CiP: Maxwell's patent armour, Zot and me

[thevogonpoet]

So my best ever berserker aquired Maxwell's patent armour on Snake 1, and has been wearing it ever since: cleared Snake, Vaults, Crypt and Depths with it. Had a bit of a surrounded scare on Vaults 5 once the wardens turned up, and a scare in Depths 4 getting curaed by some spriggans, and then again completely surrounded by all sorts of nasty stuff, plus Jory. Still alive though. In the Depths 4 panic I was just being careless - didn't even notice I was slowed at first. Bros and invisibility have helped me out.

However, just thinking about Zot and Maxwell's makes me uneasy... dangerous fast monsters I can't run away from. Are Bros any use in Zot, or do they get completely destroyed by a single bored Orb of Fire?

I have other armour options, and 8 scrolls of enchant armour. Unfortunately, I don't have any aux armour with rF, just a nice plain rF ring.

  Code:

Armour                AC    EV   rF   (AC after burning scrolls)
Maxwell's             53    23   ++
+3 rF plate           41    23   ++   (48)
Fearie rF++           38    28   +++ 
+4 vanilla cryst plt  51    21   +    (59)

I might stick with Maxwell's for now and see if I can clear Elf3 hoping for more rF gear. As it stands, I guess pimping my rF plate is the best bet?

  Code:

 Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup version 0.16-a0-3291-g9854cb9 (console) character file.

vogonpoet the Executioner (Hill Orc Berserker)     Turns: 74083, Time: 05:53:36

Health: 297/297    AC: 53    Str: 28    XL:     27
Magic:  12/12      EV: 23    Int:  7    God:    Trog [******]
Gold:   4943       SH:  0    Dex: 15    Spells: 0 memorised, 26 levels left

rFire  + + .     SeeInvis .     a - +9 executioner's axe (antimagic)
rCold  + . .     Clarity  +     y - +15 Maxwell's patent armour {rC+ rF+, -Cast -Tele MR+}
rNeg   + + .     SustAb   .     (no shield)
rPois  .         Gourm    .     v - +5 helmet "Vong" {rN+ Slay+2}
rElec  .         Spirit   .     s - +2 cloak {+Inv}
rCorr  .         Warding  .     Y - +2 pair of gloves
rMut   .         NoTele   +     b - +0 pair of boots
MR     +++++     NoCast   +     R - amulet of the Four Winds {Clar rN+ MR+++}
Stlth  ..........               H - ring of protection from fire
                                L - +5 ring of evasion

@: almost entirely resistant to hostile enchantments, extremely unstealthy
A: breathe flames 1, robust 1, spit poison 1
a: Spit Poison, Burn Spellbooks, Berserk, Trog's Hand, Brothers in Arms,
Renounce Religion, Breathe Fire, Evoke Invisibility
}: 3/15 runes: decaying, serpentine, silver


You are on level 5 of the Depths.
You worship Trog.
Trog is exalted by your worship.
You are not hungry.

You have visited 9 branches of the dungeon, and seen 51 of its levels.
You have also visited: Bailey, Volcano and Wizlab.

You have collected 7938 gold pieces.
You have spent 2995 gold pieces at shops.

Inventory:

Hand weapons
 a - a +9 antimagic executioner's axe (weapon)
 w - the cursed +1 war axe of the Thing {flame, +Inv rC+ MR+ Dex-3}
   (You found it on level 14 of the Dungeon)   
   
   It emits flame when wielded, causing extra injury to most foes and up to
   half as much damage over again against particularly susceptible opponents.
   Big, fiery blades are also staple armaments of hydra-hunters.
   
   It affects your dexterity (-3).
   It protects you from cold.
   It affects your resistance to hostile enchantments.
   It lets you turn invisible.
   It has a curse placed upon it.
 P - the +12 hand crossbow of the Three Songs {velocity, rF+}
   (You found it on level 3 of the Depths)   
   
   Any bolt fired from it inflicts extra damage.
   
