LCC4 progress

[LCC]

But why should your 'promotions' be in any way linear and why do you need to wait until CL50 to win?

If anything, promotions come faster at higher clvl. I am a priest (4 blows) in this game, and a Hobbit at that. So I am NOT going to take on even Sauron until I am clvl 50 with Deathwreaker in my hands and 18/*** on STR, DEX, CON, and WIS!

[Pete Mack]

There is zero chance that all those things happen on such a schedule. Sure, you are likely to find useful things fast, but not any particular useful things. If you want to win in 650K turns, you have to make do with what you have, not what you want.

Edit:
Anyway, you can do as much damage as Deathwreaker with 4 blows with some big +2 blows ego weapon and 6 blows. You may need to fight the bosses without a blessed weapon, though--keep your best weapon (max damage vs evil) in storage, even if it has the pointy penalty.

[PowerDiver]

You may need to fight the bosses without a blessed weapon, though--keep your best weapon (max damage vs evil) in storage, even if it has the pointy penalty.

It is not just bosses. The pointy penalty is an annoyance, not a restriction.

Fairly often, the first upgrade of my priest's initial weapon is to a pointed one. E.g. an early battleaxe (2d8) (+5,+5) can make a huge difference. I have used pointy defenders with multiple mid-game priests. My ironman priests go down with a whip, and even an avg trident is an improvement.

[LCC]

In case you did not notice, I bought a maul (4d4) (+5,+6) from the black market on the last trip to town. It has helped lots!

Dlvl 12 : promoted clvl 15 @197992 turns, HP 71, SP26, 464 killed.
I killed Wormtongue @20100 turns, got boots of stealth. I used the ! speed, mushroom of stone skin, ! heroism, prayer chant, and 2 prayer cure serious wounds. I was down to 35 hp and about to portal away when I got a great hit on him which sent him running. I finished him off with arrows.
Dlvl 12 : promoted clvl 16 @216017 turns, HP78, SP28, 504 killed.
I cleared level 12 and recalled to sell loot. I bought a ring of protection [+10] to AC39, 4 !heroism, 10 ? identify, 3 ? WoR, 99 arrows, 1 ? recharging to ID it (stashed), and used up my last cash on other consumables. Ready to recall @220897 turns. I am NOT going below dlvl 12 until I get one of the following three artifacts...
The Cloak 'Colluin' [1,+15] Level 5, Rarity 45, 1.0 lbs, 50000 AU
The Set of Leather Gloves 'Cambeleg' (+8,+8) [1,+15] Level 10, Rarity 6, 0.5 lbs, 36000 AU
The Pair of Soft Leather Boots 'Dal-i-thalion' [2,+15] Level 10, Rarity 25, 2.0 lbs, 40000 AU

[LCC]

I had a very frustrating dlvl 12 - nine black orcs waiting near where I recalled. I was able to kill one but had to portal away, because one required two heal even with prayer chant and a ! heroism. Black orcs are normally dlvl 13, which is probably why my level feeling was "unsure about this place". There was not much loot compared to the last two times, but I did finally get promoted by killing 147 giant black louse. Even they were too tough to sustain. My AC39 was insufficient. I was promoted clvl 17 @243295 turns, HP81, SP29, 628 killed. I recalled and bought a 2nd ring of protection @+9, and a sm shield +4 to now have AC51 without prayer. I am ready to recall @248725 turns with 573 experience until next promotion. I now estimate that the game will take closer to a million turns rather than 650k.

[Psi]

I am ready to recall @248725 turns with 573 experience until next promotion. I now estimate that the game will take closer to a million turns rather than 650k.

If you could complete the whole game in 650k turns on your previous schedule, then you should certainly be able to win in 650k *more* turns from where you are now - which would still bring you home in considerably less than a million turns.

[Pete Mack]

I had a very frustrating dlvl 12 - nine black orcs waiting near where I recalled. I was able to kill one but had to portal away, because one required two heal even with prayer chant and a ! heroism. Black orcs are normally dlvl 13, which is probably why my level feeling was "unsure about this place". There was not much loot compared to the last two times, but I did finally get promoted by killing 147 giant black louse. Even they were too tough to sustain. My AC39 was insufficient. I was promoted clvl 17 @243295 turns, HP81, SP29, 628 killed. I recalled and bought a 2nd ring of protection @+9, and a sm shield +4 to now have AC51 without prayer. I am ready to recall @248725 turns with 573 experience until next promotion. I now estimate that the game will take closer to a million turns rather than 650k.

If you want to win in < 1M turns (never mind 650K turns!) you have to consider economics:

* Is killing this monster (or group of monsters) worth the turns I invest?
* What level do I have to be on for optimal EXP and equipment gain per turn? (without dying, that is.)
* How can I solve multiple weaknesses (EXP, stats, equipment) in parallel? (This always means diving to dl 30+ ASAP.)

Killing breeders is almost never the right answer. (Black oozes on dl 99 might be worth while if you can get them to multiply fast enough.) Killing orcs without being able to heal indefinitely is definitely the wrong answer. (Just a few more character levels, and you can mow down any number of black orcs.)


