The swamp is gone?!

[speciesxx]

Hey all,

i have spent a good hour searching for the swamp in the lair now... it aint there?! Spent 3-4 magic mapping scrolls and i just cant seem to find it. Is it a bug or am i blind?

Can't see it either with CTRL-g... so i didn't find it so far... oddd

[Mackerel]

There should be three branches that begin in the Lair, out of 4 possibilities: the Swamp, the Shoals, Snake Pits, Slime Pits.

If you've got Shoals, Snake, and Slime, you've got your 3, and there isn't a Swamp.

[speciesxx]

Ahhh thanks i got 3 there ye... (n00b me )

[Happy Corner]

Count yourself lucky. Most of the times when I show MY noobishness, I get to start a brand new character to commemorate the occasion!

[Curio]

i think slime pits are guaranteed. So its basically 2/3 not 3/4

[dolphin]

He's right. Slime is guaranteed. 2 of 3 for Shoals, Swamp, or Snake.

[eharper256]

Sadly, Shoals is by far harder than Swamp, IMHO. (Swamp is just like Lair+, whereas Shoals is literally dropping you in the metaphorical and literal deep end of the pool)

[Happy Corner]

No Swamp isn't ALWAYS bad news. Both the Snake Pit and Shoals can have shops, but I don't think I've ever seen one in the Swamp. It's totally worth having to put up with the Shoals if you can get some extra cure mutation potions, or a rMut amulet, or a rare spell book, or a great randart, or anything else that doesn't always pop up (or pop up ENOUGH) every game.

[XuaXua]

Indeed, Shoals is vastly harder than Snake or Swamp.

It is also more fun than either; by fun, I mean challenging.

[speciesxx]

Oh noes not harder .

[KoboldLord]

I don't know that Swamp 1-4 is all that easier than Shoals 1-4, either. It's much easier to do Shoals without infinite levitation than it is to do Swamp without any form of clarity or poison resistance. Submerged alligators are more than capable of killing an otherwise decent character, and they're almost impossible to shake off. Worse, there's no escape route if you meet something that you can't handle. At least in Shoals you can pillar-dance around one of the rock outcroppings on an island until either your mana regenerated or the tide comes in. In Swamp, the natural barriers only work on you. Javelineers are really the only super-nasty Shoals threat that doesn't have anything comparable Swamp-side, and they're pretty rare outside of Shoals 5.

[joellercoaster]

Submerged alligators are more than capable of killing an otherwise decent character, and they're almost impossible to shake off.

This.

[Waywinkle]

Krakans can appear outside of shoals:5. They are pretty scary with their super long tentacles and massive damage.

[XrBob]

eh, either way I wouldn't do swamp or snake with out poison resistance, and I wouldn't do shoals without an on demand source of levitation, usually the spell or flight. You can usually have at least one of those by the time you're done with lair.

[KoboldLord]

Krakans can appear outside of shoals:5. They are pretty scary with their super long tentacles and massive damage.

Krakens' main bodies can't move over land, though, and the tentacles will stop following you once you get away from the main body. They're basically slightly more mobile oklob plants. You'll rarely see more than one or two, and unlike oklob plants which often block access to the stairs or to treasure, krakens usually occupy some part of the map where you have no reason to return. Unless you manage to provoke a siren or something at the same time as the kraken, there should be no trouble popping an escape item and running away.

[XuaXua]

Krakans can appear outside of shoals:5. They are pretty scary with their super long tentacles and massive damage.

Krakens' main bodies can't move over land, though, and the tentacles will stop following you once you get away from the main body. They're basically slightly more mobile oklob plants.

Except they don't shoot acid at you and destroy your equipment.