Survival guide - Revision history

Vyn: /* Gear and Defensive Stats */ Updated with heavy armour training

2021-09-29T01:35:29Z

‎Gear and Defensive Stats: Updated with heavy armour training

Ibanix: /* Resists */ I don't agree with removing the mention of Thick Skin. Resists are still important.

2016-03-12T23:40:14Z

‎Resists: I don't agree with removing the mention of Thick Skin. Resists are still important.

Rekenner: /* Resists */

2016-03-12T23:28:28Z

‎Resists

Rekenner: /* Status effects */

2016-03-12T23:25:58Z

‎Status effects

Rekenner at 01:08, 11 March 2016

2016-03-11T01:08:37Z

Rekenner at 01:08, 11 March 2016

2016-03-11T01:08:04Z

Ibanix at 16:19, 8 March 2016

2016-03-08T16:19:03Z

Rekenner: /* Encounters and Mobility */

2016-03-08T07:06:36Z

‎Encounters and Mobility

Rekenner: /* Gear and Defensive Stats */

2016-03-08T07:04:15Z

‎Gear and Defensive Stats

Rekenner at 01:24, 15 February 2016

2016-02-15T01:24:59Z

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 Everyone starts out with a few pieces of terrible, unenchanted gear, which needs to be replaced as soon as you possibly can. Your main priority should be items with +maximum [[Life]] above anything else, with healing mod and con (because it gives HP) as second priorities. This is kinda why [[Constitution]] is mostly a poor stat choice for your level up stat points, because if you find a Bronze Lantern of Health or Rough Belt of Resilience, you've just gained 10-13 con worth of HP. It's still worth holding onto items that boost Con, however, as that still gives HP. At first, you should look over most any item you have that isn't white (AKA, unenchanted), but you'll eventually start noticing [[Egos]] (aka, item descriptions) worth keeping - for +max HP, for example, it's Resilience, though also of Health on lights and of Eyal or Fortifying on body armor.
-[[Armour]] is a stat mostly gotten from your body armor and from the [[Armour Training]] talent and acts as damage reduction. As it takes damage off every weapon attack you take, from melee weapons, bows, or slings, it can very quickly add up to reducing a lot of damage. It is mostly best achieved by wearing heavier armor.
+[[Armour]] is a stat mostly gotten from your body armor and from the {{t|Heavy Armour Training}} talent and acts as damage reduction. As it takes damage off every weapon attack you take, from melee weapons, bows, or slings, it can very quickly add up to reducing a lot of damage. It is mostly best achieved by wearing heavier armor.
 [[Defense]] is also a stat that primarily comes from your body armor, but can also be gotten from boots or a cloak. It's a lower priority than many other stats, as its defensive properties are not very potent against many of the more dangerous enemies who will have very high [[Accuracy]].

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 ==Resists==
-This is last, because these don't really matter a whole lot until the later stages of the game (although the [[Storming the city]] quest in [[Derth]] is an early exception), as they rely on you having a large health pool to protect and the wide-spread variety of elements you'll be hit by making it hard to focus on resists based on what area you're in.
+This is last, because these don't really matter a whole lot until the later stages of the game (although the [[Storming the city]] quest in [[Derth]] is an early exception), as they rely on you having a large health pool to protect and the wide-spread variety of elements you'll be hit by making it hard to focus on resists based on what area you're in. However, many players strongly suggest you put at least one point into {{t|Thick Skin}} for the 4% resistance bonus. Putting five points into Thick Skin may be valuable by the middle to end of the game, as it grants 15% resistance to all damage types.
 [[Category:Guides]]

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 ==Resists==
-This is last, because these don't really matter a whole lot until the later stages of the game (although the [[Storming the city]] quest in [[Derth]] is an early exception).  Resists will help you survive, so don't neglect those either.  Put 5 points into [[Thick skin (talent)|Thick Skin]] as soon as you can, for the +15% all resistance.  Wear gear that gives resistances to the kinds of attacks you expect to be facing in the near future, unless it would take away something you need even more (max hp).
+This is last, because these don't really matter a whole lot until the later stages of the game (although the [[Storming the city]] quest in [[Derth]] is an early exception), as they rely on you having a large health pool to protect and the wide-spread variety of elements you'll be hit by making it hard to focus on resists based on what area you're in.
 [[Category:Guides]]

