Help required on lvl 98

[TJS]

So I managed to get to lvl 98 for the first time pretty easily, since I got lucky finding a ring of speed +10 and Algarang quite early on. Speed makes the game so much easier it feels like cheating (until I die of course).

Not sure what to do now though, should I just wander about around this level picking better stuff up? What should I be looking for in particular?

Also I've no idea how to cope with monsters who summon, do you just avoid them until Morgoth?

Here's the dump:

http://angband.oook.cz/ladder-show.php?id=9629

[Timo Pietilä]

Noticed that you have 18/170 DEX and Fundin says that you get 6th blow with two more DEX. 18/150 used to be breakpoint for max blows. This would mean that it isn't anymore. Would need to check code, but "nightly builds" don't have code.

Suggestion to Takkaria: add sources to nightly builds.

[PowerDiver]

Noticed that you have 18/170 DEX and Fundin says that you get 6th blow with two more DEX. 18/150 used to be breakpoint for max blows. This would mean that it isn't anymore. Would need to check code, but "nightly builds" don't have code.

Suggestion to Takkaria: add sources to nightly builds.

He doesn't have 18/170 dex; he has 18/120 + Aglarang. Nothing has changed there.

If you look at http://rephial.org/develop there is a link to the code via html on trac if you wish to browse, and info about a svn command to check out the source. I use svn and compile my own.

[Timo Pietilä]

So I managed to get to lvl 98 for the first time pretty easily, since I got lucky finding a ring of speed +10 and Algarang quite early on. Speed makes the game so much easier it feels like cheating (until I die of course).

Not sure what to do now though, should I just wander about around this level picking better stuff up? What should I be looking for in particular?

Healing (all three higher ones), banishment, mass banishment, *destruction*, tele-other rods. For Morgoth you need +30 permanent speed, or lots of potions of speed. And better weapon. At that depth you should have no problem finding better gear, but you might get swamped by very bad uniques. Be careful. Don't use teleport self unless absolutely necessary.

That's very fast descent. Eddies speed. You can use twice that many turns and it still is fast, but no longer exceptionally fast, so you have time to collect stuff.

Looks like all the nasty uniques are still alive. You should try to kill Feagwath, Vecna, Gothmog, Ancalagon, Balrog of Moria and Lungorthin because these have very nasty escorts if Morgoth summons them. Also Phoenix is dangerous, not because itself, but it summons birds and birds contain Crebain. You don't want +40 speed Morgoth.

[Timo Pietilä]

He doesn't have 18/170 dex; he has 18/120 + Aglarang. Nothing has changed there.

Oops, forgot to subtract +5 from Aglarang. You are correct that is just 18/120 with Fundin.

If you look at http://rephial.org/develop there is a link to the code via html on trac if you wish to browse, and info about a svn command to check out the source. I use svn and compile my own.

I know I can do that, but it would be so much easier if nightly build had source in it. Especially if latest source is not the same thing as latest nightly build.

[Hariolor]

Not sure what to do now though, should I just wander about around this level picking better stuff up? What should I be looking for in particular?

I just beat morgoth with 3 !healing. It took LOTS of phase-door, and many many many uses of maf (cure light wounds). Absent the option to heal yourself, definitely as many healing/*healing*/life potions as you can get.

Also I've no idea how to cope with monsters who summon, do you just avoid them until Morgoth?

Get them in a hallway (or better still, build a summoning trap). Alternately, keep running away until they summon relatively weak foes, then just go toe-to-toe. Note that this does not work with all enemies. Digging a summoning trap is the best bet. This involves a longish corridor with a small fishhook at the end, so that the enemy can summon all day long, and the summons remain trapped in the corridor, while you and the enemy remain nicely isolated in the fishhook.

[TJS]

Healing (all three higher ones), banishment, mass banishment, *destruction*, tele-other rods. For Morgoth you need +30 permanent speed, or lots of potions of speed. And better weapon. At that depth you should have no problem finding better gear, but you might get swamped by very bad uniques. Be careful. Don't use teleport self unless absolutely necessary.

That's very fast descent. Eddies speed. You can use twice that many turns and it still is fast, but no longer exceptionally fast, so you have time to collect stuff.

Looks like all the nasty uniques are still alive. You should try to kill Feagwath, Vecna, Gothmog, Ancalagon, Balrog of Moria and Lungorthin because these have very nasty escorts if Morgoth summons them. Also Phoenix is dangerous, not because itself, but it summons birds and birds contain Crebain. You don't want +40 speed Morgoth.

Thanks for the advice, looks like there is still loads to do.

Are the three higher healings !Healing, !*Healing* and !Life? I've seen a fair few of those, but I've seen only one ?Banishment and no ?Mass Banishment. How do they work, do they banish all monsters nearby? I've never actually used one. Does !Life do much damage when you throw it?

Does *Destruction* remove uniques? I guess it is different to _Earthquakes and Destruction?

Is it a fast descent? I wasted loads of time after there were no ?WoR in town once and decided to amble down to lvl 20 and back to while they restocked. I forgot to take food and had to drink !CCW to stay alive on the way back.

I also spent ages looking for a disenchanter eye trying to get The Iron Crown of Beruthiel uncursed by enchanting (didn't work).

