ARCHIVED Majang's Disquisition on the Nether Reaches - Revision history

imported>Qqqqwe2: Qqqqwe2 moved page Majang's Disquisition on the Nether Reaches to ARCHIVED Majang's Disquisition on the Nether Reaches: old, actually quite well written despite many of the outdated references, but the hells have changed too drastically for thi...

2024-08-30T18:55:09Z

Qqqqwe2 moved page Majang's Disquisition on the Nether Reaches to ARCHIVED Majang's Disquisition on the Nether Reaches: old, actually quite well written despite many of the outdated references, but the hells have changed too drastically for thi...

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:55, 30 August 2024
(No difference)

imported>Qqqqwe2: Qqqqwe2 moved page Majang's Disquisition on the Nether Reaches to ARCHIVED Majang's Disquisition on the Nether Reaches: old, actually quite well written despite many of the outdated references, but the hells have changed too drastically for thi...

2024-08-30T18:55:09Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:55, 30 August 2024
(No difference)

imported>Qqqqwe2: Qqqqwe2 moved page Majang's Disquisition on the Nether Reaches to ARCHIVED Majang's Disquisition on the Nether Reaches: old, actually quite well written despite many of the outdated references, but the hells have changed too drastically for thi...

2024-08-30T18:55:09Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:55, 30 August 2024
(No difference)

imported>Majang: /* Pandemonium */

2017-06-08T10:49:11Z

Pandemonium

← Older revision		Revision as of 10:49, 8 June 2017
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	==Pandemonium==		==Pandemonium==
	Having cleared all places that cannot be reached directly via the Depths, it would now be a good time to widen your skill set again. By now, you should be close to mastering your first skill, probably [[~~earth magic~~]], if you have not reached level 27 already. All other skills should have developed well enough that you can cast all your spells with some confidence, even without the help of aids like wizardry (wiz) items or potions of brilliance. Even Death’s Door should be available for you in case you need it. You have therefore reached all your initial skill goals and can look around for what else you may want to accomplish. Keep focusing on your current skill set and you will become slightly more powerful with current spells. Start training underdeveloped skills instead, and you will become much more powerful in some things you have not tried yet. In any case, it is now time to switch on some neglected skills such as [[staves]] (you want to bring this up to 12 for reaching minimum delay for your elemental staves), and [[dodging]] for improving your ability to evade blows and projectiles. But looking ahead, you will soon encounter some really bad enemies who don’t respond well to either [[Shatter]] or [[Fire Storm]]. Having a third option to hurt them would require training another elemental skill. The recommendation here is [[ice magic]], which will allow you to cast [[Glaciate]] in a surprisingly short time, because your current high [[spellcasting]] and [[conjurations]] skills give you a good head start on that. Glaciate is an amazing spell which allows you to shock-freeze almost the whole LOS in a 90°-angle starting from your position, which is usually enough to kill almost anything that is attacking you. Many late game bosses throwing hellfire at you are not particularly cold-resistant, or even susceptible to [[cold]] damage. Alternatively you can start training [[air magic]] in order to cast [[Tornado]]. Tornado complements Shatter most effectively, as it hurts anything especially badly that is left relatively unscathed by Shatter. And the other way round. Ironically, because Tornado is a single-spell-school spell, you will take much longer now to bring it up to speed for you than training Ice magic for Glaciate.		Having cleared all places that cannot be reached directly via the Depths, it would now be a good time to widen your skill set again. By now, you should be close to mastering your first skill, probably [[Earth Magic]], if you have not reached level 27 already. All other skills should have developed well enough that you can cast all your spells with some confidence, even without the help of aids like wizardry (wiz) items or potions of brilliance. Even Death’s Door should be available for you in case you need it. You have therefore reached all your initial skill goals and can look around for what else you may want to accomplish. Keep focusing on your current skill set and you will become slightly more powerful with current spells. Start training underdeveloped skills instead, and you will become much more powerful in some things you have not tried yet. In any case, it is now time to switch on some neglected skills such as [[staves]] (you want to bring this up to 12 for reaching minimum delay for your elemental staves), and [[dodging]] for improving your ability to evade blows and projectiles. But looking ahead, you will soon encounter some really bad enemies who don’t respond well to either [[Shatter]] or [[Fire Storm]]. Having a third option to hurt them would require training another elemental skill. The recommendation here is [[ice magic]], which will allow you to cast [[Glaciate]] in a surprisingly short time, because your current high [[spellcasting]] and [[conjurations]] skills give you a good head start on that. Glaciate is an amazing spell which allows you to shock-freeze almost the whole LOS in a 90°-angle starting from your position, which is usually enough to kill almost anything that is attacking you. Many late game bosses throwing hellfire at you are not particularly cold-resistant, or even susceptible to [[cold]] damage. Alternatively you can start training [[air magic]] in order to cast [[Tornado]]. Tornado complements Shatter most effectively, as it hurts anything especially badly that is left relatively unscathed by Shatter. And the other way round. Ironically, because Tornado is a single-spell-school spell, you will take much longer now to bring it up to speed for you than training Ice magic for Glaciate.

