maxgamr 
Not sure why I recently got the itch to attempt a deep quest of Treasure of Tarmin, but I did…. It has been a long while since I tried it, so the first thing I did was to get re-familiarized with the essential keyboard layout (number pad and arrow keys). I couldn't tell you by memory what keys did what, but when I sat down to play the game, it was like natural instinct bringing me back to complete understanding… or something like that…. 🙂
I took my own advice about using the teleport between dungeons, but to an extreeme this time. I decided to go through every single teleport gate I could, even if it caused a major inbalance to my War vs Spiritual strength – and it did! At one point before level 5 I had nearly 100 War strength and less than 20 Spiritual strength.
I began to gain additional Spiritual strengh by always electing to use Spiritual books over War book. It just turned out right for this specific game. I don't think I passed through one Spriritual gate the entire game. It was either a War gate, or a neutral gate.
Below you see my first screenshot prior to crushing the Wite Tall Sheilded Hooded Wraith.
My second screenshot with pretty serious firepower and strength credentials. Orange Tall Hooded Wraith coming up!
My next screenshot of MAX Spiritual strength, facing off against a GOLDEN Magic door. I have a story to tell you about the Golden Magic door, so pay attention….
My final screenshot shows MAX strength for both Spiritual and War. I think this is the first time I've ever had max strength on either of the two strenght components….. And here is where it gets interesting….
You might ask – why are there no further screenshot of this fantastic game??? Bottom line – I rage-quit (mini-rage, more like just disappointed in myself and quit) after level 165…. Why? Here starts the lesson….
You'll notice in the screenshot above, I have the Teleport Spell Book, the Platinum Spell Book, the X-Ray Vision Spell Book, along with a nice Platinum Cross-Bow, and the most powerful Level 65 Spiritual Spell Book… oh – and a nice Blue Key to unlock everything…. I've got it all, right? Riding high!!! Yeah…..
Here is where the game gets frustrating, and tests your ability to focus and survive… Because afterall, the real point of this game is to truly beat the game…. and by beating the game, I mean survive to level 256 and destroy the most power beast on that level…. Typically that would be a Dark Purple Dragon or a Tall Shielded Hooded Wraith. There is the notion to a "Perfect Game", which I postulated on one of my first posts, but that endeavor will be left for another day.
So, back to my 'frustration'. Mistake #1 – Don't underestimate how fragile the high powered weapons can be…. You would be lucky to get through a complete battle with one Platinum Cross-Bow or a Level 65 Spiritual Book. That's just how the game was written… The "Durability" factor makes the game play much tougher.
I made this mistake on a Golden door. I decided to attack a Golden door (which I didn't need to do – I had every single Special Spiritual Book in my posession – this was pure ego gone wrong) with a single 99 Platinum Cross-Bow. What happened? The Cross-Bow broke after the first attack. I had to switch to my Spiritual Book, which I quickly did…. but what happens when you switch from War to Spiritual attacks or Spiritual to War attacks in the middle of a battle? The game renders your subsequent attack (with the opposite attack item) useless, or ineffective. Almost like you are starting the battle over again. This doesn't matter as much with weaker opponents, but when you engage with stronger monsters and doors, this makes a huge difference. In the case of the Golden door, I attacked with a War weapon and the door attacked back with Spiritual. The Golden door had a strength of over 115, while I had a Spiritual strength of 99. My arrow took the door down substantially (to around 80), but after being forced to switch to Spiritual attacks, I was not able to gain enough ground on my attacks to defeat the door before I lost the battle.
In retrospect, had I started the battle using the Spiritual book, I may have won by not losing at least two attack turns. I also realized my Spiritual armour was not as high as it should have been. I was not able to find the Dark Purple Ring during this quest, so my Spiritual Strength was slightly lacking.
Mistake #2 – Don't underestimate the value of holding a treasure in your pack just in case you are losing a battle. After I was banished by the Golden door, lost all my weapons and spell books, I thought about ending the game, but I rebuilt my pack as best as I could then continued the quest. I flew though dozens of levels attempting to cherry pick as quickly as possible. I never regained my special spell books, but managed to make it level 165 before attempting to take on a Tall Shielded Orange Hooded Wraith. I had good strength and good weapons back, and I thought… how hard could he be, right? Once I engaged him, his strength was 228…… 228… I think that is the highest strength I've seen…. I think… But, anyway, I didn't have enough firepower to beat this beast, and I did not have a treasure I could throw at him to disengage… So, I was banished once again, and I had enough defeat, so I ended the game.
Sadly, I've realized, even with Max Strength, there are monsters that are simply too strong in deep level to battle without more advanced tactics. Example, if you had a Strength Refresh Potion in your pack, you could refresh as your damage is getting low. Also, have BACKUP weapons of the same kind – at least THREE Spiritual or War for the Epic Battles. This brings on unique challenges. Since you are only allowed to carry SIX items in your pack, you have to sacrifice space to be prepared. Ultimately what this strategically means is – Max out your st
I found this deep quest attempt to be enlightening on several levels. I hope you enjoyed the post. Comment back if you liked it!
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