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 *'''[[Silence]]''': Prevents you from using spells.  Runes count as spells.  If you rely on spells to survive, then you'll want a mental wild infusion to clear this up, or just don't rely on a rune (hint hint, movement infusions) as your escape.
 *'''[[Pin]]''': Another physical effect (usually), but it only stops movement infusions so if you have anything else, you're fine.  Plus if you're a ranged class, usually you don't even care if you're pinned.
-*'''[[Dazed]]''': This is something like a stun + pin in recent versions of the game.  It's negated by taking damage, so usually you'll only be dazed for a single turn regardless of the duration of the effect (unless you're not being attacked, in which case, you don't really care as much).  Attacking something that has retaliation damage should break the daze, at the cost of one turn spent attacking with reduced damage output.  The pinning part negates some escapes, though.
+*'''[[Dazed]]''': This is something like a stun + pin.  It's negated by taking damage, so usually you'll only be dazed for a single turn regardless of the duration of the effect (unless you're not being attacked, in which case, you don't really care as much).  Attacking something that has retaliation damage should break the daze, at the cost of one turn spent attacking with reduced damage output.  The pinning part negates some escapes, though.
 *'''[[Pacification hex (talent)|Pacification Hex]]''': A devastating mental effect that lasts for 20 turns and dazes you every so often, it is yet another reason, in addition to Confusion, that mental wild infusions are so useful.  A high mental save is also effective against Pacification Hex because it now gives you a chance per turn to break the hex.

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 This '''survival guide''' is meant for new players who find themselves dying a lot, so it will not cover some of the more esoteric hazards. It also written for the Main [[Campaign]] (also known as 'Age of Ascension'). There are significant differences in the DLCs, [[Ashes of Urh'Rok]] and [[Embers of Rage]].
-For a general guide to recommended order to clear zones, see the [[Recommended zone order guide]].
+For a general guide to recommended order to clear zones, see the [[Recommended Zone Order Progression]] guide.
 ==Gear and Defensive Stats==

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:08, 11 March 2016
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	This '''survival guide''' is meant for new players who find themselves dying a lot, so it will not cover some of the more esoteric hazards. It also written for the Main [[Campaign]] (also known as 'Age of Ascension'). There are significant differences in the DLCs, [[Ashes of Urh'Rok]] and [[Embers of Rage]].		This '''survival guide''' is meant for new players who find themselves dying a lot, so it will not cover some of the more esoteric hazards. It also written for the Main [[Campaign]] (also known as 'Age of Ascension'). There are significant differences in the DLCs, [[Ashes of Urh'Rok]] and [[Embers of Rage]].
		+
		+	For a general guide to recommended order to clear zones, see the [[Recommended zone order guide]].

