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31
Discussion / Re: Why do people keep on saying the megasphere is a myth?
« on: April 08, 2010, 16:27 »
I think it's one of those "rules of the internet": the less funny a joke is, the more people repeat it. ;)
32
Discussion / Re: Badges, badges, badges!
« on: April 04, 2010, 07:06 »
Nah. I've never gotten the Jackal on AoMr, and I haven't played AoB much yet... not even 10 games. But I think I'll put my money where my mouth is and make the Silver Brick my next goal. As soon as I finish my current game (Angel of Impatience) I'll be doing nothing but AoB for awhile. I'll post the mortem if I manage to pull it off.
33
Requests For Features / Re: Backpack as an Exotic Powerup
« on: April 03, 2010, 19:56 »
They still wouldn't be guaranteed any awesome gear. It just means they would have a chance of maybe getting it, if they were really lucky. I mean, most games you never even see a Megasphere unless you do special levels or play Ao100, right? So if the backpack was even rarer than that, it would hardly ever affect your game. It would just be that, every once in awhile you might find it and be overjoyed at your luck. Or you might beat The Wall, using up all your medpacks, rockets, and armor, emerging with 8% health. Then you find a backpack 2 steps into the next level, and you're like "Why couldn't you have appeared one level sooner?"
These kinds of things are what make roguelikes fun.
These kinds of things are what make roguelikes fun.
34
Discussion / Re: Badges, badges, badges!
« on: April 03, 2010, 19:25 »Another pain is Brick Silver. Again, maybe it's just me, but the luck required to not only reach the other side of the Wall, but somewhere that isn't going to insta-kill you, AND enough to make it out alive (so at the very least, one phase and one homing, the latter of which is really unlikely that early), feels like it's on the same luck magnitude as, say, Angel of Pacifism.
I don't think it's quite that high. On AoB, you're guaranteed a homing device in Hell's Arena, which is hard but quite doable on HNTR (one thing that helps is to take 3 levels of Brute instead of berserker--enemies are too few and too spread out for berserker to work well there). If you find an invulnerability sphere or berserk pack close to the entrance to The Wall--I would say the chances of this are quite good if you play the game on AoB a lot--you just need to have a phase device get you to the other side. If you can get yourself in the middle of the Barons and Hell Knights with invulnerability or berserk active, it should be a cakewalk. You should be able to keep your berserker status easily, allowing you to mow through them without even needing a med-pack if you start the level at 100% or higher.
If you have the Anti-Freak Jackal, I can't imagine it would be that hard either, at least not on HNTR. Just take them one at a time.
Also, if you find the Trigun, you could just nuke the level.
35
Requests For Features / Re: Improved trait display screen; better support for soundless players
« on: April 01, 2010, 10:18 »Why play soundless, anyway?
Sometimes I play a quick level or two at work during my break. Or sometimes I'll play when everyone is sleeping, and I don't want to wake anyone, and if I wear headphones I may not hear if the baby wakes up.
Plus, what about deaf players? We have features to accommodate the blind, so why not a feature for the deaf?
In other words, I am strongly in favor of this. But I agree that it should be an option that you would toggle on or off, just like the options for the blind can be toggled.
36
Requests For Features / Re: Request: Abandon Challenge
« on: April 01, 2010, 09:42 »
The thing is, no one would ever have to abandon the challenge if they didn't want to. I personally would almost never abandon a challenge--but if I saw a Railgun I would think about it. It's not the same as coming across a weapon that doesn't fit your build, either, because even if a gun goes against your build you can still try it out.
Personally, I vote yes, if there is a vote on this. Like I said, I probably would never use it, but then again I've hardly ever used Explore Mode in Nethack either. And I see no problem with letting other people doing it.
I would even say let people keep their mortems. Just have a message saying "This marine was an Angel of ____, but welched out on it like a worthless coward!" or something like that. And your score would still be recorded as a standard game, but cut in half. And of course you would receive no medals or badges, except maybe the ones they got before abandoning the challenge.
Personally, I vote yes, if there is a vote on this. Like I said, I probably would never use it, but then again I've hardly ever used Explore Mode in Nethack either. And I see no problem with letting other people doing it.
