After nearly 30 years I'd like to win once

[Namdeht]

The first roguelike I recall playing was on PC in 1988/1989 and called Amulet of Yendor. I had a pet dog and when I tested a wand on him he turned into a dragon and then I was hooked on the genre. Somewhere in the 90s I came across Moria and I was hooked. Then maybe 10 years ago I came to Angband, and I was hooked. I've played Angband on and off ever since, but I've never won the game. I have a knack for getting cocky around CL30 / DL40 and then it's bye-bye @

I recently heard that HE/Rogue is the easiest combo to win Angband with so I rolled one up and so far it's going very well, but I had a very close call an hour ago when I thought I'd see what happened if I attacked a lesser balrog. What happened is I teleported away 2 or 3 turns later with 1HP

So I thought I'd come here for some advice, what do I need to do with this guy to keep alive the hope of winning the game:

http://angband.oook.cz/ladder-show.php?id=20959

I think he could do with more con but otherwise I think stats are okay?

I'm pretty happy with equipment and I imagine I'm mostly looking for upgrades now, especially speed?

Have I got the right gear equipped or am I leaving something better in inventory or at home?

Any advice is appreciated, I'd love to win with this guy but I'd settle for learning a lot more about the next 20 or so dungeon levels.

[Sphara]

I would wear +10 speed boots any time over Thror boots. You also have speed spell in Sorcery and Evocations book that you're keeping at home. I don't remember rogue spell failure rates lvl 35 rogue should be good already. So if it is anywhere decently castable you should keep at least one copy always with you. The book also has Teleport Other spell. Also getting better arrows certainly wouldn't hurt.

Thror boots may just be better later if you can raise your speed permanently somewhere near +20 with other equipped items.

Otherwise the character is in excellent shape.

[Sky]

i won by grinding the dungeon dry. i would not go down a level until i knew i had taken all the artifacts that would reasonably show up and i had enough kills to know i was way overpowered for that depth.

it was long and boring but it worked.

randards, generally speaking, is easier than standard artifacts.

[Namdeht]

I would wear +10 speed boots any time over Thror boots. You also have speed spell in Sorcery and Evocations book that you're keeping at home. I don't remember rogue spell failure rates lvl 35 rogue should be good already. So if it is anywhere decently castable you should keep at least one copy always with you. The book also has Teleport Other spell. Also getting better arrows certainly wouldn't hurt.

Thror boots may just be better later if you can raise your speed permanently somewhere near +20 with other equipped items.

Otherwise the character is in excellent shape.

Thanks Sphara, I'll take the advice regarding the boots, after all this time I'm still trying to develop a feel for what helps in the deeper dungeon levels.

I've updated the dump a couple of times since my first post, max stats now and some better equipment - after his near death experience last night @ is running through lesser balrog's like they're nothing now, he was even able to take down the Balrog of Moria. Just found a power dragon scale mail too, and that feels like a game changer (and now @ is in serious danger from my cockiness!)

[Namdeht]

i won by grinding the dungeon dry. i would not go down a level until i knew i had taken all the artifacts that would reasonably show up and i had enough kills to know i was way overpowered for that depth.

it was long and boring but it worked.

I tried that for years but it never paid off, lately I'm finally listening to the advice to avoid any fight which doesn't seem winnable and keep diving. Lots of detecting is a must, and a decent set of resistances seem valuable, but after being nervous about passing DL40 I'm now at DL60 without too much excitement. I've avoided some real monsters along the way - detected Smaug a few times and escaped from too hard battles with a few uniques. It seems the deeper you go the better the loot, so if a level isn't going well I'm going down.

randards, generally speaking, is easier than standard artifacts.

I've never played with randarts yet, I want to finish with standards first (and I want to finally win with a Dunadin Ranger and then get a mage through before I move on). I've enjoyed reading about some of them in the other thread though. Some of them sound like they really tip the balance considerably.