	==Gear and Defensive Stats==		==Gear and Defensive Stats==

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-[[Category:Guides]]
+==Introduction==
-Note: This guide is meant for new players who find themselves dying a lot, so it will not cover some of the more esoteric hazards.
 ==Gear and Defensive Stats==
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 [[inscriptions|Infusions and Runes]] make up the generally defensive abilities that almost every character has access to. While every race starts with different inscriptions equipped, these are not always the best inscriptions to have equipped. Note: The following advice assumes you have access to both Infusions and Runes, see further down for advice for Undead who cannot use Infusions. Having a Wild Infusion that clears off Physical statuses is a very high priority inscription to have - being stunned is one of the most deadly situations to be in, as you're slowed down and cannot do much damage. A second high priority inscription is a form healing or damage mitigation, such as a Healing Infusion, Regeneration Infusion, or Shield Rune. Your third rune should generally be an escape (see below) or a Manasurge Rune, if you're a class that uses mana.
-If you're a Skeleton or Ghoul (one of the Undead races), unfortunately you cannot use Inscriptions. Fortunately, Heat Beam runes play a somewhat similar role in removing physical effects, but do not remove crosstier effects or provide all res.
+If you're a [[Skeleton]] or [[Ghoul]] (one of the Undead races), unfortunately you cannot use Inscriptions. Fortunately, Heat Beam runes play a somewhat similar role in removing physical effects, but do not remove crosstier effects or provide all res.
-Spam your inscriptions and healing skills. If you have a shield, pop it the turn before you think you'll take damage - and remember, shield runes are instant. If you have a regeneration infusion, use it after you're down like 20-30% hp. If you have a healing infision, pop it as soon as you won't waste any heal. Use your Wild (Physical) infusion the turn you get stunned. Get use out of them and then start getting them cooling down quickly.
+Spam your inscriptions and healing skills. If you have a shield, pop it the turn before you think you'll take damage - and remember, shield runes are instant. If you have a regeneration infusion, use it after you're down like 20-30% hp. If you have a healing infusion, pop it as soon as you won't waste any heal. Use your Wild (Physical) infusion the turn you get stunned. Get use out of them and then start getting them cooling down quickly.
 ==Encounters and Mobility==
-What I mean by an 'encounter' is really just any time you run into enemies to fight. Learning to fight encounters as the smallest chunk you can is super important - If you see a group of mobs and you're in an open room, you should almost always back up into a 1 tile wide corridor or back around a corner if a corridor isn't available (like [[Rhaloren Camp]], [[Maze]] or [[Sandworm Lair]]). If you're a mage and your skills are on CD, don't try to bump things, just walk back and wait for your CDs to be up. Getting ganged up on is going to kill you, every time. You'll learn how to 'pull aggro' of mobs and get them to come to you in a conga line, instead of you having to fight into all of them at once. Always open vaults at a diagonal so less of the vault can see you (and blast you). You'll also eventually get used to what to expect from vaults before you even open them, but that takes a lot of play. And remember - you don't have to open every vault, or even fight every enemy on a floor. If a rare is too strong for you, you can just leave it behind. Enemies don't know where you are, they rely on vision like you do, so breaking line of sight can be very strong.
+What I mean by an 'encounter' is really just any time you run into enemies to fight. Learning to fight encounters as the smallest chunk you can is super important - If you see a group of mobs and you're in an open room, you should almost always back up into a 1 tile wide corridor or back around a corner if a corridor isn't available (like [[Rhaloren Camp]], [[Maze]] or [[Sandworm Lair]]). If you're a mage and your skills are on cooldown, don't try to bump things, just walk back and wait for your talents to be off cooldown. Getting ganged up on is going to kill you, every time. You'll learn how to 'pull aggro' of mobs and get them to come to you in a conga line, instead of you having to fight into all of them at once. Always open vaults at a diagonal so less of the vault can see you (and blast you). You'll also eventually get used to what to expect from vaults before you even open them, but that takes a lot of play. And remember - you don't have to open every vault, or even fight every enemy on a floor. If a rare is too strong for you, you can just leave it behind. Enemies don't know where you are, they rely on vision like you do, so breaking line of sight can be very strong.
 The vast majority of early- to mid-game "unavoidable" deaths come from a very predictable set of circumstances that are usually avoidable if you play your cards right. If you use your mobility tool as a way to get into the fight, you no longer have it as an escape. Rushing at an archer might kill it, but his 4 friends that you didn't see might get their revenge. If, instead, you back up around a corner and draw the archer to you, you can more easily kill it and deal with its friends later. However, learning when it is correct to use a mobility tool to engage is also an important part of the learning process of ToME.
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 For most classes, the best mobility tools tend to come in the form of [[inscriptions|infusions and runes]].  Here are some universally available escapes:
 *'''Phase door''': The worst escape in the game, it has a tendency to do nothing helpful for you, or even put you in a worse situation than before.  However, it's better than nothing and in the very early game, you may have no alternatives.
 *'''Teleport''': Has a chance of landing you in the midst of more enemies, especially if you haven't cleared out most of the level yet.  Also tends to fail on very small levels, like ambushes.  Otherwise, the standard go-to escape.
 *'''Movement infusion''': Like a perfectly controlled phase door, but with the catch that you can't be surrounded.  It has the advantage of being able to be used inside vaults and other no-teleport zones, and the disadvantage can be negated by things like a rogue's [[Switch place (talent)|Switch Place]], or a dwarf's [[Stone walking (talent)|Stone Walking]].  So if you have one or more of these things, or if you're [[antimagic]] (and therefore can't use runes), movement infusions are the way to go.  The infusion shop at [[Last Hope]] sometimes stocks these, so once you collect your first 80 gold or so, it's worth coming here just to buy a movement infusion.
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 ==Resists==
 This is last, because these don't really matter a whole lot until the later stages of the game (although the [[Storming the city]] quest in [[Derth]] is an early exception).  Resists will help you survive, so don't neglect those either.  Put 5 points into [[Thick skin (talent)|Thick Skin]] as soon as you can, for the +15% all resistance.  Wear gear that gives resistances to the kinds of attacks you expect to be facing in the near future, unless it would take away something you need even more (max hp).