What am I doing wrong?

**Sideways** · March 9, 2018, 18:23

Mages are weak in the early game and strong in the late game, so getting a mage to level 30 is a good start.

Priests are probably the simplest class to play; you can rely on orb of draining for offense, even against deep monsters until you find a good melee weapon, and use portal/teleport other/healing prayers/detection prayers as appropriate. Zero-fail Holy Word is really powerful.

I usually hang around in the dungeon level 32-42 range for long enough that by the time I'm done (usually clvl 38-ish) I'm really strong and can handle everything at that depth comfortably. What many other experienced players do, though, is dive through that area (and indeed most of the dungeon) speedily, detect a lot so they know what they're running into, avoid fights too big for them and grab deep-dungeon loot. The somewhat counterintuitive thing is that both of these approaches probably work better than the "intuitive" approach of a steady but not particularly fast descent.

The general rules: try to fight dangerous monsters one at a time, regardless of your class; don't try to kill everybody you meet, unless you're really strong for the depth (like a slow grinding player might be), and even then make exceptions for totally out-of-depth guys; teleport other is safer than teleport (unless you're fighting lots of monsters at once) because teleport can land you in a new bad situation, but teleport is still heaps safer than dying. Creating anti-summoning corridors lets you pick your terrain and reduces the chance you'll end up fighting more monsters than you'd like; and hockey sticks are really strong to the extent that players like me find them too unsporting/exploity to use.

**Derakon** · March 9, 2018, 18:32

You need to be aware of what's around you. Mages, rogues, and rangers should be regularly casting Detect Monsters (or later, Reveal Monsters, which shows invisible monsters as well). Priests, paladins, and warriors should be using Detect Evil (warriors have to use staves). If there's a nasty monster somewhere, just avoid them! There's an infinitude of dungeon levels so there's no reason to clear every one.

You mention using Rods of Curing. Use Potions of Cure Critical Wounds instead; they succeed 100% of the time, and restore some HP as well.

For level drainers and enemies that damage armor, avoid melee range. You should always be carrying a big stack of scrolls of Phase Door, regardless of what class you play as; use them to stay away from enemies with nasty melee, and wear the enemy down with missiles, wands, or spells. Speaking of which, high magic device skill gives you extra damage from wands, rods, activatable equipment, etc. Mages get a lot of extra mileage out of devices thanks to their high magic device skill, to the point that devices are often more powerful than their attack spells.

Upload a character dump to the ladder and post a link here and we can give you more advice.

**Moving Pictures** · March 9, 2018, 18:47

Originally posted by Derakon

You need to be aware of what's around you. Mages, rogues, and rangers should be regularly casting Detect Monsters (or later, Reveal Monsters, which shows invisible monsters as well). Priests, paladins, and warriors should be using Detect Evil (warriors have to use staves). If there's a nasty monster somewhere, just avoid them! There's an infinitude of dungeon levels so there's no reason to clear every one.

Doing that already. MAG MAB MCG are kinda ingrained in the fingers, for mages/rangers.

And to the previous reply: if I'm being murdered at 40, how is going down deeper going to avoid being murdered?

You mention using Rods of Curing. Use Potions of Cure Critical Wounds instead; they succeed 100% of the time, and restore some HP as well.

That presumes they exist. Potions vanish, rods do not.

For level drainers and enemies that damage armor, avoid melee range. You should always be carrying a big stack of scrolls of Phase Door, regardless of what class you play as; use them to stay away from enemies with nasty melee, and wear the enemy down with missiles, wands, or spells.

Doing that, too. Doesn't stop being mugged by level-drainers that come through the wall, or various nasties that summon level--drainers while the character is stunned/confused.

Speaking of which, high magic device skill gives you extra damage from wands, rods, activatable equipment, etc. Mages get a lot of extra mileage out of devices thanks to their high magic device skill, to the point that devices are often more powerful than their attack spells.

Upload a character dump to the ladder and post a link here and we can give you more advice.

Don't know how to do that.

**Philip** · March 9, 2018, 18:49

I suspect there are two parts of the issue, specifically the strategic problem of fighting too much, which you'll have to reorient your play to avoid, and the secondary problem of not having an intuition of which monsters it is you're not supposed to fight, which is hard to gain other than through dying a lot.
There is another thing that struck me, specifically that your mages and rangers take stat/xp damage? This should never happen. Perhaps you don't know which monsters drain xp yet (though I think probing is still in the game), but you should not be next to monsters as a mage, and you should not be next to anything that could possibly do anything interesting to you as a ranger, at least until you have a handle on the game.

Your problem with the mage seems to be a mixture of expecting to kill things (don't fight things if teleporting away is safer, and detect like your life depends on it, because it does) and not having some devices on hand to supplement mana. A couple rods can kill weak things for you, and a high-powered wand can be recharged and used on tougher prey. Only use mana to finish things off. Detect, and if you haven't seen the monster before, and don't think you could kill with rods, avoid it, and teleport if needed. Then detect some more.

