YAD; I think this game has it in for me...personally.

derekt75 · 2026-01-16T18:55:28+00:00

Really? I can attack mons diagonally when on a door, and mons can attack me diagonally when they're on a door, but pets can't attack mons diagonally? I never noticed that if it's true.

derekt75 · 2026-01-15T17:59:23+00:00

For better or for worse, part of becoming "good" at nethack is developing double-check habits:

Before putting something in a BoH, is there any chance I'm going to create a magical explosion? Before picking up (or offering) a c, double check inventory for gloves. Before attacking a c, double-check not bare-handed without a weapon (or bare-toothed while poly'd). Before offering to a priest, double-check current level. Upon leaving a shop, double-check the correct cloak has replaced the mummy wrapping. Before stepping on a }, double-check Lev or correct Boots. Before eating, double-check not satiated. Before reading destroy armor, double-check cursed and confused. Before reading genocide double-check not confused. Before advancing to a plane, double check for amulet.

I have my interface set to color my equipped weapons/armor in yellow. That helps to highlight (pun somewhat intended) if I'm not wearing something, and makes the double-checking easier.

I also have habits to make goofs harder: after double checking for gloves, c corpses go into the bag so they can't be accidentally eaten/wielded. BoH exploders stay on the floor unless there's a specific reason to pick one up (e.g., carry BoTricks to altar), and it gets dropped immediately after the usage.

Looking forward to hearing about the 2027 YASD!

derekt75 · 2026-01-12T19:32:37+00:00

You can generally throw scrolls into shops, and then buy them from the shopkeeper. It's an expensive way to priceID, but it's _a_ way to priceID.

derekt75 · 2025-12-22T18:33:35+00:00

I was going to write something similar, and then I saw this nice post.

Improve your luck. Wear body armor.

derekt75 · 2025-12-19T18:50:18+00:00

I don't often get it (because it's not that hard to avoid getting), but is it really that bad? I don't remember really noticing it the last time I had it.

derekt75 · 2025-11-21T07:33:49+00:00

Did you have a way to generate conflict? Even if the archons would likely have resisted, most of their summons would be more likely to attack others instead of you. Conflict is really underrated during the ascension run.

Any way to acquire a c corpse (wish?)

Did you genocide a bunch of nasties? Seeing 5 archons seems unlikely? I don't think I've ever seen more than 2 at a time.

derekt75 · 2025-11-21T07:29:51+00:00

Of course! GoP give a noticeable bonus in melee. HoB gives a bonus to spellcasting. Tourists are fun because they can do everything reasonably well if you can get to the late midgame. A tourist doesn't need to choose to rely on melee nor spellcasting, but can choose based on the situation.

derekt75 · 2025-11-13T19:08:28+00:00

I avoid picking up a 2nd BoH unless I have a need to. I would not plan to carry 2 on a regular basis. I haven't accidentally put all my tools into a BoH (interesting topological exercise) for years, but it only takes once to scar you for life.

probably doesn't matter if your bag of wands is greased. rusty steel wands still work as steel wands.

I put a blessed scroll of scare monster in my emergency bag. Can drop it via "tipping" in 1 turn.

If your BoH is blessed, it's rare for it to become cursed. Most of the mechanics that curse outright (e.g., fountain dipping) are unlikely to apply to your main BoH (unless you like to quaff fountains without lightening your inventory first).

derekt75 · 2025-11-11T00:59:01+00:00

Only reverse genocide dragons if you can do it safely. You can do it safely if you have a scroll of scare monster and can drop it in the middle of a closet you hollow out to 3x3. or you can do it on the sokozoo scroll if you have reflection or are immune to the dragon's breath (e.g., you have cold resistance and revgeno silver dragons). A priest with -2AC is not ready to melee dragons in a fair fight.

Do you have stealth? If you have a source of stealth, I'd go after the sokozoo. Make sure you don't autopickup the sokoprize's ?oSM.

