Tower of Doom Tips

[The Eyeball Mural]

Congratulations! And thanks to everyone for sharing all the knowledge. I'm learning a ton from all the analysis being done...

[+thegoldenband]

Just beat the Challenge with the Waif!

 

 

I probably made at least 50 attempts before I finally won, but I knew victory was imminent as soon as I got a certain item: the Cyan Grail. It's insanely powerful -- it boosts your stamina by a ton, massively increases your HP, and best of all, gives you a permanent speed increase similar to the Brown Potion Bottle. With that much speed, plus a Wand, I was able to kill a Beholder, a Dragon, and even a Wizard!

[The Eyeball Mural]

wØØt!

[+wongojack]

<Not Intellivision Related>

Digging this up because it is a great thread. My excuse is that I found a Rouguelike that I believe is a worthy contender to ToD as one of the best roguelikes I've ever played. (I love Tarmin too BTW).

 

FTL is an indie game that I got in a Humble Bundle maybe more than a year ago. I finally cranked it up this weekend and simply could NOT stop playing it. Your "character" in this one is a space ship and you can upgrade it with different crew and equipment. The "dungeon" is a procedurally generated galaxy that is (of course) random each playthrough. You must navigate each sector of the galaxy before a final encounter with an incredibly difficult boss.

 

The game is very challenging but you can unlock different ships as you play through which gives you little goals to go for. They did a nice job of adding in game achievements too.

 

Something about it just keeps me coming back over and over.

[townparkradio]

<Not Intellivision Related>

 

Digging this up because it is a great thread. My excuse is that I found a Rouguelike that I believe is a worthy contender to ToD as one of the best roguelikes I've ever played. (I love Tarmin too BTW).

 

FTL is an indie game that I got in a Humble Bundle maybe more than a year ago. I finally cranked it up this weekend and simply could NOT stop playing it. Your "character" in this one is a space ship and you can upgrade it with different crew and equipment. The "dungeon" is a procedurally generated galaxy that is (of course) random each playthrough. You must navigate each sector of the galaxy before a final encounter with an incredibly difficult boss.

 

The game is very challenging but you can unlock different ships as you play through which gives you little goals to go for. They did a nice job of adding in game achievements too.

 

Something about it just keeps me coming back over and over.

 

I find the "boss" encounter to be so strict it negates all the wonder of what came before. In a few days it will make you feel the same.

[+wongojack]

 

I find the "boss" encounter to be so strict it negates all the wonder of what came before. In a few days it will make you feel the same.

 

Yeah, the boss is killer - haven't beat it yet. I'm enjoying the challenge (still).

 

Edit - I've defeated the boss 2x in a row with different ships now (on easy). Very rewarding challenge in this game.

[+thegoldenband]

Beat a couple Adventures today with the Waif, and found an interesting twist: apparently, if you find and kill a Wizard on a Fortress quest, it's an instant win, just like the Wizard Hunt. I was only on tower level 15 of 18, but the game immediately ended as soon as the Wizard was defeated.

 

BTW the small orange scroll was immensely useful, since it allowed me to slow him down and hit him with repeated blasts from the Wand. A small brown scroll would be even better, since it paralyzes your enemy.

 

I've now completed 8 of the game's 14 Adventures with the Waif. Four Three of the ones left are 32 levels (and one is 24), so those will be tougher to pull off, but the other two are Tower adventures, which are the same every time and should be relatively easy.

[+thegoldenband]

After beating Catacombs/32 Levels today, I'm now up to 12 out of 14 Adventures completed with the Waif.

 

I was sailing along beautifully, thanks to the super-powerful Cyan Grail which lets you run around at high speed, and the Green Grail which gives your combat stats a big boost. But I nearly lost it all in the first room of Level 32, when I spawned in a room with a Confusion trap and a Wizard right on top of me.

 

It was an unholy mess and I got knocked down to the last tick of my last shield of HP before killing the Wizard with my magenta mace (possibly the second-best weapon in the game, behind the double-handed sword). I would've been pi-i-i-issed if I'd fallen at the last hurdle, but I fortunately made it out of that combat alive, and through the rest of the level.

 

I had the highest XP I've ever had -- well over 100000 -- and I got a huge boost in HP and stats when I took down a Dragon, which must have bumped me over some XP threshold since I'd already beaten a Wizard before that. I'm pretty sure I killed at least one of every monster in that game, all in melee.

