Am I ready for the east? I fear not - how to solve?

[Jurriaan]

I'm trying to see how I like ToME4 compared to Angband, and so far, it's been more fun than I
expected. I like not having to find food, I think the Autoexplore option is very, very nifty and
so far, I've enjoyed myself.

http://te4.org/characters/34419/tome/c1 ... d5dd1162a5

Here is a dump of my character. Never mind the number of deaths, I freely admit I'm scumming.

I think I've done about all I can in the west, except the Dark Crypt. I can't think of any way to
solve that one with a melee character with normal speed, essentially I have 10 turns?

So, I wandered to the East. The spider quest was doable, the armoury I did manage, thanks
to meekly taking cover as much as possible and trying to lure the orcs out one by one.

But: even orc patrols are hard to survive. There's not enough cover to prevent multiple
spellcasters from seeing me at the same time. The entrance to the Vor Pride is also a big stumbling
block - no cover!

So I think I need to rethink. What does my character need? A better weapon, better resistances,
speed or just more experience? If so, where do I get more experience? I've read about scumming
the far portal, but I'm not sure how that works. I used the portal, and got to the East. Should I
go somewhere else? How?

Thanks,
Jurriaan

[CaptainTrips]

Orc patrols are known to be very deadly. The best strategy to dealing with them is not to deal with them - i.e. 'Run away!'. The prides are also death traps, one and all. Typically, the first thing you want to do after getting to the East (perhaps after stepping on a few spiders) is getting back to the West. Visit the house to the north of the sun pally leader to get the quest. Once you've gotten back, search out the so-called backup guardians, who are waiting around to give you exp and loot. If you saved the merchant early on, you'll want to revisit his store at this time as well. The Farportal is, btw, not the portal that takes you East, but rather the one below Lake Nur. I would only advise scumming for exp there if you don't mind the possibility of facing some (possibly) incredibly broken bosses from time to time. That said, those bosses do tend to drop some nice randarts.

Good luck, and enjoy!

[tylor]

Yes, orc patrols is some of the hardest challenges. Especially for bulwark, which is one of the weakest classes in game. I'd recommend exploring game with some easy class first, like Summoner.

[nate]

I would recommend more points in Rush, and a torque of psychoportation. I see very little in the way of status (stun, confuse, pin) immunity. You've got great Fire and Cold resist, so there's one pride that you should be able to handle.

Also, I bet there's some places you haven't fully explored in the West. Wasn't there a path from the end of the Old Forest? Maybe you should check that out. Don't forget to interact with anything you run into.

Dark Crypt is really hard the first time you try, but don't give up. It gets easier as you figure out how to handle it. Too late for this character, but next time.

[tylor]

Also, timer in Dark Crypt is increasing each time you kill one cultist. So with Step Up it is possible.

[Jurriaan]

How do more points in Rush help? They decrease the cooldown allright, but I don't often find myself in situations where I can rush enemies - they crowd me. I've been in the underwater caves at the end of the Old Forest or do you mean another path?

[tylor]

More points in Rush also increases range, which is very important. And there is gear to reduce Rush cooldown even more... And a Steamroller prodigy.
Most classes can live with just 1 in Rush, though, but not those who have so few alternate mobility options.

[nate]

How do more points in Rush help? They decrease the cooldown allright, but I don't often find myself in situations where I can rush enemies - they crowd me. I've been in the underwater caves at the end of the Old Forest or do you mean another path?

Rush cooldown/range is very nice for situations like the Dark Crypt. Mobility is really key. That applies to things like Orc Patrols as well-- a Rush can get you out of range of a lot of mages, while getting you into melee with one of them. Total life saver, having it off cooldown is vital. For the Prides entrances, it doesn't help much, but a torque of psychoportation really does, and that Tooth of the Mouth isn't doing anything good for you in that situation anyways. Alternatively, use your movement infusion to get someplace safe, where you have room to manuever, or replace an infusion with a teleport rune (haven't finished Storming the City yet?)

If your risky situations have been being crowded in melee, then deal with that first. It's just that I wouldn't expect a Bulwark to have much of a problem with that situation. If you're crowded but taking ranged spell damage, back off. If you're surrounded-- well, try not to be surrounded.

Possibly spoilerish, but something you were asking about lies beneath the underwater caves at the end of the Old Forest. Oh, it looks like you found it. Transmute more, you'll see what I mean.

[Jurriaan]

I think I see - I've done some quests in the west, and now at lvl38 I think I can handle the east. I upgraded my char with more Rush points, and another regeneration infusion. After some tests, I chose the Steamroller prodigy, which allows you to rush from orc to orc without a cooldown, as long as you kill them in two turns or less. Very, very nice. The entrance to the pride I was having trouble with was easy, suddenly. I think I can see how Repulsion suddenly is useful too.

[Jurriaan]

I 'got a message from Darkgod' and then changed into a furious bunny whenever I melee. What's up with that?

[TheRani]

I 'got a message from Darkgod' and then changed into a furious bunny whenever I melee. What's up with that?

Sometimes Darkgod randomly gives people cool buffs, or access to nifty areas. Bunnification is one of the buffs you can get. It has a chance of turning you into a bunny when you fight, and it improves your crit rate. It doesn't harm you in any way. It comes with a free talent, too, called Bunny Hop which is basically like a Phase Door that heals you.