Noob/Intermediate questions

[VeritasAequitas]

Alright, im at the point where i think im making fairly good progress through the game, and in real danger of making to endgame quality gear and kit but there are some things that i just dont know, and unsure if there is a resource already out there for these sorts of questions. If there is, a link would be most welcome and valid response . Anyway, asking here for some of you vets to help clear up the following:

Archery:
1) How is archery damage calculated, and in what order? So i have a weapon with an x3 modifier, what is that and when does it apply? If a bow has extra shooting power, or shooting speed, what does that actually mean?
Can anyone shed light on how this calculation with ammo and weapon is actually done? An example calc would be fine

2) On the same note, my arrows/bolts are listed as dmg/round value. But, if i am firing more than one arrow per round, than my max damage in my pack is lower correct? ie, if i do 300/dmg a round with an arrow, and i have 40 arrows, my effective dmg is around 300*40 in the quiver. but if im firing 2 arrows a round, as might be described by the value, my effective dmg might only be 300*20.
Is speed taken into account with this calc? so if i have +10 speed, is the dmg/round calc already double normal?

Level feelings:
3) How is the -x level feeling generated. Does it include monsters generated as part of the level, or just items on the ground? Do chests count? Im asking because i want to know if i come across a -8 level if i need to find all the items AND open all the chests/monsters to get to my item.

Stats:
4) How do stats work with potions etc? I see in my character i have 14 inate strength say, but then 18/10 or something on my main stat. What is the relationship between them and what does it matter? ive noticed that sometimes when i drink a potion of con for instance i get 2 extra hit points, but other times i get an extra 50 or so. Is this rng or linked to the relationship between these stats in some way?

Thanks in advance

[Selkie]

Level feelings:
3) How is the -x level feeling generated. Does it include monsters generated as part of the level, or just items on the ground? Do chests count? Im asking because i want to know if i come across a -8 level if i need to find all the items AND open all the chests/monsters to get to my item.

Thanks in advance

Figure on the left is scary monsters and is generated immediately on entry. Figure on the right is loot and is a good indication but not generally so useful.

For example, Wrath of the Valar could trigger a high feeling but wouldn't be much use to anybody but a priest.

Potions of experience and high rings of speed generate very high feelings. That said, sometimes I'm looking for an artifact torch or Phial and they will only typically generate a 5.

Chests and their contents don't trigger feelings, but obviously there might be something juicy inside.

Sometimes there can be a really high feeling and you've scoured the level and can't find anything. This can be because a potion has shattered in a scrap, cold breathers are superb at smashing potions and you don't even realise it. Good spell books won't burn. Monsters can also pick up treasures which is quite annoying.

In short, a feeling of 8 is certainly worth exploring to the maximum. At lower levels you will generally get a good idea over time what have the trigger and it can often be disappointing. My rogue once found an amulet of devotion in the first couple of levels. It had a high feeling but I was disappointed with the find.

Dragon armour and wands of teleport other are other likely early high level triggers.

Around level 40 the likelihood of a 5 is much higher and on dlvl90-99 you will regularly be triggering 7s.

Rogues are great at finding treasures with their early detection. Priests get very good at level 37 when they can use clairvoyance. I always like to stock up on potions of enlightenment when I'm farming, these make life much easier.

The main thing is not to obsess over feelings and plenty play without feelings. There's always another dungeon, and there's always something juicier around the corner.

An early artifact or boots of speed can make the first 30 character levels fly by, but in the long run they have very little impact on the outcome of a game. By clvl50 you'll have such a horde of loot in the home that you won't know what to do with it all.

[Selkie]

Stats:
4) How do stats work with potions etc? I see in my character i have 14 inate strength say, but then 18/10 or something on my main stat. What is the relationship between them and what does it matter? ive noticed that sometimes when i drink a potion of con for instance i get 2 extra hit points, but other times i get an extra 50 or so. Is this rng or linked to the relationship between these stats in some way?

Thanks in advance

Constitution stats only really start leaping up once you've gone beyond the 18/100 stage. Once you've maxed through potions you'll see an exclamation mark beside the stat and then all the potions in the world won't make you any better. But you can still increase with weapons and armour with stat gains. For example, going from 16 to 17 Constitution could give a HP gain of 15. But once you're maxed then wearing armour with +3 CON could see you adding 100HP to your character.

Eventually it will read CON! 18/*** and that's your upper limit. Only increasing the character level through XP can add further HP to the character.

I'm sure there is a very complicated calculator you could apply to discover precisely how many HP each gain would provide but it would be too complex to work out easily and wouldn't be particularly helpful if you did.

All other stats work on the same principle but obviously it's much more transparent with CON than with DEX for example.

[wobbly]

Stats:
4) How do stats work with potions etc? I see in my character i have 14 inate strength say, but then 18/10 or something on my main stat. What is the relationship between them and what does it matter? ive noticed that sometimes when i drink a potion of con for instance i get 2 extra hit points, but other times i get an extra 50 or so. Is this rng or linked to the relationship between these stats in some way?