	If you have by now visited the [[Slime Pits]] and the [[Tomb]], you have cleared all the great treasure hoards the game has on offer, except for the Ziggurat, which of course is the mother of all treasure hoards. This can be quite a sobering realization for you. You may still find yourself without a crucial piece of equipment that you’d like to have before continuing the game. Quite likely you find that you have not nearly as many potions of mutation as you’d like to have, or that you still can’t pile on as much INT on your character to give you all spells hunger-free (you’d need 38 INT at spellcasting skill 27). The realization that filling these gaps puts you once more at the mercy of the item generation algorithm is probably something of a bleak prospect.		If you have by now visited the [[Slime Pits]] and the [[Tomb]], you have cleared all the great treasure hoards the game has on offer, except for the Ziggurat, which of course is the mother of all treasure hoards. This can be quite a sobering realization for you. You may still find yourself without a crucial piece of equipment that you’d like to have before continuing the game. Quite likely you find that you have not nearly as many potions of mutation as you’d like to have, or that you still can’t pile on as much INT on your character to give you all spells hunger-free (you’d need 38 INT at spellcasting skill 27). The realization that filling these gaps puts you once more at the mercy of the item generation algorithm is probably something of a bleak prospect.

imported>Majang: /* Pandemonium */ de-emphasising the training of spellcasting skill

2017-06-08T10:48:13Z

Pandemonium: de-emphasising the training of spellcasting skill

← Older revision		Revision as of 10:48, 8 June 2017
Line 261:		Line 261:

	==Pandemonium==		==Pandemonium==
	Having cleared all places that cannot be reached directly via the Depths, it would now be a good time to widen your skill set again. By now, you should be close to mastering your first skill, probably [[~~spellcasting~~]], if you have not reached level 27 already. All other skills should have developed well enough that you can cast all your spells with some confidence, even without the help of aids like wizardry (wiz) items or potions of brilliance. Even Death’s Door should be available for you in case you need it. You have therefore reached all your initial skill goals and can look around for what else you may want to accomplish. Keep focusing on your current skill set and you will become slightly more powerful with current spells. Start training underdeveloped skills instead, and you will become much more powerful in some things you have not tried yet. In any case, it is now time to switch on some neglected skills such as [[staves]] (you want to bring this up to 12 for reaching minimum delay for your elemental staves), and [[dodging]] for improving your ability to evade blows and projectiles. But looking ahead, you will soon encounter some really bad enemies who don’t respond well to either [[Shatter]] or [[Fire Storm]]. Having a third option to hurt them would require training another elemental skill. The recommendation here is [[ice magic]], which will allow you to cast [[Glaciate]] in a surprisingly short time, because your current high [[spellcasting]] and [[conjurations]] skills give you a good head start on that. Glaciate is an amazing spell which allows you to shock-freeze almost the whole LOS in a 90°-angle starting from your position, which is usually enough to kill almost anything that is attacking you. Many late game bosses throwing hellfire at you are not particularly cold-resistant, or even susceptible to [[cold]] damage. Alternatively you can start training [[air magic]] in order to cast [[Tornado]]. Tornado complements Shatter most effectively, as it hurts anything especially badly that is left relatively unscathed by Shatter. And the other way round. Ironically, because Tornado is a single-spell-school spell, you will take much longer now to bring it up to speed for you than training Ice magic for Glaciate.		Having cleared all places that cannot be reached directly via the Depths, it would now be a good time to widen your skill set again. By now, you should be close to mastering your first skill, probably [[earth magic]], if you have not reached level 27 already. All other skills should have developed well enough that you can cast all your spells with some confidence, even without the help of aids like wizardry (wiz) items or potions of brilliance. Even Death’s Door should be available for you in case you need it. You have therefore reached all your initial skill goals and can look around for what else you may want to accomplish. Keep focusing on your current skill set and you will become slightly more powerful with current spells. Start training underdeveloped skills instead, and you will become much more powerful in some things you have not tried yet. In any case, it is now time to switch on some neglected skills such as [[staves]] (you want to bring this up to 12 for reaching minimum delay for your elemental staves), and [[dodging]] for improving your ability to evade blows and projectiles. But looking ahead, you will soon encounter some really bad enemies who don’t respond well to either [[Shatter]] or [[Fire Storm]]. Having a third option to hurt them would require training another elemental skill. The recommendation here is [[ice magic]], which will allow you to cast [[Glaciate]] in a surprisingly short time, because your current high [[spellcasting]] and [[conjurations]] skills give you a good head start on that. Glaciate is an amazing spell which allows you to shock-freeze almost the whole LOS in a 90°-angle starting from your position, which is usually enough to kill almost anything that is attacking you. Many late game bosses throwing hellfire at you are not particularly cold-resistant, or even susceptible to [[cold]] damage. Alternatively you can start training [[air magic]] in order to cast [[Tornado]]. Tornado complements Shatter most effectively, as it hurts anything especially badly that is left relatively unscathed by Shatter. And the other way round. Ironically, because Tornado is a single-spell-school spell, you will take much longer now to bring it up to speed for you than training Ice magic for Glaciate.