I would even say let people keep their mortems. Just have a message saying "This marine was an Angel of ____, but welched out on it like a worthless coward!" or something like that. And your score would still be recorded as a standard game, but cut in half. And of course you would receive no medals or badges, except maybe the ones they got before abandoning the challenge.
37
Discussion / Re: New Fireangel reqs, better or worse?
« on: April 01, 2010, 07:01 »
After playing with both shotgun builds for awhile, and thinking about it, I think that which one is easier depends largely on what kind of challenge game you're doing.
Standard game:
Being able to use other weapons compensates for the weaknesses of an Army of the Dead run. The double shotgun will take care of big groups fast, as long as you have cover and there isn't anything really dangerous like a Revenant or Arch-Vile in there. The combat shotgun (or better yet, assault shotgun) will let you keep knocking enemies back and kill them without even letting them into your sight. Put a few points of SoB on there and it's even better. If you manage to beat The Wall--which is relatively easy with shotguns on HNTR or HMP--you'll have a missile launcher for quick strikes on far-away enemies, and a backpack to help you stock up on shells for later levels. If you get ambushed by poweful enemies, or see an Arch-Vile, just break out your BFG and let 'er rip.
Fireangel is still just as useful to have on the later levels. Being able to dodge Arch-Viles, Mancubi, and Revenants is EXTREMELY helpful no matter what. Being able to take barrel explosions is nice too, but since most barrels are napalm in the later stages, you still have to be careful. Being immune from your own rockets looks great on paper, but most of the time, if you have enemies close enough that the blast would hurt you, an armor-piercing double shotgun would be much better. So I think it's a toss-up on which one is easier in the endgame. But if you factor in that taking TaN and Badass will make the early game super-easy, I think Army of the Dead comes out way ahead in this respect.
Angel of Berserk / Angel of Marksmanship:
Obviously both are nearly useless, since you can't use shotguns.
Angel of Shotgunnery:
In an Army of the Dead game, you're going to have serious problems after level 15. Since your character is bad at escape you'll need to kill most enemies you encounter, and unless you're lucky enough to find a Jackhammer, you're going to have a really tough time with just shotguns. Even if you do get a Jackhammer, that will just make the ammo crunch even worse. It's quite possible that you won't see a single shotgun sergeant past level 15. Meanwhile you're using tons of shells, and you (almost definitely) won't be getting a backpack. That means even if you pick up every single shell you find, you might find yourself running out later on. Finally you have to face the Cyberdemon. At long range, your shotgun may as well be a pea shooter, and at close range you will be getting hit by a lot of rockets even if you're running.
However, a Fireangel run will wind up being almost as easy as a standard game. The early game will still be difficult, but the endgame will be a breeze. You can run past most enemies, which will conserve ammo and just increase your surviveability overall. On the rare occasion that you have a pack of enemies backed by an Arch-Vile blocking your exit, chances are good you can find a berserk pack or invulnerability sphere nearby. Even if you don't, if you're running and you have a few med-packs, you can probably make a mad dash for the stairs. And the Cyberdemon will still be a cakewalk.
(Now for the record, the regular game and AoS are the only versions I have played extensively. But here's how I think the builds would work on other challenges based on what I have played.)
Angel of Light Travel:
Due to inventory being scarce, Fireangel is a lot better since you can get by with less ammo.
Angel of Impatience, Angel of Purity, Angel of Masochism:
In all of these, health is at a premium, so you'll want TaN and Badass. This makes Army of the Dead better, although you might be better off avoiding shotguns entirely. Not saying it's necessarily the best choice for any of these challenges, but definitely better than Fireangel.
Angel of Haste:
Angel of Haste runs are such a crapshoot, it's tough to say which is better. There are fewer Hell levels, so you should have an easier time making your shotgun shells last to the end. But if you don't find a rocket launcher or BFG, you will have a hard time killing stronger demons.
Angel of Red Alert:
You'll want Hellrunner, and you won't have time to kill most enemies. Fireangel is way better.
Angel of Max Carnage:
Doesn't this challenge make Dodgemaster useless? In any case, you will need to focus on killing demons before they kill you, rather than escape. This makes Army of the Dead an obvious choice if we're only talking shotgun master traits--although Ammochain is probably even better.