   It protects you from fire.
Missiles
 f - 1491 bolts
 G - 10 javelins (quivered)
 N - 114 bolts of penetration
Armour
 b - a +0 pair of boots (worn)
 d - a cursed +2 cloak of poison resistance
 s - a +2 cloak of invisibility (worn)
 v - the +5 helmet "Vong" (worn) {rN+ Slay+2}
   (You acquired it on level 13 of the Dungeon)   
   
   It affects your accuracy and damage with ranged weapons and melee attacks
   (+2).
   It protects you from negative energy.
 y - the +15 Maxwell's patent armour (worn) {rC+ rF+, -Cast -Tele MR+}
   (You acquired it on level 1 of the Snake Pit)   
   
   It affects your resistance to hostile enchantments.
   It prevents spellcasting.
   It prevents most forms of teleportation.
 Y - a +2 pair of gloves (worn)
Jewellery
 o - an uncursed ring of see invisible
 t - a +4 ring of protection
 u - the ring of Akaviv {rElec rPois}
   (You took it off a tengu reaver on level 5 of the Vaults)   
   
   [ring of poison resistance]
   
   It insulates you from electricity.
   It protects you from poison.
 H - a ring of protection from fire (right hand)
 L - a +5 ring of evasion (left hand)
 M - an uncursed amulet of resist mutation
 O - an uncursed ring of flight
 R - the amulet of the Four Winds (around neck) {Clar rN+ MR+++}
   (You bought it in a shop on level 4 of the Dungeon)   
   
   [amulet of clarity]
   
   It provides mental clarity.
   It protects you from negative energy.
   It affects your resistance to hostile enchantments.
Magical devices
 c - a wand of cold
 l - a wand of teleportation (4)
 m - a wand of fire (7)
 r - a wand of disintegration (4)
 Q - a wand of invisibility {zapped: 1}
 X - a wand of cold (12)
Scrolls
 e - 20 scrolls of teleportation
 g - a scroll of enchant weapon
 n - 9 scrolls of fog
 q - 7 scrolls of fear
 A - 15 scrolls of remove curse
 B - 16 scrolls of identify
 D - a scroll of enchant armour
 T - 3 scrolls of magic mapping
 W - 6 scrolls of blinking
Potions
 j - 4 potions of heal wounds
 p - 19 potions of curing
 x - 3 potions of agility
 z - 4 potions of cancellation
 E - 5 potions of haste
 I - a potion of resistance
 J - 2 potions of magic
 K - a potion of invisibility
 U - 9 potions of might
Miscellaneous
 h - a fan of gales
 C - a box of beasts
 F - a box of beasts
 S - a stone of tremors
Comestibles
 i - 19 meat rations
 k - 19 fruits


   Skills:
 - Level 26.3 Fighting
 - Level 26.4 Axes
 - Level 7.0 Crossbows
 + Level 25.0 Armour
 - Level 16.5 Dodging
 - Level 10.4 Evocations


You have 26 spell levels left.
You don't know any spells.

Dungeon Overview and Level Annotations

Branches:
Dungeon (15/15)            Temple (0/1) D:7            Lair (8/8) D:11
  Swamp (5/5) Lair:6        Snake (5/5) Lair:4        Slime (0/6) Lair:7
    Orc (4/4) D:12            Elf (0/3) Orc:3        Vaults (5/5) D:13
  Crypt (3/3) Vaults:2       Tomb (0/3) Crypt:3      Depths (5/5) D:15
    Zot (1/5) Depths:5   

Altars:
Ashenzari
Cheibriados
Dithmenos
Elyvilon
Gozag
Kikubaaqudgha
Makhleb
Nemelex Xobeh
Qazlal
Sif Muna
Trog
Xom
Yredelemnul
Zin
The Shining One
Beogh
Jiyva

Shops:
D:4 =   D:13 ?   Orc:2 =   Orc:4 =**=[   Vaults:1 (   Vaults:2 }
Vaults:4 [

Portals:
Hell: Depths:1 Depths:2 Depths:3 Depths:4 Depths:5
Abyss: Depths:2 Depths:3 Depths:4
Pandemonium: Depths:2 Depths:3 Depths:4 Depths:5
Ziggurat: Depths:4
Trove: D:13 (give 2 potions of cure mutation)

Annotations:
Depths:1 exclusion: door


Innate Abilities, Weirdness & Mutations

You can breathe flames.
You are robust (+10% HP).
You can spit poison.


