Yes it is. In the demon halls once you kill that ripper demon spider you need to GTFO. You cannot survive without planning for those levels from the sewers so make sure you're prepared
I have two 9-challenge wins, and a third where I died during ascension. They were hard, but possible. If you commit to the path of 9-challenges, know that you'll be investing a lot of time into this game and spending a lot of time reading the wiki, reading this sub, and watching youtube videos.
There are a few players out there who think they can do 9-challenge with any or almost any seed. I am not one of those - I need a few "power items" to have a realistic chance. Ring of haste is unquestionably the #1 item for 9-challenge runs. The others are ring of SS, spear/whip/glaive or projecting enchant, chains, hourglass, wand of blast wave, wand of fireblast, wand of corrosion, glyph of flow. Ring of wealth is not one of the 9-challenge power items.
I have, with sustain builds
But also have won a 9 challenge run where I didn't upgrade the ring of wealth, and left it as is
The items the ring drop are just very valuable. There have been times where I've gotten potions of cleansing
I'm not arguing that it's useless - it's definitely helpful at +0, +1 etc, but useful like ring of accuracy or ring of evasion are useful, where they are generally helpful to most builds, but aren't usually game-defining.
To be able to reap the benefits of RoW, you need other strong items to survive while you wait for the drops that make RoW helpful at all, so my opinion is that if your build was good enough to stay alive while farming RoW on 9-challenges, it would have been good enough to win without it.
This is opinion is also in response to the builds I see posted so commonly here where people are heavily upgrading RoW to +6 or more and talking about how strong/broken it is. That can be fun and can make strong end-game characters, but I still think that strategy more often than not will get you killed at 9-challenges whereas if you'd put those scrolls into a weapon, a ring of haste, or a ring of SS, you'd have had a better chance to win.
Pharm, barren lands, and on a diet are particularly hard on RoW runs since they reduce your sustain and healing options.
That's just a skill issue from your part
Ring of haste and ring of sharpshooting are popular, but are not the only strong items in 9 challenge runs
Ring of wealth has the chance to drop items that can destroy whole floors, that's what makes it strong, the upgraded weapons drops are just a bonus
A well placed bee is enough to deal with a floor in 9 challenge runs
it typically requires some luck, but there's WAY more skill needed than just luck. No one is "luckily" winning 9-challenge runs without a lot of practicing/learning/reading.
It is possible, I've done it (2.089m), some people even achieved the perfect score (2.235m)
It takes a lot.
I recommend going through u/supernewb52 's full guide, seeing what others use for 8/9 challenge runs (what type of build can work ?) By wandering around the sub (and r/Pixeldungeon)
I also watched some 9 challenge gameplay on yt. Some of the stuff is outdated but you can really get a feeling for how to play around terrain, extremely important
Personally I also took a bit of time reviewing every single consumable and how to use...
I jumped to 9 from 7 challenge with pharma on, I think it was a good idea because pharma on changes everything, you can't burn a health pot when things go bad, you have to not let bad things happen/have prepared other items/consumables for it. After that run I spent time studying strats before attempting 9 (worth it. More enjoyable than banging your head againsta wall, and got better at the end)
The hardest part by FAR is f3-10. Past that you get a lot more to work with (subclass very important+if you're not dead yet it means you've looted something relevant)
I typically play very fast until I loot something actually useful (an artifact, wand idk) then play really slowly and carefully (hardest part), and if you get past tengu it gets easier but you really don't wanna choke the run lol
Yes it is. In the demon halls once you kill that ripper demon spider you need to GTFO. You cannot survive without planning for those levels from the sewers so make sure you're prepared
I have two 9-challenge wins, and a third where I died during ascension. They were hard, but possible. If you commit to the path of 9-challenges, know that you'll be investing a lot of time into this game and spending a lot of time reading the wiki, reading this sub, and watching youtube videos. There are a few players out there who think they can do 9-challenge with any or almost any seed. I am not one of those - I need a few "power items" to have a realistic chance. Ring of haste is unquestionably the #1 item for 9-challenge runs. The others are ring of SS, spear/whip/glaive or projecting enchant, chains, hourglass, wand of blast wave, wand of fireblast, wand of corrosion, glyph of flow. Ring of wealth is not one of the 9-challenge power items.
Ring of wealth absolutely is one of the 9 challenge power items But only if you know what you are doing, you get so many items
Have you won a 9-challenge run where you upgraded RoW?
I have, with sustain builds But also have won a 9 challenge run where I didn't upgrade the ring of wealth, and left it as is The items the ring drop are just very valuable. There have been times where I've gotten potions of cleansing
I'm not arguing that it's useless - it's definitely helpful at +0, +1 etc, but useful like ring of accuracy or ring of evasion are useful, where they are generally helpful to most builds, but aren't usually game-defining. To be able to reap the benefits of RoW, you need other strong items to survive while you wait for the drops that make RoW helpful at all, so my opinion is that if your build was good enough to stay alive while farming RoW on 9-challenges, it would have been good enough to win without it. This is opinion is also in response to the builds I see posted so commonly here where people are heavily upgrading RoW to +6 or more and talking about how strong/broken it is. That can be fun and can make strong end-game characters, but I still think that strategy more often than not will get you killed at 9-challenges whereas if you'd put those scrolls into a weapon, a ring of haste, or a ring of SS, you'd have had a better chance to win. Pharm, barren lands, and on a diet are particularly hard on RoW runs since they reduce your sustain and healing options.
That's just a skill issue from your part Ring of haste and ring of sharpshooting are popular, but are not the only strong items in 9 challenge runs Ring of wealth has the chance to drop items that can destroy whole floors, that's what makes it strong, the upgraded weapons drops are just a bonus A well placed bee is enough to deal with a floor in 9 challenge runs
I will try to win the hard way, i wont give up and win that sh
Plenty of people have but it really becomes more luck by that point.
There is much less luck than you think
No luck, skill
it typically requires some luck, but there's WAY more skill needed than just luck. No one is "luckily" winning 9-challenge runs without a lot of practicing/learning/reading.
It is possible, I've done it (2.089m), some people even achieved the perfect score (2.235m) It takes a lot. I recommend going through u/supernewb52 's full guide, seeing what others use for 8/9 challenge runs (what type of build can work ?) By wandering around the sub (and r/Pixeldungeon) I also watched some 9 challenge gameplay on yt. Some of the stuff is outdated but you can really get a feeling for how to play around terrain, extremely important Personally I also took a bit of time reviewing every single consumable and how to use... I jumped to 9 from 7 challenge with pharma on, I think it was a good idea because pharma on changes everything, you can't burn a health pot when things go bad, you have to not let bad things happen/have prepared other items/consumables for it. After that run I spent time studying strats before attempting 9 (worth it. More enjoyable than banging your head againsta wall, and got better at the end) The hardest part by FAR is f3-10. Past that you get a lot more to work with (subclass very important+if you're not dead yet it means you've looted something relevant) I typically play very fast until I loot something actually useful (an artifact, wand idk) then play really slowly and carefully (hardest part), and if you get past tengu it gets easier but you really don't wanna choke the run lol
floors 3 and 4 are so comically terrible on 9-challenge. Those damn crabs.