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Thread: What is your optimal location route from start of game to chaos gate?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Sep 2017
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    7

    Default What is your optimal location route from start of game to chaos gate?

    In an absolutely ideal situation, what is the optimal location route from start of game to chaos gate (attempting to close the gate). Please share your thoughts on the most ideal route, knowing that depending on how things progress, you may not be able to follow it.

    Currently, my ideal route is the following. Let me know where you disagree:

    1. Terrinyo. First head to Terrinyo and get the sheriff quest, the doggie quest, and the village elder quest.

    2. SMC. Then go through the SMC, to the UD. Go through the entire UD to the high mountain village. There seems to often be good loot or alter in UD.

    3. Doggie cave. Then come back to the doggie cave (ideally back through UD and SMC if possible, otherwise, through mountain village and around half the Drakelor Chain map). Complete the doggie quest.

    4. Village dungeon. Then complete mad carpenter.

    5. Outlaw settlement. Look at the items in shop, complete sheriff quest for lawful amulet.

    6. Head over to CoC. Complete as much of the dwarven quests as possible.

    7. Pyramid. Complete pyramid.

    8. Dwarven graveyard. Do Pyramid then immediately do dwarvan graveyard to be as efficient as possible and not spend much time on outside map.

    9. Back to CoC. Finish completing dwarven quests if necessary, train and prepare for RoTHK in CoC.

    10. RoTHK. Get the RoTHK.

    11. Train and prepare for ToEF. That would be next, but it seems like ToEF is often needing a much more advanced character then possible at this point.

    12. Dive all the way through CoC to the end.

    Please share your optimal route, or where the above is lacking! Thanks!

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
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    I disagree with the immediate UD dive. UD is significantly more difficult than the other starting dungeons, so this route is unnecessarily risky for race/class combos that don't start out strong. The route is missing the ice queen area/quests, which I would do before ToEF (greater vault I might leave until after ToEF/casino). There are also some missing "filler" activities that you can do to prepare between step 6 and step 11 (random dungeons, darkforge, gremlin cave, assassin cave teleport wand).

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Oct 2017
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    4

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    What do you mean by 'optimal'? Are you speedrunning or just seeking a low-risk sequence of locations?

    Assuming the latter, my early game is not that different from yours, but I always dive into moldy/shadowy dungeons and putrid cave before I get into CoC, and attempt to pre-crown(and crown, if I'm not trying ultra). An altar on a cavernous level nets you piety rather fast. A good tension room also works.

    After Pyramid, I use rehetep's wrappings and a invisibility source(if available) to clear Ice Queen's domain. This brings some good loot along the way, and more importantly opens a dungeon with a greater vault. This takes a while to clear, but sometimes you might get lucky and snag an artifact(or two) from the vault without trouble. It also brings a ton of exp. Generally I use wands to clear most of the vault, just watch out for Titans.

    I also like to clear the Maze before ToEF, but its hardly optimal in any way, unless you really need a melee nuke.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
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    Paris, France
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    It depends an awful lot on what kind of character I'm playing. But if I'm not trying for low turn count or an ultra, this is my typical route.
    This approach limits overland travel time but still visits lots of locations before I meet Khelevaster, in case an ultra ending is feasible. If I don't try for an ultra, then I usually end up on D50 between day 80 and day 90, which is helpful.

    Dip SMC to set initial monsters at low level, and see if cool item or stairs are nearby. Maybe clear SMC with a tough character or a bard relying on pet.
    Learn Pick Pockets and check out store at BVL.
    PC and VD/DD, order depends on timing and survivability.
    If possible, dive UD to mountain village (skip if I don't know where stairs are, or it's too dangerous to reach them).
    Get barbarian's quest (I probably have about 500 kills by now)
    Quick dive to dwarftown to get first Thrundarr quest.
    Finish Thrundarr quests and pyramid in some order. Hopefully pick up wand from VDDL.
    Reach D16 to meet Khelly, dive to portal and then get graveyard quest from Thrundarr.
    Griffyard
    Maybe do one of the new random dungeons if it's on the way back to CoC.
    Dive to wall of fire.
    Darkforge and/or Ice Queen's Palace to toughen up.
    Tomb of High Kings and possibly Rift.
    Grit my teeth and tackle ToEF even if I don't have total equipment protection.
    Finish CoC, hopefully with enough key items (especially corruption removal, extra healing) to finish the game.