Rogue is as before, except the category of things you can reasonably kill is quite different, and you replace a lot of teleportation with stealth. Continue detecting though.

Everyone will have a character die to gravity hounds at some point, they're pretty horrible. Leave the level if you see a pack of those, leave the level if you see a dlvl70 monster.

Priest has to pick battles carefully, which is a bit harder when your detection is mediocre. Priest has three phases - in the early game they are weak, but CLW is ok and they get Portal early enough. Spam CLW and Portal, kill evil pack monsters like orcs and such, using buffs, healing, and bad melee. At some point, you will hopefully find some good +WIS and get enough SP and low enough failrate to reliably pull off a couple Orbs of Draining, at which point you can start taking on some of the squishier evil monsters. At some point, you get low-fail% healing and a good deal of mana, and you get to pick whether you just nuke stuff with Orb of Draining (it's never bad, and you can kill Morgoth with it if you're patient) and 0%fail Heal when bad things happen. You still need to run away a lot, but Priest Books 5 and 6 are amazing. They let you know when to run away, and they let you run away.

Warriors are tough. Their detection is bad, and their escapes are bad. Their only real virtue is being able to dive fast and take a bit of punishment. They're pretty good for learning what is dangerous, because a lot of dangerous stuff will just barely not kill them, and you can run a lot of them in the time it takes to run one mage. If magic is frequently a problem, you probably either aren't doing good for escapes, or you're not positioning yourself for fights too well.

Acid damage is nasty, but avoiding monsters that do melee acid should prevent your AC from getting too bad. Soon enough everything you use will not be damaged by acid, so it'll just be scrolls and such. Also watch out for melee disenchantment, it's going to start turning up around that point.

EDIT: You make a character dump in the character screen or in the death screen, the command should appear somewhere, you upload it in the ladder menu.

Potions should not vanish faster than the Temple can restock them. If they do, your problem is probably that you were fighting the wrong things.

Detect Evil (or Reveal Monsters) will show you every monster that can come through a wall. If you're going to be attacked by one, post up in the middle of a room somewhere, or just teleport away. ESP would also help, though it's rather rare.

Nothing should ever be summoned while you are stunned or confused. Either you were fighting multiple dangerous monsters at once (don't do this), some kind of spellcaster who is faster than you (also don't do this), or you were stunned or confused and didn't clear the status instantly (drink CCW). The problem is not the monsters getting summoned while you're indisposed, the problem is that you didn't prevent this situation earlier, through detection + evasion, teleportation, stealth, or tactics/positioning. Also don't fight things that summon undead and don't fight undead, it is never worth it.

**Ingwe Ingweron** · March 9, 2018, 18:56

Learn by example. Though a little dated since they are on previous versions of the game, watch the series of "Let's Play Angband" by Fizzix on YouTube. That's what upped my game initially.

Thanks to Gwarl, you can also watch live play on angband.live. If you're watching someone good at the game, you'll learn a lot.

Also, an advertisement to play on angband.live. If you do, others can watch your play and give you some advice if you want it.

**Moving Pictures** · March 9, 2018, 19:26

Originally posted by Philip

There is another thing that struck me, specifically that your mages and rangers take stat/xp damage? This should never happen.

Always/frequently. Wraiths, who seem to like wandering through walls during an orc-bash; various "gaze to drain experience" critters, too. Ninjas that love to poison to drain strength (try wandering around a dungeon with any gear and a 9 STR), that sort of thing.

Perhaps you don't know which monsters drain xp yet (though I think probing is still in the game), but you should not be next to monsters as a mage, and you should not be next to anything that could possibly do anything interesting to you as a ranger, at least until you have a handle on the game.

Hard to avoid a master vampire that moves through walls, even with a helmet that has ESP. Couple of wraiths/dreads do that too. Death knights that move at 30 or something: hard to get away from those. Especially when something has blown up the wand of teleport, and spells are impossible because ... well, confused. Always.

Your problem with the mage seems to be a mixture of expecting to kill things (don't fight things if teleporting away is safer, and detect like your life depends on it, because it does) and not having some devices on hand to supplement mana. A couple rods can kill weak things for you, and a high-powered wand can be recharged and used on tougher prey. Only use mana to finish things off. Detect, and if you haven't seen the monster before, and don't think you could kill with rods, avoid it, and teleport if needed. Then detect some more.

This presumes that there's rods that will do the trick. Right now, ranger lvl 38 has rod of cold ball (1), a buncha frost and cold bolts for hydras/vampires. Psuedodragon armor that pumps out light/dark (which seems to work better than the red dragon that gave out 200 points of oh, crap, buddy resists that....)

