A Few Questions/Observations From an Old Player

[Oramin]

Hmm, looks like the calculation has changed a lot since 2.9.7 (2.7.9? ... ok, an older version). I recall getting a lot of *GREAT* hits back then with Durin. Kind of disappointing that the top level crits are so much harder to get. After I finish up with my Gnome Mage (Sauron and Morgoth are left), I'm going to try a Troll Warrior for a change of pace; I was hoping that his lack of ranged AOE ability would be made up for with crits in melee. Well, we'll see.

Well, thanks for running the numbers for me. Shows why impressions should be checked against actual numbers.

Also, after having played around with Kelek's for a bit, I'm satisfied with the game balance with Mana Storm and having regular access to Banishment/Mass Banishment.

Finally, I was curious, is it actually possible to have a character with 5000 HP or are Potions of Life just on the ridiculous side?

[debo]

Doesn't Ringil give 10 speed? I thought that was the reason it was so good.

[Derakon]

Originally Posted by Oramin

Finally, I was curious, is it actually possible to have a character with 5000 HP or are Potions of Life just on the ridiculous side?

Vanilla characters top out around 1200HP, IIRC -- that's a half-troll warrior with max CON and a decent set of levelup rolls. Potions of Life are just that ridiculous.

[Oramin]

Originally Posted by debo

Doesn't Ringil give 10 speed? I thought that was the reason it was so good.

Yep, Ringil gives +10 Speed but when you're a Mage you can pretty much run with Haste Self constantly up. And with the diminishing returns on Speed past +30, there isn't much point to running around with +42 Speed (or so I understand).

That's why we were comparing Durin + Haste Self straight up with Ringil. I had about +22 Speed with Durin and about +32 Speed with Ringil.

[Timo Pietilä]

Originally Posted by Oramin

Oh, I also lost some STR when I switched over.

That can have rather large impact: STR 18/190 -> 18/220 is five points of damage. One of the reasons why Set of Caestus of Power <+5> can beat Fingolfin or Cambeleg.

[LostTemplar]

32->42 speed makes you 11% faster.

[Timo Pietilä]

Originally Posted by LostTemplar

32->42 speed makes you 11% faster.

Which is more than +5 damage from STR I presume is the point.

OTOH, if he can use some damage enchanting gear with Ringil (like RoDam +15) then hasted +32 is better than hasted +42. Or not, that +11% applies to everything else too.

Speed causes perception distortion: you don't actually see yourself killing monster faster, difference comes from damage monster does to you. Game just feels easier (you have more time to do everything).

[Oramin]

Ok, now that I've found The One Ring on level 98 in a vault, I'm a little curious about using it (see, I told you that would work...).

1. Does Permanently Cursed mean I can't remove it once I put it on?

2. Just how bad is the experience drain? I've already chugged a couple of dozen Potions of Experience after hitting L50 so I should have a substantial buffer. Can I restore the lost experience?

3. Any other downsides such as it being bad to wear while facing Sauron?

Thanks.

[Derakon]

Originally Posted by Oramin

1. Does Permanently Cursed mean I can't remove it once I put it on?

Correct.

2. Just how bad is the experience drain? I've already chugged a couple of dozen Potions of Experience after hitting L50 so I should have a substantial buffer. Can I restore the lost experience?

Every few normal-speed turns, you'll lose a point or two of experience. It's completely negligible. However, the drain is permanent, so the only way to "restore" it is to kill things.

3. Any other downsides such as it being bad to wear while facing Sauron?

Nope. The only things special about Sauron are 1) that he can only show up on level 99, and 2) that after you kill him, you can get staircases to level 100.

[Timo Pietilä]

Originally Posted by Oramin

3. Any other downsides such as it being bad to wear while facing Sauron?

It's activation can be really bad. Or good. Depends of the mood of the Ring. I would recommend not to use that activation.