	If you have by now visited the [[Slime Pits]] and the [[Tomb]], you have cleared all the great treasure hoards the game has on offer, except for the Ziggurat, which of course is the mother of all treasure hoards. This can be quite a sobering realization for you. You may still find yourself without a crucial piece of equipment that you’d like to have before continuing the game. Quite likely you find that you have not nearly as many potions of mutation as you’d like to have, or that you still can’t pile on as much INT on your character to give you all spells hunger-free (you’d need 38 INT at spellcasting skill 27). The realization that filling these gaps puts you once more at the mercy of the item generation algorithm is probably something of a bleak prospect.		If you have by now visited the [[Slime Pits]] and the [[Tomb]], you have cleared all the great treasure hoards the game has on offer, except for the Ziggurat, which of course is the mother of all treasure hoards. This can be quite a sobering realization for you. You may still find yourself without a crucial piece of equipment that you’d like to have before continuing the game. Quite likely you find that you have not nearly as many potions of mutation as you’d like to have, or that you still can’t pile on as much INT on your character to give you all spells hunger-free (you’d need 38 INT at spellcasting skill 27). The realization that filling these gaps puts you once more at the mercy of the item generation algorithm is probably something of a bleak prospect.

imported>Majang: update completed

2017-05-29T19:21:21Z

update completed

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:21, 29 May 2017
Line 1:		Line 1:
	{{advice}}		{{advice}}
	{{~~version017~~}}		{{version020}}

	A [[Majang's_Caster_Walk-Through\|different walk-through]] presented the [[gargoyle]] [[earth elementalist]] worshiping [[Vehumet]] as a possible way to obtain the [[Orb of Zot\|Orb]] for a first 3-[[Rune of Zot\|rune]] victory as a caster. That walk-through deliberately stopped at the end-game, ignoring all post-end-game branches of Crawl that you need to visit to win a 15-rune victory. Hopefully that walk-through has helped a few players to get their first victory under their belt (by the way, has it ever occurred to anyone to create belts a a new type of equipment slot that would fit all species, except maybe [[octopode]]s?).		A [[Majang's_Caster_Walk-Through\|different walk-through]] presented the [[gargoyle]] [[earth elementalist]] worshiping [[Vehumet]] as a possible way to obtain the [[Orb of Zot\|Orb]] for a first 3-[[Rune of Zot\|rune]] victory as a caster. That walk-through deliberately stopped at the end-game, ignoring all post-end-game branches of Crawl that you need to visit to win a 15-rune victory. Hopefully that walk-through has helped a few players to get their first victory under their belt (by the way, has it ever occurred to anyone to create belts a a new type of equipment slot that would fit all species, except maybe [[octopode]]s?).

imported>Majang: /* Ziggurat */ some updates

2017-05-29T19:20:05Z

Ziggurat: some updates

Show changes

imported>Majang: /* The Hells */ some updates

2017-05-29T18:52:21Z

The Hells: some updates

imported>Majang: /* Pandemonium */ some updates

2017-05-29T18:41:02Z

Pandemonium: some updates

imported>Majang: /* The Tomb of the Ancients */ some updates

2017-05-29T18:21:24Z

The Tomb of the Ancients: some updates

Show changes

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:52, 29 May 2017
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	The reasons to keep the four hells for the end of the game are not decisive. If you have the right equipment, you should be strong enough to take them on right after coming out of Zot. But they are difficult, complicated and tedious places, not unlike the Abyss, and for the first 15-rune run it is just nice to see all the other fun-places before having to spend much time in the grinder of the hells. Although the four hells are very different from each other in their basic theme, they have a lot of things in common, and none of them is to your advantage.		The reasons to keep the four hells for the end of the game are not decisive. If you have the right equipment, you should be strong enough to take them on right after coming out of Zot. But they are difficult, complicated and tedious places, not unlike the Abyss, and for the first 15-rune run it is just nice to see all the other fun-places before having to spend much time in the grinder of the hells. Although the four hells are very different from each other in their basic theme, they have a lot of things in common, and none of them is to your advantage.

