Basic Suggestions
You can "lock" items in your inventory, which prevents you from dropping them.
If you are using the mouse buttons (shift left button), it is supposed to be a
toggle - lock, then unlock.
[M.W.]
Most immunity potions only last for 10-20 seconds.
[M.T.]
What many people don´t know is the way protection and immunity works. Example for fire:
- Without all, you get full damage.
- With protection you get 50% of the damage.
- With immunity you got no damage.
- For instance, a ring of fire gives you only protection! A potion of fire RESISTANCE gives you Immuntiy to fire!!
[M.T.]
The potions are:
- Potion of fire resistance (fire immunity)
- Potion of cold resistance (cold immunity)
- Potion of shock resistance (lightning immunity)
- Potion of invulnerability (or etherality) gives you physical immunity.
[M.T.]
Don't use the spell or scroll of restoration, they don't heal the "dying depletion".
[M.T.]
... In some quests/puzzles/dungeons there are NPC's who would talk to you
and basically supply storylines, etc.
[H.S.T.]
Most merchants and service providers will do the necessary conversions at
the time of purchase, hence you don't have to worry about having the appropriate
coin type. The main reason you would want to exchange coins is due to weight considerations.
[M.K.]
Currency: there are three types of currency: silver, gold, and platinum. The
current going rates are 1 platinum = 5 gold = 10 silver. There are banks in some
large cities, such as Scorn, where you can exchange coins. Some stores do too.
[M.K.]
Identifying items: when you pick up weapons and armour off the ground, they
are not explicitly marked as to what quality the object is. That normal looking
bow sitting cozily in your directory could be actually a magic endowed +3 bow,
or it could be cursed. You just can't tell from a cursory once-over. Hence, especially
in the case of a possible cursed item (cursed==cannot unwield/unwear once wielded/worn),
it is wise to have all your items inspected by a professional before using. For
this we usually go to a magic store (although there are other places). Usually
right by the entrance to such a store you have three tables (with some "hard-to-see-conneisseurs"
behind them). One of the tables always is capable of checking for any cursed items
that you might be carrying (inspect the tables with the mouse to figure out which
one does what). All you do is drop 25 gold pieces (or the equivalent), and the
expert staff will inspect all of your belongings. The method to identify
"magic" items is analogous: find the "magic" table of the three, and drop the
required fee. Then, there is the third table: identify item. This one is more
expensive as it costs 20 gp (gold pieces) per item identified. This service basically
gives full identification of the weapon: if it's magic it will tell you just what
exactly is so magic about it, what it's made of, what kind of bonuses it has,
etc. Try out identifying all different types of things, once you can afford it,
just to see what kind of information is available.
[M.K.]
The 'maps command can also be a good measure if that map is the correct difficulty
- If you are fifth level and go into a map with difficult 15+, you probably shouldn't
be there.
[M.W.]
If you're injured and hungry, eat something: it will get rid of your hunger
and help you heal faster.
[M.K.]
Pay attention to the weight of a regular (non-enchanted or magical) items;
you can easily distinguish abnormal (and thus hopefully magical --> $$$) items
when picking up stuff off the carcasses of your victims by looking at their weight;
often a single "foo+3" is worth more than 500 "foo"s! No point collecting stuff
if it's not going to net you a nice lump of gold pieces...
[M.K.]
ALWAYS, before wielding/wearing something that you just picked up,
MAKE SURE it is not cursed by either casting "detect curse" or having it checked
at a magic shop; save yourself major headaches... (you would have to find, buy,
and cast an appropriate "remove curse" scroll, or prayer)
[M.K.]
If you start playing CrossFire with a new character, do not try to explore
the areas outside the city until you are at least level 5. Start with the beginners'
areas as listed on one of the signs that are next to your starting point.
[R.Q.]
Be careful when you are in a tavern. People do not like to be pushed around.
Try to walk straight instead of bumping into them, because they get angry when
some stranger has some bad manners and they might ask a guard to kick you out.
[R.Q.]
It is usually not a good idea to kill sages, librarians and people drinking
in a tavern, because some of them have interesting stories to tell. Try starting
a conversation by saying "hello" or asking them for a "quest" and see if they
reply. If they do not reply or they always reply with the same message, try with
someone else.
[R.Q.]
If you encounter a monster that is much more powerful than you, it is usually
better to stay away from these big beasts. If it is not too late to go back to
the map you came from, then run away before you are fried, frozen or cut in pieces.
The monsters will not follow you into other maps.
[R.Q.]
If you are poisoned by a monster, try to find a cure (potion or spell) as
soon as possible. The effects of the poison are only temporary, but during that
time you become weaker and you are loosing your health slowly. This can be fatal
for a low-level character.
[R.Q.]
"I just went from level 4 to level 5 and 6 by disarming three doors!" Seems
finding and disarming traps is quite the educational experience.
[M.K.]
Apartments are really handy! Get one ASAP! You need a place to stash all your
loot that you want to hang onto. No point running around with it: it slows you
down and you just might lose it.
[M.K.]
... The "ownership" of the oldstyle apartments depends on "who has the key
in his inventory" --- so one could buy a key and give it to some other player.
This doesn't work for the "new" apartments, since the game creates a map that
is unique for the player --- no other player can enter it (that's why there is
no key: you don't need one).
[C.S.]
If you can't afford an apartment, start a second character as a storage character.
