The Journey to 100%

[ZicherCZ]

Psst...  The Apostle is yellow!  :D

Incorrect.  I just tested it by setting the rundelay to 100.  It slowed down run-waiting and run-moving.

Hmm. Might be different for tiles vs. ASCII version (I tested on tiles).

Unless I don't have Berserker trait!  :)  (Malicious Blades FTW!)  :D

Exactly :)

[Tormuse]

Hmm. Might be different for tiles vs. ASCII version (I tested on tiles).

Oh, hmm...  I just retested with the graphics version and it seems that RunDelay has no effect whatsoever!  All the time passes instantly if you can't see the enemies, but if you can see them, (via tracking map) it animates every move at the same speed whether you set the delay to zero or 1 or 100 and it similarly doesn't affect run-moving.

[Icy]

Interesting bit on RunDelay. I did some testing myself and couldn't find any difference either, but that's likely because I play on tiles. I never used the Run command since I can just move the way I want to myself and figured it was just a convenient movement option for ASCII players. Also good to better understand actions/turns/seconds, etc. One minor thing I did in the floor above Phobos Anomaly was switch to a Blue Armor when I grabbed the Invulnerability, which may have been enough to make the difference. More importantly though, I learned a valuable lesson in a scenario where nothing major was at stake.

Also really cool to see the Apostle's colour! I assume he looks like a regular Archvile with tiles then? Congrats on your run there, Tormuse!

Day 42:

I actually didn't play as much since I got way too interested in digging through the source code. :D I'm not a professional by any means, but I've done some programming before and could figure out most of what's going on while I was reading through.

Some things I figured out:

The massacre/damaging levers do 20 fire damage. This is enough to gib Zombiemen, Shotgun Guys, Chaingunners, and also kill Imps, while everything else just gets damaged. Armor should be applied to this damage too.

On the wiki, Lost Souls' speed value is listed as "varies". When moving normally around, they have 100% speed, and when attacking, they technically don't change speed value and instead move in a pre-set charging manner. I didn't dig into the fine details of exactly how it works, though deeply analyzing the enemies' AI might be a good investment in the future when going for the ridiculous angelic badges.

Bonus levels that have randomly spawned weapons (Hell's Armory, Deimos Lab, Vaults) always spawn ranged weapons, so no melee ones.

When generating items in a level, the full list of uncollected uniques is added into total weight, which I believe would imply that as you continue to gain uniques, the chances of getting a certain other one improves. In other words for example, finding a Dragonslayer is easier if you've already collected several other uniques.

With the above two in mind, it's very useful to collect all uniques, even if you don't intend to use them so that you can remove their weight values from the item generation list. On top, if you're seeking a Dragonslayer, or other unique melee weapon, it's recommended to enter all these bonus levels to try and force out some of the ranged uniques. Lava Pits and Mt Erebus are good too to try and spawn unique armors and boots.

Deimos Lab's special mod packs are a pairing of Firestorm, Nano, and Sniper. If I'm understanding it correctly, you can't get Onyx from this level.

Hell's Armory spawns a random pair of regular mod packs, and then one of Firestorm, Nano, and Sniper. If you clear the level damageless, one of the regular mod packs is then replaced by a Nano Pack, unless the spawned special mod pack is another Nano Pack, in which case the bonus one is an Onyx Pack. In simpler terms, you're guaranteed a Nano Pack, and have a uniform distribution of the others (all 1 in 3).

Angel Arm doesn't work when your health is 10 or less (as mentioned before in this thread), but the game also won't prompt you when you try:

Code Select Expand

if being:is_player() and being.hpmax > 10 then
This also explains why I couldn't get it to do anything on my Angel of Humanity run awhile back.

Interestingly, Azrael's Scythe has its coding done a little differently:

Code Select Expand

OnAltFire = function(self,being)
if being.tired then
ui.msg("You are too tired to invoke the Scythe!");
else

Code Select Expand

being.hpmax = math.max(being.hpmax - 5,5)
The game will only check if you're tired or not, but will not decrease your max HP below 5. In other words, you can use Whisper of Death indefinitely. With enough Med Packs, you can pseudo-nuke a floor (I used this strategy for clearing the vaults by luck awhile back).

---

I'm pretty sure I've analyzed everything above correctly, but if anyone notices mistakes, let me know!

Following that, I did still play a bit and went for Reaper Platinum Badge. The plan was to grab the Nuclear BFG which took care of both my ammo and my corpse problems. I had one good run with triple Invulnerability before the stairs, but rolled Mortuary and lost control. Limbo is better as the enemies are more stranded.

On my next good run, I had a great start:

Spoiler

And before the stairs, I had my first ever quadruple Invulnerability! Really insane! One of them was blown up, but I grabbed the other three, and fortunately also rolled Limbo! You can barely make out all four of them in my screenshot:

Spoiler

I made it to the Nuclear BFG without it being destroyed, and started firing away:

Spoiler

This badge is honestly really easy once you're properly setup. The only thing extra you'll need is some Med Packs when crossing the lava, but since there's one by the Nuclear BFG, it's not a big deal. The other nice thing is the distance from the switches to the far corners is short enough for the BFG shots to reach, so you never have to put yourself in danger. After patient killing, I cleared out Limbo on Nightmare!

Spoiler

Spoiler

--------------------------------------------------------------
 DoomRL (0.9.9.7) roguelike post-mortem character dump
--------------------------------------------------------------

 kihuy, level 8 Apostle General Scout,
 defeated the Mastermind at the City of Dis.
 He survived 24877 turns and scored 190885 points.
 He played for 15 minutes and 54 seconds.
 He opposed the Nightmare!