 

Last week I also beat Fortress/24 Levels (not 32, like the manual says) by killing the Wizard, and then ran through both Tower/12 and Tower/20, which are always the same & which I'd mapped out in the past. The first floor of Tower/12 is nasty with the Waif, as you don't get a melee weapon and there's a Stirge guarding the staircase down. If that Stirge doesn't spawn on the opposite (left) side of the screen, you might as well reset.

 

Only the Wizard Hunt and Grail Quest left!

[JoeM_Intellivision]

thegoldenband,

Congrats on all your progress with Tower of Doom! Always was one of my favorite games and got it when it 1st came out in 1987 I believe. I would like to beat all the different quests myself one day. The one I played most was the one with 14 levels - forgot the name off hand maybe Quest?

Joe.

[+thegoldenband]

thegoldenband,

Congrats on all your progress with Tower of Doom! Always was one of my favorite games and got it when it 1st came out in 1987 I believe. I would like to beat all the different quests myself one day. The one I played most was the one with 14 levels - forgot the name off hand maybe Quest?

Joe.

 

Thanks! It's been a lot of fun -- sometimes frustrating, but never overly so. Of course I'm taking a hardcore approach by using the Waif -- any other character would offer a smoother experience.

 

I think you're thinking of The Challenge? It's a nice, relatively short 14 levels, but it adds one new monster in every level (except one, since the game only has 13 monsters).

[JoeM_Intellivision]

You are correct:-) Yes "The Challenge" was the one I always played. Remember there being a new monster per level but had forgot that there were only 13 overall monsters. I always liked that level. I really think Tower of Doom was a great game that has withstood the test of time!

[+thegoldenband]

Wizard Hunt done with the Waif! I was on tower level 14 (of 32), ran into him unexpectedly, left the room to regroup, and decided to go back and risk hand-to-hand combat. I used a Brown (invisibility) Flask, and I'd previously used two Pink Cloaks ("STRONG MAGIC PROTECTS YOU"); I'm not sure if invisibility helps in melee combat, but I'm sure the Pink Cloaks did.

 

Either way, he got in one or two hits, but I very quickly bludgeoned him with the magenta mace I'd been lucky enough to find on Level 1, and that was that. It took 3-4 seconds, tops, and I wasn't even that powerful -- 11 strength, 8 stamina, 3 diplomacy, 17380 XP.

 

I was having a really good run a couple days ago, but got ambushed by a Wraith that caught me in the middle of changing weapons and slaughtered me when I panicked and ran instead of calmly re-arming. So it's nice to triumph at last.

 

Just the Grail Quest left! No shortcuts for this one, though -- I'll have to make it through all 32 levels, and without benefit of the Cyan Grail should I find one. (What happens if you leave Level 32 without a Grail, I wonder?)

 

BTW there are still four Grails left unidentified -- Orange, Pink, Lavender, and Magenta. Since the Cyan grail is so powerful it wouldn't surprise me if the Magenta one were cursed, but I haven't encountered it yet.

[+thegoldenband]

Victory at last!

 

 

After dozens of attempts, I finally beat the Grail Quest with the Waif, which means I've now beaten every Adventure in the game with the weakest character.

 

I'd had some incredibly disappointing close calls before Thanksgiving, including a promising run that glitched out on me, and most of those were supported by some powerful magic item(s) I acquired early on. But this run was much more meat-and-potatoes, and other than rings that protected me from fire and wand backlash and a book that boosted my stamina, I didn't get any particularly strong items: no power potions, no cloaks and rosaries that make you permanently immune to traps, no rings that speed up healing or books that double your XP.

 

What I did get was a steady supply of food, and together with some additional patience and good luck, that was enough. I had to stop several times to regenerate health after a bad fight, including an encounter with a Wraith that left my character at death's door. Fortunately, in the next room over, I had a Giant Rat trapped behind a door, so I could simply sit idle until my life regenerated enough to continue.

 

Once I got a magenta Mace, I was better able to hold my own in fights, and ultimately killed at least one of every monster (mostly with projectiles). It also helped that I had the "correct" colors -- a 1 in 8 chance -- and didn't have to unscramble them.

 

I thought I was in danger of starvation around Level 22-23 (which is where I've usually lost in previous close calls), but I just got enough food to keep going. When I reached Level 32 without a Grail in hand, I thought I'd missed it -- I skipped a handful of rooms owing to danger, including the one with the Wraith -- and was about to find out what happens if you leave Level 32 without the Grail: instadeath? Looped back to Level 1?

