The Official Bad Advice Thread

[Garrie]

This is exactly right. The reason I play them is exactly the same reason they are so rare on the ladder--it's a challenge race, like Gnome and Half-Orc.

If you want an easy race that advances fast, try Elf or Half-Elf.

Pete, I think you and I have different opinions of irony...

...The only redeeming factor for a kobold is resist poison, which is really easy to find anyway...

Gnomes also suck. Never play as a gnome.

[Pete Mack]

Kobolds as a player character completely suck. They have bad strength and intelligence and therefore are bad at important skills such as fighting and magic. And they get a big bad experience penalty.

The only redeeming factor for a kobold is resist poison, which is really easy to find anyway.

This is exactly right. The reason I play them is exactly the same reason they are so rare on the ladder--it's a challenge race, like Gnome and Half-Orc.

If you want an easy race that advances fast, try Elf or Half-Elf.

[Cardinal Rob]

Kobolds as a player character completely suck. They have bad strength and intelligence and therefore are bad at important skills such as fighting and magic. And they get a big bad experience penalty.

The only redeeming factor for a kobold is resist poison, which is really easy to find anyway.

You might as well just play as a human, you'll be better and have no exp penalty.

Gnomes also suck. Never play as a gnome.

[will_asher]

A ghost worth casting Dispel Undead on (which the wall provides cover for even though otherwise it would be targeted as in Line of Sight), is probably capable of casting Nether Bolt from within the wall. (Or worse). If I could break Line of Fire in one move, I'd do that instead and prepare.

oh I misunderstood because he said "ghost", I thought he meant "ghost" instead of "monster symbolized by the letter G."

[zaimoni]

Why is this bad advice?

A ghost worth casting Dispel Undead on (which the wall provides cover for even though otherwise it would be targeted as in Line of Sight), is probably capable of casting Nether Bolt from within the wall. (Or worse). If I could break Line of Fire in one move, I'd do that instead and prepare.

Dispel Undead also has really flaky damage; you can't really count on the spell version, compared to Orb Of Draining.

[Pete Mack]

With good melee, you can safely fight Homunculi if you are careful about waiting to get the first blows. They have few HP and lousy AC. With 4 blows, you can be quite confident of defeating (killing or frightening) them in a single turn.

[will_asher]

If there is a ghost in the wall of the room you're in, just wait until it comes out and cast Dispel Undead.

Why is this bad advice?

[Psi]

The best bad advice I can give is...

- an unId'd ring is always worth risking your life for
- whatever else you could do, just one more round of melee is always worth it
- an opponent at one star cannot possibly kill you
- never waste a ?TL when there is a slight chance a teleport might be safe
- healing schmealing

[Rizwan]

What I meant was and probably should have mentioned clearly that doing this while battling nasties and not safe and sound in a corner of the dungeon, or maybe even in town, was a bad idea. Then again maybe its because I sell all the unidentified stuff before I get ID from a book (I usually play fighter with magic) and my conservative style of play

[Cardinal Rob]

If your low Str character finds a Lance 2d8, you should equip it instead of your dagger. Although you won't hit as often, it'll be worth it because you'll do so much more damage and critical a lot more frequently. The monsters won't stand a chance! Make sure you wear no armour at all so you are light enough not to have a speed penalty!


You should try to get your girlfriend interested in the game. It will be good for your relationship, and her emotive input will keep you morally in check, preventing you from brutalising those innocent Scruffy Looking Hobbits, Shrieking Mushrooms, Angels, Trolls (because they are small and have poofie hair), Faerie Dragons, Purple Jellies and poor defenseless Farmer Maggot!


Only carry one Word of Recall scroll to exit the dungeon, that way when you use it you will have another slot to carry a piece of equipment. The chances of that Fire Hound incinerating that one scroll is very remote indeed, and even if the scroll does get burned, you will find another one lying around the dungeon. They're everywhere!


Pick up those Hallucination Mushrooms, the black market should be interested in them right?


Just another hour play... you can still get plenty of sleep until morning and you'll be fresh for that exam.

[Nick]

While we're on things we're guilty of...

• As a warrior, activating your armour is the safest method of healing or banishing if failure would cause you to die next turn.
• If you see a sleeping Hummerhorn, walk up to it and hit it - it is less likely to wake up than if you shoot it.
• Don't be afraid of Gravity Hounds. They won't all breathe at once.
• Kavlax is unlikely to breathe the thing you don't resist, or at least not the first turn he can see you.
• If there is a ghost in the wall of the room you're in, just wait until it comes out and cast Dispel Undead.
• Running is too many keystrokes - just hold down the arrow key.
• A monster you've never seen before is unlikely to instakill you.
• If you're surrounded by things that have just been summoned, the best means of escape is to kill the weakest one, and then run away through the resulting gap, especially if you are a mage with 0% fail teleport.

[PowerDiver]

You don't get maximum utility from your scroll of dispel undead unless you read it inside an undead pit. Be sure to haste and use stone-to-mud to get inside before too many get out.

[Triskaidecapod]

Remember, the best kind of wyrm to clone if you're looking for a good RoS is a Great Storm Wyrm!

[Pete Mack]

All right, this

You should continue to haul all manner of heavy gear back to town to sell through the mid-game. After all, you're almost certain to see some kind of awesome end-game gear like boots of speed (+3) for sale in town. Then won't you be glad you spent all that extra time wandering the dungeon at speed (-2).

is funny as hell. lol!

[protomech]

If you've reduced a unique to fleeing through your superior Mage-tastic firepower, you should definitely hit him with a Meteor Swarm to make sure he dies. Nothing says overkill like the sounds of drop destruction.

If you are forced to flee battle by teleporting away at low hp, you should definitely cast 'Light Area' before healing up. The chances of porting into line of sight of a Great Wyrm, Dracolich, Dracolisk, Death Drake, Drolem, Greater Basilisk, big breathing unique, fire-breathing major demons, a pack of nasty hounds, pack of nether-bolt-slinging undead, giants that throw boulders, or some mixture thereof.. are frankly too small to even mention.

You should continue to haul all manner of heavy gear back to town to sell through the mid-game. After all, you're almost certain to see some kind of awesome end-game gear like boots of speed (+3) for sale in town. Then won't you be glad you spent all that extra time wandering the dungeon at speed (-2).

You should continue to stay in the fight with a big melee'ing monster like a Great Wyrm as long as you're winning. You'll probably kill it next round, and in the unlikely event that you don't, there's basically no chance it'll hit with *all* of its melee attacks. Or something else will join the fray. After all, this is your last chance to kill a Great Wyrm - and you know it's carrying a tasty Ring of Speed (+18).

// guilty of all of the above