YASD - Hydras are jerks

[Jenx]

Man, Felids are just too much fun! I've played around with a FlTm before, but this one went pretty well. Felids are pretty good in surviving the early game due to high EV, claws and speed. Minor book of magic (Flame) was pretty useful since i got blink and Mephitic Cloud (was going to get Repel Missiles too), however it did mean it pushed Blade Hands a bit back. I breezed trough most encounters, at some point had to make a stash for my excess potions since I just had so many (this has never happened with any other tranmuster I've played so far). I decided I'd worship Ash since...well, why not? And of course that meant his altar was on Dlevel 8. However cursing my two rings quickly made my piety skyrocket into ***** and I would have probably gotten it filled up if I didn't run into a hydra in the Lair and realized I actually had no way of dealing with it, since they are immune to poison so I couldn't use my usual tactic of just throwing potions at it until it drowns in poisonous vapors. It somehow managed to close in on me for long enough to get a hit in and before I knew it I was dead and out of extra lives. Oh well. I'll definitely will be playing around with this combo some more though!

  Code:

Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup version 0.8.0-a0-4542-g8b191d0 character file.

17307 Vodka Mutini the Gouger (level 11, -9/53 HPs)
             Began as a Felid Transmuter on Jan 20, 2011.
             Was a High Priest of Ashenzari.
             Mangled by an eight-headed hydra (15 damage)
             ... on Level 3 of the Lair of Beasts.
             The game lasted 00:34:09 (22607 turns).

Vodka Mutini the Gouger (Felid Transmuter)                         Turns: 22607, Time: 00:34:09

HP  -9/53        AC  2     Str  8      Exp: 11/23011 (266), need: 163
MP  11/19        EV 26     Int 17      God: Ashenzari [*****.]
Gold 1200        SH  0     Dex 17      Spells:  8 memorised,  0 levels left
                                       Lives: 0, deaths: 3

Res.Fire  : . . .   See Invis. : +     - Unarmed
Res.Cold  : + . .   Warding    : .   (armour unavailable)
Life Prot.: . . .   Conserve   : .   (shield unavailable)
Res.Acid. : . . .   Res.Corr.  : .   (helmet unavailable)
Res.Poison: +       Clarity    : +   (cloak unavailable)
Res.Elec. : .       Spirit.Shd : .   (gloves unavailable)
Sust.Abil.: . .     Stasis     : .   (boots unavailable)
Res.Mut.  : .       Ctrl.Telep.: .   (no amulet)
Res.Rott. : .       Levitation : .   A - cursed ring of poison resistance
Saprovore : . . .   Ctrl.Flight: .   w - cursed +6,+4 ring of slaying

@: quick, quite resistant to hostile enchantments, very stealthy
A: paw claws, no armour, no advanced items, fangs 3, see invisible, carnivore 3, cold
resistance 1, deformed body 1, deterioration 1, speed 1, -10% mp, slow healing 1, slow
metabolism 2, AC +2, Int +1
a: Scrying, Transfer Knowledge, Renounce Religion


You were on level 3 of the Lair of Beasts.
You worshipped Ashenzari.
Ashenzari was exalted by your worship.
You were not hungry.

You visited 4 branches of the dungeon, and saw 17 of its levels.
You visited 1 portal chamber: ossuary.

You collected 1180 gold pieces.

Inventory:

Comestibles
 a - 2 meat rations
 b - 4 honeycombs
Scrolls
 h - a scroll of fear {unknown}
 o - 3 scrolls of teleportation
 p - a scroll of amnesia {unknown}
 r - 3 scrolls of blinking
 x - 3 scrolls of immolation
 y - 3 scrolls of remove curse
 B - a scroll of curse jewellery
Jewellery
 l - an uncursed ring of sustenance
 w - a cursed +6,+4 ring of slaying (left paw)
 A - a cursed ring of poison resistance (right paw)
Potions
 c - 7 potions of decay {!q}
 e - 2 potions of confusion {!q}
 f - 6 potions of poison {!q}
 g - 3 potions of brilliance
 i - a potion of paralysis {!q}
 k - a potion of invisibility
 m - a potion of heal wounds
 n - 4 potions of healing
 t - a potion of agility
 z - 3 potions of degeneration {!q}
 C - 2 potions of mutation {!q}
Books
 d - a book of Changes   
   Spells                             Type                      Level
   *Fulsome Distillation              Transmutation/Necromancy     1
   *Sticks to Snakes                  Transmutation/Summoning      2
   *Evaporate                         Fire/Transmutation           2
   *Spider Form                       Transmutation/Poison         3
   *Ice Form                          Ice/Transmutation            4
   Dig                                Transmutation/Earth          4
   Blade Hands                        Transmutation                5
   


 You had 266 experience left.

