Barony Tips and Tricks
Each entry below is one mechanic, what it costs you, and the version it was last checked against. Filter by category or difficulty to narrow the list, and use the anchor beside any heading to link straight to a single tip.
Equipment
#A decrepit weapon does a fraction of its listed damage
Condition is not cosmetic. Once a weapon drops below worn it is costing you most of its damage output, and the fastest fix is a Scroll of Repair. Blacksmith NPCs on some floors will do the same job for gold if you would rather keep the scroll.
Checked against v5.0
Items
#The Ring of Conflict makes the enemies fight each other
Everything hostile inside its range turns on everything else, which clears a mixed room without you swinging once. Save it for the Ruins and for Baron Herx, where the summoned demons and imps are the part of the fight that actually kills you.
Checked against v5.0
Ranged Combat
#Turn and sprint between shots instead of backpedaling
Ranged weapons inflict no knockback unless you are firing Springshot ammo, so enemies walk straight into you while you shoot. Backpedaling is much slower than running forward. Turn 180 degrees, sprint away, spin back to fire, then sprint again.
Checked against v5.0
Secret Levels
#Leaving the Underworld early strands you back on Floor 19
The exit portal drops you onto the normal route with no way back for the rest of that run, so taking it before you have found the ladder costs you the entire detour. Locate the ladder first, then step through.
Checked against v5.0
Food
#Hunger runs on a hidden 0 to 1500 scale and both ends hurt
Most humanoid races start at 1000. Climb above 1500 and you take stat penalties and risk vomiting, drift down toward 50 and you lose stats gradually, and reach 0 and you take continuous damage until you eat. Stuffing yourself before a boss is a real mistake.
Checked against v5.0
Monster Races
#Automatons get more boiler fuel from mined rocks than from scrap
Most Automaton runs end before Floor 3 because the boiler runs dry. Rocks dug out of dungeon walls fill it further than basic scrap does, so carry a pickaxe from the first floor and mine whenever the gauge starts dropping.
Checked against v5.0
#Insectoid spells burn the same pool as Insectoid hunger
Casting drains Energy, and Energy doubles as your food meter, so a caster Insectoid starves faster than any other race. Sweet liquids such as fruit juice and booze restore bonus EN on top of the base amount, which solid bread and meat do not.
Checked against v5.0
#Vampires starve early because Skeletons have no blood to take
Floors 1 through 5 are thick with Skeletons, and none of them drop blood vials. Hunt Rats and Goblins for anything fleshy, and lean on Bloodletting to cover both hunger and health until you reach floors with warmer bodies in them.
Checked against v5.0
Alchemy
#Potion of Water duplicates any potion except Acid and Polymorph
Mix Water with the potion you want copied in an Alembic. The base success chance is 50 percent and climbs 10 percent for every 20 points of Alchemy until it is guaranteed at skill 100. One Healing Potion found on Floor 2 becomes an unlimited supply.
Checked against v5.0
#A failed alchemy mix damages the Alembic, not just the ingredients
Invalid combinations brew a Potion of Sickness instead of what you wanted, and anything involving Acid can set off an explosion that always degrades the Alembic itself. Experiment with common ingredients while your Alchemy is low and save the rare ones for later.
Checked against v5.0
Compendium
#Achievements pay Lore Points that permanently reveal enemy stats
The Compendium spends them on permanent stat entries you unlock per enemy, so reading it is progression and not a checklist. Kills you were making anyway are what fund it, so check in after a deep run and spend before you start the next one.
Checked against v5.0
Magic Schools
#Magic skill comes from effects landing, not from mana burned
A school only rolls for a skill increase when one of its spells actually lands an effect, at 1 in 4 odds at skill 0 that lengthen to 1 in 8 by skill 80. A missed Fireball and a Heal cast at full HP each cost you the mana and give the school nothing, so a cheap spell that connects beats an expensive one that whiffs.
Checked against v5.0.2
Mystic Orbs
#The three Mystic Orbs are worth 40 attribute points together
Green gives 8 DEX and 8 PER, Red gives 8 STR and 8 CON, and Blue gives 8 INT plus one point of magic resistance. That single point takes 30 percent off every magic hit you take, and Blue is the only orb of the three that grants any. Skipping one because it looked optional is the usual reason Baron Herx ends a run in two Lightning hits.
Checked against v5.0.2
Races
#Goblins cannot memorize spells, only read them off the book
They are illiterate, so nothing ever commits to memory. Casting from a held spellbook works but drains that book's durability every time, which makes Goblin Wizard one of the hardest starts in the game. Build Warrior, Barbarian, or Rogue instead.
Checked against v5.0
Skills
#There are no skill points, only the things you actually do
Swinging a sword raises melee, casting raises the governing school, and simply holding an unidentified item raises Lore. Your class sets starting skill values, not caps, so any class can eventually learn anything. The growth rate differences are racial.
Checked against v5.0
Co-op
#Co-op does not scale the dungeon, only the number of mouths
Enemy count and HP do not change with party size, so four players divide the same dungeon four ways and each gets a quarter of the loot. Dedicated roles and coordinated looting are what close that gap.
Checked against v5.0
Followers
#Charisma raises your follower cap at levels 60, 80, and 100
You start able to recruit four followers. Level 60 lifts that to six and level 80 to eight, and level 100 adds the Legend bonus that lets you recruit goblins, goatmen, and insectoids whatever race you are. The Dominate spell pushes past the cap entirely.
Checked against v5.0
Mystic Orbs
#Mystic Orbs live in locked Treasure Rooms, not secret levels
Since v5.0 the map generator pins one to each of three fixed floors: green on Floor 8, red on Floor 13, and blue on Floor 18. Each Treasure Room is locked behind an Iron, Bronze, Silver, or Gold key that spawns somewhere on that same floor, inside breakables, in chests, or sitting on a table. No key means no orb.
Checked against v5.0
Secret Levels
#Sokoban does not softlock, it taxes every boulder you break
A boulder wedged in a corner can be destroyed to recover, but breaking one spawns a Labyrinth enemy and cuts the gold reward, and breaking two or more forfeits the Djinni's Brace outright. Plan the full push order before you touch anything.
Checked against v5.0
#Identify every Mystic Library spellbook before you read it
The Library carries a higher than normal rate of cursed spellbooks, and a cursed book erases a spell you already know instead of teaching you a new one. Losing your only Heal to one in the Ruins ends the run on the spot.
Checked against v5.0
What to Read Next
- Classes, Races, and Builds. Every race and class, including the monster upkeep rules these tips assume.
- Combat, Crafting, and Survival. Alchemy in full, weapon condition, and the items worth carrying.
- Dungeon Progression and Bosses. All 35 floors, the Mystic Orb Treasure Rooms, and both boss fights.
- Secret Levels and Alternate Paths. Sokoban, the Mystic Library, the Minotaur Maze, and the road to Hell.
- The Magic System. The v5.0 three-school overhaul and how spell skill actually accrues.
- Multiplayer and Mods. What four players change, and what they very much do not.
- Getting Started. The run loop and the hunger meter, if this is your first descent.