    Cheers,
    Ben

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jun 2016
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    18

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    My usual route:

    1. SMC,UD,HMV (shop, corruption removal scroll)
    2. Bandit village shop, Terrinyo
    3. Puppy Cave vault
    4. CoC Arena food shopping
    5. Finding altar, crowning
    6. Pyramid(Ankh, Wrapping, pickaxe, climbing set)
    7. CoC Dwarven Town (Quests, Dwarven mystic)
    8. Dwarven graveyard (gauntlets)
    9. High Kings (ring)
    10. Darkforge (cool weapon, armor, CoC shortcut)
    11. Ice Queen (cure corruption), Jarl Caves (EXP, artifact)
    12. ToEF
    13. CoC FTW

  6. #6
    Join Date
    May 2008
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tito View Post
    My usual route:

    1....
    13. CoC FTW
    Quote Originally Posted by BenMathiesen View Post
    It depends an awful lot on what kind of character I'm playing. But if I'm not trying for low turn count or an ultra, this is my typical route.

    Maybe do one of the new random dungeons if it's on the way back to CoC.
    I am pretty sure getting donor tome is rather optimal in a lot of cases.
    So far rolled 15 casters with RoDS and shamelessly killed them within 200 turns. For eternium glory!
    (after 15 I stopped counting...)

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Oct 2014
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    Usually I start

    1. If I'm playing either monk/beastfighter/or duelist I'll do druid quest, otherwise healer quest.

    2. Puppy Cave (I generally restart if I end up with a mixed or slime vault.)

    3. Moldy cave if accessible

    4. grind ID until lvl 13. (If already lvl 13+ skip this step)

    5. Pyramid

    6. Dwarven quests + griffyard + High King

    7. Water Temple

    8. Darkforge

    9. Fire Temple

    10. Rest of COC

    "you are the only cactus in the garden of my life" Gomez - Adams Family

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
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    Paris, France
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    Quote Originally Posted by Soirana View Post
    I am pretty sure getting donor tome is rather optimal in a lot of cases.
    I've found it ruined a couple of times, but I haven't yet tried to find it whole.

    Ben

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
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    I tend to adjust some to the class/race, map layout and drops, more so in the early game and exclusively play melee/missile characters (ie no wiz, priest, druid, necro or ele).

    I prefer to go for HMW because UD run is really fun, on rare occations with interesting character that cant stroll smc I just poke and do puppy+one more terinyo quest first instead.

    I almost always do thieves guild quest, if not for detect traps then for stealth that is very strong in mid game (if high enough).

    On my way to Coc I do Moldy if it's on the way, gold is usually nice, Tome is extremely powerful.
    Also if I have the tools I pick up tele wand.

    I mostly do first 2-3 quests and then pyramid+graveyard, sometimes I exp too fast and have to do pyramid before animated forest.

    Finish up for big punch, get ring of ice.

    Depending on undead slaying ammo and missile skills I dig graves somewhere around here usually later.
    Same goes for helping blup, it's a good L boost that I sometimes need and if I happen to get Raven star sign it's a even more of a prio.
    And also saving khelavaster (which I always try to do), which means I get water orb different times in different games.

    Crown and eat miss learning boost.

    Clean up dark forge.

    The rest depends a bit, I've probably ended like 100 characters here that I haven't finished with.
    But nothing special, tothk, ice queen, I taken up the bad habit of smithing a grind that is rarely worth it, toef, dive, win.

    Sometimes I finish diplo after casino for optimal results this is also when I usually read spellbooks (as non caster) and quaff saved stat potions.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
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    As Grond pointed out, the UD dive is fun, but dangerous. A safer start is to kill the healer and get healing the evil way, then sprint to the CoC for some easy xp and lightweight food. The cute dog cave gets you a nice lesser vault, but the quest itself doesn't really have any reward, it's just there for roleplaying.

    Getting teleport control and the guaranteed wand of teleportation are very important goals early on. They can solve almost any problem, including plenty of corruption removal from the mystic / HMV.

    Doing the water orb, Darkforge and Ice Queen quests prepares you for the ToEF pretty well.
    You steal a scroll labelled HITME. The orc hits you.

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