How important is rShards?

[Adam]

Thanks for all the suggestions. TO wand and rod will be left behind.
Emergency + clear minds served as healing potion till a few levels before (when my max HP was about 200-220) but I think now it's time to ditch the emergency mushrooms. Since I have no pConf I need clear minds. Earthquakes serves as panic button for me (it is the same spell as destruction, right? just smaller radius).
Would you switch to amulet of regen instead of weaponmastery even if I change shields to cover resist holes later? That would leave str + con not sustained.

About the bow without ammo - maybe just my stupid play style which should be improved. I usally drop vigor + restore life levels (+ extra staffs and books) while exploring (I don't need them in fights) and I pick up whatever useful I find on the level (clw, csw, curing for curing conf, arrows for fighting). Since I do have arrows sometimes I carry the bow as its weight is not much and does not need an extra inventory slot. Though I really do not use it much, I remember only one time in the whole game where I used like 15-20 arrows. If I find a bow which gives speed or resist it will be an easy switch.

[Will]

I don't contest this; more levels are always better. However, the difference in power between a level-50 character and a level-48 character are not very significant. You're more likely to benefit from using the inventory slot for something other than Restore Life Levels.

In any case, I would be very surprised if any non-High-Elf character were unable to make it to level 50 by the end of an ironman game, even if they repeatedly get experience drained. Granted I would also advise being careful around undead and not getting into gratuitous slap-fights with wights.

Actually going ironman I'm a lot less worried about the end of the game than about actually getting there. Right now at dlvl 50 clvl 35 (or so) I feel like I'm already getting behind the curve in terms of what my level should be compared to the mobs I have to fight. I have very few of the high resists covered (thankfully they are the important ones: poison, dark, nether) and many times I have to worry not to let my hp fall below 350 (out of 413...) because one breath can insta-kill me. I'd really be happy with a few more clevels (and some !const would be nice too), I can't really afford to lose one or two levels to xp drain. I'll worry a lot less about that once I'm in the clvl 48-50 range

(this last level I've picked up rLight, rDark, rNether and HoldLife so I might drop the potions soon)

[Patashu]

Regeneration is a lot more useful than you think, since it regenerates SP faster as well. Sustains/resistances are needed as swaps, more HP/SP is needed all game.

[Pete Mack]

Mage spends mana like water, so regent helps that class more than any other. Since mage does little melee, sustains and disenchantment are less important. Just TO any drainers. Later on, use destruction or banishment.

[Derakon]

Earthquakes serves as panic button for me (it is the same spell as destruction, right? just smaller radius).

It's not the same; Destruction is guaranteed to remove monsters from the radius, while Earthquake only removes them if it drops a rock on them and there is no free adjacent tile to move them into. Earthquake's uses are mostly for spamming it from a safe location to try to remove a monster that you don't want to deal with, or for trying to block off a corridor.

About the bow without ammo - maybe just my stupid play style which should be improved.

I wouldn't worry about the bow, honestly. You're right, it's light. If you were earlier in the game and weight limits were a concern, that'd be a different story.

[Adam]

Thanks again. I thought regen just improves HP regeneration but now that i see it also affects SP i agree that it is the most important for mages.

[Adam]

Rng is playing with me... just after descending to the next level first non-trivial encounter is Scatha the Worm (actually the fight was no problem at all, just about 10 rift spells from my new book, I lost no HP). He dropped Thorin + Ringil (+ Aranruth and 3 magical items which do not matter).
So I lose 3 stealth in the weapon slot but gain 7 speed + regen
Thorin is also quite good...
I'm wondering what surprise I get soon which compensates for this luck.