Various Specific Questions

[Belix]

Recently i have been attempting some warrior ironman games. I know this is asked a lot, but does anyone have general tips that may not be obvious to a player used to 'normal' play?

I'll try to offer some, but I'll probably be repeating points you've read elsewhere.

-Resist IDing stuff as long as you can unless you've found a unique you know is good. IDing stuff early only helps you early; being able to ID more items later when the game gets hardest deeper in the Caves and Hell when much better stuff begins dropping can offer a huge boost to your late game chances. Plus, you can potentially save a huge stack of ID scrolls for later if you chance across a Glimmering Shrine.

-Many normal Warriors overlook bows, but in Ironman they can be invaluable, especially if you're a solo Warrior. If you have an accuracy jewel/bow or can keep enemies at mid-range, he can wield bows nearly as effective as the Rogue, and you probably maxed Dexterity early on anyway. Bows can save you a lot of health when right, but remember you can't block while you have your bow out, so don't let anything with a melee attack get near you. With bow in hand you can pick off Familiars from a safe distance, slay retreating Gargoyles before they can regenerate, and snipe off Mages and Succubi in Hell. Succubus, typically a headache for Warriors, become very easy to deal with if you can use proper angles (experiment a bit) to shoot them around the edge of walls and obstacles, while their own attacks are blocked. Use the Corpse, Luke!

-Always be paranoid about rooms where there are multiple paths/doors, especially in the Caves. Unlike normal games, a couple monsters going around and coming up on your flank or back in IM can be quite fatal, given how under-equipped we tend to be.

-Some uniques you find may be much more useful in Ironman. I beat Normal IM once using The Bonesaw. The extra damage made it a lot easier to stun, especially when paired with the +% To Hit jewel I had. Likewise, I normally shun Gotterdamerung due to the darkness and zero resists, but it is arguably one of the unique best items an Ironman Warrior can find.

-If you find yourself completely overwhelmed by a pack of melee attackers and there's no escape, back yourself into a corner where only 2 or 3 can reach you to maximize your chance of survival. It's up to your gear, remaining potions, and the game's dice rolls to see what hit, missed or got blocked, but you may still have a chance. Never surrender!

I read that you should only put enough points into strength to be able to stun monsters in hell. Is this dependent on damage, or does a certain amount of strength start stunning monsters?

For simplicity's sake, I always max Dexterity first (live by the shield, die by the shield), then put the rest into Strength. If you can find even a plain Bastard Sword, this approach should be sufficient for achieving consistent stuns.

Also, are axes anywhere near viable for somebody who is trying to run through the game without returning to town? I love axes but i really get nailed by ranged monsters without a shield.

Strictly speaking my advice would be to avoid Axes entirely. I've played normal games with them, and even there the combined loss of blocking and having less AC makes the damage bonus hardly worth it. In IM where your chief concern is staying alive, their usefulness is dubious at best.

However, in levels where there is nothing to block (e.g. all spell users with no melee attacks), lacking a weapon fast enough to stunlock opponents an Axe should give you a better chance at killing Mages outright before they attempt to Teleport away, especially with a critical hit (does double damage, the chance to score a critical is a percentage identical to your Warrior's level, e.g. Level 15 Warrior = 15% chance).

In one IM game I ended up using The Grizzly (2H Sword) in Hell out of desperation as I hadn't found any other good weapons. The high damage and knockback was somewhat viable against hell's Knights as long as I kited carefully. But even that felt like a losing battle, and you're not likely to find an Axe as good.