Ancestor Type Choice


Ask fellow adventurers how to stay alive in the deep, dark, dangerous dungeon below, or share your own accumulated wisdom.

User avatar

Dis Charger

Posts: 2057

Joined: Wednesday, 7th August 2013, 08:25

Post Thursday, 18th August 2016, 10:37

Ancestor Type Choice

I'm trying out Hep (as a FeWz with decent book choices in shops though few spells until I start affording them). {Book of Power, Book of Earth, Book of Burglary, Book of Summonings} are of immediate possible use with {Necronomicon, RandArt (Dragon's Call)} being more possible long term.

Which of the three ancestor types do I pick? (Also what are the choice criteria in general)?
I'm beginning to feel like a Cat God! Felid streaks: {FeVM^Sif Muna, FeWn^Dithmenos, FeAr^Pakellas}, {FeEE^Ashenzari, FeEn^Gozag, FeNe^Sif Muna, FeAE^Vehumet...(ongoing)}

Swamp Slogger

Posts: 170

Joined: Wednesday, 13th July 2016, 09:30

Post Thursday, 18th August 2016, 11:53

Re: Ancestor Type Choice

I think they are all usefull. Knight is better for tanking stuff and retreats. It will keep getting in a way of spells tho.
Battlemage and Hexer is decent too at higher piety.

All of them lacks ranged dodge from spells and attacks like a Ds demonic guardian do. I wish you could shoot though them.
Online Statistics
Road to: Great Ds (6/25): DsFi^Gozag 3 R, DsGl^Qaz 4 R, DsMo^Chei 5 R, {DsHu^Uska 6 R, DsAs^Uska 7 R}, DsAr^Chei 8 R.
In progress: DsWn... Currently out of time. Maybe someday.

Watch my streams here

Ziggurat Zagger

Posts: 11111

Joined: Friday, 8th February 2013, 12:00

Post Thursday, 18th August 2016, 13:39

Re: Ancestor Type Choice

I enjoyed Battlemage with my FeAE. It is cool to stay together and shoot Iron Shots etc. at monsters.

Sar

User avatar

Ziggurat Zagger

Posts: 6418

Joined: Friday, 6th July 2012, 12:48

Post Thursday, 18th August 2016, 16:42

Re: Ancestor Type Choice

Sandman25 wrote:It is cool to stay together and shoot Iron Shots

It is pretty cool, which is why when the battlemage remembers that they have a lajatang and rushes past you to engage the enemy in honorable melee combat (blocking your line of fire, of course) is kind of the opposite of cool. And that happens pretty much all the time!

Also it's pretty funny how a mage-type ally blocks some of the level 9 attack spells. Actually, is the ally immune to Shatter, like the insubstantial enemies are?

Ziggurat Zagger

Posts: 11111

Joined: Friday, 8th February 2013, 12:00

Post Thursday, 18th August 2016, 16:52

Re: Ancestor Type Choice

Sar wrote:It is pretty cool, which is why when the battlemage remembers that they have a lajatang and rushes past you to engage the enemy in honorable melee combat (blocking your line of fire, of course) is kind of the opposite of cool. And that happens pretty much all the time!

Also it's pretty funny how a mage-type ally blocks some of the level 9 attack spells. Actually, is the ally immune to Shatter, like the insubstantial enemies are?


I don't mind, watching Battlemage killing Tentacled Monstrousity with lajatang without my help is cool too.

The "trick" is to ignore level 9 spells in 3 rune game, not a big deal.

