wWhy do I keep dying!!? :)

[aynama]

Really a dumb question!
But I keep getting this tome-rage when I get killed with a character that has some development in it.
Don't understand it really like why I keep getting killed a lot on 8-19 character levels...
I have made it to level 22 once long time ago.

Well maybe it's psychological, can't find a patience & keep making a lot really stupid mistakes

[jotwebe]

Read these threads for good advice on how not to die:

non-spoiler tips & tricks
complaint about randomness
linked in thread above
same

most hated monsters - take care with these

[Kwibus]

I Remember being just like you. Eventually reading class guides got me out of that hole. Simply to learn the mechanics of this game better. I can do without guides these days

[jotwebe]

I Remember being just like you. Eventually reading class guides got me out of that hole. Simply to learn the mechanics of this game better. I can do without guides these days

Yeah, me too.

One good way to learn is to play on Adventurer difficulty, and when you died, resist the impulse to jump right back into the fight AND the impulse to quit the game (and throw your monitor against the wall). Insteat take a minute or two, think about where you went wrong, starting on the small scale: did you fail to use a talent or item that could have won the fight? Where did the fight start going badly? Could you have escaped? If not, maybe you built your character wrong, or you needed a different strategy. Maybe you shouldn't have done that dungeon at that point,but could have gone somewhere else instead. Maybe you could have hit the shops - just like in resource based roguelikes you shouldn't die with a stack of healing potions in your inventory, arguably in ToME you shouldn't die with a mountain of gold (unless you're a dwarf). Sure, in the endgame you can play artifact roulette for 4k a shot, but it's pointless to save up for that if you don't get that far. It's not like you need those things to win, most of the time.

Anyway, after you thought about that, you'll know whether to let the eidolon transport you back into the fight or to the world map, and hopefully have an idea what to do differently next time.

[Isotope-X]

Aynama, perhaps it would be helpful if you gave us more information. What kind of classes to you tend to play? How do you tend to build your characters? Is there a particular zone that causes you the most trouble?

[aynama]

thank you for the help!
Already feel a bit better
yeah, I had thought about shops a few times, then it was almost always "yeah later... when I level up more..."
I do tend to die with a lot of gold, so maybe that's a one thing to try, look better items to equip and such.

I have been playing Alchemist a lot, now after about of 50 of them, it's been wyrmic.
Tried wyrmic dwarf, now it's wyrmic human Cornac.
I tend to die of rares, with special skills I don't understand well - and often in an ambush of a strange rare and then in a hasty escape my path is blocked by other monsters,
hp goes down quick and zang! it's over

[edge2054]

The best way to deal with rares is to become familiar with every class you have unlocked and play new classes when you unlock them. They're essentially monsters with player talents.

[Plak]

Whenever you meet a rare (or a boss/horror you don't know), right-click it and select "Inspect". The last page in particular gives you the full list of the monster's talents with complete descriptions, including how much damage it will do to you (plus/minus your resistances). Each rare is given a random player class so with experience you'll be able to assess more quickly what each rare is able to do, but careful inspecting will always remain a good idea when in doubt.

[aynama]

oh, thanks!
gonna try that inspecting next time one comes shaking its fist at me

[Fael]

I'm not sure you're not making it harder on yourself playing Alchemists. I find Berserkers, Bulwarks, and Archmages the easiest to play. Dwarves are a good choice for the fighter classes, because of the extra dungeons, so I think you're doing that right.

Are you doing all the starter dungeons and exploring them all thoroughly? One problem that comes by around the high end of the levels you're dying at is that there really isn't enough experience in the game, so you're often just barely making the minimum level for the dungeons you're entering. Do everything early on to build up as many levels as you can before you start getting into the hard stuff. The zone order guide on the wiki is pretty out-dated, unfortunately. I suggest something like:

Any class/race dungeons you get
Norgos's Lair
(Arena around level 5)
Heart of the Gloom
Lumberjack Village
Scintillating Caves
Rhaloren Camp
Ruins of Kor'Pul
Trollmire (including the bonus level)
Sandworm Lair
The Maze
Derth
Old Forest
Lake of Nur
Daikara (finish this, then go back to:)
Temporal Rift
Tempest Peak
(Explore the world map and find all the random dungeons)
Golem Graveyard
Hidden Compound
Ruined Halfling Compound
(If you haven't unlocked Necromancers, make sure to do the Last Hope Graveyard before hitting level 24 and dying in the Dark Crypt)
Ruined Dungeon
Dark Crypt (where you'll die)/Beach
Dreadfell/Ambush
(Last Hope Graveyard if you haven't already)
Dogroth Caldera (if your game has it)
Mark of the Spellblaze
(If you're at least level 33 -- which you're not -- Ancient Elven Ruins; otherwise probably save them for later and head for the Far East)

I've only been to the Far East once, so probably best leave it there.

Go everywhere, kill everything, play a relatively easy class, and be a tiny bit careful, and you should be able to make it to at least Daikara most of the time without dying (unless you get the Alternate Minotaur, which is the first seriously dangerous thing you meet). After that, Golem Graveyard, Hidden Compound, and Ruined Halfling Compound offer a respite where you have to work to get yourself killed, before you start hitting dungeons where you can die around any corner pretty much for the rest of the game. And the Dark Crypt will certainly kill you, so don't worry too much about what you'll do after level 24, because you won't see it.

[0player]

I've always found elven ruins to be perfectly doable around 28, even. With good scouting, you should be up to no surprises, the first level is a breeze, and on the last, there are teleportation circles in case you get into trouble.
And Dark Crypt became much easier when I got out of habit of graph every blight res equipment because nothing deals blight damage in the early game.