[asdu]

rF++, 53 AC and 300 HP is absolute luxury for Zot. You really don't need any more fire resistance.

[cerebovssquire]

Personally I would either continue with Maxwell's or enchant and wear the CPA (I'd make the choice dependent on the amount of ?enchant armour available - if you can surpass Maxwell's AC by a couple points, enchant the CPA and use it. Don't forget to enchant your boots). You don't want to teleport much on Zot:5 anyway, since you want to clear one lung only and that makes teleporting riskier than usual.
Brothers in Arms continue to be good in Zot. Obviously an OoF will annihilate them and has good EV to boot, but OoFs aren't the only dangerous enemy. Brothers can help you take down orb guardians, aliches, etc. This character is ideal for killing OoFs, so don't worry too much about them.

[nago]

Considering you're quite limited on haste (only 5), I'd switch to CPA (using all your ?EA left) if you can actually get to 59 AC. But in any case you you have extremely solid defence and offence, you can do whatever you prefer

[Siegurt]

I would also vote for the cpa, remember, AC helps protect against fireballs too. Bros can still be useful, but you want to try to use them as offense augmentation, not protection, position yourself so that fireballs cast at you won't damage your Bros, and whack away at the orbs while your Bros do damage from the other side. Overall though I find Bros aren't really needed against a lone oof, I would be more likely to summon one against a draconian pack that I encountered in a bad position as a distraction to get myself in a better place more safely or to do damage to a side of a pack I couldn't quite get to.

[Lyrick]

Bros could do a little damage to orbs, but they're just Aa likely to get blown up in collateral damage. Might be a waste of a turn, just swing your weapon.

[crate]

The cpa is probably better but I would wear Maxwell's because it's Maxwell's.

[nilsbloodaxe]

Regardless of which armor you choose, use two of those enchant armor scrolls on those boots.

[thevogonpoet]

Sounds like the CPA is a popular option... but Maxwell's is cool.

I did Elf and Slime, hoping to improve my boots/gloves situation, and got an extra 2 AC on my boots for my pains, along with a slightly annoying looking wand mutation.
In the meantime, I updated Trunk over Christmas, and Maxwell's lost its temporary rF, rC, and got back rCorr, r Elec. Luckily I found an rF, rC ring in Slime, so came out about even there. I went ahead and pimped my crystal plate, due to not having anything else to spend my scrolls on, and so now, my armour options look like this, assuming I wear at least one rF ring.

  Code:

Armour                 AC    EV   rF
Maxwell's              56    22   +
+13 vanilla cryst plt  63    20   +   

I have 8 scrolls of blinking, 27 teleports, 6 haste pots, and reasonable heal wound reserves.
Hmm, decisions decisions Those scrolls of blinking are definitely swaying me towards the crystal plate. Time to dip into Zot and see if I can hunt down an orb of fire or two.

Edit:
At last, my first Hill Orc and first Beserker wins. Thanks for the armour advice folks. I wore the crystal plate through Zot 5, and all the way up to D1, but then felt sad, so I put Maxwell's back on to ascend. Kinda pathetic, and I would have felt pretty stupid if a panlord had come along whilst I was changing and destroyed me, but what the hell.
Zot 5 was pretty easy actually... I was very slow, and backed up to restore my health a lot, and no panlords jumped out at me, so that was nice.
And the Orb run was kinda nice too - killed a few ones, walked away from some dude called Omnoofab, had a chilled sight-seeing time.

Ha ha, looks like I killed 231 Berserkers before I got this win, I suck

  Code:

 Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup version 0.16-a0-3317-geb1eda5 (console) character file.

2010767 vogonpoet the Axe Maniac (level 27, 300/300 HPs)
             Began as a Hill Orc Berserker on Dec 23, 2014.
             Was the Champion of Trog.
             Escaped with the Orb
             ... and 4 runes on Dec 26, 2014!
             