[TJS]

Get them in a hallway (or better still, build a summoning trap). Alternately, keep running away until they summon relatively weak foes, then just go toe-to-toe. Note that this does not work with all enemies. Digging a summoning trap is the best bet. This involves a longish corridor with a small fishhook at the end, so that the enemy can summon all day long, and the summons remain trapped in the corridor, while you and the enemy remain nicely isolated in the fishhook.

Ok I'll give it a bash (I've got a feeling this is going to end badly though.)

Isn't there a certain shape that you can make that means that the monsters behind Morgoth can't see you even if you can see them?

[PowerDiver]

Thanks for the advice, looks like there is still loads to do.

Are the three higher healings !Healing, !*Healing* and !Life? I've seen a fair few of those, but I've seen only one ?Banishment and no ?Mass Banishment. How do they work, do they banish all monsters nearby? I've never actually used one. Does !Life do much damage when you throw it?

Does *Destruction* remove uniques? I guess it is different to _Earthquakes and Destruction?

Is it a fast descent? I wasted loads of time after there were no ?WoR in town once and decided to amble down to lvl 20 and back to while they restocked. I forgot to take food and had to drink !CCW to stay alive on the way back.

I also spent ages looking for a disenchanter eye trying to get The Iron Crown of Beruthiel uncursed by enchanting (didn't work).

Banishment removes all non-uniques of a certain letter, e.g. 'U', from the entire level. Mass Banishment removes all non-uniques in the vicinity of the @, I do not know the area. In either case, you take 1d4 damage for each banished creature.

Don't throw !Life. It restores everything, stats and mana and hp when quaffed.

Destruction deletes everything including uniques, unless on top of an artifact on the ground, so only use it after you teleport M out of range.

In town, buy every single item from the general store [or any store] and it will restock and you can buy the ?recall. IMO that should be made obvious and easy, but the maintainer disagrees.

[TJS]

Banishment removes all non-uniques of a certain letter, e.g. 'U', from the entire level. Mass Banishment removes all non-uniques in the vicinity of the @, I do not know the area. In either case, you take 1d4 damage for each banished creature.

Don't throw !Life. It restores everything, stats and mana and hp when quaffed.

Destruction deletes everything including uniques, unless on top of an artifact on the ground, so only use it after you teleport M out of range.

In town, buy every single item from the general store [or any store] and it will restock and you can buy the ?recall. IMO that should be made obvious and easy, but the maintainer disagrees.

Right thanks for the advice, hopefully I'll find some banishment at some point.

Aha, now I know what all that talk of the buyout button was about. I'm not sure about being able to buy out the shop to restock. My feeling is that if you want a low turn count then you'll have to take whatever is available in the shops.

Perhaps a compromise could be that in town there is an option to wait a certain number of turns (you could rest/sleep in your home for example).

[Timo Pietilä]

Thanks for the advice, looks like there is still loads to do.

Are the three higher healings !Healing, !*Healing* and !Life? I've seen a fair few of those, but I've seen only one ?Banishment and no ?Mass Banishment. How do they work, do they banish all monsters nearby? I've never actually used one. Does !Life do much damage when you throw it?

Don't waste life by throwing it to something. It is best healing potion in the game, and relatively rare at it.

Banishment removes (deletes) non-unique monsters of certain type from entire level (for example orcs, it gives you possibility to choose which one). Mass banishment removes all non-uniques in, I think, LoS-radius.

Note that priest spell "Banish evil" is not the same thing, that one teleports all evil creatures in LoS away, not destroys them.

Does *Destruction* remove uniques? I guess it is different to _Earthquakes and Destruction?

Yes. It removes them, but not kills them, so they can be summoned back. Both earthquake and destruction can delete uniques without actually killing them, but with destruction deletion is guaranteed. Staves of destruction do the same as scrolls of *destruction* (and mage and priest spells). Destruction scroll or 0% failure spell are actually safest escapes game has, because nothing (except artifacts and permanent walls) can survive it.

Is it a fast descent? I wasted loads of time after there were no ?WoR in town once and decided to amble down to lvl 20 and back to while they restocked. I forgot to take food and had to drink !CCW to stay alive on the way back.

Anything under one million turns can be considered fast. You haven't used half of that.

You can buy any store empty, and it will then restock. General store is cheapest.

[Timo Pietilä]

Destruction deletes everything including uniques, unless on top of an artifact on the ground, so only use it after you teleport M out of range.

I'm pretty sure destruction deletes monsters that are top of artifacts too. Earthquake can't do that because it deletes monsters only if they get embedded in rock. That is unless this has been changed. I have used destruction to wipe GCV:s empty and collected remaining artifacts safely. Haven't done that for a while (need more non-artifacts than artifacts, and killing opportunity of lots of uniques in restricted space is too valuable to waste).

[Timo Pietilä]

Ok I'll give it a bash (I've got a feeling this is going to end badly though.)

Isn't there a certain shape that you can make that means that the monsters behind Morgoth can't see you even if you can see them?

You can't use that tactic against Morgoth. Don't try.

[PowerDiver]

I'm pretty sure destruction deletes monsters that are top of artifacts too.

I thought I remembered something special about squares with artifacts, but I am probably confused about it.

[Timo Pietilä]

I thought I remembered something special about squares with artifacts, but I am probably confused about it.

You might remember how artifact protects you from earthquake-crush-by-falling-rock -damage. Same obviously happens to monsters too, they never get crushed by rock if they stand on artifact. I think destruction doesn't care about those, it just wipes everything out except artifacts and then applies earthquake-effect to destruction area.