Wisdom From The Sisters from 'Through a Rogue's Eyes

Wisdom from the sisters - tips on how to survive as a rogue

How you play as a rogue is dependant on what weapons you chose and whether or not you will be relying on your spells. Though there are many tactics to playing the rogue there are the essentials which every newbie learns the hard way. Death is an inevitable conclusion to a bad decision and even old-timers are prone to make those fatal mistakes from time to time. It doesn't matter whether you are fighting with a sword or a bow, you must master the basics if you want to be successful as a rogue. Listed below are tips that are essential for any newbie to the game and should be considered just the basics. If you can master those then your chances for survival increase dramatically.

A Sister's Tips

1. Set and learn your spell hot keys. You can set the keys to respond to certain spells or scrolls and are essential when playing in the heat of the moment. F5 - F8 are your friends.

2. When exploring always go slowly and carefully; don't rush into a room or corridor. You never know what is hiding and how many there are. By taking little steps and you'll survive longer.

3. Always clear the level before going down to the next one. You never know when you might have to go back up to save your ass only to find a couple of creatures waiting for you there that you neglected to finish off before.

4. Learn you character's special skill and use it. The rogue disarms traps which can be life saving when some of the booby traps can take out half of your life and/or mana in one shot. By disarming at all times you will decrease the chances of any nasty surprises.

5. Stick with what your character's strongest attributes and work with them not against them. Don't use a sword in the beginning if you are a rogue, use a bow. Only when you have climbed in levels to adequately defend yourself, then you can try using the other weapons that don't allow you the same chances of survival.

6. When concerning shrines stay away from Fascinating, Sacred, & Ornate shrines. The increase in a spell levels is offset by losing 1/10th of your mana and it is NOT worth it in the long run. Spells can be had for free from the libraries or from Adria without any loss of mana.

7. STAY AWAY from the Secluded shrine; 'the way is made clear when viewed from above'. It will complete your automap which is detrimental when you should be using the automap to show you what you have cleared and what needs clearing.

8. Always carry a town portal shrine. Even if you have the spell you could run out of mana and then be trapped deep down. With the scroll you will always have at least one shot of using the portal for escape or wha'ever.

9. When playing with others, before accepting anything unique always make sure YOU ided it not them that way you can be insured that it is not a hacked item you are receiving (if you want to be a legit player that is).

10. If you are down of juice in your life ball, head up to town for a free healing from Pepin instead of using that last health potion or scroll. Having at least one health and one mana potion at all times will guarantee that you are never left in a lurch when down below.

11. When considering which items to keep that give a magical attribute to your character, always go for the flat rate instead of the percentage in the beginning. Unless you are above level 25 or so the percentage doesn't do you much good. Once your stats are at least halfway, then you can start using the percentage increases. They will then be worth it.

12. When playing with others and using a bow, be careful how you line up your shots. Make sure you space yourself away from the other players so that an errant arrow of yours doesn't happen to hit your partners. No one likes being shot in the back.

13. Moving in a zigzag pattern when in closer fighting quarters will help keep your attackers from scoring direct hits, which can help your survival rating greatly.

14. If you are under heavy attack, RUN! Running doesn't mean you are a weak player, it just means you will survive longer.

15. Once you are up against Diablo, clear off every creature except those in his room. Open his room and stand two screens back from his sight. Then use the Holy Bolt spell to draw him out. He will come alone. Lead him towards the spiral and draw him into its canter. Teleport out and then you can take on the rest of the creatures if you like or just regroup yourself before teleporting back to him and going one-on-one with him. Spells don't work on Diablo so it's ultimately up to your trusty bow or sword to finish him off. Just keep the blows coming rapidly and he won't have a chance to do too much damage to you.