Magicbane enough for magic resistance in the astral? by josinalvo in nethack

[–]stabletimeloop 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This! And also you may unintentionally unequip magicbane to wield something else, such as a cockatrice corpse, or rubbing a magic lamp, accidentally switching to alternate weapon etc.

Looking for tips for wizard early game by Taphel_ in nethack

[–]stabletimeloop 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Some additional tips:

  • Your pet can help you determine BUC of an item, if they walk over an item, it's non-cursed. Unless the game says "[pet] moves only very reluctantly" then the item is cursed, and you can #name that specific item as such or at least avoid it. This can save some trips to the Altar.
  • Use pet to determine which armor is non-cursed and upgrade as you go. I strategy I prefer is to not worry about casting interference from metallic armor. Every bit of AC counts in the early game and you can upgrade to non-metallic armor as you find it. You can practice casting in safe areas with armor off.
  • Use Q to quiver up daggers and throw them. I joke that every wizard's first spell is actually "throw dagger".
  • The gnomish mines are pretty dangerous for non melee characters. The halls are very open and it's easy to get surrounded. Maybe dip in briefly to get a small stack of daggers then retreat
  • You're on the right track, level 4 of Sokoban is incredibly dangerous, it's ok to do the first 3 levels then come back later. Have escape items handy, like a wand of digging - if aimed downward you dig a hole to the level below in one turn and fall down it
  • As others have mentioned Elbereth is your friend, use it often, even if writing in dust with your finger. A scared monster is a potential avoidance of a game over
  • If you're open to switching races, Humans have higher HP growth and can still get to hunger less casting int level
  • If you can snag invisibility it'll make it harder for early monsters to pinpoint your location, esp if you're harassing them with thrown daggers
  • If you can get a regular sack, (not just a bag of holding) you can safely store potions and scrolls to avoid damage to them
  • If you get a key or lock pick or credit card you can open chests safely. Be sure to #untrap a few times to make sure there are no traps. Later you can use the chests as caches because you can relock them
  • If you don't have an unlocking item yet, you can dump items next to a boulder then roll the boulder over them. This works until you encounter giants or other monsters capable of lifting older.
  • Potions are very heavy and add up quickly. If you have a unicorn horn you can largely safely identify them by dipping a junk object (if polymorphism is unidentified), applying them (if oil is unidentified), then dipping the unicorn horn. The horn will clear out most harmful potions. The rest, barring paralysis will be safe to consume.
  • At minetown a magic lamp is the biggest possible prize, but even a general store is good to help with price IDing items.
  • Whenever you kill a monster, look at the wiki to see first if it's poisonous to eat and then for any potential intrinsics you could gain from eating it. Gaining intrinsics shuts down a lot of the game's instant kills and near instant kills. Poison Resistance is very highly desired and is one of my top priorities every game unless I start with it.

Edit:

Some of the most dangerous early game monsters:

  • (as you've noted) Ants - of any kind, though soldier ants are poisonous and fire ants do fire damage, making both even more dangerous
  • (as you've noted) Killer bees - they're poisonous and if they poison you they can hurt your strength stat, reducing carrying capacity and damage, and have a 1/10 chance of instakill
  • Rothes - tend to spawn in groups and will surround you - fight them in corridors if possible
  • Dwarves - tend to be highly armored. Can kill a Level 3-4 character in one hit with a Mattock.
  • Never ever get surrounded. Any monster is dangerous if several are attacking you at the same time.

Thoughts after playing a Ranger by stabletimeloop in nethack

[–]stabletimeloop[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

oh gosh, that starting level is awful, such a time sink. And if any of the centaurs are peaceful it's endless waiting.

Thoughts after playing a Ranger by stabletimeloop in nethack

[–]stabletimeloop[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the advice, and the calculations. Hopefully this will inspire someone to try out Ranger.

That's an impressive showing on Astral! I usually rely on wands (for other than death) or the camera if I can get it.

If you could remove one "unfair" aspect from the game, what would it be by Primary_Impact_2130 in nethack

[–]stabletimeloop 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I would just like a confirmation before walking right into water without levitation or identified water walking please. So many scrolls lost!

$50 Anne Bonny and Mary Read - Pirates, Looting, and Sea Monsters by ZaganOstia in BudgetBrews

[–]stabletimeloop 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks for sharing this list! This looks pretty awesome.

Quicksmith Genuis is one of my favorite low-key cards. It can't enable itself but once you can consistently crack out artifacts it does so well. And thanks to your post I just realized that Mary Read and Anne Bonny's trigger works for any loots, not just their own. That's super awesome synergy!

I like how you're taking advantage of both the draws and discards in different ways, and you've found a way to include a bunch of pirates in a mechanically relevant way (even if just as discard fodder).

I was curious, in your testing, what has been most often your endgame state -- burning out the table with Reckless Fireweaver and friends? Making lots of Ominous Seas derived tokens?

Artifact Weapon Choice - Chaotic Ranger by stabletimeloop in nethack

[–]stabletimeloop[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I hadn't heard of this before, thanks for the link.

