Any tips for a newbie?

[Estie]

Lots of questions today. Just found two Elvenkind bits of armour, they're great for resistances. I have dragon scale mail of craftsmanship which has a high AC value and can be activated but I've just found leather armour of Elvenkind that increases stealth and gives nexus resistance but has much lower AC.

Which is better?

Elvenkind. Physical damage comes in small chunks, so you can always react before you are dead. Elemental damage is usually 1 big hit and can reach 4 digit numbers.
Furthermore, reduction by AC has high variance and does little to prevent damage, whereas resistance to base elements is in the nice form of reliable, substantial % reduction.

[robbiodobbio]

RIP Krissy

Kavlax the Many Headed, sound breather.

[Derakon]

RIP Krissy

Kavlax the Many Headed, sound breather.

Yeah, Kavlax is one of those unexpectedly-lethal enemies. He also can breathe gravity, which slows you and phases you (like the Phase Door spell). And nexus, as I recall, which usually just teleports you. Best advice is to avoid Kavlax until later in the game.

[Pete Mack]

You were lucky to get into melee range with kavlax. He is the first individual monster that can kill you in a single turn. He breaths gravity so he can slow you then breathe 3x more.
Below 2000 you simply cannot expect to be able to kill every native monster.
I recommend making a backup save file at 2000', and restarting it until you can get to dl 60. The habits you learn at shallow depths simply do not work. One reason diving is recommended is because it teaches you the habits that you need when you get deep. Another is you waste a lot less time searching the low levels where loot is poor

[robbiodobbio]

It was the first time I decided to try and crack a vault, had planned on teleporting Kavlax away but got cocky.

Can you make back up save files? Is that not cheating?

I've started a new game and I'm diving much faster, recall scroll just got burnt though so I'm stuck down here now!

[Carnivean]

Can you make back up save files? Is that not cheating?

Of course it's cheating, but it's a victimless crime outside of comp.

I've started a new game and I'm diving much faster, recall scroll just got burnt though so I'm stuck down here now!

Sometimes the only way out is through.

[robbiodobbio]

[QUOTE=Carnivean;113198]Of course it's cheating, but it's a victimless crime outside of comp.

And if one wanted to do such a thing, how would one go about it? Copy the save file and hide it somewhere else?

[Mondkalb]

You could also enter wizard mode with Ctrl-w (if it is still available in 4.05, I didn't check).
That would mark your savefile and you could cheat death.

[Pete Mack]

Cheating death that way is less helpful. They idea is to learn survival at that depth, not just wander around not worrying about dying

[robbiodobbio]

Not really interested in cheating death. With fast diving I've almost got my new character to the level of the old one. Had a few good drops:

Chainmail of Arvedui
Dagger "Nimthanc"
Heavy Crossbow of Power

Encumbance weight is really annoying, Chainmail of Arvedui gives some great resistances but means I can't carry a heavy shield or wear other heavy armour.

[ranger jeff]

That's why Strength is important for every character, and even more so casters. It enables you to wield the best gear AND keeps your speed and mana up.

[Pete Mack]

Encumbrance is only a problem til you get your INT up a little, so it doesn't eat such a large fraction of your mana. Narthanc is good. The heavy Xbow is great. Go to dl 45 and kill Smaug, or a little deeper and pick off demons. At that depth character power is hugely amplified by ego ammo or double resistance, or both.

[robbiodobbio]

It's getting a bit better now, it's mainly because I've quaffed a fair few potions of brawn and nimbleness so INT has taken a bit of a battering.

Another thing, on most spells I still have fail rate of 50%, which is really annoying for detecting properly. Is that just down to low INT too?

[Estie]

Int and level. With support casters, its best to treat them like warriors early on; use devices for spells, focus on str/dex stats, dont carry spellbooks. Eventually spellcasting will catch up and make life easier.

[robbiodobbio]

Yeah I just carry the first spellbook because it has the detect monster and trap spells.

I figured carrying detect staffs or scrolls would take up too much space.

Gonna dive down to 45 now. Wish me luck!