Priest has to pick battles carefully, which is a bit harder when your detection is mediocre. Priest has three phases - in the early game they are weak, but CLW is ok and they get Portal early enough. Spam CLW and Portal, kill evil pack monsters like orcs and such, using buffs, healing, and bad melee. At some point, you will hopefully find some good +WIS and get enough SP and low enough failrate to reliably pull off a couple Orbs of Draining,

If magic is frequently a problem, you probably either aren't doing good for escapes, or you're not positioning yourself for fights too well.

I figure its best to put the "range" in ranger. As above, the general plan of attack is to blast arrows from afar (with a haste self/quaff a speed potion, if needed.) General protocol is to load up on 120 arrows, min, in town, before going down. And I generally use almost all of those on a level.

ESP would also help, though it's rather rare.

Both rangers have had ESP in one way or the other. Didn't help the first one, ain''t helping this one much either. Previous chars have had the teleport cloak, this one hasn't. And what are the chances of not one, but TWO staves of teleport being destroyed/drained on one level? Let me know, because it happened today. And that left me with no "out" at all. (A phase door is useless when you're sitting at 80 hp, and something moving at holycrap is coming at you while your'e still trying to quaff a CCW that will juuuuust restore the damage the bad guy is about to do to you.)
PS: the above is why I'm stocking six rods of recall.... because sorry, not taking THAT chance.

Also don't fight things that summon undead and don't fight undead, it is never worth it.

So, scum around level 5, for the rest of all time? I mean, seriously, at some point, undead and summoners enter the pic. I tried like hell to avoid The Enchantress, but had to go toe-to-toe with her and an entire playground of nasties. Chewed up a bunch of healing potions, and a restore mana. And I thought the idea was that you had to mangle the baddies to get the decent weaponry and stuff just to survive down further?

**t4nk** · March 9, 2018, 19:44

Looks like you're trying to clear a level before proceeding to the next one. There is no reason to do that (if you want to win, that is).

Originally posted by Moving Pictures

Hard to avoid a master vampire that moves through walls, even with a helmet that has ESP.

"Avoiding master vampire" looks like this: you cast detect monsters, see a master vampire and immediately go in the opposite direction, before it wakes up. If it gets too close, you teleport...

And I thought the idea was that you had to mangle the baddies to get the decent weaponry and stuff just to survive down further?

You can find stuff on the ground, no need to fight with overly tough monsters.

**Pondlife** · March 9, 2018, 19:49

I play mage pretty much exclusively now. My thoughts are:

a) If you're getting a mage to xl 30, then you're well past the difficult early stage.

b) I prioratise telepathy, as I find it to be a game-changer. You can see that pack of dreads coming at you etc.

c) There are a lot of things that should just be avoided. Your mention of "gaze to drain xp" makes me think of beholder / undead beholder, which I would almost never fight because it's just not worth it. You can generally detect and avoid things, using stone-to-mud as required.

**Sideways** · March 9, 2018, 19:49

Originally posted by Moving Pictures

And to the previous reply: if I'm being murdered at 40, how is going down deeper going to avoid being murdered?

You get better items deeper down, which will make you stronger and less prone to being murdered; and by completing the game faster you have less time to get murdered in. The idea behind the slow, grinding approach is basically that no monster you run into should ever be capable of killing you in a single turn. The idea behind the diving approach is that you accept some monsters at your depth will be capable of killing you in a single turn, but that by detecting enough you avoid running into them.

If you're deep enough that you're seeing monsters potentially capable of killing you in a single turn (which for non-grinders starts happening after 40), then you're already taking the risk that comes with diving, viz. that a single moment's carelessness might mean insta-death. That's not to say that that risk won't be greater deeper in the dungeon; but the reward will also be greater, and you'll have less time to be careless in. Watch Ingwe and see how he does it.

No matter how you play, at some point you'll have to fight monsters capable of killing you in 2 turns; and it's absolutely critical that your character has a ready, safe, figured-out way to handle fights like that. (This is simplest for a priest: heal every time you take enough damage to be killable in 1 turn.) Depending on how you approach the game (and how much damage you can take), you may either have lots of fights against monsters like that, or only two; but you can't avoid fights like that entirely.

Needless to say, never fight two monsters capable of killing you in 2 turns at the same time.

**Moving Pictures** · March 9, 2018, 19:55

Originally posted by t4nk

Looks like you're trying to clear a level before proceeding to the next one. There is no reason to do that (if you want to win, that is).

But again, how do you find reasonable items? In my experience, the good stuff (phials, arkenstones, dragon-scale armour, decent choppy/hacky weapons/bows) are either carried by uniques or nasty critters, or in vaults occupied by Vlad and his sixteen best undead friends.

"Avoiding master vampire" looks like this: you cast detect monsters, see a master vampire and immediately go in the opposite direction, before it wakes up. If it gets too close, you teleport...

