New player. Am I doing it right?

[bio_hazard]

Originally Posted by Skebet

Wow thank you all for such insightful replies. In the hope that the discussion will be helpful for other new players, I'll offer an update and some follow-up questions.

So after posting three days ago I continued down one level at a time until reaching dlvl 40 at clvl 31. And there for the first time I started to see stuff that really scared me, like the unique king of water elementals (can't remember name). Luckily I had found Rods of Probing so I could see what to run/teleport/recall from.

Over the last few days I've run dlvl 40 about a half-dozen times trying to gear up and level up. And it has paid off, yielding Anduril (yay dps), Holhenneth (yay scanning), Hithlomir (yay stealth), a Rod of Restoration (convenient) and a Helm of Telepathy (which I now carry and switch out with Holhenneth regularly).

On my last dlvl 40 run I found my first real vault that I had to tunnel around into. And holy crap there's Radagast (normally found on dlvl 64, my Rod told me). Obviously I couldn't kill him but I learned something very powerful: When you cast phase door inside a vault, it automatically teleports you outside the vault!

Using that trick, telepathy and my staffs of teleport I was able to kite Radagast to the far end of the level and then teleport back toward the vault. Because I was off-screen Radagast never came back and I was able to (very slowly) clear the vault.

The final piece of loot from the vault (from a Marilith) was Boots of Speed +4. Great, except that equipping it means taking off my trusty Boots of Stability, which had been granting me nexus resistance. And as Tibarius pointed out, nexus resist is very important.

SO... my first tactical question at the moment is whether to equip the Speed boots or stability boots as my "main" or to simply make room to carry both so can switch to Stability as needed. That would be painful from an inventory standpoint but I'd understand the need.

An additional Ranger question: I have also found and equipped a Heavy Crossbow of Extra Shots, so I am now getting 2 shots/round with that. I take it Rangers only get extra shots with normal bows (not xbows)? Even so, it would seem that the double xbow damage makes it worth using over a longbow?

Thanks again all for such a helpful community. I'm loving this game! Stay tuned.

Speed is always good, while nexus is only good in a few situations. Nexus monsters are usually pretty easy to spot, especially with telepathy. Even though +4 is in the "good but not great" category, I'd still go with that as your everyday footwear.

You're getting to the point where teleportation gets more risky- landing in the middle a pack of exotic hounds is a good way to die.

[Tibarius]

I also recommend using +4 Speed over rNexus. +10 Speed is double as fast as +-0 Speed. For the heavy crossbow ... the damage modifier on it is not sooo good, i would start looking for a bow ... once you hit clvl40 you will have another extra shot.

[mushroom patch]

In the vein of what other people are saying here re: don't get attached to a level or committed to getting an item you've seen/detected to such a degree that you risk dying and also the discussion of teleportation, two of your best and readily available options in the mid-game for escaping trouble are teleport level and teleport other. Teleport level in particular is really great because when you arrive on the new level you get a free turn. No one gets to take a shot at you before your next action. Teleport other is great because once something worth teleporting away is gone, there's no reason you ever need to see it again. You can just leave the level after you've finished whatever nearby business you're doing.

I remember a time when I didn't appreciate the power of these effects, mainly because I had the mindset that I had to get whatever stuff I was after on the current level, but the reality is that even if you know the stuff is good, it's still not so special you need to get it (at least with default birth options) and it's definitely not worth dying for.

A follow up is that if you're willing to accept a 1% chance of death that can be avoided, you tend to end up accepting such chances over and over again. Over the course of a whole game, you get to a nearly 100% chance of dying this way. In for a penny, in for a pound. Don't take chances you don't have to take. In practice, unavoidable risks quickly disappear as you get out of the first hour of typical play.

[dstyle]

Originally Posted by Derakon

As for that crossbow, you're correct: rangers only get extra shots with shortbows and longbows. But they "only" get +2 extra shots, so a Heavy Crossbow of Extra Shots (+2) will match a high-level ranger's output just fine.

