Re: Another soon-to-be-dead char

On 2008-03-05 18:31:35, Eddie Grove <eddiegrove@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:

> Kenneth 'Bessarion' Boyd  writes:
> 
> > > staff of tele****t self
> 
> I should have mentioned that scrolls of tele****t self are a viable
replacement
> in the early game or if you somehow manage rConf.

Indeed, they are *very* viable -- they show up in the BM frequently enough
that
I usually am able reliably use a stack of ?Tele****t rather than a stack of
_Tele****t.

RConf isn't that rare, either; it generally shows up before you need it if
you're playing at a moderate non-diving pace (1,500 normal-speed turns/DL
with
heavy use of detection, etc.)  It's RPoison and RNexus that are both
hypercritical and don't show up in time.  (Not sure whether RNether is
hypercritical, but it doesn't show up in time either.)

> I've found that lessons learned from challenge games generally apply
well to
> non-challenge games.  I would guess that even with connected stairs you
are
> undervaluing _telSelf more than I am overvaluing it, based on that
pattern.

Probably.  However, I did indulge in a series of challenge games in
Hengband
back in 2004: all levels have nothing but vaults (other than the scripted
quests).  In Heng 1.6, it is quite possible to reliably clear a DL1
Greater
Vault with a initially CL10 Heng 1.6 Mindflayer min-maxed paladin.  (Must
not be
***y, because the aggravation is a bit much.)

> > > 2 rings of damage [everybody else]
> >
> > But there's something wrong if I'm actually *using* the rings of
damage when I
> > have a Death Bow anywhen through end of stat gain.
> 
> It is not uncommon to have 3 blows with a light weapon long before the
end of
> stat gain, and most cl***** can manage it from the start.  If each blow
does
> 30 points of damage, that outcl***** a single 30 point arrow, especially
if
> you hit substantially more often in melee.

Or even a 45-point arrow (which is what I usually am working with in the
moderately early game, as I intentionally enchant stacks of arrows).

But the Death Bow means that melee just shouldn't be happening that much,
except
* on level entry
* immediately after a tele****t effect.

> Sometimes the game is about killing.

For melee-only monsters in a time-unlimited game, I'd rather take five
shots
with a Death Bow than spend three turns closing to melee, regardless of
how good
@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
's melee attack is.

> You and Timo seem to be telling me that 20K gold at 150', while nice, is
not
> that big a deal.

It's the normal profit (after ?WoR cost) from about ten trips at that
depth.  It
is very much possible to trade time for money.

Keep in mind that in a non-diving game, money problems (with selling to
stores)
are pretty much over for anything other than impulse-purchasing gain stat
potions once ego item drops become halfway predictable.  That is about
DL10.

> Perhaps you are right.  If so, most non-consumables superseded
> by anything at all likely to show up in the black market quickly becomes
junk.

That's pretty much what does happen in my games, yes.