 He killed 165 out of 403 hellspawn. (40%)
 He was an Angel of Max Carnage!
 He was also an Angel of Overconfidence!

-- Special levels --------------------------------------------

  Levels generated : 4
  Levels visited   : 3
  Levels completed : 1

-- Awards ----------------------------------------------------

  UAC Star (silver cluster)
  Grim Reaper's Badge
  Reaper Platinum Badge

-- Graveyard -------------------------------------------------

  ###########################################################
  ####................................#####################>#
  ###...............####...............######################
  ##.......####.....####.....####.......#####################
  #........####.....####.....####........####################
  .........####.....####.....####.........###################
  .........####..............####..........##################
  ..........................................#################
  ..####............................####....#################
  .&####............................####....#################
  ..####............................####..%.#################
  ..####............................####....#################
  .....................................X....#################
  .........####..............####..........##################
  .........####.....####.....####.........###################
  #........####.....####.....####........####################
  ##.......####.....####.....####.......#####################
  ###...............####...............######################
  ####................................#####################>#
  ###########################################################

-- Statistics ------------------------------------------------

  Health 39/50   Experience 28314/8
  ToHit Ranged +12  ToHit Melee +12  ToDmg Ranged +0  ToDmg Melee +0

-- Traits ----------------------------------------------------

  Class : Scout

    Finesse          (Level 1)
    Hellrunner       (Level 2)
    Tough as nails   (Level 2)
    Dodgemaster      (Level 1)
    Intuition        (Level 2)

  Int->Int->HR->HR->DM->TaN->TaN->Fin->

-- Equipment -------------------------------------------------

    [a] [ Armor      ]   Angelic Armor [7/7] (60%)
    [b] [ Weapon     ]   minigun (1d7)x8 [80/200] (P1)
    [c] [ Boots      ]   steel boots [1/1] (41%) (A)
    [d] [ Prepared   ]   assault shotgun (7d3) [6/6]

-- Inventory -------------------------------------------------

    [a] rocket launcher (6d6) [1/1]
    [b] combat pistol (3d3) [15/15]
    [c] nuclear BFG 9000 (9d6) [40/40] (P1)
    [d] red armor [4/4] (76%)
    [e] combat knife (2d5)
    [f] 10mm ammo (x42)
    [g] shotgun shell (x50)
    [h] shotgun shell (x31)
    [i] rocket (x3)

-- Resistances -----------------------------------------------

    Bullet     - internal 0%    torso 50%   feet 0%   
    Melee      - internal 0%    torso 50%   feet 0%   
    Shrapnel   - internal 0%    torso 50%   feet 0%   

-- Kills -----------------------------------------------------

    8 former humans
    9 former sergeants
    15 former captains
    11 imps
    11 demons
    4 cacodemons
    7 hell knights
    10 barons of hell
    7 arachnotrons
    1 former commando
    10 revenants
    20 mancubi
    24 arch-viles
    9 nightmare imps
    1 nightmare cacodemon
    7 nightmare demons
    10 nightmare arachnotrons
    1 Spider Mastermind

-- History ---------------------------------------------------

  He left level 2 as soon as possible.
  On level 3 he entered the Vaults.
  He came, he saw, but he left.
  On level 4 he was foolish enough to enter Limbo!
  On level 4 he found the Angelic Armor!
  He managed to clear Limbo from evil!
  On level 6 he entered the Lava Pits.
  He decided it was too hot there.
  Then at last he found Dis!
  On level 8 he finally defeated the Mastermind.

-- Messages --------------------------------------------------

 Spider Mastermind. The Spider Mastermind flinched!
 The missile hits the Spider Mastermind. The missile hits the Spider
 Mastermind. The missile hits the Spider Mastermind. The missile hits the
 Spider Mastermind. The Spider Mastermind flinched! The missile hits the
 Spider Mastermind. The Spider Mastermind flinched! The missile hits the
 Spider Mastermind. The Spider Mastermind flinched! The missile hits the
 Spider Mastermind. The Spider Mastermind flinched! The missile hits the
 Spider Mastermind. The Spider Mastermind flinched!
 The missile hits the Spider Mastermind. The missile hits the Spider
 Mastermind. The missile hits the Spider Mastermind. The missile hits the
 Spider Mastermind. The Spider Mastermind flinched! The missile hits the
 Spider Mastermind. The Spider Mastermind flinched! The missile hits the
 Spider Mastermind. The Spider Mastermind flinched! The missile hits the
 Spider Mastermind. The Spider Mastermind flinched! The missile hits the
 Spider Mastermind. The Spider Mastermind dies. Congratulations! You defeated
 the Spider Mastermind! Press <Enter>...

-- General ---------------------------------------------------

 1108 brave souls have ventured into Phobos:
 829 of those were killed.
 2 of those were killed by something unknown.
 41 didn't read the thermonuclear bomb manual.
 And 126 couldn't handle the stress and committed a stupid suicide.

 110 souls destroyed the Mastermind...
 11 sacrificed itself for the good of mankind.
 95 killed the bitch and survived.
 4 showed that it can outsmart Hell itself.

--------------------------------------------------------------


Nice to get another badge without too much time spent playing.

More to come as always!

[BBHood217]

Bonus levels that have randomly spawned weapons (Hell's Armory, Deimos Lab, Vaults) always spawn ranged weapons, so no melee ones.

Uniques if they spawn are an exception, as I've gotten unique melee weapons like the Mjollnir from those levels before.

When generating items in a level, the full list of uncollected uniques is added into total weight, which I believe would imply that as you continue to gain uniques, the chances of getting a certain other one improves. In other words for example, finding a Dragonslayer is easier if you've already collected several other uniques.

