How do you break Tomb:3?

[ddubois]

I've gotten 14 runes, cleared over 100 levels, acquired the best loot I've ever had, and I feel like I'm walking blind into a death trap. What's the strategy for breaking the new one-way stairs Tomb:3?

Should I just haste, read tele, and descend, or is it better to fight on the spot? Is the action hot and heavy immediately, or will I have a lull or a hallway before I encounter the big rush? I don't know how hard I want to pre-buff, or if I might want to buff when the action starts.

I've got Portal Projectile or penetration javs for tormentors, but I'm not sure whether I should even try to kill them out of crowd, or flee (tele, blink, hop?) to a more advantageous spot for fighting, or try to rely on fog scrolls to block torments, or just try to heal faster than I die with TSO heal-on-kills? And if the latter, am I just spamming cleansing flame or just tabbing as hard as I can?

I do have Aura of Abjuration, but I don't even know if that's worth an aut, or if making an angel is worth an aut, or if evoking a box of beats is worth an aut, or... anything really. I don't know anything.

http://crawl.berotato.org/crawl/morgue/ ... dubois.txt

  Code:

 Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup version 0.20.0-10-g0535bb4 (webtiles) character file.

ddubois the Invulnerable (Barachi Fighter)        Turns: 136206, Time: 16:51:58

Health: 249/249    AC: 58    Str: 23    XL:     27
Magic:  40/40      EV: 25    Int: 10    God:    the Shining One [******]
Gold:   3014       SH: 36    Dex: 26    Spells: 30/44 levels left

rFire    + . .     SeeInvis +   a - +9 double sword (holy)
rCold    + + +     Gourm    .   E - +8 large shield {reflect} {Reflect}
rNeg     + + +     Faith    .   d - +9 scales of the Dragon King {rPois rF+ rC+ MR+}
rPois    +         Spirit   +   G - +2 helmet {SInv} {sInv}
rElec    .         Reflect  +   j - +4 dragonskin cloak
rCorr    .         Harm     .   M - +2 pair of gloves of Circular Logic {Slay+2}
MR       ++++.     Clarity  +   L - +0 pair of boots "Geclukla" {Regen+ Dex-2 Stlth+}
Stlth    ..........             v - amulet of the Prince of Darkness {Spirit rF+ rN++}
Regen    1.0/turn               R - ring "Hosipnept" {MR+ Slay+5}
MPRegen  0.3/turn               U - ring "Duxu" {rF- rC++ Dex+8 Slay+6, !*}

@: glowing, slow
A: +LOS, swims, talons 1, molten scales 1, slimy green scales 1, yellow scales
1, camouflage 1, clarity, clever 1, slowness 1, subdued magic 1, strong legs 2
}: 14/15 runes: decaying, slimy, silver, iron, obsidian, icy, bone, abyssal,
demonic, glowing, magical, fiery, dark, gossamer
a: Hop, Divine Shield, Cleansing Flame, Summon Divine Warrior, Brand Weapon With
Holy Wrath, Renounce Religion


You are on level 13 of a ziggurat.
You worship the Shining One.
The Shining One is exalted by your worship.
You are not hungry.

You have visited 18 branches of the dungeon, and seen 88 of its levels.
You have visited Pandemonium 4 times, and seen 25 of its levels.
You have visited the Abyss 6 times.
You have visited 1 bazaar.
You have visited 1 ziggurat, and seen 13 of its levels.
You have also visited: Labyrinth, Ice Cave, Volcano and Desolation.

You have collected 13481 gold pieces.
You have spent 8403 gold pieces at shops.
You have donated 2064 gold pieces to Zin.

Inventory:

Hand Weapons
 a - a +9 double sword of holy wrath (weapon)
 k - the +9 staff of Olgreb {rPois}
   (You found it on level 4 of a ziggurat)   
   
   It protects you from poison.
 Y - the +4 hand crossbow "Hydraslayer" {elec, +Inv rElec Int-4 Stlth+}
   (You found it on level 12 of a ziggurat)   
   
   It charges the ammunition it shoots with electricity; occasionally upon a
   hit, such missiles may discharge and cause terrible harm.
   