Angel of 100:
To be honest, ammo gets so scarce that shotguns aren't viable no matter what. Hell, the best strategy is arguably to skip master traits entirely, since this will keep all the basic and advanced traits open.
Angel of Pacifism:
Army of the Dead is useless, obviously. Fireangel is useful, but is it really worth pouring three experience levels into useless traits? You're probably better off just going for Dodgemaster and Badass, using your extra levels to build Hellrunner, TaN, and Ironman.
Anyway, these are my opinions. If you disagree or have anything to add, please feel free to correct me.
Standard game:
Being able to use other weapons compensates for the weaknesses of an Army of the Dead run. The double shotgun will take care of big groups fast, as long as you have cover and there isn't anything really dangerous like a Revenant or Arch-Vile in there. The combat shotgun (or better yet, assault shotgun) will let you keep knocking enemies back and kill them without even letting them into your sight. Put a few points of SoB on there and it's even better. If you manage to beat The Wall--which is relatively easy with shotguns on HNTR or HMP--you'll have a missile launcher for quick strikes on far-away enemies, and a backpack to help you stock up on shells for later levels. If you get ambushed by poweful enemies, or see an Arch-Vile, just break out your BFG and let 'er rip.
Fireangel is still just as useful to have on the later levels. Being able to dodge Arch-Viles, Mancubi, and Revenants is EXTREMELY helpful no matter what. Being able to take barrel explosions is nice too, but since most barrels are napalm in the later stages, you still have to be careful. Being immune from your own rockets looks great on paper, but most of the time, if you have enemies close enough that the blast would hurt you, an armor-piercing double shotgun would be much better. So I think it's a toss-up on which one is easier in the endgame. But if you factor in that taking TaN and Badass will make the early game super-easy, I think Army of the Dead comes out way ahead in this respect.
Angel of Berserk / Angel of Marksmanship:
Obviously both are nearly useless, since you can't use shotguns.
Angel of Shotgunnery:
In an Army of the Dead game, you're going to have serious problems after level 15. Since your character is bad at escape you'll need to kill most enemies you encounter, and unless you're lucky enough to find a Jackhammer, you're going to have a really tough time with just shotguns. Even if you do get a Jackhammer, that will just make the ammo crunch even worse. It's quite possible that you won't see a single shotgun sergeant past level 15. Meanwhile you're using tons of shells, and you (almost definitely) won't be getting a backpack. That means even if you pick up every single shell you find, you might find yourself running out later on. Finally you have to face the Cyberdemon. At long range, your shotgun may as well be a pea shooter, and at close range you will be getting hit by a lot of rockets even if you're running.
However, a Fireangel run will wind up being almost as easy as a standard game. The early game will still be difficult, but the endgame will be a breeze. You can run past most enemies, which will conserve ammo and just increase your surviveability overall. On the rare occasion that you have a pack of enemies backed by an Arch-Vile blocking your exit, chances are good you can find a berserk pack or invulnerability sphere nearby. Even if you don't, if you're running and you have a few med-packs, you can probably make a mad dash for the stairs. And the Cyberdemon will still be a cakewalk.
(Now for the record, the regular game and AoS are the only versions I have played extensively. But here's how I think the builds would work on other challenges based on what I have played.)
Angel of Light Travel:
Due to inventory being scarce, Fireangel is a lot better since you can get by with less ammo.
Angel of Impatience, Angel of Purity, Angel of Masochism:
In all of these, health is at a premium, so you'll want TaN and Badass. This makes Army of the Dead better, although you might be better off avoiding shotguns entirely. Not saying it's necessarily the best choice for any of these challenges, but definitely better than Fireangel.
Angel of Haste:
Angel of Haste runs are such a crapshoot, it's tough to say which is better. There are fewer Hell levels, so you should have an easier time making your shotgun shells last to the end. But if you don't find a rocket launcher or BFG, you will have a hard time killing stronger demons.
Angel of Red Alert:
You'll want Hellrunner, and you won't have time to kill most enemies. Fireangel is way better.
Angel of Max Carnage:
Doesn't this challenge make Dodgemaster useless? In any case, you will need to focus on killing demons before they kill you, rather than escape. This makes Army of the Dead an obvious choice if we're only talking shotgun master traits--although Ammochain is probably even better.
