Priest endgame

[brbrbr]

Folk,

How do you play priest in endgame?

My understanding Orb of Draining is no longer efficient - damage too small.
Priest is also bad at firing weapons.

Melee?
Is priest strong enough to stand against Ancalagon, Sauron and Morgoth in melee??

[Derakon]

This is the priest's big problem, yes -- he's practically indestructible but doesn't have great offense.

Orb can work; it's slow but very reliable. If you find a good weapon or launcher, then melee or ranged attacks can also work, supplemented of course by copious healing. Wands of Annihilation are another good option, though you should expect them to eventually explode when you try to recharge them.

If I recall correctly, the last priest I played ended up going melee with a Holy Avenger Mace of Disruption (or Scythe of Slicing or something). Even with only four blows per round and middling accuracy, it still put out decent damage.

[Zikke]

Half troll priests are pretty fun if you know ahead of time you want to go the melee route. Might need to augment the WIS score with some gear though to get to 0% fail.

[Carnivean]

Is priest strong enough to stand against Ancalagon, Sauron and Morgoth in melee??

With enough restore mana potions, a priest can stand in front of anything in the game and wear it down. With their various healing spells, they're the ultimate tank. Dwarves are rather popular, due to the extra hit die per level, giving a bit more leeway between healing spells.

[Thraalbee]

I usually wait until I get a good MoD, BoC with slay evil or a rare top artifact. 400 damage per round is more than enough but even less is doable. Always stay at max health and get rid of dangerous summons to minimise risk and the longer fight is "safe". If you keep a rune under yourself too it is even easier. But then you get an even longer fight. Fighting in a vault helps reducing summons issue but I usually destruct at the edge and fight there.

[Werbaer]

My understanding Orb of Draining is no longer efficient - damage too small.
Melee? Is priest strong enough to stand against Ancalagon, Sauron and Morgoth in melee??

Orb damage is bad against non-evil monsters (unique Ainur) and self-healers (especially Ungoliant). Against the 3 you listed, it is enough. I just killed Morgoth with 138 Orbs in a big open area - he's not so dangerous when he doesn't get into melee range (and Banish Evil is great to ensure this, and get rid of most summons).

[Timo Pietilä]

With enough restore mana potions, a priest can stand in front of anything in the game and wear it down.

I can confirm that: I once beat Morgoth by hitting it to head with Belthronding (before dual-wield) with priest.

[Carnivean]

I can confirm that: I once beat Morgoth by hitting it to head with Belthronding (before dual-wield) with priest.

At what point did you realise it was Belthronding?

[Timo Pietilä]

At what point did you realise it was Belthronding?

After Morgoth was dead. I'm not sure what I felt about that.