	Firstly, each hell is seven large levels deep. This is a lot of ground to cover, and doing it feels endless. As all but the last levels are usually devoid of loot, you are under no obligation to explore each level completely. You want to keep your stay as short as possible, and that means that you will want to go deep as fast as possible. Just like in the Abyss or in a Ziggurat, you’ll never find upstairs in a hell branch. You either go down or you go out. So if you find yourself in the need to escape from a level without going downstairs, you can take one of the three portals out, which will take you back to the Vestibule, and you will have to start from the beginning again. At least the levels don’t change, so you can track your previous progress to the spot where you left the hell, and mapping works permanently.		Firstly, each hell is seven large levels deep. This is a lot of ground to cover, and doing it feels endless. As all but the last levels are usually devoid of loot, you are under no obligation to explore each level completely. You want to keep your stay as short as possible, and that means that you will want to go deep as fast as possible. Just like in the Abyss or in a Ziggurat, you’ll never find upstairs in a hell branch. You either go down or you go out. So if you find yourself with the need to escape from a level without going downstairs, you can take one of the three portals out, which will take you back to the Vestibule, and you will have to start from the beginning again. At least the levels don’t change, so you can track your previous progress to the spot where you left the hell, and mapping works permanently.

	Since you are not keen on lingering on any given level, you can put your many scrolls of magic mapping to good use. Let them show you the next set of downstairs, and go there straight. Just make sure that you have four maps left for the lowest levels, as it helps you tremendously to have those mapped out. Whenever you go down a level, you will stand on an exit, which gives you the opportunity to leave in a hurry, if necessary.		Since you are not keen on lingering on any given level, you can put your many scrolls of magic mapping to good use. Let them show you the next set of downstairs, and go there straight. Just make sure that you have four maps left for the lowest levels, as it helps you tremendously to have those mapped out. Whenever you go down a level, you will stand on an exit, which gives you the opportunity to leave in a hurry, if necessary.

	Each level is packed full with mid-level undead or demonic enemies. Most of them are completely outclassed by you, but some [[fiend]]s might still ruin your day. Here is what makes hell so tedious for everyone – each level subjects you to what is called Hell’s Mystical Force: A frequently doled out punishment for you coming here. Many of these punishments don’t bother you much as a gargoyle, such a [[rot]]ting or [[drain]]ing. But getting confused or paralyzed while low on health is always bad news, and picking up contamination just like that might get you badly malmutated. Once in while your stats get reduced by up to seven points, so you ~~need~~ to ~~wear a source of [[sustain attributes]] all the time to control this reduction~~. Other punishments are painful blasts of conjuration spells, and, most of the time, the appearance without warning of an entirely new and uninvited gang of enemies right next to you. At least these are not summoned, give real piety and experience and might even leave behind corpses for snacks.		Each level is packed full with mid-level undead or demonic enemies. Most of them are completely outclassed by you, but some [[fiend]]s might still ruin your day. Here is what makes hell so tedious for everyone – each level subjects you to what is called Hell’s Mystical Force: A frequently doled out punishment for you coming here. Many of these punishments don’t bother you much as a gargoyle, such a [[rot]]ting or [[drain]]ing. But getting confused or paralyzed while low on health is always bad news, and picking up contamination just like that might get you badly malmutated. Once in a while your stats get reduced by up to seven points, so you may want to carry around equipment giving you stat bonuses for these reduced stats. Other punishments are painful blasts of conjuration spells, and, most of the time, the appearance without warning of an entirely new and uninvited gang of enemies right next to you. At least these are not summoned, give real piety and experience and might even leave behind corpses for snacks.

	All this being said, you realize that you won’t have any real rest to heal up or recharge after a fight. You constantly find yourself fighting off new groups of enemies, and there are no quiet corners where you are entirely save from attacks. Bring all your stacks of potions of healing or potions of ambrosia to get your health back up in a hurry. Bring also some means of ~~channeling~~ energy.		All this being said, you realize that you won’t have any real rest to heal up or recharge after a fight. You constantly find yourself fighting off new groups of enemies, and there are no quiet corners where you are entirely save from attacks. Bring all your stacks of potions of healing or potions of ambrosia to get your health back up in a hurry. Bring also some means of channelling energy.

	Once you reach the seventh level, you have a prolonged fight ahead of you, until you meet the local boss. This is always an exceedingly strong character, not unlike the Pan Lords of the four unique rune floors in Pandemonium. You will have a hard time killing them, and you need to kill them to obtain the four runes stored in the vicinity. Another important unique that often shows up in the hells is the [[Serpent of Hell]]. This is a fearsome creature, as bad as anything you meet in this game. It doesn’t fly, so Shatter it to death, but don’t feel ashamed to abandon the fight if you sustain more damage than you deal out.		Once you reach the seventh level, you have a prolonged fight ahead of you, until you meet the local boss. This is always an exceedingly strong character, not unlike the Pan Lords of the four unique rune floors in Pandemonium. You will have a hard time killing them, and you need to kill them to obtain the four runes stored in the vicinity. Another important unique that often shows up in the hells is the [[Serpent of Hell]]. This is a fearsome creature, as bad as anything you meet in this game. It doesn’t fly, so Shatter it to death, but don’t feel ashamed to abandon the fight if you sustain more damage than you deal out.
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	===Gehenna===		===Gehenna===
	[[Gehenna]] is just the opposite of Cocytus: ~~Ice~~ is replaced by heat and brimstone, water by lava. Your opponents are flame-throwing creatures of hell, such as [[hell knight]]s, [[hell hound]]s and the deadly [[brimstone fiend]]s. Bring along as much fire resistance as you can carry, and otherwise everything else you needed in Cocytus. If you know [[Glaciate]], you have an excellent weapon against almost anything here. Unfortunately, a lot of the fire here is hellfire, and there is nothing you can do to prepare against it. Just kill all hellfirers as soon as they come up on the horizon.		[[Gehenna]] is just the opposite of Cocytus: ice is replaced by heat and brimstone, water by lava. Your opponents are flame-throwing creatures of hell, such as [[hell knight]]s, [[hell hound]]s and the deadly [[brimstone fiend]]s. Bring along as much fire resistance as you can carry, and otherwise everything else you needed in Cocytus. If you know [[Glaciate]], you have an excellent weapon against almost anything here. Unfortunately, a lot of the fire here is hellfire, and there is nothing you can do to prepare against it. Just kill all hellfirers as soon as they come up on the horizon.