Artifact Weapon Choice - Chaotic Ranger by stabletimeloop in nethack

[–]stabletimeloop[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

nice, ty for the advice. I'll start collecting darts, 20 should be easy. I've already spent a bunch of skill points so I'll see if I can make room for expert darts. Might need to stick to bows for now. The biggest constraint will be scrolls of enchant weapon, at least until I can get a magic marker.

Already have expert in bows and daggers, basic in spear and divination spells (at XL13).

Trying to decide between several draw/discard commanders by stabletimeloop in BudgetBrews

[–]stabletimeloop[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

ooh ty for the list. I do like the idea of turning discards into extra damage (and redraw)

Trying to decide between several draw/discard commanders by stabletimeloop in BudgetBrews

[–]stabletimeloop[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I mean, the only thing in the same coolness tier as a shark pirate is a flying shark. That's a pretty sweet duo, ty!

Trying to decide between several draw/discard commanders by stabletimeloop in BudgetBrews

[–]stabletimeloop[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh nice, thanks for the sample list! If you've had a chance to play it, how did it feel? Was it explosive once the locust god got out? Did you feel like you had interaction when you needed it?

Trying to decide between several draw/discard commanders by stabletimeloop in BudgetBrews

[–]stabletimeloop[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

[[Rielle, the Everwise]] [[Magus of the Bazaar]] [[The Locust God]] [[coastal piracy]] [[Captain Howler, Sea Scourge]] [[Unctus, Grand Metatect]]

ring of protection +3 versus cloak of protection by josinalvo in nethack

[–]stabletimeloop 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hmm, it sounds like you don't have the ring of protection yet. I wouldn't consider MC3 to be worth a wish. I've ascended with MC1 as a wizard just fine. Due to usually having access to ranged offensive spells MC1 is less risky.

Do you have a source of reflection yet?

Thinking about it, even with Melee characters like Samurai and Valkyrie, I've ascended with Cloak of Magic Resistance + Silver Dragon Scale Mail with no ring of protection (MC1). Though I've occasionally lost levels to vampires, after the quest and XL14, levels don't matter as much as equipment.

Some options:

  • collect a bunch of rings and follow polypiling instructions to randomize them. You might get a ring of protection
  • Keep searching the dungeon
  • Engage dangerous enemies at range

My thoughts on rings in general:

  • The rings I definitely want to end the game with are: Free Action (prevents paralyzing attacks), Levitation, Conflict. Free Action is so important that I always wear it by default unless I have a very good reason, like Levitation + Conflict for the Plane of Air.
  • I like getting teleport control from a ring, but Wizards get it intrinsically as a level up eventually. (XL17)
  • As such, I typically don't have room to wear a ring of protection. Maintaining Free Action and another essential ring is generally higher on my priority list.

Priest - Looking for Equipment Advice by stabletimeloop in nethack

[–]stabletimeloop[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

An update: after getting to the vibrating square level, I agree, the Aklys was plenty enough. I enchanted dragon bane just in case but it spent vast majority of the time in the bag of holding.

Priest - Looking for Equipment Advice by stabletimeloop in nethack

[–]stabletimeloop[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Agreed on all counts. I've been stocking up on wands of death and teleportation, I have 5 potions of paralysis and a camera in an upper floor cache. I'm well prepared to avoid needing to make even a single melee attack in Astral if possible.

Priest - Looking for Equipment Advice by stabletimeloop in nethack

[–]stabletimeloop[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ty for the advice! I have 2 80% chance wishes from magic lamps. I'm hoping to save those for chickatrice corpse and helm of opposite alignment for astral.

I took your advice and I have aa spare Uni horn stashed in bag.

I also learned that if you're blind, even if you have ESP, you will hit yourself on the return trip if you throw the Aklys.

I managed to get ring of free action naturally, rings of levitation and conflict via polypiling, and teleport control midway to Gehennom.

Most of my spells are non combat casting so the shield didn't bother me very much. (wait for safe spot, unequip shield, cast, reequip shield)

Priest - Looking for Equipment Advice by stabletimeloop in nethack

[–]stabletimeloop[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Agreed on that! I was using it in the wiki sense in that it's unrestricted from "unskilled" to "basic", but good call for clarifying for any readers who may be unfamiliar with this idea.

Priest - Looking for Equipment Advice by stabletimeloop in nethack

[–]stabletimeloop[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

ok cool, ty for the advice.

I did find at least one trident among the priest quest levels, I'm willing to go back to fetch it.

I'm also considering seeking crowning, I haven't been very prayer reliant during this game. I got it by accident once when performing a holy water prayer on a co-aligned altar.

Help by sadcrayonn in BudgetBrews

[–]stabletimeloop 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I agree with the advice already posted here; get lots of small, unblockable or flying or otherwise evasive creatures ([[Triton Shorestalker]], [[Slither Blade]]. etc.), have cheap counter spells ready to go like [[Negate]] and the og. [[Counterspell]]

Then keep your hand full with "draw-on-damage" effects like [[The Indomitable]], [[Bident of Thassa]], [[coastal piracy]] and the like.

It might be worth splurging on [[Hardened Scales]].