Posted by Proud Blade on March 1, 2000 at 09:42:04:
In Reply to: My advice... (LONG) posted by The Arcane(VIP) on March 1, 2000 at 09:05:34:
> Forgive me if this is totally PK-oriented, but this is what I gather you mean by "kickass," so this is what I'll address. Here's how I'd go about it.
>
> Roll a good-aligned human shapeshifting transmuter, offense/water as your foci. Powerrank to hero. With luck, this is actually feasible 40ish hours. Start exploring. Type areas, and go to every area that has a level cap of 40 or below. Look around thoroughly, with brief off. Identify everything you find. This should be trivial to accomplish as a hero offensive muter. Examples: Tal'shidar Caves, Ruined Keep, Forest and Keep of Barovia, Tower of High Sorcery, etc.
>
> Now, take a look at the 40-51 areas listed, and start going down the list. An experienced player who knows the areas well already might be able to do them solo, but for your purposes, find someone to explore with. A hero paladin makes a great companion, as does a bard. Whatever you can get.
> Examples: Coral Palace, Whistlewood, Ruins of the Deep, Mortorn, Blingdenstone, etc.
>
> If you want to get really anal, print out the area list and check off the areas as you cover them. When you explore an area, log it for future reference.
>
> Now, delete.
>
> You've probably found a lot of items in your explorations as a hero that made you think "This is mediocre for a hero... but damn, I wish I'd known about this when I was level 20."
>
> Now to hone your killing skills. Pick a class that you want to play. I'd recommend an assassin or thief or warrior or AP for these purposes. Use the skill lists available on Dio's and on the CF homepage liberally. Look over the lists.... read the helpfiles. Ask yourself, "Do I know what this skill does?" Then ask yourself, "Does this skill pose a danger to me? If so, what can I do to minimize that danger?" By doing this, you may quickly note that a level 25 shaman who quaffs fly potions will give your low-20s assassin fits, for example. Or that any of the major fighting classes will ream your lowbie mage in the teen ranks.
>
> Some "observations" aren't readily visible just by looking at skills, and you'll have to be equally attentive while playing. Glancing at the skill lists, for example, won't necessarily immediately tell you that your assassin should watch out for axe-wielding warriors like the plague. That's a lesson you'll learn for yourself.
>
> In any case, pick your class of choice. Do *not* powerrank. If it's a fighting-type class, practice your skills in the teens. Rank solo, or use one of the practice spots you may have discovered while exploring as your hero. Take a look at your skill list, and pinpoint key plateaus in your power. For an example, 15, 20, and 35 are key levels for an assassin. 17 is a key level for both necromancers and bards. Crucial new skills are introduced that increase your ability to kill, and change your approach to killing.
>
> I've never played a necromancer. I consider myself a skilled player, but if someone handed me a Spectre or a lich, I'd probably suck horribly.
>
> When I do decide to play one, I'm going to sit for a while at level 17, with a supply of potions of flying, and practice killing people (other than warriors and APs who can bash me) with sleep and some basic maledictions.
>
> Then I'll rank up to 25-28 and incorporate zombies and summoning into my repertoire. It should be evident that this is an entirely different approach to killing people than the one I had available to me in the teens. I'll doubtless find that in many instances, zombies are more hindrance than help, and learn to recognize and anticipate those situations.
>
> Then I'll rank up to 37 (wraithform becomes bash protection) and see how my skills fare against the wider range of classes and abilities my foes now have. Again, I'll surely learn a lot. Then, I'll finally rank up to 47 when I'm comfortable with my knowledge of the class.
>
> This same template works for nearly any class (changing the plateau levels as needed, of course). Area knowledge and a strong knowledge of even a single character class is all you need to make a truly impressive character.
>
> Let me know if you have any other questions.