Very old returning player needs advice!

[mewmew]

The game uses fractional resistances.

wait, angband doesn't have fractional resistances? i.e. it's you either resist or not?

[Mondkalb]

To clarify: In FAangband items can grant a random percentage to resist, for example 27% fire resistance. You have to combine many items (armor, rings, amulets, weapons, artifacts) to enhance your resistance. (Actually, I'm not quite sure whether you can get factual immunity with 100% resistance; I think it's more like the resistance in Angband.)

[Timo Pietilä]

In the old versions of Angband you just kept everything until you can get id spell/scrolls/staves and then identify everything from then on. It was tedious rather than difficult im my opinion.

Now you have to test it out to see what it does which is far more interesting (and can be more dangerous too).

There was that test -thing in old angband as well: there were no way to ID artifact abilities and random abilities except by potions of self knowledge and *ID* scrolls, so most of the time you needed to test them. ESP was obvious, but majority of abilities required eating bad mushrooms or quaffing bad potions to see if they affect you. Or get breathed on by something that wasn't dangerous.

Also in current implementation of "ID by use" is far too weak, you still need to magically ID everything because there are way too many items to test after decent fight.

[Timo Pietilä]

wait, angband doesn't have fractional resistances? i.e. it's you either resist or not?

Correct. Resistances are binary, you either have it or not. Temporary and permanent resists stack on each other (basic four & poison) but you still have only one temporary and/or one permanent.

[Mondkalb]

The ID problem could be adressed with rods of identify which have an area effect. (They were in one experimental version I played and I grew very fond of them .)

[Timo Pietilä]

The ID problem could be adressed with rods of identify which have an area effect. (They were in one experimental version I played and I grew very fond of them .)

Rune-based ID is the way to go IMO. Once you know the feature you recognize it in items automatically.

[Malak Darkhunter]

The ID problem could be adressed with rods of identify which have an area effect. (They were in one experimental version I played and I grew very fond of them .)

NPP has a mass identify spell, that I like very well, it can identify the whole stack of items lying on the floor.

[Malak Darkhunter]

Rune-based ID is the way to go IMO. Once you know the feature you recognize it in items automatically.

I think so to...I like the idea of learning the runes of items as you play along in the game .Eventually knocking out the need to identify all the time.

[Mondkalb]

I would like to test out the rune concept, it even might add some flavor, speaking of elvish and dwarvish runes.

[fph]

I have played D&D (the one with friends and dice and manuals) only for a short time, but I do not remember identifying items as one of the challenges that constitute the "D&D culture". Maybe I've been playing it wrong, though.

[d_m]

Rune-based ID is the way to go IMO. Once you know the feature you recognize it in items automatically.

Agreed. I think v4 had this, and it's definitely something many folks are excited about.