Or, as has happened recently "Oh, crap. I can't handle Ren the Unclean ... *teleport* Oh, crap, I can't handle Vlad, not on 82 HP ... oh, look, my XP is yellow again." And this on a 4-6 dungeon.

**Derakon** · March 9, 2018, 20:04

To add onto what Sideways said, there will be individual monsters capable of killing you in 1 turn at some point in your game, unless you take things really painfully slowly. And there will always be scenarios where you are at risk of being killed in 1 turn because of multiple enemies. A big part of being effective in the mid- and late-game in Angband is learning to recognize when those scenarios might potentially develop, and taking steps to avoid them.

Think a few turns ahead and consider what would happen if everything went wrong. For example, what if that dragon decides to breathe next turn? I'd be at low health; do I have healing items that could heal me enough if it decided to breathe a second time? Or can I get out of line-of-sight? If I'm not able to break LOS in one turn, maybe I should spend this turn getting into a position where I can break LOS in one turn, so that if it does breathe, I can just step around the corner and have more time to recover.

On a different note, one of the tools that's been obliquely mentioned in this thread but not emphasized nearly enough is Teleport Other. If you see a single nasty enemy coming for you, you can teleport it away. This is almost always safer than teleporting yourself, since you don't really care where the enemy ends up, while you very much care where you end up after teleporting yourself. No matter what class you play as, you should be leaning hard on Teleport Other to avoid fighting unpleasant enemies.

Also, you mentioned being interrupted during an orc bash. You aren't holding down the direction keys, are you? That's an extremely easy way to die. Better to take an extra 30 seconds killing easy enemies than lose the last few hours' worth of play because something nasty killed you before you could react.

**Moving Pictures** · March 9, 2018, 20:05

Char dump

For reference: this just after mashing through an L40

Code:

  [Angband 3.5.1 Character Dump]

 Name   Leyrunner    Age             38          Self  RB  CB  EB   Best
 Sex    Male         Height        5'6"   STR! 18/100  +0  +0  +0 18/100
 Race   Half-Elf     Weight    8st 11lb   INT! 18/100  +1  +2  +2 18/150
 Class  Ranger       Turns used:          WIS! 18/100  -1  -2  +2  18/90
 Title  Pathfinder   Game       3124778   DEX! 18/100  +1  +1  +2 18/140
 HP     441/441      Standard    291992   CON! 18/100  -1  -1  +0  18/80
 SP     241/241      Resting      18617

 Level                 39    Armor     [45,+117]    Saving Throw     76%
 Cur Exp          1216371                           Stealth         Fair
 Max Exp          1216371    Melee       2d4,+18    Disarming        80%
 Adv Exp          1400000    To-hit       57,+21    Magic Devices     83
                             Blows      5.0/turn    Perception   1 in 23
 Gold              204172                           Searching        30%
 Burden         159.8 lbs    Shoot to-dam    +16    Infravision    20 ft
 Speed             Normal    To-hit       84,+22
 Max Depth    2000' (L40)    Shots        2/turn

 Your father was of the Sindar.  You are one of several children of a
 Yeoman.  You are a well liked child.  You have blue-gray eyes, curly
 black hair, and an average complexion.


rAcid:...+...++.... Nexus:...........+.
rElec:........+.... Nethr:.............
rFire:+.+.....+.... Chaos:.............
rCold:........+.... Disen:.............
rPois:............. Feath:...........+.
rLite:......+...... pFear:.......+.....
rDark:......+...... pBlnd:.........+...
Sound:............. pConf:.............
Shard:............. pStun:.............

Light:.....+....... Tunn.:.............
Regen:............. Speed:.............
  ESP:.........+... Blows:.............
Invis:.......+..... Shots:.............
FrAct:.......+..... Might:.+...........
HLife:....+........ S.Dig:....+........
Stea.:............. ImpHP:.............
Sear.:.............  Fear:.............
Infra:............+ Aggrv:.............


  [Character Equipment]

a) the Dagger 'Narthanc' (2d4) (+9,+12) [+10]
     Found lying on the floor at 100 feet (level 2).
     
     Branded with flames.
     Provides resistance to fire.
     Cannot be harmed by acid, electricity, fire, cold.
     
     When aimed, it creates a fire bolt with damage 9d8.
     Takes 9 to 16 turns to recharge.
     Your chance of success is 96.7%
     
     Combat info:
     5.0 blows/round.
     Average damage/round: 170.5 vs. creatures not resistant to fire,
     and 118.5 vs. others.
     
b) a Long Bow of Extra Might (x4) (+10,+16) <+1>
     Dropped by a Quasit at 1200 feet (level 24).
     
     +1 shooting power.
     
c) a Ring of Flames [+19]
     Dropped by an Ancient multi-hued dragon at 1850 feet (level 37).
     
