Greepish pretty much hits one of the nails on the head. Actually several nails, but I've been primarily focusing on one specific nail. Extended really needs more variety in just about every aspect, period. I've done it a few times and, now that I have a 15-rune winner, I have little interest in doubling or more the length of a game with repetitive content when the option to winning is easily there and I'd only really care about trying to kill the Pan and Hell lords I haven't slain yet. But, discussing extended overall should probably be in another topic, and may not be a bad idea to do so.
But anyway, let's quote some posts so I can make things lucidly clear. Because, you know, arguing on the internet about a game is fun and is serious business, enough that it's important to do things like saying the other people discussing the topic are using empty rhetoric without saying anything of substance! ...but anyway... yeah, if I can't make it clear enough here, I'm going to stop trying to clarify for anyone who still can't get it.
KoboldLord wrote:His point is completely empty. He wields 'boring' as a rhetorical hammer to bypass the mechanical significance of the monster spell, without actually bothering to explain why Torment is, in his opinion, boring. Does TwilightPhoenix run into an ogre on D4, and when that ogre starts hitting him with a giant spike club, think "Oh, this crap again, yay…"? How about when yaktaurs in V2 start shooting at him? Or orc sorcerors on O4 start summoning demons?
Yes I did, several times. In short (again), it hits you instantly for a set amount of damage with few ways to react to it no matter where you are positioned on the screen and many of the monsters that wield it are basically just RNG crap-shooting between some stuff completely harmless to a character in extended and Torment.
As for your other scenarios, no, almost yes but no, and no. I don't think that in any of those situations. The Ogre is an early threat when you're scouring the floor for whatever you can find to survive so, unless you have Mephitic Cloud, it's often an improvisational fight if you choose to take it on (which I usually do nowadays). As for getting hit by the club itself, if I'm not trying to kill it in melee for whatever reason, that usually means I screwed up.
For Yaktaurs, they're borderline between boring and interesting because they're overly common. Everywhere you look in late dungeon and in the Vaults, there's Yaktaurs. Since they no longer infest the Vestibule, they're not as bad anymore, but they still need to be a little less common. But a pack of Yaktaurs is very rarely an exciting experience because, by that time, I've had practice with the Centaur packs on figuring out a strategy on that character. Same thing, but just more overall HP and damage output. But when they come bearing some nasty branded bolts and crossbows, such as plenty of Silver against a Jiyvite, then it gets much more interesting.
For the Orc Sorcerer? Usually, they're interesting in Orc:4, if you don't do it too late. They're glass cannons capable of summoning stuff that's rather dangerous but not too unfair as well as hurling some painful spells. They go down easily, but their mere presence means the situation is much more dangerous. Not to mention, they also often travel with packs of Orcs, so if you intend to wipe it out before it can blast you or summon stuff, you have to really consider a good approach and adapt to the situation as you attempt whatever it is you plan. Not to mention, you can take alternative approaches to the Orc Sorc problem other than killing it.
No remotely usable suggestions have been made here. TwilightPhoenix's suggestion about adding a delay would neuter Torment all the way down to the level of being a flavor text cantrip. His suggestion to give foo fiends Fire Storm-equivalents to cast is marginally less terrible, but makes Torment the strictly weaker spell in their casting list rather than the big scary effect that ultimately won't do anything really dangerous.
A regular Fiend can take a full-powered Ice Storm to the face and live. Orb/storming them can take three turns easily. That's plenty of time for them to cast Torment and get it off with a scant 1 or 2 turn delay. I don't see how that's "not remotely usable", especially when you consider someone nuking from orbit will rarely get tormented anyway because it's a RNG crapshoot and the demon is more likely to do something like "Summon Demonic Popcorn" or "Bolt of Bounces off rN+++". As for the other, I don't see why Torment being a weaker spell in their list is a bad thing, regardless of whether it's Fire Storm or something else entirely they have.
The best strategy most frequently overlooked by new players for surviving: not starting a fight to begin with.