Some random thoughts based on recent games
I've got a few thoughts here today... not organized at all, just thinking and musing... 1: On materials After a quick scan of the material list, I've noticed that stone might actually be an excellent choice. Well, stone in and of itself is perhaps a poor choice, but if you have a SoCM and 20 Int, you might actually consider rock crystal. Not for itself, but because with SoHM you can create light crystal. Light crystal is lighter than meteoric steel, and green light crystal has the same strength. As an added bonus it's a light source. It's a bit of a hassle to get it by this method, but if you could it might be a good idea. If you're into heavy gear, that is. The problem with it, is that if you can get 25 Int, you could CM straight to green light crystal... or take arcanite, which is lighter and stronger, and can beimmediately hardened into mithril if desired; or, you can CM to glass and then harden to illithium, which is slightly stronger and somewhat heavier than mithril. Or you can create unicorn horn, which is essentially a lighter, rotting version of mithril. Of those choices I'd say Arcanite is the best choice, as that progression can potentially yield one of my favorite materials, Octiron (Arcanite (base 20) --> Mithril (base 25) --> Octiron (base 40)). Overall 20-25 Int seems to be a major threshold; a lot of possibilities to high-level materials, including Phoenix Feather, become available to hardening at 20 and CMing at 25, and many other good materials are available for hardening at 25. On weapons: Blunt weapons can actually be excellent. With my recent usage of various blunt weapons, I've pretty much come to the conclusion that the only weapon group that is not worth using is axes group. (Well, and unarmed, but that's something else.) Turox can be great for destruction, gem/rock gathering, killing stuff, etc, as long as you're well armored and don't carry bottles of acid and keep your wands etc in a box. To boot, if you can obtain it, Neerc se'Ulb is an amazing weapon. It's hard to get -- Mortifer books are a lot harder to find than Valpurus books, and there is no gaurenteed altar; yet the requirements for prayer are identical. But, it is well worth it. I'm not sure about the comparison to Valpurus' gifts -- Neerc can't be one-handed without 32 AStr, while the valpurium sword and shield can be used pretty easily with 15-16 AStr. However, the valpurium sword gives you only good damage and a light source. Neerc, on the other hand, comes enchanted +6, dealing 13-22 damage; is INDESTRUCTABLE, literally, unlike the sword; and the proc. Oh man. That proc. It literally drains their life, as in massive damage to them and heals you. A lifesaver in tense situations. On polypiling: Polypiling can help you immensely, but it can also get you killed. The quantity of stuff generated in a short period of time with polypiling can result in sometimes vital food, scrolls, wands, potions, ommel juices, gear in general. However sometimes it'll give you a lot of stat-boosting stuff. I've gotten 3 carrots and 4 containers of ommel juices from polypiling before. When that happens you need to be very careful: higher stats mean you're more powerful... which in turn can lead to very dangerous monsters spawning before you can handle them. An ambush by Guuzgamesh, Xinroch, or Rondol when you're loaded down with loot going to sell for some more scrolls can spell death before you even get a chance to react. This same goes for cloneing/mirroring scrolls: the danger hike can kill you quickly. On alignments and gods: I'm not going to talk about neutral alignment; there's too little content in there and it can be added to either side without too much extra work. Lawful alignments are pretty much what you would expect out of evil, actually: the Dark Side philosophy of power now. It's great for early game. One Valpurus shrine room can get you a valpurium sword or shield; Seges eliminates the need for food; Atavus provides you with great arcanite armor that can potentially be hardened to octiron. Dulcis can get you a pet, which can help keep you alive early on, while Legifer and Sophos can both get you out of jams. Lawfulness also makes Loricatus easier to keep pleased, though his help is of limited usefulness. He basically acts as a free SoHM on whatever you're holding, as long as its material is aligned with him, limiting it to the Tin ---> Adamant series (plus sulpher, which is effectively part of the series as it hardens to tin). Chaotic, on the other hand, is a more long-term alignment. Nefas is a mirror of Dulcis' pet aquirement, except the pets are often stronger. Mortifer, with more patience, can gift you with Neerc, as I mentioned earlier. Cleptia and Infuscor grant helpful attributes, ESP and haste, repeatedly, which can also be crazy helpful for a long time. Cruentus can help a lot, actually, by showering you with gifts of troll blood and great weapons -- I have gotten a mithril mace +3 from him. He can also help in the aquirement of Neerc se'Ulb. Lastly, Scabies is probably the only one that gives you immediate benefits. A polymorph into a dragon hide golem can speed up passage through UT, particularly the end. Also, being chaotic makes it easier to keep Mellis happy, and she is another long-term helper, changing empty/broken bottles and cans into school food and ommel juices at times. And that's all I have to say right now. I think I covered everything. I need to go restart my computer now.
