Another Newbie needs help

[robbiodobbio]

I've also played before but a long time ago, I remember always dying when something breathed gas at me at around level 40, a multi hued dragon, or there was another monster that also does it.

Anyway, I've just found bar chain mail of resistance, it grants all 4 basic resistances but it's too heavy for me. Is it worth keeping until I boost my strength or shall I just sell it?

[Timo Pietilä]

Anyway, I've just found bar chain mail of resistance, it grants all 4 basic resistances but it's too heavy for me. Is it worth keeping until I boost my strength or shall I just sell it?

If that is your only bodyarmor with all four resists in one, keep it.

[robbiodobbio]

RIP George the Dunadan Ranger killed on Dlevel 36 by a pack of gravity hounds



Oh well, thanks for the help. Gonna go for a ranger again though I liked it.

[robbiodobbio]

I've gone for a gnome ranger.

It's a bit frustrating going from smiting dragons and trolls with my old character to running away from a fight with a crow with my new one but hey ho, that's life.

[Derakon]

You've chosen an exceptionally fragile character, just so you know. Generally with gnomes I'd advise either going with a full mage (where fragility is less of a concern because you rarely get into melee), or picking one of the heavier-duty classes. Paladins and rogues are both much better at fighting than rangers are (albeit not as good with ranged weapons).

In any event, good luck!

[Mondkalb]

I am quite fond of gnome rogues, they are still fragile in the beginning but gain levels fast and have superb stealth.

[Chud]

I always have trouble with the stealth game - mostly, I think, because you can't gain levels without experience, and the main way to get experience is to kill things, and you can't do that very effectively if you're sneaking around avoiding most of the fights.

[Derakon]

The main thing about stealth is that it gives you far more flexibility in choosing your fights. You aren't forced to take on high-difficulty, low-reward enemies like titans or beholders. Early uniques who derive much of their threat level from their escorts (e.g. most of the orc uniques) are also much simpler since their escorts never wake up.

[Timo Pietilä]

You've chosen an exceptionally fragile character

...

Paladins and rogues are both much better at fighting than rangers are (albeit not as good with ranged weapons).

Play ranger like mage but instead of spells use your bow. You need lots of ammo, but looks like that is no problem especially at deeper levels.

I can't agree that rangers are "much" worse at fighting than rogues. There is a tiny advantage for Rogue in skill at beginning, but they both share same blow calculation (with tiny advantage for rogues with very light weapons), get same skill modifier / level and ranger much better shooting more than compensates those. For stats, both get zero bonus to STR, ranger gets +1 advantage for INT over Rogue, and Rogue gets +2 advantage for DEX over ranger, both again get penalty to CON (which I find odd, BTW, since they are mixed classes. Priest gets +1 and Paladin +2 to CON).

[Derakon]

Rogues also have an extra HP/level on average compared to rangers (d6 hit die instead of d4). I thought it was more, but that was part of what I based my prior post on. The more HP you have, the longer you can stand in melee range.

[robbiodobbio]

I'm loving the stealth, picking off packs of sleeping cave spiders one at a time is deeply satisfying and the level ups are flying by thick and fast.

If a high elf has a 200% XP disadvantage does this mean that a human levels up on half the XP? I think gnome is 125% or something.

[robbiodobbio]

Oh and another thing, which innate character trait do you think is the most useful?

[Mondkalb]

I'm loving the stealth, picking off packs of sleeping cave spiders one at a time is deeply satisfying and the level ups are flying by thick and fast.

If a high elf has a 200% XP disadvantage does this mean that a human levels up on half the XP? I think gnome is 125% or something.

Yep. Humans are 100.
Poison resistance was very useful in older versions, because there were no potions and the rings were more expensive.
It is still nice to have, but not that good anymore. At least it frees a ring slot, if you can't find an armor with poison resistance.
See invisble and free action right from the start are nice, but there are enough items to cover these also. Though, I had some difficulties with see invisible in my last few games. The early invisible stat drainers are not anymore the annoyance they have been in earlier game versions, because with each level up the stats are restored.

Identify magic items or mushrooms is nice, but also not that useful, you can always try anything out.

For a ranger, infravision has some advantage because you can spot creatures in dark corridors from a distance.

rBlind is nice for mages and priests.

[Philip]

Depends, but I think rPois. Of all the abilities, it's one of the hardest to get otherwise and takes up a ring slot. rBlind is a close second.

[Timo Pietilä]

If a high elf has a 200% XP disadvantage does this mean that a human levels up on half the XP? I think gnome is 125% or something.

Yes, but it isn't quite as bad as it sounds, Hi-Elf better stats and abilities make it far faster to gather those needed XP, and because level up XP requirement also raises with the level and XP gained from kills lowers it doesn't really mean that Hi-Elf is half way thru levels when humans are already maxed, more like they are just one or two levels behind.

Also because your pace is determined by your abilities you don't really suffer from that penalty more than just couple of very first clevels.