First half-orc ranger winner on the ladder

[Ycombinator]

here
I don't dare say this was a challenge (well, is there a challenging race for rangers anyway?), it's just orcs that aren't popular :-)
At some point I thought I can make it in <1M turns, but no. Maybe next time.

-1 INT made it slightly inconvenient at low levels before stat gain, and stealth isn't strong point of this character, but it wasn't too much different from high-elf rangers.

A good part of the game I was using randart shovel as my primary weapon :-) It was light enough to allow me three blows before stat gain, and had +21 to-dam. Lightning brand and slay dragon didn't matter much with 1d2 base damage.

I've found the first source of rPoison at dlvl 38, it was a shield of Elevenkind. But I was wearing pretty cool randart shield (+7 to-hit and to-dam, +4 speed), and I decided that these bonuses are more important than possibility of insta-kill by AMHD. And with this in mind I've made all the way down to dlvl 94 without rPoison.

I haven't built a single ASC in this game. Not that I think they're unfair, but I was too lazy and it was always possible to find a more or less suitable terrain for fight.

This was my best attempt at cleaning uniques: only Ariel and impossible-to-say-Q are left alive. And Ariel was there just to brighten the last minutes of Morgoth...

[Derakon]

Congrats! I admit to not having played half-orcs much at all. If you want a mindless fighter, half-trolls are much more apt; otherwise you tend to want more brains than the half-orcs have. Min-maxing at its finest...

What do you think slowed you down that you weren't able to win in under a million turns? Not enough consumables? Wanted to kill all the uniques?

[Ycombinator]

What do you think slowed you down that you weren't able to win in under a million turns? Not enough consumables? Wanted to kill all the uniques?

Neither. The overall game pace was a tad slower than required for 1M win, and I was too encouraged by the local peak. I also rested *a lot*, mostly for restore mana. First in dungeon, then in town, branding and enchanting arrows. Low INT and lack of regen made it slow. I could possibly kill Morgoth ~100K turns earlier, but I wanted more slay evil ammo (which happened to be superfluous). I've found the last stack of slay evil bolts in the same vault with Azriel, the last unique I killed.

[Estie]

Grats Well done

[Ycombinator]

I forgot about mandatory "randarts not found" report :-) Nothing spectacular except this:

The Trident of Numen (8d10) (+10,+10) [+5]
------------------------------------------
+2 intelligence, dexterity, speed.
Slays evil creatures, giants, dragons.
*Slays* demons.
Branded with frost.
Provides immunity to fire.
Provides resistance to poison, dark, nexus.
Cannot be harmed by acid, electricity, fire, cold.
Sustains strength.
Grants the ability to see invisible things.  


Min Level 54, Max Level 127, Generation chance 1, 6.3 lbs

It's actually better than Grond vs evil and demons, because it has comparable damage per/blow (145/289 vs 226/445, determined in wizard mode), but allows full 5 blows/round instead of 3.

[Zikke]

Wow 8d10 is pretty ridiculous for a normally 1d10 item

[Timo Pietilä]

here
I don't dare say this was a challenge (well, is there a challenging race for rangers anyway?), it's just orcs that aren't popular :-)
At some point I thought I can make it in <1M turns, but no. Maybe next time.

I have seen borg with half-orc rogue win in 1.5M turns. Half-orc is actually quite good race. Resist Dark and decent stats, abilities and HP. Much better than Elf for example.

[Derakon]

Is that player turns or game turns? Ycombinator won in well under 1M player turns, but game turns is a different story.

How many game turns to a day is it, again? 100k?

[Magnate]

Wow 8d10 is pretty ridiculous for a normally 1d10 item

Yep. Tridents were only 1d7 before 3.1.x made them overtake quarterstaves as the potential ultimate randart weapon - 8d10 is only one die short on the supercharge. Of course it would have to have all three *slays* and all five brands to be completely uber, but this one certainly isn't bad.

[Derakon]

Am I to take it then that while randarts can increase the number of dice, they can't increase the die size? Doesn't that nerf Great Hammers and Scimitars?

[Magnate]

Am I to take it then that while randarts can increase the number of dice, they can't increase the die size? Doesn't that nerf Great Hammers and Scimitars?

Correct on both counts. Now you mention it, I don't see why the randart generator couldn't increase die size. I think originally we wanted randarts to be indistinguishable from extra-dice weapons, but that was aeons ago, before ID-by-use and instant recognition of artifacts on pickup. Extra dice on non-artifacts are so rare as to be irrelevant anyway.

A while ago there was a suggestion to hide the dice of weapons until you picked them up, so no spotting that 4d5 longsword from across the dungeon. In fact I think this might have been implemented at some point, but it doesn't seem to be in r1971.

[PowerDiver]

A while ago there was a suggestion to hide the dice of weapons until you picked them up, so no spotting that 4d5 longsword from across the dungeon. In fact I think this might have been implemented at some point, but it doesn't seem to be in r1971.

I am pretty sure that a 4d4 bastard sword of venom read 3d4 in my comp game, 1971, until I hit something with it. Also a randart 5d3 whip was 1d3. Not positive, but pretty sure. Are you certain?

[d_m]

I can confirm that dice are hidden on artifacts. I just created a randart (the "Mattock of Wethil") which looked to be 1d8 and then smashed an unlucky drunk with it in town, at which point it became 7d8.

[Magnate]

I can confirm that dice are hidden on artifacts. I just created a randart (the "Mattock of Wethil") which looked to be 1d8 and then smashed an unlucky drunk with it in town, at which point it became 7d8.

Oooh, nasty. I'd forgotten that we chose not to hide the dice altogether, but to lie about them. I never did like that idea, but hey, I didn't implement it so I can't complain. That's why my last comp char found so few artifacts ...

[PowerDiver]

Now you mention it, I don't see why the randart generator couldn't increase die size.

I am opposed to changing die size. The essences of a great hammer 8d1 are twofold. It always does the same damage, and it ought to stun on every hit [someday ...]. If you change it to 8d3 you completely change its nature. There is nothing wrong with making it 24d1 of course. If you want an 8d3 weapon, make a warhammer.

If the randart code considers an extra 1d10 die the same as an extra 1d1 die, either for power or likelihood of generation, then that is a bug.

I consider the standarts with wrong die sizes to be bugs too.