With the above two in mind, it's very useful to collect all uniques, even if you don't intend to use them so that you can remove their weight values from the item generation list. On top, if you're seeking a Dragonslayer, or other unique melee weapon, it's recommended to enter all these bonus levels to try and force out some of the ranged uniques. Lava Pits and Mt Erebus are good too to try and spawn unique armors and boots.

I had a feeling it worked that way, though I pick them up anyway for logging purposes even if I don't intend to use them.

Deimos Lab's special mod packs are a pairing of Firestorm, Nano, and Sniper. If I'm understanding it correctly, you can't get Onyx from this level.

Strange, I've gotten onyxes from Deimos Lab before.

[Tormuse]

Psst...  Icy...  I caught up with your Gold badge count.  Your move.  :D

[Icy]

Sure thing Tormuse, I'll just nab a few angelic badges, don't mind me. ;)

I'm not sure what would cause a melee weapon to spawn in those bonus levels:

Code Select Expand

register_item "ubutcher"
{
name     = "Butcher's Cleaver",
color    = LIGHTGREEN,
sprite   = SPRITE_CLEAVER,
psprite  = SPRITE_PLAYER_CLEAVER,
level    = 1,
weight   = 2,
desc     = "Now that is a BIG cleaver. Butcher them!",
firstmsg = "Aaaah, fresh meat!",
flags    = { IF_UNIQUE, IF_HALFKNOCK, IF_CLEAVE, IF_BLADE },

type        = ITEMTYPE_MELEE,
damage      = "5d6",
damagetype  = DAMAGE_MELEE,
group       = "weapon-melee",
}

Code Select Expand

local vault_weapon = { level = 20, type = ITEMTYPE_RANGED, unique_mod = 5 }

['a'] = { "floor", item = level:roll_item( vault_weapon ) },
['b'] = { "floor", item = level:roll_item( vault_weapon ) },
['c'] = { "floor", item = level:roll_item( vault_weapon ) },
['d'] = { "floor", item = level:roll_item( vault_weapon ) },
['e'] = { "floor", item = level:roll_item( vault_weapon ) },
['f'] = { "floor", item = level:roll_item( vault_weapon ) },
['g'] = { "floor", item = level:roll_item( vault_weapon ) },
['h'] = { "floor", item = level:roll_item( vault_weapon ) },
['i'] = { "floor", item = level:roll_item( vault_weapon ) },
['j'] = { "floor", item = level:roll_item( vault_weapon ) },
Most of every other weapon is itemtype_ranged except the melee weapons of course. Did you perhaps get one on an older version?

Also, I made an embarrassing mistake regarding the rewards on Hell's Armory and Deimos Lab. Onyx Packs can appear just like the others, just that they were listed last and past where I could see on my screen. :P I didn't notice the horizontal scrollbar and overlooked that bit.

The corrected information is Deimos Lab gives a random pair of regular packs and a random pair of special packs, all with equally probability. Hell's Armory gives a pair of regular packs and one random special pack. If you complete Hell's Armory without damage, one of the regular packs is replaced by a Nano Pack, unless the original special pack is already a Nano Pack, in which case, the extra is an Onyx. In simpler terms, you have a 50% chance of Nano+Onyx, 25% chance of Nano+Firestorm, and 25% chance of Nano+Sniper. That should be correct. :P

Schematics of course change the results, but they're not really important information once you've got all the assemblies anyway.

Another interesting piece of code I noticed was in Phobos Lab:

Code Select Expand

OnTick = function ()
if level.status == 1 then
if player.x < 12 then
ui.msg("The walls lower!")
generator.transmute( "wall", "floor", level.data.trap11 )
generator.transmute( "wall", "floor", level.data.trap12 )
------------------------------->player:remove_affect("enviro")
player:play_sound("door.open")
level.status = 2
end
elseif level.status == 2 then
if player.x > 30 then
ui.msg("The walls lower!")
generator.transmute( "wall", "floor", level.data.trap21 )
generator.transmute( "wall", "floor", level.data.trap22 )
------------------------------->player:remove_affect("enviro")
player:play_sound("door.open")
level.status = 3
end
end
end,
I always wondered why that would happen.

Day 43:

I put my attention on Lightfoot Platinum Badge, and started grinding for it on the correct difficulty this time. :P It's pretty straight-forward; play with Max Carnage+Light Travel, get Dodgemaster before reaching the Cyberdemon, hold onto enough Shells, and stairdive away. I had a lot of great runs die though, some to silly mistakes, others to bad luck. In particular, I was getting killed by the same thing repeatedly:

Spoiler

Spoiler

Funny enough, on my completed run, I found Acid-Proof Boots very early, though they didn't see any use.

Spoiler

--------------------------------------------------------------
 DoomRL (0.9.9.7) roguelike post-mortem character dump
--------------------------------------------------------------

 gfdsfh, level 7 Apostle General Scout,
 sacrificed himself to kill the Mastermind at the City of Dis.
 He survived 11082 turns and scored 116142 points.
 He played for 14 minutes and 52 seconds.
 He was a man of Ultra-Violence!

 He killed 194 out of 693 hellspawn. (27%)
 Who gave him the ticket to Hell, anyway?
 He was an Angel of Max Carnage!
 He was also an Angel of Light Travel!

