What am I doing wrong?

[Derakon]

Note that Banish Evil doesn't work well if you are meleeing Morgoth. Once LOS gets broken up, only a few monsters will be removed.

It can still be useful, but yeah, make certain that the monsters you're worried about will actually be hit by it. The Morgoth fight is one where it's definitely worth taking your time and carefully considering line-of-sight rules.

[Moving Pictures]

1) The general recommendation for Morgoth specifically is to use Word of Destruction before he enters the arena.

Ah, I hadn't thought of that, but yes, it's kind of like a Banish sledgehammer, innit?

Priests also get access to Banish Evil, which is a great spell so long as everything in LOS is evil. Banish Evil teleports monsters instead of removing them from the level, which importantly means that they cannot be summoned again.

Yes, I figured that part out, and used it with only an inkling of guilt when a bunch of very nasty vault meanies stood between the front entrance and what turned to be Nenya.

Also discovered the whole "monsters can come back" downfall when fighting the Qwysywhatsit.

3) The Word of Destruction tactics I outlined in (1) deal with uniques as well as normal monsters. I never bother to kill all uniques before fighting Morgoth.

None left, now. An earthquake, glyph, and a pair of wands of anhilation (with mid-battle recharge!) took care of the Tarrasque, the last unique left.

The longer you spend in the dungeon, the more opportunities you give the game to kill you. Ordinary monsters can easily be just as dangerous as uniques.

Who thought of stacking the corner of a DL40 vault with damned white lice? I mean, I have no idea what you're talking about. None.

Oh, latest giggler. Picked up a MOD of +2 extra attacks scumming for banishing scrolls. Might be the only weapon that makes me ponder sheathing Ringil.

/

[Derakon]

Ah, I hadn't thought of that, but yes, it's kind of like a Banish sledgehammer, innit?

It does that too, but I meant using Word of Destruction before the fight even starts, and then fighting in the rubble. You shouldn't have more than a few tiles of visibility in any direction, which means that generally the only monster that can hurt you on a turn is Morgoth himself. It's not perfect, though; look out for, and avoid, the occasional open area or long unobstructed "corridor". Still, a Phase Door is almost guaranteed to land you in safety, so long as you re-destruct the terrain periodically (or use Mass Banish) after having teleported Morgoth away, to clear away the chaff.

[Moving Pictures]

It does that too, but I meant using Word of Destruction before the fight even starts, and then fighting in the rubble. You shouldn't have more than a few tiles of visibility in any direction, which means that generally the only monster that can hurt you on a turn is Morgoth himself. It's not perfect, though; look out for, and avoid, the occasional open area or long unobstructed "corridor". Still, a Phase Door is almost guaranteed to land you in safety, so long as you re-destruct the terrain periodically (or use Mass Banish) after having teleported Morgoth away, to clear away the chaff.

Took a staggeringly long period of real-world time - frig, almost an hour and a half - but chiselled away at the big guy with nothing more than ringil and OOD. There were two periods where all he did was dance around a rune of protection, which was key. Seemed like he was at half-bars all day long, though.

[Derakon]

Congratulations!

[Grotug]

Congrtats! An hour and a half isn't that long. What was the damage difference bewteen Ringil and the MoD <+2>? What was your speed during the fight?

[Ighalli]

Congrats! How about submitting a character dump and post up the link so we can take a look?

[Moving Pictures]

Congrats! How about submitting a character dump and post up the link so we can take a look?

Might not happen. Started another character, but then moved to 4.1.2, which is despicably evil. Lost six yesterday.

[Moving Pictures]

Congrtats! An hour and a half isn't that long. What was the damage difference bewteen Ringil and the MoD <+2>? What was your speed during the fight?

Toys gave a base of 34, IIRC, and I pushed it to 44 with a potion. Left the mace at home, as I wanted the +10 speed from Ringil.