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[Delcan]

So I have no idea where to put a first introductory post on these forums - I couldn't spy any new forum-goer topics or specific boards, and I missed any blaringly obvious messages about "This is where you introduce yourself".  So instead, I'll ask a question about a problem that just utterly destroyed me - Halls of Carnage on UV.  Specifically, the amount of time required to survive this ordeal.

I've done a full win on HNTR twice, and HMP once, so I've now jumped into UV in a vaguely half-competent sort of way, but holy damn is UV rough.  Halls of Carnage is even worse.  I was running a MSc build (which seems to have been my first mistake) with a plasmatic shotgun and a tricked-out plasma rifle (and an onyx'd fireproof red armor which was glorious) but that was clearly not enough to get through the grand horde of Bs blocking the path to the BFG and the exit.  I had the lava surge nipping at my feet right up to the end, where it washed over the exit room and I just mad-dashed for it, headed downstairs at about 12% health... and met a pack of revenants and Arch-Viles who laughed at me and gave me the atomic fire wedgie.  Figuratively speaking.

So short of an all-in rapid fire build with a plasma gun, Army of the Dead, or something similar to just blaze through at top speed, how the hell do you grab that BFG and survive the trip, or at least get there before the lava does?

Oh, and hello everyone.  I'm not all that great at this game, but my taste in games runs to the ultrahard anyway (this game, DC:SS and other roguelikes, Touhou Project) so the masochism is just part of the appeal.

[Aki]

Welcome to the forums! I hope you enjoy your stay. Remember, the only stupid question is one not asked.

The Halls of Carnage used to be much easier - I don't know why this was changed *grumble grumble*. You pretty much hit the nail on the head though - you need to blaze through at top speed. The lava columns start coming from the left at 1 column/3 seconds on ultra violence, so you need to move quickly.

Firstly, before I say anything - unless you're going for a badge/medal that requires you to be conqueror, take a look at how you're kitted up before deciding to enter a special level - No BFG is worth a dead doomguy, because you can quite easily complete the game without one - you can't complete the game if you're dead.

Secondly, this special level is paired with the Spider's Lair - meaning that there's a 50% chance of them spawning interchangably on the same level. If you ARE going for conqueror and have heaps of trouble with one special level, it may be worth simply biding your time until you get the level you can complete.

Now, as for the UV HoC:

-Move quickly. And by this, I mean move quickly quite literally - you'll want your movespeed to be as high as possible, since the lava doesn't move based on turncount, it moves based on time spent on the level. The Red Armor in your example would have given you -20% movespeed, for example. Keep in mind that shooting and reloading weapons takes time - 2 shots and a reload from a shotgun would mean one more column of lava to contend with.
-Plan your route. There's 3 full heals in this level - keep in mind that each of them resets your running status to cautious. If you plan it out, you can literally run through most portions of this level.
-Abuse Sergeants. Their shotguns can be annoying as hell, but if you notice an opportunity where a Sergeant is to your left and you're not low on health, stepping one step closer might take you farther via knockback then if you had stepped to the right. Mind you, if you're doing a damageless game you can't do this, and if you're not careful this will flat out kill you.
-Lava hurts. Not just you, but it also hurts monsters. If you're going for 100% kills, all you really need to worry about is the lost souls in the middle section of the level. If you're not - great! Just run past them. Your objective is to get the BFG and get out alive, not to be a hero. The stairs to the next level are never affected by floor statuses - you'll never have a corpse/blood/lava/acid/whathaveyou on stairs, so once you're at the stairs you can simply runwait for some free exp or something. Keep in mind the walls are also destroyed - don't be too cocky about this or you'll end up getting 5 acid balls in the face from 5 'almost dead' Barons.

Hope i've helped!

[White Rider]

The Halls of Carnage used to be much easier - I don't know why this was changed *grumble grumble*.

Gee I dunno, maybe HoC was changed because it was too easy pre-0.9.9.7.

[Aki]

Gee I dunno, maybe HoC was changed because it was too easy pre-0.9.9.7.

But it was that way because it was the HoC. C:

[shark20061]

It also showed up a lot earlier before too.  The move to pair it with a later level was a contributing factor in its increase in difficulty.

[Sambojin]

I've really liked change though. Before it was just an ammo restock for shotty-users and a free BFG, now there is definitely a "run-the-gauntlet" feel to the level.

For simplicity, just ignore the sergeants unless they're firing at you, the lava will take care of them. Shotty out the lost souls (you should have a combat shotgun/tactical by then) and then blow the other enemies away with whatever weapon you want. Or don't. The "wait on the stairs" technique works fine as well. As soon as the end-section walls start getting eaten by lava and opening up lines-of-sight, hit run for the higher dodging chance and lay some smack-down on the enemies to help the lava do its job. Shotties or rockets are great (you might knock them into the lava or out of LoS), but the BFG is good here as well. Think of it as a test firing, just to make sure it works. There'll be plenty of plasma to reload it later.

For builds, anything with hellrunner or shottyman is perfect, so are fast-firing builds (pistols or finess). With some ag-modded boots, some light armour and the Fireangel master-trait the level is actually ridiculously easy.

Oh, and run. Always run. Even burn off a small/large medikit if you really have to reset your running status. This goes for any part of the game you're having difficulty with. It's better than the life you'll lose if you don't (and debately better than the life you gain from using the medikit anyway).