Tfourther - another failed attempt at grasping this game

[snicka]

I started playing ToME a few days ago. After a few untimely deaths due to wrong location order, i found one mentioned here and did quite well (even managed to get one character to one of far east's prides, however died without thinking to dump it).

I am trying to win with a thalore berserker, but i encountered a major problem - everything goes fine (apart from health constantly surging from full to near death, seems to be a part of this game's design with so many heals aviable even for melle dudes) but every single time there's a part when I am horribly underleveled and get obliterated wherever I go.

This time it was after dredfell - one death in the tower due to a very bad situation with two rares, and then i got simply hammered wherever i went (was just lvl 26 after dredfell, and that felt HORRIBLY low) - ancient elven ruins / even adventurer packs / spellblaze mark.

I am new at this game, could somebody check this morgue attached below and tell me what I'm doing wrong / how should i build this character properly?

Code: Select all

  [ToME4 @ www.te4.org Character Dump]

Sex              : Male         STR:  37
Race             : Thalore      DEX:  9
Class            : Berserker    MAG:  8
Level            : 26           WIL:  35
Exp              : 6%           CUN:  18
Gold             : 3258.02      CON:  51

Accuracy(Main Hand):  30        Life             :     -100/806 Encumbrance      : 123/127
Damage  (Main Hand):  91        Stamina          :     136/192  Difficulty       : Normal
Permadeath       : Adventure
APR     (Main Hand):   6        
Crit    (Main Hand):  27%       
Speed   (Main Hand): 1.11       
                                
                                Equilibrium      :     0
                                

Fatigue          : 0%           Spellpower       : 4
Armor            : 40.2         Spell Crit       : 3.4%
Armor Hardiness  : 95%          Spell Speed      : 1
Defense          : 3.8925405183686
Ranged Defense   : 3.8925405183686
All damage       : 0%
Physical damage  : 15%
Blight damage    : 4%
Light damage     : 10%

Physical Save    : 31.521270259184
Spell Save       : 27.525
Mental Save      : 39.275

All Resists:  12%
Cold Resist(cap):  37%( 70%)
Nature Resist(cap):  27%( 70%)
Blight Resist(cap):  27%( 70%)
Light Resist(cap):  38%( 70%)
Darkness Resist(cap):  27%( 70%)
Disease Resistance:   0%
Confusion Resistance:  10%
Pinning Resistance:  64%
Stun Resistance:  64%
Instadeath Resistance: 100%

Number of NPC killed: 1750
Most killed NPC: skeleton warrior (91)

  [Talents Chart]

