Equipment Question

[fph]

Is staff of healing useful in the final fights? Both of them drains charges and a warrior will melee and is not likely to recharge the staff.

Yes, you are correct; edited almost immediately after re-reading; I meant a rod.

[Pete Mack]

Where are your books? Paladins get some very good spells. Resist heat and cold is critical, as is detection. Mapping is very useful. Eventually you get 5% fail Healing. Etc.

[wobbly]

I find the recharge on rod of healing too slow. I'd save that slot for something else unless you have multiples, particullarly on a paladin. I often bring staves & wands into the final fight as I'm starting at range then dropping them before melee. You may or may not want to do this, depends how likely you are to forget you are carrying them.

[fph]

Aren't the dumps posted here warriors? A dunadan and a half-troll.

[wobbly]

Aren't the dumps posted here warriors? A dunadan and a half-troll.

Yeah ok, I blame Pete. Guess it answers the where are your books question

[Pete Mack]

Whoops. Somehow I saw paladins. Doh!

[Driftwood]

Now my equipment is getting disenchanted. There is gear to resist that, right?

[Hounded]

Using Ranged Weapons and impersonation of Brave Sir Robin are my usual resistance to Disenchantment.

If you're fortunate there are a few artifacts that'll give you that. I think Thorins Shield is one and I've occasionally had it show up on an "? of Elvenkind". There's at least one amulet as well if memory serves.

[fph]

Now my equipment is getting disenchanted. There is gear to resist that, right?

+1 for the Sir Robin approach. "There is no rule that says you have to fight everything", and this is a rule you'd better learn if you want to stay alive in the bottom half of the dungeon. Nightcrawler? Nope. Greater Balrog? Bye. Grand Master Mystic (at least as a melee character)? Arrivederci. Maya of Kick-Ass? Saludos. Time hound? Sayonara. Tarrasque? Tschüssikovsky. You get the gist.

[DavidMedley]

OK, but what tools do you use to avoid? Detection, teleport other... what else?

[mrfy]

OK, but what tools do you use to avoid? Detection, teleport other... what else?

Staff of Teleportation, Word of Recall Scroll, finding stairs...

[archolewa]

OK, but what tools do you use to avoid? Detection, teleport other... what else?

*Destruction* is also an incredibly useful one, since it's the only way (other than killing them) to throw uniques off a level. Especially useful against Maeglin or other uniques who think walls are more guidelines than actual rules. I get tremendous satisfaction out of luring undead out of a graveyard and then Destructing them with a priest. Bonus points for not hurting you, so you don't have to worry about accidentally murdering yourself because there are 50 U's on the level or something.

In fact, I get tremendous satisfaction out of Destructing dang near everything as a high level priest.

Maeglin? *Destruction*

Greater Balrogs? *Destruction*

Hounds of Tindalos? *Destruction*

Fire Hounds? *Destruction*

[Ed_47569]

If you're fortunate there are a few artifacts that'll give you that. I think Thorins Shield is one and I've occasionally had it show up on an "? of Elvenkind". There's at least one amulet as well if memory serves.

Thorin gives rSound and rChaos but not rDisenchant.

Mithril Plate of Celeborn, Cap of Celebrimbor, Shield of Gil-Galad, Lond Sword Anduril, Bastard Sword Calris, Battle Axe Lotherang, MoD Deathwreaker and Long Bow Belthronding all give it and probably some others that escape me right now.

Ego shields of Preservation also give it, along with hLife and sustains. Amulets of Weaponmastery are my usual choice for warriors, giving rDisenchant and other useful fighting bonuses.

Then you have Chaos, Balance and Power DSM which all have it. Cloaks of Aman and armour / shields of Elvenkind may also give it randomly.

[Driftwood]

If I run away from or use *destruction* on everything, how can I get better artifacts?

[fph]

If I run away from or use *destruction* on everything, how can I get better artifacts?

From all the other monsters that are *not* too dangerous to fight! For instance, dragons that you can handle easily (thanks to your resistances and immunities) are big loot pinatas. Some demons aren't dangerous at all and drop a good amount of items.

For instance, compare hydras and golden dragons: hydras are more dangerous than dragons (they summon other monsters, they poison you forcing to use potions, they burn stuff in your inventory), and drop only gold. On the other hand, if you resist sound (and often even if you don't), golden dragons are an easy fight, and the later ones (mature and Ds) drop multiple good items.

A lot of excellent stuff just lies on the ground in special rooms.

*Destruction* destroys stuff, as you have noticed, but if you have a source of teleport other you can use it to pick your fights and teleport away dangerous monsters from a vault full of items. Staffs of genocide, if you are lucky enough to find one, are another way to clean out vaults from non-unique dangerous monsters.