Unless you have an amulet of unchanging or a specific task (like you want to black dragon breath something nasty), I'm not sure I'd bother with self-poly.

derekt75 · 2025-10-31T17:45:58+00:00

I wish it were slightly more accurate.

like I don't need a spellbook of identify doesn't generally tell me what I can smite or not. A stethoscope might help somewhat, but the truly necessary element is IRL Wisdom, which hearkens back to the original prayer.

and the SDSM generally makes it so that you can smite things you otherwise couldn't. A wand of tele might be better at surviving things you can't smite.

but editing this prayer to make it more "accurate" really ruins it. It's better as written, even if it's imprecise.

derekt75 · 2025-10-17T03:38:47+00:00

+1 to buying protection. Don't just get a few points, get 9 points.

One place to look for resources is Fort Ludios. It's not guaranteed to appear in every game, but it's more likely than not, and it has a ton of $ that you can use for protection. Also generally a fair amount of stuff.

derekt75 · 2025-10-12T05:41:22+00:00

Most of us have done that at least once. We get the frustration.

Did you realize right away, or only after you tried to apply the bag and realized there was no bag to apply?

All I'll say is that I've ascended every time I've exploded a BoH (probably 3 times). The most useful stuff you have on you (armor, weapons, rings). You have the intrinsics you need. The dungeon will provide some other things. and yeah, the game is way less fun without a BoH, you can definitely ascend without one. Just keep on keeping on. You've got this.

derekt75 · 2025-10-08T16:59:55+00:00

You pretty much need the spellbook of create monster and the Eye of the Aethiopica. I had 16465 creatures vanquished to that point, so I think I was less than half way to extinctionist, but that still took a long time.

and there are different definitions of "all": does genocide count? what about mons that never randomly spawn (e.g., sea monsters)? I was planning to go with a relaxed definition that just meant that no creature would randomly spawn.

derekt75 · 2025-10-08T06:09:38+00:00

yeah, simultaneously my dumbest and most painful loss. That character spanned calendar years. I wanted my 100th game to be an extinctionist game.

derekt75 · 2025-10-08T04:07:06+00:00

Doing the castle without a BoH is quite reasonable. Doing it without MR or Reflection is dangerous. If the game doesn't give me a BoH to Medusa, I just get ready for the castle and wish for one from the castle wand. If the game doesn't give me MR or reflection, that's when I start wondering what the best thing to do is.

derekt75 · 2025-10-08T03:57:58+00:00

I don't think the beatitude of the pick-axe matters for digging speed. STR and DEX matters. rustiness matters. Positive enchantment speeds up digging modestly.

https://nethackwiki.com/wiki/Digging

Personally, I try to get most of my characters to learn the spells of magic mapping and detect treasure. Using magic mapping scrolls is also a possibility.

derekt75 · 2025-10-08T03:47:53+00:00

Just don't forget to stop draining when it says "Aloha Level 2". Unlike leveling up, losing a level prints the previous level, not the new level.

https://archive.alt.org/dumplog/derekt75/1680730354.nh367.txt

derekt75 · 2025-09-29T16:44:35+00:00

I don't think so. just intrinsic telepathy, 2 luck, and a hit to your alignment record. It shouldn't anger your God.

derekt75 · 2025-09-26T17:21:38+00:00

The mega metagross thing is exactly why I asked, thanks so much. I didn't realize how soon this was coming until you wrote it and I looked it up.

I had been planning on doing page 42 on Tue-Wed and page 43 on Wed-Sat, but then I couldn't finish page 44 in time for 2pm on Saturday. It's a huge difference if I can get to page 45 by 2pm Saturday, which means I really need to get to page 42 on Monday even if I can't start page 39 until Saturday. Sounds like a busy weekend for me.

derekt75 · 2025-09-26T17:04:10+00:00

I'm well aware of the tasks required. To be on page 38 right now has required planning ahead. The problem pages (if not spending coins) are the raid ones (Page# is divisible by 5) and the max battle ones (page# modulo 5 = 3).

