Caves (roguelike) Wiki
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Here is a compiled list of valid tips and tricks used for conquering lower levels for new players.

1.) Try to find choke points when necessary. Having enemies swarm you is a very easy way to die.

2,) You may click on your character to skip your turn. This is useful when you want to set up preemptive strikes against single targets. Note: This tactic is nearly useless on the ranged enemies.

Tips from suprjami & PeculiarDonut :

Here's a few tips:

  • For a starting character I max out Power and put the rest into Luck. I have only played Warrior characters so far, not a good ranged character.
  • You've probably died a lot and have a lot of gold and gems saved up already, so always buy a good weapon to start with. Don't buy temporary gem upgrades until you're sure the character is viable. I've started games, had 4 guys teleport in instantly and died on literally my third move.
  • Mine out the entire level to get more gold and gems, more XP from mining gold and gems, and more XP from the monsters you'll find.
  • Prefer mining gold/gems to blowing them up, as you get XP when mining.
  • Pick armor with the speed upgrade and use it. When you get the event where 4 guys teleport in, speed upgrade and kill them before they can do much damage, same for the guys who can make 4 duplicates of themselves, same for the powerful caster knights in the abandoned levels, and generally for anyone who can do more than a 1-2 points of damage to you at once.
  • Health is the most scarce resource so use everything else to supplement your health.
  • I'll usually prefer a weapon with good blocking over a weapon with higher damage or other traits.
  • Wear a ring or shield which provides the best blocking or protection of some kind. Once your blocking gets good enough, you can tank 90% of hits with no damage (if you have an okay breastplate to round it out)
  • Once you get a good run (say you've made it to the Acid Caves and back to the home portal) start investing in the temporary gem upgrades in the left room of the base, and upgrade those upgrades permanently with the center room of the base. DO NOT buy temporary upgrades to start with, as it could easily be a waste of emeralds if you get taken out in the first few minutes
  • Use the scrolls and potions you find, don't hoard them, you can only carry 15 at a time anyway. When you're somewhere tough or you encounter multiple enemies at once, sit and think for a minute and review your inventory. For example, if a bunch of dudes are clustered together, use a grenade or lightning scroll. If it goes you | enemy | explosive then shoot the explosive.
  • Use the environment to your advantage. If enemies don't have a LOS to you, they will not attack. Make enemies attack you down a hallway rather than in the open so you can deal with them one at a time. If you want to block a hallway to retreat, throw an acid potion, as enemies will not usually willingly go on a square where they take damage.
  • Mine a passage into the rock and use the Transmutation scroll to maximize its effect. It can turn the entire 8 rocks around you into gems, so maximize those chances.
  • If an enemy stands on a floor trap, keep them there for 1 or 2 turns, the trap will activate and the enemy will take damage. This is hard, some enemies seem to know where traps are and will actively avoid the trap.
  • I pick one sub-type of weapon (guns or bows) and only collect ammo for that. There are too many ammo types to collect both bullets and arrows.
  • Put all your level-up points into Blocking. You can buy Melee and Ranged upgrades, you cannot buy Blocking upgrades.
  • If an encounter is too hard, run away and live to fight another day. Save Invisibility scrolls and Teleport potions for this, especially for the first few levels.
  • When going back to the Home Portal, drop all your inventory somewhere safe, and take a bunch of crap weapons and rings/shields back to recycle for more gold/gems.
  • At any vending machine, buy all the health globes and revival globes you can afford. Health is the most scarce resource in the game.
  • A scroll of Inversion plus an Acid potion heals you. You will need this information. You will NEED it.
  • Recharge the magic altars with the magic dust by applying dust to each corner and the center like /u/FONZACUS said. Keep in mind that the altar is a three-by-three square, but you should ONLY be applying dust in a + shape. As of now, it appears that each color means a different boost or
  • Use Random teleport potions to generate new items. Sometimes you even get a good weapon or a health potion/ball. Always throw a square away from you, not the square next to you, as when it generates an enemy he will attack you instantly.
  • Another use for Random Teleport potions: Strong enemy in your hair? Hit him with it, and it will take him off your back. Magical shields will stop this effect, however, so watch out.
  • In the abandoned level, keep an eye out for cracked walls, you can mine through them to find spiders and blue/green gems to harvest.
  • When you mine a gem formation, be ready to run. There is a chance that it will spawn a strong crystal golem that will send you running at low levels.
  • I find the enemy sensor and ore sensor fairly useless upgrades. I find the map reveal item to be useless as well, as I just mine the entire level, and there are no secret passages in the abandoned level.
  • Always save and quit the game properly, some of the Google Play reviews say if you just press the Home button and use other apps, sometimes your progress is not saved. The dev is very active and may have fixed this, but I don't risk it.
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