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[flamewolf393]

I just dont get it. Is the game supposed to be truly *THAT* hard? Ive played hundreds of games, use all the expert tactics, can quote basically every item, trait, and boss tactic... and yet I've only won a small handful of times even on ITYTD...

[LuckyDee]

Hey there! Yeah, this game is hard, but indeed not *THAT* hard - and with a little instruction, HNTR should be very beatable in no time. Have you had a look at this beginner's guide? Additionally, have a look at Game Hunter's YouTube channel - the videos are from previous (ASCII) versions, but still very relevant.

If these have been tried and failed you, please be a little more specific - maybe post a couple of mortems detailing your typical deaths in order to get some response. Any specific enemies or dlevs giving you trouble? How do you choose to build your characters?

And to give you my personal get-you-going favorite: start as a Scout, and take both levels of Intuition immediately. It allows you to spot (most) enemies before they can spot you, enabling you to 'tag' them, then take a safe position and cornershoot them to shreds.

Hope this helps.

[thelaptop]

Short answer: yes.

Less short answer: I suspect you are too aggressive in your game play.  Two survival hints from me:

• Use your diagonal movements to walk.  This means zig-zagging towards the direction you are heading.  For example, if moving to right of screen, first go diagonal down-right, then diagonal up-left and repeat.  This increases your chances of dodging projectiles and should increase your survivability.
• Patience is a virtue.  The "wait" command can help you maintain cover and wait in [relative] safety as enemies move towards you.

Open areas are generally not your good friend -- DoomGuy is squishy for the most part, and getting hit by more than one projectile in a single move is usually a terrible idea.  Cover is key, and you should probably learn to use more of it.

Of course, that alone isn't enough.  But hopefully these tips will help you.

[flamewolf393]

Yep, looked at those. Ive emulated the exact tactics of all the best players out there, but it just doesnt seem to work as well for me. Now I will say that I have basically documentable proof that RNG's hate me. If something depends on a programs RNG, I will generally only be at about 25% of the average success rate. I am the living incarnation of murphys law when it comes to RNG's and game bugs XD.

There is no one enemy that gives me trouble, its ususally just attrittion, or sudden random excessive damage. I will say its rare for me to die to the big baddies, its most often that one surprise shotgunner from around the corner or something equally stupid, or that barrel around the other corner I didnt even know was there.

One thing that really gets me though, is I find once in a while an enemy will just randomly do a butt-ton more damage than they should, like an imp that might normally do 5-15% suddenly hits for 40%. I think Im too stingy with my healthpacks... I find myself running around with <50% health far too often -.-

As for my builds, the ONLY build I have ever actually won with is shotgun/dodgemaster build, but even thats unreliable because of late game ammo issues. I've tried out pretty much every build out there, but none of them seem to work for me but that one. I can do really well with dualgunner builds... until the bruiser brothers. My last one I had 2 SoB, 2 SoG, and dualgunner, and took out one of them before the other got in melee and just wrecked me. Rapid fire builds are good, but I can rarely make it to the midgame with them to get to the point where they actually work. Melee builds are fun, but completely unworkable, i usually die by the 3rd level.

[flamewolf393]

Well, I think the game felt sorry for me. I finally had an easy run XD.

Had invincibility globes going into each of the boss fights, found energy vest on 2nd level, maleks armor and gothic boots on 1st level of deimos, and a jackhammer on the first level of hell with plenty of ammo everywhere.

Best run Ive ever had.

[LuckyDee]

What does your average inventory screen look like during any given game?

[MaiZure]

What does your average inventory screen look like during any given game?

*puts $50 on 8 unused medkits

[flamewolf393]

What does your average inventory screen look like during any given game?

1 spare armor, 4-6 medkits (dep. on difficulty), 1 alternate weapon (usually rocket launcher) with 2 ammo stacks, up to 2 mod packs waiting for a weapon (like if I am doing shotguns, I will have a P&T until I find that combat shotgun), 1-2 slots for special items (arena master staff, phase kit, etc), the rest primary ammo.

[papilio]

well, i admit that doomrl requires 70% luck and 30% combat skill,
however, under UV difficulty, you can clear standard game with 90+% possiblity with enough combat skill.
see my youtube doomrl videos! I hope they could help you.

[thelaptop]

Yep, you're too impatient.  =)

One good thing to practise is to survive a floor using only 1 medpack on HNTR, particularly on the early levels.  Shotguns are awesome useful, but you will need more stacks of ammo for it -- don't stinge on the scavenging.  Also, if you are in cover and hear someone around the corner, don't be impatient and charge in -- spam some shells/bullets around the corner to confirm that there's no one within immediate range before sticking DoomGuy's head out there.