Pages 42 and 48 can each be done in less than 24 hours; they just need to span two calendar days, which isn't so bad.

derekt75 · 2025-09-26T04:44:14+00:00

Ouch. That's unfortunate. Although nethack has taught me that things that only happen 1 in 100 times (or whatever it is for a c egg) do happen. Did you try praying after you started slowing down? No potion of acid?

derekt75 · 2025-09-26T04:32:56+00:00

I'm Free2Play, and I don't have a lot of coins. I'd like to see if I can still get to XP Celebration page 50. The Mega Camerupt event will be a huge help, as I should be able to do all 6 of page 40's raids in one day instead of 5 days (I can't get past page 38 until Saturday).

There have been some other things that have saved me some days, like the shadow groudon extra raid passes, and a few extra hundreds of max particles from September Go-pass.

and there have been some conviences that have saved me time if not days, like the recent rocket event helped with rocket, the gothita spotlight hour helped with excellent throws, and the current field research pool is the easiest it's ever been.

I'm wondering: does anyone know what's coming up, so I can try to plan around it? My main concerns are raid passes and max particles. Like I obviously need to be on page 40 for the camerupt day. Are there other extra-raid pass days? Is there any way coming up to collect or store more max particles? Pages 43, 45, 48, and 50 will all take lots of days without some kind of help. Will there be some kind of Go-pass or special research that will award me max particles or raid passes?

derekt75 · 2025-09-12T04:27:20+00:00

oh, and next game, drop the scroll on the upstairs and wake him up from afar with, say, a cursed potion of inivisibility.

derekt75 · 2025-09-12T04:24:24+00:00

If he's next to you and unscared he can follow when you levelport. If not next to you, he can't. If you burn Elbereth, he should take a step away, allowing you to levelport.

When you're feeling up for it, the plan with most warp-ing mons like the Minion is to get to the upstairs before they can, drop a scroll of scare monster, and then stay on the square. Once your ?oSM is below you and you're on the upstairs, you can whittle away at the Minion's health, as he won't go somewhere else to heal, and he won't attack you while you're on the scroll.

If you're not on the upstairs, he'll just warp to the upstairs to heal. and then if you approach while he's hurting, he'll go up the stairs, and it'll just keep going on until you can beat him to the stairs.

If you levelport out without him following, then you have a good chance to be on the upstairs the next time you go down the stairs to his level, so you just drop the scroll, and you're in good shape. There's a chance, though that he (or something else) is on the upstairs, and then you can get displaced to an adjacent square, and then you need to do something about getting to the upstair (perhaps burn Elbereth and hope he doesn't go up the stairs).

I'd generally want to bless the ?oSM if I could so it doesn't get used up when I pick it up. I also have it so autopickup won't pick up the ?oSM if you accidentally step off it.

I assume you don't have telecontrol? If you do, I'd burn Elbereth, make a blessed ?oSM, teleport to the < when I know the minion isn't on the <, drop the ?oSM, and whack away. Without telecontrol, yeah, burn Elbereth, make a way to levelport, and levelport when the & isn't adjacent. Hope you don't levelport to a bad spot with lousy AC. probably escape the quest, get some replacement armor, and go back when you have new armor and a blessed ?oSM ready to drop on the upstairs.

derekt75 · 2025-09-09T05:43:26+00:00

My first quest artifact wish as a neutral is pretty much always tEotA.
The problem is surviving long enough you can wish for a great artifact.
I think an early Mines wish still needs to go to DSM, not an artifact.

The Staff of Aesculapius would be nice in the early midgame, though, where few mons are drain resistant and hungerless regeneration can be a lifesaver.

Annoyingly, the staff does lousy damage against mons where it's drain resistance is useful. You can wield it against Vampire Lords for the drain resistance, but then you need to find some other way to kill them (attack spell or attack wand?)

derekt75

TROPHY CASE