 

But about 2/3 of the way through the level, I stumbled on a Wizard with a magenta Grail in the room, bludgeoned him to death (losing the majority of my HP in the process), took the Grail, ignored the little voice saying "Hmmm, I wonder what happens if you use it?", found the stairs, and got the hell out of there.

 

I wonder if I'm the first person ever to do this? And if not, I wonder when the last time was that someone did? What a rush!

[+wongojack]

With how difficult it is to decipher this game, you very well might be the first one to pull this off who wasn't involved with the development of the game (or isn't rain man)

[+thegoldenband]

With how difficult it is to decipher this game, you very well might be the first one to pull this off who wasn't involved with the development of the game (or isn't rain man)

 

Heh. I think winning with the Waif is sort of the implicit win condition, or at least the equivalent of Very Hard difficulty; you could argue that beating the Grail Quest with any character is essentially the main goal, since it's by far the hardest mission.

 

There's still so much I don't know: what do "THAT HELPED" and "MAKE A FRIEND" mean? How about the Rosaries that say "READ A BOOK" or "POTION MASTER"? Do some mystery items confer immunity against traps on a temporary basis? (I suspect so.) What happens if you defy the win conditions for the Wizard Hunt or Grail Quest? Does the Grail Quest automatically spawn a Grail on Level 32 if you haven't found one yet, or was that just coincidence? What do the other Grails do? How do the different weapons really stack up against each other? Why does the game often seem to spawn so many of the same item? And so on.

[+thegoldenband]

Spent some time tonight trying to get to the end of the Wizard Hunt without killing a wizard, but no luck. The game went so far as to plunk a wizard down in a tiny room with the stairs, making it essentially impossible to get past him unless I had a scroll that paralyzes enemies, which I didn't.

How about the Rosaries that say "READ A BOOK" or "POTION MASTER"?

I think I figured out "POTION MASTER": if I'm not mistaken, it fixes the scrambled item colors. Could be wrong about that, though, since I've only tested that in an emulator. EDIT: Totally wrong, see below.

Speaking of emulators, I noticed this on GameFAQs:

 

The game does have a few bugs, however. Often when an item is used, the game generates another copy if it on the same level, which can give the player a larger than intended supply of items. Sometimes, these extra items are generated in an inaccessible area of the map, which makes me suspect that it's a bug.

 

I've certainly noticed that the game will tend to spawn the same item repeatedly, but I think it's just the RNG. The bit about seeing extra items outside the map, however, I've only ever experienced in an emulator -- never on real hardware.

[+thegoldenband]

OK, I completed the Grail Quest with the Friar, and here are some new data points:

 

- "POTION MASTER", i.e. the Gray Rosary, makes it so that potions that would normally have a negative effect have a beneficial effect instead. For example, a potion that paralyzes you will instead give you haste (fast movement). Pretty big advantage for the Friar, who starts with the Gray Rosary.

 

- Once again I found a Magenta Grail on Level 32, guarded by a Wizard (who was conveniently in a separate area behind a closed door), so I think that may be an automatic spawn. When I used the Grail, it immediately ended the game with a victory sequence, so I guess you don't actually have to take the stairs (?). The only difference I could spot is that the game ended on Level 32 instead of Level 33. It wouldn't surprise me if the Magenta Grail only appears in the Grail Quest.

 

I think the Friar may actually be one of the best choices for new players. Tons of food, no bad effects from potions, and a decent weapon upfront? That certainly works for me.

[+thegoldenband]

OK, I just ran the Grail Quest again and left Level 32 without finding the Grail. No penalty. I guess the manual's claim that "you must locate the Grail to succeed!" is just talk; too bad.

 

BTW I always thought the Friar was immune to Holy Handgrenade backlash, but he certainly isn't -- I got shredded testing that out. Also, the protective effect of the Gray Rosary seems to end on Level 32 for some reason...?

 

Other than delving into the game's code to find out how everything works, which is probably beyond my competency, I guess the main unknowns are (a) the Orange and Lavender Grails, which I haven't found yet, and (b) figuring out which Rings and Cloaks give (temporary?) immunity to certain traps. I've definitely found that I've suddenly and mysteriously gained the ability to walk through Tan Rings and Green Gas traps without getting dinged, so there must be something that affects those.

[JoeM_Intellivision]

thegoldenband,

Congrats on your success and thanks for sharing your insights. Hopefully you have documented everything you have learned because I'm sure it must be hard to keep track of it all. To bad game didn't have a penalty on grail quest for exiting without grail - never liked when there are inconsistencies between manual and game but I'm not surprised given everything when game was released.