Tomb Titivator

Posts: 909

Joined: Thursday, 3rd January 2013, 20:32

Post Thursday, 18th August 2016, 16:57

Re: Ancestor Type Choice

I haven't played much Hep, but was similarly annoyed by the positioning of the AI when I picked battlemage and sometimes hexer, though hexer seemed a bit better because you're more likely to want to engage in stabby melee yourself. I won with a NaVM using the knight ancestor which was relatively fantastic, because at least the AI was completely predictable.
Wins (Does not include my GrEE^Veh 15-runer...stupid experimental branch)
User avatar

Blades Runner

Posts: 546

Joined: Friday, 2nd October 2015, 14:42

Post Thursday, 18th August 2016, 17:09

Re: Ancestor Type Choice

I haven't seen the more recent iterations of battlemage, but my impression has always been that hexer is much better than the other two.
The Original Discourse Respecter

Abyss Ambulator

Posts: 1193

Joined: Friday, 16th January 2015, 20:20

Post Thursday, 18th August 2016, 18:13

Re: Ancestor Type Choice

I'd think hexer is especially good for Fe to get extra stabs, but maybe the knight tanking would be good too.

Snake Sneak

Posts: 94

Joined: Sunday, 26th April 2015, 22:16

Post Thursday, 18th August 2016, 19:33

Re: Ancestor Type Choice

I'm playing around with Hep too. I have a FE with a warrior ancestor and he's doing fine. The AI is pretty straightforward and the warrior is beefy enough not to die unless I'm careless. I also have a Gl with a hex ancestor and that one is alright. The confusion/paralysis is handy at times, but the hexer often gets caught in the middle of a pack and dies.

Is there a penalty for the ancestor dying? I think there is--at lower levels, I think the hexer dropped down a "level"? But I'm not sure. Does anyone know the specifics?
Last edited by Blink Frog on Thursday, 18th August 2016, 19:54, edited 1 time in total.

Ziggurat Zagger

Posts: 11111

Joined: Friday, 8th February 2013, 12:00

Post Thursday, 18th August 2016, 19:37

Re: Ancestor Type Choice

There is no penalty for ancestor's death.

For this message the author Sandman25 has received thanks:
Blink Frog
User avatar

Dungeon Master

Posts: 202

Joined: Thursday, 5th December 2013, 05:01

Post Friday, 19th August 2016, 17:58

Re: Ancestor Type Choice

goodcoolguy wrote:I haven't seen the more recent iterations of battlemage, but my impression has always been that hexer is much better than the other two.


This is, as far as I know, a problem from Hep's early testing that got fixed, but the impression stuck in the collective memory of the playerbase.

I've played a bunch with Hep in the past month. The knight and battlemage hit very hard and with Idealise can easily take down even the toughest monsters at the point of the game you're in. The hexer is nice to have and Mass Confusion helps clear out crowds (S-branch packs, Vault packs, Draconian packs are the big ones coming to mind) but the hexer is basically a liability in melee being both fragile and feeble. Draining/antimagic is nice to inflict on the enemy, but Dead is the best status in the game and the other two ancestors are much better at applying that status.

All three ancestors have similar winrates.

Vaults Vanquisher

Posts: 451

Joined: Friday, 24th June 2016, 14:09

Post Sunday, 21st August 2016, 11:54

Re: Ancestor Type Choice

Isn't hexer so much better then the others that there's really no other point of going knight or Mage?
User avatar

Dungeon Master

Posts: 202

Joined: Thursday, 5th December 2013, 05:01

Post Sunday, 21st August 2016, 14:48

Re: Ancestor Type Choice

CypherZel wrote:Isn't hexer so much better then the others that there's really no other point of going knight or Mage?


See my previous post, please. All three ancestors are very good.
User avatar

Blades Runner

Posts: 546

Joined: Friday, 2nd October 2015, 14:42

Post Sunday, 21st August 2016, 16:01

Re: Ancestor Type Choice

Actually, hexer is the best.
The Original Discourse Respecter
User avatar

Abyss Ambulator

Posts: 1194

Joined: Friday, 18th April 2014, 01:41

Post Sunday, 21st August 2016, 19:12

Re: Ancestor Type Choice

always pick hexer

Mage AI is bad and knight damage is not that good
remove food

Return to Dungeon Crawling Advice

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 18 guests

cron
Powered by phpBB © 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007 phpBB Group.
Designed by ST Software for PTF.