Dove all-zone help?

[Turbopasta]

Having a lot of trouble with this one. Did the new expansion give her any new strats? Any good strats for her now I should know about?

[Wheaty]

Dove's my worst character... that pacifism really hurts, and half the time I only win because of . I have a higher survival rate with Aria than I do with Dove...

As for actual strategies, Dove has quite a few tricks up her sleeve. For one thing, it's entirely possible to grab an early compass and rush to the exit every single level; that's why Dove speedruns are so much faster than those of every other character (even Bard!). It's recommended to go to the Shop, grab an item, and leave, although there's usually three or four items scattered around in hidden rooms. There will always be at least one chest, one room with an item, one shop, and one crate/barrel per level. Try to bust open all four if you can, but survival/reaching the goal is much more important than scavenging gear. A good benchmark is if you can find two of the four items on a single floor, it's time to book it out of there.

Dove's shovel is her greatest asset. NEVER replace it! That's why the Glass Shrine and Shrine of Rhythm are terrible ideas. Since you're going to be running away from everything, you'll rarely find the need to buffer a beat. As for her second best asset, never lose that Ring of Peace. It takes only one red dragon to make you regret dropping it, since they can still Fireball you even when confused. If you're feeling risky though, the rings of Shielding, Protection, Wonder, and Regeneration can help you survive a little longer.

So how do you avoid enemies? Here, the old adage rings true: an ounce of protection is worth a pound of cure. Instead of cracking open doors like most other characters, you can dig a square that's diagonal from an open room. This lets you peek into a room without allowing most enemies to chase you. That way you can quickly size up the room and decide whether it's worth it to barge in. As a rule of thumb, red chests are never worth a big risk, black chests are almost always worth it, purple chests depend on your play style (I prefer defense over spells, thank you very much), and the boss room means you should probably exit the floor NOW before you get a raging Minotaur or Dragon following you around. Keeping a small torch is, paradoxically, good for Dove since you attract less attention that way. However, it's important to at least HAVE a torch so you'll know where the boundary of a room is. The Torch of Walls is especially powerful, since it'll give you the general layout of the minimap and, after you get the map, provide the lowest possible acceptable light. If you don't mind squinting, you can also set the view multiplier to x1 to see more of the map at once.

Let's assume you screwed up and now there's two Black Skeleton Knights chasing you everywhere. This situation becomes a lot more touch and go than what you're used to with other characters. ALWAYS prioritize running away than engaging in flower combat. If you have no choice, hit any enemy that's a direct threat - that is, one that'll hit you the next beat if you don't move. If multiple enemies are direct threats, hit the one that would do the most damage. So given the choice between a Yeti and a Gray Goblin, always prioritize the goblin. For a last resort, go ahead and use the traps against your foes! Most enemies can be lured or confused into a spike trap. Of course, flying enemies are a bit more of a pain. (Where's an Ice Beam when you need one?) The only trap that can hit them is the Fire Trap. Otherwise, you better hope and pray that a Red Dragon's on your floor. On the bright side, since they're usually faster, hitting them with a flower can provide some much-needed distance.

How about items? Dove needs some heavy-duty equipment to last more than two seconds - not that three seconds is much of an improvement. Armor is ALWAYS your top priority outside of survival. The Leather Armor is a great boost by itself, and yes, you can find the Heavy Plate as early as 1-2. Obsidian Armor's not going to help you much when you're surrounded by enemies, as you'll get hit every other beat. A smart player can at least keep it at Chainmail levels of protection. Since you're not Cadence or any other character, it's recommended to equip the Hargreaves, Helm, and/or Ring of Protection just for a raw defense boost. For Dove, telepathy items are much stronger than they would be for anyone else. The Monocle lets you avoid rooms without good loot, and the Circlet of Telepathy lets you size up a room without ever taking a step inside it.

In conclusion, Dove is about running and enemy manipulation. Use your items, bombs, and tiny flower to force enemies away from you, preferably into traps. Look after your survival above all else - speedrunning and scorerunning will come later.

[Turbopasta]

Awesome, thanks. I didn't know about that trick with having a smaller torch, I was wondering why I was aggroing so many guys. I managed to clear all zones including zone 5 with the help of 18 (!) cookies, plate armor, and bomb helm. Stacked as hell, but better than nothing :/

[1.2M | Missingno.]

Get a Miner's Cap and then just run to the stairs.