My Yeek Archmage has made it to Maj'Eyal, only dying three times, yeesh. This is way different from a zerker - I need to pay even more careful attention to my statuses and hit points, as the simplest poison can kill me if I move once too much.

It's a much different play style - the zerker's strength is to wade in and kill them fast, but the archmage is very weak, having to run a lot until he builds up some power. I'm over level 10, but still extremely fragile unless we're at range, and in the dungeons range is a rare thing.

I've got some sustains now, but they're pretty weak compared to the monsters I'm going up against, and Halfling Ruins is full of archers and skeleton mages ...

I've come back to TOME (after taking a year off for Masterwork Dwarf Fortress :-) ). I've won the game again with a Cornac Berzerker, and my previous experience has served me well. Most of the game is the same from last time, and I highly enjoyed it.

A few things I've noticed:

The zerker's Fearless Cleave is indispensable. Not sure I had that last time, but it really helps clean up those crowds. It's particularly handy for those bosses that try to run ...

The Prodigies are very nice. Picking up "I Carry The World!" is simply awesome for a Zerker (I ended with 145 STR), and then Steamroller makes him the Pinball Of Death.

The randarts are too overpowered- I've noticed that I now mostly ignore the yellow unique artifacts, as they cannot compete. You usually find them way too late to be useful, too, relative to when you found that really cool randart that's better and has a bunch of extra features to boot. (See my guy Ug for examples)

I'd like to see more item sets, and somehow a higher chance of getting another set item if you already have one.

I thought there was a bug with treasure chest items going into inventory instead of the Transmog Chest, but that was my mistake - hitting "g" while standing on it puts it into your inventory, duh. There are some other edge cases where items go directly to inventory, though - alas I cannot recall them now. (I think the Pearl did, after killing the sorcerors ...)

I like the changes in the Pride's layouts, and the bone walls in Rak'shor. Creepy.

Money needs to be more useful. I found myself collecting it anyway, but it just makes the counter on the screen go up. The stores are very expensive for what you get - it's usually just easier to hit the dungeons (except for those 'cure magical' and 'cure physical/mental' runes). Perhaps nerfing the randarts, buffing the stores, and rotating store stock, say, every five or ten character levels ...

Well, that's it for this time. Good luck, adventurers!

I'm finally back to the East with version 13 of my berserker, and he's balanced a little better. I've done Spiders and Dark Crypt, but have no water breathing for Underwater Cave (well, there's one armor in Gates of Morning that has water breathing - I may have to go that route), and I decide to tackle the Vor Armory.

The maze levels are trivial, and I mod my worn equipment as best possible to deal with fire and ice before heading into the Armory itself. Those damn blinking pyromancers and cryomancers are particularly hard for me, it seems. So I clear out the several lower rooms, and am carefully hunting down the last few elementally-enhanced orcs, when I get crit-hit by a cryomancer - damn, down to 14% health ... is that a shade of purple in the doorway?

Gnarg, that lobster, has come out to find me. I thought he would stay sealed in that last room until I came for him - alas, he has taken the offensive today, and here I am with my pants down.

Taking stock of my situation, it's worse than it appears. I'm at 149 health, Gnarg and the cryo are both two steps away, in and next to the doors. Most of my talents are on cooldown, and I'm not currently wearing my teleport amulet. I'm not even using my primary weapon - I have my alternate loaded, because I was using Wave of Power in my hunt. Engaging in melee is suicidal - even doing something like preemptively tripping my other Wild to get the damage reduction isn't enough. I can't get out of the room.

Desperate now, I look through my items for something - a few wands, no good there, lantern has repulsion glyph, not enough ... crap.

I start to look again at Unstoppable. I had initially discarded it - Gnarg would undoubtedly take me to 1hp, and killing that cryo during my 5 Unstoppable turns would put me right back at 12% health - that only buys me a few turns, with stamina tapped, in much the same situation. My regen would come online one turn after that (no big heals found, I'm still using a regen that does ~100/turn), but taking a turn to use that just gets me dead again. The only way out I can see is Unstoppable, wear the teleport amulet, and use it. I look at the mini-map, but I already know what I'm going to see - can't wind up in the vault, and a really good chance of landing in the big boss room.

I ponder this for a while. Porting into the middle of a crowd would get me just as dead, but I gave it even odds that I would end up in another room, giving me a chance to heal a bit, and bring the controlled phase door back online. With enough turns, I could even use two turns to use that heal amulet for a quick 200hp. The teleport amulet also happens to have +12 Luck ...

In the end I go that route. I click Unstoppable, and wear the teleport amulet. Unsurprisingly, I'm at 1hp. Click Use ... and my worst fears are realized. I'm in the big room, in the middle of the lava floor, nearly surrounded. Another cryomancer (damn those things) fires up the snowstorm.

I'm sweating now. 3 turns left on the Unstoppable. Stamina nearly depleted. No usable talents except Stunning Blow. Regen comes online on turn 4. Nearest cover is North, fives steps away, around the cryomancer, plus one more step to clear the distance attackers. I happen to have a clear path ... right now. Several weaker creatures have been hit hard by the cryo's AOE - I mouse over everybody, checking stats and hp.

The best strategy is clear, so I do it.

Turn one - Stunning Blow the adjacent ghast. He's already weakend by the cryo, and this kills him. Zillions of monsters attack. 1hp.

Turn two - step North. Zillions of monsters attack. 1hp. 1 move left on Unstoppable.

Turn three - step North-East. Unstoppable goes off. I'm back to 12% due to the kill on turn one, and taking damage fast. Regen comes online.

Turn four - Hit Regen, back to around 200hp. I really don't remember, and my heart is pounding just like that little Unstoppable icon.

Turn five - successfully around the corner, gaining health. I might live . . .

Turn six - two steps around, no attacks. Now at close to 300hp. I've survived the immediate crisis, but things are far from safe . . . and Gnarg is undoubtedly coming . . .

By carefully running around the blocks, watching hp, managing stamina, and using controlled phase door, I'm able to pick off the melee monsters and the few mancers left.

Back on my feet, with most of the level's other monsters gone, I'm able to take on and defeat Gnarg.

New achievement - That was close.

Been playing a week, mostly berzerkers. Here's the order of dungeons that appears to be the "normal" way to go, at least for my zerkers:

Trollmire, KorPul, Norgos, Gloom, Maze, Old Forest, Rhaloren Camp, Crystal Cave, Sandqueen, Daikara, Golem Graveyard, Ruined, Hidden, Halfling, Elven, (Spellblaze?), Dreadfell

For the freeing of Derth, any time after Daikara when you have significant Lightning resist. A good strategy for me seems to be to fire the RoR as soon as I enter, burn off about 20 rounds, then head in, circling the perimeter, and Rush the first elemental seen, and fight just one or a few before getting yanked out. That way I can whittle them down without getting swarmed and burned to a crisp.

Lake Nur is odd - obviously better to get early, say, after Daikara, but sometimes it's just too hard, what with Luminous/Radiant Horrors and Headless Horrors. Then I usually die, confused and alone, and put if off for later.

The Graveyard East of Last Hope I've learned is even harder than Dreadfell. Eternal Bone Giants hose me no matter how well I prepare. I've only killed one, I think.

I'm told Spellblaze is much easier than Dreadfell - I always assumed it was the "last" dungeon. Need to find where in the order it should go.