I've got a few thoughts here today... not organized at all, just thinking and musing... 1: On materials After a quick scan of the material list, I've noticed that stone might actually be an excellent choice. Well, stone in and of itself is perhaps a poor choice, but if you have a SoCM and 20 Int, you might actually consider rock crystal. Not for itself, but because with SoHM you can create light crystal. Light crystal is lighter than meteoric steel, and green light crystal has the same strength. As an added bonus it's a light source. It's a bit of a hassle to get it by this method, but if you could it might be a good idea. If you're into heavy gear, that is. The problem with it, is that if you can get 25 Int, you could CM straight to green light crystal... or take arcanite, which is lighter and stronger, and can beimmediately hardened into mithril if desired; or, you can CM to glass and then harden to illithium, which is slightly stronger and somewhat heavier than mithril. Or you can create unicorn horn, which is essentially a lighter, rotting version of mithril. Of those choices I'd say Arcanite is the best choice, as that progression can potentially yield one of my favorite materials, Octiron (Arcanite (base 20) --> Mithril (base 25) --> Octiron (base 40)). Overall 20-25 Int seems to be a major threshold; a lot of possibilities to high-level materials, including Phoenix Feather, become available to hardening at 20 and CMing at 25, and many other good materials are available for hardening at 25. On weapons: Blunt weapons can actually be excellent. With my recent usage of various blunt weapons, I've pretty much come to the conclusion that the only weapon group that is not worth using is axes group. (Well, and unarmed, but that's something else.) Turox can be great for destruction, gem/rock gathering, killing stuff, etc, as long as you're well armored and don't carry bottles of acid and keep your wands etc in a box. To boot, if you can obtain it, Neerc se'Ulb is an amazing weapon. It's hard to get -- Mortifer books are a lot harder to find than Valpurus books, and there is no gaurenteed altar; yet the requirements for prayer are identical. But, it is well worth it. I'm not sure about the comparison to Valpurus' gifts -- Neerc can't be one-handed without 32 AStr, while the valpurium sword and shield can be used pretty easily with 15-16 AStr. However, the valpurium sword gives you only good damage and a light source. Neerc, on the other hand, comes enchanted +6, dealing 13-22 damage; is INDESTRUCTABLE, literally, unlike the sword; and the proc. Oh man. That proc. It literally drains their life, as in massive damage to them and heals you. A lifesaver in tense situations. On polypiling: Polypiling can help you immensely, but it can also get you killed. The quantity of stuff generated in a short period of time with polypiling can result in sometimes vital food, scrolls, wands, potions, ommel juices, gear in general. However sometimes it'll give you a lot of stat-boosting stuff. I've gotten 3 carrots and 4 containers of ommel juices from polypiling before. When that happens you need to be very careful: higher stats mean you're more powerful... which in turn can lead to very dangerous monsters spawning before you can handle them. An ambush by Guuzgamesh, Xinroch, or Rondol when you're loaded down with loot going to sell for some more scrolls can spell death before you even get a chance to react. This same goes for cloneing/mirroring scrolls: the danger hike can kill you quickly. On alignments and gods: I'm not going to talk about neutral alignment; there's too little content in there and it can be added to either side without too much extra work. Lawful alignments are pretty much what you would expect out of evil, actually: the Dark Side philosophy of power now. It's great for early game. One Valpurus shrine room can get you a valpurium sword or shield; Seges eliminates the need for food; Atavus provides you with great arcanite armor that can potentially be hardened to octiron. Dulcis can get you a pet, which can help keep you alive early on, while Legifer and Sophos can both get you out of jams. Lawfulness also makes Loricatus easier to keep pleased, though his help is of limited usefulness. He basically acts as a free SoHM on whatever you're holding, as long as its material is aligned with him, limiting it to the Tin ---> Adamant series (plus sulpher, which is effectively part of the series as it hardens to tin). Chaotic, on the other hand, is a more long-term alignment. Nefas is a mirror of Dulcis' pet aquirement, except the pets are often stronger. Mortifer, with more patience, can gift you with Neerc, as I mentioned earlier. Cleptia and Infuscor grant helpful attributes, ESP and haste, repeatedly, which can also be crazy helpful for a long time. Cruentus can help a lot, actually, by showering you with gifts of troll blood and great weapons -- I have gotten a mithril mace +3 from him. He can also help in the aquirement of Neerc se'Ulb. Lastly, Scabies is probably the only one that gives you immediate benefits. A polymorph into a dragon hide golem can speed up passage through UT, particularly the end. Also, being chaotic makes it easier to keep Mellis happy, and she is another long-term helper, changing empty/broken bottles and cans into school food and ommel juices at times. And that's all I have to say right now. I think I covered everything. I need to go restart my computer now.