When do you feel sure about a character?

[Fendell Orcbane]

I'm wonder about this because I started up playing Angband after my last character got killed through unfairness/ignorance/not thinking quickly on my part. And I've lost the last 4 guys that I've started up to things above 1000'. See at low levels you have little to no margin for error. If Orcs catch you slippin' you are toasted. Although phase door scrolls can help out a great deal, but when you are low level everything is the same speed as you so you can't flee combat unless you have s potion of speed handy or a phase spell/scroll. I try not to get attached to characters because they can die pretty easily.

Although high level characters can die too, you can always *destruct* the area around you killing or getting rid of everything. You just have to do it so in that sense every high level character has an escape... you just have to pull out sooner rather than latter.

Angband in general doesn't favor people who leave things up to luck. Actually this is the thing that I love about Angband...you don't comeback from death. You F89k up you die.

So my question is when do you feel like you can relax a bit? Because at 12th lvl I'm detecting a lot and fleeing at the sight of Orc uniques. Hell I almost ran from Gollum. But he is much faster than me so I had to fight,but with phasing and arrows I was able to kill him pretty easily. But I just got a TO wand so now I'm ready to go deeper...I'm at lvl15 right now looking for free action and resist items.

[Nick]

Usually right before I die...

[Fendell Orcbane]

Usually right before I die...

See and I think that feeling safe actually can keep you alive since you aren't freaking out. I just find that I'm able to think my way out of things when I'm relaxed.

[Zikke]

Finding that tricky balance of "calm panic" is what you're looking for. Many people have to experiment heavily with diving to get the right balance. When you're paying heavy attention to everything around you because you're too deep can keep you alive because you're focused, but if you're too deep then you get 1-shot by something nasty.

I think after you play enough and get used to the monsters and your abilities, you will find your calm panic and allow yourself to feel confident in yourself instead of confident in your character.

Ah the warming philosophy of Angband.

[Atarlost]

If you feel safe when Morgoth isn't dead at your feet you're overconfident.

[Sirridan]

I feel pretty sure when I have all resists covered, plenty of fail-safe escapes (?destruct and ?tlevel or ?deep_descent if above dl97), at least 20 base speed and sources of haste, and a few pieces of big healing (!heal and above) and 18/200 con (or 800 hp).

I still don't feel safe, but I'm sure I have a good chance with such a character. (My personal score file is full of characters like this, all very dead except my one winner. *NEVER* get overconfident. If you think the low levels are bad with no mistakes, just wait it gets even worse, which makes this game so damn addicting!)

[LostTemplar]

r. base pois conf blind + telepathy + free action, 10+ base speed and you are safe. Dont run out of failproof escapes.

[Fendell Orcbane]

I feel pretty sure when I have all resists covered, plenty of fail-safe escapes (?destruct and ?tlevel or ?deep_descent if above dl97), at least 20 base speed and sources of haste, and a few pieces of big healing (!heal and above) and 18/200 con (or 800 hp).

I still don't feel safe, but I'm sure I have a good chance with such a character. (My personal score file is full of characters like this, all very dead except my one winner. *NEVER* get overconfident. If you think the low levels are bad with no mistakes, just wait it gets even worse, which makes this game so damn addicting!)

Well I got all the way to Morgoth, with my last character and I died because I didn't keep a cool head : ( But I could have lived. See I feel like once your character is powerful you always have a way to survive. But at the low levels you need more luck and you have to be super cautious because that one mistake will end it all.

[Fendell Orcbane]

r. base pois conf blind + telepathy + free action, 10+ base speed and you are safe. Dont run out of failproof escapes.

Sounds good to me: )

[Ycombinator]

Yes, at some point you can always escape if you keep a cool clear mind. But it's really annoying and exhausting when you have to flee 4 levels out of 5 because of hordes of enemies rushing towards you.
For me the most disturbing part of the game is dlvls 20-30. Just one word: hounds. Low HP and no escape. Even big poison breathers without rPoison at dlvl 40 don't irritate me that much. Even hanging out at dlvl 97 with three end-game uniques doesn't feel that bad, because you know there is a reward for taking the risk.

[fyonn]

I'm not sure I ever feel safe. yes, when you've got a high level character[1] with max'd stats and lots of nice kit, speed, resistances, immunities etc then a lot of concerns are covered, but deep in the dungeon are some pretty nasty creatures. and when 3 black reavers are barrelling towards you it's dangerous even for a max level character. if they al manastorm you, you're toast.

and for all that danger, they drop money or a weapon of slay orc... where's the reward?

dave


[1] my dwarf priest is currently trolling around level 95 seeing if his kit improves. I think my only uniques left are gabriel and the 2 quest uniques. I'm really struggling with gabriel though.

[HallucinationMushroom]

I feel safe once I have all of these:
Confusion resistance
Blindness resistance
Free action

Being able to read in any situation is a big relief, and free action is nice because I don't keep up with what paralyzes.

[Fendell Orcbane]

I'm not sure I ever feel safe. yes, when you've got a high level character[1] with max'd stats and lots of nice kit, speed, resistances, immunities etc then a lot of concerns are covered, but deep in the dungeon are some pretty nasty creatures. and when 3 black reavers are barrelling towards you it's dangerous even for a max level character. if they al manastorm you, you're toast.

and for all that danger, they drop money or a weapon of slay orc... where's the reward?

dave


[1] my dwarf priest is currently trolling around level 95 seeing if his kit improves. I think my only uniques left are gabriel and the 2 quest uniques. I'm really struggling with gabriel though.

I didn't even realize that Black Reavers could Mana Storm. My thing was Pit Fiends breathing Chaos or Tme Hounds. But again TO or *Destruct*. Wish them away I say. In my limited experience I'd say that greed is the killer.

[fyonn]

I didn't even realize that Black Reavers could Mana Storm. My thing was Pit Fiends breathing Chaos or Tme Hounds. But again TO or *Destruct*. Wish them away I say. In my limited experience I'd say that greed is the killer.

they can mana storm for 425 HP so one being around is always a risk and multiple ones being around require careful handling. I also think that once they know your smell, they can detect you wherever you are on the level because even when I teleport away, they always seem to find me before I've even finished resting, leaving a nice tunnel behind them for their friends to follow along.

that said, the last reaver I saw I managed to trap in the corner of a mini vault with permanent rock. if he'd taken 2 steps back/sideways he'd have been able to walk out of the door and towards me, but where he was he was stuck in a corner. I stood outside and fired OoD's through the door and splashed him to death had to rest twice!

mind you, he was part of vecna's escort so it was nice to have a nice easy way to finish the level off.

David

[Fendell Orcbane]

they can mana storm for 425 HP so one being around is always a risk and multiple ones being around require careful handling. I also think that once they know your smell, they can detect you wherever you are on the level because even when I teleport away, they always seem to find me before I've even finished resting, leaving a nice tunnel behind them for their friends to follow along.

that said, the last reaver I saw I managed to trap in the corner of a mini vault with permanent rock. if he'd taken 2 steps back/sideways he'd have been able to walk out of the door and towards me, but where he was he was stuck in a corner. I stood outside and fired OoD's through the door and splashed him to death had to rest twice!

mind you, he was part of vecna's escort so it was nice to have a nice easy way to finish the level off.

David

Hmm, I didn't have that much trouble with them my last game...I really have to be more careful with them. I was more worried about the nightwalkers because they were destroying my equipment since I didn't have resist disenchantment for awhile and even when I did I didn't like using it because it was on a secondary weapon.