   It affects your intelligence (-4).
   It insulates you from electricity.
   It lets you turn invisible.
   It makes you more stealthy.
Missiles
 u - 7 silver javelins
 C - 5 javelins of penetration (quivered)
 J - 23 javelins
 N - a steel javelin
Armour
 d - the +9 scales of the Dragon King (worn) {rPois rF+ rC+ MR+}
   (You found it on level 5 of the Pits of Slime)   
   
   It protects you from fire.
   It protects you from cold.
   It protects you from poison.
   It affects your resistance to hostile enchantments.
 j - the +4 dragonskin cloak (worn)
   (You took it off Tiamat on level 1 of the Realm of Zot)
 E - a +8 large shield of reflection (worn) {Reflect}
 G - a +2 helmet of see invisible (worn) {sInv}
 L - the +0 pair of boots "Geclukla" (worn) {Regen+ Dex-2 Stlth+}
   (You acquired it on level 10 of the Dungeon)   
   
   It affects your dexterity (-2).
   It increases your rate of regeneration.
   It makes you more stealthy.
 M - the +2 pair of gloves of Circular Logic (worn) {Slay+2}
   (You found it on level 5 of the Abyss)   
   
   It affects your accuracy and damage with ranged weapons and melee attacks
   (+2).
Jewellery
 v - the amulet of the Prince of Darkness (around neck) {Spirit rF+ rN++}
   (You found it in the Desolation of Salt)   
   
   [amulet of guardian spirit]
   
   It causes incoming damage to be split between your health and magic.
   It protects you from fire.
   It greatly protects you from negative energy.
 F - the ring "Toewaa Niej" {+Fly rF+ rN+ Str+3 Int+5}
   (You bought it in a shop on level 1 of the Depths)   
   
   [ring of flight]
   
   It affects your strength (+3).
   It affects your intelligence (+5).
   It protects you from fire.
   It protects you from negative energy.
   It lets you fly.
 K - the ring of Robustness {AC+8}
   (You found it on level 2 of the Realm of Zot)   
   
   [ring of protection]
   
   It affects your AC (+8).
 R - the ring "Hosipnept" (left hand) {MR+ Slay+5}
   (You bought it in a shop on level 1 of the Depths)   
   
   [ring of protection from magic]
   
   It affects your accuracy and damage with ranged weapons and melee attacks
   (+5).
   It affects your resistance to hostile enchantments.
 U - the ring "Duxu" (right hand) {rF- rC++ Dex+8 Slay+6, !*}
   (You bought it in a shop on level 2 of the Orcish Mines)   
   
   [ring of slaying]
   
   It affects your dexterity (+8).
   It affects your accuracy and damage with ranged weapons and melee attacks
   (+6).
   It makes you vulnerable to fire.
   It greatly protects you from cold.
Wands
 g - a wand of scattershot (9/9)
 z - a wand of acid (13/15)
 D - a wand of digging (21/24)
Scrolls
 e - 8 scrolls of fear
 f - 10 scrolls of fog
 i - 23 scrolls of identify
 l - 5 scrolls of magic mapping {!r}
 o - 8 scrolls of holy word {!r}
 p - 12 scrolls of remove curse
 r - a scroll of recharging
 t - 22 scrolls of teleportation
 y - a scroll of summoning
 B - 8 scrolls of blinking {!r}
Potions
 h - 11 potions of curing
 m - 5 potions of cancellation
 s - 4 potions of haste
 w - 2 potions of agility
 S - a potion of might
 V - 4 potions of resistance
 W - 8 potions of heal wounds
Books
 b - a book of Fire
 c - a book of Burglary
 H - a book of Unlife
 I - a book of Transfigurations
Miscellaneous
 n - a box of beasts
 x - a lightning rod (3/4)
 A - 3 phantom mirrors
 O - a phial of floods
 P - a lamp of fire
 Q - a sack of spiders
 T - a fan of gales
Comestibles
 X - 23 bread rations
 Z - a meat ration


   Skills:
 O Level 27 Fighting
 O Level 27 Long Blades
 + Level 25.6 Throwing
 O Level 27 Armour
 O Level 27 Dodging
 - Level 0.4 Stealth
 O Level 27 Shields
 - Level 9.1 Spellcasting
 - Level 10.3 Hexes
 - Level 8.0 Charms
 - Level 10.3 Summonings
 - Level 10.3 Translocations
   Level 2.2 Ice Magic
 - Level 9.3 Air Magic
 O Level 27 Invocations
 O Level 27 Evocations


You have 30 spell levels left.
You know the following spells:

 Your Spells              Type           Power        Failure   Level  Hunger
a - Portal Projectile     Hex/Tloc       ###...       3%          3    ##.....
b - Blink                 Tloc           N/A          1%          2    #......
c - Lesser Beckoning      Tloc           ###.......   3%          3    ##.....
r - Recall                Summ/Tloc      N/A          4%          3    ##.....
s - Swiftness             Chrm/Air       ###.....     4%          2    #......
B - Summon Butterflies    Summ           ###.....     1%          1    None


[ddubois]

Is there a Youtube of someone doing Tomb:3?

