DIVERS. 4 Hints about my favourite game in UFO 50!

[Massive Rat]

I just completed my first playthrough of Divers with a playtime total of 7 Hours 42 Minutes.

I didn't use any guides or outside information, and I got cherry on my first clear! If you are confused about how this game works; have tried to figure it out but can't, and want to avoid spoilers, I've got 4 Spoiler-free hints for you!

Hint 1: Damage Types and Weaknesses

The Green, Red and Yellow (Egg, Coral? and Electric) on the equipment means something! Each enemy type is weak to a specific one! Check for dramatic particle effects to figure out which one will deal the most damage!

Hint 2: Sticks and Stones, Lids and Mallets

I'm not gonna tell you specifics, but the equipment you buy from the shop (or find in the depths!) changes the stats of characters. You'll need to trial them yourself to see what works, but that's part of what makes the game fun! Making your own strategy! They also function differently in combat. Speaking of combat,

Hint 3: DEFEND!

Knowing when to defend in combat will save your poor lizard buddies from an early death. Remember! Characters can defend other characters who are still attacking! It will use durability on the weapon, but that resets every time you breach the surface. You can win fights you don't expect to be able to win if you come at them with the correct strategy.

Hint 4: The best defence is not getting into a fight in the first place.

You should be exploring as much as possible, poking your lizard nose into every suspicious looking wall. Maybe you found some treasure! Remember, you have to make it back to the surface to keep what you found. Get used to how your opponents move in the water and get EXTRA used to how your divers swim. All encounters can be dodged. I escaped many of my deep dives, one moray eel away from death. It's the stress that makes it satisfying.

That's all my advice! I didn't wanna make a whole steam guide for it, but I hope it reached it's intended recipient anyway. Feel free to discuss DIVERS in the replies whether you've completed the game or not. I know this game is not well liked, but there is SO much to enjoy if you give it a real shot! It's one of the larger games in UFO 50 so don't be afraid to take your time!

[PlantMurderer]

Now do the same for your 2nd favorite game, Combatants.
I'm in dire need of solid hints lol

[Quinn2win]

What's the actual value of defending? You have to guess which person's going to be attacked, you still take damage, and you don't progress towards finishing the battle. It seems like a lose-lose-lose proposition.

[benjymlewis]

Originally posted by kobuscrispi:

What's the actual value of defending? You have to guess which person's going to be attacked, you still take damage, and you don't progress towards finishing the battle. It seems like a lose-lose-lose proposition.

Defending is for when you don't have a shield equipped on one of your other divers.
If you have a shield-user defend a diver without a shield, then you remove the risk of losing a ton of HP if the enemy happens to target them.

It's useful because of the two-item inventory limit - you have to juggle between weapons, potions, shields, and key items, so you can't always make use of the defense boost from having a shield equipped. Additionally, a shield user can bash with their shield as an attack, so they are not completely useless in situations where you're not worried about damage.

[Quinn2win]

Originally posted by benjymlewis:

Originally posted by kobuscrispi:

What's the actual value of defending? You have to guess which person's going to be attacked, you still take damage, and you don't progress towards finishing the battle. It seems like a lose-lose-lose proposition.

Defending is for when you don't have a shield equipped on one of your other divers.
If you have a shield-user defend a diver without a shield, then you remove the risk of losing a ton of HP if the enemy happens to target them.

It's useful because of the two-item inventory limit - you have to juggle between weapons, potions, shields, and key items, so you can't always make use of the defense boost from having a shield equipped. Additionally, a shield user can bash with their shield as an attack, so they are not completely useless in situations where you're not worried about damage.

I still don't see how any of this makes defending a viable option, unless there's some game mechanic I'm not understanding. I don't know who the enemy is going to attack, so I'm giving up guaranteed damage for a 1-in-3 chance of moderately reducing incoming damage.

[benjymlewis]

Originally posted by kobuscrispi:

I still don't see how any of this makes defending a viable option, unless there's some game mechanic I'm not understanding. I don't know who the enemy is going to attack, so I'm giving up guaranteed damage for a 1-in-3 chance of moderately reducing incoming damage.

The game mechanic is enemies that do over 50% of your HP in one attack. Shielding is mostly applicable if you're low levelled. I only felt like I needed to use it on the final boss. But when I did use it, it worked great at removing the risk of being one-shot by two attacks targeting the same unshielded diver.

[Massive Rat]

Originally posted by kobuscrispi:

What's the actual value of defending? You have to guess which person's going to be attacked, you still take damage, and you don't progress towards finishing the battle. It seems like a lose-lose-lose proposition.

Good question! Initially, blocking can seem like a terrible idea, but there are many factors that make defending much better than you initially expect.

For instance, say an enemy's attack deals 300 damage normally. Blocking or defending in any way can reduce that to 40-80 damage.

Say that Dylan's attack deals 240 damage to the enemy but Orlok's only deals 80. If Orlock chooses to defend Dylan, both of them are getting protected from damage. Big time. To the point where over the course of the fight they'll come out the other end with way more health than if they were both attacking.

It's all about strengths and weaknesses and making sure that the damage you're dealing isn't essentially costing you health. Remember that you're not fighting in a vacuum and any damage you take could be causing an issue as you try and leave the area with a treasure and get unexpectedly caught by another enemy!