YASD and randarts highlights

[Ycombinator]

Level 28 character killed by... Trapper.
For a moment I thought this must be YASD unique in its stupidity. But among 2279 V dump files from the ladder I downloaded to fulfill occasional curiosity there is another one with "Trapper hits you. You die." message :-)

This was my first randarts game and I was eager to look at the artifact spoiler. Some highlights:

The Bastard Sword of Morth (6d4) (+21,+22)
------------------------------------------
+3 strength, intelligence, dexterity, constitution, tunneling, speed, 
attack speed.
Slays orcs, giants.
Branded with acid.
Provides resistance to lightning, light, nether, chaos, disenchantment.
Cannot be harmed by acid, electricity, fire, cold.
Grants the ability to see invisible things.  

Radius 1 light.

Min Level 94, Max Level 127, Generation chance 1, 12.6 lbs

+3 attack speed? I can't calculate damage output precisely, but it must be very high. Nice set of resistances, too.

The Ring 'Arast'
----------------
+2 wisdom, shooting speed.
Provides resistance to lightning, fear.
Cannot be harmed by acid, electricity, fire, cold.
Prevents paralysis.  


Min Level 48, Max Level 127, Generation chance 3, 0.2 lbs

The dream of a ranger :-) No crossbows were generated, but I can imagine combining this with something like Umbar. However, x5 bow will do better with this ring for a ranger. (5*5 > 3*7).

The Long Bow 'Halos' (x5) (+7,+21)
----------------------------------
+2 dexterity, charisma, shooting power.
Provides resistance to fire, cold.
Cannot be harmed by acid, electricity, fire, cold.

When activated, it grants temporary resistance to cold for 1d10+10 turns.
Takes 20 to 32 turns to recharge.


Min Level 23, Max Level 101, Generation chance 9, 4.0 lbs

At least it doesn't slay like Bard.

[Zikke]

Damn that bow with that ring would make a pretty mean Ranger. I also enjoy reading the dump file for randarts to see what I could have found. Some games are generous and some aren't. In my randart rogue, I was all excited to find a randart Blade of Chaos, but dismayed when the only special attributes were rFire and rSound, and that's it.

[Magnate]

Damn that bow with that ring would make a pretty mean Ranger. I also enjoy reading the dump file for randarts to see what I could have found. Some games are generous and some aren't. In my randart rogue, I was all excited to find a randart Blade of Chaos, but dismayed when the only special attributes were rFire and rSound, and that's it.

Yeah - sometimes it picks a great base item for a mid-level artifact, and it doesn't get many mods. Them's the breaks.

The OP's ring is by far the most interesting of the three. You only have two ring slots, and most people wear a speed ring and a ring of power for the endgame, so you'd have to give up one of them for the +2 shots (the WIS is almost irrelevant, and FA will almost certainly be covered elsewhere). Obviously it's excessive in the current context of broken archery.

[Tiburon Silverflame]

Yeah, but what I really don't like about randarts is also showing up. Granted, you got insanely lucky with the sword, based on the level needed...but still, you've got high damage against a fairly good set of foes (orc/giant no big deal, but acid is a good brand) from the extra attacks, NICE stat bonuses, a small speed boost, and some *sweet* resists. Perhaps it's not quite endgame-level, but it's really, really nice for a long time.

And the way things can end up mixing...the ring plus the bow (altho as noted, Bard is better) creates an abusive synergy.

[Ycombinator]

Yeah, but what I really don't like about randarts is also showing up. Granted, you got insanely lucky with the sword, based on the level needed...

Just to clarify: I've never found it, as well as other artifacts listed. I've posted excerpts from the post-tombstone spoiler.

[Magnate]

Yeah, but what I really don't like about randarts is also showing up.

What does that sentence mean?

[Derakon]

What does that sentence mean?

I believe he means that while there are aspects of the randart system that he finds interesting (e.g. having to figure out how to make room for a ring that provides +2 shots but not much else), there are other aspects he doesn't like, such as finding a melee weapon that is an obvious choice throughout 90% of the game.

Of course, it all depends on whether or not that melee weapon would have been generated early...

[Magnate]

Of course, it all depends on whether or not that melee weapon would have been generated early...

Indeed. I'm a whole lot more interested in stuff that's actually found. It's nice for people to gawp at spoilers and go "wow, wouldn't that have been uber/broken/abusable, if only I'd found it", but it doesn't keep me awake at night.

[Pete Mack]

Indeed. I'm a whole lot more interested in stuff that's actually found. It's nice for people to gawp at spoilers and go "wow, wouldn't that have been uber/broken/abusable, if only I'd found it", but it doesn't keep me awake at night.

Wow, check out those artifacts in the spoiler dump! if only I had found Bladeturner, Feanor, Doomcaller and The One Ring...