That being said, don't write off the ranger's extra shot bonus completely. At level 40, with the longbow of Bard (or anything giving +2 shots), you can fire 5 shots per round. This bonus stacks when you have +10 speed advantage on an enemy, giving you 10 shots per round! With this kind of advantage, your ranger can easily match the damage output of a mage or warrior.

[Ingwe Ingweron]

And keep an eye out for Sauron killers (Acid branded arrows, especially the mithril and seeker variety) and Morgoth killers (Holy Might arrows). With Belthronding or Bard in the hands of a Ranger, these arrows will make short work of the bosses. Good luck!

[Timo Pietilä]

Originally Posted by Derakon

As for that crossbow, you're correct: rangers only get extra shots with shortbows and longbows. But they "only" get +2 extra shots, so a Heavy Crossbow of Extra Shots (+2) will match a high-level ranger's output just fine.

I don't recall seeing more than one extra shots on a xbow (unless randart). Buckland slings have that fairly often though.

In fact checking at ego_item.txt it can't have more than one extra shot:

L:1:0:SHOTS

Buckland has

L:d2:1:SHOTS
L:d2:1:MIGHT

So you might get +2 to both making that x4 two extra shot sling.

[Skebet]

Hi. So after you all advised that speed is king, the RNG gods apparently listened. Ringil (+10), Cubragol (+10) and two Rings of Speed (+8 each) dropped in fairly short order.

That took me up to +40 Speed unbuffed and +50 with the Speed spell.

So in my continuing newbitude, the next question is: Is there a point where I should stop stacking Speed? For instance, I could swap one of my Speed rings for a Resist Poison ring (currently unresisted), a +5 CON ring (adding +133 hp) or a Ring of Slaying (+17, +7).

In general, I'm feeling comfortable at the moment. Saruman went down without much trouble. What should I be looking out for next? (clvl 38, dlvl 50)

Full character link: http://angband.oook.cz/ladder-show.php?id=17208

Thanks again for all the help.

[Nick]

Speed has diminishing returns after +26, and the fastest monster is +30, so +40 unhasted is probably overkill.

As a ranger you get bonus shots with regular bows but not crossbows, so I'd be looking for a nice replacement for Cubragol.

[Skebet]

Originally Posted by Nick

As a ranger you get bonus shots with regular bows but not crossbows, so I'd be looking for a nice replacement for Cubragol.

Yup I actually had been using Heavy Crossbow of Extra Shots until now, so maybe i'll go back to that until I find a good regular bow.

[mushroom patch]

Uh.. you probably don't want to do that. The point is that you want a good bow, not another crossbow which will be strictly worse than Cubragol. As long as you don't have a good bow option, you should use Cubragol and switch out speed rings, both of them, for useful replacements. Poison resistance would make sense if don't feel confident avoiding big poison breathers and the constitution and slaying rings would also be good options.

Your loot situation seems very good. I would suggest that you start thinking about killing Sauron and Morgoth. Make sure you're collecting *heal* potions, maybe life potions, banishment/mass banishment scrolls, and other top tier consumables for that fight. There's no point hanging around middling depths anymore. I would proceed to level 98 and scum/level until you feel ready to win.

[In fact, after looking at your dump, I would say you have an endgame character already. I suggest that you scum for consumables, get up to maybe 15 *heals*, and gain some levels killing Us. If I were you, I would forget about finding a good bow and make a decision to melee Sauron and Morgoth with Ringil, wearing Cubragol for extra speed to free up your ring slots. You should be able to find a couple damage rings with good pluses to round out your damage dealing capabilities. I would recommended switching from your Dwarf amulet to a Weaponmastery for disenchant resistance and a bit of plus to damage. It would be nice to 1.) get your AC closer to 200 by replacing Hithlomir (not too critical though) and 2.) find a source of sustain int and maybe str. If you've got life potions, that's a decent substitute for sustain str, but if you plan to cast teleport other (which you should), you'll probably want sustain int. This character should easily stomp Sauron and Morgoth once you've got your hp up to 800 or 900 with only minor adjustments to your current equipment setup.]