The Diary of Pentaxis, Ironman Hobbit Mage

[Wanderlust]

Originally Posted by Adam

30 speed is enough against anything. Morgoth has that speed and you don't want to give him a chance to double move you (so you should not let haste self wear off if you have that setup).
Above 30 each point of speed gives you less benefit but I can't give you the exact formula.
You also want to have max int but as I see you could even take off the helmet and be at 18/***.

Great, thank you. These hints allowed me to shuffle up my equipment very nicely, with +20 base speed, 3 immunities, and 1 more inventory slot.

[Wanderlust]

L89-91. Little of interest here, I pass through quickly.

L92. 6-6. In a tiny vault I find the hard leather cap of Gulion, which is unremarkable except the fact it grants cold immunity, which enables me to engage Huan, wolfhound of the Valar without risking potions. However, it turns out it only works when you actually wear it. I learn this when he gets close to me and destroys 2 restore mana, 1 healing, 1 life and 2 CCW all in a single round.

An undead pit brings me up to CL 49 (817 HP, 383 SP).

L93. 7-7. In the hallways, I kill The Lernean Hydra; Gothmog, high captain of the balrogs; and Omarax the eye tyrant. Amidst all the fuss, I reach CL 50 (831 HP, 391 SP).

I seriously consider leaving the level because it's gotten very dangerous with massive numbers of awakened and summoned monsters wandering around. There's still a small vault unexplored though, so I clear a path there with a lot of teleport other and inside I discover my last spell book, Kelek's Grimoire.

L94. 7-7. Having CL 50 and mass banish completely changes my attitude, in general I've transcended the need to kill things. And when I do want to kill things, it's a lot easier with Mana Storm. Carcharoth, the Jaws of Thirst and Qlzqqlzuup both die.

L95-98. It's an eerie feeling walking through the dungeons in absolute silence. Nothing wakes up. There's no need to kill anything. As I pass by, I pause only to kill a few uniques: The witch-king of Angmar. Glaurung, father of dragons. Ancalagon the black. Lungorthin, the balrog of white fire.

L99. 4-3. Wandering around looking for Sauron, I meet and kill the Tarrasque, Cantoras the skeletal lord, and Radagast the Brown.

When I finally find him, Sauron is super-easy to kill. Mana storms and a bunch o' banishing.

L100. 7-?. Morgoth doesn't really have a chance. No need for destruction, anti-summoning corridors, or really tactics of any kind. I just hit him with mana storms, banish or teleport away whatever he summons, heal or teleport him temporarily away when I need some breathing room. He dies. My quest is complete.

[Grotug]

It is my humble belief the game should start out easy, become progressively harder, and by the time you are on DL90 and deeper and CL50 it should be dangerous and ... not easy. But I have been playing the new Angband a little bit, and it's definitely a lot harder. (I die much easier in new angband than the latest official release. I have yet to even make it to the midgame).

[Adam]

Congrats

Side node: Since you were wearing the Ring of Armen you did have iCold. I would assume Huan destroyed your potions with a shards breath.

I agree with Grotug, but I think in all fantasy games mages become more and more powerful as they progress. In Angband 0% fail banish and TO makes the late game less interesting. Maybe magic resistant/immune monsters or anti-magic locations (vaults/special rooms) would make that change.

[MattB]

Gratz on your win, Wanderlust! And nice write-up too.

[Wanderlust]

Thanks to all who provided hints, tips, and encouragement. This was my second Angband win and first ironman win. But it was less satisfying than I thought it would be ...

Originally Posted by Grotug

It is my humble belief the game should start out easy, become progressively harder, and by the time you are on DL90 and deeper and CL50 it should be dangerous and ... not easy. But I have been playing the new Angband a little bit, and it's definitely a lot harder. (I die much easier in new angband than the latest official release. I have yet to even make it to the midgame).

This run became almost trivially easy at a certain point; there was very little danger after L50. I'm glad to hear the new Angband is harder, surely that will make the game better.

[Pete Mack]

'Trivially easy' is likely a result of randarts. Yes, sometimes they make the game harder. But on average, they make it much easier.

[PowerWyrm]

If you find regular Angband trivial, I suggest playing an online version which is real time instead. You'll find it... less trivial.

[Wanderlust]

Originally Posted by Pete Mack

'Trivially easy' is likely a result of randarts. Yes, sometimes they make the game harder. But on average, they make it much easier.

I didn't know that, thank you.

Originally Posted by PowerWyrm

If you find regular Angband trivial, I suggest playing an online version which is real time instead. You'll find it... less trivial.

No version of Angband has ever felt easy (let alone "trivially") for me—I have hundreds of dead characters and only 2 winners including this one. But the last half of this run was different. By the time I had all the key resistances, was faster than anything else (base speed was 48 for a while), heroic/legendary stealth, and 0% casting including all the teleport flavors ... it seemed nothing could really hurt me unless I was stupid careless (which I was, several times, but got lucky).

Anyway, turn-based is what I love, but next time, I'll choose the latest dev build and standarts.