Thanks in advance

The 1st is the stat before race/class/equipment bonuses. Its the 2nd that matters. The 1st maxes at 18/100 and the 2nd at 18/220

all stat bonuses are in tables at the start of this file:

https://github.com/angband/angband/blob/master/src/player-calcs.c

except spell fail rates which are over here:

https://github.com/angband/angband/blob/master/src/player-spell.c

With con you don't get much till you are over 18 con and high level. The difference between 12 and 13 con is 0.05 hp/level where as the difference between 18/190 and 18/200 is 1.5 hp/level.

[Selkie]

I was wondering, what determines the time before object level feeling appears? Is it a percentage of a level explored, the number of turns elapsed, or is it entirely random?

[VeritasAequitas]

Figure on the left is scary monsters and is generated immediately on entry. Figure on the right is loot and is a good indication but not generally so useful...

Thanks for that, thats all good info, but i guess my question is, is does the level feeling take into account unique/monster drops when you enter the level? Or are they generated on the fly? For example, could a level be 1-1, but a unique drop 2 rings of speed and ringil? Or is that impossible, as the drop for the monster is factored into the level feeling, and it couldnt possibly be 1-1.

That CON info is good too. So basically the first stat doesnt matter at all. Im not entirely clear on the potions/rings of CON for example type thing. So whats being said is once you get to "18/200!", potions dont work anymore to boost the stat, but you can still boost it with wearables? but even that has an upper limit called "18/***!"?

[Selkie]

A level feeling does not take into account unique monster (or in fact any monster) drops.

Yes, that's correct regarding the stats. You boost your stats to a point where potions won't work any longer and after that they can be boosted further with armour, weapons, rings, necklaces etc. The biggest stat gains start once you've passed 18

[whartung]

You could get a 9-1 level, basically very nasty creatures on a crummy level, but that doesn't mean those creatures won't drop potentially nice stuff.

[wobbly]

I was wondering, what determines the time before object level feeling appears? Is it a percentage of a level explored, the number of turns elapsed, or is it entirely random?

It's a number of squares randomly placed around the dungeon

[Adam]

That CON info is good too. So basically the first stat doesnt matter at all. Im not entirely clear on the potions/rings of CON for example type thing. So whats being said is once you get to "18/200!", potions dont work anymore to boost the stat, but you can still boost it with wearables? but even that has an upper limit called "18/***!"?

The "Self" stat can be maximum 18/100. At that point it will be displayed on the character sheet like STR! 18/100. That's the value which can be raised with stat potions until that limit (or decreased if you drink stat swap potions).
The "Self" can be increased with RB (Race Bonus which is fix), CB (Class Bonus - also fix) and EB (Equipment Bonus - this comes from your gear). The last column (Best) shows the sum of Self + RB + CB +EB and that has a maximum value of 18/220 (which is shown as 18/***).
Most stats have effective cap of 18/200 as i remember but others can correct me. For example 18/200 CON means the same HP as 18/210 or 18/***. But 18/220 INT provides better failure rate than 18/200 so that's good for mages.

[DavidMedley]

I put together a pretty rudimentary statgain calculator here:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1nAVk2AodMHloqhLBzZm7p_s4mne3My4Kyo9wODJWAFQ/edit#gid=717596599

But basically you get the most gain the closer to 18/0 you are without going under.

[VeritasAequitas]

much appreciated everyone

can anyone shed any light on the archery question? im asking cos i have some nice bolts, but im unsure of the _total_ damage that i can do with them, as im unsure how the calc works, and what the dmg per round is describing (ie is that using more than one arrow in the calc or what). id like to know before i get into fights with the big nasties, as having 6000 dmg in the quiver rather than 12000 is actually quite a big difference that i dont want to discover during a fight with saruman or something

[Monkey Face]

I believe the average damage per round is the average damage per arrow/bolt/shot/pebble. If your average damage is 300 and you have 2 shots per turn, your average damage would be 600 IF you were to hit with both missiles.

The bad news is that it doesn't take accuracy into account. So if in the above example, you had a 75% chance of hitting your target, the true average damage would only be 450 (since each shot has a 25% chance of doing 0 damage).

[Sideways]

Average damage/round assumes you spend the entire round shooting (and hitting with) missiles; so if you get say 1.4 shots/turn, divide the average damage/round by 1.4 to get the average damage per projectile.

[VeritasAequitas]

Average damage/round assumes you spend the entire round shooting (and hitting with) missiles; so if you get say 1.4 shots/turn, divide the average damage/round by 1.4 to get the average damage per projectile.

ok now i have conflicting info and even more confused...

I get what youre saying for the dmg calc per arrow, as dmg/round is not dmg per arrow. so 100/dmg per round at 1.5 shots is around 66.66dmg per arrow.

Does anyone know if speed (+10 for instance) is taken into account in the "per round" calc?
For example, if i have 1.5shots, and thats say 100dmg/round (or around 66.66 dmg per arrow). If i then go to +10 speed, does this now display 200/dmg per round (and still 66.66 dmg per arrow obv)?

Sorry if this is all nitpicking but i would really like to know how the dmg calc is done, and im afraid i cant read C that well