TOPIC: First time-gencon

Many invested players aimed for Nightmare to get both completion tokens. Epic doesn't give any additional rewards over NM. Of course, there's also seeking out a challenge.

In 2023, uncommon completion tokens are going away, so rewards will max out at Hardcore. Can speculate what will happen with this incentive change.

At least recently, the gaps between levels of play are higher than they used to be (let's say now versus 5+ years ago). The increase in build power stretches apart the various bandwidths. That being said, I often think others think difficulty levels are harder than they are, but this gets into what experience you want. When I was a casual player, we failed runs more than half the time, so I'm not bothered by failing runs now that I work on solo Nightmare builds.

I’d like to add that while Normal is often chosen for new groups, Non Lethal is a perfectly valid option. You won’t miss out on anything playing NL, but if you die early on normal then you have to stand in a corner and watch the rest of the dungeon. If your group is completely fresh to TD then it’s worth considering.


Alternatively, if there is a TD veteran with tokens to loan out, you’re very likely to survive the dungeon, so don’t sweat it as much.

I don't want my current builds to be anything more than what can be...

I kept pictures of the builds as we began....from treasure perspective the progression for me was
Cloak of Many Pockets, Charm of Treasure Boosting, Ioun stone silver nugget (they released the year I started), Ioun Stone gold nugget, CoA, Ioun stone platinum nugget.

I spent a great amount of time getting six tokens instead of 3....getting 100% more per run was really helpful for my rare builds.getting to 5 treasure pulls today is fairly easy with this year's treasure ring....charms of treasure boosting are fairly common to find....and then go get the platinum first (you may want to think about one of the auctions since PYP is $85)...

You sound like you think as I do on ROI...I agree $3 is about the average pull value over 100 pulls. Nice thing is there is a spreadsheet that documents the treasure generator from a crowdsourced perspective...its got a link in the forums here.

But remember, have tons of fun! Don't think of the tokens as an ROI that will yield profit but more likely will hold value for trading....this is one of those games where your 10 rares will still be valuable...I have almost all of my rares from year one just in case I go in a normal run....overpowering the dungeon is not fun. The tokens you have is really more of "proof of stake"...clearly you can clear your stake thru trades, ebay, trents, TDTavern, or forum stores...pretty easily as you progress in the game and seek variation as your interests evolve in the game.

Here's a tip: This has happen twice on runs I've had with newer players. Combat ensues, combat ends, in the players favor. Then one of the new players announces. I died in that fight....Oh no!

If you are getting low on hp, please let the healers in the party know. In both case the player was a little overwhelmed and didn't know to ask for help.

But all's well that ends well. In one case, we gave the player a potion that brought them back to life. In the other instance, a kind DM let the Paladin use his sacrifice ability retroactively. At the end, both players said they had fun. But dying before room 7 is a bummer.

If there are any vets in the group chances are this won't happen...but in all new groups this might happen.

Items that are desirable for fighter builds for starting players are as follows:
Defender Set (Defender Plate Armor, Defender Shield, Defender Helm). I outfitted a friend playing Cleric with these on my 2nd run. The group got a huge laugh that the land dragon we were fighting seemed incapable of hitting him much to the GM's consternation.
Any solid Rare .+1 Weapon (one handed). Look for duplicate numbers next to each other on the damage wheel. Any other bonuses like + versus undead or giants is gravy, and you can choose ahead of time based on the adventure description like, Haunted Castle= Chance of Undead, use that sword.
A solid Rare +1 Bow or Sling for ranged. If your making your build around strength, a Mighty Sling adds in the strength bonus, if your build is centered around Dexterity, then a bow.
Decide on Rare or Uncommon tokens that buff Strength (Hand to Hand Combat) or Dexterity (Ranged Combat and AC). Depending on the other classes, these translate well.
Lastly, throw in some Constitution buffs. Bumping Con up a few points translates into more hit points and better fortitude saving throws.
I play Wizard pretty much exclusively. I'm up to Nightmare level being my preferred level. I have a high Dex (30) and points in Con (19). If I had to choose another class to play, as long as I used ranged damage, other than a Barbarian, I would do well.
There are trade offs but you will find that depending on your build you can play the 5 martial classes or the 5 magical classes with ease.
And lastly, I play Wizard because I suck at sliding. There are a lot of different types of Wizards. Gattling, Emo/Goth, Morphers, etc. I started as a Gattling with my first UR purchase (let me use 2 wands in a round). Now I tend to MEC (Emo/Goth). As you play the game you will learn the tricks and what suits you. And memorizing the planar chart is a b*tch for someone my age. There are mnemonics that many of us use. But it is only a few points difference. Good luck, and hit me up at a con for any advice.

Spud

Spud wrote: Look for duplicate numbers next to each other on the damage wheel.

I've never heard that before. I'm genuinely curious why that's considered desirable.

Druegar wrote:

Spud wrote: Look for duplicate numbers next to each other on the damage wheel.

I've never heard that before. I'm genuinely curious what that's considered desirable.

Is it possible he meant 2 digit numbers? Like, 10+?

I also think it could have been the consistency of sliding and predictable damage.

I think it's the consistency. I'm the opposite - I prefer big spreads since I've been playing long enough that I'm mostly aware of how much my token twists when I slide it - but I can see the opposite for a new player.

As for the OP, Wizard is a great choice for a first-timer. You don't really need to focus on tokens - your armor class is generally "whatever the Paladin's is" and most of your spells auto-hit so you don't need any tokens to boost your to-hit scores.

Generally for first-timers, I just recommend getting a rare weapon and a basic set of armor, picking everything else up as you go. Not worth getting too deep into tokens off the jump. I've never played Wizard, but if I did, I'd probably go for a Staff of Focus (basic Wizard weapon, d6 damage and +1 to all spells) and a Robe of Deftness (the most recent rare armor token Wizards can wear). Should be able to get both of them for like five bucks.

I've been playing since 2008 and have played a Wizard pretty much exclusively. I used to occasionally run into a situation where I had to swap to another class early on, but then they added Elf Wizard to the mix and I've yet to run into a situation where I couldn't grab one of them (tip: the rules of the game state that classes are first come, first serve, so showing up 15 mins or so before your start is a great way to help ensure you get your preferred class-I'm a perpetually late person, but I force myself to show up consistently early for TD for this reason).

Wizard is a great class to start with if you don't mind not spending a lot of time sliding (we have a few spells that use slides, but you can generally get through a dungeon without using those if you aren't comfortable with the pucks). The spell chart isn't THAT hard to memorize and doesn't change (though the virtual TD chart is different than the physical runs, which is an exception to that general rule). There are 16 positions to memorize and they're logically laid out (IE: Wind is at the top of the chart and Earth is at the bottom, holy planes at the top, evil planes at the bottom, etc). And, as others have mentioned, making a mistake just means you do slightly less damage, not that you fail to cast.