     Provides resistance to fire.
     Cannot be harmed by fire.
     
d) a Ring of Acid [+15]
     Dropped by a Forest wight at 1850 feet (level 37).
     
     Provides resistance to acid.
     Cannot be harmed by acid.
     
e) an Amulet of Sustenance
     Dropped by a Greater Maia at 2000 feet (level 40).
     
     Cannot be harmed by acid, electricity, fire, cold.
     Sustains strength, intelligence, wisdom, dexterity, constitution.
     Slows your metabolism.  Sustains your life force.  
     
f) the Phial of Galadriel <+3>
     Dropped by Shagrat, the Orc Captain at 1000 feet (level 20).
     
     Cannot be harmed by acid, electricity, fire, cold.
     Radius 3 light.
     
     When activated, it lights up the surrounding area, hurting
     light-sensitive creatures.
     Takes 11 to 20 turns to recharge.
     Your chance of success is 96.4%
     
g) Pseudo-Dragon Scale Mail (-2) [32,+14]
     Found lying on the floor at 2050 feet (level 41).
     
     Provides resistance to light, dark.
     Cannot be harmed by acid, electricity, fire, cold.
     
h) the Cloak of Thorongil [1,+10]
     Dropped by a Banshee at 1600 feet (level 32).
     
     Provides resistance to acid.
     Provides protection from fear.
     Cannot be harmed by acid, electricity, fire, cold.
     Prevents paralysis.  Grants the ability to see invisible things.  
     
i) a Small Metal Shield of Resistance [5,+20]
     Found lying on the floor at 1550 feet (level 31).
     
     Provides resistance to acid, lightning, fire, cold.
     Cannot be harmed by acid, electricity, fire, cold.
     
j) the Hard Leather Cap of Thranduil [2,+10] <+2>
     Found lying on the floor in a vault at 2000 feet (level 40).
     
     +2 intelligence, wisdom.
     Provides protection from blindness.
     Cannot be harmed by acid, electricity, fire, cold.
     Grants telepathy.  
     
k) a Set of Leather Gloves of Agility [1,+1] <+2>
     Dropped by a White wraith at 1450 feet (level 29).
     
     +2 dexterity.
     
l) a Pair of Iron Shod Boots of Stability [4,+9]
     Bought from a store.
     
     Provides resistance to nexus.
     Cannot be harmed by fire.
     Feather Falling.  
     


  [Character Quiver]

n) 9 Arrows (1d4) (+0,+0)
     Combat info:
     Hits targets up to 140 feet away.
     Average damage/round: 150.8.
     35% chance of breaking upon contact.
     
o) 5 Arrows of Venom (1d4) (+4,+11)
     Found lying on the floor of a special room at 2100 feet (level
     42).
     
     Branded with venom.
     
     Combat info:
     Hits targets up to 140 feet away.
     Average damage/round: 421.2 vs. creatures not resistant to poison,
     and 240.6 vs. others.
     35% chance of breaking upon contact.
     
p) 2 Arrows of Wounding (1d4) (+15,+15)
     Found lying on the floor of a special room at 2100 feet (level
     42).
     
     Combat info:
     Hits targets up to 140 feet away.
     Average damage/round: 276.
     35% chance of breaking upon contact.
     
q) 4 Arrows (1d4) (+2,+0)
     Bought from a store.
     
     Combat info:
     Hits targets up to 140 feet away.
     Average damage/round: 150.8.
     35% chance of breaking upon contact.
     
r) 25 Arrows (1d4) (+5,+3)
     Found lying on the floor in a vault at 1950 feet (level 39).
     
     Combat info:
     Hits targets up to 140 feet away.
     Average damage/round: 175.4.
     35% chance of breaking upon contact.
     


  [Character Inventory]

a) 3 Books of Magic Spells [Magic for Beginners]
b) 3 Books of Magic Spells [Conjurings and Tricks]
c) 6 Books of Magic Spells [Incantations and Illusions]
d) 2 Books of Magic Spells [Sorcery and Evocations]
e) 2 Books of Magic Spells [Resistances of Scarabtarices]
     Cannot be harmed by acid, electricity, fire, cold.
     
f) a Book of Magic Spells [Raal's Tome of Destruction] {!d}
     Cannot be harmed by acid, electricity, fire, cold.
     
g) 7 Mushrooms of Vigor
h) 6 Potions of Cure Serious Wounds
i) 7 Potions of Cure Critical Wounds
j) 2 Potions of Healing
k) 4 Potions of Restore Mana
l) 3 Potions of Restore Life Levels
m) 6 Potions of Speed
n) 2 Rods of Fire Bolts {Vampire neutralizer}
o) 7 Rods of Frost Bolts {Hydra Neutralizer}
p) a Rod of Cold Balls
q) 3 Rods of Slow Monster
r) 7 Rods of Curing
s) 4 Rods of Recall (1 charging)
     Cannot be harmed by electricity.
     
