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d_m hit the nail on the head, but you need to add rSound to that list if you need to be able to cast spells reliably, so that's usually included. I was a bit imprecise in my terminology there. Note that melee stunning can still mess up your spells even if you have a lock.
The bit about monster gen is the basic principle behind diving, along with the way item generation works for monster drops (though floor finds are also important). Basically, a monster drops items of the depth (dlvl + monster lvl)/2. So an Uruk, which is native to dlvl 16 will drop lvl 23 items at 1500'- 2300/2=1150. That means he is not going to drop a stat potion unless you are extremely lucky. If you want him to drop a stat potion you want to be at 2200'- (2200'+800')/2=1500'. By the time you get to 3000' everything that can drop a potion can drop a stat potion.
As an example, my current character came down some stairs around 2500', detected a pack of ghouls in a room above him, with a down staircase just beyond them. Killing the ghouls (about 30 of them) netted him 4 !stat. Then he took the stairs down. That was a perfect level for him, but it would have been a real waste of time if he'd maxed his stats at 1500'.
If you play with autoscum off you will mostly be fighting the same monsters at 4000' that you would fight at 2000', but the drops will be much better. You just have to avoid the scary stuff, which is easier said than done, but possible.
The same logic applies to other things that can be dropped- if you play to just get !stat on the way down you'll get some other nice stuff incidentally. The advantage to playing this way is that every drop is potentially significant, because you might still really want (insert common ego item here). The disadvantage is that you will likely get killed a lot, particularly at first.
EDIT: and what Pete said- we wound up cross-posting there- I wouldn't have re-explained what he said otherwise. But I'm not sure I agree about not needing _tele with just rConf. If you wind up facing two or more things that can kill you the staff comes in handy. You shouldn't let that happen, but if you do you'll be glad to have the staff.
The bit about monster gen is the basic principle behind diving, along with the way item generation works for monster drops (though floor finds are also important). Basically, a monster drops items of the depth (dlvl + monster lvl)/2. So an Uruk, which is native to dlvl 16 will drop lvl 23 items at 1500'- 2300/2=1150. That means he is not going to drop a stat potion unless you are extremely lucky. If you want him to drop a stat potion you want to be at 2200'- (2200'+800')/2=1500'. By the time you get to 3000' everything that can drop a potion can drop a stat potion.
As an example, my current character came down some stairs around 2500', detected a pack of ghouls in a room above him, with a down staircase just beyond them. Killing the ghouls (about 30 of them) netted him 4 !stat. Then he took the stairs down. That was a perfect level for him, but it would have been a real waste of time if he'd maxed his stats at 1500'.
If you play with autoscum off you will mostly be fighting the same monsters at 4000' that you would fight at 2000', but the drops will be much better. You just have to avoid the scary stuff, which is easier said than done, but possible.
The same logic applies to other things that can be dropped- if you play to just get !stat on the way down you'll get some other nice stuff incidentally. The advantage to playing this way is that every drop is potentially significant, because you might still really want (insert common ego item here). The disadvantage is that you will likely get killed a lot, particularly at first.
EDIT: and what Pete said- we wound up cross-posting there- I wouldn't have re-explained what he said otherwise. But I'm not sure I agree about not needing _tele with just rConf. If you wind up facing two or more things that can kill you the staff comes in handy. You shouldn't let that happen, but if you do you'll be glad to have the staff.
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