The way to advance fast is to kill a few high-value targets with orb-of-draining or archery. (If you use Orb, this usually means killing a few young and adult dragons. That requires dl 25+) After that you can go to town killing orcs for loot.

[LCC]

Thanks for the advice Pete! I will stop shooting at molds and jellies unless they block the hallway.

Promoted clvl 18 on dlvl 12 @260906 turns, HP87, SP31, 763 killed. When I got back to town and sold loot, I was finally able to buy ? enchant weapon for my bow. I now hit 1@16 and shoot 1@22.5, much better! I also was able to replenish my stock of ? identify. I looked at the dump for clvl 18 of LCC3 and noticed that I was HP140, SP33, hitting 1@14, shooting 1@15, and down on dlvl 21 @502799 turns. So I do not feel much time pressure for going down. I will continue on dlvl 12 for a while, until I get more ? enchant weapon, ! heroism, and ? identify. If I am able to hold my own against the next black orc pack that I see, I will go down to 13. Ready to recall @277328 turns with 803 killed, experience 4367. I also noticed that my Hobbit gets promoted MUCH faster than the LCC3 Dunadan, with 4680 for clvl 19 versus 7200...

[LCC]

Still dlvl 12, promoted clvl 19 @296091 turns by killing Orfax - HP96, SP33, killed 918. I also killed Brodda. Found a lantern and my first rod of light - orcs beware! Upon recall to town I bought a ring protection +12, sold the +9, now AC54 without prayer. I also stocked up on !Heroism, ?identify, and ?WoR. Ready to go back to dlvl 12 at 316998 turns with 960 killed for 5034 experience.

Edit : I looked over the spoilers and decided to go down to dlvl 15. I am tough enough now to survive there.

[LCC]

Now dlvl 15, promoted clvl 20 @329019 turns, HP99, SP35, 1003 killed. The loot was lousy except for a morning star of frost, which I wielded, now hitting 1@13/27 frost vulnerable - better. There were not very many monsters either. It was fairly easy, so I am going down a bit further on the first time that I do not get promoted while clearing a level. I got lucky in town, scrolls enchant armor and weapon. Now shooting 1@28.5, AC58 without prayer. Ready to recall @349737 turns with 1033 killed at 6063 experience.

[Pete Mack]

If I am able to hold my own against the next black orc pack that I see, I will go down to 13.

This is exactly the opposite of the advice you got: you want to play to your character's strengths, not weaknesses. 350K turns and no Free Action means you are going to slow. Even if you ignore all the other advice you should at least go to dl 20 where FA is much more common. (Just stay away from any out of depth carrion crawlers.)

Once you have it, go to dl 30 and start killing Young and Adult dragons. Orb of Draining and a +7 longbow will make short work of them.

[LCC]

This is exactly the opposite of the advice you got: you want to play to your character's strengths, not weaknesses. 350K turns and no Free Action means you are going to slow. Even if you ignore all the other advice you should at least go to dl 20 where FA is much more common. (Just stay away from any out of depth carrion crawlers.)

Once you have it, go to dl 30 and start killing Young and Adult dragons. Orb of Draining and a +7 longbow will make short work of them.

Hmmm... I think that you are right. okay, going down to 20.

[LCC]

Promoted clvl 21 on dlvl 18 @356114 turns, HP104, SP36, 1070 killed. I continued down to 20 and recalled when almost out of arrows. Now wearing ring of resist fire instead of protection +10, AC55 without prayer now. I have a lantern of brightness. I have learned all prayers in the first 3 books, now I carry book 4 E&D. The character dump is attached - ready to recall @367851 turns with 1137 killed. I have identified 7 rings, 4 amulets, 19 potions, 24 scrolls, 6 wands, 6 staffs, 2 rods, and 2 mushrooms.

[LCC]

Still scumming dlvl 20. Most experience is hounds, who do not drop any treasure.
Promoted clvl 22 @374794 turns, HP107, SP38, 1157 killed.
Promoted clvl 23 @382073 turns, HP111, SP40, 1178 killed.
I killed Gorbag in a 4 round fight, using portal 3 times to heal and recover my SP. It took four ! heroism. I would not have killed him at all except that I used my rod of light to illuminate a long hallway so that I could shoot him 9 times as he approached. He got scared and started running just as he was about to hit me. I also killed Bullroarer. I ran out of !heroism, ?identify, and arrows before I cleared the level. There was an orc pit that I avoided. I recalled with just 86 points until next promotion. I upgraded my armor to AC58 without prayer. I used extra cash to buy prayer books. Ready to recall @401358 turns with 1242 killed. I carry only 40 arrows now, so that I can carry !CCW, ?phase door, and other stuff at normal speed.

Edit : When I got up from nappping, I decided to stash my shovel so that I could carry 65 arrows. Much better!

[LCC]

Promoted clvl 24 @403098 turns, HP121, SP41, 1244 killed. Found lots of good loot and recalled when out of ?identify and arrows. Upgraded armor to AC62 without prayer. I now resist all elements. I need ESP, resist confusion, poison, and free action as the most urgent of all for the next plunge down. I am having lousy luck - 425k turns without any artifacts. Ready to recall @425335 turns, 1316 killed, needing 545 for promotion.