Poll: Favorite weak amulet

[Pete Mack]

What is your favorite weak amulet? Obviously lightning/acid resistance until you have a useful armor or shield. But after that there are 3 choices: Regen, Infravision, and Wisdom. I occasionally see non-priest casters using Wisdom...which I don't even bother to pick up.
So really:
Infravision, for early warning and better archery when you don't have ESP
Regen, for getting back in the battle quickly with fresh mana/hp

[Derakon]

Regeneration is better than all of them for non-holy casters, IMO. Next would be Infravision, since knowing what's in a room can save your life sometimes. Distant third is Wisdom.

The thing about regeneration is that it ups the pace of your game tremendously. Beefy characters practically no longer need to rest, which is nice, but it's far more useful for caster characters, who go from regenerating 1SP per every few turns, to regeneration 1SP every single turn. Not only does this mean a lot less time spent resting, it also greatly improves the number of spells they can cast in a fight. These are solid, reliable benefits that you get no matter how you play, whereas infravision is situational and WIS boosts are tiny saving-throw bonuses at best.

Of course, if I've somehow made it to the depths where elemental resists are really critical and I don't have a better option yet, I'll wear the resist amulets. But I'll grumble about it.

I once made a patch that split physical and magical regeneration into separate flags. As I recall, it never made it in due mostly to issues with the detailed character information page...

[MattB]

I didn't vote because I wear Slow Digestion until I get Trickery. But that's because I'm really lazy.

[Ingwe Ingweron]

No vote from me either, because it depends on the race and class. If I'm playing a Half Troll Warrior, for example, then Slow Digestion will be my weak amulet of choice. A Human any class, I might need Infravision for awhile, a Priest, might need Wisdom, etc.

[wobbly]

I went with infravision, but yeah it depends. If your human it of course skewers things because you don't have it in-built. Besides anything else it's good for whatever Smeagol drops.

I occasionally see non-priest casters using Wisdom...which I don't even bother to pick up.

Probably a case of wisdom or nothing? Hey maybe it pushes you up to that extra 1% save..

[AmyBSOD]

How's regeneration "weak"?! My early game characters would go out of their way to get their hands on that amulet, and/or spend all of their savings if one pops up early in the Black Market. Granted, I'd swap it out as soon as an amulet of Telepathy shows up, but you don't usually see those early on... But anyway, fast HP *and* SP regeneration? Why would you ever wear something like +2 wisdom over that???

[PowerWyrm]

Amulet of teleportation. It's not even sticky cursed now, so there's no reason to not wear one to speed up the process of exploring levels.

[MattB]

Amulet of teleportation. It's not even sticky cursed now, so there's no reason to not wear one to speed up the process of exploring levels.

It doesn't even teleport you in the nightlies. So that's why I don't wear them - seems like cheating...

[PowerWyrm]

It doesn't even teleport you in the nightlies. So that's why I don't wear them - seems like cheating...

I think rings are cheezy in the nighlies because they give free +2 speed, the amulet simply does nothing. But once this is fixed, they are a viable choice.

[Pete Mack]

I think rings are cheezy in the nighlies because they give free +2 speed, the amulet simply does nothing. But once this is fixed, they are a viable choice.

Sure. But by the time you find 3 of them, it's very likely (97%) you can get at least one uncursed. They make starting play much easier for a mage, since you don't have to worry about inventory management before finding STR. It's equivalent to STR+4 or 5.

[Estie]

Resist lightning/acid I squelch instantly; I rather get rid of clutter than be resistant in the early stages - same with ring of fire/cold resistance.

Regeneration gets used unless I am a halftroll, naturally. Paladins and priests love wisdom, everyone else squelches. Infravision is the mainstay early amulet for non-mages, with a mage I prefer regen.

I guess that makes infravision my favourite weak amulet ?



@AmyBSOD:

"Weak" when compared to later amulets like ESP. Obviously regeneration is better than no amulet.

[ranger jeff]

Regeneration in a comp, the only time turns matter to me. Outside of a comp I have no problem Resting after each encounter. So Infravision, because yes, it can actually save your life.

[Patashu]

The thing about regeneration is that it ups the pace of your game tremendously. Beefy characters practically no longer need to rest, which is nice, but it's far more useful for caster characters, who go from regenerating 1SP per every few turns, to regeneration 1SP every single turn.

Oh, I just learned that regeneration is for SP as well as HP. LOL

[Derakon]

Oh, I just learned that regeneration is for SP as well as HP. LOL

I had a patch once that made explicit, separate HP regen and SP regen flags. The problem was sorting out the display of the character flags screen; there's just not really any more room for more flags.

[Sphara]

Oh, I just learned that regeneration is for SP as well as HP. LOL

Just noticed this today myself. Beats up Infravision for me outside a Warrior game.