Any tips for a newbie?

[robbiodobbio]

Shit just got real. Met Glaurung and Ungoliant on the same level. After an epic battle I scraped by against Ungoliant and she dropped "Doomcaller" what are your thoughts on this weapon? Obviously it does massive damage but is it worth if for the AC loss and the aggravation?

[robbiodobbio]

Just took my vengeance on Kavlax for the death of my last Kobold Rogue. Keeping the Glaive at home for now until I get its to hit a bit higher, taking harradakket for a spin instead.

[Bogatyr]

Resist fire will help reduce the fire damage, but it won't prevent stunning, which is the main threat from plasma.

Stats give extra bonuses up to 18/200. You can't reach that from increasing your base stats without changing one of the birth options. You can stack equipment bonuses beyond that, but won't get any further benefit. .

Not quite true. Spell fail rates continue to fall between 18/200 up to 18/220 (***).

[Carnivean]

Yeah, met a pack of them on the way into the vault where I met Saruman, they do serious damage, does fire resist help against plasma?

Found plenty of CON potions so up to 726HP now, breathing more easily.

Found the ring of Barahir but i've found it's not that useful as most important stats are maxed or nearly maxed now.

With the Glaive of Pain I'm getting 4.5 blows and it says I'll get 5 with +1 DEX can I only get that +1 from another item as my stats are maxed from potions?

Resist fire will help reduce the fire damage, but it won't prevent stunning, which is the main threat from plasma.

Stats give extra bonuses up to 18/200. You can't reach that from increasing your base stats without changing one of the birth options. You can stack equipment bonuses beyond that, but won't get any further benefit. As you descend you'll get better equipment to give you more ways to increase your stats, so at some point you'll be able to wield the GOP with your max blows.

[robbiodobbio]

Plasma hounds can kill you too if you teleport into a room full of them without stun protection. I lost an early promising character that way, back in the day. Teleport self is just extremely dangerous by dl 50. Carry a couple scrolls of tele level and/or *destruction*, just in case.

Yeah, met a pack of them on the way into the vault where I met Saruman, they do serious damage, does fire resist help against plasma?

Found plenty of CON potions so up to 726HP now, breathing more easily.

Found the ring of Barahir but i've found it's not that useful as most important stats are maxed or nearly maxed now.

With the Glaive of Pain I'm getting 4.5 blows and it says I'll get 5 with +1 DEX can I only get that +1 from another item as my stats are maxed from potions?

[Pete Mack]

Plasma hounds can kill you too if you teleport into a room full of them without stun protection. I lost an early promising character that way, back in the day. Teleport self is just extremely dangerous by dl 50. Carry a couple scrolls of tele level and/or *destruction*, just in case.

[Scraper]

You will want to beware of hounds at these deep levels, they really ramp up in difficulty compared to the early hounds. A small pack of dangerous hounds in a large room can easily kill a close to end game character. In particular look out for Time hounds, Gravity hounds and impact hounds to a lesser degree.

Hellhounds and plasma hounds can also wreck your consumables, so be careful with them too.

Any high level casters that I have ever played (haven't won with one yet) just about banish Z the moment I enter a level. Best of luck with this run.

[Ingwe Ingweron]

Just killed Saruman and found the Glaive of Pain, is this an end-game weapon?

Yes, but it is better in the hands of some than others. For warriors it is amazing, since they have 6 blows. For mages, less so, since it's heavy and they max out at 4 blows (for a mage, an extra attacks ego weapon will often outperform the Glaive). In any event, you will want to use ?Enchant to Hit and ?*Enchant Weapon* to make the Glaive more effective, getting its To-Hit bonus up as high as +15.

[Pete Mack]

It qualifies, for sure. It is also one of the very best weapons for killing Maiar (the others being Deathwreaker and MoD+2 attacks.

[krazyhades]

Just killed Saruman and found the Glaive of Pain, is this an end-game weapon?

Yeah, the glaive can definitely go all the way. You might still find some upgrade but it would just be a luxury.

[robbiodobbio]

Just killed Saruman and found the Glaive of Pain, is this an end-game weapon?

[robbiodobbio]

Yes. 510 is a big break point--max unresisted dracolich nether damage. (533 is another-max single resist l damage.)

Just met my first one of those, it took me down to 150HP in one breath because I've got some nether resistance, it was still pretty scary though.

CON potions seem to be pretty thin on the ground, keep finding plenty of DEX and STR now I've maxed those two out, sod's law.

[krazyhades]

So it's better to have fast +9 and 527HP than fast +16 and 466HP?

Yeesh...that's a decent chunk of hitpoints you stand to gain but I still strongly lean towards favoring the speed, because there are a lot of monsters with +10 or +15 base speed, and +16 means those guys will never double move you unless they are hasted or you are slowed by a status effect, plus if you haste yourself you'll be faster than the +20 speed monsters, which are some of the nastiest (again assuming no monster hasted or player slowed shenanigans). Plus getting spiked by a high-damage-roll double-turn from a monster you've chosen to melee, especially when you've been baited in by it rolling low on its single-move turns, is a really good way to feel like an idiot.

It's also worth remembering that it is still possible to be temporarily slowed -10 by some status effects if fail your saving throw, and that some monsters can cast haste on themselves. If you're careful and able to see a monster that's faster than you from out of LOS (usually via telepathy), you can actually watch its movement to see when it gets a doublemove, which is the safest time to peek it (e.g. to use teleport other), because it will still be building up extra energy on you towards its next double. Of course, practicing to get the hang of this trick can be dangerous...

edit: yeah Pete makes a good point about the nether threshold to avoid that can 1HKO you but I personally think the bigger risk comes from double-moves until you get a feel for when monsters get their extra turns...there are a *lot* of monsters that can 2HKO you in a doublemove. With high speed you can avoid engaging the nether breathers...but of course one failure to do so can cost you the game.

[Pete Mack]

Yes. 510 is a big break point--max unresisted dracolich nether damage. (533 is another-max single resist l damage.)

[Bogatyr]

So it's better to have fast +9 and 527HP than fast +16 and 466HP?

That's a close call. You want more CON: you need to max it out (18/200) in order to dive more safely. I generally don't breath easier until I have 650HP or more. There are +20 speed baddies when you get down deeper ("very quickly") and you don't want to face them at less than +20 unless they don't breath/have no strong spell attacks, and you fight from a distance.