CiP: First EE to get anywhere.

[Konebred]

Alrighty, I have an earth elementalist that is doing really well so far. I got some decent randarts from stores after using 3 scrolls of aquirement for gold. His casting is getting pretty good but I always hear how SE do well with statue form. When should I start working my unarmed? Should I get shatter castable first? I have the feeling getting my unarmed up to 25 with statue form castable would be a huge bonus and save a ton of MPs since I won't have to cast as much. If I make it that far, I plan on doing end game, so any advice with that would be appreciated. I also have a staff of earth available, should I use that instead of unarmed? I also have an amulet of faith if I should switch to TSO. Thanks in advance!

  Code:

 Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup version 0.10.3 character file.

Phoot the Eclecticist (SEEE)                       Turns: 74815, Time: 05:56:12

HP 139/139       AC 11     Str 10      XL: 20   Next: 46%
MP  41/41        EV 25     Int 26      God: Vehumet [******]
Gold 1610        SH 12     Dex 18      Spells: 12 memorised,  2 levels left

Res.Fire  : + . .   See Invis. : .    j - staff of energy
Res.Cold  : + . .   Warding    : . .  E - +2 elf robe {rF+}
Life Prot.: + . .   Conserve   : +    t - +0 elf buckler
Res.Acid. : . . .   Res.Corr.  : .    K - +2 helmet of Erhot {rN+ Curse}
Res.Poison: +       Clarity    : .    a - +0 cloak
Res.Elec. : +       Spirit.Shd : .    L - +1 pair of gauntlets {Dex+3}
Sust.Abil.: . .     Stasis     : .    M - +0 pair of boots {Lev}
Res.Mut.  : .       Ctrl.Telep.: .    c - amulet of conservation
Res.Rott. : .       Levitation : .    z - ring of Chumn {Hunger- rC+ Acc+6}
Saprovore : . . .   Ctrl.Flight: .    f - ring of Wisaet {rElec rPois Str+1 Dam-1}

@: quite resistant to hostile enchantments, very stealthy
A: Str +1
a: Renounce Religion, Evoke Levitation


You are on level 1 of the Lair of Beasts.
You worship Vehumet.
Vehumet is exalted by your worship.
You are hungry.

You have visited 6 branches of the dungeon, and seen 39 of its levels.
You have visited 1 Labyrinth.
You have visited 2 portal chambers: volcano, trove.

You have collected 8810 gold pieces.
You have spent 7220 gold pieces at shops.

Inventory:

Missiles
 U - 6 curare-tipped needles
Armour
 a - a +0 cloak (worn)
 t - a +0 elven buckler (worn)
 E - a +2 elven robe of fire resistance (worn)
 K - the cursed +2 helmet of Erhot (worn) {rN+ Curse}
   (You bought it in a shop on level 8 of the Dungeon)   
   
   It protects you from negative energy.
   It may recurse itself.
   It has a curse placed upon it.
 L - a +1 pair of gauntlets of dexterity (worn)
 M - a +0 pair of boots of levitation (worn)
Magical devices
 n - a wand of digging (8)
 o - a wand of teleportation {zapped: 1}
 p - a wand of heal wounds (9)
 D - a wand of invisibility (3)
Comestibles
 T - 2 bread rations
Scrolls
 d - a scroll of magic mapping
 l - 5 scrolls of identify
 w - 4 scrolls of remove curse
 x - 4 scrolls of teleportation
 C - 3 scrolls of fear
Jewellery
 b - a +4 ring of strength
 c - an amulet of conservation (around neck)
 e - the amulet of Shryru {rMut +Rage +Inv rC+}
   (You bought it in a shop on level 11 of the Dungeon)   
   
   [amulet of resist mutation]
   
   It protects you from cold.
   It lets you turn invisible.
   It lets you go berserk.
 f - the ring of Wisaet (left hand) {rElec rPois Str+1 Dam-1}
   (You bought it in a shop on level 11 of the Dungeon)   
   
   [ring of poison resistance]
   
   It affects your strength (+1).
   It affects your damage-dealing abilities (-1).
   It insulates you from electricity.
 g - an uncursed ring of levitation
 h - an uncursed ring of see invisible
 i - an uncursed ring of protection from fire
 k - the ring "Pismy" {rF++ Str+3 Dam+5}
   (You bought it in a shop on level 3 of the Vaults)   
   
   [ring of strength]
   It affects your strength (+3).
   
