Traps - some observations
Posted: Tue Jul 09, 2013 3:55 pm
I just played a Yeek rogue who simply ignored weapons, and did 90% of his damage with traps. I observed some behavior which I'm not sure if it's intended. Here's a list, if someone wants to check:
1. When enemies "rush" me, they ignore traps that I placed on the way. This seems counter-intuitive.
2. Characters who land on traps through other means than walking, do not trigger the traps. Examples:
a) an enemy rushes me and lands right on a trap that I placed before me. Doesn't trigger the trap.
b) An enemy switches places with my lure, and ends up on the trap that I placed under the lure. Doesn't trigger the trap.
3. Traps can be placed inside walls (as long as the tile borders the room), and will be triggered by wall-walking monsters (xorns, dreads ...). I enjoyed that, and I think it makes sense - I think of my character placing a trap directly on the wall, vertically, and the trap then triggers when the monster peeks out. I'm not sure if that's intended though.
4. The "Disarming Trap" skill is misleadingly named. At first I thought that it would help me to disarm traps. Then I read that it disarmed monsters, which seemed too little of an effect considering the cost. Only when I re-read the skill description late, I noticed that it _also_ does a ton of damage. I'd call it "Maiming Trap" to make it more clear.
5. The mechanics of disarming traps are not clear to me. I died several times to my own explosion traps (especially when they were obscured by terrain or items). Shouldn't my character know how to _not_ trigger traps he laid himself?
6. Traps work for unlocking the "Marauder" class. I liked that, but I'm not sure if it's intended. This might be a good strategy to unlock Marauders relatively quickly (wear gear that increases Cunning and nature damage, then lay Nightshade traps), but it still requires effort, and I'm not sure how quickly Marauders get unlocked by other means.
In general, I enjoyed that playing style a lot, and it's great to see how well ToME supports playing styles that are often just added as an afterthought to other games. So please don't take that post as a list of complaints - I'm just sharing some observations.
1. When enemies "rush" me, they ignore traps that I placed on the way. This seems counter-intuitive.
2. Characters who land on traps through other means than walking, do not trigger the traps. Examples:
a) an enemy rushes me and lands right on a trap that I placed before me. Doesn't trigger the trap.
b) An enemy switches places with my lure, and ends up on the trap that I placed under the lure. Doesn't trigger the trap.
3. Traps can be placed inside walls (as long as the tile borders the room), and will be triggered by wall-walking monsters (xorns, dreads ...). I enjoyed that, and I think it makes sense - I think of my character placing a trap directly on the wall, vertically, and the trap then triggers when the monster peeks out. I'm not sure if that's intended though.
4. The "Disarming Trap" skill is misleadingly named. At first I thought that it would help me to disarm traps. Then I read that it disarmed monsters, which seemed too little of an effect considering the cost. Only when I re-read the skill description late, I noticed that it _also_ does a ton of damage. I'd call it "Maiming Trap" to make it more clear.
5. The mechanics of disarming traps are not clear to me. I died several times to my own explosion traps (especially when they were obscured by terrain or items). Shouldn't my character know how to _not_ trigger traps he laid himself?
6. Traps work for unlocking the "Marauder" class. I liked that, but I'm not sure if it's intended. This might be a good strategy to unlock Marauders relatively quickly (wear gear that increases Cunning and nature damage, then lay Nightshade traps), but it still requires effort, and I'm not sure how quickly Marauders get unlocked by other means.
In general, I enjoyed that playing style a lot, and it's great to see how well ToME supports playing styles that are often just added as an afterthought to other games. So please don't take that post as a list of complaints - I'm just sharing some observations.