t) 2 Wands of Teleport Other (15 charges)
u) 2 Staves of Teleportation (17 charges)


  [Home Inventory]

a) 2 Books of Magic Spells [Mordenkainen's Escapes] {!d}
     Cannot be harmed by acid, electricity, fire, cold.
     
b) 2 Mushrooms of Vigor
c) a Potion of Augmentation
     It can be thrown at creatures with damaging effect.
     
d) 3 Potions of *Healing*
     It can be thrown at creatures with damaging effect.
     
e) 36 Potions of Restore Mana
f) 5 Potions of Restore Life Levels
g) 10 Scrolls of Phase Door
h) 2 Scrolls of Magic Mapping
i) 2 Scrolls of Banishment
j) a Scroll of *Destruction*
k) a Rod of Detection
     Cannot be harmed by electricity.
     
l) 4 Rods of Probing
m) a Wand of Teleport Other (8 charges)
n) a Staff of Dispel Evil (4 charges)
o) a Ring of Constitution <+4>
     Dropped by an Ancient white dragon at 2150 feet (level 43).
     
     +4 constitution.
     Sustains constitution.
     
p) a Ring of Ice [+15]
     Dropped by a Cave troll at 2200 feet (level 44).
     
     Provides resistance to cold.
     Cannot be harmed by cold.
     
q) Red Dragon Scale Mail (-2) [24,+13]
     Found lying on the floor at 500 feet (level 10).
     
     Provides resistance to fire.
     Cannot be harmed by acid, electricity, fire, cold.
     
r) a Cloak of Aman [1,+12] <+3>
     Found lying on the floor at 1950 feet (level 39).
     
     +3 stealth.
     Provides resistance to chaos.
     Cannot be harmed by acid, electricity, fire, cold.
     
s) an Elven Cloak of Stealth [6,+3] <+1, +2>
     Found lying on the floor of a cavern at 1350 feet (level 27).
     
     +1 speed.
     +2 stealth.
     
t) an Iron Crown of the Magi [0,+8] <+3>
     Found lying on the floor in a vault at 1600 feet (level 32).
     
     +3 intelligence.
     Provides resistance to acid, lightning, fire, cold.
     Cannot be harmed by acid, electricity, fire, cold.
     Sustains intelligence.
     Sustains your life force.  
     
u) the Iron Helm 'Holhenneth' [7,+10] <+2>
     Found lying on the floor at 1300 feet (level 26).
     
     +2 intelligence, wisdom.
     +10% to searching.
     Provides protection from blindness, confusion.
     Cannot be harmed by acid, electricity, fire, cold.
     Grants the ability to see invisible things.  
     
     When activated, it detects treasure, traps, doors, stairs, and all
     creatures nearby.
     Takes 56 to 110 turns to recharge.
     Your chance of success is 95.0%
     
v) the Pair of Leather Boots of Radagast [2,+10] <+5, +3, +1>
     Found lying on the floor in a vault at 1600 feet (level 32).
     
     +5 infravision.
     +3 stealth.
     +1 wisdom.
     Provides resistance to cold.
     Cannot be harmed by acid, electricity, fire, cold.
     Feather Falling.  Prevents paralysis.  
     
w) the Broad Sword 'Glamdring' (2d5) (+10,+15) <+1>
     Found lying on the floor at 1150 feet (level 23).
     
     +5% to searching.
     Slays evil creatures, demons, orcs.
     Branded with flames.
     Provides resistance to fire, light.
     Cannot be harmed by acid, electricity, fire, cold.
     Blessed by the gods.  Slows your metabolism.  
     Radius 1 light.
     
     Combat info:
     4.0 blows/round.
     With +3 STR and +0 DEX you would get 4.3 blows
     With +0 STR and +1 DEX you would get 4.5 blows
     Average damage/round: 141.2 vs. evil creatures, 167.2 vs. demons,
     167.2 vs. orcs, 167.2 vs. creatures not resistant to fire, and
     115.2 vs. others.
     
x) an Awl-Pike of Westernesse (1d8) (+6,+10) <+2, +1>
     Conjured forth by magic at 1550 feet (level 31).
     
     +2 strength, constitution.
     +1 dexterity.
     Slays orcs, trolls, giants.
     Prevents paralysis.  Grants the ability to see invisible things.  
     
     Combat info:
     4.5 blows/round.
     With +2 STR and +0 DEX you would get 4.7 blows
     With +0 STR and +3 DEX you would get 5.0 blows
     Average damage/round: 152 vs. orcs, 152 vs. trolls, 152 vs.
     giants, and 108 vs. others.
     


