New character, diving, and questions

[Sirridan]

Hello folks, I've played Angband off an on for a while, and I've really gotten into it again recently. I've had some bad luck with my Dun. Ranger and Halfling rogue, usually getting plastered by unique orcs around level 10-15 (I get unique-kill-lust and it backfires) or by Zephyr hounds in the 20's.

My questions are, when starting a new one, how long should I stay at level 1-5, 6-10 etc, or are there times I should just dive to a certain range from the
start, stay there a while, then keep going?

I tried searching, I guess I'm using bad terms, can't find what I'd like to find, so I decided to make a thread.

Thanks for any advice/time spent on helping me out

[will_asher]

It used to be "Stay on the first few levels until you can afford Word of Recall, then keep going down stairs as fast as you can stand it."
But now you start with Word of Recall.
'Go down stairs as fast as you can stand it' is good advice for people who are used to going slowly.

Sometimes recently I've started diving fast enough that I get sick of running away from everything I see. Then I'm tempted to think I should stay where I am to wait for better equipment, but the deeper you go, the easier it is to find better equipment (if you can stay alive, that is).

[Pete Mack]

A hobbit rogue has no business fighting orcs. A Dunadan Ranger should be able to kill all but the pink ones easily, once he's got a little enchantment on his longbow. Nevertheless, I usually don't bother with orc uniques. The second most important early goals for a Ranger is to reach cl 20 for the extra shot, and to reach dl 30 and start finding stat potions. (The most important goal is, as always: don't die.) The easiest way to reach cl 20 is to kill a few young and adult dragons, which not coincidentally live around dl 30.

As for hounds, there are three options:
1. Kill some easy ones if it will gain you a level or more for a single mob.
2. Run away.
2a. Blast through them on the way to the stairs if they are much weaker than you.
3. Gut it out if you see a 4d5 longsword or some other object of obvious (non-monetary) value.

[buzzkill]

Hello folks, I've played Angband off an on for a while, and I've really gotten into it again recently. I've had some bad luck with my Dun. Ranger and Halfling rogue, usually getting plastered by unique orcs around level 10-15 (I get unique-kill-lust and it backfires) or by Zephyr hounds in the 20's.

As Pete said, play your character. Play to his strengths. Bring a launcher. Pick up some form or FA and SI while in the teens. You're clear this hurdle simply by refining your play through practice.

My questions are, when starting a new one, how long should I stay at level 1-5, 6-10 etc, or are there times I should just dive to a certain range from the start, stay there a while, then keep going?

From the very start, dive a few levels. Your character will gain levels faster than you can find the stairs. After thatn wears off, I take the common sense approach. Proceed downward as long as it's not suicidal to do so. I usually don't worry about what level I'm on. I just take a down staircase whenever I find one, unless I'm fleeing from everything on the current level. Running from, and simply avoiding, some things is normal. Staying close to the stairs helps. If I'm in over my head, I'll just try to walk from staircase to staircase, hoping to find something good along the way.

[Sirridan]

Thanks for the replies guys, I've died a few times going a bit too fast, but each time I do a little better.

Of course I decided to play a mage on a whim, killed Maggot off the bat and got a +11 damage longbow of extra might... *sigh*

[Nick]

Of course I decided to play a mage on a whim, killed Maggot off the bat and got a +11 damage longbow of extra might... *sigh*

As a starting mage, you probably couldn't have got a better drop. Buy arrows, kill stuff.

[Donald Jonker]

No joke - that has to be the best Maggot drop I've ever seen.

[buzzkill]

No joke - that has to be the best Maggot drop I've ever seen.

Not sure what variant I was playing (probably FA) so it may have been The Complainer I'm thinking of, but I once got 3 daggers, which turned out to be of Melting, I sold 2 of them for a bunch of much needed GP IIRC. It must have been early in my banding career because, because still to this day (first impressions), I expect good drops from the 'main' townie.