-- Special levels --------------------------------------------

  Levels generated : 11
  Levels visited   : 3
  Levels completed : 0

-- Awards ----------------------------------------------------

  UAC Star (bronze cluster)
  Major Icarus Cross
  Compet-n Gold Cross
  Untouchable Badge
  Lightfoot Platinum Badge

-- Graveyard -------------------------------------------------

  ###########################################################
  #>.........................................................
  #..........................................................
  #..........................................................
  #..........................................................
  #..........................................................
  #..........................................................
  #..........................................................
  #..........................................................
  #...................&......................................
  #.................X......................................&.
  #..........................................................
  #..........................................................
  #..........................................................
  #..........................................................
  #..........................................................
  #..........................................................
  #..........................................................
  #>.........................................................
  ###########################################################

-- Statistics ------------------------------------------------

  Health 0/50   Experience 19646/7
  ToHit Ranged +12  ToHit Melee +12  ToDmg Ranged +0  ToDmg Melee +0

-- Traits ----------------------------------------------------

  Class : Scout

    Finesse          (Level 2)
    Hellrunner       (Level 2)
    Dodgemaster      (Level 1)
    Intuition        (Level 2)

  Int->Int->HR->HR->DM->Fin->Fin->

-- Equipment -------------------------------------------------

    [a] [ Armor      ]   blue armor [2/2] (60%)
    [b] [ Weapon     ]   tactical shotgun (8d3) [5/5]
    [c] [ Boots      ]   acid-proof boots [0/0] (88%)
    [d] [ Prepared   ]   plasma rifle (1d7)x6 [40/40]

-- Inventory -------------------------------------------------

    [a] shotgun shell (x50)
    [b] shotgun shell (x50)
    [c] large med-pack

-- Resistances -----------------------------------------------

    Acid       - internal 0%    torso 0%    feet 100%
    Plasma     - internal 0%    torso 20%   feet 0%   

-- Kills -----------------------------------------------------

    17 former humans
    24 former sergeants
    4 former captains
    50 imps
    30 demons
    26 lost souls
    8 cacodemons
    4 hell knights
    3 barons of hell
    3 former commandos
    2 pain elementals
    13 revenants
    6 arch-viles
    2 bruiser brothers
    1 Cyberdemon
    1 Spider Mastermind

-- History ---------------------------------------------------

  He started his journey on the surface of Phobos.
  On level 2 he entered Hell's Arena.
  He cowardly fled the Arena.
  He left level 3 as soon as possible.
  On level 8 he encountered the Phobos Anomaly.
  On level 11 he arrived at the Containment Area.
  Not knowing what to do, he left.
  He left level 12 as soon as possible.
  He left level 15 as soon as possible.
  On level 16 he found the Tower of Babel!
  He left level 17 as soon as possible.
  On level 19 he assembled a tactical shotgun!
  On level 19 he entered the Vaults.
  He came, he saw, but he left.
  He left level 23 as soon as possible.
  Then at last he found Dis!
  He nuked level 24!
  On level 24 he finally sacrificed himself to kill the Mastermind.

-- Messages --------------------------------------------------

 You enter the damned city of Dis...
 Are you sure you want activate the thermonuclear bomb? [Y/n]
 You use a thermonuclear bomb. Warning! Explosion in 10 seconds!
 Warning! Explosion in 9 seconds!
 Warning! Explosion in 8 seconds!
 Warning! Explosion in 7 seconds!
 Warning! Explosion in 6 seconds!
 Warning! Explosion in 5 seconds!
 Warning! Explosion in 4 seconds!
 Warning! Explosion in 3 seconds!
 Warning! Explosion in 2 seconds!
 Warning! Explosion in 1 seconds!
 Congratulations! You defeated the Spider Mastermind! Press <Enter>...
 You feel relatively safe now.

-- General ---------------------------------------------------

 1120 brave souls have ventured into Phobos:
 839 of those were killed.
 2 of those were killed by something unknown.
 41 didn't read the thermonuclear bomb manual.
 And 127 couldn't handle the stress and committed a stupid suicide.

 111 souls destroyed the Mastermind...
 12 sacrificed itself for the good of mankind.
 95 killed the bitch and survived.
 4 showed that it can outsmart Hell itself.

--------------------------------------------------------------


Next up will be more rotating on a few challenges. I also noticed that some of my remaining medals are carbon copies of platinum badges. I would like to finish off my medals page at some point, and I've been thinking of tackling Gutts' Heart, and I've got three strategies in mind:

1) Hell Arena Pwnage: This is the only way to guarantee a Dragonslayer, but requires beating Hell's Arena with 0 damage, surviving the rest of Phobos and Deimos, and then killing the Angel of Death, all on Nightmare. I'm not exactly keen on trying this strategy out.

2) Angel of Berserk+Overconfidence: I get a Chainsaw, have many extra sources of Berserk, and start on the first floor that the Dragonslayer can actually spawn on. The drawbacks is it's a little tougher to get a run started and I can't use other weapons as backup. This might be the ideal strategy to use.

3) I'm Too Young To Die Grinding: By playing on the easiest difficulty, I can waltz through the floors, collect a pile of gear, and basically be immortal with how deep into game I'm at now. The obvious downside is there's a lot of gameplay before even having a chance to spawn the Dragonslayer, though those extra floors can be used to clear out some of the uniques.

I won't be grinding for Gutts' Heart right away, but it's a pretty low-key challenge that I can do when I'm having a poor session, or to wind down after more difficult gameplay. I'd like to get it out of the way soon.

[Tormuse]

1) Hell Arena Pwnage: This is the only way to guarantee a Dragonslayer, but requires beating Hell's Arena with 0 damage, surviving the rest of Phobos and Deimos, and then killing the Angel of Death, all on Nightmare. I'm not exactly keen on trying this strategy out.

I seem to recall that you're pretty fond of AoMC, though.  Wouldn't that make it relatively easy to get that medal?

[Sereg]

My biggest question with that strategy is how anyone is supposed to get the berserker armor.  Since DS comes first, how is it then possible to clear the mortuary on nightmare?