Angel of 100:
To be honest, ammo gets so scarce that shotguns aren't viable no matter what. Hell, the best strategy is arguably to skip master traits entirely, since this will keep all the basic and advanced traits open.
Angel of Pacifism:
Army of the Dead is useless, obviously. Fireangel is useful, but is it really worth pouring three experience levels into useless traits? You're probably better off just going for Dodgemaster and Badass, using your extra levels to build Hellrunner, TaN, and Ironman.
Anyway, these are my opinions. If you disagree or have anything to add, please feel free to correct me.
38
0.9.9.1 / Re: [H|93%|22|YASD] Ridiculous Mortuary
« on: March 25, 2010, 19:22 »
The mortuary IS ridiculous. Everyone says so. Pretty much every spoiler out there tells you the reward is not worth it, and to stay the hell out of the Mortuary unless you're specifically going for a Reaper badge. Even then, it's probably better to wait until you get lucky enough to have an invincibility or berserk powerup spawned near the entrance. I personally have never been there, because I never want to risk it when I'm so close to the end. But when I do go, I am just going to assume I will die and consider myself really lucky if I make it through.
If you hadn't gone into the Mortuary, I have no doubt you would have won--the Cyberdemon is a piece of cake by comparison.
It's not hard to believe that you would die in one round, even as strong as you were. Just do the math--you could potentially come out in a spot with 20 or more demons surrounding you--that includes Arachnotrons, former commandos, Hell Knights, and Barons, all of which will instantly target you when you teleport into their midst. Now if I were in your position, I could easily see myself feeling cocky and doing the exact same thing you did. I would have felt like an idiot afterwards, of course, but it wouldn't be the stupidest thing I've done. Not even close.
Anyway, if you think you're playing too much of this game lately, by all means take a break. You shouldn't let a game take up too much of your time. But I hope you don't quit because you think this game is too hard. You were actually doing very good--you just walked into a spot that is intentionally made ridiculously hard.
Feel free to stop DoomRL and try out other games, though. Have you considered trying other roguelikes? You may come back later thinking this is a cakewalk by comparison. ;)
If you hadn't gone into the Mortuary, I have no doubt you would have won--the Cyberdemon is a piece of cake by comparison.
It's not hard to believe that you would die in one round, even as strong as you were. Just do the math--you could potentially come out in a spot with 20 or more demons surrounding you--that includes Arachnotrons, former commandos, Hell Knights, and Barons, all of which will instantly target you when you teleport into their midst. Now if I were in your position, I could easily see myself feeling cocky and doing the exact same thing you did. I would have felt like an idiot afterwards, of course, but it wouldn't be the stupidest thing I've done. Not even close.
Anyway, if you think you're playing too much of this game lately, by all means take a break. You shouldn't let a game take up too much of your time. But I hope you don't quit because you think this game is too hard. You were actually doing very good--you just walked into a spot that is intentionally made ridiculously hard.
Feel free to stop DoomRL and try out other games, though. Have you considered trying other roguelikes? You may come back later thinking this is a cakewalk by comparison. ;)
39
0.9.9.1 / [H|99%|7|YASD] Noooooooooooo!!!!
« on: March 25, 2010, 19:09 »--------------------------------------------------------------
DoomRL (v.0.9.9.1) roguelike post-mortem character dump
--------------------------------------------------------------
Shotgun Spit, level 6 Cacodemon Sergeant, killed by a baron of hell
on level 7 of the Phobos base.
He survived 62584 turns and scored 29541 points.
He played for 1 hour, 50 minutes and 30 seconds.
He wasn't afraid to be hurt plenty.
He killed 175 out of 176 hellspawn. (99%)
He was a real killing machine...
He saved himself 2 times.
-- Awards ----------------------------------------------------
Hell Champion Medal
-- Graveyard -------------------------------------------------
###########################################################
##############.#.####################.#####################
#######.................########...........................
..|.##..................########...........................
|....#..................########...........................
..|..#..................########...........................
|....+..................########...........................
..|..#..................########...........................
|....#..................########...........................
..|..#..................########...........................
.....#..................########...........................
..|..#..................########...........................
|....#..................#####.##...........................
..|..+...................#####.............................
|....#...................#####.............................
..|..#...................B.................................
....##........................X............................
#######....................................................
