Angband 3.2 released!

[CunningGabe]

I forget which thread we were using for nightlies' bug reports; I hope it's this one. There seems to be some trouble with ID-by-use for status effecting wands and staves.. I was succesfully using a wand of confuse monster on a townsperson and it wasn't identifying, then later I repeatedly put snagas to sleep with a staff of sleep monster and it wouldn't identify. Staff of confuse monster did ID on use as per normal, though

edit: just got a wand of sleep monster and it's not IDing-on-use either

I've been having the same problem -- I reported it as ticket #1346.

[pampl]

I forget which thread we were using for nightlies' bug reports; I hope it's this one. There seems to be some trouble with ID-by-use for status effecting wands and staves.. I was succesfully using a wand of confuse monster on a townsperson and it wasn't identifying, then later I repeatedly put snagas to sleep with a staff of sleep monster and it wouldn't identify. Staff of confuse monster did ID on use as per normal, though

edit: just got a wand of sleep monster and it's not IDing-on-use either

[Derakon]

Unless you're rocking a Heavy Crossbow of Extra Shots, anyway. Those aren't very hard to find and they're very powerful.

[Hariolor]

Of course, unless/until you find Cubragol, Bard and Belthrondig are the best standart shooters out there. Big incentive for keeping good arrows around, that.

[Derakon]

Er, yes, and I meant to mention that, and somehow forgot. Thanks for the catch.

Basically, arrows' only saving grace is that they're light. Otherwise they lose out in durability to shots and bolts, and in damage to bolts.

[Timo Pietilä]

Note that by "harder to destroy" I mostly mean "sling ammo is not damaged by fire". When hit by an attack it's vulnerable to (just acid, I think) it has the same destruction rate as any other item. Given how common fire attacks are, the fact that arrows burn is a major mark against them. I usually stick to crossbows unless I can find a +2 Buckland sling or similar randart.

IIRC sling shots break 25% probability when hit vs arrow 35%. This has quite an impact on saving ammo.

[Derakon]

Note that by "harder to destroy" I mostly mean "sling ammo is not damaged by fire". When hit by an attack it's vulnerable to (just acid, I think) it has the same destruction rate as any other item. Given how common fire attacks are, the fact that arrows burn is a major mark against them. I usually stick to crossbows unless I can find a +2 Buckland sling or similar randart.

[scud]

Sling ammo is also sturdier than arrows -- it breaks less often when used and is harder to destroy with elemental attacks.

Ah, interesting.

If I find another one I'll give it a spin.

I'm buggered if I'm going to pay for one, though!

[Derakon]

In my opinion Amrod and Amras are mostly for people who want extra abilities from their shooter slots but don't rely on shooters for damage. The Buckland sling will overpower them by a massive extent, even with only +7 to damage. Compare:

Amras: x3 multiplier, +15 to damage, +1 shot
Buckland: x4 multiplier, +7 to damage, +2 shots

Given a 1d4 Arrow (+10 to damage) and a 1d3 Iron Shot (+10 to damage):

Amras: 2.5 (dice damage) + 10 + 15 (damage bonuses) * 3 = 82.5 damage/shot
Buckland: 2 (dice damage) + 10 + 7 (damage bonuses) * 4 = 76 damage/shot

So Buckland does slightly less damage with this ammo, per shot. Over time, though, you multiply Buckland's damage output by 3 and Amras's by only 2, for the extra shots, which means that Amras is doing 165 damage/round, while Buckland has 228.

Sling ammo is also sturdier than arrows -- it breaks less often when used and is harder to destroy with elemental attacks. That seems a fair trade to me for the extra weight; you don't need to carry as much to ensure that you have adequate ammo for a given task.

[d_m]

But, as I said, my main problem with slings is the weight in my quiver. I usually run with well over 100 items of ammunition and (until you've got speed to burn) all those pebbles and shots would be a major burden. I believe the jangling attracts monsters, too...

In my current game (high elf ranger) I found a Sling of Power early on, and haven't seen any ego bows since then, and just found a Sling of Extra Shots (+1). I haven't found the ammo weight to be a serious issue and I'm carrying 80-100 bullets at most times.

Obviously when I find a good bow I will switch for my extra shot (i'm currently level 28) but right now it's working OK.

EDIT: I should say that i consider a sling of buckland to be way better than Amras if you intend to actually shoot things with it. As far as the speed, resists, and whatnot Amras is better, although +3 DEX is nice.

[scud]

I'm Theodening for the ESP and whip out the Glaive for the occasional serious paddlin'.

My shooter is The Short Bow of Amras (x3) (+12,+15) <+1 speed>, which is +1 WIS/DEX and provides three basic resistances. Can't actually remember what the pluses on the sling refer to, but it was only +7 damage.

The shop price of Amras is...

*sells*

52098

*force quits*

Surely the Buckland can't be nearly three times as valuable?

But, as I said, my main problem with slings is the weight in my quiver. I usually run with well over 100 items of ammunition and (until you've got speed to burn) all those pebbles and shots would be a major burden. I believe the jangling attracts monsters, too...

[Philip]

Yeah, the one time I found sling of buckland +2 I used it the entire game. Being a warrior it was used rarely but still awesome.

[Derakon]

You can fire at triple speed with that thing. +2 shots lays the hurt down fast. Is it better than the Glaive of Pain? Possibly. Is it better than Theoden? Definitely. I find the fact that the GoP is the cheapest of those to be the outlier, personally. Though I guess it's less overpowered now that branding rings are out.

[scud]

You should be able to see the plusses if you wield it and hit something.

*unsquelches, finds, wears, smacks something*

You are correct, sir.

***

Sell The Glaive of Pain (9d6) (0,+30)?
Price: 7039

Sell The Beaked Axe of Theoden (2d6) (+8,+10) <+3>?
Price: 10272

Sell a Sling of Buckland (x4) (+10,+7) <+3, +2, +2>?
Price: 30000

Shop price once sold: 142770.

I don't use anything other than bows because of the ammo weight but I'm sure it's a great sling with a lovely, um, slingy action, but... 142k?

[PowerDiver]

* Dog is still unidentifiable once known - need to sell it before the stats are visible

I think the problem is that it has EASY_KNOW in object.txt. That causes some routine to report "known" status before the plusses are learned. Then the identify hook says no need to identify it.

You should be able to see the plusses if you wield it and hit something.

I haven't properly debugged any of this, because my current codebase is too different to be sure, but it seems likely to me to be the issue.