             The game lasted 08:43:02 (97801 turns).

vogonpoet the Axe Maniac (Hill Orc Berserker)      Turns: 97801, Time: 08:43:02

Health: 300/300    AC: 57    Str: 33    XL:     27
Magic:  13/13      EV: 30    Int:  7    God:    Trog [******]
Gold:   6861       SH:  0    Dex: 18    Spells: 0 memorised, 26 levels left

rFire  + . .     SeeInvis +     a - +9 executioner's axe (antimagic)
rCold  + . .     Clarity  +     y - +15 Maxwell's patent armour {-Cast -Tele rElec MR+ rCorr}
rNeg   + + +     SustAb   .     (no shield)
rPois  .         Gourm    .     v - +5 helmet "Vong" {rN+ Slay+2}
rElec  +         Spirit   .     s - +2 cloak {+Inv}
rCorr  +         Warding  .     m - +2 pair of gloves
rMut   .         NoTele   +     t - +2 pair of boots
MR     +++++     NoCast   +     R - amulet of the Four Winds {Clar rN+ MR+++}
Stlth  ..........               H - ring "Deunon" {rN+ MR+ SInv}
                                b - ring "Choudaen" {rF+ rC+ rN+}

@: mighty, agile, almost entirely resistant to hostile enchantments, extremely
unstealthy
A: breathe flames 1, clumsy 1, robust 1
a: Burn Spellbooks, Berserk, Trog's Hand, Brothers in Arms, Renounce Religion,
Breathe Fire, Evoke Invisibility
0: Orb of Zot
}: 4/15 runes: decaying, serpentine, slimy, silver


You escaped.
You worshipped Trog.
Trog was exalted by your worship.
You were very full.

You visited 11 branches of the dungeon, and saw 64 of its levels.
You also visited: Bailey, Volcano and Wizlab.

You collected 10894 gold pieces.
You spent 4033 gold pieces at shops.

Inventory:

Hand weapons
 a - a +9 antimagic executioner's axe (weapon)
 e - a +3 triple crossbow of freezing
 i - the +6 Majin-Bo {vamp, Archmagi, MP+6 Int+6}
   (You found it in a wizard's laboratory)   
   
   It inflicts no extra harm, but heals its wielder somewhat when it strikes a
   living foe.
   
   It affects your intelligence (+6).
   It affects your magic capacity (+6).
 J - the +5 demon whip "Spellbinder" {antimagic, MR+}
   (You found it on level 6 of the Pits of Slime)   
   
   It disrupts the flow of magical energy around spellcasters and certain
   magical creatures (including the wielder).
   
   It affects your resistance to hostile enchantments.
 P - the +8 mithril axe "Arga" {speed, MR+ Str+2}
   (Trog gifted it to you in a volcano)   
   
   Attacks with this weapon are significantly faster.
   
   It affects your strength (+2).
   It affects your resistance to hostile enchantments.
 Z - the cursed +1 war axe of the Thing {flame, +Inv rC+ MR+ Dex-3}
   (You found it on level 14 of the Dungeon)   
   
   It emits flame when wielded, causing extra injury to most foes and up to
   half as much damage over again against particularly susceptible opponents.
   Big, fiery blades are also staple armaments of hydra-hunters.
   
   It affects your dexterity (-3).
   It protects you from cold.
   It affects your resistance to hostile enchantments.
   It lets you turn invisible.
   It has a curse placed upon it.
Missiles
 h - 1517 bolts
 G - 9 javelins (quivered)
 N - 122 bolts of penetration
Armour
 g - a +14 crystal plate armour
 m - a +2 pair of gloves (worn)
 s - a +2 cloak of invisibility (worn)
 t - a +2 pair of boots (worn)
 v - the +5 helmet "Vong" (worn) {rN+ Slay+2}
   (You acquired it on level 13 of the Dungeon)   
   
