Late game XP

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  • shadow
    Rookie
    • Oct 2014
    • 13

    Late game XP

    I'm playing a Dwarf Priest, CL 45, DL 90. What's the best way to pick up those last five character levels? It seems like I would have to grind forever for them, and anything worth much XP still seems pretty dangerous. I think I've been getting more from potions of xp than I have been from killing things for a while now.
  • debo
    Veteran
    • Oct 2011
    • 2402

    #2
    Originally posted by shadow
    I'm playing a Dwarf Priest, CL 45, DL 90. What's the best way to pick up those last five character levels? It seems like I would have to grind forever for them, and anything worth much XP still seems pretty dangerous. I think I've been getting more from potions of xp than I have been from killing things for a while now.
    Higher-element hounds or dragon pits? I find the latter to be good if you have an immunity or two, you can just stairscum until you find a pit of the color you're immune to and then wipe them out for a billion XP.
    Glaurung, Father of the Dragons says, 'You cannot avoid the ballyhack.'

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    • Ingwe Ingweron
      Veteran
      • Jan 2009
      • 2129

      #3
      Originally posted by shadow
      I'm playing a Dwarf Priest, CL 45, DL 90....
      Playing Comp. 164, where winner had to have the lowest max experience, was a good way to learn that you don't need to level up all the way in order to win. Admittedly, @ in that comp had the One Ring so it isn't a straight comparison, but if you have sufficient hitpoints there's no need to wait. Instead focus on collecting consumables and resistances for the final two fights and then go straight for DL 99 and take on the big bosses.
      “We're more of the love, blood, and rhetoric school. Well, we can do you blood and love without the rhetoric, and we can do you blood and rhetoric without the love, and we can do you all three concurrent or consecutive. But we can't give you love and rhetoric without the blood. Blood is compulsory. They're all blood, you see.”
      ― Tom Stoppard, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead

      Comment

      • mushroom patch
        Swordsman
        • Oct 2014
        • 298

        #4
        For my money, U packs are the best way to go for xp. If you're a priest and can heal yourself all day, horned reapers, gelugons, etc. drop good loot and give good xp/turn economy.

        Comment

        • Raxmei
          Apprentice
          • Feb 2011
          • 94

          #5
          Originally posted by mushroom patch
          For my money, U packs are the best way to go for xp. If you're a priest and can heal yourself all day, horned reapers, gelugons, etc. drop good loot and give good xp/turn economy.
          Yeah just dig out a space so you can't get breathed on by a bunch of the demons with dangerous breaths all at once and you'll be able to fight it out with them pretty sustainably. If you play it right you can keep them summoning more of each other and not run out of sp. Certainly much more manageable than greater undead.

          I'll also agree that it isn't necessary to advance to level 50 before taking on the final fight.

          Comment

          • Derakon
            Prophet
            • Dec 2009
            • 9022

            #6
            Dragons, plasma/nether/aether hounds, non-balrog greater demons (hell, balrogs too if you don't mind the charges drain), W monsters from Nightwing on down (no Nightcrawlers or Nightwalkers, thanks), and the top-tier hydras. Remember that you can cast Resist Heat & Cold out of book 2, which seriously cuts down on two very common sources of elemental damage and, to some extent, mitigates inventory damage.

            Comment

            • MattB
              Veteran
              • Mar 2013
              • 1214

              #7
              Originally posted by Derakon
              Remember that you can cast Resist Heat & Cold out of book 2, which seriously cuts down on two very common sources of elemental damage and, to some extent, mitigates inventory damage.
              Does it? How does that work then?

              Comment

              • PowerWyrm
                Prophet
                • Apr 2008
                • 2986

                #8
                Originally posted by shadow
                I'm playing a Dwarf Priest, CL 45, DL 90. What's the best way to pick up those last five character levels? It seems like I would have to grind forever for them, and anything worth much XP still seems pretty dangerous. I think I've been getting more from potions of xp than I have been from killing things for a while now.
                Ainu pits. Not only you get ton of xp, but ton of consumables too.
                PWMAngband variant maintainer - check https://github.com/draconisPW/PWMAngband (or http://www.mangband.org/forum/viewforum.php?f=9) to learn more about this new variant!

                Comment

                • Derakon
                  Prophet
                  • Dec 2009
                  • 9022

                  #9
                  Originally posted by MattB
                  Does it? How does that work then?
                  Each time you take elemental damage, the game does a percentile check for each vulnerable item in inventory to see if it gets destroyed. The odds are 1% for small damage, 2% for medium (30-60 points, IIRC), and 3% for anything higher. So if double-resistance takes you below one of these thresholds, you'll reduce the inventory damage you take.

                  Doesn't do anything in the early game when nothing's hitting you for more than 30 damage anyway, though.

                  Comment

                  • MattB
                    Veteran
                    • Mar 2013
                    • 1214

                    #10
                    Originally posted by Derakon
                    Each time you take elemental damage, the game does a percentile check for each vulnerable item in inventory to see if it gets destroyed. The odds are 1% for small damage, 2% for medium (30-60 points, IIRC), and 3% for anything higher. So if double-resistance takes you below one of these thresholds, you'll reduce the inventory damage you take.
                    Ah, didn't know the odds scaled with damage. Thanks.

                    Comment

                    • shadow
                      Rookie
                      • Oct 2014
                      • 13

                      #11
                      This is my first time getting this far so I'm a little shy about rushing the end.

                      Anyway: CL 46, DL 93 now. I guess it's not *that* bad, but it's another point in the game where progress feels very slow.

                      Comment

                      • Ingwe Ingweron
                        Veteran
                        • Jan 2009
                        • 2129

                        #12
                        I think you should drop to DL 98 immediately. The comparative danger levels are no different, but the rewards are greater. You can hunt for gear and level up to your heart's content there. When you're ready, from there it's just a jaunt down the stairs to take on the bosses. Good luck!
                        “We're more of the love, blood, and rhetoric school. Well, we can do you blood and love without the rhetoric, and we can do you blood and rhetoric without the love, and we can do you all three concurrent or consecutive. But we can't give you love and rhetoric without the blood. Blood is compulsory. They're all blood, you see.”
                        ― Tom Stoppard, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead

                        Comment

                        • quarague
                          Swordsman
                          • Jun 2012
                          • 261

                          #13
                          Seconded, move down to dlevel 98. Then (slowly and carefully) clean out a vault, they are pretty common down there. This should knock out several of the remaining uniques and give you a whole bunch of useful artifacts.

                          Comment

                          • mushroom patch
                            Swordsman
                            • Oct 2014
                            • 298

                            #14
                            Yeah, scum up a big vault, use mass banishment near the middle of it to kill all the popcorn, then teleport anything still hanging around out. You'll want to use detection first to make sure there's stuff in the vault that is potentially useful. Contrary to the vault enthusiasm you sometimes see here, endgame vaults have decent stuff, but if you've done a slow, careful descent up to this stage, any given one will not have that much you'll want to use. I like to see a big melee weapon, an obvious and useful artifact (e.g. the arkenstone), or something like power dsm in there before clearing a vault.

                            Comment

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