Tweet
The game's been mixed. On the one hand--the left as it happens--a ring of speed at DL 22, even +5, makes up for a host of deficiencies, and an amulet of trickery at DL 19 makes up for more.
On the other hand, I had such a host. Almost no TO I found my first and only source of TO around DL 50, when a rod showed up in a shop. *Slay Troll* <+2> trident til CL30/DL30. No useable extra CON; just weak rings and a low-damage weapon. No ESP, except a stack of mushrooms kept for the main chance. Very few !Heal. And no dungeon book, though I've seen at least half a dozen for other classes.
Until now, at DL 56, with a scary Diagonal Greater Vault. With 2 !CON and a feasible path through most of the less scary east and west sections, I went in. 4 Dreadmasters. Uncounted trees. Just a swamp of monsters, and only every 42 turns a chance to TO one. Just Rambo time.
Result: CL 37, 718 HP (thanks to a =Con <+4> and the two potions.) A hat if ESP, albeit as a swap. A SoS of Slay Evil that does 305 damage without a damage ring.
And a single Wand of Teleport Other with 10 charges from one of many dragons.
Observations
* Most notably, a Blackguard casts more spells than any other class. Sure a mage spams a lot of Magic Missile and the like. But most of the time a mage is exploring or resting. When a Blackguard rests, he spams spells. Not only is there no reason not to run the 3 buffs spells continuously, there's no reason not to cast them every turn you're not fighting, if you have plenty of mana.
* Taunt maybe should be higher level. By the time it became useful, I'd got out of the habit. It wasn't obviously useful til DL 48, where, combined with stun, it wrecked Kavlax. (Gorlim would be similar, but I didn't meet him.) Even then, i didn't tumble to using it as a regular buffing spell til later, around DL 53. In retrospect, I should have used it on gravity hounds, adult dragons and the like. The combination is lethal: taunt makes monsters fight; stun means they can't. Note that sleeping monsters are unaffected--it's not true aggravation, or it'd be way less useful.
* I don't understand Werewolf.
On the other hand, I had such a host. Almost no TO I found my first and only source of TO around DL 50, when a rod showed up in a shop. *Slay Troll* <+2> trident til CL30/DL30. No useable extra CON; just weak rings and a low-damage weapon. No ESP, except a stack of mushrooms kept for the main chance. Very few !Heal. And no dungeon book, though I've seen at least half a dozen for other classes.
Until now, at DL 56, with a scary Diagonal Greater Vault. With 2 !CON and a feasible path through most of the less scary east and west sections, I went in. 4 Dreadmasters. Uncounted trees. Just a swamp of monsters, and only every 42 turns a chance to TO one. Just Rambo time.
Result: CL 37, 718 HP (thanks to a =Con <+4> and the two potions.) A hat if ESP, albeit as a swap. A SoS of Slay Evil that does 305 damage without a damage ring.
And a single Wand of Teleport Other with 10 charges from one of many dragons.
Observations
* Most notably, a Blackguard casts more spells than any other class. Sure a mage spams a lot of Magic Missile and the like. But most of the time a mage is exploring or resting. When a Blackguard rests, he spams spells. Not only is there no reason not to run the 3 buffs spells continuously, there's no reason not to cast them every turn you're not fighting, if you have plenty of mana.
* Taunt maybe should be higher level. By the time it became useful, I'd got out of the habit. It wasn't obviously useful til DL 48, where, combined with stun, it wrecked Kavlax. (Gorlim would be similar, but I didn't meet him.) Even then, i didn't tumble to using it as a regular buffing spell til later, around DL 53. In retrospect, I should have used it on gravity hounds, adult dragons and the like. The combination is lethal: taunt makes monsters fight; stun means they can't. Note that sleeping monsters are unaffected--it's not true aggravation, or it'd be way less useful.
* I don't understand Werewolf.
Comment