	The boss of this branch is [[Asmodeus]], once more an extremely strong and durable demon lord. He resides in the deepest dungeon of a fortress with at least two lines of defenses. Many of the walls here are stone or even metal, so you can put LRD to good use against minor enemies. Once you reach Asmodeus’ inner sanctuary, he will have surrounded himself with brimstone fiends, hellions and balrugs, and you need to kill these fast alongside Asmodeus. Again, Glaciate is what you want to use here, with a few LCS shots for good measure. You may have to retreat or teleport away during the boss fight. Heal up quickly to catch him low on HP. Don’t forget to collect the many treasures, the Obsidian Rune of Zot, and the [[Sceptre of Asmodeus]]. This staff is well enchanted, but not near anything as good as any of your elemental staves. It summons fiery demons, but who needs summons?		The boss of this branch is [[Asmodeus]], once more an extremely strong and durable demon lord. He resides in the deepest dungeon of a fortress with at least two lines of defenses. Many of the walls here are stone or even metal, so you can put LRD to good use against minor enemies. Once you reach Asmodeus’ inner sanctuary, he will have surrounded himself with brimstone fiends, hellions and balrugs, and you need to kill these fast alongside Asmodeus. Again, Glaciate is what you want to use here, with a few LCS shots for good measure. You may have to retreat or teleport away during the boss fight. Heal up quickly to catch him low on HP. Don’t forget to collect the many treasures, the Obsidian Rune of Zot, and the [[Sceptre of Asmodeus]]. This staff is well enchanted, but not near anything as good as any of your elemental staves. It summons fiery demons, but who needs summons?
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	The final level consists of several mazes, one of which [[Ereshkigal]] dwells in. Sometimes you also have a large river to cross, but with your permanent flight you couldn’t care less. If you find navigating the mazes too tedious, remember that you can re-arrange the wall layout dramatically with Shatter. Just be prepared for lots of fresh monsters to swarm you afterwards. Shatter is also useful for breaking into sealed treasure rooms, of which there may be a few, containing considerable loot. It certainly pays to read a map for this level.		The final level consists of several mazes, one of which [[Ereshkigal]] dwells in. Sometimes you also have a large river to cross, but with your permanent flight you couldn’t care less. If you find navigating the mazes too tedious, remember that you can re-arrange the wall layout dramatically with Shatter. Just be prepared for lots of fresh monsters to swarm you afterwards. Shatter is also useful for breaking into sealed treasure rooms, of which there may be a few, containing considerable loot. It certainly pays to read a map for this level.

	Ereshkigal is neither resistant against fire, nor does she fly, so she responds well to both Shatter and Firestorm. If you get a clear shot at her, LCS is also very effective. But one of her spells is [[Major Healing]], so you need to bring her down swiftly, before she casts it again and again to save her ugly hide. And she likes to cast [[silence]], which can be very dangerous when you are already low on health~~. It is always good to have a [[wand of teleportation]] with you, for cases like this one~~.		Ereshkigal is neither resistant against fire, nor does she fly, so she responds well to both Shatter and Firestorm. If you get a clear shot at her, LCS is also very effective. But one of her spells is [[Major Healing]], so you need to bring her down swiftly, before she casts it again and again to save her ugly hide. And she likes to cast [[silence]], which can be very dangerous when you are already low on health.

