Print

Please login or register.

1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever

Login with username, password and session length

[Toan]

Just got back into DoomRL, and noticed that a lot of things have changed. For one thing, there's more traits, and for another there's the hellgate, more mods, more weapons, more uniques, etc.

What I want to know is how people choose between two conflicting master traits, ie; Army of the Dead and Fireangel, or Ammo Chain and Cat Eye (Which has a lot more prerequisites now!) And the situations in which you'd choose one line over another, etc.

Thanks in advance.

[thelaptop]

The choice of Master Traits (or not) boils down to only one word: play-style.

Unless you are doing a specific challenge (or hunting for specific badges), almost all the Master traits can get you to win the game, provided your play-style matches the boons that the particular Master trait is providing: for instance, being more conservative and picking at targets with MCe, or relying on a gun-and-dodge style of MFa.

Traditionally, MAC is considered a highly offensive build with little defense, MAD is a must if you want to kill higher tier mobs using shotguns exclusively, MFa if you want to play a dodgier shotgunner, MCe if you like picking your fights carefully, MGK if you want to play the dodgy marksman, MBm if you want to be a melee killing machine, and MVm if you want to play a more conservative melee fighter.

There are builds that do not involve any Master trait that will still get you through Hell and back.  Experiment and see what suits your play-style the best!  =D

[Game Hunter]

Laptop covers just about everything. Master traits revolve around a particular build (especially now that MFa changed a bit) and limit your weapon choices, while providing you some rather powerful benefits that truly amplify the weapons they're made for.

The more powerful the advantage, the more limited your other options. Ammochain (MAc) is a perfect example: infinite bullets at the cost of inaccuracy (as it blocks Eagle Eye). This means you'll either be firing a lot or need to get your hands on some modifications. Army of the Dead (MAD) allows you to lay the hurt on any enemy, armored or not, but you lose Finesse and Hellrunner, two very useful traits. Fireangel (MFa), on the other hand, negates splash damage (useful defensively but not game-breaking) while giving you the chance to work on Fin->WK to mod your shotguns.

The safest master trait, at least for beginners, is Cateye. EE/SoB using rapid-fire weapons are ideal, and you're only one trait away from Intx2, a huge favorite for many players. If you're looking for a strategy that has the highest chance for success on the easier difficulties, look no further. (When things get harder, like N!, I've been leaning toward MFa in terms of master traits.)

A good example of choosing between a master trait or not is when deciding a pistol build. MGK is the only responsible master trait with pistols, but it blocks Son of a Bitch, preventing you from maximizing damage. As they are mutually exclusive, the choice is between MGK (a mid-range defensive build) and SoB (a long-range offensive build). Many of the other common builds are well-established in master traits, and there's little reason not to choose one when you're starting out.

[Toan]

I suppose if you're trying to compare Vampyre and Blademaster...which one would be more powerful? And, is dodgemaster as absurdly powerful as I think it is? A free guaranteed first dodge, after every move, combined with 2 HR's 20% speed increase, so that's 0.8sec per move, plus whatever extras you may have or may not, that's quite powerful in terms of dodging. Of course, MFa = dodging revenants and viles, or so I've heard...

Oh, and does side-stepping work like it used to? So many changes....

Back to the comparison, +3 hp, or 6% w/o Iro seems quite good, until you realise that you have to actually kill things up close. But it stacks with Badass, so...

What does it mean by 0 time for Blademaster? Does it mean, essentially a free next move? Or, that they're just not going to shoot you this turn?

[Gargulec]

Toan: mVamp is perfect, and from my experience: way better than mBm- but I do only 100% kills runs on AoB, and that's when Vampyre really shines. I never really liked mBm.

[Game Hunter]

I suppose if you're trying to compare Vampyre and Blademaster...which one would be more powerful? And, is dodgemaster as absurdly powerful as I think it is? A free guaranteed first dodge, after every move, combined with 2 HR's 20% speed increase, so that's 0.8sec per move, plus whatever extras you may have or may not, that's quite powerful in terms of dodging. Of course, MFa = dodging revenants and viles, or so I've heard...

Back to the comparison, +3 hp, or 6% w/o Iro seems quite good, until you realise that you have to actually kill things up close. But it stacks with Badass, so...

Hah, that reminds me, HR grants +15% movespeed. It's a typo on the trait screen, meaning you get 0.7 sec/step.

Dodgemaster lets you avoid the first attack with each sidestep...probably. I know that it makes you free to kill the Cyberdemon without fail, by attack/dodge/attack/dodge. I think the best description is to say the first projectile is avoided (Arachnotrons still seem to hit you on the first volley anyway). Naturally, this is a great synergy with a melee build, and gives you some breathing room when you aren't in berserk mode.

I agree with Gargulec, MVm shows results more often than MBm does. Knocback reduction from Badass, combined with the healing factor, is really important when you have to throw yourself at enemies that are attacking you from a distance. Analytically speaking, MVm aids you when not berserked (less knockback, more health available), while MBm synergizes with berserk mode (extra actions, speed). I suggest trying them both out if you can.

Oh, and does side-stepping work like it used to? So many changes....

Side-stepping is still great for dodging. Not a certainly (that's for DM, naturally) but you avoid a lot of damage when using it properly. Forward/back-stepping has the opposite effect.

What does it mean by 0 time for Blademaster? Does it mean, essentially a free next move? Or, that they're just not going to shoot you this turn?

MBm's special benefit means that, when you kill something, the finishing blow took zero turns: you essentially get a free attack for each death.

[Toan]

Hmm...I suppose so. Thanks.

Though, wouldn't that mean that later in the game, if/when you have Longinus (Which I have yet to get even once...) MBm would be better? Higher berserk rates, and damage, plus, the awesome AoE Alt.Fire... Then again, both traits are good on their own, I suppose. Shame you can't get some whacky combo like MCe and MAc. Imagine the damage you could do with that....