The Black Pits : Once More... With A Feeling

Tarlugn

So I rerolled once again, this time with an elven male chaotic neutral shadowdancer, stats min/maxed,
and found out the meaning of life in general terms of roguelike. I have the slightest chances in survival,
and now I´m stuck with Rabid Ankhegs. Any sage advice much appriciated.

WarChiefZeke

You could ask an npc for aid in the arena for a small cost of gold.

You can stock up on whatever potions or wands or magic items you can.

You can fight pit animals for xp.

lolien

Rabid Ankhegs are in BP1, so no hireable npc-s or pit animals there, if i'm right.

With a fast weapon you should make the first hit against them when they appears. Then run and repeat.
Drinking up at the Concocter may help too. Rabid Ankhegs have crushing damage according Near Infinity, so Potion of Absorption give +10 AC against their attacks, that may come handy too.

JuliusBorisov

You're playing as a shadowdancer, so you should use the following.

As @Grum found out, if you click "detect traps" before actually backstabbing or otherwise leaving shadows (just wait 2 or 3 seconds), you'll start a timer that will let you hit the "Hide in shadows" button again sooner.

This way you can have your button ready as soon as you backstab, after you play with it a bit and learn how much time it needs exactly.

As a shadowdancer you can hide immediately after a backstab in this case.

Hide - Detect Traps - Backstab an ankheg - Hide again.

lolien

JuliusBorisov said:

You're playing as a shadowdancer, so you should use the following.

As @Grum found out, if you click "detect traps" before actually backstabbing or otherwise leaving shadows (just wait 2 or 3 seconds), you'll start a timer that will let you hit the "Hide in shadows" button again sooner.

This way you can have your button ready as soon as you backstab, after you play with it a bit and learn how much time it needs exactly.

As a shadowdancer you can hide immediately after a backstab in this case.

Hide - Detect Traps - Backstab an ankheg - Hide again.

The problem in this fight, if i remember right, that the bugs burrow below ground when you turn invisible, so you can't attack them from the shadows, or kite them.

Maybe you can use shadow step: wait while they appear around you, use shadowstep to gather some distance, then bombard the bugs with some burning bottles. But this tactic may or may not work, i have never tried this.

islandking

Don't have to hit "detect traps", any H-I-S breaker would do, like some fast casting spells.

Tarlugn

lolien said:

Rabid Ankhegs have crushing damage according Near Infinity, so Potion of Absorption give +10 AC against their attacks, that may come handy too.

Du´eh, I had all forgotten about the potion, had in mind just the belt "Savior of Hills",
+4 against cruhsing attacks.

Just out of curiousity, do you call it tanking when standing still and beating ´em up,
never taking a hit?

lolien

Tarlugn said:

Just out of curiousity, do you call it tanking when standing still and beating ´em up,
never taking a hit?

Never take a hit, or just don't take any damage:

Beating them up is just a bonus.

Arunsun

JuliusBorisov said:

You're playing as a shadowdancer, so you should use the following.

As @Grum found out, if you click "detect traps" before actually backstabbing or otherwise leaving shadows (just wait 2 or 3 seconds), you'll start a timer that will let you hit the "Hide in shadows" button again sooner.

This way you can have your button ready as soon as you backstab, after you play with it a bit and learn how much time it needs exactly.

The time varies, from what I observed , from ~0 to 6 seconds, because you get the possibility of hiding again when the next round, from the moment you left shadows, begins