Several questions about Blackguards

[mrfy]

Since there's no rest for the wicked, and only a Necromancer could be more wicked than a Blackguard, I started a new char.

I have two rings of protection +10 and a ring of open wounds. At the moment, healing 40 hps is a lot. Plus cure confusion and blindness is pretty nice. Should I wear both RoP or just one RoP and one RoOW?
I have 52 AC atm and 196 HPs.

I'm not a fan of rings of protection unless they do something else, like rings of fire/cold/lightning/acid. Adding 10 to armor class won't help you that much. I'd do one and one. And once something better comes along, ditch both when you can.

[Talharim]

Since there's no rest for the wicked, and only a Necromancer could be more wicked than a Blackguard, I started a new char.

I have two rings of protection +10 and a ring of open wounds. At the moment, healing 40 hps is a lot. Plus cure confusion and blindness is pretty nice. Should I wear both RoP or just one RoP and one RoOW?
I have 52 AC atm and 196 HPs.

[Estie]

It used to be completely random; I believe the default on the newest versions is that monsters "learn from their mistake", so if it had, say, breathed fire and you had been immune to fire, it probably wouldnt breath fire at you any longer.

Anyway, the first breath should be random in any case. You were very unlucky.

[Talharim]

I did have phase door and TO. Just no recall (it was burned) and no !rPois. Didn’t find any after being told I should have them. Like finding no scrolls of WoR after getting mine burned in 5 levels or so.
But the problem here was:

1. Not realizing the big threat of this particular Q
2. Not realizing the enormous threat of the ancient dragon
3. Not having any !rPois and not popping one the minute the dragon appeared

One question, was the fact that the AMHD breathing poison on his first time a bad case of Russian roulette? Or did it check my resists and chosen the element I didn’t resist?

[mrfy]

Qs and S are two great sources of XP and neither can move. What you SHOULD have done is position yourself so that they cannot cast (e.g summon) and nuke them with arrows or spells.

Agree.

Also, !rPois .. again no. Unless you are a really squishy low level character and you want to get past a basilisk, you can squelch these. What you SHOULD have done is not fight two mobs are the same time e.g Phase when the dragon got summoned.

I always carry potions of resist poison even after I have rPois from a ring or other item. I've had plenty of deaths from getting poisoned.

Also, it sounds like Word of Recall was OP's only way out. I always carry several escapes, like Phase Door scrolls or Teleportation staves.

[mrfy]

You don't learn about monsters unless you encounter them. That's yet another reason for diving.

Agree with your first sentence but not the second. I run into plenty of monsters without diving.

In any case, what makes you think their playstyle is working for them? The question is how much they have learned about the game, say in the last 10 hours of playing, compared to how much they would have learned using a different style.

Perhaps it is not the best and my way might not be the best. But I don't enjoy diving and don't play that way. Nor is it probably right for everyone. So I don't think we should always encourage diving since it is not for everyone.

I'd guess the reason for the near death was a combination of lack of knowledge with getting double [or triple] moved by the foe because of being slowed due to weight. More than once, I have suddenly been in trouble because I didn't notice autopickup had slowed me. It might have been more instructive to die from that encounter. Some lessons only get through when you learn them the hard way.

Agree with this, and is the reason i have autopickup turned off.

[Sky]

I should have used my rod of probing.
I should have drank a resist poison potion.
I should have TOd both mobs.

nope.



Qs and S are two great sources of XP and neither can move. What you SHOULD have done is position yourself so that they cannot cast (e.g summon) and nuke them with arrows or spells.
Also, !rPois .. again no. Unless you are a really squishy low level character and you want to get past a basilisk, you can squelch these. What you SHOULD have done is not fight two mobs are the same time e.g Phase when the dragon got summoned.

[Talharim]

Got one such lesson from facing a great draconic

> You tear the greater draconic quylthulg (45).
> You miss the greater draconic quylthulg.
> You bite the greater draconic quylthulg (45).
> The ancient multi-hued dragon conjures up weird things.
> You retain your presence of mind.
> You resist the effect!
> You bite the ancient multi-hued dragon (53).
> You bite the ancient multi-hued dragon (51).
> You slash the ancient multi-hued dragon (53).
> You miss the ancient multi-hued dragon.
> You bite the ancient multi-hued dragon (79). It was a good hit!
> You bite the ancient multi-hued dragon (49).
> You bite the ancient multi-hued dragon (51).
> The ancient multi-hued dragon breathes poison.
> You die.