#########################.........#########################
###########################################################
-- Statistics ------------------------------------------------
Health -1/50 Experience 11576/6
ToHit Ranged +0 ToHit Melee +0 ToDmg Ranged +0 ToDmg Melee +0
-- Traits ----------------------------------------------------
Tough as nails (Level 2)
Reloader (Level 2)
Badass (Level 1)
Shottyman (Level 1)
TaN->TaN->Bad->Rel->Rel->SM->
-- Equipment -------------------------------------------------
[a] [ Armor ] blue armor [1/2] (48%)
[b] [ Weapon ] modified combat shotgun (7d3) [4/5] (T1)
[c] [ Boots ] steel boots [1/1] (100%)
[d] [ Prepared ] modified rocket launcher (6d6) [1/1] (A1)
-- Inventory -------------------------------------------------
[a] blue armor [1/2] (35%)
[b] blue armor [2/2] (52%)
[c] shotgun shell (x19)
[d] shotgun shell (x50)
[e] shotgun shell (x50)
[f] shotgun shell (x50)
[g] shotgun shell (x50)
[h] rocket (x9)
[i] power cell (x50)
[j] power cell (x10)
[k] phase device
[l] homing phase device
[m] technical mod pack
[n] agility mod pack
-- Kills -----------------------------------------------------
30 former humans
23 former sergeants
7 former captains
50 imps
23 demons
15 lost souls
6 cacodemons
13 barons of hell
8 hell knights
-- History ---------------------------------------------------
He started his journey on the surface of Phobos.
On level 3 he entered Hell's Arena.
He left the Arena as a champion!
On level 6 he stormed the Chained Court.
On level 7 he witnessed the Wall.
On level 7 he finally was killed by a baron of hell.
-- Messages --------------------------------------------------
You pump a shell into the combat shotgun chamber.
Fire -- Choose target...
You pump a shell into the combat shotgun chamber.
Fire -- Choose target...
You pump a shell into the combat shotgun chamber.
Fire -- Choose target...
You load a shell into the combat shotgun.
Fire -- Choose target...
You pump a shell into the combat shotgun chamber. The baron of hell fires!
You are hit!
Fire -- Choose target...
Your combat shotgun is already loaded.
Your combat shotgun is already loaded.
Your combat shotgun is already loaded.
Fire -- Choose target... The baron of hell fires! You are hit! Your
-- General ---------------------------------------------------
Before him 242 brave souls have ventured into Phobos:
226 of those were killed.
And 14 couldn't handle the stress and committed a stupid suicide.
Some rumours though, say that the Cyberdemon was killed already!
Is he immortal? 2 souls claim to have killed him...
2 killed the bastard and survived.
--------------------------------------------------------------Is there any need to comment? I think the mortem speaks for itself. Oh, except for the fact that the Baron of Hell was "mortally wounded" when I shot him. Probably "almost dead" as he retaliated. I'm not denying it's my fault--with more caution I probably would have made it through. Just sucks to lose when I was so close.
40
Requests For Features / Re: Saving request
« on: March 24, 2010, 23:54 »I'll go out on a limb and say that allowing arbitrary saves is detrimental to game play. By limiting saves only to between levels (aka when on the stairs), it negates the need for the player to remember what was going on in the map prior to the save, particularly when the next time the player loads the game, it might have been days since then. Giving the player a clean slate (or level in this case) is beneficial for the player -- no need to remember what was going on other than the challenge mode activated and the build one is striving for.
There would be nothing stopping you from waiting until you explored the level, going to the staircase, and saving there. In fact, I would probably do so whenever it was convenient to me. But for times when it is inconvenient, I would like to be able to close the game and come back later.
As for the game being "fast-paced," the original Rogue is arguably more "fast-paced" in the way you describe. In fact, later stages of the game are usually just a mad dash to find the staircase and get out of there before the monsters kill you. And the original Doom was literally a fast-paced action game. Both these games allowed you to save whenever you wanted to. I don't think it was detrimental to gameplay in either of them.
Because even if you think saving too much is detrimental to gameplay, the thing is you never have to save your game. You can save as much or little as you want to. It's your choice. So having the option to save more shouldn't affect your gameplay unless you consciously allow it to.
