Special Multiplayer Strategies

Skills learned in the campaign game and My Pet Dungeon will certainly serve you well, but you'll find that the skirmish form of single-player play is the best training ground for a career as an Internet keeper. Keep in mind that, while the enemy keeper AI (artificial intelligence) in this game is quite good, it's nothing like going head to head against a flesh-and-blood opponent. Sure, you'll play as an idiot your first time out (I know I did!), and you'll run across unskilled players many times, but once a keeper has a sense of the ebb and flow of this type of competitive dungeon building, the challenge (and oh yes, the fun as well) will truly escalate.

No computer component can match the trickery, subversion, and just plain crazy play of a human opponent, so be prepared to face the completely unexpected. When you feel that you have the game in hand and are breaching a fellow keeper's dungeon, you just might learn that your dungeon heart is under attack already! Keep a vigilante eye and don't be afraid to experiment and attempt the unconventional. You might be pleasantly surprised at the results.

What follows certainly isn't comprehensive. It's just the tip of the iceberg of unique approaches and strategies to aid you in becoming the most effective (and nastiest!) multiplayer keeper possible.

• First and foremost, protect your dungeon heart! If another keeper can take it out, your time in this realm is finished! Block it with doors (magical doors work the best) and alarm traps and keep a diligent watch on this precious resource.
  
  
• Grab as many portals as you can - and fast! They'll appear as little blinking dots on the map - make a beeline for them as soon as possible to maximize your influx of creatures. Place a small lair and a guardroom right by the portal, but also arm the area with some doors and traps. Once you receive the message that you've garnered all you can from the portal, transfer creatures from the lair into more permanent housing and sell off the lair. Once the portal is finished producing, you no longer need to protect it, so get your elves out of there and lock the doors.