When Should You Run from Uniques?

[Egavactip]

Over time, you will get a better sense of whether or not your current character a) can take out a unique at a given time and place and b) can do so without spending a lot in the way of consumables.

The more uniques you kill along the way, the fewer will come back to haunt you later in the game and the fewer can be summoned by someone like Morgoth.

But there are other considerations to keep in mind as well:

1. Reward ratio. Some uniques, like Draebor, are more likely to drop something good, and the sooner you kill them, the sooner you can get that loot.

2. Annoyance value. Some uniques, like Vargo, Quaker, et al, drop little or nothing, which is frustrating, but will continue to show up and screw with you until you kill them. I mention the 4 like Vargo in particular because they crush items and they frequently appear in vaults, etc., so by not killing them earlier, you might end up screwing yourself out of some good items. There are some uniques that are just better for you out of the game, period. Harowen is another example of this--he is just so really annoying that taking the time to get rid of him is often worth it.

3. Out of level difficulty. Although many uniques have a level at which they first normally appear that is reasonably consistent with the power the character is likely to have by the time they've reached that level, some uniques show up "early." If Kevlax shows up at his normal level, your character may well not yet be powerful enough to defeat him (though he doesn't have many HP, things like gravity can really hurt you). So in some cases, you are going to have to put up with a unique until you are at a point when you can deal with it.

4. Needing special gear. Mim, his kiddies, and Gorlim all have disenchantment, which can really hurt your key melee weapon if you don't have rDis. To take these on, I want to have either rDis, or a temporary weapon (sometimes I will just pick one up from the level I am on), or--the usual case--a ranged weapon that can take them out (Gorlim maybe not so much as the others, because he can hurt you at a distance). Harowen, because of his stealing and teleporting, is another one you can to fight at a distance--and you also need speed. Whatever Atlas is currently named, is sometimes another example. If you want to fight him without using a lot of consumables, doing it with a ranged weapon is usually the ticket. T

5. Being aware of when you have an advantage. Certain slays and certain immunities may mean it will be much easier to take on certain uniques than if you didn't have them. If you have the right gear, uniques you might otherwise avoid might be ripe for the taking.

6. Other situational awareness issues. Some uniques are just particularly risky to take on in open environments because they summon--Qlksjlkljlk;lklkljjlj or whatever his name is being the ultimate example. However, in an enclosed location, they are much easier to take out. Because Q+ can *only* summon, getting him in the right location might well be the easiest kill you'll make.

7. Think twice. Some uniques, like Huan, the Tarrasque, etc., are so powerful that they are dangerous no matter what your level and, even when you can kill them, may require a ton of consumables (typically healing) to do so. Generally, they are better to avoid or teleport. The "new" vortex unique, whatever its name, is great at killing your high level characters before you are even aware it is there, so I always avoid it (it is the one unique I really want eliminated from the game). I've only ever killed it once.

Of course, all this advice is also dependent on your goals. For some people killing uniques is one of the main ways they derive pleasure out of the game, and some people have as a goal killing all the uniques on their way down. There's no right or wrong way to do Angband, there's only the way that you like.