Easiest Win?

[Magnate]

I don't know; I can handle a DL10 1st dive with a pts-based HE ranger about half the time. I know this because my Ironman tactic is generally to hoard arrows/phase doors waiting for a OOD unique in the hope of a good drop.

I presume you mean a DL10 1st dive without using missiles ... that's pretty impressive. More proof that playing Ironman improves a person's game.

That said, the no1 cause of death for my rangers is that I think I hear "sword spinning woodsman" not "shooter from the shadows" when I think of their class. So don't listen to me!

Yeah, I have *exactly* that problem with rangers. Never seem to get them to be the uber-class they are in the hands of Timo et al. I can't remember playing a ranger who died outside melee - not sure it's ever happened. Stupid stupid stupid.

Ho hum.

CC

[Magnate]

I generally wait until I have a properly enchanted missile weapon (+9,+9) before risking orc pits/DL 5.

Wow, that's a lot of waiting. I am usually well past 1000' and on my way to stat gain before I have bought enough scrolls to get my missile weapon up to (+9,+9). Diff'rent strokes I guess (now, who's old enough to remember that?).

Emotionally, I feel using a longbow as primary weapon at melee range is "unstylistic", but V game mechanics don't penalize this.

I just don't do it - not out of any sense of purity, just because it never occurs to me to fire a missile when I'm right next to an enemy. As an aside, I hope Takkaria does implement a point-blank penalty in V to correct this issue.

My current dwarf priestess is CL24/DL19 without permanent See Invisible...even with hit-and-run she's starting to have problems, she doesn't have a fast enough regeneration rate to use the spell as background.

I think you are very unlucky to have found no SI at all by cl24. Not a single ring?? I don't think that's a typical priest experience.

CC

[Daven_26d1]

I presume you mean a DL10 1st dive without using missiles ... that's pretty impressive. More proof that playing Ironman improves a person's game.

Yes, but to clarify a little, I'm not a huge diver - and I do get some advantages in ironman mode that normal play wouldn't allow, at least not sensible play:

*No need to carry around heavy, valuable objects for resale. More room for wands like confuse and sleep which can be used to win fights in place of missiles.

*A true "divers dive" would mean dropping fast, but In IM I slay everything and explore everything to maximise XP and items; except where unfortunate combinations of monsters and uniques (or trap doors - grrr) force me to sink quicker. I'll even hover by the stairs down and slay wandering monsters if food is plentiful.

*I perform best under pressure, in Ironman this is constant, so I think about every move. Most of my deaths in standard are from getting to comfortable and no longer being able to discern any real danger.

*In standard play, you spend all your points because a pt of any stat is more valuable than 100 gold. In ironman (and this is overlooked a *lot*) its unbelievable how much an extra 700-800g worth of armour and supplies can help. No way could I manage the dive with typical starting AC.

*I have a secret zen techniques which involves rubbing my fingers together that helps awfully to calm my brain and help me think laterally.

[zaimoni]

I just don't do it - not out of any sense of purity, just because it never occurs to me to fire a missile when I'm right next to an enemy. As an aside, I hope Takkaria does implement a point-blank penalty in V to correct this issue.

She just upgraded to a heavy crossbow from the Black Market, and enchanted it up. Still haven't seen anything with Extra Shots yet. Melee weapon is still a Blessed Dagger (+9,+9) providing +3 WIS and Regeneration, but her first !Wisdom broke a cutpoint, she has enough regeneration rate now.

The dagger is for finishing off almost-dead things. Non-critical damage range is 13-16 for the dagger (1 attack/round), 40-56 for XBow/normal bolts, 76-92 XBow/+9,+9 bolts. No branded ammunition yet.

I think you are very unlucky to have found no SI at all by cl24. Not a single ring?? I don't think that's a typical priest experience.

Not quite true; DL24/CL26 now. I've seen two pointy-penalty Westernesse weapons.

Turncount is relatively low due to heavy use of detection (to figure out where I don't want to go) and almost never resting for mana.