Another Newbie needs help

[Derakon]

You're assuming they've optimized their stats for melee. If you have a low STR score, for example, then you're (counter-intuitively) best-off with the biggest weapon you can find, because you're only going to get 1 blow anyway.

[Timo Pietilä]

You're assuming they've optimized their stats for melee. If you have a low STR score, for example, then you're (counter-intuitively) best-off with the biggest weapon you can find, because you're only going to get 1 blow anyway.

True for mages and priests most of the time. For rest I try to optimize for combat and not for magic. I think all mixed classes can get multiple blows with light weapons.

[EDIT] elf paladin has advantage with heavy weapons at start. More blows with dagger, but lower damage, so unless it gets damage booster somewhere heavier is better.

[robbiodobbio]

Okay here's a quandry for you, I now have three different weapons to choose from:
1. morning star of slay troll (2d6) (+5+9) 51 damage vs trolls 35.5 vs others NO resistance.
2. short sword of *slay* dragon (1d7) (+8+8) 48.4 vs dragons 30.9 vs others provides protection from fear. +1 CON
3. lucerne hammer (blessed) (2d5) (+5+8) 33.1 damage on average blessed by the gods, provides blindness resistance +3 wisdom.

I have no speed bonuses and only have 1 blow per round with each weapon. So which is the best? What does blessed by the gods mean? What advantage does that give?

The lucerne hammer is worth more than the other 2, why?

Thanks

I'm gonna keep using the short sword while I await your reply because I've had it for ages and it has a lot of sentimental value.

[Philip]

Blessed means priests can use it without penalties. I'd use the hammer, because blindness resistance is worth a lot. It also does respectable damage. 3 wisdom for extra saving throws is nice to have.

[robbiodobbio]

forgot to mention that I already have blindness resistance from my helm of seeing

[Philip]

Oh. In that case it really depends on how you do your damage. Protection from fear isn't too valuable, but if you shoot stuff more that you stab, which, as a ranger, you probably should, the shortsword wins. Keep the hammer around just in case. The slays are both pretty much useless. Look for something better though.

[robbiodobbio]

another one for you: just found a ring of con +3, it adds about 30 HP but it means i cant wear one of my damage rings +8.

[robbiodobbio]

Also everyone always talks about diving to stat gain on the forums. Do you mean a depth where you start to find stat potions? If so what is the depth?

[Oramin]

another one for you: just found a ring of con +3, it adds about 30 HP but it means i cant wear one of my damage rings +8.

It depends. What is your life both with the ring and without the ring of CON +3? What is your damage both with the ring and without the ring of damage +8?

[robbiodobbio]

With the con ring I do on average 21.7 damage and have 296 HP
With the damage ring I do 31.1 damage and have 276 HP so it's actually only 20HP. Does the damage ring only count for melee? Or ranged too?

[Philip]

I don't know if it counts for ranged, you can check that yourself though. Statgain is everywhere from dlvl 40 on. Advice about statgain is good, but I suggest going as deep as you can survive.

[Oramin]

With the con ring I do on average 21.7 damage and have 296 HP
With the damage ring I do 31.1 damage and have 276 HP so it's actually only 20HP. Does the damage ring only count for melee? Or ranged too?

1. I'd be inclined to keep wearing the damage ring. Keep the CON +3 ring in your home and check the HP it adds later as you gain levels and CON from other sources.

2. The last time I checked, damage rings only add to melee. You can easily verify this by 'I'nspecting your ammo both with and without the ring on.

[David B]

I don't know if it counts for ranged, you can check that yourself though. Statgain is everywhere from dlvl 40 on. Advice about statgain is good, but I suggest going as deep as you can survive.

The problem with going as deep as you can survive is that you frequently don't find out how deep that is until it's too late.

[Derakon]

The problem with going as deep as you can survive is that you frequently don't find out how deep that is until it's too late.

Well? And then you die. But you'll die anyway even if you try to play conservatively, since what you really need to have to survive is information about what enemies can do. Without that, you can't possibly hope to survive even if you're kitted out the wazoo. Dive fast, die early, know better for next time.

[Oramin]

Hey, since I downloaded 3.3.2, I've played conservatively. My first char made it to character level 35 and the next was a winner. 3 of the next 4 were also winners (with an early oops on L1 of the dungeon).

Of course, you could argue that I already had the requisite knowledge from playing previous versions of Angband ...