Rushing Dungeons (Rev. 31)

Introduction

Rush
Once a player has started to familiarize themselves with the basic dungeons in the Realm, they may find themselves wanting to speed up the process of doing dungeons in order to max faster, as getting to 8/8 can take an incredibly long time. However, clearing a dungeon, while decently safe, has its limits in terms of how fast it can be done. This is where rushing comes into the equation. This is usually accomplished by running ahead through a dungeon with only occasionally to never bothering to stop and clear the enemies in your path. While obviously much faster than clearing, this comes with the heavy cost of putting your character in extreme danger, as there are very few times that you are safe or have a chance to breathe.

When rushing a dungeon–from an Sprite World to the Lost Halls–you need to be prepared. In-depth knowledge of a dungeon is highly recommended before attempting to rush it, as without knowledge of what is most dangerous, players can easily be caught by surprise and killed quickly. All classes can feasibly rush, but some will generally outperform others.

Dedicated rushing classes include Tricksters, Kensei, Rogues, and Ninjas. Warriors, Knights, and Mystics have useful rushing talents, while Priests, Archers and Bards can rush effectively given the right equipment.

Tips

• Above all else, one of the most important things you can do is to max your character. Although the most crucial stats to max will depend from character to character, there are some generalities when it comes to maxing. Most importantly, maxing Speed and Defense to effectively run past the enemies is essential, as if you are not going fast enough, enemies can easily start to build up and kill you quickly. Similarly, maxing HP and Vitality helps by enabling bigger risks (and therefore faster rushing) by keeping you out of combat and alive for longer. For classes that require their ability to rush effectively, maxing Wisdom and Mana is very useful. Finally, maxing Dexterity and Attack is probably the least useful out of the bunch, but still can be highly effective when looking to make sure that you are not ganged up on by a gigantic horde of enemies.
• Another essential tip is to have an effective pet. While pets are extremely useful in most situations, rushing is one of few situations where the HP and MP regeneration will almost always be of use to you. Additionally, the Electric ability is extremely useful while rushing, having the ability to stop a large portion of the enemies chasing you in their tracks. While there is not a certain pet level required to start rushing, most people would generally recommend a maxed Rare pet with Heal and Magic Heal when starting off.
• Be prepared to Nexus at any time. Rushing can be a very chaotic situation to deal with, and as such can easily kill you within seconds. Remember that your character is much more valuable than the few stat pots that can be gained from the dungeon, and that there is no shame in Nexusing in a sticky situation.
• When more familiar with rushing a dungeon, occasionally glancing at the mini-map when you can can easily increase the speed and safety at which you rush, as this can help prevent you from running into dead ends and getting cornered. For easier, less dangerous dungeons, one may find themselves staring at the mini-map almost the entire time, as the mini-map almost always provides more information than you can directly see.
• Bring adequate consumables. Making sure that your potion slots are filled with useful restoratives that can be used at a moment’s notice (typically through the use of hotkeys) can easily mean the difference between life and death. HP consumables such as the Health Potion or the Healing Ichor serve to help you keep going if you are low on health, and MP consumables can help upkeep abilities.
• The Snake Eye Ring is arguably the most useful item to bring while rushing, as it can grant the Speedy buff to any class that can not otherwise have it, greatly increasing the rushing speed.
• In dungeons where teleportation is available, a common safeguard method is to type /teleport <player name> to a fellow player in the dungeon and then click somewhere else on the screen. This will leave the command in the chatbox, ready to be activated whenever by pressing the chat key twice, teleporting you to safety should you find yourself in inescapable danger.
  
  • Note that you cannot teleport to someone who is either Invisible or not in the dungeon at all. Thus, it is recommended that you carefully consider which player you have set your teleport to before rushing. Furthermore, telling them you have done so can decrease the chance that they leave or turn Invisible for whatever reason.
• It can be useful to have a piercing weapon such as the Bone Dagger, Arcane Rapier, or Staff of Esben as large swarms of enemies are hard to deal without one.
• Use common sense. Rushing dungeons can be fun, but is also highly dangerous. The smallest lapse in focus can easily spell the end of your character, and so make sure to always pay attention to what you are doing or what you are walking into.

Arranged from worst to best.

Wizard
The Wizard is the slowest class and the frailest class in the game - terrible traits for rushing. With no healing, all Wizards have is their massive DPS - and they can’t even pierce without certain UTs (Staff of Esben or a Staff of Unholy Sacrifice). The DPS can be useful in solo rushes.

However, Wizards have a very Speed themed ST set; the Slurp Scion Wizard Set. The full set immediately brings SPD up to 75, and the spell gives +25 more.

Summoner
Summoners have 60 SPD and a piercing weapon. For any dungeon with strong minions, this isn’t enough

Sorcerer
Huntress
Sorcerers and Huntresses have easy access to both piercing weapons and Slow, with a Scepter of Fulmination or T0 trap. Sorcerers have 60 SPD, while Huntresses have more bulk and a better clearing weapon.

Necromancer
The Necromancer is a step above the Wizard, with healing and superior bulk thanks to the skull’s HP bonus. However, Necromancers are still just as slow, and you have to actually aim the skull in order to heal.

Assassin
Assassins have 75 SPD, like the other two dagger classes. While they don’t have anything else special, Assassins are still quite competent at rushing godlands dungeons.

Samurai
Paladin
Samurai and Paladins hit fairly hard, have heavy armor, and above-average speed. Paladins are better thanks to their Damaging and HP boost, but lack the (relatively weaker) piercing of Samu.

Archer
Bard
Archers and Bards are bow-wielding classes with access to speedy, via the Quiver of Shrieking Specters and Snake Charmer Pungi, respectively. Bards wear robes, but are naturally faster (+5 SPD, and Pungi gives +7 on-equip) and gain a slight DEF buff. They aren’t great in more dangerous rushes, but are at least fast.

Knight
Knights have the highest defense in the game, with 40 DEF, heavy armor, and a shield. Shields can even stun, and few minions are immune to the status. Knights are slow, but very reliable rushers, able to go through places even Tricksters won’t touch (Godland walls) with ease. (Note: be careful of armor break!).

Mystic
The Mystic is a faster-than-average class that can simply Stasis the vast majority of minions; very effectively I.F.F used properly. Both the Soul of the Bearer and Orb of Conflict provide Speedy, though Mystics are still a robe class.

Priest
Priests might be frail and slow, but have a large supply of healing. A plethora of tomes patch up the Priest’s flaws: the Book of Geb gives Speedy, the Tome of Holy Protection gives the defense of a heavy class, and the Tome of Purification cures statuses like Slow or Sick. Using Prot and Geb is very MP expensive, but can be sustained with MP potions in shorter rushes.

Warrior
The Warrior is an excellent class for rushing; not only very tanky, but with the Speedy buff from his helms. The Armored buff from the Helm of the Juggernaut can also be very helpful, and both buffs can be sustained. Warriors are also very strong, but lack piercing.

Ninja
The Ninja is the 2nd fastest class in the game, and the fastest in terms of pure walk speed. Use a Spider Shruiken for the cheaper Speedy and… run. Ninjas rely on pure speed, not having much in defense or other traits.

Rogue
The Rogue is the simplest rusher in the game, largely stemming from 75 SPD and his ability to go undetected. Every cloak has a cooldown of at least 1 second, but you’ll be spending 80%+ of your time without any enemies aiming at you. Most Rogues carry the Cloak of the Planewalker, as its teleportation makes rushing much faster (70 MHeal is required to chain-cloak).

Most rushes become incredibly simple, though some enemies will still fire randomly (i.e, in the Lost Halls), and The Shatters has active anti-cloak measures in place. Note that Quiet will immediately end invisibility.

Kensei
Kensei is, if not the simplest, the safest rusher in the game. Kensei’s Dash, which has a cooldown in order to channel 3 dashses, gives a lengthy invulnerability period. Kensei are especially good where the Rogue suffers, such as the Lost Halls (dangerous, but the actual distance per room is easily covered by a dash) and the aformentioned Shatters.

Trickster
The Trickster is the fastest rusher in the game; her 75 SPD and ability to teleport is easily the highest tiles/second in the game. This teleport has an extremely high skill ceiling, with none of the safety features of either Rogue or Kensei. The Decoy also serves as a destraction tool. The MP-cheap Decoy Prism or the Ghostly Prism are recommended. The Echoes Prism lets you teleport back to a safer place, and the Brain of the Golem puts a stationary decoy, distracting any enemies that are on your tail.

The Snake Pit is a great dungeon to learn the fundamentals of rushing. Enemies deal almost no damage to characters with any amount of DEF; even fresh Wizards shouldn’t have lots of trouble. The main obstacle is breaking down the walls. Only 1 enemy can chase you through each room, and they can’t even get through 1 tile gaps.

Snake Pits are always 5 rooms long, not counting the enterance or boss room.

Sprite World
Sprite Worlds are similarly easy to rush. Enemies have high HP, but are extremely spread out and aren’t especially damaging. Make sure to use the conveyer belts to your advantage. Teleporting classes can rush Sprites especially fast due to the lack of walls. For any other class, this dungeon is more of an exercise of map reading than any challenge, especially maxed.

Sprite Worlds are always 5 rooms long, not counting the enterance or boss room.

Undead Lair monsters generally do little damage to a player with maxed Defense. What you have to watch out for are traps; they can instantly pop players who are not 8/8. However, they’ll glow vibrantly for a second before exploding.

Be on the lookout for Golems and Vampires, which inflict scary statuses. Golems inflict Confusion. Vampires inflict Silence, and even worse, Slow. Unmaxed and slowed characters swarmed with enemies should have piercing, be able to teleport, or just Nexus.

The Manor of the Immortals’ main threat are the Vampire Bats, which inflict Confuse, but only on touch. If you can handle confusion, then a maxed SPD/DEF character should be perfectly fine. Unmaxed characters might find the damage output a little high, but can still rush the dungeon just fine.

When you are confused, “A” moves back, “D” forward, “W” left, “S” right, and camera rotation is reversed. You can bend your hand 90 degrees to use DWAS instead of WASD (that’s the easy way to remember).

The Boss room will always have an enterance due south. Be on the lookout for treasure rooms, which are hidden under the unique breakable bookshelves. They need space to generate, so don’t break bookshelves adjacent to another room.

Most of the enemies of the Cursed Library are slow, few which chase you. It features many status effects of the UDL (Silence, Quiet, Slow), and switch rooms contain Sickening worms. Be especially careful of Headless Specters and Bookwyrms, which can devastate your character if you run through them. Be especially especially careful if you are Cursed, as a cursed shotgun is almost insta-pop potential.

Once you get to the boss room, it is highly recommended to kill any chasing enemies, as Avalon the Archivist tends to be a longer fight and the outer areas of the boss room can be traversed without activating the boss.

The Toxic Sewers is designed to defeat many rushing tactics. The sewage slows movement (unless you’re in a favorable current), and stops health regeneration. Chasing Goblin Brutes will quickly wear you down. It is nearly impossible to get past an opposing current if you are Slowed by an enemy, forcing you to kill them. Sewers also feature both Silence and Quiet, from Yellow and Brown Slimes, respectively.

Knights have the bulk to tank the vast majority of shots, through Brutes armor pierce. Priests can heal and Speedy through, if you take advantage of the land. Mosty Speedy classes can be fine, but the restriction of healing pots is more dangerous than usual.

The Abyss of Demons is a dangerous dungeon to rush. Abysses tend to be long, labyrinthine, and arduous; dead-ends are common and entirely unpredictable, and lava is an everpresent threat. Demons and Brutes can quicky surround you and kill you in seconds. Even Knights might be overwhelmed, though a Shield burst will kill enemies (assuming no enemies are near). Clearing isn’t that slow, and thanks to the Abyss’ odd layout, is recommended even for experienced players.

The Puppet Master’s Theatre uses the breakable walls of the Snake Pit with much deadlier enemies. Few enemies chase you, but they are densely packed. Warrior and Wizard Puppets deal a lot of damage, and Knight Puppets are capable of inflicting Armor Broken. If need be, it should be easy to make an alcove in the middle of a wall to recover some HP before continuing your rush.

Archer Puppets are even more dangerous, inflicting Slow and Paralyzed, Thankfully, they shouldn’t appear on the boss path. But don’t forget they exist - being stuck in a middle of a crowd is easily fatal.

The Ocean Trench’s unique Oxygen mechanic must always be paid attention to. The Fishman Warriors and their Fishmen inflict Confused. Even worse, the Seamare’s paralyzing shots can quickly end a rush. These statuses are hard to dodge, considering the small air chambers you have to stand on.

Having people to teleport to is always a good idea (see Tips for details). They’ll likely be sitting in spawn, where there’ll be air chambers.

The Tomb of the Ancients is a fairly hard dungeon to rush, featuring movement hindering Quicksand. Bloated Mummies inflicting Confused and Paralyzed (through scarabs), the Lion Archers also paralyze, but are more dangerous than the Mummies and their scarabs. Jackals are the main killers in Tombs because of their high damage output and large minions. As shots are fairly slow, the only real tip in this dungeon is to just… run. Every enemy here can deal heavy damage, and specific shots from specific enemies can probably mess you up hard, or kill you. Teleport is still enabled, so warp away if you are paralyzed.

Woodland Labyrinth
Woodlabs are fairly high damage, but their main threat are the Paralysis and Silence turets, which each have a very wide attack radius. Thankfully, they take a second to ‘grow’ before firing. Once again, Teleport is still enabled.

Lost Halls
Lost Halls is an endgame dungeon with endgame minions, an order of magnitude harder than any of the listed dungeons; enemies can very easily instapop you. Unless you’re solo, rushing is most often done for the pot rooms, in order to open the Cultist Hideout. Slime Rooms feature Bats (Pet Stasis) and Rats (Quiet). Golem Rooms can Petrify, in addition to a high amount of insta-popping enemies.

Rogues are not safe; Slime and Oryx Rooms will still fire even if you’re invisible. Pot rooms are generally safe, but non-Tricksters have to be very wary of a Crusade charging inside. Therefore, Trickster and Kensei are highly recommended, and maybe Warrior.

The Shatters
The Shatters is an even harder endgame dungeon. The switches preceeding the first boss are the main thing to be ‘rushed’ here. Switches require a player very close in order to be damaged, and must be damaged to be closed. Invisible Rogues are punished, as the switches will flicker between vulnerability. (WIP)