Playing DM with CSB Win,

[Ameena]

Then again, some monsters just have a shitload of hitpoints so it doesn't matter what you use, it's still gonna take ages . Personally I just Fireball everything except the non-material beings (ghosts, etc - the ones you're having trouble with), and hack them with weapons when they get too close . I never bother throwing stuff. But hey, whatever works .

[Seriously Unserious]

don't underestimate the power of the humble bow and arrows. In an RTC custom dungeon, I killed one of the toughest, but slowest monsters in the world of DM with my claw bow and slayer arrows. The advantage here is that while even the best weapons in the game, in this case the hardcleave and the Inquisitor, could only chip away at the golem's health, and would miss more often then not, the slayers would always hit and do damage, and because the monster's so slow it can't charge in fast or dodge my arrows. Albeit I did also take a couple of hacks with my hardcleave and Inquisitor from behind while I was picking up a pile of slayers, then as the golem slowly turned around to face me I retreated and let loose with the bow again, and killed it. The bow definitely did the vast majority of the damage.

[shuffle]

ok cool advice beowuuf, combat experience gain -- I will take that into consideration. Just after this post I had one too many necklaces, so I swapped them around and I found the

Spoiler

Moonstone

gave Halk 3 mana, so I will build on this.
Seriously Unserious - I'm really enjoying Level 11, most annoying for me are the Materializers, although thankfully not too many occurrences of the blighters. I did manage to battle my way though a batch of them to get hold of the

Spoiler

Darc armour

. The Knights are the business. Ok ---one at a time, argghhh they take some high level fireballs, fire potion bombs and throwing anything I could find at them! They are unstoppable, almost, until I found a well placed door! Soon after, a gate opens and side by side a pair of knights stomp out...
Not there yet -- and I managed to catch a glimpse of

Spoiler

Speed boots

as a gate opened. Then spiders quickly run out and lots of them. To be honest the spiders freak me out a bit. Still haven't managed to actually get those boots yet. Whilst battling the spiders a different panic set in as a lack of FOOD. So I'm currently retracing steps back to the skeleton key stairs to find the rat room. And ive just saved there. The boots will have to wait. Brilliant

[beowuuf]

Knights and one other type of creature are pretty much immune to sp[ells, with serious reduction. Best to have your best weapons and maybe channel your mana in to stregth or dex potions.


The beholder/skeleton level isn't too far away if you are at the skeleton stairs back to the firestaff. You could find those curled blades for the materialisers. Though sounds like you've done ok for yourself!

[Phoenix]

Yeah, deth knights, dragons, and materializers are the only creatures you really can't fight toe to toe in DM/CSB. Nevertheless, if you have a lot of time and mana to kill, it is possible to beat deth knight to death with lightning. It's far easier to just do the "deth knight shuffle" at the nearest 4 square room/corridor. That is, attack, move away from the deth knight, attack when the deth knight moves to follow you, repeat. The Hardcleave and the Diamond Edge if you find them also work well against deth knights.

[Seriously Unserious]

Seriously Unserious - I'm really enjoying Level 11, most annoying for me are the Materializers, although thankfully not too many occurrences of the blighters. I did manage to battle my way though a batch of them to get hold of the

Spoiler

Darc armour

. The Knights are the business. Ok ---one at a time, argghhh they take some high level fireballs, fire potion bombs and throwing anything I could find at them! They are unstoppable, almost, until I found a well placed door! Soon after, a gate opens and side by side a pair of knights stomp out...

I usually don't bother wasting mana on monsters if my spells don't kill them after about 5 or 6 good shots. I found there is a way to go toe-to-toe with the knights though,

Spoiler

you need Vi potions and save your mana to make more as needed. Just when the chunks of metal think they've finally got you beaten down, *GULP* your health is back up near full again and they have to start wearing you down all over again...

that's if you don't have the room to do the attack - retreat - attack method explained in the post above (like if you're surrounded).

Not there yet -- and I managed to catch a glimpse of as a gate opened. Then spiders quickly run out and lots of them. To be honest the spiders freak me out a bit. Still haven't managed to actually get those boots yet.

when confronted with a horde of monsters that come at you from multiple sides, there is a spell that hurts the monsters even when your back is turned, and sometimes encourages them to retreat for a while, buying you time to deal with them a few at a time.

@phoenix: I have found a way that you can almost go toe-to-toe with even a dragon.

Spoiler

it takes several mon level fireshields and keeping several vi potions handy

I've had to do that a few times when I've gotten stuck. Of course, if you do get trapped by a dragon, hope you've managed to wear it down a bit first or even the trick in the spoiler tag may not be enough.

[Ameena]

On Level 12 there are two places where monsters can't pass - they're both on corners, if I remember rightly, and you can just train stuff back to there and hide around the corner, then leap out and hack them a bit when they turn away from you before going back into hiding again. I use that against the Knights, certainly, and I think the second one has a bunch of Spiders and Spell Vines near it so I tend to use it more for those. As the previous areas have been cleared, I never have to worry about anything sneaking up behind me, so I can safely sleep at one of those corners even with mobs right there, because I know they can't actually come around the corner in order to get me .

[terkio]

Ameena, I use the spot you mention to fight the knights ( animated armors ).
There is a wall, one can open as a short cut, once open, I think that spot is not safe anymore.
Then, there is a risk to have spiders and knights come at you in your back while you fight at the spot where knights can't pass.

I do not know the second spot you mention, the one to fight spiders.

[Ameena]

Hmm, well, if you look on the Encyclopaedia (website is dmweb.free.fr) in the DM section under "Scans" I think, there's the scans of my DM Player's Handbook (with most of the maps highlighted in blue from where my dad was trying to make sure he visited every square in the game, back in the day). If you check out Level 12 you'll see the two corners. I think they're D and L on the map. I'm pretty sure one of them is L anyway. Haven't played it for ages so can't remember now.

[terkio]

Thanks, now I see where is the second spot. I think I had used it the first time I played DM.

Spoiler

it is on the way to the Darc outfit where you enter a maze from the room with a locked cell with a knight inside

These spots monsters can't pass are implemented with teleporters where monsters only are pushed back one square.
Checking maps, I found, there is a third one.

Spoiler

It is not far from the room with the 3 porticullis with Oitus respawning, where is the wall text "Cowards will be hunted down and killed".

[Seriously Unserious]

Yes, I remember using those "Monster Boundaries" myself, back in the day.

The only drawback to those boundaries is that some of the monsters do re-generate, so they're not perfect, eventually you do have to just fight your way though, after you've had a chance to thin the herd a lot though.

Spoiler

The Oitus and, I believe, Materializers are the ones that re-generate.

[shuffle]

thanks for pm tip MasterWuuf.
Havent been on for a while, life been a little hectic blah blah.
I'll be back! have save game ready to go.