[Tormuse]

Ah, hmm...  I was about to say you can stand over the bodies to let your enemies gib them, but then I realized that even with the berserk resistances, you're gonna take a lot of damage from the AoMC aspect of things.  :|  I guess you just wanna do it as fast as possible, before they have much time to revive anything.

[BBHood217]

I'm not sure what would cause a melee weapon to spawn in those bonus levels. Most of every other weapon is itemtype_ranged except the melee weapons of course. Did you perhaps get one on an older version?

Nah, it's been the current version for a few years now and I only started playing this game this year.

[Icy]

The Berserker's Armor isn't necessary for Gutts' Heart, though getting it for an Apostle kill with that method is definitely crazy. Max Carnage helps for that first Gutts' Heart strat, but it's still a long game of not getting hit too many times. More particularly, I'm not fond of fighting the Angel of Death in that kind of run.

Day 44:

Very exceptional day for progress! I had a rocky start going for Angel of Humanity as a Conquerer and got pretty far on one decent run. Deimos Lab was nice to me with its weapons:

Spoiler

I also used a Run->Wait trick to take out the Arachnotrons with a Chainsaw:

Spoiler

Run->Wait is so good for Deimos Lab! :D

Then after healing with a Large Med-Pack, I fought the Shamblers and got one-shotted:

Spoiler

Pretty insane. I might have to hope for Hell's Armory to reasonably be able to complete this challenge. Again though, Angel of Death might be a problem on Angel of Humanity.

So after that, I decided to go for Reaper Diamond Badge, which is clearing Mortuary/Limbo on Angel of Confidence. My plan was to use the same Nuclear BFG strat as before, just with some extra stairdiving and such beforehand. On my run, I totally luckboxed it again by getting probably 8-10 Invulnerabilities through all the floors leading up, and even got Cyberdemon's Head lol:

Spoiler

I was fortunate to roll Limbo, which is significantly easier, but the spawns inside were bad and I had an Archvile on the Nuclear BFG island:

Spoiler

Spoiler

Spoiler

The issue here is I literally used all my ammo, so I only had my Nuclear BFG:

Spoiler

As I was firing away to the other islands, I kept getting swarmed by Nightmare Cacodemons. I had to fight about 6 of them, all while letting my Nuclear BFG recharge. Dodgemaster saved the day, but it was pretty intense and scary. Fortunately on Nightmare, enemies tend to be more aggressive with attacking and not so much with movement, so I was usually able to recharge before they go too close:

Spoiler

I took a few hits, but was lucky enough to have enough med packs to make it across:

Spoiler

From there, it was just more clearing:

Spoiler

Spoiler

I happened to get another Invulnerability before Dis and figured why not go for a full victory for a shot at another medal. It went about as well as you could expect. :P

Spoiler

Spoiler

--------------------------------------------------------------
 DoomRL (0.9.9.7) roguelike post-mortem character dump
--------------------------------------------------------------

 sgrres, level 8 Apostle General Scout,
 defeated the Mastermind at the Hell Fortress.
 He survived 47593 turns and scored 263209 points.
 He played for 29 minutes and 17 seconds.
 He opposed the Nightmare!

 He killed 283 out of 801 hellspawn. (35%)
 He was an Angel of Max Carnage!
 He was also an Angel of Confidence!

-- Special levels --------------------------------------------

  Levels generated : 8
  Levels visited   : 4
  Levels completed : 1

-- Awards ----------------------------------------------------

  Cyberdemon's Head
  UAC Star (gold cluster)
  Grim Reaper's Badge
  Reaper Diamond Badge

-- Graveyard -------------------------------------------------

  ###########################################################
  ..........................................................#
  ............................................X.............#
  ..........................................................#
  ..........................................................#
  ..........................................................#
  ....................................................s.....#
  ..........................................................#
  ..........................................................#
  ..........................................................#
  ........................................................s.#
  ..........................................s...............#
  ...................................................Xs...s.#
  ......................................................s..s#
  ..........................................................#
  ..........................................................#
  ......................................................ss..#
  ..........................................................#
  ..................................................s.......#
  ###########################################################

-- Statistics ------------------------------------------------

  Health 0/60   Experience 23708/8
  ToHit Ranged +12  ToHit Melee +12  ToDmg Ranged +0  ToDmg Melee +0

-- Traits ----------------------------------------------------

  Class : Scout

    Ironman          (Level 1)
    Hellrunner       (Level 2)
    Tough as nails   (Level 2)
    Dodgemaster      (Level 1)
    Intuition        (Level 2)

  Int->Int->HR->HR->DM->TaN->Iro->TaN->

-- Equipment -------------------------------------------------

    [a] [ Armor      ]   Angelic Armor [0/7] (0%)
    [b] [ Weapon     ]   combat knife (2d5)
    [c] [ Boots      ]   nothing
    [d] [ Prepared   ]   chaingun (1d6)x4 [28/40]

-- Inventory -------------------------------------------------

    [a] tactical shotgun (8d3) [0/5]
    [b] rocket launcher (6d6) [0/1]
    [c] green armor [1/1] (100%)
    [d] blue armor [2/2] (64%)
    [e] 10mm ammo (x8)

-- Resistances -----------------------------------------------

    None

-- Kills -----------------------------------------------------

    7 former humans
    15 former sergeants
    14 former captains
    19 imps
    29 demons
    47 lost souls
    6 cacodemons
    13 hell knights
    24 barons of hell
    32 arachnotrons
    1 former commando
    2 pain elementals
    12 revenants
    7 mancubi
    13 arch-viles
    9 nightmare imps
    15 nightmare cacodemons
    9 nightmare demons
    7 nightmare arachnotrons
    1 Cyberdemon
    1 Spider Mastermind