[edgefigaro]

I shatternado'd tomb with TSO and it was easy. That probably isn't helpful.

Abjuration is very much a worthy use of auts.

Good use of blink (lvl 2 spell/evokable) will save you turns. ?Fog is useful, ?Blink is useful, ?Immolation is useful but I've deathcursed myself to death in zigs by blowing up too many mummys in a single turn.

!Lignification gives torment immunitiy, treeform is cancelled by !cancellation. You probably have a few of these laying around

Once you thin the welcoming party, the it gets easier.

Generally, just get to a nearby upstairs and then fight on the stairs, trying to make sure you can drag a few nasties up with you. If you can safely blow up the screen with an ?Immolation, all the better.

[Queen Cassie]

Your advice was nice, edge. Tomb was my last rune too. Unfortunately I messed up and still died. Just got too surrounded no matter what I did. Too much HP loss from torment.

[edgefigaro]

So I watched ddubois's tomb 3, and i have more pointers.

Frequently, there aren't alot of greater mummys hanging around the first time you take the downstairs.

You can descend and first turn spellblink and improve your positioning.

You want to get into the doorway as quickly as possible. Fighting standing in that doorway is good before you get overrun my greater mummies. Things will pour in from the main chamber, and you want to get as much damage on to as many of them as possible while you can hold that position. If you have alot of health when you get into the door you can treeform there. If you are low on health you can retreat clear what is probably the dangerous half of your LoS in a single step.

If you can be offensive. Spam Lamp of Fire (it will recharge every couple greater mummies). Use ?immolation scrolls. Use that lighting rod. You want to make use of AoE abilities to hurt as many things as possible. Do things that make a ton of noise. Keep abjuration up.

At some point in time you will need to retreat. If you are in the doorway, on any turn you aren't a tree, paralyzed, confused, or silenced, you can read a ?blink and put you on an up staircase, and also most likely get out of LoS of whatever you are bothering you. Also, it is feasible to walk back from this position as well, but remember that you are slowed cuz this is tomb. However, you can cover a walking retreat with ?fog.

Some characters may find it more feasible fighting just inside that doorway. This may be acceptable. However, swinging a non cleaving melee weapon using that doorway is rarely a good plan. You need to use items, spells and abilities that hit many things.

Once you are on the stairs, you are at the second place to fight. Things trickle in more slowly limited by the doorway. AoE is still good, but bolts and single target ranged weapons are more relevant here.

The main goal here is to get upstairs alive. The tertiary objectives are to kill as many mummys as possible while standing on this staircase and maybe lure a few bigger creatures upstairs.

Well, thats a basic plan.

[Chicken]

Generally a good plan, though Captain Obvious says to make sure to pack a scroll of mapping, haste, Control Undead spell if proficient. Dispel Undead is a decent option for greater mummies directly - Control works if they happen to bring in a bunch of undead minions for you. It would be very good to be a mummy immune to torment here... but if you are you might like Deconstruction to deal with those Canopic jar things that dispel undead, and the *birds* are the worst. You can come out in a temporarily somewhat safe place with ?teleportation if you're lucky... oddly, I think I recall the rune (far center) tends to mark about the safest hide on the whole level. As always, a big ticket spell like Firestorm or Infestation goes a long way... (though with the latter it can be hard to get the pump primed, once it's going it's pretty awesome) As for a Barachi, well, that I have no idea about... never did figure out how to deal with them.

[Nebukadnezar]

Did 2*15 runes with Tr of Oka in 0.20.
Tomb as rune #6 and #15.
http://crawl.xtahua.com/crawl/morgue/Ne ... 202920.txt
http://crawl.xtahua.com/crawl/morgue/Ne ... 010204.txt
Statue Form, PoG, Aura of Abj, LRD, Silence

Used LRD in T1 to bypass ambush in T2.
In T3:
Went with PoG to exits.
Stayed there until HP got too low.
Repeat.

Didn't use Silence/Haste potion (rare)
Used magic mapping to get knowledge where to use LRD in T1 (with brill+staff of earth).
Used mm in T2 to get knowledge of exit position ready in case I was teleported by a tp-trap
Used mm in T3 to get knowledge of exit position in case of tp-trap or having to tp if my tr wouldn't make it to my target-exit.

