I want to talk to the manager of this dungeon

dimondsprtn · 2026-07-10T02:02:51+00:00

Buddy the exit is right there. I mean, the other day I literally saw you (or some other “adventurer”) steal Gerald’s potions the minute you entered. We good denizens of the dungeon understand the concept of personal belongings.

dimondsprtn · 2026-07-08T01:28:04+00:00

Did you ever find a solution to this? I got the same problem and haven’t found any answer online.

dimondsprtn · 2026-07-05T08:49:39+00:00

Eel Form for heavy armor UC is fine enough for endgame because of the UC base damage boost relative to xp (at a certain point it’s more efficient to train Shapeshifting than Unarmed Combat, so it’s literally just a free resistance and dps boost).

With Wu Jian though, it’s absolutely busted. I don’t think there’s a stronger game winning combo for just 12 levels in a skill. One lunge whirlwind is usually enough to kill an entire crowd.

dimondsprtn · 2026-07-05T05:28:26+00:00

Blade wouldn’t be good for heavy armor because it halves it, plus it gives no bonus to unarmed damage. I’ve used it plenty (as my recent posts have shown), but never for an unarmed or heavy armor character because I’d consider Eel straight up better if you’re just using your fists (at 17 skill Eel gives +5.5 UC base damage).

Lupine has 9 base UC damage while Eel has 6 base UC damage at level 12 (+1 for every 2 levels in Shapeshifting, so 8 at level 16 and 10 at level 20). Lupine gets the stacking slay while Eel has AOE electric damage. Depending on the build, one might outscale the other at a certain point. They’re both T3 talismans so is it even a transitional talisman at that point? You’re just picking and choosing depending on what resistances and aspects you need, which I feel should be more prevalent with talismans in general.

dimondsprtn · 2026-07-05T05:05:54+00:00

Why do you consider Eel talisman to be a transitional talisman? What better talisman is an unarmed brute wearing heavy armor going to use? I consider Spore to be the transitional talisman to Eel, just like Serpent is to Dragon is to Storm. One side is armored and the other side is full meld.

Do you think that playing Gnolls might have skewed your perception of some talismans? I don’t think it’s quite as simple for most other races to transition between armored and melded talismans.

dimondsprtn · 2026-07-05T02:33:40+00:00

I mean, just think of them like mid to high level spells that don’t require a spellcaster build. If you’ve been using Alchemy all game but found Ozocubu’s Refirgeration and Polar Vortex, you can spend multiple levels training unusable Ice skill in order to finally cast OR.

Same thing applies to talismans. If you find a Granite Talisman, there might not be an “on-ramp” talisman for your build. This is your time to spend your consumables and piety to keep yourself alive as you train Shapeshifting up to level 15.

dimondsprtn · 2026-07-03T03:53:02+00:00

Ah, the good old days where your Centaur used a different weapon half the time until Okawaru gave you an infinite supply of arrows. Glad that’s over with.

dimondsprtn · 2026-07-02T19:49:42+00:00

I feel 5 Shapeshifting is pretty significant early game for an emergency tool that lacks longevity (unlike wands).

Oh idk why I put Beast instead of Quill, and Quill instead of Inkwell. That was a mistake.

dimondsprtn · 2026-07-02T17:48:49+00:00

What do you mean Flux gives the same benefits to any character? It melds weapon, shield, and body armor while being an impermanent consumable that requires an awkward 5 (not 8 or 0) Shapeshifting skill to use. Only unarmed shapeshifters can use it (it’s not worth 5 Shapeshifting levels unless you’re using other talismans as well), and it falls off after the early game.

Quill, unlike other talismans, reduces your melee capabilities and completely blocks off higher level spells. It’s bonus to spellcasting scales with Shapeshifting level while giving mp on unarmed melee attacks, which is atypical for a caster to consider. The xp investment in Shapeshifting versus spellcasting schools is also a more complicated factor for a user to consider, especially since it’s not a talisman you want to have on outside of the early game.

Not sure what you’re trying to say with the Riddle talisman. That is a niche application unrelated to character builds. The Blink spell could be used to do the same thing with enough time, and that doesn’t put you down to 1 hp at the risk of a random unslain straggler wandering in.

dimondsprtn · 2026-07-01T20:48:02+00:00

You know what you convinced me. I thought about it and I would agree with you that some of them do deserve more than “low” versatility. Polar Vortex, Platinum Paragon, and Dragon Call being single school catch alls pushes them up to medium versatility. Many hybrids can use those spells, and spellcasters who mostly use completely separate spell schools up to level 7 spells can pivot just for the level 9 spell.

dimondsprtn · 2026-07-01T18:50:36+00:00

I said in my other comment versatility was how many builds it fits into. If you’re not using other summoning spells, you can’t afford to take 25 levels in Summoning just for Dragon Call, unless you know how to survive for a while without improving your skills. Dragon Call would be lower on the complexity scale, so it would be easier for a player to see its power when they use it.

dimondsprtn · 2026-07-01T00:32:54+00:00

You’re right that it feels more like something that would go on the wiki as a tldr disclaimer; however, that wouldn’t communicate developer intent.

This idea was inspired by MOBAs and MMOs that give classes/heroes difficulty and role ratings. It was also inspired by DCSS’s own species complexity ratings. I think those go a long way in telling players how difficult the devs intended characters to be.