-- History ---------------------------------------------------

  On level 3 he arrived at the Containment Area.
  Not knowing what to do, he left.
  He left level 4 as soon as possible.
  On level 5 he assembled a tactical shotgun!
  He left level 6 as soon as possible.
  He left level 7 as soon as possible.
  On level 8 he found the Tower of Babel!
  On level 9 he invaded the Unholy Cathedral!
  He fled the Unholy Cathedral seeing no chance to win.
  On level 11, hell froze over!
  On level 11 he entered the Vaults.
  He came, he saw, but he left.
  On level 12 he stumbled into a complex full of arch-viles!
  On level 12 he was foolish enough to enter Limbo!
  On level 12 he found the Angelic Armor!
  He managed to clear Limbo from evil!
  On level 14 he was targeted for extermination!
  He left level 14 as soon as possible.
  Then at last he found Dis!
  He overloaded a nuclear BFG 9000 on level 16!
  He defeated the Mastermind and found the TRUE EVIL!
  On level 17 he finally defeated the Mastermind.

-- Messages --------------------------------------------------

 missile hits John Carmack. Carmack raises his hands and summons hellspawn!
 John Carmack reloads his rocket launcher.
 You miss the lost soul. The lost soul hits you.
 You swap your weapons. Carmack raises his hands and summons hellspawn!
 You hit the lost soul. The lost soul dies.
 The lost soul hits you.
 You miss John Carmack.
 You are hit! The lost soul dies. The lost soul dies. The lost soul dies. The
 lost soul dies. Your Angelic Armor is damaged! The lost soul hits you.
 The lost soul hits you.
 The lost soul hits you. The lost soul hits you. The lost soul hits you. Your
 Angelic Armor is damaged! The lost soul hits you.
 The lost soul hits you.
 You are hit! You hear the scream of a freed soul! You hear the scream of a
 freed soul! The lost soul dies. The lost soul dies. The lost soul dies. The
 lost soul dies. The lost soul hits you. You die!... Press <Enter>...

-- General ---------------------------------------------------

 1135 brave souls have ventured into Phobos:
 853 of those were killed.
 2 of those were killed by something unknown.
 41 didn't read the thermonuclear bomb manual.
 And 127 couldn't handle the stress and committed a stupid suicide.

 112 souls destroyed the Mastermind...
 12 sacrificed itself for the good of mankind.
 96 killed the bitch and survived.
 4 showed that it can outsmart Hell itself.

--------------------------------------------------------------


The next badge I went for was Daredevil Diamond Badge, which is just beating Overconfidence on Nightmare with 80% kills. This didn't take too many tries and basically was just getting to floor 7 with an easy enemy to repeatedly kill:

Spoiler

I killed him several hundred times to get a high enough kill rate before fighting the Spider Mastermind. Thankfully, Run->Wait makes this so much easier than mashing Wait. :P I might not have tried it if not for that technique. Even just a hundred last time I did before was awful.

And with that badge:

Spoiler

Spoiler

--------------------------------------------------------------
 DoomRL (0.9.9.7) roguelike post-mortem character dump
--------------------------------------------------------------

 jhgfj, level 9 Apostle General Scout,
 defeated the Mastermind at the City of Dis.
 He survived 110271 turns and scored 201412 points.
 He played for 33 minutes and 12 seconds.
 He opposed the Nightmare!

 He killed 708 out of 873 hellspawn. (81%)
 He was an Angel of Max Carnage!
 He was also an Angel of Overconfidence!

-- Special levels --------------------------------------------

  Levels generated : 4
  Levels visited   : 1
  Levels completed : 0

-- Awards ----------------------------------------------------

  Mastermind's Brain
  UAC Star (bronze cluster)
  Daredevil Diamond Badge

-- Graveyard -------------------------------------------------

  ###########################################################
  #>#####################................................####
  ######################...............####...............###
  #####################.......####.....####.....####.......##
  ####################........####.....####.....####........#
  ###################.........####.....####.....####.........
  ##################..........####..............####.........
  #################..........................................
  #################....####............................####..
  #################....####............................####..
  #################....####............................####&.
  #################....####X...........................####..
  #################..........................................
  ##################..........####..............####.........
  ###################..%......####.....####.....####.........
  ####################........####.....####.....####........#
  #####################.......####.....####.....####.......##
  ######################...............####...............###
  #>#####################................................####
  ###########################################################

-- Statistics ------------------------------------------------

  Health 49/50   Experience 30586/9
  ToHit Ranged +12  ToHit Melee +12  ToDmg Ranged +0  ToDmg Melee +0

-- Traits ----------------------------------------------------

  Class : Scout

    Finesse          (Level 2)
    Hellrunner       (Level 2)
    Tough as nails   (Level 1)
    Juggler          (Level 1)
    Dodgemaster      (Level 1)
    Intuition        (Level 2)

  Int->Int->HR->HR->DM->Fin->Fin->Jug->TaN->

-- Equipment -------------------------------------------------

    [a] [ Armor      ]   red armor [4/4] (100%)
    [b] [ Weapon     ]   minigun (1d6)x8 [128/200]
    [c] [ Boots      ]   nothing
    [d] [ Prepared   ]   Jackhammer (8d3)x3 [9/9]