 - Race / Thalore                     (mastery 1.00)
    Wrath of the Woods (generic)      1/5
    Unshackled (generic)              0/5
    Guardian of the Wood (generic)    0/5
    Nature's Pride (generic)          0/5
 - Technique / Two-handed weapons     (mastery 1.30)
    Death Dance (class)               1/5
    Berserker (class)                 5/5
    Warshout (class)                  1/5
    Death Blow (class)                0/5
 - Technique / Two-handed maiming     (mastery 1.50)
    Stunning Blow (class)             4/5
    Sunder Armour (class)             0/5
    Sunder Arms (class)               0/5
    Blood Frenzy (class)              0/5
 - Technique / Bloodthirst            (mastery 1.20)
    Bloodbath (class)                 1/5
    Mortal Terror (class)             2/5
    Bloodrage (class)                 1/5
    Unstoppable (class)               5/5
 - Technique / Combat techniques      (mastery 1.30)
    Rush (class)                      5/5
    Precise Strikes (class)           5/5
    Perfect Strike (class)            0/5
    Blinding Speed (class)            0/5
 - Technique / Combat veteran         (mastery 1.30)
    Quick Recovery (class)            5/5
    Fast Metabolism (class)           0/5
    Spell Shield (class)              0/5
    Unending Frenzy (class)           0/5
 - Technique / Combat training        (mastery 1.30)
    Thick Skin (generic)              4/5
    Armour Training (generic)         5/5
    Combat Accuracy (generic)         0/5
    Weapons Mastery (generic)         5/5
    Dagger Mastery (generic)          0/5
 - Technique / Conditioning           (mastery 1.30)
    Vitality (generic)                1/5
    Daunting Presence (generic)       1/5
    Unflinching Resolve (generic)     4/5
    Adrenaline Surge (generic)        0/5
 - Cunning / Survival                 (mastery 1.00)
    Heightened Senses (generic)       0/5
    Charm Mastery (generic)           0/5
    Piercing Sight (generic)          0/5
    Evasion (generic)                 0/5
 - Wild-gift / Antimagic              (mastery 1.00)
    Resolve (generic)                 5/5
    Aura of Silence (generic)         1/5
    Antimagic Shield (generic)        1/5
    Mana Clash (generic)              0/5
 - Uber / Strength                    (mastery 1.00)
    Flexible Combat (class)           0/1
    You Shall Be My Weapon! (class)   0/1
    Massive Blow (class)              0/1
    Steamroller (class)               0/1
    Irresistible Sun (class)          0/1
    I Can Carry The World! (class)    0/1
    Legacy of the Naloren (class)     0/1
    Superpower (class)                0/1
 - Uber / Dexterity                   (mastery 1.00)
    Through The Crowd (class)         0/1
    Swift Hands (class)               0/1
    Windblade (class)                 0/1
    Windtouched Speed (class)         0/1
    Giant Leap (class)                0/1
    Crafty Hands (class)              0/1
    Roll With It (class)              0/1
    Vital Shot (class)                0/1
 - Uber / Constitution                (mastery 1.00)
    Draconic Body (class)             0/1
    Bloodspring (class)               0/1
    Eternal Guard (class)             0/1
    Never Stop Running (class)        0/1
    Armour of Shadows (class)         0/1
    Spine of the World (class)        0/1
    Fungal Blood (class)              0/1
    Corrupted Shell (class)           0/1
 - Uber / Magic                       (mastery 1.00)
    Spectral Shield (class)           0/1
    Aether Permeation (class)         0/1
    Mystical Cunning (class)          0/1
    Arcane Might (class)              0/1
    Temporal Form (class)             0/1
    Blighted Summoning (class)        0/1
    Revisionist History (class)       0/1
    Cauterize (class)                 0/1
 - Uber / Willpower                   (mastery 1.00)
    Draconic Will (class)             0/1
    Meteoric Crash (class)            0/1
    Garkul's Revenge (class)          0/1
    Hidden Resources (class)          0/1
    Lucky Day (class)                 0/1
    Unbreakable Will (class)          0/1
    Spell Feedback (class)            0/1
    Mental Tyranny (class)            0/1
 - Uber / Cunning                     (mastery 1.00)
    Fast As Lightning (class)         0/1
    Tricky Defenses (class)           0/1
    Endless Woes (class)              0/1
    Secrets of Telos (class)          0/1
    Elemental Surge (class)           0/1
    Eye of the Tiger (class)          0/1
    Worldly Knowledge (class)         0/1
    Tricks of the Trade (class)       0/1

  [Inscriptions (3/3)]

Infusion: Movement
Infusion: Regeneration
Infusion: Healing

  [Current Effects]

- Berserker
- Precise Strikes
- Bloodbath
- Resolve
+ Decrepitude Disease
+ Weakness Disease

  [Character Equipment]

 In main hand
a) Golden Three-Edged Sword 'The Truth' (40-64 power, 1 apr)
   Type: weapon / greatsword ; tier 3
It must be held with both hands.

Base power: 40.0 - 64.0
Uses stat: 120% Str
Damage type: Physical
Armour Penetration: +1
Physical crit. chance: +7.0%
Attack speed: 100%
Special effect when this weapon hits: 9% chance to stun or confuse the target
Damage when this weapon hits: +40 darkness / +40 light

   Dropped by skeleton warrior
 In off hand
 On fingers
b) warrior's steel ring of mental power
   Type: jewelry / ring ; tier 2

When wielded/worn:
Armour: +6
Changes stats: +3 Str
Mindpower: +7

   Dropped by skeleton warrior
c) Nightsong
   Type: jewelry / ring ; tier 2

When wielded/worn:
Defense: +6
Fatigue: -7%
Changes stats: +6 Cun
Changes damage: +5% physical
Talent cooldown: Shadowstep (-1 turn)
Mental save: +13
Maximum stamina: +25.00
It can be used to activate talent Dark Tendrils (costing 40 power out of 20/50) :
Effective talent level: 2.0
Power cost: 40 out of 20/50.
Range: 6.00
Travel Speed: instantaneous
Is: a mind power
Description: Send tendrils of creeping dark out to attack your target, and pin them in the darkness for 3 turns. Creeping dark will trail behind the tendrils as they move. The darkness does 20 damage per turn.
The damage will increase with your Mindpower. You do +4% damage to anything that has entered your creeping dark.
   Dropped by Subject Z
 Around neck
d) Feathersteel Amulet
   Type: jewelry / amulet ; tier 2

When wielded/worn:
Fatigue: -20%
Maximum encumbrance: +20
Movement speed: +20%
Avoid Pressure Traps: The wearer never triggers traps that require pressure.