	===Dis===		===Dis===

← Older revision		Revision as of 18:41, 29 May 2017
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	Having cleared all places that cannot be reached directly via the Depths, it would now be a good time to widen your skill set again. By now, you should be close to mastering your first skill, probably [[spellcasting]], if you have not reached level 27 already. All other skills should have developed well enough that you can cast all your spells with some confidence, even without the help of aids like wizardry (wiz) items or potions of brilliance. Even Death’s Door should be available for you in case you need it. You have therefore reached all your initial skill goals and can look around for what else you may want to accomplish. Keep focusing on your current skill set and you will become slightly more powerful with current spells. Start training underdeveloped skills instead, and you will become much more powerful in some things you have not tried yet. In any case, it is now time to switch on some neglected skills such as [[staves]] (you want to bring this up to 12 for reaching minimum delay for your elemental staves), and [[dodging]] for improving your ability to evade blows and projectiles. But looking ahead, you will soon encounter some really bad enemies who don’t respond well to either [[Shatter]] or [[Fire Storm]]. Having a third option to hurt them would require training another elemental skill. The recommendation here is [[ice magic]], which will allow you to cast [[Glaciate]] in a surprisingly short time, because your current high [[spellcasting]] and [[conjurations]] skills give you a good head start on that. Glaciate is an amazing spell which allows you to shock-freeze almost the whole LOS in a 90°-angle starting from your position, which is usually enough to kill almost anything that is attacking you. Many late game bosses throwing hellfire at you are not particularly cold-resistant, or even susceptible to [[cold]] damage. Alternatively you can start training [[air magic]] in order to cast [[Tornado]]. Tornado complements Shatter most effectively, as it hurts anything especially badly that is left relatively unscathed by Shatter. And the other way round. Ironically, because Tornado is a single-spell-school spell, you will take much longer now to bring it up to speed for you than training Ice magic for Glaciate.		Having cleared all places that cannot be reached directly via the Depths, it would now be a good time to widen your skill set again. By now, you should be close to mastering your first skill, probably [[spellcasting]], if you have not reached level 27 already. All other skills should have developed well enough that you can cast all your spells with some confidence, even without the help of aids like wizardry (wiz) items or potions of brilliance. Even Death’s Door should be available for you in case you need it. You have therefore reached all your initial skill goals and can look around for what else you may want to accomplish. Keep focusing on your current skill set and you will become slightly more powerful with current spells. Start training underdeveloped skills instead, and you will become much more powerful in some things you have not tried yet. In any case, it is now time to switch on some neglected skills such as [[staves]] (you want to bring this up to 12 for reaching minimum delay for your elemental staves), and [[dodging]] for improving your ability to evade blows and projectiles. But looking ahead, you will soon encounter some really bad enemies who don’t respond well to either [[Shatter]] or [[Fire Storm]]. Having a third option to hurt them would require training another elemental skill. The recommendation here is [[ice magic]], which will allow you to cast [[Glaciate]] in a surprisingly short time, because your current high [[spellcasting]] and [[conjurations]] skills give you a good head start on that. Glaciate is an amazing spell which allows you to shock-freeze almost the whole LOS in a 90°-angle starting from your position, which is usually enough to kill almost anything that is attacking you. Many late game bosses throwing hellfire at you are not particularly cold-resistant, or even susceptible to [[cold]] damage. Alternatively you can start training [[air magic]] in order to cast [[Tornado]]. Tornado complements Shatter most effectively, as it hurts anything especially badly that is left relatively unscathed by Shatter. And the other way round. Ironically, because Tornado is a single-spell-school spell, you will take much longer now to bring it up to speed for you than training Ice magic for Glaciate.

	If you have by now visited the [[Slime Pits]] and the [[Tomb]], you have cleared all the great treasure hoards the game has on offer, except for the Ziggurat, which of course is the mother of all treasure hoards. This can be quite a sobering realization for you. You may still find yourself without a crucial piece of equipment that you’d like to have before continuing the game. Quite likely you find that you have not nearly as many potions of ~~cure~~ mutation as you’d like to have, or that you still can’t pile on as much INT on your character to give you all spells hunger-free (you’d need 38 INT at spellcasting skill 27). The realization that filling these gaps puts you once more at the mercy of the item generation algorithm is probably something of a bleak prospect.		If you have by now visited the [[Slime Pits]] and the [[Tomb]], you have cleared all the great treasure hoards the game has on offer, except for the Ziggurat, which of course is the mother of all treasure hoards. This can be quite a sobering realization for you. You may still find yourself without a crucial piece of equipment that you’d like to have before continuing the game. Quite likely you find that you have not nearly as many potions of mutation as you’d like to have, or that you still can’t pile on as much INT on your character to give you all spells hunger-free (you’d need 38 INT at spellcasting skill 27). The realization that filling these gaps puts you once more at the mercy of the item generation algorithm is probably something of a bleak prospect.