[Player history]
      Turn   Depth  Note
         0      0'  Began the quest to destroy Morgoth.
       461     50'  Reached level 2
      1369    100'  Killed Fang, Farmer Maggot's dog
      1369    100'  Reached level 3
      1684    100'  Reached level 4
      2369    100'  Reached level 5
      2966    100'  Killed Grip, Farmer Maggot's dog
      3983    150'  Reached level 6
      5307    150'  Reached level 7
     11618     50'  Found the Dagger 'Nimthanc' (LOST)
     12564    100'  Reached level 8
     13225    100'  Found the Dagger 'Narthanc'
     16609    150'  Killed Sméagol
     16776    200'  Reached level 9
     18689    250'  Killed Bullroarer the Hobbit
     18689    250'  Reached level 10
     20801    300'  Reached level 11
     23203    350'  Reached level 12
     24777      0'  Killed Farmer Maggot
     26948    350'  Reached level 13
     29366    400'  Killed Wormtongue, Agent of Saruman
     30085    450'  Reached level 14
     30455    450'  Killed Lagduf, the Snaga
     31769    500'  Reached level 15
     31783    500'  Killed Mughash the Kobold Lord
     31933    500'  Killed Orfax, Son of Boldor
     32887    500'  Reached level 16
     33269    500'  Reached level 17
     33342    500'  Reached level 18
     36219    550'  Reached level 19
     38497    600'  Reached level 20
     40711   1000'  Reached level 21
     41195   1000'  Killed Nár, the Dwarf
     41846   1000'  Reached level 22
     44592   1000'  Reached level 23
     44814   1000'  Killed Shagrat, the Orc Captain
     44991   1000'  Found the Phial of Galadriel
     45450   1000'  Killed Gorbag, the Orc Captain
     45732   1000'  Reached level 24
     45983   1000'  Killed Ulfast, Son of Ulfang
     50269   1050'  Reached level 25
     53918   1150'  Reached level 25
     54009   1150'  Killed Grishnákh, the Hill Orc
     54441   1150'  Killed Brodda, the Easterling
     54955   1150'  Killed Lugdush, the Uruk
     55097   1150'  Found the Broad Sword 'Glamdring'
     55898   1150'  Killed Golfimbul, the Hill Orc Chief
     58332   1150'  Killed Bolg, Son of Azog
     58357   1150'  Killed Ulwarth, Son of Ulfang
     59589   1200'  Reached level 26
     62572   1200'  Killed Ibun, Son of Mîm
     68668   1350'  Reached level 27
     70179   1400'  Killed Sangahyando of Umbar
     70216   1400'  Killed Angamaitë of Umbar
     70229   1400'  Found the Hard Leather Armour of Himring (LOST)
     74495   1350'  Killed Khîm, Son of Mîm
     77169   1300'  Reached level 28
     86769   1400'  Reached level 29
     89037   1350'  Reached level 29
     91629   1350'  Reached level 29
     97930   1300'  Found the Iron Helm 'Holhenneth'
     98164   1250'  Reached level 29
    105936   1200'  Killed Ufthak of Cirith Ungol
    117973   1450'  Reached level 30
    121936   1450'  Reached level 30
    124898   1400'  Reached level 30
    127598   1400'  Killed Uldor the Accursed
    132871   1400'  Killed Bert the Stone Troll
    132873   1400'  Killed Tom the Stone Troll
    132886   1400'  Killed Bill the Stone Troll
    135684   1500'  Reached level 31
    139154   1500'  Killed Uglúk, the Uruk
    140405   1500'  Found the Long Sword 'Elvagil' (LOST)
    153713   1550'  Killed Beorn, the Shape-Changer
    162039   1600'  Reached level 32
    164536   1500'  Killed Azog, King of the Uruk-Hai
    171018   1600'  Reached level 32
    173258   1600'  Found the Cloak of Thorongil
    175965   1600'  Killed Boldor, King of the Yeeks
    178588   1600'  Found the Pair of Leather Boots of Radagast
    186579   1700'  Killed Rogrog the Black Troll
    189138   2000'  Reached level 33
    191713   1950'  Killed Castamir the Usurper
    193625      0'  Reached level 33
    207839   1900'  Killed The Queen Ant
    207839   1900'  Reached level 34
    209773   1900'  Killed Mîm, Betrayer of Turin
    217835   1850'  Reached level 35
    229425   2000'  Reached level 36
    231773   2000'  Found the Hard Leather Cap of Thranduil
    237465   2050'  Reached level 36
    239854      0'  Reached level 36
    246287   2150'  Reached level 37
    247641   2150'  Reached level 37
    258004   2200'  Reached level 37
    263576   2150'  Reached level 38
    266704   2100'  Killed Lorgan, Chief of the Easterlings
    268990   2100'  Killed Lokkak, the Ogre Chieftain
    269270   2100'  Reached level 37
    269270   2100'  Reached level 38
    279173      0'  Reached level 38
    288140   2000'  Reached level 39