41
Requests For Features / Re: New unique items
« on: March 24, 2010, 17:24 »
Lightning Gun
Exotic
Damage: 5d3, armor piercing
Accuracy: +8
Base Fire Time: 0.6 second, alternate fire 1.5 second
Base Reload Time: 2.5 second
Clip Size: 100, consumes 5 per shot
Ammunition: energy cells
Alternate fire: Shoots a big but inaccurate bolt that consumes 20 cells, for 20d3 damage
Alternate reload: None
Ingame Description: Concentrated electric death. Be careful around water with this thing.
Reference: Quake
May not seem powerful, but notice the very quick base fire time.
When you use this on an enemy standing in water, all other enemies in the water will be damaged. If you use it on an enemy standing in water while you are standing in the water, you will instantly consume all the cells in your clip, doing (d3)x(number of cells) damage to yourself and all enemies in the water.
Vorpal Weapon Mod Pack
Unique Mod Pack, Works on weapons only
Reference: Rogue (but Rogue is referencing Through the Looking Glass)
Ingame Description: This glowing... thing seems to be pulling itself towards one of your weapons.
When you use this mod pack on one of your weapons, it immediately becomes "vorpalized" versus one random nonboss monster type. Could be Arch-Viles, could be Former Humans. A vorpalized weapon will flash whenever the one of the monsters it is vorpalized against steps into view. It will always hit its monster type, and will do an extra 10 points of damage. Plus, there is a 10% chance of instantly killing that monster every time you hit it.
Exotic
Damage: 5d3, armor piercing
Accuracy: +8
Base Fire Time: 0.6 second, alternate fire 1.5 second
Base Reload Time: 2.5 second
Clip Size: 100, consumes 5 per shot
Ammunition: energy cells
Alternate fire: Shoots a big but inaccurate bolt that consumes 20 cells, for 20d3 damage
Alternate reload: None
Ingame Description: Concentrated electric death. Be careful around water with this thing.
Reference: Quake
May not seem powerful, but notice the very quick base fire time.
When you use this on an enemy standing in water, all other enemies in the water will be damaged. If you use it on an enemy standing in water while you are standing in the water, you will instantly consume all the cells in your clip, doing (d3)x(number of cells) damage to yourself and all enemies in the water.
Vorpal Weapon Mod Pack
Unique Mod Pack, Works on weapons only
Reference: Rogue (but Rogue is referencing Through the Looking Glass)
Ingame Description: This glowing... thing seems to be pulling itself towards one of your weapons.
When you use this mod pack on one of your weapons, it immediately becomes "vorpalized" versus one random nonboss monster type. Could be Arch-Viles, could be Former Humans. A vorpalized weapon will flash whenever the one of the monsters it is vorpalized against steps into view. It will always hit its monster type, and will do an extra 10 points of damage. Plus, there is a 10% chance of instantly killing that monster every time you hit it.
42
Requests For Features / Re: Saving request
« on: March 24, 2010, 17:00 »This is a fast paced game, you shouldn't save every single step. Allowing only to save on stairs makes the game faster and limits save scumming.
This is not a fast-paced game unless you intentionally play it fast. You can spend 20 minutes thinking about every single move if you want. In fact, when you're surrounded by enemies you most definitely DO want to stop and think about things. Reacting to everything lightning-quick without thinking about it will get you killed.
Saving every step would be stupid anyway, since saving the game makes you exit every time. And as long as you're playing the game legitimately, it won't make the game any easier. If you are savescumming, then you aren't getting the true game experience anyway, so I don't see what difference it makes whether you savescum ever step or every level. Either way it doesn't affect my game in any way. Why does it bother you if other people savescum?
I personally would love to be able to save any time. In fact, I would like this even more than improved enemy AI. However I understand that I am the minority here. So I have no problem with other gameplay aspects taking precedent over this one, but I definitely want to see this implemented.
43
Discussion / Re: New Fireangel reqs, better or worse?
« on: March 23, 2010, 00:50 »The problem in my opinion with it is that the trait are both more in the 'mid tier' of usefulness unlike the other master traits that use atleast one 'higher tier' trait.
Hellrunner and Reloader are both useful but honestly, I wouldn't really start with them, I'd just stack them up once I get my main builds up.
But doesn't that make it more balanced? You have a really awesome endgame trait, but the tradeoff is that your traits aren't as good in the beginning.