-- Inventory -------------------------------------------------

    [a] plasma rifle (1d7)x6 [40/40]
    [b] assault shotgun (7d3) [5/6]
    [c] red armor [4/4] (100%)
    [d] combat knife (2d5)
    [e] 10mm ammo (x100)
    [f] 10mm ammo (x100)
    [g] 10mm ammo (x100)
    [h] 10mm ammo (x100)
    [i] 10mm ammo (x100)
    [j] 10mm ammo (x100)
    [k] 10mm ammo (x100)
    [l] 10mm ammo (x100)
    [m] 10mm ammo (x100)
    [n] 10mm ammo (x100)
    [o] 10mm ammo (x100)
    [p] 10mm ammo (x48)
    [q] 10mm ammo (x100)
    [r] shotgun shell (x50)
    [s] shotgun shell (x40)
    [t] large med-pack
    [u] 10mm ammo chain (x250)

-- Resistances -----------------------------------------------

    Fire       - internal 0%    torso 25%   feet 0%   

-- Kills -----------------------------------------------------

    3 former humans
    15 former sergeants
    582 former captains
    5 imps
    23 demons
    15 lost souls
    1 cacodemon
    14 barons of hell
    2 arachnotrons
    2 former commandos
    1 pain elemental
    12 revenants
    22 mancubi
    10 arch-viles
    1 Spider Mastermind

-- History ---------------------------------------------------

  On level 2 he found the Jackhammer!
  On level 3 he stumbled into a complex full of mancubi!
  He left level 4 as soon as possible.
  On level 6 he arrived at Mt. Erebus.
  He decided it was too dangerous.
  Then at last he found Dis!
  On level 8 he finally defeated the Mastermind.

-- Messages --------------------------------------------------

 Mastermind flinched! The missile hits the Spider Mastermind. The Spider
 Mastermind flinched! The missile hits the Spider Mastermind. The Spider
 Mastermind flinched! The missile hits the Spider Mastermind. The Spider
 Mastermind flinched!
 The missile hits the Spider Mastermind. The missile hits the Spider
 Mastermind. The missile hits the Spider Mastermind. The missile hits the
 Spider Mastermind. The missile hits the Spider Mastermind. The Spider
 Mastermind flinched! The missile hits the Spider Mastermind. The Spider
 Mastermind flinched! The missile hits the Spider Mastermind. The Spider
 Mastermind flinched! The missile hits the Spider Mastermind. The Spider
 Mastermind flinched!
 Boom! The missile hits the Spider Mastermind. The missile hits the Spider
 Mastermind. The missile hits the Spider Mastermind. The missile hits the
 Spider Mastermind. The Spider Mastermind dies. Congratulations! You defeated
 the Spider Mastermind! Press <Enter>...
 Boom! Boom! Boom!

-- General ---------------------------------------------------

 1147 brave souls have ventured into Phobos:
 863 of those were killed.
 2 of those were killed by something unknown.
 41 didn't read the thermonuclear bomb manual.
 And 128 couldn't handle the stress and committed a stupid suicide.

 113 souls destroyed the Mastermind...
 12 sacrificed itself for the good of mankind.
 97 killed the bitch and survived.
 4 showed that it can outsmart Hell itself.

--------------------------------------------------------------


So now I'm just 2 more diamond badges away from getting the awesome "Chaos" prefix to my ranking title! I'm not sure which I'm going to go for yet, but I'll do some more rotating and hopefully get some luck. :)

[Tormuse]

Congrats on the Diamonds!  :)  Gentle reminder to put your badges in your sig so we know your progress.  :)

I'm curious to know what build you're using for the AoHu game; obviously, Dodgemaster is a must for that Shambler battle, and you might want to consider leaving some of those crates intact so you have some cover.  (That corridor you died in was a really unfortunate place to be fighting them; no room to maneuver)

As for the AoD, possible strategies:

1)  Make Ballistic Armour assembly (or wear Ballistic Vest or similar) for the melee protection and just brute force it.

2)  Get yourself some high movement speed and a Ripper and kite the AoD while circling the Cathedral.

3)  Same as above, but throw Combat Knives.  (Takes a lot longer, but probably safer)

(Disclaimer:  I have never actually achieved Everyman Diamond; these are just ideas)

...
    3 former humans
    15 former sergeants
    582 former captains
    5 imps
...


I think these ratios are hilarious.  :D

[BBHood217]

They're chaingunners, they deserve it.

[Icy]

I'll make my signature once I reach Chaos Major. :)

For my Angel of Humanity game, I went with my usual Intuition x2->Hellrunner x2->Dodgemaster. I intend to keep using that for future runs as well.

Day 45:

I was thinking about "easy" diamond badges to get and decided to go for Eagerness Diamond Badge. I figured that with Angel of Overconfidence to help, I could just repeatedly try until I made it to the Spider Mastermind. I went with Eagle Eye x2->Intuition x2 for an easy fight at the end. After just a couple tries with lucky staircases and Invulnerabilities, I got it!

Spoiler

Spoiler

Spoiler

Spoiler

--------------------------------------------------------------
 DoomRL (0.9.9.7) roguelike post-mortem character dump
--------------------------------------------------------------

 hgfhgdf, level 4 Apostle Marshal Technician,
 defeated the Mastermind at the City of Dis.
 He survived 27273 turns and scored 67339 points.
 He played for 19 minutes and 26 seconds.
 He opposed the Nightmare!

 He killed 33 out of 281 hellspawn. (11%)
 Who gave him the ticket to Hell, anyway?
 He was an Angel of Impatience!
 He was also an Angel of Overconfidence!