   It affects your accuracy and damage with ranged weapons and melee attacks
   (+2).
   It protects you from negative energy.
 y - the +15 Maxwell's patent armour (worn) {-Cast -Tele rElec MR+ rCorr}
   (You acquired it on level 1 of the Snake Pit)   
   
   It insulates you from electricity.
   It affects your resistance to hostile enchantments.
   It prevents spellcasting.
   It prevents most forms of teleportation.
   It protects you from acid and corrosion.
Jewellery
 b - the ring "Choudaen" (left hand) {rF+ rC+ rN+}
   (You found it on level 6 of the Pits of Slime)   
   
   [ring of positive energy]
   
   It protects you from fire.
   It protects you from cold.
   It protects you from negative energy.
 c - an uncursed ring of protection from fire
 u - the ring of Akaviv {rElec rPois}
   (You took it off a tengu reaver on level 5 of the Vaults)   
   
   [ring of poison resistance]
   
   It insulates you from electricity.
   It protects you from poison.
 H - the ring "Deunon" (right hand) {rN+ MR+ SInv}
   (You found it on level 3 of the Elven Halls)   
   
   [ring of positive energy]
   
   It protects you from negative energy.
   It affects your resistance to hostile enchantments.
   It enhances your eyesight.
 K - an uncursed ring of teleportation
 L - a +5 ring of evasion
 M - an uncursed amulet of resist mutation
 O - an uncursed ring of flight
 R - the amulet of the Four Winds (around neck) {Clar rN+ MR+++}
   (You bought it in a shop on level 4 of the Dungeon)   
   
   [amulet of clarity]
   
   It provides mental clarity.
   It protects you from negative energy.
   It affects your resistance to hostile enchantments.
Magical devices
 l - a wand of teleportation (4)
 r - a wand of disintegration (4)
 C - a wand of digging (12)
 F - a wand of heal wounds (7)
 X - a wand of cold (12)
Scrolls
 n - 11 scrolls of fog
 q - 11 scrolls of fear
 z - 8 scrolls of blinking
 A - 14 scrolls of remove curse
 B - 14 scrolls of identify
 D - 25 scrolls of teleportation
 Q - 3 scrolls of recharging
 T - a scroll of magic mapping
Potions
 j - 6 potions of heal wounds
 k - 8 potions of restore abilities
 p - 23 potions of curing
 E - 6 potions of haste
 S - 3 potions of agility
 U - 5 potions of cancellation
 V - 8 potions of might
 W - 4 potions of resistance
 Y - a potion of cure mutation
Miscellaneous
 f - a stone of tremors
 o - an ornate deck of wonders {the Alchemist}
 w - a fan of gales
 x - a phial of floods
 I - a lamp of fire
Comestibles
 d - 16 meat rations


   Skills:
 O Level 27 Fighting
 O Level 27 Axes
 - Level 7.0 Crossbows
 O Level 27 Armour
 + Level 22.7 Dodging
 - Level 15.0 Evocations