44
Discussion / Re: New Fireangel reqs, better or worse?
« on: March 22, 2010, 16:35 »
I haven't been able to get far enough with the Fireangle build to test it, but my guess would be that MFa would be really strong in the endgame but weaker in the beginning and midgame, whereas the AoD build is kickass in the beginning and midgame, but a little weaker in the endgame.
Like you said, in the beginning it's hard to avoid getting killed even with hellrunner--you really have to play the coward's game. In the end though, the hardest enemies like Mancubi, Revenants, and Archviles suddenly become a lot less scary. This makes things SO much easier. If you're lucky enough to have the assault shotgun, you can push them out of your view then dodge when they come close enough to see you. Or just dodge everything except easy kills and make a run for the exit--you probably won't be hurting for experience too much at that point. Cyberdemon is a breeze since you have dodgemaster.
With AoD, you get an extremely powerful character through the early levels with TaN and Badass. Midgame your armor-piercing shotgun should do crazy damage against Barons and the like. But you will find it doesn't kill the endgame demons fast enough to prevent yourself from taking lots of damage. Arachnotrons and Commandos will chip away at your health. And unless you're lucky enough to find a really good exotic or unique shotgun, it will be very difficult to kill most Mancubi or Archviles before they kill you. And if you don't have some phase devices and large medkits left over by the time you get to the Cyberdemon you will be in for an extremely difficult fight.
So yeah, MFa is tough in the beginning but pays off later. AoD is awesome in the beginning but weaker than other builds at the end.
Like you said, in the beginning it's hard to avoid getting killed even with hellrunner--you really have to play the coward's game. In the end though, the hardest enemies like Mancubi, Revenants, and Archviles suddenly become a lot less scary. This makes things SO much easier. If you're lucky enough to have the assault shotgun, you can push them out of your view then dodge when they come close enough to see you. Or just dodge everything except easy kills and make a run for the exit--you probably won't be hurting for experience too much at that point. Cyberdemon is a breeze since you have dodgemaster.
With AoD, you get an extremely powerful character through the early levels with TaN and Badass. Midgame your armor-piercing shotgun should do crazy damage against Barons and the like. But you will find it doesn't kill the endgame demons fast enough to prevent yourself from taking lots of damage. Arachnotrons and Commandos will chip away at your health. And unless you're lucky enough to find a really good exotic or unique shotgun, it will be very difficult to kill most Mancubi or Archviles before they kill you. And if you don't have some phase devices and large medkits left over by the time you get to the Cyberdemon you will be in for an extremely difficult fight.
So yeah, MFa is tough in the beginning but pays off later. AoD is awesome in the beginning but weaker than other builds at the end.
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Requests For Features / Re: How to make agility mods useful for shotguns
« on: March 04, 2010, 01:19 »
About elimination of advanced weapons: this sounds much better, especially if it means we would be finding more exotic weapons in their place. In theory, having 12 mods on your weapon sounds pretty cool--but the odds of having the stars align enough for you to find the advanced weapon you need, plus all the mods for it, in a game where your build includes 2 levels of whizkid, is practically zero. Unless you're playing Ao100, I guess. But even then, exotics might be better.
On MAD shotgun versus Ammochain: both have their strengths and weaknesses. Shotgun builds are awesome against massive hordes and pretty good against strong individual demons, while ammochain is pretty good against massive hordes and awesome against strong individual demons. Which is better would depend on the situation--how big the group is, and how strong the demons are. Either one would work pretty well though.
And finally, back to the original topic: I think diminishing damage reduction sounds best. I don't like the idea of narrowing the cone--that would make the shotgun slightly less useful in one way. And I think mods should always improve the weapon or armor you use them on.
On MAD shotgun versus Ammochain: both have their strengths and weaknesses. Shotgun builds are awesome against massive hordes and pretty good against strong individual demons, while ammochain is pretty good against massive hordes and awesome against strong individual demons. Which is better would depend on the situation--how big the group is, and how strong the demons are. Either one would work pretty well though.
And finally, back to the original topic: I think diminishing damage reduction sounds best. I don't like the idea of narrowing the cone--that would make the shotgun slightly less useful in one way. And I think mods should always improve the weapon or armor you use them on.