When I realized I was hitting the greater draconic quylthulg several turns and it didn't die I should have used my rod of probing. When an ancient multi-hued dragon was summoned, I should have drank a resist poison potion. I should have TOd both mobs.

Funny note about this char: a vorted destroyed his scrolls of recall. So he had to dive.

[PowerDiver]

And they need to learn about monsters.

...

Again, it works for some but not all playstyles.

You don't learn about monsters unless you encounter them. That's yet another reason for diving. In any case, what makes you think their playstyle is working for them? The question is how much they have learned about the game, say in the last 10 hours of playing, compared to how much they would have learned using a different style.

I'd guess the reason for the near death was a combination of lack of knowledge with getting double [or triple] moved by the foe because of being slowed due to weight. More than once, I have suddenly been in trouble because I didn't notice autopickup had slowed me. It might have been more instructive to die from that encounter. Some lessons only get through when you learn them the hard way.

[mrfy]

This is why so many people tell you to dive. At easy levels, you are teaching yourself incorrect lessons. Sure, the sleep monsters saved you early on, but it will just be a waste of a turn more often than not as you descend, and may get you killed if you stick with it.

And they need to learn about monsters. I quote: "Things can go down south very quickly. Had a near death experience with a unique I didn’t recognize nor had I seen before. He was hitting like a pile of bricks and I didn’t immediately realized.

I think he summoned also summoned a balance drake or something."

It sounds like whatever unique they were up against was too much and it was summoning. Granted, experience helps, but diving all the time leads to short games and many deaths.

Again, it works for some but not all playstyles.

[PowerDiver]

I found a ring of resist poison and subsequently dropped all the resist poison potions. It was pretty stupid since the ring was destroyed by a vortex afterwards. I forgot that monsters could also destroy rings. I remembered they could destroy wands, staves and rods but not rings.

I had wands of rebuffs because I read somewhere they were good. I was able to evade a bad situation on a char using a wand of sleep monsters.

This is why so many people tell you to dive. At easy levels, you are teaching yourself incorrect lessons. Sure, the sleep monsters saved you early on, but it will just be a waste of a turn more often than not as you descend, and may get you killed if you stick with it.

Temporary resistance combines with equipment resistance, for 1/9 damage. That's a much bigger deal than being able to use sleep monsters on wimps. I would carry a potion of fire resistance in preference to a staff of sleep monsters, even assuming I got fire resistance from my armor as well.

[Talharim]

I found a ring of resist poison and subsequently dropped all the resist poison potions. It was pretty stupid since the ring was destroyed by a vortex afterwards. I forgot that monsters could also destroy rings. I remembered they could destroy wands, staves and rods but not rings.

I had wands of rebuffs because I read somewhere they were good. I was able to evade a bad situation on a char using a wand of sleep monsters.

[Pete Mack]

The trouble is that not much will happen at his current depth--he's way past diminishing returns. And he's optimizing for a situation that is unrealistic: he oughta have 10 res poison potions by now; instead he has monster debuff staffs, which are outright dangerous at any real depth.

Go at your own pace. Not everyone is into diving.

[sffp]

It's not so much as I think the character is underdepth.

It's amusing to me because level 35-40 are used to get to that many attacks/that much damage so you can go down to level 45ish to get things like Rconf

you're never safe in the dungeon regardless of level.
Gruniel here lacks rPoi, rSound and rNether and is travelling at -1 speed (9.8 pounds overweight)

I see 22 potions of CLW that can be dropped.
The staves of slow/sleep monsters as well

whatever you do, you don't want to walk around the dungeon underspeed

[mrfy]

My knowledge of the game is not very good. Things can go down south very quickly. Had a near death experience with a unique I didn’t recognize nor had I seen before. He was hitting like a pile of bricks and I didn’t immediately realized.

I think he summoned also summoned a balance drake or something.

It was a very panicky and humbling experience.

Go at your own pace. Not everyone is into diving.