not show everything. So it's not really cheating seeing them, as you have to earn them and you still need to rely on your wits!

[Gambit37]

Indeed, plus I created them so a bit of self promotion isn't too much of a terrible thing in this case

[Jan]

Then I shall examine them critically from a professional cartographic perspective!

[beowuuf]

Carry on Doctor!

[Sealtiel]

Well, I've moved along quite nicely here lately. I discovered the joys of Aquantana, at least I think that's where I am. There's a lot of water, and even more of those stupid little muncher things. Geez, I hate those little things. I also found the fabled dark level, and predictably have no idea what to do there. I found a series of pressure plates that send me zooming around in circles at mach speed, which is good fun for the whole family.

Plus, the puzzle to unlocking the "energize dead spores" spell is awesome! Very clever wording with those fountains. It's so simple it's complicated. Took me a minute to figure it out, but I got it.

Oh, and does anybody know if spells work against the dark-skinned demons with the swirly red & black vortex around them? I took some stairs down a section of the dark level and found a room with wall-to-wall of those demons. Naturally, I fled after trying to fight them; but I'm wondering if spells could give me an advantage.

[beowuuf]

The water level is evil. I forget how relevant it is, I have never conquered it in the past!

The zoom puzzle has numberous areas to jump off of, and one or two switches around its length

The darkness level used to have a short lived aid - cast a powerful magical light spell

The demons are terrifying (the lower level your party is, and the less members your party has, the more you will discover this) but vulnerable to spells I believe.

[Sealtiel]

Thanks, that post actually helped a lot. I'm just wondering if it's possible to drown. I'm forced to assume that Zyx is evil enough to have put that in the game somehow, hehe.

I think I know exactly what you mean for the dark level, and I'm glad to know that magic might help me a lot with the demons; because melee just isn't happening with them. I got a little turned around with the zoom puzzle, it seems like I'd open a door on the way past; but by the time I got back around it was closing already. I also saw a few of those weird flying one-eyed yellow winged things; but they never attacked or came after me. Put a good startle in me, though. Still, I'll work on that area & the water level. Surely Zyx put more down there than just an endless supply of blue munchers. And if he didn't, well shame on him then; because that's just cruel.

[beowuuf]

Oh yes, you can drown. Yes indeed, you can drown. The underwater level has slowly been increased in content, but it might well be just one boss with a good drop and one alternate way out. I think there is also a riddle somewhere. Anything else is news to me!

The opening/closing gates in the center are annoying but you can get to the center square. Probably best to avoid them, and look in the other direction, those paths are better

Good luck!

[Sealtiel]

Oh, so you're saying there's a boss down there? Interesting. Now I just wonder if there's a way to stop the munchers from spawning. They love to completely surround me and there's been a few times where they're literally been piled up as far as the eye can see in all directions. It's a bit disheartening, combined with the fact that no matter how good I am; I have the hardest time hitting them at all. I just whiff constantly on those little buggers.

[beowuuf]

That's why I have trouble fighting down there - the amount of munchers!

[Sealtiel]

Ugh, they're problematic. I'm wondering if you can spawn so many that it becomes virtually impossible, similar to the spider level. I may as well just try that for fun, since there's no way I'm ever getting past all of them.

Moving along, I just fought a lot of dragons. I mean a lot of them. Wow. Got the item past them, and now I just found something very well hidden with the zoom puzzle. It was an accident, but I think it just cleared up something for me. I'm going try that now, and I'm going to do my best to pretend I know nothing of the water leve; since it's just beyond me right now.

[beowuuf]

It is possible. The secret is movement - if you move around to much, you attract tons of them. Of course, the thing about movement is it gets you around before your air runs out!

I think I always meant to build up my freeze life equipment and use that to make the sea temporarily safe for exploration.

[Sealtiel]

I saved it first, in case of utter failure; but I tried something similar. Took out every last icewind/mistral gust, blast spore, ven egg, mage caduceus & even the scorching silk whip & went nuts down there. I figured maybe I'd make some headway by the time I ran out of everything. No such luck, they just kept spawning more & more. Stupid level. Whatever, that boss that lives down there can just stay down there. Munchers are just irritating, and it seems like their poison starts stacking eventually; unless their poison always does 18 damage each time it does damage. Which is stupid, if it does.

Moving along, I got past the zoom puzzle. Beat the demons (lots of them!), and am a little stuck past them. Got to a room with some stone golems, a flying eye creature (not the beholders), & a door with a wall behind it. Nearby there's a room (off the other side of the zoom puzzle) that has a bunch of wall switches that don't seem to do anything, but also has a whole bunch of doors that won't open; despite taking my Key of B. I've noticed the same thing back on the council levels, too. Those keyholes that have 2 on the same lock love to eat keys and not do anything. Is that a bug or something? Because I would really enjoy not wasting my keys. In any case, I've been told that Xanathar is watching me. Well, Xanathar can bring it; as long as he's not on the water level.

By the way, wasn't that the beholder's name from EotB?

[Trantor]

By the way, wasn't that the beholder's name from EotB?

Correct. There are numerous references in Conflux to other games, books, forum users, or lyrics from rock music songs. There is even a thread about it:
http://www.dungeon-master.com/forum/vie ... 31&t=24513

It contains minor spoilers, though.