EDIT:
Fighting while standing on exit: melee, throwing (rocks) + lesser beck.

[tasonir]

My OgEE with statue form had a hell of a time trying to clear tomb:3. I was eventually successful, but made a number of horrible mistakes. I was with Chei, so I didn't run all the way to the side room door as you should in general (chei characters should blink there). I was hoping to eventually have fewer and fewer things coming towards me as I cleared the early waves with slouch and didn't take much damage, but pretty much the entire center area can hear you from where you enter, and eventually the mummy priests/greater mummies will be too much. Definitely get to a side chamber and fight there for as long as you can, and then go up the stairs when you no longer can stay.

I don't think I'd recommend doing tomb to a character who has no method of controlled blink - either the spell, or at least 3-4 scrolls. You don't need many, but having 0 could very well kill you.

If people care about morgues: http://crawl.akrasiac.org/rawdata/Tason ... 110852.txt. Note I had 419 max hp and resisted torment and it was still very nearly fatal.

[Rast]

Is the action hot and heavy immediately

[tasonir]

So having done 3 15 rune games, I can now explain how to do tomb:3 easily. Controlled blink. It isn't absolutely required if you have access to haste, you can just run to the upstairs, but I'd probably consider not doing tomb if you really have 0 sources of blink (as mentioned before).

General entrance process:
Either blink directly to the door, or haste and run to a door and then blink or run to the escape hatch. Fight for as long as possible, and then escape up the stairs. If you are not immediately dying, try to grab at least 1-3 significant threats so you can kill them above, and not have to deal with them on tomb:3 again. You will want to have cleared both sides of tomb:2 where you will be coming up, so that you don't have additional tomb:2 spawns with whatever you are bringing up. Consumables used: 1-2 blinks and/or haste potion.

For strong melee/hybrid characters, expect to repeat the general entrance process at least 3 times, and plan your blink usage accordingly. I haven't yet done tomb with firestorm, but I'm assuming if you have both necromutation and firestorm, you could probably stick the landing in one try, but I'd still recommend blinking to the escape hatch and being prepared to flee in case something goes wrong.

On the second entrance, consider going to the other side to attempt to have fewer things in LOS at once, although it's likely going to be swarmed no matter which side you choose - just make sure you can get to the escape hatch before it's an outright emergency. Keep a constant eye on your limit of controlled blinks if you don't have the spell.

Avoid making any sort of noise in the center hallway. The positions where the escape hatches are on the sides are more or less the points where noise won't spread as far, since it has to loop around to either of the doors, and then turn the corner and go back into the main area. This will hopefully limit how much hears you, but you're up against the unnaturally quiet background noise in tomb, so it'll still be a lot. Fight here for as long as possible; in my experience it's generally around the third pass where the monster density will finally thin out enough for you to stay on the level and finish off the rest, but your experience may vary.

I'd be interested to hear about people doing tomb with primarily casters who had firestorm/glaciate/tornado etc. I had shatter and used that to sequence break tomb:1, but I was NOT willing to use it on tomb:3. Maybe it's safe to do? I was too worried about the noise to try it.

[gameguard]

buff pots especially haste, cblink/blink scroll/passage, gravitas/beckoning, control undead, abjuration, situationally silence not scroll it sucks, lamp of fire, holy word, cloud immunity helps immensely to not get slowed.

But pretty much if you have cblink castable you should be fine. Brilliance pot can help you cast it.

Or just spam firestorm.

[ThreeInvisibleDucks]

My first (and only) visit in the NewTomb was with a statuepode of Makh that I over-prepared by clearing two Zigs before hand. Needless to say, Statue Form, rN+++, Wucad Mu, and spamming Ignition + Fire Storm + an occational Tornado cleared the joint pretty fast:

  Code:

 76086 | Tomb:1   | Entered Level 1 of the Tomb of the Ancients
 76252 | Tomb:1   | Noticed a greater mummy
 76254 | Tomb:1   | Killed a greater mummy
 76452 | Tomb:2   | Noticed a greater mummy
 76453 | Tomb:2   | Noticed a greater mummy
 76453 | Tomb:2   | Noticed a greater mummy
 76453 | Tomb:2   | Noticed a greater mummy
 76455 | Tomb:2   | Noticed a greater mummy
 76456 | Tomb:2   | Killed a greater mummy
 76457 | Tomb:2   | Killed a greater mummy
 76457 | Tomb:2   | Killed a greater mummy
 76457 | Tomb:2   | Killed a greater mummy
 76460 | Tomb:2   | Killed a greater mummy
 76525 | Tomb:1   | Noticed a greater mummy
 76525 | Tomb:1   | Noticed a greater mummy
 76525 | Tomb:1   | Noticed a greater mummy
 76525 | Tomb:1   | Noticed a greater mummy
 76527 | Tomb:1   | Noticed a greater mummy
 76527 | Tomb:1   | Killed a greater mummy
 76528 | Tomb:1   | Killed a greater mummy
 76528 | Tomb:1   | Killed a greater mummy
 76528 | Tomb:1   | Killed a greater mummy
 76530 | Tomb:1   | Noticed a greater mummy
 76530 | Tomb:1   | Killed a greater mummy
 76530 | Tomb:1   | Killed a greater mummy
 76617 | Tomb:1   | Noticed a greater mummy
 76624 | Tomb:1   | Killed a greater mummy
 76630 | Tomb:1   | Noticed a greater mummy
 76637 | Tomb:1   | Killed a greater mummy
 76641 | Tomb:1   | Noticed a greater mummy
 76644 | Tomb:1   | Killed a greater mummy
 76665 | Tomb:1   | Noticed a greater mummy
 76668 | Tomb:1   | Killed a greater mummy
 76673 | Tomb:1   | Noticed a greater mummy
 76675 | Tomb:1   | Killed a greater mummy
 76686 | Tomb:1   | Noticed a greater mummy
 76690 | Tomb:1   | Killed a greater mummy
 76714 | Tomb:1   | Noticed a greater mummy
 76717 | Tomb:1   | Noticed a greater mummy
 76719 | Tomb:1   | Killed a greater mummy
 76720 | Tomb:1   | Killed a greater mummy
 76727 | Tomb:1   | Noticed a greater mummy
 76734 | Tomb:1   | Killed a greater mummy
 76759 | Tomb:1   | Noticed a greater mummy
 76760 | Tomb:1   | Noticed a greater mummy
 76762 | Tomb:1   | Killed a greater mummy
 76762 | Tomb:1   | Killed a greater mummy
 76766 | Tomb:1   | Noticed a greater mummy
 76768 | Tomb:1   | Killed a greater mummy
 76797 | Tomb:1   | Noticed a greater mummy
 76805 | Tomb:1   | Killed a greater mummy
 76811 | Tomb:1   | Noticed a greater mummy
 76811 | Tomb:1   | Noticed a greater mummy
 76814 | Tomb:1   | Killed a greater mummy
 76815 | Tomb:1   | Killed a greater mummy
 76817 | Tomb:1   | Noticed a greater mummy
 76826 | Tomb:1   | Killed a greater mummy
 76832 | Tomb:1   | Noticed a greater mummy
 76835 | Tomb:1   | Killed a greater mummy
 76913 | Tomb:3   | Entered Level 3 of the Tomb of the Ancients
 76930 | Tomb:3   | Noticed a greater mummy
 76937 | Tomb:3   | Killed a greater mummy
 76939 | Tomb:3   | Noticed an ancient lich
 76950 | Tomb:3   | Noticed a greater mummy
 76952 | Tomb:3   | Killed an ancient lich
 76957 | Tomb:3   | Killed a greater mummy
 76967 | Tomb:3   | Noticed a greater mummy
 76971 | Tomb:3   | Killed a greater mummy
 77002 | Tomb:3   | Got a brightly glowing jade ring
 77003 | Tomb:3   | Identified the ring "Osysigint" {-Tele +Inv +Fly MP+9 Int+4} (You found it on level 3 of the Tomb of the Ancients)
 77009 | Tomb:3   | Noticed a greater mummy
 77011 | Tomb:3   | Identified the Guide on Envenoming and Ice
 77015 | Tomb:3   | Killed a greater mummy
 77021 | Tomb:3   | Got a sparkling garnet amulet
 77021 | Tomb:3   | Got a vibrating iron ring
 77022 | Tomb:3   | Identified the amulet "Cioral" {Faith Dex+4} (You found it on level 3 of the Tomb of the Ancients)
 77023 | Tomb:3   | Identified the ring "Mexyupoc" {rCorr rElec rN++ Stlth+} (You found it on level 3 of the Tomb of the Ancients)
 77090 | Tomb:3   | Noticed a greater mummy
 77098 | Tomb:3   | Killed a greater mummy
 77114 | Tomb:3   | Noticed Khufu
 77116 | Tomb:3   | Noticed a greater mummy
 77122 | Tomb:3   | Killed Khufu
 77122 | Tomb:3   | Killed a greater mummy
 77150 | Tomb:3   | Noticed a greater mummy
 77152 | Tomb:3   | Killed a greater mummy
 77182 | Tomb:3   | Got a golden rune of Zot


[Fingolfin]

I did newtomb with a NaWz of Sif and Tornado, Glaciate and Necromutation. Just spamming those spells, channelling with the staff of energy and Sif's power made me clear Tomb without ever taking a step backwards, but that's maybe a niche case.