	Well, there is some treasure to be found at the lowest levels of each of the hell branches, but the hells are somewhat complicated and tedious places, so there is good reason to leave these branches for the last bit of the game. And, truth be told, the treasures there are usually not that exciting. If you go there just with the hope of finding the missing [[Book of Annihilations]] or the [[Necronomicon]], you are most likely going to be disappointed.		Well, there is some treasure to be found at the lowest levels of each of the hell branches, but the hells are somewhat complicated and tedious places, so there is good reason to leave these branches for the last bit of the game. And, truth be told, the treasures there are usually not that exciting. If you go there just with the hope of finding the missing [[Book of Annihilations]] or the [[Necronomicon]], you are most likely going to be disappointed.
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	* Pandemonium is easy to enter, but not that easy to leave. Most levels do not provide an exit back to the Depths. Usually you only find several transfer-portals to another level of Pandemonium. Every other level or so you can leave Pandemonium through a portal to the Abyss, and from here you can then make it back to the Depths. Given the sheer terror that just mentioning the word Abyss will have instilled in you earlier in the game, this may not sound like a desirable option. But since you have already secured the Abyssal Rune, that place has lost its sting entirely to you. Quite often immediately on arrival in the Abyss even two exits are generated right in your LOS. If not, then just a little bit of roaming around will get you to one. If your respect for the Abyss is still too high, you need to wait a bit longer until an exit from Pandemonium is generated inside a Pandemonium level. Even that does not happen very infrequently. Exits are gray tiles, whereas portals to other levels have a blueish color. An exit will take you straight back to where you entered Pandemonium in the Depths.		* Pandemonium is easy to enter, but not that easy to leave. Most levels do not provide an exit back to the Depths. Usually you only find several transfer-portals to another level of Pandemonium. Every other level or so you can leave Pandemonium through a portal to the Abyss, and from here you can then make it back to the Depths. Given the sheer terror that just mentioning the word Abyss will have instilled in you earlier in the game, this may not sound like a desirable option. But since you have already secured the Abyssal Rune, that place has lost its sting entirely to you. Quite often immediately on arrival in the Abyss even two exits are generated right in your LOS. If not, then just a little bit of roaming around will get you to one. If your respect for the Abyss is still too high, you need to wait a bit longer until an exit from Pandemonium is generated inside a Pandemonium level. Even that does not happen very infrequently. Exits are gray tiles, whereas portals to other levels have a blueish color. An exit will take you straight back to where you entered Pandemonium in the Depths.

	* Pandemonium does contain some dangerous enemies. Mostly you are going to fight demons of various levels, and many of them can hurt you badly. All kinds of [[fiend]]s may show up here, which like to torment you, or pester you with [[hellfire]]. If they come as individuals, you will not be worried, but a big crowd of the wrong guys can really ruin your day. The most dangerous foe on each level is a so-called Pandemonium Lord, short [[Pan Lord]]. Those are semi-[[unique]] high-level demons, randomly generated with fearsome characteristics, a huge HP pool, and many resistances. They always have a name (like uniques), and they tend to hang around vault-like structures, surrounding themselves with powerful allies. When you encounter one, you should always read its description to see what it’s strengths and weaknesses are. If it flies, Shatter is not a very good option. If it is highly fire resistant, it will take a lot of Fire Storms to make it keel over. Often they bring both traits, which means that you need to bring them into range of your LCS/Iron Shot. Other opponents are [[demonspawn]]s, a playable species which is entirely restricted to Pandemonium as an opponent. They are quite powerful and come in many different flavors, like real demons. They attack you with spells and weapons, and they usually come in groups.		* Pandemonium does contain some dangerous enemies. Mostly you are going to fight demons of various levels, and many of them can hurt you badly. All kinds of [[fiend]]s may show up here, which like to torment you, or pester you with [[hellfire]]. If they come as individuals, you will not be worried, but a big crowd of the wrong guys can really ruin your day. The most dangerous foe on each level is a so-called Pandemonium Lord, short [[Pan Lord]]. Those are semi-[[unique]] high-level demons, randomly generated with fearsome characteristics, a huge HP pool, and many resistances. They always have a name (like uniques), and they tend to hang around vault-like structures, surrounding themselves with powerful allies. When you encounter one, you should always read its description to see what it’s strengths and weaknesses are. If it flies, Shatter is not a very good option. If it is highly fire resistant, it will take a lot of Fire Storms to make it keel over. Often they bring both traits, which means that you need to bring them into range of your LCS/Iron Shot. Other opponents are [[demonspawn]]s, a playable species which is entirely restricted to Pandemonium as an opponent. They are quite powerful and come in many different flavors, like real demons. They attack you with spells and weapons, and they usually come in groups. Some of them leave behind edible corpses, if you need a snack.

