Oh-oh, How hosed am I?

[Madfloyd]

Finished level 3, apart from trying to kill the slimes in the section of level 4 that is accessible from an earlier set of stairs.

My problem is that I am out of food. I play slowly to try and find every secret and jump down every pit, but I'm not great at the combat and backtrack to a Rez crystal often (after every 2 kills or so).

Reading the forum it sounds like level 4 is pretty scarce on food. I'm wondering if I am screwed...

[Darklord]

Moved to Gameplay hints,

I'll be honest it's going to be tough, there's a lot of food from Level 6 onwards. it is possible to make progress with no food and everyone starving by using the healing crystals.

Topics re food,

viewtopic.php?f=13&t=899&hilit=food

viewtopic.php?f=13&t=912&hilit=food

Daniel.

[clocknova]

Wow. I finished the game with so much food I was throwing it away on every level. I never even came close to running out. How are people having trouble with this?

[Darklord]

Depends how fast you play, I ran out around level 4 or so, for a while things looked bad, by the end of the game I had way more than I needed just like yourself.

Daniel.

[Madfloyd]

To be honest, I'm very disappointed that it's balanced this way. I've only rested something like 3 times - ironically for fear of having more time pass and my party getting hungry.

I love exploring the dungeon and solving puzzles, looking for secrets etc. To think that the proper way is to save, do all the slow stuff and then restore - and do it faster - seems wrong to me.

I have been very frugal about food and, having just done some research, found that I haven't left a stone unturned in terms of secret rooms etc - i.e. backtracking isn't going to help as there are no mobs left to kill.

While it does sound like I'm in the minority, it sure is a sucky experience to have to restart (I've put in 15 hours so far). The mobs I've met on level 4 so far have a lot of HPs and surviving each combat without any regeneration is extremely tough (I'm just playing on Normal, btw).

[stepsongrapes]

To be honest, I'm very disappointed that it's balanced this way. I've only rested something like 3 times - ironically for fear of having more time pass and my party getting hungry.

You seem to recognize that you're in the minority, but you also want the game to be rebalanced to accomadate a minority playstyle. In particular, you recognized in your OP that you play in an unusual style (walking back to a crystal every two kills). If I recall correctly, food consumption is both time and move based. So, that's the cause of your food shortage. Ironically, it's also the solution- who cares if your characters are hungry if they are constantly topped off. Regeneration from food is not going to make a noticeable difference mid-battle.

You have two choices: keep playing the way you are: you'll be fine; or backtrack to the crystal less and find yourself having sufficient food and rely on regen over time from food.

I lean more towards approach two: I fight, and then my characters heal while I take time to puzzle search/solve in the room I'm at. But either way will work. But I've also gone with 4 guys hungry (even when I still have food) on levels where the crystal is easy to access.

[Madfloyd]

To be honest, I'm very disappointed that it's balanced this way. I've only rested something like 3 times - ironically for fear of having more time pass and my party getting hungry.

You seem to recognize that you're in the minority, but you also want the game to be rebalanced to accomadate a minority playstyle. In particular, you recognized in your OP that you play in an unusual style (walking back to a crystal every two kills). If I recall correctly, food consumption is both time and move based. So, that's the cause of your food shortage. Ironically, it's also the solution- who cares if your characters are hungry if they are constantly topped off. Regeneration from food is not going to make a noticeable difference mid-battle.

You have two choices: keep playing the way you are: you'll be fine; or backtrack to the crystal less and find yourself having sufficient food and rely on regen over time from food.

I lean more towards approach two: I fight, and then my characters heal while I take time to puzzle search/solve in the room I'm at. But either way will work. But I've also gone with 4 guys hungry (even when I still have food) on levels where the crystal is easy to access.

Well it's not so much as being balanced to accomodate a minority playstyle, but it's bad design to allow a player to completely screw themselves because they were taking their time trying to solve difficult puzzles. Nowhere does the game imply you should rush. There is also no info as to what creates the need for food - that each step of movement contributes (as opposed to just time).

And you're not necessarily correct that you don't need regen mid-battle. Without it I cannot complete any battles at this point. Each battle can take up to 10 minutes; mobs have several hundred HPs and require something like 50 hits to die. Meanwhile my guys have 70-125 HPs and will die in less than a minute if I don't hit & run, etc (where regen makes a difference).

[stepsongrapes]

And you're not necessarily correct that you don't need regen mid-battle. Without it I cannot complete any battles at this point. Each battle can take up to 10 minutes; mobs have several hundred HPs and require something like 50 hits to die. Meanwhile my guys have 70-125 HPs and will die in less than a minute if I don't hit & run, etc (where regen makes a difference).

If each of your battles are taking 10 minutes at level 4 and you can't finish them without requiring (and waiting) for significant mid-battle regen, you may want to consider restarting on easy. The game has a mix of puzzle and arcade tactical combat that isn't for everyone. It appears that the combat is overwhelming you on normal. Alternatively, you may want to bone up on your LoG combat techniques more. For example, are you side-stepping enough in battle? Given a 2X2 room, you should pretty much handle any fight without taking major (or any) damage.

As to searching and rushing. I check EVERY single wall and try to solve every little detail in the game. I definitely don't rush. Food has not been an issue. Rather, it is the above issues (combat, healing, regen) that is the much more relevant factor for food.

In summary, your food issue seems to be a symptom of your difficulties with combat. You can choose to drop to easy or try to improve your combat techniques. Either approach should also address your food issues. And again, there is no downside to starvation- if you want to keep slugging on in your current game. If you're running away long enough to regen, you're probably waiting long enough to go back to the crystal. There's nothing stopping you from healing up mid-battle, if you're finding the need.

[Eobersig]

... While it does sound like I'm in the minority, it sure is a sucky experience to have to restart (I've put in 15 hours so far). The mobs I've met on level 4 so far have a lot of HPs and surviving each combat without any regeneration is extremely tough (I'm just playing on Normal, btw).

If this is your first run through the dungeon - yes, it can happen.

I abandoned a team that was at dungeon level 5 because I screwed up the character builds, I count it as a learning experience. If you take that much damage that you have to backtrace to a crystal that frequently - and the fights take that long - something is wrong. Either it's how you fight or it's how you built your party I think. I'm taking my time too and play on normal difficulty and have zero problems with food.

I always feed my guys when the food bar turns yellow and have plenty of food to spare.

[Madfloyd]

Appreciate the replies, guys.