ATTENTION! This section might contain spoilers that some players prefer to discover on their own.
Table of character progress: first column is level; second approximate amount of experience to get next level under 100% factor. Names of dungeons are italicized:
| 1 | 0 | For a fragile race it’s good to go to Old Ruins (to the east from tavern where you’ve appeared); warriors could consider to go directly to Mountain Gorge (the next location, east of the Ruins).
Please note that starting from the second level, you will not be able to go down to the Ruins (i.e. if you entered on the first, got lvl 2 and left there – you will not be able to enter again, you will have to go to the next dungeon). |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 10 | Be careful when meeting fast monsters; even a wild cat can be a serious hazard. Use the Phase Door scrolls to break the distance, run away or destroy them from afar (for example, throw rocks using the h command). |
| 3 | 25 | At the third level it’s quite safe for every hero to get to Mountain Gorge, but still be careful there. |
| 4 | 45 | Try to collect the food you find. It will come in handy later. Don’t overeat; if satiety is more than 90%, there will be a penalty to your speed. If you still overeat – have a rest (command R); in rest mode – time is accelerated and overeating passes faster. |
| 5 | 70 | The threshold of entering the Mountain Gorge. It means that starting from level 6 you will not be able to enter this dungeon and will have to go to the next one. |
| 6 | 100 | You shouldn’t exit the game while in the dungeon; in this case, your character will stay in the game for a few more seconds for which you can be killed. It is best to get out to the town or its environs, there the exit is instant. |
| 7 | 140 | Beware of invisible ghosts that can “eat” your food. They are quite rare, but still sometimes found. If you hear sound:
but there is no one around, run away or try to kill the invisible creature blindly. At first, you are unlikely to find stuff with See Invisible property. But you can buy the ‘Detect Invisible’ scrolls, they are cheap. There are also True Seeing potions, the effect of which lasts for a while. In general, it’s easier to run away from invisible critters at first. |
| 8 | 200 | Wormtongue (Agent of Saruman) inhabits depths of 400-500 feet and he is quite weak. He can carry very powerful artifacts stolen from his master.. |
| 9 | 280 | Word of Recall scrolls are used to transport you from a dungeon back to the surface (and vice versa). In principle, you can walk on foot; but these scrolls make life much easier, especially if you run into trouble and need to leave the level as soon as possible (though the scroll does not work immediately, but after a dozen moves). |
| 10 | 380 | The threshold of entering the Orc Caves (to the north from Mountain Gorge). Next there will be just dungeon names, without indication ‘threshold’. |
Level 10 is a pretty good result for a new player!
| 11 | 500 | It would be good to find something with fire resistance. |
|---|---|---|
| 12 | 650 | Do not underestimate magic wands, rods and staves of light or illumination. Some monsters are vulnerable to bright light. |
| 13 | 850 | If the light source has gone out in the dungeon and there is nothing to recharge it with, your goal is to find a lit room in order to read the scroll Word of Recall. |
| 14 | 1100 | Don’t forget that you can throw objects at enemies. By breaking the blinding potion at the monster’s head, you will most likely blind him and he will become an easy prey. |
| 15 | 1400 | Sewers (dungeon to the west from town). |
| 16 | 1800 | It is desirable, but not necessary – protection against Confusion / Blindness. If you do not have it – heal it with Potion of Cure <...> Wounds. |
| 17 | 2300 | Don’t play when you have little time. Tangaria does not tolerate haste, awkward step can cost your character’s life.
One common mistake that leads to death is switching to a new type of potion (for example, from Serious Wounds to Critical or Healing) – people forget to bind them into new macros. As a result, if you are confused – you cannot do anything and keel over. |
| 18 | 2900 | You can restore the reduced parameters by getting a level (not every level, but eventually it will work)… Also strength and constitution can be restored by wetting your whistle 😉 |
| 19 | 3600 | Try to buy an anti-paralysis ring (Free Action). Well, or you can take such gloves/boots. It is important to make it till the level 20 or so, otherwise there is a chance to meet some carrion crawlers… |
| 20 | 4400 | Fetid Swamps (SW from town), Orc Mountains (to the north from Orc Caves) |
Getting to level 20 is great! Congratulations!
| 21 | 5400 | It is advisable to close the base resists; in order of increasing importance – Fire, cold, acid, lightning. For a start, only fire will do. |
|---|---|---|
| 22 | 6800 | Even if you have protection from the elements (fire, cold …) do not hesitate to buy protection potions. For example, imagine that you have fire protection. Then on top of that, after drinking the potion of resist heat, you will receive “double protection” for a while, which makes you practically almost immune to fire. If there was no fire protection on the objects, after drinking the potion – you will get it. It is especially important to have double resist for races with susceptibility (eg Hydra or Ent). But in general, it is important to everyone starting from the 30th level (unless, of course, you are lucky enough to find a item with an immunity property). |
| 23 | 8400 | At the twenties levels, you will begin to come across potions that permanently improve your parameters. There are two types – those that improve one parameter at the cost of another (not always the best choice) and “pure” ones that only improve stats. |
| 24 | 10200 | By the middle of the twenties levels, it would be nice to get a Teleportation Staff. The good thing about staves is that they can be used while stunned or blinded. Staff of teleportation can save your life more than once, taking you out of the mess to a safer distance. |
| 25 | 12500 | Old Forest (to the south from town), Abandoned Manor (NW from town) |
| 26 | 17500 | Drink from the fountains at your own risk. You can get a permanent improvement of your stats, but there is also a small chance of getting into trouble. At early stages, fountains can be deadly for physically weak characters like magicians or healers. |
| 27 | 25000 | Pay attention to the Stealth parameter – it helps you make less noise and do not wake up sleeping monsters. Some races have serious problems with it… |
| 28 | 35000 | Speed potions can be very useful in boss fights; they double the speed of all your actions (the enemy makes one move – you two). If you’re unlucky and fail to find them, use the hit and run tactic (Phase Door scrolls). |
| 29 | 50000 | Poison Resistance (especially in Sandword Lair dungeon) |
| 30 | 75000 | Sandworm Lair (west from Abandoned Manor), Ettenmoors (east from Orc Caves), Land Of Rhun (south from Old Forest) |
At this stage, you’re entering mid-game. Be careful!