	* Pandemonium can get you mutated. [[Cacodemon]]s and [[Neqoxec]]s are commonplace, so expect to receive some genetic modifications.		* Pandemonium can get you mutated. [[Cacodemon]]s and [[Neqoxec]]s are commonplace, so expect to receive some genetic modifications.
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	* [[Cerebov]]’s realm is easily recognized by a red floor with red walls. You quickly get the impression that things are going to be hot here. Cerebov watches over the Fiery Rune of Zot, and this is certainly one of the most dangerous places in Pandemonium, if not in the whole game. Cerebov has a metal-walled stronghold, and it is well defended by all kinds of heat-emitting monsters. You definitely need rF+++ in this place. Your biggest danger comes from [[balrug]]s and [[brimstone fiend]]s, who show up in great numbers and fling hellfire at you on first sight. Good if you now have [[Glaciate]], because it will kill almost anything in here. More than on any other level it is necessary to clear everything outside the stronghold before going in. Cerebov is extremely resilient, and you are not likely to kill him on your first attempt. You will need to teleport away (and then this new place should already be safe!), to channel up more MP and heal yourself up. Find Cerebov again and then finish him off. There is one quick way of killing him, if you have [[Tornado]]. Fly over a patch of lava that completely surrounds you, and start the storm. Cerebov will be lifted up and home in on you, trying to hit you from melee range – until the storm ends. Then he will remember that he actually can’t fly and drown in his lava. You will lose his artefact [[Sword of Cerebov\|sword]] that way, but you wouldn’t have used it anyway, would you? As a reward for killing him, you can now at leisure examine Cerebov’s many treasure rooms, and of course you also need to pick up his rune before leaving.		* [[Cerebov]]’s realm is easily recognized by a red floor with red walls. You quickly get the impression that things are going to be hot here. Cerebov watches over the Fiery Rune of Zot, and this is certainly one of the most dangerous places in Pandemonium, if not in the whole game. Cerebov has a metal-walled stronghold, and it is well defended by all kinds of heat-emitting monsters. You definitely need rF+++ in this place. Your biggest danger comes from [[balrug]]s and [[brimstone fiend]]s, who show up in great numbers and fling hellfire at you on first sight. Good if you now have [[Glaciate]], because it will kill almost anything in here. More than on any other level it is necessary to clear everything outside the stronghold before going in. Cerebov is extremely resilient, and you are not likely to kill him on your first attempt. You will need to teleport away (and then this new place should already be safe!), to channel up more MP and heal yourself up. Find Cerebov again and then finish him off. There is one quick way of killing him, if you have [[Tornado]]. Fly over a patch of lava that completely surrounds you, and start the storm. Cerebov will be lifted up and home in on you, trying to hit you from melee range – until the storm ends. Then he will remember that he actually can’t fly and drown in his lava. You will lose his artefact [[Sword of Cerebov\|sword]] that way, but you wouldn’t have used it anyway, would you? As a reward for killing him, you can now at leisure examine Cerebov’s many treasure rooms, and of course you also need to pick up his rune before leaving.

	* [[Mnoleg]] is the Pan Lord of a realm that has yellow walls and brownish-reddish floors. He is the master of malmutations, and he surrounds himself with those demons that specialize in this devious business: Cacodemons and Neqoxecs. ~~Needless to say that~~ you ~~should immediately put on a source of resist mutation~~, ~~because~~ almost certainly a few of those ~~corrupters~~ will manage to get a clear shot at you. To escape this level without any bad mutations is almost impossible, even with resistance. Like with the other rune levels, first explore the area around Mnoleg’s vault and eliminate all ~~oppostition~~. Except for picking up bad mutations you should not have many problems here. Then walk into Mnoleg’s vault, kill him and grab the Glowing Rune of Zot. Mnoleg does not fly, and a number of Shatters will suffice to drive the smirk ~~out of~~ his glowing face.		* [[Mnoleg]] is the Pan Lord of a realm that has yellow walls and brownish-reddish floors. He is the master of malmutations, and he surrounds himself with those demons that specialize in this devious business: Cacodemons and Neqoxecs. Take them out with all you have as soon as you spot them. Still, almost certainly a few of those corruptors will manage to get a clear shot at you. To escape this level without any bad mutations is almost impossible, even with resistance. Like with the other rune levels, first explore the area around Mnoleg’s vault and eliminate all opposition. Except for picking up bad mutations you should not have many problems here. Then walk into Mnoleg’s vault, kill him and grab the Glowing Rune of Zot. Mnoleg does not fly, and a number of Shatters will suffice to drive the smirk from his glowing face.

	It will take you quite a while to collect all five runes from Pandemonium. The four unique rune levels usually let a good number of regular levels pass by before they show up. But while you are waiting for them: One of the benefits of attacking Pandemonium before the hells is that once in a while, rarely, it will allow you the chance to raid a Ziggurat, perhaps on one in every 20 levels. If you get that chance, you should take it, as it will boost both your inventory (therefore your character build) and your skills, because you will earn vast experience. The first few levels are easy and harmless. Around level 10 things become more dicey, and when you feel that it is becoming dangerous, you can opt out. You will land back on the Pandemonium level on which you found the portal, and you’ll want to leave Pandemonium at your earliest convenience to lighten your pack. You still can complete the Depths-based Ziggurat later on. Read what this walk-through has to say about Ziggurats, though, before you get very deep.		It will take you quite a while to collect all five runes from Pandemonium. The four unique rune levels usually let a good number of regular levels pass by before they show up. Once you have collected all the runes, there is not much point to linger much longer in Pandemonium. You want to win your first 15-rune run, and it is time for you to move on.

	Once you have collected all the runes ~~from Pandemonium~~, there is not much point to linger much longer~~, except of course if you want to have another shot at a Ziggurat~~. ~~But you~~ want to win your first 15-rune run, and it is ~~therefore~~ time for you to move on.

	==The Hells==		==The Hells==