[Carnivean]

I have a knack for getting cocky around CL30 / DL40 and then it's bye-bye @

I tried that for years but it never paid off, lately I'm finally listening to the advice to avoid any fight which doesn't seem winnable and keep diving. Lots of detecting is a must, and a decent set of resistances seem valuable, but after being nervous about passing DL40 I'm now at DL60 without too much excitement.

Keeping the fear is a good thing. It keeps you from making dumb mistakes.

I've avoided some real monsters along the way - detected Smaug a few times and escaped from too hard battles with a few uniques. It seems the deeper you go the better the loot, so if a level isn't going well I'm going down.

The loot in the future is always going to be better than the loot on the other side of that monster.

This is exactly why HE rogue is the easiest (debatably) combo to win with. Rogues get the detect treasure spell, so they get to see what the reward is, and they get great stealth if the risk/reward balance isn't right. Speed is the other attribute that rogues need, so that they don't get chased into a fight they don't want and can strike quickly if they want to.

[Ingwe Ingweron]

So I thought I'd come here for some advice, what do I need to do with this guy to keep alive the hope of winning the game....

Any advice is appreciated, I'd love to win with this guy but I'd settle for learning a lot more about the next 20 or so dungeon levels.

Watch the YouTube videos "Let's Play Angband" by Fizzix. Watch play on the new angband.live website. You will learn a ton and soon be winning.

[Mondkalb]

Don't get too confident! (You know that already .)

Don't play too long (or allow for some downtime, tea breaks, or whatever). Playing for long hours will make you careless.

Don't strive to clear each level or kill every monster. Pick your fights and be prepared for them.

Detect!

Use stealth!
Use speed!

Dive!

Hm, you could wear Hithlomir and carry the PDSM as a swap. The plus 3 stealth might be useful.

[Namdeht]

And it's over. I got cocky, @ paid a heavy price.

I waded into a corridor full of plasma hounds, ignored @ getting stunned and heavily stunned, expecting he would weather the storm, then he got knocked out and ripped to pieces by plasma hounds without ever regaining consciousness. After all these years I don't think I knew that @ could get knocked out. Paralysed, sure, faint from hunger, definitely, but knocked out after a succession of stunning attacks? That one I think is new to me. So at least I learned something.

Actually I learned a lot on this game, I'm pretty sure DL61 is the deepest I've seen, and I think a winnable play style is gelling for me.

Most important, I had a good time. Reminds me why I enjoy Angband so much - losing really is fun

[the Invisible Stalker]

avoid any fight which doesn't seem winnable

Good, but you should also be avoiding most fights which do seem winnable. Always ask yourself "what will I gain by killing this monster?". If the only answer is "xp" then don't bother.

[HallucinationMushroom]

Yes, that really hurts. I lost my first 'most-promising' character to a grand master mystic who also heavily-stunned then knocked out. I assumed free action meant that couldn't happen, but boy was I wrong. If it makes you feel any more hopeful, death-from-stun in my opinion is the last 'gotcha-death' to discover. I still give grand master mystics tremendous respect -- that dude gave me scars for life, lemme tell you. Plasma hounds for you will probably be the same.

[Sky]

Ha! Another plasma hound victim.

Also, speaking of Detect Objects ...

[kandrc]

It's pretty safe money to bet that given a player who has won the game, that player has lost a character to plasma hounds and to a GMM.

[Egavactip]

Yes, everyone experiences the Litany of Deaths:

1. The first paralyzed death.
2. The first slowly poisoned to death.
2a. The first single-shot poison death.
3. The first Grand Mother Fucking Mystic Death
4. The first pack of plasma hounds death
5. The first I teleported into a shitstorm death
6. The first Dracolisk/Dracolich death
7. The first mana storm death.

And so on. You can even throw in there "The first oops did I just friggin *starve* to death death."

[Sky]

and about 137 consecutive "the Tarrasque (offscreen) breaths disenchantment" deaths.