| 31 | 100000 | Be prepared for the fact that a critical situation may arise at any moment. Practice saving your butt beforehand – and always have a Plan B. |
|---|---|---|
| 32 | 150000 | Before you go down into the dungeon – each time check whether you have taken all the scrolls and potions with you. One day, this trivial advice could save your life 🙂 |
| 33 | 200000 | It is very important to know what awaits you outside the range of sight (especially after level 35), so try to get infravision (works only on warm-blooded monsters) or extrasensory perception (ESP, or telepathy). ESP allows you to “feel” opponents even behind walls. There are different types of ESP – to see evil, good, animals and other types of creatures. The most needed at the beginning of the game is ESP evil. It can be found on weapons (*slay evil* weapons, Weapons of Aman, Weapons of Gondolin). Later on you need to have a full ESP (like Crown of Telepathy, for example). |
| 34 | 275000 | Try to get Nether Resistance… it’s especially useful for Barrow Downs.
In general, be careful with monsters which got Nether attacks. Even if you have resist – sometimes the damage is huge (up to 550 for some powerful Nether spells). You can once be unlucky and the monster will foolishly cast two Nether Balls in a row 🙂 |
| 35 | 350000 | Barrow-downs, Maze, Small Watery Cave, Heart of the Earth… and Drowned Halls (located to the north from Barrow-downs) |
| 36 | 450000 | Try to fight 1 on 1, lure enemies into narrow corridors, do not rush to finish everyone at once. This is especially important in vaults, where notably dangerous monsters usually live. |
| 37 | 550000 | What about Chaos Resistance? |
| 38 | 700000 | Double teleportation will very likely lead to trouble 😉 In case of danger at high levels, it is best to go into the walls (if there is no such magic, dig the moves in advance). |
| 39 | 850000 | The monster’s HP is displayed in the lower left corner. Keep an eye on it during boss fights! |
| 40 | 1000000 | Helcaraxe (Hold Life will come in handy there), Mines of Moria, Illusory Castle, Cirith Ungol, Numenor |
If you managed to get to this stage – respect! You’re now a fellow Tangarian!
| 41 | 1250000 | At higher levels, pay special attention to the dungeon environment – rooms, corridors, is it lighted or not… Be especially careful on levels like dark arena (wide open spaces with no walls, all in darkness). Pay attention to non-obvious details; for example, if you have an ESP and you see an empty room that looks like a nest – it is quite possible that it will be filled with Q or g .. Although it may be the harmless Frozen Sphere. Is it worth checking? 🙂 |
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| 42 | 1500000 | Stat sustains will be helpful. Especially when you are fighting some bosses (including Morgoth); without a sustain on your CON during combat, your life can be drastically reduced which will make you HPs very low. |
| 43 | 1800000 | Do not hesitate to use buffs. Heroism/Berserk Strength potions, Holy Chant/Holy Prayer scrolls, Protection from Evil etc. There are many more useful things;) |
| 44 | 2100000 | Stun resistance is highly desirable so as not to fall prey to plasma hounds or other stunning foes. |
| 45 | 2400000 | Mirkwood, Mordor |
| 46 | 2700000 | Sacred Land Of Mountains, Erebor If you have a fight with an important boss at a fairly high level – thoroughly study its features before the fight. Many of them are immune to certain types of attacks, they can see through invisibility, tear down walls, and more. |
| 47 | 3000000 | Dol Guldur, Paths of the Dead It is advisable to kill some unique monsters before you reach level 50. For example, this applies to Stormbringer and Emperor Mimic (to some he may seem weak… until he summon a dozen or two death molds). |
| 48 | 3500000 | Fallen Gondolin In the late game, for some classes, the Rune of Protection scrolls become very useful, which allow you to protect the tile from the monster summoning. If you do not have such scrolls – dig corridors or try to cooperate with characters who can create runes with their magic. Also there are some other ways to protect VS summoning, eg create doors spell, grow trees spell, stone prison, etc. |
| 49 | 4000000 | Mount Doom If you have really bad situation which is hard to escape – Destruction magic is very good to protect yourself hiding in the middle of rubble mountains. |
| 50 | 4500000 | Angband, Straight Road, Valinor |
| … | Utumno |
Level 50 is currently the highest level. One day it will be possible to get even more experience while visiting new dimensions…