   Dropped by Prox the Mighty
 Light source
e) Summertide Phial
   Type: lite / lite

When wielded/worn:
Changes resistances: +30% light
Changes damage: +10% light
Light radius: +4
Healing mod.: +10%
It can be used to call light, costing 10 power out of 15/15.
 Main armor
f) Thalore-Wood Cuirass (4 def, 10 armour)
   Type: armor / massive ; tier 2

When wielded/worn:
Armour: +10
Defense: +4
Fatigue: +14%
Changes stats: +3 Dex / +3 Wil
Changes resistances: +18% nature / +18% cold / +18% darkness
Healing mod.: +25%

   Dropped by Chronolith Twin
 Cloak
g) thick linen cloak of Iron Throne (1 def, 6 armour)
   Type: armor / cloak ; tier 1

When wielded/worn:
Armour: +6
Defense: +1
Changes stats: +2 Str / +1 Con
Changes resistances: +11% cold

 On head
h) Steel Helm of Garkul (0 def, 6 armour)
   Type: armor / head ; tier 2

It is part of a set of items.
When wielded/worn:
Armour: +6
Fatigue: +8%
Changes stats: +5 Str / +4 Wil / +5 Con
Changes damage: +10% physical
Talent mastery: +0.20 Technique / Thuggery 
Physical save: +12
Spell save: +12
Mental save: +12

   Dropped by Minotaur of the Labyrinth
 Around waist
i) Carrionpanic
   Type: armor / belt ; tier 1

When wielded/worn:
Damage when the wearer is hit: 12 nature
Changes resistances penetration: +10% nature / +10% light

   Dropped by Salulaith the wolf
 On hands
j) Spellhunt Remnants (3 def, 4 armour)
   Type: armor / hands ; tier 3

When wielded/worn:
Armour: +4
Defense: +3
Spell save: +8
Mindpower: +8
Mental crit. chance: +3%
It can be used to destroy an arcane item (of a higher tier than the gauntlets), costing 1 power out of 150/150.
 On feet
 Tool
k) Tooth of the Mouth (dig speed 12 turns)
   Type: tool / digger ; tier 1

When wielded/worn:
Armour penetration: +5
Damage when the wearer is hit: 15 blight
Changes damage: +4% blight
It can be used to dig a wall, cut a tree, ..., costing 1 power out of 1/1.
 Quiver

  [Player Achievements]

'Antimagic!' was achieved for Completed antimagic training in the Ziguranth camp. At 2013-05-04 14:41:37
'Curse Lifter' was achieved for Killed Ben Cruthdar the Cursed. At 2013-05-04 11:00:46
'Exterminator' was achieved for Killed 1000 creatures. At 2013-05-04 13:04:48
'Home sweet home' was achieved for Dispatched the Weirdling Beast and took possession of Yiilkgur, the Sher'Tul Fortress for your own usage. At 2013-05-04 13:27:34
'Level 10' was achieved for Got a character to level 10. At 2013-05-04 10:36:51
'Level 20' was achieved for Got a character to level 20. At 2013-05-04 13:39:40
'Rescuer of the lost' was achieved for Rescued the merchant from the assassin lord. At 2013-05-04 11:02:49
'Size matters' was achieved for Did over 600 damage in one attack. At 2013-05-04 13:53:35
'That was close' was achieved for Killed your target while having only 1 life left. At 2013-05-04 14:06:09
'The Arena' was achieved for Unlocked Arena mode. At 2013-05-04 10:34:04
'The Right thing to do' was achieved for Did the righteous thing in the ring of blood and disposed of the Blood Master. At 2013-05-04 11:12:46
'Thralless' was achieved for Freed at least 30 enthralled slaves in the slavers compound. At 2013-05-04 11:12:09
'Treasure Hoarder' was achieved for Amassed 3000 gold pieces. At 2013-05-04 14:28:44
'Treasure Hunter' was achieved for Amassed 1000 gold pieces. At 2013-05-04 11:07:33
'Vampire crusher' was achieved for Destroyed the Master in its lair of the Dreadfell. At 2013-05-04 14:02:06

[jenx]

Five big improvements:

1 thalore racials take to 1/1/5/0 or 1/5/5/0
2 increase saves, particularly spell
3 antimagic take to 1/4/1/2 and put silence on autocast when enemy visible
4 get fungus and set at 5/1/5/1
5 increase defence

[snicka]

What do you mean by "get fungus" ? Could you please expain it further?

[jenx]

Go to derth and kill lightning critters.

Then go to zigur and speak to town ruler.

Go and defeat urkis and then get the reward of antimagic fungus tree from zigur. you will have to unlock it with cat point.