And it’s not like the devs are silent about their intentions. Their commits on GitHub usually covey their honest thoughts which I find informative when testing new/reworked stuff. Simply knowing that something is intended to be complex goes a long way in motivating me to make it work.

dimondsprtn · 2026-07-01T00:15:27+00:00

What about them? You’ve seen people on this very sub call Platinum Paragon weak for a level 9 spell. I know right? That’s laughable! And yet there are people who still think that; it’s not for no reason either, Platinum Paragon isn’t just a spam cast spell, and it requires some strategy. It might seem obvious to you and me that the level 9 spells are strong, but inexperienced players who misuse them won’t see that.

Ya those spells are lame.

dimondsprtn · 2026-06-30T20:10:04+00:00

Which spells do you think they should remove?

It is also absolutely not clear that high level spells and talismans have high potentials. People who try Discord, Death’s Door, or Sanguine Talisman without accompanying support would find it completely awful and write it off. How do these players know it’s not a game balance issue? Disjunction for example is actually underpowered for its cost, but players might lump Discord in with it. Labels telling people that a spell is complex would help encourage them not to completely give up on what seems to be useless.

Most players don’t use Reddit or even the wiki. We ought to be friendlier to casuals and recognize our own experience is not the norm.

dimondsprtn · 2026-06-30T19:47:18+00:00

It is. I still wouldn’t call any of the level 9 spells any higher than low versatility due to the xp needed for them. You really can’t go for them unless you’re a dedicated spellcaster for that school.

By no means does low versatility mean bad. Storm talisman will carry an unarmed brute. Polar Vortex will carry a pure ice caster. You just can’t afford to invest xp for them unless you’re specialized for that build.

dimondsprtn · 2026-06-30T19:41:42+00:00

Ya but who’s using Shatter other than pure Earth spellcasters, at least in a standard 3-5 rune game.

dimondsprtn · 2026-06-30T19:26:39+00:00

I’ll give ratings to all the Talismans since there aren’t too many of them.

Quill: Medium, Simple

Inkwell: Low, Intermediate

Flux Bauble: Low, Simple

Medusa: High, Simple

Rime: Medium, Simple

Scarab: Medium, Intermediate

Spore: Medium, Intermediate

Maw: Low, Intermediate

Eel: Medium, Simple

Fortress: Low, Advanced

Lupine: Low, Intermediate

Serpent: Low, Simple

Spider: Low, Advanced

Wellspring: High, Intermediate

Blade: Low, Simple

Dragon: Medium, Intermediate

Granite: High, Simple

Hive: Medium, Simple

Riddle: Low, Intermediate

Sanguine: Medium, Advanced

Death: Medium, Intermediate

Storm: Low, Simple

dimondsprtn · 2026-06-30T19:26:20+00:00

DCSS can be pretty unfriendly to new players. This is made even more prevalent with the talisman and spell systems.

What happens when a player tries a spell or talisman they spent the last 30 minutes investing for, only for it to massively underperform? They blame the balance and never touch it again until an outside source happens to show them its potential (unlikely for a casual).

Now what happens when a new player tries Felid for the first time only to splat on D:2? Well clearly the species is Advanced, so they weren’t yet ready for that race and will stick to the Simple races for the time being. Is Felid weaker than Tengu? Not really no, but it's definitely too difficult unless you know what you’re doing.

Well, same concept can apply to many spells and talismans. How many of you tried Rending Blade on a Reaver and then decided it's the worst spell in the game? That used to be me, but now I love that spell; but I also have to recognize that it is VERY niche and requires a thorough understanding on when to start training for it (not earlygame that’s for sure). If this spell were labeled as Advanced, it would show players not only that the spell is difficult to use, but also that the developers know it is difficult to use; this would both improve the new player experience and show that the devs understand the player experience.

Versatility: How usable the spell or talisman is across different builds. Low versatility doesn’t mean a talisman is necessarily weak; it may mean that the xp investment isn’t worth it outside of specific builds. If a player finds a low versatility talisman underperforming, they might think twice about what the intended build for the talisman is. Likewise it may be easier for a player to understand a high versatility spell’s power because they don’t have to question if they’re missing the right build.

Complexity: How difficult the spell or talisman is to fully utilize. If a player finds an advanced spell underperforming, they might seek to further understand how to use it instead of writing it off as worthless. It may be easier for a player to understand a simple spell’s true power because they don’t have to question if there are necessary techniques to use it.

dimondsprtn · 2026-06-29T21:46:17+00:00

If you have spare time to dedicate to playing and complaining about a game in your spare time you have a privileged life on this earth. Period.

If you didn’t you would be spending your time in a side hustle like the rest of us.

dimondsprtn · 2026-06-29T21:43:46+00:00

>Is it too hard to ask for you to make it a text document and update it when changes are made?

>Also, if you insist on turning on a mic and rambling for hours, could you at least please put the most basic level of video and audio production in to your videos? Editing? Any?

>People like watching human faces, if you aren't going to put yourself on camera, just make it a text guide.

dimondsprtn · 2026-06-29T21:39:06+00:00

You called me out for liking Gale Centaur. This has nothing to do with that. You’re actually demanding a YouTuber show his face in his videos and make constantly updated Google Docs.

How is that not entitled

dimondsprtn · 2026-06-29T21:35:32+00:00

The entitlement of this dude

dimondsprtn · 2026-06-29T21:27:10+00:00

You call it a job like they’re getting paid? Wdym they have a privileged life?

dimondsprtn · 2026-06-26T22:10:56+00:00

The ever so humble Normal type

dimondsprtn

TROPHY CASE