[Lavandula]

I did new tomb a few times, although I'm yet to do it without necromutation.
So far, I positioned character near exit, and then maintained a crowd of allies (Spellforged Servitor, Summon Horrible Things, Control Undead) to keep entrance jammed and safeish-ly kill things from distance while keeping ability to flee upstairs.
https://underhound.eu:81/crawl/morgue/L ... 033447.txt
https://underhound.eu:81/crawl/morgue/L ... 022642.txt
W:3 is easier than W:2 because player doesn't meet any monsters immediately, and it has choke points in immediate vicinity to entrance.
Also, W:3 spawns 20-50 death scarabs, which alone can eat most of welcoming party.

I had shatter and used that to sequence break tomb:1, but I was NOT willing to use it on tomb:3. Maybe it's safe to do? I was too worried about the noise to try it.

Shatter is awful. There aren't many ways to break LOS in tomb to begin with, and shatter further destroys walls.

[ThreeInvisibleDucks]

I've now done NewTomb with two statuecats. As a statformer, I'd prefer 3 ?mappings, optimally have rN++ from gear, some ?tele, as much !haste as possible as you might get slowed, CBlink, Aura of Abjuration, Borg to recover from mistakes, and maybe Irradiate for a bit of an AoE spell.

[laularukyrumo]

NewTomb was actually the second time I've ever been in tomb, and the first one I cleared!

With, of all things, a MfVM. (That later died to my first encounter with Ereshkigal, but whatever.)

Morgue

How I did it:

Lichform helped with the torment, but mostly because I also didn't know that trees were immune to torment. REALLY GOOD INFO! Thanks edgefigaro.
Other than that, the traditional answer was to drop ?immolation, throw out as many Infestations as I could, and then drop Ignition. That shit is stronk. Death Scarabs are also really stronk. Slow-on-hit that affects mummies and demons just as fine as bats and rats is pretty useful. I did throw out quite a few Dispel Undeads, didn't think to use Control Undead as it checks MR and I figured that it would just never stick to anything in Tomb. (Having 40+ dudes in LOS means you'll probably get something when you cast, even if it won't necessarily be useful.)

[Siegurt]

Well, this hardly counts, but I recently did newtomb with a GaGl with 80 AC, 30 EV, 37 SH, and TSO, so I pretty much beat on things with my sacred scourge until they died.

On T3, I moved towards one of the corners near the entrance, beat on things for a while, then when there was not much space except for near one of the doors, I blinked (Using the mobs to control my landing spot for an uncontrolled blink) hasted, walked through the door, meandered over to the stairs, then stood on them and beat on things until I got down to about 2/3 health (throwing in an occasional angel and/or cleansing flame to either hit things that were behind other stuff, or block off approaches to me) Once I got down to 2/3 health (this took a long long time) I went upstairs, healed up, when down and through the other door, to wait at the other stairs and beat on things, and cleared the rest of the floor without going back up.

Like I said, "Doesn't really count"

[tasonir]

I mean the information about using TSO for the healing, angels and cleansing flame are all decent tips and help to diversify build choice away from just "have firestorm or tornado", although yeah not many races are going to have 100+ AC + EV. Still, if you use blinking or haste to get to the escape portals and repeat the escape upstairs/come back and clear a bit more, you can do the same thing with worse stats.

In short I'd rank the things you want in this order:

1) Blink or haste to get to the escape hatch safely.
2a) Some sort of high damage AOE: firestorm, cleansing flame, tornado, ignition, glaciate, slouch, etc.
2b) Good resistances/defenses to the damage you're likely to encounter: Statue form/necromutation, high rN+, good AC/EV.

3) Alternative strategy: if everything is swarming the landing after 1 or more passes at the floor, consider teleporting somewhere else on the floor. Safety not guaranteed, however about 80% of the floor should be empty space once you've made a bunch of noise by the landing area.

#1 is the most important, and then 2a/2b are basically "good offense" and "good defense". You really only need #1, but having some mixture of #2 will help you not have to keep coming back down and making multiple passes at the floor. And #3 if you run into problems.