Best race/class combo to win with?

[SethaWetha]

I just started playing for the first time about a week ago. After about a dozen games dying at level 10 I finally made it to CL 46 (almost 47) as a Gnome Mage on my first go. I really like Mage but the low HP had me killed in one hit right after my frost resist ran out. I want to try a new class, but Mage is great too. What's the best, or at least a very good race/class combo to win with?

[Estie]

If you want to stick with mage, high elf has more hit points than gnome, though it still takes a while to get to the critical ~650 mark where youre all but safe from 1-shot.

I can recommend troll priest, if you are up for something different. Unlike mage, you have to kill stuff with a mace till your damage spell - orb of draining - kicks in; you get it at level 9. At the start, max out wisdom and put the rest in strength. The bless spell is useful for early melee.

[dos350]

dwarf priest is very safe
high elf warrior is nice for beginner
dunadain paladin is very fun

[Pete Mack]

It depends entirely on your playstyle. If you feel a need.to kill everything, clearing levels as you go, then warrior is your best bet,with one of the good melee races. If you like sneaking around deep in the dungeon, picking up loot, then HE/kobold rogue is the way to go. If you are patient, but want to end up with an unkillable character, then paladin, probably dwarf or Dunadan. Mage is pretty fragile, so it's a difficult class for a starting player.

[Sky]

dunedain paladin is anything except fun.

i would say half orc rogue. you would basically be a warrior with the added bonus of being able to cast your basic utility spells, and while your magic skill does go down around CL20, once you reach CL35~37 and start to cast TO, you become basically invincible. Bonus STR helps much, and the XP curve is rather forgiving.

Dunedain ranger is the ultimate class, high stats everywhere, high damage, healing spells (just Phase and cast a ton of CLW), TO, Rune, resistance, the only thing you don't have is MBan.

i'm on the fence with Mage. Sure you do get all those great spells but you'll always be in danger, no matter how careful you are - one unlucky TS and it's over.

or just play Blackguard and keep your movement key pressed.

[dos350]

wow anything except fun? thats a heavy abuse

[SethaWetha]

I can recommend troll priest, if you are up for something different. Unlike mage, you have to kill stuff with a mace till your damage spell - orb of draining - kicks in; you get it at level 9. At the start, max out wisdom and put the rest in strength. The bless spell is useful for early melee.

Is troll priest much better than dwarf paladin? They can't cast spells quite as well but the dwarf paladin gets a higher hit die and better stats.

[Estie]

Is troll priest much better than dwarf paladin? They can't cast spells quite as well but the dwarf paladin gets a higher hit die and better stats.

Priest or paladin make a huge difference playstyle wise; the former is a caster (like the mage) who uses spells for damage for most of the game, the latter is a warrior who always uses melee and/or archery, supported by utility spells.

Dwarf or half-troll race dont make nearly as much difference. They are almost the same.

Edit: As a consequence, if you decide to go for paladin, put your starting points into str and dex, and nothing in wis.

[bunnies]

FWIW, I've never managed to beat the game with Warrior, have a few Priest wins and a larger number of Mage wins. I've never played the other classes seriously.

I find Mage easiest to play, and since starting 4.1.2 I've beaten the game with {HighElf, Elf, Kobold, Hobbit, Dwarf} Mage. I would say Dwarf Mage or Troll Mage would be easier because of their higher HP pools.

Some tips when I play Mage: the most dangerous depths would be ~1750', since you'd normally have around ~150hp and its common to meet OOD monsters that can 1shot you with mind blasting spell / breaths e.g. Dreadmasters, Ethereal Dragons. Once you overcome this part of the game it becomes much easier, carry mapping and rods of treasure detection, and use stone to mud and TO liberally. Grab treasure and run, crack open vaults and TO dangerous uniques. Drujs are good XP if you can offscreen or LOS them. Can't overstate stone to mud, it's one of my most favourite spells to use, manipulate the environment to your advantage. I also R& all the time, unless you're going for low turn count. Turn on the lights, light the corridors, position yourself well before resting.

[edit] Also, I squelch money (when its no longer an issue), ammo, most bows. I rely almost entirely on magical devices and spells. I melee only at much higher levels, against weaker enemies when I want to conserve mana. I don't like having to pickup and manage ammo, so I ignore range entirely, bows are purely stat sticks. Of course this might not be the best/most efficient way to play, but it works well for me, YMMV. Everyone's playstyle is different, find out what works for you

[brbrbr]

Dwarf warrior
Dwarf priest
Kobold rogue

[Sky]

you would take kobold rogue over half-orc rogue ???

pls don't say it's because of the rPois ..

[Pete Mack]

The rpois is nice. The early stealth is nicer.

[brbrbr]

Kobold because of stealth.
Rogue playstile is "come, see, steal", which requires stealth.
Half-orc style is "come, see, brawl", which is more aligned with warrior.

The other small thing is using devices, I get frustrated if using staff or rod fails, for that reason I do not choose Half-Troll or Half-Orc for warrior.
That is personal preference, though.

[Mondkalb]

Hobbit Rogue has even more stealth.

[Sky]

half orc is my preferred race for just about everything; the rDark means you don't get blinded by dark hounds and elf wizard-thingies, because they use specifically a dark attack (blind traps still blind you). the +2 STR is really helpful at the beginning and neither the stats nor the XP penalty are bad (no DEX penalty like the dwarf and HT have, no STR penalty like hobbits and kobolds, no ridiculous 200% XP like the dunedain).

see, when i play rogue, i find i really just need one spell - detect object. Sure i like to be able to cast Identify and maybe even Teleport Other, but by the time i'm CL33, i can wait around for some stat potions, get a helm of INT, maybe even store at home a ring of INT. Endgame rogues have 300sp regardless of the starting stats, and you don't rely on TO as much as a Mage does.

for warriors, i generally prefer dunedain because of the stat bonus. There's no need for a warrior to rush to the high levels as around CL30 you are already hitting near your potential, but the DEX/CON bonus really helps cap everything in the endgame.

I also use dunedain for mages, because of the CON bonus. The lack of SI really hurts in the beginning, but you're gonna grind the beginning anyway, so ...




even though lately i've come to appreciate more the usefulness of stealth, i'm still not a stealth player. i'm just not going to sneak by that greater wyrm, i can either kill it, or i need to leave. i'd rather use patience and the behaviour of the dungeon to get what i need.