First rogue past level 10 I think

[wobbly]

I only vaguely know the mechanics here, but the "slay" or "elemental brand" applies before damage bonuses. So it multiplies the base weapon damage before adding the +damage. It gets a bit unpredictable. A =mouse can increase damage (extra blows from dex) or decrease it (-damage) & brands/slays complicate it.

[Petoften]

Yikes. Found an ancient white dragon - ok - and then a little above, 'Smaug the Golden' described as the most powerful dragon.

[Petoften]

Found an interesting weapon. It's a pick.

But it's (14,14) so it actually does a little more damage.

And it's acid branded. Not sure why that's so useful? Low monster resists?

It also causes earthquakes.

Hm.

[Petoften]

Use the staff to get out of trouble before it gets desperate. Use the scrolls when it is desperate. Phase door is not a reliable escape, except in a vault, when it is ideal. Teleport Self is not reliable either--you may end up in just as much trouble as you left. Teleport Level and Destruction are the only really reliable escapes--always buy them when they show up in the black market. Banishment and mass banishment too, of course.

Thing is, the full inv doesn't really allow carrying both - it's more of a choice. Ya, phase door usually gets you to a free spot, but not always.

[Pete Mack]

Use the staff to get out of trouble before it gets desperate. Use the scrolls when it is desperate. Phase door is not a reliable escape, except in a vault, when it is ideal. Teleport Self is not reliable either--you may end up in just as much trouble as you left. Teleport Level and Destruction are the only really reliable escapes--always buy them when they show up in the black market. Banishment and mass banishment too, of course.

[Petoften]

I'm weighing scrolls of teleportation and a staff. Scrolls are guaranteed, but run out. What if I run out?

Maybe it's ok to go staff instead, and not use it in an emergency - use phase door to get where I can use the staff.

[Petoften]

Teleport Other is juat so much more reliable than Polymorph. Why bother with the latter after you find the former?

Well, one reason is the permanence of its effect. That Knight Templar I think I had to teleport other at least 5 times trying to get to the stairs. Stalker!

[Pete Mack]

Teleport Other is juat so much more reliable than Polymorph. Why bother with the latter after you find the former?

[Petoften]

Knight templar - too strong to bother with.

Tried a polymorph, no - not sure if resisted or immune of if we can tell.

[Petoften]

Yeesh, back to dlevel 43, it has 'Omens' danger and right away I see a master lich worth over 13k exp a room away.

Unique dropped a glaive of lightning that does 94 to things not vulnerable to lightning but not sure it's worth keeping.

[Petoften]

Well yes. Hobbit ranger has good dex anyway, so pumping it up further won't do much good. And nothing makes much difference in base archery damage except total enchantment level, and arrow dice.

A ring of accuracy might help you in melee by making it more likely to hit the monster. Just look at the to_hit probability on a known enemy. Overall damage is probability times nominal damage, and hobbit ranger has really lousy melee skill.

Ya, I don't really care about melee except when it's needed or to finish off 1 shot things. Still looking at what rings to use, but one I use is mouse.

[Pete Mack]

Well yes. Hobbit ranger has good dex anyway, so pumping it up further won't do much good. And nothing makes much difference in base archery damage except total enchantment level, and arrow dice.

A ring of accuracy might help you in melee by making it more likely to hit the monster. Just look at the to_hit probability on a known enemy. Overall damage is probability times nominal damage, and hobbit ranger has really lousy melee skill.

[Petoften]

Found a ring of DEX 4, similar to accuracy it barely nudged range damage, and raised dragon damage while greatly lowering normal melee damage.

[luneya]

That's the only real way for me to do it as I run across things, other than keeping a text file or something to wait to post.

The ancient red dragon seemed to be mainly melee damage, that took almost all my HP in one round.

Why wouldn't that be a problem for a ranger? He moved to me fast so I couldn't get more than one shot off before he did (small room).

Yeah, ancient dragons have pretty strong melee in addition to their breath weapons. And once you start seeing ancient multi-hued, watch out. All the multi-hued dragons are nastier than their monochromatic kin, but the difference in strength is really significant for the ancients. Don't assume you can fight an AMHD just because you've survived against other ancient dragons; it will kill you dead without breaking a sweat.

[Derakon]

That's the only real way for me to do it as I run across things, other than keeping a text file or something to wait to post.

Keep the text file and wait to post. Seriously. I'd wager that more than half the community is ignoring your threads because they get updated so frequently with such low-density content.