-- Special levels --------------------------------------------

  Levels generated : 4
  Levels visited   : 1
  Levels completed : 0

-- Awards ----------------------------------------------------

  UAC Star (bronze cluster)
  Eagerness Diamond Badge

-- Graveyard -------------------------------------------------

  ###########################################################
  ####................................#####################>#
  ###...............####...............######################
  ##.......####.....####.....####.......#####################
  #........####.....####.....####........####################
  .........####.....####.....####.........###################
  .........####..............####..........##################
  .........................................%#################
  ..####...........................X####....#################
  .&####............................####....#################
  ..####............................####....#################
  ..####............................####....#################
  ..........................................#################
  .........####..............####..........##################
  .........####.....####.....####.........###################
  #........####.....####.....####........####################
  ##.......####.....####.....####.......#####################
  ###...............####...............######################
  ####................................#####################>#
  ###########################################################

-- Statistics ------------------------------------------------

  Health 23/50   Experience 4120/4
  ToHit Ranged +4  ToHit Melee +4  ToDmg Ranged +0  ToDmg Melee +0

-- Traits ----------------------------------------------------

  Class : Technician

    Eagle Eye        (Level 2)
    Intuition        (Level 2)

  EE->EE->Int->Int->

-- Equipment -------------------------------------------------

    [a] [ Armor      ]   red armor [4/4] (79%)
    [b] [ Weapon     ]   assault shotgun (7d3) [5/6]
    [c] [ Boots      ]   nothing
    [d] [ Prepared   ]   shell box (x91)

-- Inventory -------------------------------------------------

    [a] combat pistol (3d3) [15/15]
    [b] minigun (1d6)x8 [200/200]
    [c] combat knife (2d5)
    [d] 10mm ammo chain (x250)

-- Resistances -----------------------------------------------

    Fire       - internal 0%    torso 25%   feet 0%   

-- Kills -----------------------------------------------------

    6 former sergeants
    3 former captains
    4 imps
    10 demons
    2 lost souls
    1 arachnotron
    2 former commandos
    3 mancubi
    1 arch-vile
    1 Spider Mastermind

-- History ---------------------------------------------------

  He sounded the alarm on level 1!
  He left level 2 as soon as possible.
  He left level 4 as soon as possible.
  On level 6 he entered the Lava Pits.
  He decided it was too hot there.
  Then at last he found Dis!
  On level 8 he finally defeated the Mastermind.

-- Messages --------------------------------------------------

 You quickly reload the assault shotgun.
 You quickly reload the assault shotgun. Your shell box is depleted.
 You have no more ammo for the assault shotgun!
 You wear/wield : a shell box (x100)
 You quickly reload the assault shotgun.
 You quickly reload the assault shotgun.
 You quickly reload the assault shotgun.
 You quickly reload the assault shotgun.
 You are hit! Boom! You are hit! Boom! You are hit! Boom!
 You quickly reload the assault shotgun.
 You quickly reload the assault shotgun.
 You quickly reload the assault shotgun.
 You quickly reload the assault shotgun.
 You quickly reload the assault shotgun.
 You hear the scream of a freed soul! Congratulations! You defeated the Spider
 Mastermind! Press <Enter>...

-- General ---------------------------------------------------

 1152 brave souls have ventured into Phobos:
 866 of those were killed.
 3 of those were killed by something unknown.
 41 didn't read the thermonuclear bomb manual.
 And 128 couldn't handle the stress and committed a stupid suicide.

 114 souls destroyed the Mastermind...
 12 sacrificed itself for the good of mankind.
 98 killed the bitch and survived.
 4 showed that it can outsmart Hell itself.

--------------------------------------------------------------


Naturally, my next choice was Inquisitor Diamond Badge...

With Angel of Purity+Overconfidence and as a Marine, I have no source at all of knowing where the stairs are, can't cheese with Invulnerability, can't really heal, and can't even use Light Amps. It's kinda hard. :P Envirosuits work though surprisingly.

The thing is though, there is potential to get super lucky and just get a ton of nearby staircases, Homing Phase Devices, and other dumb luck, and with both the power of patience and grinding, I want to get this now. It'll also make for an epic 9th diamond badge for the "Chaos" prefix! :) Apparently, it's a rare badge too as the only players confirmed to have it are Papilio and Sereg, though perhaps others quietly have achieved it too. It's another reason I want to get it!

So far, I've pumped out 150 runs, the majority of which end on the first floor because of getting obliterated, or because I'm not happy with my start.

I'm quite sad I couldn't make use of these Invulnerabilities:

Spoiler

Here's the game giving me the middle finger:

Spoiler

I've made it to floor 5 twice so far, and once to Limbo (forgetting I can't use Soulspheres :P). This was my best run, but I had a nasty start and unfortunately, the stairs were on the wrong side:

Spoiler

Spoiler

And here's the game giving me the other middle finger:

Spoiler

Some minor strategies do exist based around the bonus levels. Of course, it's always wise to take the first staircase you find, but if you have the option to enter Unholy Cathedral, Vaults, or Lava Pits/Mt Erebus, they're great for a quick item buffer and setup. Also in the odd case where you have a Homing Phase Device by floor 4 and happen to find Mortuary/Limbo, they can be advantageous as the Homing Phase Device is still taking you to floor 5, but through the bonus level, you can grab a Red Armor and Large Med-Pack as well, potentially also a Nuclear BFG. The only downside is if you luck out finding the normal staircase nearby, you could instead be going to floor 6.

My plan when I actually do get to the Spider Mastermind is just the same cheesy cornershooting. With a Combat Pistol, Ammo Chain, and all the ammo in the Minigun, I have more than enough to slowly poke away at her health. This is nice because I can freely use all the shells I need on the other floors.

I intend to continuously grind for the badge until I get it. Hopefully, the luck comes sooner than later! ;)

[Sereg]

Nice progress. I will say that Inquisitor Diamond is probably not your next easiest option, however... that's easily one of the most difficult Diamond challenges, and I only got mine through absolutely incredible luck.

Not that I want to encourage you to give up, but if you're simply going for rank progression for now, I'd save that particular badge for later.