   It affects your damage-dealing abilities (+5).
   It greatly protects you from fire.
 r - an uncursed ring of teleportation
 y - a ring of magical power
 z - the ring of Chumn (right hand) {Hunger- rC+ Acc+6}
   (You found it on level 8 of the Lair of Beasts)   
   
   [ring of sustenance]
   
   It affects your accuracy (+6).
   It protects you from cold.
 A - an uncursed amulet of stasis
 F - an uncursed amulet of clarity
 G - an uncursed ring of magical power
 H - an uncursed ring of fire
 I - an uncursed ring of life protection
 J - a +5,+6 ring of slaying
 N - a ring of intelligence
 S - an uncursed ring of protection from cold
Potions
 q - 2 potions of levitation
 s - 5 potions of curing
 u - 2 potions of brilliance
 O - 8 potions of heal wounds
 R - 3 potions of speed
 W - a potion of resistance
Magical staves
 j - a staff of energy (weapon)


   Skills:
 - Level 15.0 Fighting
 - Level 0.2 Polearms
 - Level 1.2 Throwing
 - Level 1.1 Armour
 - Level 16.0 Dodging
 - Level 8.3 Stealth
 - Level 5.1 Shields
 - Level 0.2 Traps & Doors
 - Level 18.0 Spellcasting
 - Level 15.0 Conjurations
 - Level 1.3 Hexes
 - Level 1.1 Charms
 - Level 7.2 Translocations
 - Level 5.0 Transmutations
 - Level 2.0 Air Magic
 + Level 16.4 Earth Magic
 - Level 1.5 Evocations


You have 2 spell levels left.
You know the following spells:

 Your Spells              Type           Power        Failure   Level  Hunger
a - Sandblast             Erth           #######      0%          1    None
b - Lehudib's Crystal Sp  Erth/Conj      ########..   7%          8    Honeycomb
c - Stone Arrow           Erth/Conj      #######      0%          3    None
d - Petrify               Erth/Trmt      #######..    1%          4    None
e - Lee's Rapid Deconstr  Erth           ########..   1%          5    None
f - Passwall              Erth/Trmt      #######...   1%          3    None
g - Iron Shot             Erth/Conj      ########..   1%          6    Choko
h - Projected Noise       Hex            N/A          1%          2    None
i - Dig                   Erth/Trmt      #######..    1%          4    None
j - Flight                Air/Chrm       #####.....   3%          3    None
k - Phase Shift           Tloc           #######...   3%          5    None
l - Shatter               Erth           ########..   73%         9    Ration


Dungeon Overview and Level Annotations

Branches:
Dungeon (15/27)            Temple (1/1) D:7             Orc (4/4) D:9
    Elf (0/5) Orc:4          Lair (8/8) D:10          Swamp (0/5) Lair:4
  Slime (0/6) Lair:6        Snake (4/5) Lair:3        Vault (7/8) D:14
  Blade (0/1) Vault:5     

[wizzzargh]

My 2 cents:
Statue form is pretty great(Torment and Rot resistance, high AC, damage bonus, and something like +30% HP), but you should remember that it has some significant drawbacks.

You'll be slow, your armor will meld, and your evasion will drop by like 10 points. I'd advise having Stoneskin available if you're going to use statue form- it has a vastly enhanced effect while you're stoned, and with your EV taking a nasty hit, you'll want to have a good defensive alternative.

Also- You don't have to use unarmed combat in statue form- I believe it boosts all melee damage, armed or otherwise, so if you have a nifty artifact feel free to use it.

I would get unarmed or a weapon skill online though- Shatter is cool for busting open annoyingly designed levels and murdering large amounts of (nonflying) enemies, but dying because you have no way to kill dudes without using mana isn't cool at all. Staves of Earth can pound most enemies into the ground at decent Evocations(~9 should be plenty)+ High Earth Skill, and even ~9 staves skill should get you to a good attack speed (These figures based off of my own experience, not hard data). But seriously, that Staff of Earth is a pretty solid option- I don't think any monsters have resistance to being violently flattened.

A bit early to be talking about endgame now(who knows what your equipment will look like by Lvl 27), but TSO is pretty amazing for Endgame, and I'd imagine Vehumet is doable as well because you'd have access to the high-end Necromancy Spells(assuming you find the Necronomicon) to support your brutal magical assault. I reckon Vehumet is the more offensive, versatile option, whereas TSO will more reliably and passively keep you at high levels of HP.