How to get the character to 20th level

[bpat]

I tried doing it at level 15 once and the loot was no better than the Sandworm Lair or the Maze (not counting broken maze floor chests). The dungeons I delayed in favor of early Dreadfell did not pick up the slack because of their lower level caps. Early Dreadfell is easier, but you get a lot fewer tier 4 drops before going East, which is going to tend to make that harder. Dreadfell is about as long as the Elf Ruins and Reknor combined so you're looking at giving up a lot of loot.

Unless drop calculation has changed you probably shouldn't do Dreadfell early unless you're at a wall that you think getting Anorthil or Sun Paladin unlocked will get you past.

I'm not saying you should do it super early, I just have no idea how or why you'd get to level 30 before doing it. I guess you could do Farportals but it's better to save the fortress energy and do it right before High Peak if you care about loot, and if you don't then why are you even grinding levels? Farming patrols is suicidal and I strongly recommend against it. Clearing everything in the west aside from Spellblaze Scar, Ancient Elven Ruins, and Sludgenest and then doing Dreadfell is the way to go since those places have loot of equal or higher quality to Dreadfell's and they have higher level scaling so if you do them to early you might get killed.

[grouchy]

On a serious side, I learnt there is more to do than all the tier-1 and tier-2 zones; there is also Storming the City quest, completing which gives quite a boost to the exp, all the other dungeons (Hidden Compound, also the other one in which you need to slay six random bosses and then tinker with the orbs and whatnot). Depending on the race, one would reach 22nd-24th level before clearing up the map completely, prior to Dreadfell. Without farportal I am not sure how one would level up to 30th.

Few notes:

* don't open chests on the Golem Graveyards;
* stair scumming sometimes is a must;
* luminous horrors are not that scary as they look.

[HousePet]

Getting to level 30 for Dreadfell depends on race. But it is possible to do Mark of the Spellblaze (which you should do to ensure you know how to deal with pesky mages), Ancient Elven Ruins, Celia, Noxious Caldera, Sludgenest (I usually find this area too annoying to bother with though) etcera before Dreadfell.

Oh and Dark Crypt.

[Atarlost]

I'm not saying you should do it super early, I just have no idea how or why you'd get to level 30 before doing it.

I thought the comparison was to 20 as in the thread title.

I think player power tends to "spike" around 24-26 as the level 20 unlock category is exploited. I feel that Dreadfell's relative difficulty spikes in the middle and it's easiest if taken either as early as possible or after all the optional side dungeons except elven ruins and possibly spellblaze.

[grouchy]

After couple of dozens of hours spent on the game, I can now consistently advance my characters past 20th level (provided I play classes I "know" how to play). My most successful zerker died in a mysterious crypt in a vain attempt to rescue a lady who was to be sacrified in a bloody rite.

But I got bored with zerkers, which, for my taste, have a weak mid-game, when a sheer physical power is not really the most viable way of beating the bosses and now I play Stone Wardens which are much more fun. I haven't yet made it past t-2 quests but I am on my way.

Thanks once again; I came to realize that, if we disregard the frustration, the best advice is...

GIT GUD.

[Coldbringer]

Git gud indeed. Best advice is to keep playing and learn from experience. Then when there is something you completely don't get ask here or look it up.

Have you tried ranged classes? I find some of them to be easier than straight up melee characters

[grouchy]

I am not really fond of ranged classes. On the other hand, through the first levels, stone warden DOES play like a ranged class, fwitw: most of my kills boil down to: spot it, catch it, press '5' till it's dead.

[grouchy]

Last night I made it to the East. My 29th level Stone Warden perished afterwards but it was exclusively due to me being overwhelmed by lack of knowledge of what to do.

Yesterday was also an important lesson for me.

I learnt that ToME is not a hack & slash, contrary to what I've been assuming. It is deep, tactical and rewards cautious planning. Since there is no time limit, you do not have to rush and can take your time and consider the options. This enabled me to without a life loss do all the tier-2 dungeons. I had one death to the Master but I would blame buggy halves summoning for that. Majority of my deaths was caused by game lagging beyond responsivness -- it would then stop responding to keyboard input, halt, restore and then process the commands I issued, all at once, what usually ends up with my character losing all the hp. Last death happened in an orc pit, which shouldn't be entered before 35th level. I was like 28th then, so it wasn't unexpected.

[Coldbringer]

You might have to turn off some of the shader options if it's lagging too much. Or just close all other unecessary programs besides TOME. It gets laggy for me in certain zones with lots of graphical effects. Sometimes shutting it down and restarting it solves the lag

The orc prides can be done at 28 but it's hard. There are slightly easier quest areas available in the East. Talk to the residents of The Gates of Morning town, especially the Sun Paladin you met at the entrance to town.

[grouchy]

I have everything turned off. The game would lag, nonetheless, from time to time. In alt-Daikara, with metheors falling down from the sky, it would freeze for a second or two, prior to rendering metheor and the crash site.

[Danton]

There's historically been some memory leaks that seem to keep coming back. If you notice the game slowing a lot, check if that's the problem. Or just close and restart the game.

[jenx]

My suggestions for first twenty levels are very simple. They work on normal, nightmare, insane:

Gear:
1. Plus hp
2. Increased dmg/power

Infusions
1. Healing, shielding, or ice. All are instant, this is critical

Talents
1. get 3-5 main damage attacks maxxed asap
2. Get defensive talents

Play roguelike

[grouchy]

I can made it past 20 level with little or no problems no (depending on the class I play).

30-ish is the new threshold.

Mind if I ask why you recommend to "Play roguelike"?

(personally, I also prefer roguelike mode; in this mode the bond is stronger. After first death I feel like "meh, don't want to play it anymore").

[jenx]

I can made it past 20 level with little or no problems no (depending on the class I play).

30-ish is the new threshold.

Mind if I ask why you recommend to "Play roguelike"?

(personally, I also prefer roguelike mode; in this mode the bond is stronger. After first death I feel like "meh, don't want to play it anymore").

I used to play adventurer all the time, and then I thought I'd give roguelike a go. It made a big difference, as my sheer frustration forced me to pay more attention, to understand classes, races, battles, talents better.

So i always recommend people play roguelike.

I'm now disappointed if I don't get a char to lvl 20 on insane (with PM that is), excepting a crazy rare/boss/unique in the first 3-4 levels.


re the 30ish threshold, there is a time of vulnerability for most classes, around 20-30, where you are not quite tanky, and the npcs are. solots of deaths in this zone. once I get to the east though, I'm usually sure I can get to the final battle provided I am sensible. but i've yet to win the final battle on insane. died there twice this week :_(