Constructive Criticism Playthroughs

[Lujo]

The one with the lvl 5 monster in it?

I always thought the exploration in that one was well worth it. Never was sure, though.

[Joist]

Maybe I've got the names wrong. I mean the one with only 3 available squares unless you have an ENDISWALL or similar.

But yeah, the one with the level 5 in the bottle neck and the upgrade on the other side is awesome. It's nice knowing there is a level five there if you can't find one topside to level.

[The Avatar]

The three-square one is Yin-Yang. It sucks. A lot. End of discussion.

[Darvin]

Still better than the empty, explored room containing a potion that increases your max HP and lowers your max mana...

Generally speaking, exploration is the biggest perk offered by subdungeons, giving you some extra space that can be conserved for later. There is nothing more catastrophic to a run than discovering that your stash of extra unexplored tiles is actually fully explored! Even ying/yang at least will give you 15 tiles...

[The Avatar]

I've never seen that one...

The only sub dungeons where it is fair to have them pre-explored are Grove of Knowledge, Draco (maybe), Zombie Money (well, only the hallway so you can regen between Zombie fights), and the blood fountain (As if a full heal or 15% sanguine isn't enough resources). That's it. You can still keep the one where the sorcerer trades potions, or you drink the elixir, just make them non pre-revealed.

[Darvin]

I've never seen that one...

Appears only in the north, most frequently on Rock Garden.

Grove of Knowledge

If you've got lots of extra cash lying around, this one is amazing. If you don't, it's a real stinker.

Draco (maybe)

This one gives relatively few tiles as it is, and is largely worthless if you first enter it as a high level character. It should definitely be left unexplored.

Zombie Money

Might be over the top to make this one fully revealed, but it's pretty broken in its current state. Perhaps it begins explored but activating the trap casts a shadow over the entire level? Still, non-assassins who enter it late could be in for a rude surprise...

and the blood fountain

Agreed, though it should probably be an overheal since sanguine is way better than a full heal in most cases.

[The Avatar]

Or just 5-10% sanguine so it's not as oberpowered.

As for zombie money, I say leave the huge part with the treasure unrevealed, but the opening and hallway revealed.

[Joist]

That is satisfying. Sorc with Piercing Wand prep.

I kept trying with rogues and assassins but they seem so flimsy. I don't think I play them correctly.

[The Avatar]

Do you have elite items? Because you need the alchemist scroll for Rogue or Priest. And Assassin is equally as strong as Sorcerer, just worse at low levels.

[Joist]

Yes, every item but the other two vicious dungeon trophies (only finished Dragon Isles so far, unless there is something from Gaan?).

I have trouble playing with the scroll tbh. The scroll or JJ boost your health a lot but the regen stays the same so all you get is a bit of leeway with burst damage, I find it very hard to jump levels in that situation.

I love the priest, especially since he doesn't really inherently touch his mana so you can roll with whatever glyphs you get. Got 2 hits from beating the Dragon Isles with halfling/priest/scroll but it is painfull leveling unless you get the perfect run of zombies (3/5/7/9 for instance) to take advantage of extra undead damage.

Assassin is cool too but I run out of tiles too quickly. I also don't really understand the fireball/poison combo well. Do you go heavy mana + MA to be able to cast a few fireballs then seal the damage with poison? Elf + JJ for instance (that's how I got my warlord done, sitting at 32 mana at the end).

edit: Oh and I don't find sorc too bad compared to assassin since I generally only melee at lower levels, it's rare that I can get a hit on my chosen targets without dying.