   Skills:
 + Level 6 Fighting
 - Level 1 Throwing
 + Level 10 Dodging
 + Level 7 Stealth
 - Level 6 Stabbing
 + Level 1 Traps & Doors
 + Level 12 Unarmed Combat
 + Level 4 Spellcasting
 + Level 3 Necromancy
 - Level 3 Translocations
 + Level 8 Transmutations
 - Level 2 Fire Magic
 + Level 3 Ice Magic


You couldn't memorise any spells.
You knew the following spells:

 Your Spells              Type           Power        Success   Level  Hunger
a - Fulsome Distillation  Trmt/Necr      N/A          Excellent   1    None
b - Evaporate             Fire/Trmt      ####......   Excellent   2    Strawberry
c - Mephitic Cloud        Pois/Air/Conj  #.........   Fair        3    Choko
d - Summon Small Mammals  Summ           #....        Very Good   1    None
e - Spider Form           Pois/Trmt      ####......   Great       3    Choko
f - Ice Form              Ice/Trmt       ####......   Very Good   4    Honeycomb
g - Blink                 Tloc           N/A          Great       2    Strawberry
h - Sticks to Snakes      Summ/Trmt      ####......   Excellent   2    Strawberry


[mageykun]

Hydras are jerks.

Huh. My usual methods of dealing with them are flaming weapons, sling them to death, wand them to death, or rarely throwing stuff- none of which are available to a felid. I guess you're limited to blasting or summoning them to death- and running if you don't have either.

[Rapigel]

I'm still in 0.7.1, but I am playing Tms at the moment. Can Felids drink potions? Would invis + ice form (for the extra damage output) have worked? Or running in spider form behind a wall of spammals?

[KoboldLord]

You can Evaporate potions of decay for a miasma cloud. Automatically slows them, and damages them some too from rot. It could make a difference if you're trying to fight them in Ice Form. Otherwise, I suppose you can just kite them to a cleared section of the map and teleport.

[Jenx]

You can Evaporate potions of decay for a miasma cloud. Automatically slows them, and damages them some too from rot. It could make a difference if you're trying to fight them in Ice Form. Otherwise, I suppose you can just kite them to a cleared section of the map and teleport.

Did throw decay potions at it. The damage it took it just regenerated in a few turns. And kite them with what, felids can't throw anything.

[Stormfox]

I ran a SpEn once whose best method of dealing with hydras involved luring them back to a level where I had left a komodo dragon alive, then Enslave the komodo dragon and have it go after the hydra. The sickness kept it from regenerating, and until I brought an 8-headed hydra back (too much damage output for the komodo to survive), the raw damage from the komodo would take it out in 3-4 turns.

Given how many stairs you have to traverse to make this happen, though, it's a very risky strategy...which is why I haven't tried it since.

[daniel_charms]

In my current game, I tried to kill a hydra to death with a +elec dagger (I may have even 'zerked it). The jerk grew 19 heads before I realized this wasn't going too well. Then I summoned in a couple of Brothers (playing a KoBe of Trog) but that jerk one-shotted them. I blinked away and took it out with a wand of fire. Used a spear on the next two or three; now I just sneak up and stab them.

[szanth]

Eh? In my experience, daggers (and quickblades for that matter) don't cut off the heads.

[lucy_ferre]

Only slicing weapons can cut off a hydra's head. Any bladed weapon shorter than a short sword doesn't slice stuff iirc.

Anyway, I recommend playing a FeBe. They're mindless fun (no need to worry about tactics or strategy) and they can out-damage a hydra's regeneration. Later, you can ditch Trog and play as something else.

[Jenx]

No thanks. I considered it, but I already have 2 berserkers going on and I really don't need a third, plus if it's not a transmuter I can't properly use that name

[danr]

Is it just me, or is Berserker just a killer combination with ANY species. I started out seeing it as good for Minotaurs, Hill Orcs, Trolls, MD, but now it's joined by felids, spriggans, kobolds and halflings.

What's next? A Deep Elf berserker?

[KoboldLord]

Did throw decay potions at it. The damage it took it just regenerated in a few turns. And kite them with what, felids can't throw anything.

The damage regenerates, the rot does not. The interface doesn't show that their max hp is coming down, but it is. Besides, even slowing them is going to cut their damage output in half.

You kite them with a teleport scroll. You let them chase you over to a cleared section of level away from the stairs, and then you teleport out. Drop a travel exclusion over a choke point or two just to be sure you don't attract its attention again. And if it later wanders out of its new home, you just do the whole thing again. Not the same as killing it, and it won't be enough for Swamp 5, but good enough to get you access to the loot lower in Lair if you meet a couple early hydrae.

[szanth]

Is it just me, or is Berserker just a killer combination with ANY species. I started out seeing it as good for Minotaurs, Hill Orcs, Trolls, MD, but now it's joined by felids, spriggans, kobolds and halflings.

What's next? A Deep Elf berserker?

*shrugs* S'what happens when you have a really effective component. Some are more effective than others; berserker happens to be up there.

[daniel_charms]

Is it just me, or is Berserker just a killer combination with ANY species. I started out seeing it as good for Minotaurs, Hill Orcs, Trolls, MD, but now it's joined by felids, spriggans, kobolds and halflings.

What's next? A Deep Elf berserker?

I've seen nht play as DEBe on CDO a few times. Not sure if he's ever gotten anywhere with one, though.

[asdu]

I've played a few FeTm's myself. Since I typically went with Kiku and so had necromancy on my side, my usual method of dealing with them was to spam agony at them until they were very low and finish them off with vampiric draining. Of course I needed to take damage from the hydra itself for this to work, so I did actually die a couple times It would have been much less dangerous had I known that miasma did anything to them.

On FeBe: ugh. As someone who already finds melee characters boring, I can't see why would anyone want to play one that has so many restrictions that you'll practically only use directional keys the whole game. Worth a shot if you've had one hand amputated, though