How do you like killing monsters in Angband / your favourite variant?

[andrewdoull]

I've put this poll on my blog as well, but the Blogspot polling features leave a little to be desired, so its going here as well...


[Edit: Poll hasn't appeared here for some reason... go to the blog...]

[Seany C]

>>Roasting them with magic, the way Nandos intended.

Even if my last (only) FAA winner was a "smash'em over the head" Paladin...

[Djabanete]

I like setting off chain reactions with the "suicide monsters" that you see in Entro. Orc Sappers, Kamikaze Yeeks, etc. Sometimes you can kill Orfax by sneaking up and blowing up his entire escort all at once

Mostly I like to use directional keys to kill monsters, thus I tend to play warriors. I do get a kick out of picking a weaker class and killing things in convoluted ways, but I tend to get tired and impatient in the late game. (I had 50th level ninja in Entro that I basically suicided because I was sick of having to wield tiny weapons and do hit-and-run all the time.)

[Atriel]

Hahah I like chain reactions too... You should
try this:

Heng/Entro Chaos Warrior with Explode Pets!

dam = m_ptr->maxhp / 2;
if (dam > 100) dam = (dam-100)/2 + 100;
if (dam > 400) dam = (dam-400)/2 + 400;
if (dam > 800) dam = 800;
project(i, 2+(r_ptr->level/20), m_ptr->fy,
m_ptr->fx, dam, GF_PLASMA <=-!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Later, most of hi-lvl demons will explode for more than 600
plasma damage.... And its one of the few ways to
deal 5000 damage in a single turn to say, Bahamut!
Yea, I´ve already took 5 stars from a full health Bahamut this way!
The problem was not exploding myself in the process and managing
all those demons...

[Djabanete]

Damn, Atriel, that sounds like fun. Is Explode Pets a spell? What realm?

[zaimoni]

With minimum force sufficient to maximize one hit, one kill.

In the early midgame, this translates to:
* long bow or __ crossbow; favor Extra Attacks, then branded ammo. +9,+9 with a stack of branded ammunition, and two stacks of unbranded ammunition.
* Two stacks of attack rods (ideally Fire Bolt and Frost Bolt, but it's somewhat more important that they recharge faster than I can use up the stack)
* a stack of Rods of Light (also useful for illuminating those passages and dark rooms)
* For priests: Orb of Draining, and Dispel Evil/Undead.

[Big Al]

When I first started playing, I used almost nothing but mage spells. I mostly played mages for the detection spells, not having to deal with ammo, and free id early on in the game.

A few months ago, I started making a legitimate attempt at playing other classes, and I'm finding that melee and/or archery is a lot more effective & fun.

[Nick]

So many to choose from:

• monster traps (O/FA);
• Stench of Death - the best way to kill the Queen Ant (O/FA);
• electric aura - also known as bug-zapper (Steam);
• spider melee when the last attack is paralysis - the opponent ends up asleep at the end of most rounds (Pos);
• setting fire to the whole area (Un);
• etc. etc.

[Magnate]

Very close call - bumping them is the simplest and viscerally satisfying, but setting a trap and getting the "you hear a scream of agony" message some time later while you're busy exploring somewhere else is *hugely* enjoyable. So traps by a whisker.

What happened to your blog btw? I really liked the cool grey-on-black look it used to have!

CC

[Bandobras]

Throwing forever! So I've chosen the ranged combat option (however it was spelled) in the poll. In any variants that has quivers. There is a lot furious gambling here: you lose your uber-weapon already after the first try, you lose the whole turn (not in Un), you have to be close for the weapon to even get there, you rarely hit, anyway. Then, against all odds, your Spear (1d14) finds a mark and the horrible, deadly monster squeeks and runs away with the spearhead protruding from its back!

[Djabanete]

So many to choose from:
[*]spider melee when the last attack is paralysis - the opponent ends up asleep at the end of most rounds (Pos);
[/LIST]

Oh right, you reminded me: weaving webs everywhere and slowly stinging your enemies to death! The web implementation in Pos is fantastic, definitely should be carried over to over variants...

[Daven_26d1]

Anything neat and efficient; I try to spread the load.

A big favourite is taking out something like black orc bodyguards around Azog or similar with rods/wands of light in a tunnel, then shooting him down with arrows just before he can reach me.

I also love paladin close range tactics - bless/cure light top-ups when a you get a 1-tile gap in the nasties. I really *feel* the bless working sometimes!

[Atriel]

Explode Pets is a spell from Daemon school, that also has
some demon summoning spells. Iplayed chaos
warriors in Heng, and now it just came to mind, dunno if the
new Entro summoning code will make even pets of pets
explode...
But my strategy was to summon a bunch of greater demons
just a few turns before facing the unique, haste them with _ of
haste monsters to make them summon fast, as soon as my pets
see the unique, my pets summons beat my enemies in speed,
then i tele/?PD and explode. I remeber taking 3 stars from
Tiamat and later 5 stars from Bahamut... you must make
your pets target the intended monster for them to summon
at it. With all the summoning, mana goes down in few turns,
but thats enough...

Hmm i think my fave way to kill monsters is still Crusade...
Yeah, it doesn&#180;t look as impressive than say, beastmaster
mass D summoning, but i think more effective for melee chars
because some of the white p&#180;s in Entro/Heng resist everything
and are pretty good at receiving damage, and strangely,
attract a lot of my enemies attention allowing me to pick
targets or a unique...

[HallucinationMushroom]

With a shovel.

[Kav]

That's easy-

The Two-Handed Sword 'Zarcuthra' (4d6) (+19,+21)
It increases your strength and charisma by 4. It increases your infravision by 4. It slays animals, orcs, trolls, giants, demons, undead, and all evil creatures, and is especially deadly against dragons. It is branded with fire. It provides resistance to fire and chaos. It grants you immunity to paralysis and the ability to see invisible things, but it also aggravates creatures around you. It cannot be harmed by the elements.
Level 30, Rarity 180, 25.0 lbs, 200000 AU

I'm a mage and my sword hurts more than my spells. Hell, it hurt more than my spells back when I only got 1 blow with it, now I get 4! I'm a warrior that can phase door, haste self, and teleport other. And I thought Calris was good.