Re: [Lunasoft] Dungeons & Heroines
Dungeon tips and tricks guide.
This is a list of what each difficulty mode has to offer:
Easy:
All items picked up in dungeon are identified.
There are no harmful items.
XP from defeated enemies is higher than in the other difficulty levels.
The final boss needs to be defeated 5 times to see the ending.
No monster houses.
Dungeon levels: 5,10,15
Normal:
Bracelets and wands picked up in dungeons are unidentified.
Harmful items make an appearance.
Monster houses from the second dungeon onwards.
Final boss needs to be defeated 10 times to see the ending.
Dungeon levels: 10,15,20
Nightmare:
Weapons, shields, bracelets and wands picked up are unidentified.
Final boss needs to be defeated 15 times to see the ending.
Dungeon levels: 15,20,30
Hell:
All items except food and tomes of return are unidentified when picked up.
The hero shield and ring of healing do not spawn in dungeons nor can they be bought from the shop.
Tomes are now subject to curse. For example using a cursed tome of appraisal will identify all unidentified items in inventory but also curse them.
Monster houses will spawn in all dungeons, not just the last two.
Final boss needs to be defeated 15 times to see the ending.
Dungeon levels: 15,20,99(!)
Tips when exploring the dungeon:
1. Explore the floor until the exit has been found and all items on the floor have been picked up.
2. When cash is plentiful, unwanted weapons and shields are projectile weapons which can be hurled against inaccessible enemies or those immune to wand spells (e.g. the dragon disciples in the 3rd dungeon)
3. Get the trap master's ring as soon as possible. It's useful for all classes, the trapper costumes obviously get the most benefit out of it.
4. Try and upgrade Fis' spell repertoire until Farseer (千里眼) is unlocked. This speeds up dungeon crawling considerably (you still have to find the exit manually)
5. Healing rings are great since having one around increases survival massively over long runs.
6. Rings of resurrection are a must when exploring the later 2 dungeons in Hell.
7. Monster houses are doable if the player can escape to a corridor and take on the enemies one by one. The default warrior's outfit relies on wands, character level and equipment to pull through. The magician's outfit should help if a good wand was used previously allowing the spell to be spammed so long as there is vitality to spare. The trapper outfits have it easiest provided players are careful enough to collect either a blinding trap, sleep trap or a confuse trap beforehand. Placing said trap and leading monster house mobs to it should make for an easy kill, however contingency plans need to be in place in case the trap doesn't fire.
Tips for surviving Hell difficulty:
1. Having at least one tome of return is compulsory. That or prepare to grind for equipment all over again because of a careless mistake.
2. Tomes of appraisal are now a compulsory buy from the shop since potions and tomes in dungeons aren't identified. Nothing worse than using that unknown tome and getting killed because it was a tome of suicide.
3. Hoard tomes of blacksmith and tomes of the armourer. The hero sword can be found or bought from the store but without the hero shield its usefulness is questionable compared to the special anti-monster blades.
4. The penultimate Fis spell buff allows Airi to slay all monsters with one blow, but don't get too cocky since the last dungeon in particular has VERY strong creatures with long-range attacks.
5. Drink potions found in the dungeon just before leaving the floor. Even if the potion is one meant to be thrown at enemies, drinking it once allows Airi to figure out which one it is so any subsequent finds will display the proper name. Potions aren't cursed either so no need to worry about that heal potion killing Airi. This can also be applied to scrolls as well but players must be prepared to trigger the suicide scroll and wait for the auto-heal to kick in.
6. Monster houses are ironically the best source for good tomes due to the sheer number of items located in them. Surviving the inhabitants is another matter altogether.
7. Because the hero shield is no longer available, surviving the last dungeon and the sheer number of special attacks requires multiple shields and the special ring which counters status debuffs. Using Fis' penultimate buff is an option when combined with the wind sword, but monsters like the magma slime are still a considerable challenge especially when inside monster houses.
8. If navigating all 99 stages in the 3rd dungeon on Hell difficulty seem daunting, remember that the game always auto-saves whenever the player enters a new floor and when quitting the game. So if it all goes pear-shaped in one of the monster houses, quitting the game before seeing the dungeon report should allow players to restart again from the start of the floor and with the foreknowledge of what's to come.