I agree about the repetition in this game. I dislike the concept of items that improve over time.
It's a good way to make a game appear to have depth. Once the pattern is noticed, the desire to replay is gone.
Strangely, it seems many browser-based RPG's use this idea. I haven't seen it used in any roguelike, table-top, or CRPG game.
That is a great idea! However, his progress would be cut a bit short when slapped with a 4-round _no power generation_ debuff.
Likely applicable to all single- or two-member "Rambo" party setups.
I was trying to come up with a two-member party scheme. Solo would be ideal, but that does not seem to be workable.
Characters: 1a. Warrior using Defiance. High power regeneration. 1b. Cleric using Shield of Faith. Extremely high power regen. 2a. Rogue with high Elusiveness. 2b. Barbarian using Intimidate.
A) Warrior, Barbarian. No healing for the barbarian. Can be used almost right away.
B) Cleric, Barbarian/Rogue. Many levels will need to be skipped (15+?) to get power regeneration at 50 or greater per round.
Rogue and barbarian have attack-bonus skills, so that choice appears to be a toss-up.
OK, I'll write one last comment on my opinion of clerics in Monsters Den :-).
Clerics are a necessity in survival mode. But they don't need to be the exclusive healer.
When played offensively, they are nearly as powerful as a warrior. Increase their combat attributes, and use their healing skills only when necessary.
A ranger, or a (perhaps better yet) conjurer can heal the party, and still contribute to the party in combat.
Invest heavily in all buff skills when playing survival. The mage has its own armor-increasing skill.
Remember, that all character effects retain state between battles in survival mode.
I thought I would clarify my position on this Warrior/Ranger/Rogue/Mage party that I have been hinting at. It /is/ weak at the start, and must be played a bit carefully. A strike-first approach will kill two to three enemies at every round of combat during the late-game. That means: Warrior at Q40+ (Q60 with potion), and the rest at Q70 and above.
I just don't agree. Melee units have the most powerful attacks in the game.
The mage's Incinerate does more damage than any other skill, and Ensorcelled Blade is an effective boss-killer.
The rogue has the best melee weapon -- the dagger (which gains attribute damage from both Strength and Dex.) -- as well as a diverse set of low-power skills.
Anoint simply doesn't make up for two attacks. A ranger would need only to focus attribute points into Dexterity and Intelligence to become an effective fighter/healer dual.
I think, if I were to play through another campaign, that I might forfeit the cleric in favor of a ranger. The cleric's skills are fairly useless (except for Heal and Holy Light) unless you only increase his Intelligence attribute.
The cleric has no ranged weapon available, so it should be in a melee slot. Unfortunately, this position is better used by another character, as the cleric spends most of the time healing companions later in the game.
Kremlin: A rogue's Coup de Grace attack will let you kill any stunned enemy. Use the mage's Cosmic Prison skill for this. Also, try the warrior's Cleave, and Execute (if you are badly out-matched).
I used these skills through to level ten, until my party's damage output started surpassing the enemy's levelling gain.
This 500x400 resolution renders it illegible on my desktop's monitor.
Scalable version: http://chat.kongregate.com/gamez/0001/0531/live/monstersdend.swf
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