[jenx]

Also

1increase accuracy. It needs to be 55 at minimum. Otherwise dreads will kill you.
2 spend money to replace belt, cloak, gloves

[Velorien]

Also, those three post-Dreadfell things you listed that killed you are among the deadliest encounters in that part of the game (together with the Last Hope Graveyard and farportals). Don't fight adventurers at all if you can help it - the reward is never worth the risk. Don't go to the Mark of the Spellblaze unless you're confident in your mageslaying ability. And don't go to the Ancient Elven Ruins at all. Their level range is intended for a later stage in the game.

[nate]

A few other points:

1) At that level, you should have received 2 category points. It looks like you put points into Bloodthirst and, what, category mastery of 2H Maiming? Because of that, you only have three infusions. Instead of category mastery 2H maiming, you could have a fourth infusion-- either another escape, or another regeneration infusion. That would be far more effective, especially considering that the category mastery is apparently to improve a single skill that you haven't even yet taken to 5/5!
2) You don't have to kill everything. If you're getting hammered by a rare, retreat. Try again once or twice-- if it's not happening, then skip those rares. Go down a staircase, go to a different dungeon, whatever.
3) As Jenx stated, your Accuracy is far too low, and it's limiting your damage. Either put points into Dex, or points into Combat Accuracy. By Level 26, my melee characters have Combat Accuracy of 5.
4) With this advice, you may be wondering, "Where am I supposed to get all of those generics from?" I mean, I suggest 5 Combat Accuracy, and it's been suggested (wisely) to get 5 in Guardian of the Wood. The answer is that you don't need all of those points in Antimagic just yet. In fact, you don't need any points in Antimagic just yet. You'll get more benefit from Combat Accuracy and Guardian of the Wood at this level. (Yes, Fungus is a good tree, but you won't need it yet-- you won't need it until at least level 36.) That means that you don't even need to finish the Sieging Derth quest at this point, so you can wait and keep using arcane equipment and runes. (Shielding runes are frequently more effective than healing infusions; teleportation runes frequently more effective than movement infusions.)
5) Level 26 is an okay time to finish Dreadfell and move on to Reknor. It's on the low side, but that's because you're playing Thalore. If you're not going to take advantage of their racials, consider playing Cornac instead-- you'll find yourself leveling much more quickly.
6) Your belt, cloak, and light source are not powerful enough-- you should have found better equipment than what you're wearing, and maybe you're not prioritizing the best equipment traits. Check the merchants for improvements on these. Prioritize +Life and +Healing mod. Your tool is also on the weak side-- by level 26, you should have found a torque of psychoport or a decent randart.
7) Your strength is too low. Now, considering the weaknesses of your build, that makes sense-- your damage is limited by your accuracy, and with only 3 infusions, you need to pump Con, and you're apparently pumping Wil for Antimagic-- but that's just compensation for ineffective choices. If you follow the rest of the advice I've given, you're going to get the most bang for your buck by keeping Str maxed. (+Con is nice, but remember: it's only 4 max life per point (0.5% at your life). +Wil is nearly useless without Antimagic. Once your damage is no longer limited by your accuracy, a single point of Str would translate to +3% damage. See? The Str is 6 times as effective as the Con, even discounting the fact that max life isn't the same thing as total life. Fewer points in Con probably mean fewer points in Thick Skin at this level, but that's okay-- you've got Guardian of the Wood to level as well. Guardian of the Wood is at least as good as Thick Skin, considering the danger posed by disease and Blight.

[ohioastro]

For what it's worth, I don't find antimagic to be a good fit for a berserker. Spend your points on armor, accuracy, weapon damage, and good racial abilities. Fungus +antimagic is a massive generic point drain, and a berserker can actually use arcane items and rune effectively. It's one of the few classes where I regretted antimagic as a distraction.

Run a dwarf, pump up resists, and get infusion / rune slots rather than unlocking categories.

[snicka]

Wow, thanks for all the constructive replies. Even though i can't play much now (due to having a hard time with my studies) i will try to apply all this advice to my next character. Many thanks again !

[Camcolit]

Yeah, seems your only problem is you didn't realize that elven ruins and mark of the spellblaze are not meant to be attempted until after you come back from the east usually.

[supermini]

Yeah, seems your only problem is you didn't realize that elven ruins and mark of the spellblaze are not meant to be attempted until after you come back from the east usually.

You can do elven ruins just fine before going east.

Mark of the spellblaze is a mixed bag as it depends mostly on your gear (blight/fire resist). If you are lucky enough to find a pair of gloves of dispersion, or have dispel as your class ability, you can handle the boss quite easily. Otherwise, my general guideline is that if you can handle dark crypt you can probably handle the mark as well.