Yeah, I think that’s the only time I’ve only seen that effect.

LOL, that’s a good one :-)

I love (in a weird way) how unforgiving SPD can be. I’ve died more times due to my own mistakes than to the game beating me.

Recently I was trying to win the game with five challenges. I was having a great run, near the end of the caves, going swimmingly. Having “on diet” on, I was at about 20% HP. I found a wand of corrosion, and I said, it’s quite unlikely to be cursed, I’m just gonna zap that DM-200 over there.

Needless to say, the wand was cursed, it created some sort of huge lightning bolt, I was dead and my great run was over. All because I was unwilling to wait to verify the wand was not cursed.

In my experience, going to the next floor for a while and then returning often results in a couple of enemies having already spawned.

That’s what I thought – thanks!

Interesting; I hadn’t thought about using a scroll of enchantment. Is it better than converting the scroll to two stones of enchantment? You then have two shots at getting a good one.

Thanks! It’s interesting to think this could have been a seven challenge run 😅

My four-challenge runs have actually been with barren land. The problem for me is when it’s combined with other challenges – it becomes too difficult. If I ever try a six-chal run, I think I would add barren land to the mix.

Regarding into darkness: I’ve tried several times and I’ve never made it past the crabs. But, as always with SPD, it’s a matter of finessing your technique to the point where you can overcome the challenges.

When I get a WoB, I like to upgrade it to +3 (ideally using arcane resin). At +3, enemies get pushed back an amazing distance; if there is a wall behind them, the damage can be significant. Not to mention having five charges, which is usually enough.

I enjoy setting equipment limits. For example, I almost never get an Ankh any more. I had a blast with my tier-1, tier-2 and tier-3 runs. These are challenging in a different way than the “official” game challenges, but of course they can be combined for additional fun.

Reforge the +3 wand with any of the other two to get a +4 wand, and then reforge the +4 with the remaining wand.

It’s actually possible to get a +21 staff – but it requires a lot of luck. Get a wand +3, plus two other wands of the same type. At the troll smith, upgrade the staff to +1 and reforge the wands to get a +5 wand. Dump all upgrades on the wand to get a +20 wand. Imbue the wand to get a +21 staff. See https://lemmy.world/comment/10573988

I play on desktop exclusively, and I seldom use the mouse to move. To move diagonally, I always just press two arrow keys simultaneously. Once in a long while this fails and I end up losing a turn or triggering a trap or something. I have tried playing with the numpad or mapping other keys to diagonal movement, but by now using the arrow keys is deeply ingrained in my neurons.

Whoa, I didn’t know you could do that to force the scroll holder to spawn! Thanks for the tips!

Thanks for your reply! I understand it’s difficult to say what might have happened without more information. I did drop the scrolls right before I openend the door to the second phase (I was still in the hallway).

I usually drop them in the small room with the stairs, which also works.

Thanks for the advice, will keep it in mind! I’ve been playing with the hostile champions challenge (among others) for a while now, so I’m sure I’ll have to face this combo again.

Thanks!

Huh, I had never noticed! I hope I never find another one of those :-)

Throwing a weapon or armor into the web creates a “hole” in it through which the hero, wands and missile weapons can go through.

seeds are unusable with challenges

They are less useful, but you can still convert them to potions. If you get a set of three of the same, you can even guarantee which potion you get, as well as identify it.

Thankfully, golems are easy to avoid! I wouldn’t want to face that beast.