Trying to clean level 16 to reach the switches to unlock diablo. however i cant even get close to them as there is maybe a dozen or more acolytes flinging fireballs at me. i cant even get close enough to see better as im dead only a few steps into the room. im on just under 200 health yet it only takes about 3 fireballs to kill me. look how many are flying towards my corpse in this screen shot. they start firing before i can even see them on the screen.
im playing a fighter so its melee only but i did get the guardian spell from a quest. that empties my mana in one cast though.
i watched a playthrough of the original version (pre gog from a few years ago) and that player had no where near as many mobs in this area. what gives?

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hmm it didnt include my screenshot upload and it isnt letting me paste an imgur link.. thanks...

Firstly, fighter is not a melee-only class. You can (and should) use bows. You can also use spells. Going melee-only is just your own choice.
Next, if you're limiting yourself to melee-only as warrior, under 200 health is seriously low health.
Finally, if you die in 3 fireballs, what is your fire resistance?

Mob spawns are random. You can always start a new game, enter Hell behind Pepin's house and try a different spawn.

There are supposed to be a LOT of them, and yeah, they hurt like hell.

You can find/buy a bow and shoot arrows from a distance, or buy a Fireball spellbook from the witch. Elemental is also nice.
Flame Wave is especially nice, but it's probably useless for you at this point, since you can't cast that many of them at a time.

Edit: And everything Realpsojed said. :)

Funny, I just played through this a few days ago, and it was pretty straightforward.

First off... by this point, you should understand that frequent returns to town are going to be necessary. You should also have put together a nice stockpile of potions of rejuvenation (which I, after clearing out the first area, left in a huge pile on the floor, just in front of the staircase).

As a warrior, I had figured out that engaging one or two at a time is the way to play this game. Rushing into a crowd is a sure way to get killed. So, I'd sneak up, a step at a time, until I could lure one or two of the Knights out. I'd do that repeatedly (gaining two extra levels in the process!) throughout this final level. Only once I'd taken out the knights would I seriously engage the clerics (Note... as you replay the game with the same character, you'll get harder enemies to fight... similar in appearance but stronger variations... so it may not be "acolytes" when you replay, if you choose to!)

I'd then play a game of cat-and-mouse, attempting to lure a few of the... I'll say acolytes... out from their group. Eventually, they DO space out a bit.

At that point, as a warrior, is when "Stone Curse" comes in handy. Cast it on the one in question, run up, hit a few times (taking fireballs from any other clerics within range, and losing a lot of hit points). When he dies... run away, and use a "potion of full rejuvenation" to restore health and mana. Repeat, over and over, until you clear out the clerics in the area in question.

It takes time, it takes patience, it takes planning, and it takes an understanding that (unlike other games, including other Diablo games) you are not SUPPOSED to "run in guns blazing." Diablo 1 is a SLOW-PACED GAME. Where thinking and planning is more important than anything else.

Enemies don't become harder as you replay the game with your character, unless you pick a new difficulty. And the last level always has fireball-throwing acolytes (advocates).
The game does randomize enemy types with each new play (apart from certain enemy types on certain levels), so technically the game can become harder if you run into a type that you have a hard time beating, but as far as I know it's all completely random.

I agree with everything else. :)

Are you sure about that? I've replayed many times since the original release, and I've always noticed that the enemies in replays with a higher-level character are generally stronger enemies. Ones which, had I encountered them at that point in my first playthrough, would have wiped the floor with me.

It may be, as you say, entirely random... but this would infer I have AMAZINGLY bad luck (or good luck, depending on how you look at it, I guess?)

I'm very sure it's all based on luck. I've had those yellow succubi (the worst kind) at lower levels (can't remember which level I was), but I've not seen them spawn for my last 5-6 play-throughs. And my rogue hasn't seen Black Death until she was a high level, while my newly-made sorcerer ran into them right away.

But if there is a hidden mechanic that does increase your chances to get a certain enemy at a certain level, I'd love to stand corrected. :)

He mentioned a quest which gave him Guardian (probably the quest The Chamber of Bone), so he is in single player. Restarting a single player game is a bigger decision and commitment than making a new multiplayer game.

Lol, nope. The only difference between SP and MP in this regard is that you actually have to walk through a staircase up to town to unlock a shortcut.

You'd need to walk to hell manually, so it is a bigger decision and commitment. It'll take a big chunk of your time, unless you get lucky and have most staircases spawn at your starting point or have teleportation available and plenty of mana.

Theres also a trick you can use with light radius.
Put negative light radius on you and you can get way closer before mobs detect you.
It is capped at -80 lightradius.
+ lightradius means they will se you from further away.

It'll take a significantly smaller amount of time than it would take him to keep dying repeatedly in 3 fireball hits, resupplying potions and possibly running out of gold in the process while trying to continue in his current game.

If you cannot progress further, you start a new game and get stronger, that's how Diablo works.

If he plays smart and starts using bows, he can definitely make it. Acolytes are mainly a big pain in the arse if you're melee only, but no one should depend on melee alone in this game. I've never become stuck in any of my play-throughs with all three classes.
Starting a new game is of course an option, and I agree that it is how Diablo works, but what I disagree with is what you said to advowson. You make it sound that you can walk to hell in 5 minutes after you start a new game.
You can do that with high level characters (by teleportation), but it'll take some time for a low level to get there.

Yeah I've never been stuck in Diablo 1 either. The problem is, not everyone plays like you and me. There are lots of people who DO get stuck.

So now you disagree with what I said, but your first reply in this topic seems to agree with everything that I said. Don't forget that I did recommend to use bows, spells and better gear before starting a new game.

I never did a straight walk for hell ignoring mobs, as I would clear at least some mobs on the floors. Feel free to time it if you want. A manipulated rng speedrun does it under 1:30.

I can disagree with someone on one point and agree with him on other points, can' t I? ;)

Speedruns are not really a good representation for the average player, so it wouldn't help here.

Anyway, I'm possibly unclear, but my only point that I wanted to make is that deacontaylor would probably need at least several hours to get back to where he was. So with that in mind he can decide if he wants to suck it up and continue or start a new game.
Your post to advowson and myself made it seem to me that you're saying deacontaylor can start a new game and get back to hell in no time, that it's not a bigger decision than it is in multiplayer. But it factually is. :)

Hopefully that cleared some things up, because I feel we're running around in circles now.