Page 1 of 1

Vicious Gaan-Talet

PostPosted: Sun Nov 11, 2012 5:59 am
by sitnaltax
I need to brag, briefly: I finally finished Vicious Gaan-Talet, so now maybe my mind can rest!

I played a Dwarf Rogue, prepping the Tri-Sword and worshipping only Dracul. This dungeon clearly calls for a huge amount of longevity and Dracul really provides that, between 15% resists, Sanguine (I think I had 5 ranks of it!) and life steal (only 2 ranks, because it comes with the max resistance penalty.) Sanguine is just huge; I can't imagine doing the dungeon with anything but a Dracul follower or bloodmage. And the Dwarf race helps maximize the impact of bloodpools. The Tri-Sword, by contrast, didn't really explode; I spent too much money on a Troll Heart (although I don't regret the bonus health) and some potions for killing some problematic mini-bosses.

Other highlights:
* Translocated a Platemail very near the end. This was a huge help; between the Platemail and 20% resists, my health really went a long way against Horatio.
* I don't much like the Martyr Wraps, but those seem like they would be quite helpful; likewise, a Piercing Wand would help deal a lot more damage to Horatio.
* The 3-curses penalty turned up on Horatio's level! Luckily, I had saved four popcorn monsters.
* GETINDARE was helpful of course, but it didn't seem as critical as it has in other Vicious runs.
* You need to keep your fingers crossed that Dracul when you need him (early!) and that the level penalties don't line up in a bad way, like the "full reveal" penalty on the large level, or Retaliate Fireball on a level with physical resist monsters. On the other hand, you can get unexpected benefits--like the No XP level happening on a level with a No XP bonus enemy, or the Poison/Manaburn penalty happening when you were just about to ding anyway.

If there's a way to beat this level that doesn't involve copious blood-drinking, I'm very curious to hear about it.

Re: Vicious Gaan-Talet

PostPosted: Sun Nov 11, 2012 7:58 am
by Nurator
Congrats! You can also defeat it with a Vampire or an Orc Rogue (that works everywhere). Monk (if you know how to play him) works aswell.

Do you have all the monster classes, too? Then congrats to a finished game :)

Re: Vicious Gaan-Talet

PostPosted: Sun Nov 11, 2012 8:23 am
by Darvin
Yeah, Dracul is the go-to guy; basically the only way to have enough staying power to tear down Horatio is with lifesteal effects. Of course, there are some great conversion combos leading into Dracul's religion, but there's no question about it: you want the god of blood.

As a low-damage boss, Horatio is really vulnerable to a damage reduction combo. Using platemail and lifesteal in conjunction against him is great. Vampires who make it to Horatio and have platemail basically have already won, since their lifesteal will clean up almost all of the incoming damage.

Re: Vicious Gaan-Talet

PostPosted: Sun Nov 11, 2012 5:45 pm
by sitnaltax
Thanks for the kind words (and strategy assistance), everyone!

I threw up a wiki page for the level: http://www.qcfdesign.com/wiki/DesktopDu ... Gaan-Telet

Re: Vicious Gaan-Talet

PostPosted: Sun Nov 11, 2012 6:05 pm
by q 3
GG (scum for his altar first) + Pactmaker (Body Pact, hopefully found in one of the first few subdungeons after GG) is a devastating combo, especially for Rogues. You can absolve all the low-level monsters without worrying about the loss of experience, and his level-up piety will get ridiculous quickly, letting you take full advantage of Pactmaker. Cleansing is also a fantastic boon here, since not only can you get rid of corrosion and weakening, the magic attack is great for taking out the Illusion (as well as goo blobs).

Since you're guaranteed to find Dracul eventually and don't really need him until you get to Horatio, it's my preferred starting combo.

Re: Vicious Gaan-Talet

PostPosted: Sun Nov 11, 2012 6:07 pm
by The Avatar
Nice! It doesn't have a strategy section (which I think we want for all dungeons), but it looks great!

Re: Vicious Gaan-Talet

PostPosted: Mon Nov 12, 2012 9:16 am
by Nandrew
Well done. :3 Always cool to hear about people having fun with dwarves, I know they're not favoured in every scenario. :P

Re: Vicious Gaan-Talet

PostPosted: Mon Nov 12, 2012 9:34 am
by Nurator
Image

horatio hates me... seriously? Bloodless Horatio as a VAMPIRE?!

Re: Vicious Gaan-Talet

PostPosted: Mon Nov 12, 2012 9:47 am
by Nandrew
Ohshiiiii-! That's harsh, sorry to hear. ;_;

Re: Vicious Gaan-Talet

PostPosted: Mon Nov 12, 2012 12:43 pm
by The Avatar
Yeah. If bloodless doesn't show up in the first 5 or so levels, you're screwed.