And yes, the RNG tends to want to kill DoomGuy.  Or rather, Overkill DoomGuy.

* thelaptop watches the Mancubi Caves of Fun and shudders

[Equality]

may be you think that all of runs must be win? No, statistic of perfect players have "1100 try, 18 win" or like. For me now, on ITYTD 1/2 wins, on HNTR about 1/5, on HMP - 1/10, on UV less than 1/20, N! not complete at all :) when I begin, ITYTD chance to win was 1/25. So - you can try. again and again. and one of 25-30 games give you a win.
 Do not enter all special levels (red stairs). Some of them deadly for unexpierenced.
 Do not try to kill everything on level - pinky demons or pack of lost souls from "secret" rooms can kill you easily on first levels.
 Do not pull levers. Sometimes it definitely safe, but... more safe just ignore them!
 Use medikits. Do not take more than 5 medikits if you are not melee man. As my practice shown, 4 large medikits quite enough.
 Be careful around doors.
 Don't stay close to barrels.
 Do not try pick up anything in dangerous places. Of course, that p-mod and large medikit so nice! But not when 3 revenants in sight.
 Do not pickup a lot of weapons - you are need 2, quick swapping, if you have no "Juggler" skill. May be 3. My favorite choice for easy difficulty: shotgun (+200+ shells) + missile launcher (+20 rockets). Drop that damn "null pointer" or "blaster" - you are never use them! And combat pistol too!
 Mod your weapon. mod your armor. Look for better boots. Assemble some stuff (AA+steel boots, BB+chain gun, PN+red armor, AP+chainsaw - our best friends).
 Equip right armor (Sometimes better have no armor at all than -25% speed penalty.). Do it in safe place. Quite dangerous take off and reequip armor when on fire :)
 
sorry for my English)

[ZicherCZ]

OK, I'll add my two cents.

First, switch from ITYTD to HNTR. Playing too long on the easiest difficulty is only good to give you bad habits, like relying on the double healing, ammo and powerup duration. Getting rid of these bad habits can prove a harder challenge then the game itself.

Play patiently. When presented with a tricky or dangerous situation, take your time to consider your equipment and the level layout, and how it can serve you best.

Remember that there are times when discretion is the better part of valor. There's no need for a 100% kill rate to win the game, besides bragging rights.

Use cornershooting. Use it whenever the level layout allows for this.

Try to find sweet spots which allows enemies to enter your line of fire without a chance to retaliate.

Do not charge into unexplored areas. When moving to those areas, try to move in such a way that reveals as little as possible in each step - that should give less monsters an opportunity to take a shot at you the moment you enter their line of sight.

Learn which armors are better to use against different enemies. Green gives bullet and shrapnel resistance, and is good against former. Blue gives plasma resistance, and it is the best choice against hell knight (not barons!) and arachnotrons. Red grants fire resistance and is the best choice against revenants, mancubi and archviles (and in this case, the fireproof armor assembly boosts its efficiency even further.

Use those medkits and phases when you need them. They are no good in the mortem file.

Find a build that suits you. If you feel frail, try a Army of the Dead Marine build (Marines have inherent extra 20% max health and 50% powerup duration, and Army of the Dead is awesome against tougher and more armored enemies). Leave the trickier builds like Sharpshooter for the time you know the game better (and let me tell you - Sharpshooter is a pain to start, but incredibly powerful once it gets rolling).

Learn about special levels before you enter them.

Don't hesitate to consult the DoomRL Wiki - you can learn lots about enemies, special levels and equipment there.

Good luck :).

Drop that damn "null pointer" or "blaster" - you are never use them! And combat pistol too!

* ZicherCZ the Sharpshooter prepares the P3B2 combat pistol and calmly aims at Equality ...

[flamewolf393]

I hate to say it, cause I appreciate all the advice, but you guys arent saying anything I dont already know and use... and still fail horribly with XD.

[Tavana]

If you're having that much trouble after all the advice, just type in IDDQD.

[Tormuse]

Good advice from everyone here.  I'm gonna say what I've said before that in my earliest games, it was a huge help to take lots of levels of Ironman and Tough as Nails.  Being able to tank everything helps you learn the enemies' patterns so that in later games, you can avoid taking damage altogether.

Also, if you're anything like me, maybe you're spending too much time playing higher difficulty levels?  ;)  What difficulty level do you usually play?

* thelaptop watches the Mancubi Caves of Fun and shudders

*Raises eyebrow*  Is that something added to the new version?