Hi all.
The background: Just did Valley of the Moon for the first time. I'm playing a Thalore Bulwark who could tank the hordes of stupid demons, and I only lost because the stupid rare or boss or whatever snuck past me and killed the jeweller with <100 turns to go. I went over and ganked him in about 2 turns without being injured afterwards, so I'm confident I could beat the level another time with better visibility items/skills.
I didn't have time to run away and wait 10 turns for cooldowns/healing because they're already running for the jeweller when you encounter them. If I had left the conveyer belt of death at any point the jeweller wouldn't have lasted as long as he did.
The question: How does a non-tanky, hit and run character like shadowblade or cursed succeed in levels like Valley of the Moon where there is a huge swarm of enemies and you have to stop them all as soon as possible to succeed?
How do non-tanks win Valley of the Moon?
Moderator: Moderator
-
Doctornull
- Sher'Tul Godslayer
- Posts: 2402
- Joined: Tue Jun 18, 2013 10:46 pm
- Location: Ambush!
Re: How do non-tanks win Valley of the Moon?
Not all quests are intended to be winnable by all characters.
So maybe the non-tanky Rogues just plain don't easily beat this quest.
So maybe the non-tanky Rogues just plain don't easily beat this quest.
-
stinkstink
- Spiderkin
- Posts: 543
- Joined: Sat Feb 11, 2012 1:12 am
Re: How do non-tanks win Valley of the Moon?
An item with demon telepathy helps for Valley of the Moon so you can see through the boss's invisibility. I did it on a shadowblade but IIRC I was using a shortstaff and had a bunch of artifacts with spell actives like Void Orb, Molten Skin and Frozen Shroud so I could hang back and blast a bit.
Re: How do non-tanks win Valley of the Moon?
You just need lastability. Tanks are good at this, but a powerful Archmage is too, being capable of dealing with enemies fast enough that they don't build up and break through defenses. Really, it's not that tanks are so good at it, it's that anything with a focus on burst damage isn't so good.
I'm not crying. I'm offering a sacrifice to DarkGod in hopes he'll show favor to me.
It hasn't worked yet.
It hasn't worked yet.
Re: How do non-tanks win Valley of the Moon?
Last time I was there I had max sneak.
The monsters didnt go towards me or the jeweler.
Just a few random monsters did.
When the time was out I walked towards rge exit and there was a HUGE pack of them surrounding the exit.
The monsters didnt go towards me or the jeweler.
Just a few random monsters did.
When the time was out I walked towards rge exit and there was a HUGE pack of them surrounding the exit.
-
EatThisShoe
- Higher
- Posts: 72
- Joined: Tue Jan 15, 2013 7:01 am
Re: How do non-tanks win Valley of the Moon?
On normal difficulty this quest should be possible for any class. The most important thing to do is to anticipate future threats, that goes not only for this quest but all fixed properties of any zone. Here are a few tips:
1. Get a telepathy demon item. This effect only appears on rare items, but it's not uncommon to find something with the effect. I always grab one and stash it in the fortress until I'm ready to do this quest.
2. Know your enemies. Telepathy: demon isn't just good because of the final boss, it's also good because of the duathedlens which leave darkness auras. If you can't get telepathy, then having some sort of light skill that works against duathedlen darkness will be incredibly useful. The most common source I can think of is the Summertide Vial. Alchemist bombs that produce light also break their darkness.
3. Get the right resists. There are three main resists from these demons: Acid, fire, and darkness. Acid and Fire are probably the most important. In fact since these are elemental resists it doesn't matter that much for non-tanks, if you have 70% in Acid and Fire you should have decent survival against most of the demons. This ties in with knowing your demons, wretchlings are very common, and while they are not very strong their constant spam of acid AoEs will make your acid resist fairly important.
4. Build for attrition. This is a long fight, so the most important aspect for casters is generally having ways to maintain their health and whatever spell resource. Some casters do this naturally, while others have to bring items and runes to regen mana. Overall every class has to be judicious in how they spend their resources. If you can afford to wait a turn or two to kill some minor demons with cheap efficient spells, do it, take your time.
5. Find a strong position to hold. There is a wall coming from the right edge of the zone going left, I always set up at the end of this wall so that I am physically blocking any demons who try to go past it. If you set up here very few demons will get past you, and even the boss often will melee you. I mostly only have to back up for 1-2 teleporting fire imps. Be prepared to back up and then run back to your position, having 2 mobility skills at least will help a lot. This spot also tends to limit how many demons will be in melee with you at any time. Often only 1 will be in melee and the others will have to circle around if they want to get to you, this can help minimize how many hits you take.
1. Get a telepathy demon item. This effect only appears on rare items, but it's not uncommon to find something with the effect. I always grab one and stash it in the fortress until I'm ready to do this quest.
2. Know your enemies. Telepathy: demon isn't just good because of the final boss, it's also good because of the duathedlens which leave darkness auras. If you can't get telepathy, then having some sort of light skill that works against duathedlen darkness will be incredibly useful. The most common source I can think of is the Summertide Vial. Alchemist bombs that produce light also break their darkness.
3. Get the right resists. There are three main resists from these demons: Acid, fire, and darkness. Acid and Fire are probably the most important. In fact since these are elemental resists it doesn't matter that much for non-tanks, if you have 70% in Acid and Fire you should have decent survival against most of the demons. This ties in with knowing your demons, wretchlings are very common, and while they are not very strong their constant spam of acid AoEs will make your acid resist fairly important.
4. Build for attrition. This is a long fight, so the most important aspect for casters is generally having ways to maintain their health and whatever spell resource. Some casters do this naturally, while others have to bring items and runes to regen mana. Overall every class has to be judicious in how they spend their resources. If you can afford to wait a turn or two to kill some minor demons with cheap efficient spells, do it, take your time.
5. Find a strong position to hold. There is a wall coming from the right edge of the zone going left, I always set up at the end of this wall so that I am physically blocking any demons who try to go past it. If you set up here very few demons will get past you, and even the boss often will melee you. I mostly only have to back up for 1-2 teleporting fire imps. Be prepared to back up and then run back to your position, having 2 mobility skills at least will help a lot. This spot also tends to limit how many demons will be in melee with you at any time. Often only 1 will be in melee and the others will have to circle around if they want to get to you, this can help minimize how many hits you take.