Moria - Tips / Advice Thread

[dreamician]

So here's a character dump. I'm also posting to roguelike temple, but I really only have one guy responding. So please, if you have a few minutes, reply with tips or suggestions, that's what I'm looking for in this thread. I just noticed the minus on the shield. Have to fix that!


So basically at this point I don't have a lot of room to spare in my inventory. I only pick up items that I haven't gotten ID'd yet at the shop, or if an item turns out to be useful or better than what I'm currently hauling around.. (helmet, sword, shield).

I seem to run into stat draining monsters quite a bit now, and the ones that really hurt are the invisibles--because they always get a hit in before I can cast Sense Invisible. And if they hit, there goes a stat point. Since I'm mainly concerned with str dex con I carry backup restoration potions. It works out pretty well as I don't have to make a trip back to town just to see if they MIGHT have what I need in stock. So when I work up a decent amount of gold, I start enchanting my weapon and armor and stocking up on restoration potions until I get down to around 1,000 gold or so.

The 3d6 (plus enchantments) on the claymore really helps a lot. I'm taking out most heavy hitters with 2-3 swings. Once I realized what "disenchanter" monsters do to your equipment, I avoided them like the plague. I also had a nasty surprise when I tried "summon undead" scroll, thinking I would get some easy experience. No such luck, my friend. I got hit about four times from invisible undead, two of which were draining con and str respectively, before I was able to fight my way out of that little circle of death.

Oh, almost forgot. Currently down to 1250 feet.

Here's a dump...

 Name  : Escanor      Age          :  18   STR :  18/18
 Race  : Human        Height       :  63   INT :  6
 Sex   : Male         Weight       : 196   WIS :  13
 Class : Paladin      Social Class :  16   DEX :  17
 Title : Defender-7                        CON :  18
                                           CHR :  16

 + To Hit    :     11       Level      :      25    Max Hit Points :    295
 + To Damage :     13       Experience :   23205    Cur Hit Points :    295
 + To AC     :     12       Max Exp    :   23205    Max Mana       :     26
   Total AC  :     45       Exp to Adv :   23625    Cur Mana       :     26
                            Gold       :    1090

(Miscellaneous Abilities)

 Fighting    : Superb       Stealth     : Poor         Perception  : Bad
 Bows/Throw  : Superb       Disarming   : Good         Searching   : Poor
 Saving Throw: Excellent    Magic Device: Excellent    Infra-Vision: 0 feet

  [Character's Equipment List]

  a) You are wielding   : a Two-Handed Sword (Claymore) (3d6) (+7,+10) {Krassian}.
  b) Worn on head       : an Iron Helm [5,+2].
  c) Worn around neck   : an Amulet of Slow Digestion.
  d) Worn on body       : Bar Chain Mail (-2) [18,+2].
  e) Worn on shield arm : a Medium Metal Shield [4,-1].
  f) Worn on hands      : a Set of Gauntlets [2,+1].
  g) Right ring finger  : a Ring of Increase To-Hit (+3).
  h) Left  ring finger  : a Ring of Protection [+4].
  i) Worn on feet       : a Pair of Hard Leather Boots [3,+0].
  j) Worn about body    : a Cloak [1,+3].
  k) Light source is    : a Brass Lantern with 6153 turns of light.
  l) Secondary weapon   : a Pick (1d3) (+0,+0) (+3).

  [General Inventory List]

a) 3 Holy Books of Prayers [Beginners Handbook].
b) 3 Holy Books of Prayers [Words of Wisdom].
c) 3 Holy Books of Prayers [Chants and Blessings].
d) 2 Holy Books of Prayers [Exorcism and Dispelling].
e) 12 Rations of Food.
f) 11 Flasks of Oil.
g) 2 Potions of Super Heroism.
h) 3 Potions of Heroism.
i) a Potion of Cure Serious Wounds.
j) 4 Potions of Healing.
k) 3 Potions of Restore Strength.
l) 2 Potions of Restore Dexterity.
m) 2 Potions of Restore Constitution.
n) a Potion of Cure Critical Wounds.
o) 4 Scrolls of Word-of-Recall.
p) 4 Scrolls of Identify.
q) a Wand of Lightning Bolts {empty}.


[Tiburon Silverflame]

Been a long while since I played Moria, but from what I can see...your AC is much too low.

You say you're spending a lot of money on enchanting weapons/armor. It doesn't show on the armor. But IMO, it's a poor move, until you reach a point where money's just not a big deal.

And consider just keeping some of those Restore potions back in your home...because even if you lose 10 points from a stat, you get them all back. Free up some inventory slots, and you can bring back goodies to sell, for significantly more money. Remember: a round trip costs only the cost of 2 WoRs. One or two magical weapons can more than cover that.

I'd probably also start stashing the potions of healing, and emphasizing the Cure Crits. The Cure Serious isn't very useful, and it's burning a slot. The Healing is, I think, overkill...save them for later.

[bron]

In umoria, all of the undead are also evil. So your Paladin should be able to cast Detect Evil (which is cheap) at regular intervals to see them coming, and then use Sense Invisible when they get close, but before they start attacking you. This should help you get hit less often. Rings of See Invisible don't appear until quite late (level 40). Your most likely chance is to find a helm of See Invisible, although your *best* option would be to find a Defender weapon.

With your Dex and Str, the Claymore is probably your best choice. The heaviest weapon you could swing twice is a Rapier, and the Claymore probably does more than twice the damage with its single blow.

Your current goal should be to increase your stats. In umoria, the +stat potions start appearing at level 25 (i.e. 1250 feet, i.e. where you are right now).

Note that in umoria, speed is handled differently than in Angband. "+1" speed is more-or-less the same as "+10" in Angband, which is to say it doubles your normal speed So a "Ring of Speed (+1)" is a fabulous item. I don't believe there even is such a thing as a Ring of Speed (+2).

Let's see ... character level tops out at 40 (as opposed to 50 in Angband), and the final monster (the Balrog of Moria) is at level 50 in the dungeon.

[Derakon]

Tiburon: there's no home in Moria. He has to carry all of his gear with him all the time.

That said, assuming healing potions haven't changed much between Moria and early Angband, I'd recommend ditching the Cure Serious and carrying more Cure Critical. They won't help you all that much with your hitpoints but they should help remove status ailments (blindness, confusion, etc.). Cure Critical is more effective in this respect than Cure Serious.

Also, recharge or ditch that wand.

[HallucinationMushroom]

A Holy Avenger (HA) weapon or an amulet of the Magi are exellent items that give see invisible also. Keep an eye out for wands of wall building... they are essential if you want to kill Ancient Multihued Dragons later in the game. That, and +2 speed for the duration of the fight. Nothing gets the blood pumping like a good-old pillardance with a monster that can insta-kill you with a breath that you can't resist.

[Zikke]

Wow I miss Wands of Wall Building. Those were the good old days...


I also enjoy playing the Open Door Close Door game with insta-kill baddies. Good times!

[dreamician]

Thanks for all the tips guys.