It does not matter what attributes or type the character. You can then drop items,
and apply a ``bed to reality'' (eg game save) then restart with your `storage
character', pick up the items, and drop what you want your main character to use,
then save your `storage' and restart your main character. This is not as good
an an apartment, have limited capacity, but your store can travel to where you
are working, (after you clear the way). :-)
[A.T.]
I generally recommend to use the first character (or first few characters...)
to get the "feel" of the game, then give all items to a new character and quit
the first one.
[C.S.]
Although the game is still not bug-free, don't necessarily assume you found
another one when stuff disappears from your inventory... it might be worthwhile
to retrace your steps...
[M.K.]
On smithery ... just "use_skill smithery", bound to a key, and you can immediately
identify smithed items. Same for most of the other skills. No need to wield the
item....and grab the skill scrolls whenever you can find them ... skills also
allow for identifying ... scrolls [literacy], rings [jewelery], bows/arrows [bowyer],
body parts [woodsman]
[J.C.]
When you use the skill "search traps", your character uses this skill on all
of the NINE [ed. thanks for all the corrections] squares within your range (unlike
most other skills which only work in the direction you are facing).
[M.K. et al]
I bet you wonder sometimes what that inventory pane with the "lock" tab is
for... That's inventory locking... very important! Too bad it does not seem to
work in GTK client 0.95.1 (shift left-click); it will in the next version. You
cannot drop a "locked" item. Can be handy.
[M.K.]
Marking: to "mark" an item with a mouse, (shift middle-click); this is not
yet implemented in GTK client 0.95.1. Alternatively use the "'mark (item)" command.
This is needed for many tasks which require a target item (using flint to light
a torch, to enchant a weapon, etc)
[M.K.]
Pouches can't be `wielded'; they are made "active", "open", and "closed" in
a cycle. An active key ring only saves keys. Same with quivers for arrows, and
purse for money. [ed. while an "active" bag collects everything that the current
pick up mode allows]
[A.T.]
Why bracers don't affect AC sometimes: This is an old AD&D-ish thingy.
No logic at all, just based on the AD&D rule that magical bracers and normal
armor dont mix, which seemed fine enough at the moment. Means that mages who want
no encumberance whatsoever can ditch armor and go for the best bracer that can
be dug up. Since then, I guess armors have gotten a little better, without similar
boost in bracers.
[F.T.J.]
Difference between AC and Arm: In simple words: AC is a number that tells
how likely it is that an enemy hits you. Armor is a number that tells how much
damage a successful hit does. The lower the AC, the better (that's why it is usually
negative). Armor is a percentage --- armor 99 means that 99 percent of the damage
is absorbed by your armor (i.e. the hit only does 1% of the damage).
[C.S.]
To put it simply: AC defines how difficult it is for someone else to hit you
(i.e. whether they hit or miss), while armour reduces the damage that you take
if you are hit. So if you have a very good AC but a very low armour, you will
be hard to hit but once you are hit you will take a lot of damage. On the other
hand, if your AC is not so good but you have a lot of armour, then you will be
hit very often but you will not take much damage from these hits. The same applies
to the WC and weapon damage. To make things even more confusing, a low AC or WC
is better than a high AC or WC (less is better) and a weapon that has "WC +1"
is in fact reducing your WC by 1. Sometimes I wonder if it wouldn't be better
to choose other names for that, change the sign of these things and get away from
the AD&D tradition...
[R.Q.]
How to use a skill at the spot you are standing (as opposed to "in a certain
direction"): The "." key should do that. In a keybinding this would be "stay fire".
Useful for cone spells --- cast them with "." to cast it all around you.
[C.S.]
How does a +2 ring of speed increase speed: The usage of +2 is confusing.
the bonus speed is really tenths of bonus (so speed +2 in actuality increases
your speed by .2). But this gets confusing in that armor reduces speed, weight
reduces speed, and there is the idea of bonus speed from magic items and whatnot.
[M.W.]
'pickup' changes how you pick up items when you step on them. to pickup an item manually, use the ',' key.
- Mode 0: Don't pick up items.
- Mode 1: Pick up one item
- Mode 2: Pickup up one item and stop
- Mode 3: Stop before picking up items
- Mode 4: Pick up all items
- Mode 5: Pick up all items and stop
- Mode 6: Pick up all magical items
- Mode 7: Pick up all coins and gems
Modes above 7: Pickup items with a value density greater than the pickup mode.
Value density is value in gold/weight in kilograms. The value in gold is what
the item is worth if you sold it in the shop. Goldcoins have a value density of
66.
Density 10 will pickup silver, gold, rings, wands, books, and scrolls. Artifacts
are also picked up.
[M.W.]
When you are in doubt, ask the mailing list. Whether it be a configuration
question or a spot you are stuck in or something you just cant seem to do, ask
these people. They are a wealth of information, and we all appreciate being able
to play more people. It adds to the fun! If worst comes to worst, email me or
ICQ me, and I will try to dig up the answers for you.
rori@qflow.com.au ICQ - 20248802
[R.S.]
A bag has 3 states: closed, readied, open. You toggle between these states
with the 'apply command, or the middle mouse button. If the bag is "readied" and
you pick something up, it will go into the bag (if the bag can hold it). You can
have several containers enabled (I always have a bag, a keyring and a pouch enabled),
in which case the picked item will go into the appropiate container. If the bag
is "open" then it acts like the floor --- you can pickup things from the bag,
and dropped items go into the bag.
[C.S.]
(For dropping items)... just enter "10" before droping the item with
the mouse. The gtk-client has a minor bug here --- you have to erase the string
again, otherwise it will try to use the "10" prefix for all further drops.
[C.S.]
