An approach to tackling ToME 4

[madmonk]

This is just a quick note on approaching ToME 4 and how to get through the first levels.

Choose your starting class carefully (me I like Archers and Slingers) but your choice could be different.

Clear level 1 of Amon Sul (the starting level, where you appear).

Things to be wary of:

Skeleton Archers
Skeleton Mages
both kill from a distance.

Poisonous creatures also do damage, and for a considerable time after they are dead as well. So whilst you might kill a Mamba you could die of their bites.

Breeders pack a lot of nasty surprises, they are my most common cause of death!

Make sure you choose your battle locations carefully, and unlike Tome 2 or 3, you may well find you have to move from your preferred starting position to take into account the shifting tide of battle. Be aware of this, it makes fights in T4 a lot harder to manage than earlier Tomes, you can find yourself very quickly overrun especially with breeders.

Make sure you rest often, running out of stamina or mana can be a real problem for you.

Once you have cleared level 1, exit the dungeon, and look at the landscape. To your right is another place (the Trollshaws) enter this place and you should be able to clear this a lot more easily than Amon Sul.

You should be around level 7 (maybe a bit less, maybe a bit more) by the time you are out of the Trollshaws

Once you have gone down to the bottom of the Trollshaw's and back up again, go to Bree, offload any surplus kit and return to Amon Sul and clear this dungeon too.

After that you will hopefully have some ideas around how to develop your creation and how to manage the myriad options that occur.

Good luck! Enjoy the game, I hope you like it. I certainly do!

[bigfoot]

Thanks for this quick guide! I followed it for a little while, but I'm finding Amon Sul easier than Trollshaws.

[darkgod]

Yes with a mage I usualy prefer amon sul (maybe just for the end .. hum). Anyway go try to unlock mages first

Madmonk: neat! thanks!

[bigfoot]

I'm playing archers. I die very very quickly with anything else.

EDIT: I'm having a hard time finding all dungeons and their depths and the game goals again in all the old development threads. Would someone who knows them quickly outline them please?

[elfinja]

may seem like a stupid question, but how are mages unlocked exactly?

[madmonk]

Hint - Check out the blue mountains!

[elfinja]

does that unlock a mage class for later playthroughs, or magic skills for the character being played?

you can be a little more spoily, this is the spoilers section.

[darkgod]

It unlocks mages for the next playthroughts.
It also gives a new location to visit, which is a tad empty now but will have more quests later.

Bigfoot: if you follow the quests you have at start you should do them in order.
Do not forget the places adapt to player level (within a range) so they will always be a "correct challenge"

[bigfoot]

Ok thanks. That adjusting to players levels is neat.

EDIT: I followed the advice, I've cleared out Trollshaws and Bill, Old Forest and Old Man Willow, and I thought I cleared out Amon Sul, but I can't find any guardian at the bottom, isn't there supposed to be one?

[Jaorin]

You have to fight a really nasty skeleton mage called the shade of something or other.

You can check your quest log by hitting ctrl-q.

[madmonk]

I followed the advice, I've cleared out Trollshaws and Bill, Old Forest and Old Man Willow, and I thought I cleared out Amon Sul, but I can't find any guardian at the bottom, isn't there supposed to be one?

Perhaps he is on holiday!

Give the bottom of Amon Sul a thorough search, and if you still don't see the Shade report it as a bug!

[bigfoot]

Well, I went to the bottom about ten times (quite serious actually) and completely cleared it with tile by tile search. Though that character is dead now, that minatour hits hard.