Thanks again.

Joe.

[+thegoldenband]

Thanks, Joe! Pretty much everything I've found is on the Strategywiki site:

 

http://strategywiki.org/wiki/Tower_of_Doom

 

I agree, it's a real shame they didn't save something special for the Grail Quest -- either a bad ending, or a good one for rescuing the Grail. Ah, well.

[+thegoldenband]

Turns out the Orange Grail gives the message "STRENGTH", but boosts your Diplomacy. I wonder if that's a bug?

 

The Brown Grail says "STAMINA" but I know it doesn't boost your Stamina -- so maybe it boosts Strength instead. And hey, maybe the Pink Grail (which says "DIPLOMACY") actually boosts your Stamina; not sure if I checked that one at the time. Only the Lavender Grail remains unfound, at least by me.

[Shad0WeN]

On 12/7/2015 at 3:00 PM, thegoldenband said:

Thanks, Joe! Pretty much everything I've found is on the Strategywiki site:

 

http://strategywiki.org/wiki/Tower_of_Doom

 

I agree, it's a real shame they didn't save something special for the Grail Quest -- either a bad ending, or a good one for rescuing the Grail. Ah, well.

Just wanted to say thanks a bunch for putting all that info together in a guide of sorts. It's the best resource that I have managed to find for the game.

 

One thing I would add is that there is a tactic/exploit of sorts that can be used to pass through traps unaffected. Basically a trap won't trigger as long as another sound effect is currently playing. That means you can do something like cash a treasure from your inventory and run through a trap while the sound is still playing or alternatively get into a battle with a monster right next to it, retreat, and use the residual music/sound effects in the same way. Very useful for when transporter trap is in a bad location for example.

Edited February 16, 2021 by Shad0WeN

[+thegoldenband]

13 hours ago, Shad0WeN said:

Just wanted to say thanks a bunch for putting all that info together in a guide of sorts. It's the best resource that I have managed to find for the game.

 

One thing I would add is that there is a tactic/exploit of sorts that can be used to pass through traps unaffected. Basically a trap won't trigger as long as another sound effect is currently playing. That means you can do something like cash a treasure from your inventory and run through a trap while the sound is still playing or alternatively get into a battle with a monster right next to it, retreat, and use the residual music/sound effects in the same way. Very useful for when transporter trap is in a bad location for example.

Thank you very much! BTW totally agreed that the sound exploit is extremely useful -- it's actually mentioned on the Walkthrough page of the StrategyWiki site, under "Dealing with traps":

 

"Use a treasure - When using a treasure, a long chime sounds. As long as that sound persists, traps are ineffective. It's a really good idea to keep at least one treasure on hand at all times for this reason, as it's the best way to bypass a trap."

 

You can also use a Wand or Holy Hand Grenade for the same purpose, since the sound they make lasts for about a second or so -- enough time to get past a trap that's blocking your progress.

[Shad0WeN]

22 hours ago, thegoldenband said:

Thank you very much! BTW totally agreed that the sound exploit is extremely useful -- it's actually mentioned on the Walkthrough page of the StrategyWiki site, under "Dealing with traps":

 

"Use a treasure - When using a treasure, a long chime sounds. As long as that sound persists, traps are ineffective. It's a really good idea to keep at least one treasure on hand at all times for this reason, as it's the best way to bypass a trap."

 

You can also use a Wand or Holy Hand Grenade for the same purpose, since the sound they make lasts for about a second or so -- enough time to get past a trap that's blocking your progress.

Hah. Of course it's on like the one page I didn't think to read. Didn't realize there were tips & tricks on the Walkthrough page. Good stuff!

[+thegoldenband]

6 hours ago, Shad0WeN said:

Hah. Of course it's on like the one page I didn't think to read. Didn't realize there were tips & tricks on the Walkthrough page. Good stuff!

Yeah, it's kind of a weird place for it, since it looks like a heading -- but IIRC it's a required page for Strategywiki so I figured I might as well use it!

 

BTW if anyone wants to do the world a huge solid and contribute to the wiki, I pieced together screenshots for Level 1 of the Novice adventure, but didn't get any further with it. It'd be awesome to have full maps of all the non-random adventures (Novice, Tower/8, Tower/12, and Tower/20), but it'd be the kind of thing that should be done during downtime at a night watchman job or during a cross-country train trip, as it's a slow and vexing task.