Action                   |  1- 3 |  4- 6 |  7- 9 | 10-12 | 13-15 | 16-18 | 19-21 | 22-24 | 25-27 || total
-------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------++-------
Melee: Hand axe          |   156 |     2 |       |       |       |       |       |       |       ||   158
       War axe           |       |   124 |   333 |       |    47 |   201 |       |       |       ||   705
       Battleaxe         |       |       |   119 |   861 |   938 |   303 |       |       |       ||  2221
       Executioner's axe |       |       |       |     8 |       |  1256 |  1516 |  1477 |  3235 ||  7492
       Morningstar       |       |       |       |       |       |     8 |       |       |       ||     8
       Unarmed           |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |     8 |       ||     8
 Fire: Arbalest          |       |       |       |    26 |       |       |    27 |       |       ||    53
       Triple crossbow   |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |    11 |     8 ||    19
       Hand crossbow     |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |     1 ||     1
Throw: Javelin           |     1 |    14 |    31 |    13 |       |       |     2 |    21 |     4 ||    86
Invok: Berserk           |       |     1 |     3 |     2 |     2 |     3 |     4 |     2 |     1 ||    18
       Brothers in Arms  |       |       |     2 |     2 |       |     3 |       |     4 |     3 ||    14
       Trog's Hand       |       |       |     1 |     4 |       |     6 |       |     4 |     1 ||    16
       Burn Spellbooks   |       |       |       |     2 |       |     2 |     2 |     3 |     9 ||    18
 Abil: Evoke Invisibilit |       |       |       |       |     1 |     1 |       |     2 |     1 ||     5
       Evoke Flight      |       |       |       |       |       |     4 |       |       |     4 ||     8
Evoke: Wand              |       |       |       |     1 |       |       |       |     2 |    20 ||    23
  Use: Scroll            |       |       |    15 |    17 |    11 |    13 |     3 |    12 |    35 ||   106
       Potion            |       |       |       |       |     2 |     9 |     2 |     8 |     8 ||    29
 Stab: Distracted        |       |       |       |     2 |       |       |       |       |     1 ||     3
       Invisible         |       |       |       |       |       |     5 |       |       |    13 ||    18
  Eat: Chunk             |     3 |     3 |    17 |    28 |    28 |    46 |    36 |    22 |    29 ||   212
       Fruit             |       |     2 |     1 |     3 |       |     9 |     4 |    13 |    17 ||    49
       Beef jerky        |       |       |       |     1 |     1 |       |       |       |     2 ||     4
       Pizza             |       |       |       |     1 |       |       |       |       |     1 ||     2
       Meat ration       |       |       |       |       |       |     1 |     1 |     3 |     9 ||    14
       Bread ration      |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |     6 ||     6
       Royal jelly       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |       |     2 ||     2





Full morgue here.

[GlassGo]

In the meantime, I updated Trunk over Christmas, and Maxwell's lost its temporary rF, rC

What do you mean? You can install new version and char from old version will be compatible?

[Siegurt]

In the meantime, I updated Trunk over Christmas, and Maxwell's lost its temporary rF, rC

What do you mean? You can install new version and char from old version will be compatible?

Yes.

[GlassGo]

How? I have "Windows Tiles Build" from 2014-12-22 installed, should I install it from again (new)?
Which folders should I move to fresh version?

[Sprucery]

Ha ha, looks like I killed 231 Berserkers before I got this win, I suck

Well, you won, so you definitely don't suck :). The next win won't take so long... Congrats!

[Siegurt]

How? I have "Windows Tiles Build" from 2014-12-22 installed, should I install it from again (new)?
Which folders should I move to fresh version?

Save and morgue (Well, if you want your old high scores and the like)

Probably settings too if you have made any changes to your settings (or just init.txt if you're like me and make all your settings changes in that one file)

You could just copy your .cs (the save file) over from the old version to the new one.

Previously (I don't know if it still works this way) you could just install in the same place and it would update your program file and data without clobbering your save files (Although in my experience it's usually clobbered my settings file when I updated) But it's been a long time since I used the "official" installer.

I'd make a copy of your save and settings folder if you decide to just install over the top of the old build, just in cases.

[thevogonpoet]

What do you mean? You can install new version and char from old version will be compatible?

Note that I play online on CDO, so everything is done automatically - everytime a new build is released, I get an update Y/N prompt, and just hit Y.

Then for instance, 10 minutes later I realise I no longer have fire resistance, see I have rCorr and rElec all of a sudden, start thinking I have gone crazy, and have to track down the change log, but that's all part of the joy of trunk.

[GlassGo]

Thanks! All works fine, except I forgot to specify exclusion for antivirus for new build, and got usual bsod (XP).
Was too impatient to try new build.

Note that I play online on CDO, so everything is done automatically - everytime a new build is released, I get an update Y/N prompt, and just hit Y.

I tried to play online, but interface is too clumsy for my taste, alas.

[Sar]

What kind of antivirus does that?

[GlassGo]

Kaspersky. I should note, that my PC from 2007, its motherboard was replaced by something that not so compatible with system (after loading the OS I always get post by Connection Wizard equipment on desktop etc), so I see here nothing criminal.
Also, I didn't reinstall my XP for ages.
And this happen not always.