  [Options]

  [User interface]

Use the roguelike command keyset             : no  (rogue_like_commands)
Use old target by default                    : no  (use_old_target)
Automatically clear '-more-' prompts         : no  (auto_more)
Always pickup items                          : no  (pickup_always)
Always pickup items matching inventory       : yes (pickup_inven)
Notify on object recharge                    : no  (notify_recharge)
Show flavors in object descriptions          : no  (show_flavors)
Center map continuously                      : no  (center_player)
Disturb whenever viewable monster moves      : yes (disturb_near)
Show damage player deals to monsters         : no  (show_damage)
Highlight target with cursor                 : yes (show_target)
Color: Illuminate torchlight in yellow       : no  (view_yellow_light)
Color: Shimmer multi-colored things          : no  (animate_flicker)
Color: Player color indicates % hit points   : yes (hp_changes_color)
Color: Show unique monsters in purple        : no  (purple_uniques)
Show walls as solid blocks                   : no  (solid_walls)
Show walls with shaded background            : no  (hybrid_walls)
Allow mouse clicks to move the player        : yes (mouse_movement)
Use sound                                    : no  (use_sound)

  [Birth]

Randomise the artifacts (except a very few)  : no  (birth_randarts)
Use previous set of randarts                 : yes (birth_keep_randarts)
Monsters learn from their mistakes           : no  (birth_ai_learn)
Force player descent                         : no  (birth_force_descend)
Word of Recall has no effect                 : no  (birth_no_recall)
Halve view and spell distances               : no  (birth_small_range)
Restrict creation of artifacts               : no  (birth_no_artifacts)
Don't stack objects on the floor             : no  (birth_no_stacking)
Lose artifacts when leaving level            : no  (birth_no_preserve)
Don't generate connected stairs              : no  (birth_no_stairs)
Don't show level feelings                    : no  (birth_no_feelings)
Increase gold drops but disable selling      : yes (birth_no_selling)
Start with a kit of useful gear              : yes (birth_start_kit)

**t4nk** · March 9, 2018, 20:26

Originally posted by Moving Pictures

But again, how do you find reasonable items? In my experience, the good stuff (phials, arkenstones, dragon-scale armour, decent choppy/hacky weapons/bows) are either carried by uniques or nasty critters, or in vaults occupied by Vlad and his sixteen best undead friends.

Simple, you don't need reasonable items to go deep, you can go with bad ones. Most important items are sold in town (staves of detect monster, teleport, etc). And in the depths even weak monsters start to drop good things - snagas dropping stat potions, stuff like that. So I just do without arkenstones

Or, as has happened recently "Oh, crap. I can't handle Ren the Unclean ... *teleport* Oh, crap, I can't handle Vlad, not on 82 HP ... oh, look, my XP is yellow again." And this on a 4-6 dungeon.

Well. Ideally, you should know whether you can handle Ren the Unclean before fighting him (and if you can't, then you don't). Of course, the game doesn't give you info about Ren when you've just met him... it's old school design or something

I recall there was a way to get full info by copying monster.txt from some place to another.

**Philip** · March 9, 2018, 20:32

Mordenkainen is probably the best and most important spellbook in the game. Even if you won't ever have 0% fail, it provides a whole lot of very useful spells to avoid fights. I imagine Teleport Level is already available for you. Use it often, because the longer you stay on a live, the more likely something is to spawn (awake) and murder you. Or something might wake up and murder you.

A good indication that the reason you die at dlvl 40 is because you stay there too long is that your stats are maxed.

3 stealth from Radagast is better than rNexus, IMO. I don't know how much HP +4 CON would give you but swap in the CON ring. The activation on elemental rings is nice, but not worth dying for. If you find any other nice rings, remember that you're a ranger, and if AC starts mattering, something has clearly gone terribly wrong.

If you run out of arrows a lot, fight less and leave levels more. Bring more ammo, unless it burdens you too far.

This is contentious, but if you use Radagast, Thorongil will only be giving you SI, which you can do without if you have telepathy and detect invisible. At that point, I would swap it out for one of your other cloaks. This could give you respectable stealth (+6 gives you 4x more time before anything wakes up) at low cost.

You are taking way too much xp damage (especially if you value Hold Life as much as you seem to). Run away before anything that causes that comes near, especially anything that can do it at range (which is rare). Teleport away if you have to. Teleport level if you have to.

I don't know how you lost Himring. It's a shame, since it gives 3 good resists and would be very handy now that you have rBase covered.

Never ever ever clear a level. If you find yourself near a staircase, and have no important plans on your current level, take the stairs. This will take you steadily downwards, but that's not too bad.

What am I doing wrong?

What am I doing wrong?

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment