Combat Style

Welcome intrepid soul! This article is intended as a place to collect useful ways of efficiently completing combat adventures. The changes that accompanied NS13 have eroded the dominance of strategies that use permanent combat skills like Lunging Thrust Smack for Moxie and Mysticality classes.

This page is specifically not intended for such strategies, but rather for collecting ways that individual classes are "meant" to fight, using their own class skills and strengths, and the (relatively) accessible items they find around them. MacGyver fighting. Ideally, these strategies should be accomplish-able by a brand new character, or in a Bad Moon ascension. That said, any useful combat strategy is welcome, but this article is not aimed at the person with two-dozen ascensions under their belt, because such a person most likely does not need advice. The audience of this page is the new player, or the person playing a specific class for the first time. Now then...

Basic Combat Styles

Muscle

Muscle-based combat is based on attacking with Melee Weapons. This is most easily accomplished by having a Muscle that is higher than the Monster's Defense. Thus, any Buffs or Enchantments that raise Muscle are key. In addition, due to the fact that the Monster will likely be able to damage you (and for a lot), since the Monster's to-hit and damage are based on your Moxie, which will likely be lower, it is to the player's advantage to maximize the damage dealt by each attack, to reduce the number of combat rounds the Monster will have to retaliate. Thus, Buffs and Enchantments that raise Melee damage are beneficial.

It can be possible to defeat the enemy in one hit via: extreme boosting of melee damage, exploiting elemental weaknesses, getting a critical hit, or using combat skills like Lunging Thrust-Smack. This can be incredibly useful to avoid taking damage, especially if you also boost Combat Initiative. It may be worth it to abandon conventional defenses entirely if you think your enemy can be defeated in one, or even two hits.

Moxie

Moxie-based combat is based on being able to evade all of a Monster's attacks. This is most easily accomplished by having a Moxie that is higher than the Monster's Attack. Thus, any Buffs or Enchantments that raise Moxie are key. Additionally, items or skills that reduce the Monster's level in combat are useful to put the Monster's attack below your moxie. (See Safe Adventuring) At this point, the Monster can be picked off at your leisure, using combat items, Skills, or Ranged Weapons, which are based on Moxie instead of Muscle.

Skill Based

Skill-Based combat is the combat style preferred by Mysticality Classes, as well as those who have completed a number of Ascensions. It generally consists of using skills that will always hit the Monster, such as Shieldbutt or any of the Mysticality Spells. The advantage of this is that the character's Stats in relation to the Monster's are largely irrelevant, allowing the player to adventure at any area he or she has access to. However, skills are expensive to acquire, and they require the expenditure of MP, which can be expensive to refill. In addition, two major bosses can block combat skills leaving these characters at a disadvantage.

Class Specific

Seal Clubber

Lunging Thrust-Smack + Eye of the Stoat provides a bonus to hit, which is increased for a Seal Clubber. In addition, the Lunging Thrust-Smack provides triple damage from the main weapon. Skills such as Claws of the Walrus, Claws of the Otter, Snarl of the Timberwolf, and Rage of the Reindeer provide a melee damage bonus, which can make attacks quite lethal (Rage also boosts Muscle). Double-Fisted Skull Smashing allows two one-handed weapons to be used, which can also increase the damage. Pulverize also provides a source of Muscle and Damage boosting enchantments from Wads received from it. Altogether, the Seal Clubber provides an opportunity to max out the damage done with each melee attack.

Pastamancer

Springy Fusilli + Entangling Noodles

Using Entangling Noodles after you get the jump on an opponent, you can buy yourself two rounds of freedom from any damage it would have dealt. When you can kill the opponent in two turns but not one, this skill can save you a fortune on healing. It is especially useful from the Giant's Castle onward. In particular, casting Entangling Noodles and then eXtreme Ray of Something twice costs less than one casting of Cone of Whatever, while usually doing more damage.

Sauceror

The Sauceror's Reagent Potions are an extremely powerful tool, as they can radically enhance/modify your stats. The olive and lemon potions in particular can allow you to masquerade as a Moxie or Muscle class, while still enjoying all your native Sauciness. There is really no reason not to use some type of potion continuously, once you find a reliable source. (for instance The Hippy Store)

Double Wave of Sauce

If your additional spell damage exceeds the damage cap while casting Wave of Sauce, you will gain the effect Burning Soul or Soul Freeze depending on whether the spell was hot or cold. This effect returns 1/3 of the damaged done by the next spell of that element as MP. Using a spell book to always cast the same elemental type, and Jalapeño Saucesphere to regain HP, you can cast this combination nearly free of cost, while effectively taking little or no damage. If you also use Jabañero Saucesphere and a chefstave such as the Staff of the Greasefire it is possible to make more MP back in a turn than you spend. This strategy can be so effective that you may intentionally not use the element an opponent is weak to, in order to not kill it in the first turn.

Disco Bandit

The advantages that the Disco Bandit has for Moxie-Style play are Ambidextrous Funkslinging, which allows the use of two combat items per combat round, and the Disco Dance moves (Disco Eye-Poke, Disco Dance of Doom, Disco Dance II: Electric Boogaloo, Disco Face Stab, and Tango of Terror), which each automatically hit, deal some damage, and delevel the enemy. Either of these can be used to delevel the opponent quickly at the beginning of a fight, and then use Combat Items or Ranged Weapons can finish the opponent off. In addition, Disco Combos can allow for beneficial damaging effects to speed the combat process along, and Crossbow Fever turns Crossbow-based Ranged Weapons into a force to be reckoned with.

Accordion Thief

The Accordion Thief is the King of moxie. Moxious Madrigal alone makes the class devastatingly evasive during the first few levels, and the Squeezebox of the Ages is easily the best of the class-specific Legendary Epic Weapons. Use it.