*destruction* ?

[warlin]

I think I've read that this spell is vital for survival in later stages of the game. Seeing as I've only been once below lvl 40, I got no clue.

Just found a staff of *destruction*
Would you be carrying it? If so, why?
Give me tactics in using it

[Nick]

Originally Posted by warlin

I think I've read that this spell is vital for survival in later stages of the game. Seeing as I've only been once below lvl 40, I got no clue.

Just found a staff of *destruction*
Would you be carrying it? If so, why?
Give me tactics in using it

Scrolls of *Destruction* are a guaranteed (if you are not blind or confused) instant escape. Staff is not quite so useful, although it can still be very handy if there is a level you like but something on it you don't want to meet (in NPP, this will probably be a player ghost ).

In Vanilla, you can destruct from outside a vault to thin out the inmates (although it also destroys non-artifacts); this doesn't work quite so well in NPP because vault monsters carry the items. I would probably carry the staff if I had a free slot; try it out and see what you think.

[warlin]

So why would you use a *Destruction* staff instead of a teleport staff?
I assume there is much lower fail rate on a teleport staff ?

Although you might port into danger....

[camlost]

Exactly; you might teleport into danger. *Destruction* clears out like a 20 square radius of monsters. I think it also blinds you, but there are plenty of tales of teleporting to instadeath that *D* can be more reliable. Think of it more like teleport other, except instead of teleporting other, you remove the monsters from the level.

[Dragonboneman]

It's certainly not essential for winning - I've won Vanilla four times and I've hardly ever used *Destruction*.
I like rods of Teleport Other (as many as I can get), backed up with both scrolls and staffs of Teleport and sometimes scrolls of Teleport Level. The main thing is to avoid getting surrounded, which requires good detection and speed. Also, depending on your class and resists, the staffs can become redundant late in the game.

If you're the kind of player who likes to take out all the uniques, _TO is invaluable when fighting high-end summoners. *Destruct* means you have to hunt them all over again.

[Narvius]

Originally Posted by Dragonboneman

If you're the kind of player who likes to take out all the uniques, _TO is invaluable when fighting high-end summoners. *Destruct* means you have to hunt them all over again.

You probably meant it the other way around.

[Dragonboneman]

Nope. You don't teleport the unique, you teleport what it summons so you can continue fighting.
You use *Destruct*, and the unique gets buried. Back to square 1.

[Narvius]

Ah, didn't know that. Okay.

[PowerDiver]

Originally Posted by Dragonboneman

Nope. You don't teleport the unique, you teleport what it summons so you can continue fighting.
You use *Destruct*, and the unique gets buried. Back to square 1.

That's right for V, but sometimes wrong for NPP, and his sig says he's playing NPP.

At a minimum, quest monsters which include Sauron and Morgoth in addition to any particular quest, were immune to destruction in NPP a couple of years ago and I doubt that has changed.

[Pete Mack]

No, it hasn't changes-quest monsters are immune to destruction in NPP. It makes summoners easier to handle, but vaults are harder. Anyway, the reason to use staves of destruction is to avoid nasty situations before they develop-things like destroying Feagwath's entourage, or an inconviently placed pit. With small levels, it's useful pretty often.