Diablo 1 on GOG?

[haphazard1]

Well, my initial hero (a warrior) bit the dust in the catacombs. A mob of skeletal archers (bone archers? not sure) was shooting him full of arrows while some other enemies swarmed him, and I was not quick enough to disengage and ran short on healing. Oh well, learning is a painful process sometimes.

I had not seen any decent equipment (better than my existing stuff) drop in a couple levels, so everything was getting harder and harder. I was still using the weapon and armor I had at the end of level 2. Maybe with more skill I could have managed it, but my technique is not all that good yet.

Maybe a rogue next? Lots of fun so far, despite the death.

[Boro]

Was it a single or multiplayer character? enemies are stronger (or just tougher?) in multiplayer by default, rather than scaling them upon players joining like later games.

I haven't dotted a multiplayer character yet, (A BNM was down to the second level of hell, then the terrible beast called hard drive reset claimed him) but a single player Warrior got the big D, and it was more satisfying than anything else (probably because it was a deathless and reload-less run).

[KingOfPain]

What, you abandon the character because you don't want to walk back down the Cats?

One thing to make a habit of is to set a Town Portal when you land on a new level which makes it quicker to recover your gear. Cast the Town Portal away from the stairs! Gear recovery in D1 is a mini game in itself, a more challenging game. You are going in naked, where monsters just killed you when you were fully equipped.  And worse, there is this thing called Stair Death, that is when you die at the stairs. If you have to walk down the stairs to recover then you will be mobbed as soon as the level loads. This little write up will help deal with Stair Deaths - StairDeath Recovery  - Nystul and KingOfPain

Oh, and don't forget to carry THE BIBLE with you wherever you may roam.

[KingOfPain]

Was it a single or multiplayer character? enemies are stronger (or just tougher?) in multiplayer by default, rather than scaling them upon players joining like later games.

I haven't dotted a multiplayer character yet, (A BNM was down to the second level of hell, then the terrible beast called hard drive reset claimed him) but a single player Warrior got the big D, and it was more satisfying than anything else (probably because it was a deathless and reload-less run).

I forgot if single player worked differently, but multiplayers let you exit a game and rejoin it with the same or different character. That was how we mule/transferred those precious cursed gear to Beyond Naked toon; and to recover from a nasty situation

[haphazard1]

As you might realize, we know an unhealthy amount about Diablo down to the inner mechanic, mathematics, bugs and all. Don't worry too much about THE BIBLE until you get curious - tho most of us diehard addicts would have that printed.

As in most ARPG games, the magic user is often the hardest class to start but end up to be the most powerful when well played. In Diablo, these 3 things will let you play a mage successfully.

Aim well - You can't afford to miss too much when your mana is low. And in later game when mana is not a problem then the fun begins, you might find yourself teleporting and firing simultaneously

Happy Feet - You shouldn't have to put any points in Vit at all. Learn how to dodge hits and projectiles, walk in zigzag patterns, learn how to walk around objects

Know your enemy - Know their resistances. Use the right elemental spells for the types of monsters. IE, Holy Bolts is very effective against King Leoric, not so much against the Butcher.

As Boro has mentioned his BNM (Beyond Naked Mage - not only naked but wearing cursed gear) is down to Hell, the mage class is very viable. It takes a little patience in the beginning.

[haphazard1]

My rogue is doing well so far, down to the catacombs where my warrior perished. I like the ranged/archer style of the rogue, and am working on my technique for handling mobs without getting swarmed. A couple close calls, but so far so good.

The bible info has been helpful, especially for things like shrines. Had a bunch of them on the first two levels (4, I think). Trying to figure those out by trial and error would be a major hassle; some of them are not very obvious even after the fact.

Is there anything useful to be done about barrels? It is annoying that you can not shoot them or detect traps in them.

[haphazard1]

Descended to a new level in the catacombs, and got swarmed by a huge crowd of goat men. After barely managing to survive, I found that the room had an open archway into another chamber with a goat shrine. I guess there was a mob by the stairs, plus another mob guarding the shrine. The combination made life rather exciting for a bit.

Is this sort of situation the often-referred-to "stairs trap" or am I misunderstanding that term?

[Boro]

Descended to a new level in the catacombs, and got swarmed by a huge crowd of goat men. After barely managing to survive, I found that the room had an open archway into another chamber with a goat shrine. I guess there was a mob by the stairs, plus another mob guarding the shrine. The combination made life rather exciting for a bit.

Is this sort of situation the often-referred-to "stairs trap" or am I misunderstanding that term?

It does sound like one. Congratulations on dealing with it. Remember, portal parking is your best friend.

[haphazard1]

Lots of great material at Sirian's old pages.

Rogue still going. Completed the Arkaine Valor quest, fought a lot of Fire Clan goat men and horned demons, now looking for the chamber of bones. Sounds like an unpleasant place....

[superdeath]

Let me know when/if you try out some Diablo 2..