CiP : OpBe, to shield or not to shield, that is the question

[mopl]

I have both one and two-handed good weapons :
- 3 triples sword of drain/elec/AM
- an AM double sword

I have a large shield of reflection somewhere and can buy an artefact one.

Being a Be, I'll have plenty of XP to get rid of all shield penalty.

I'm sometimes needlestabbing...

Any thought ?

  Code:

 Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup version 0.17-a0-1564-g7b572aa (webtiles) character file.

mopl the Fencer (Octopode Berserker)               Turns: 52828, Time: 03:35:15

Health: 137/137    AC:  6    Str: 15 (16) XL:     19   Next: 32%
Magic:  30/30      EV: 26    Int: 10 (11) God:    Trog [******]
Gold:   987        SH:  0    Dex: 20      Spells: 0 memorised, 18 levels left

rFire  + . .     SeeInvis .     a - +1 great sword (flame)
rCold  + . .     Clarity  .     (no shield)
rNeg   . . .     SustAt   .     (helmet restricted)
rPois  +         Gourm    .     C - amulet of regeneration
rElec  .         Spirit   .     j - ring of protection from cold
rCorr  .         Warding  .     y - +2 ring of dexterity
rMut   .         Stasis   .     p - +5 ring of protection
MR     +....                    Y - ring of protection from fire
Stlth  +++++++++.               X - +3 ring of slaying
                                T - ring of poison resistance
                                k - ring of stealth
                                E - ring of invisibility

@: somewhat resistant to hostile enchantments, incredibly stealthy
A: almost no armour, amphibious, 8 rings, constrict 8, camouflage 1, gelatinous
body 1
a: Burn Spellbooks, Berserk, Trog's Hand, Brothers in Arms, Renounce Religion,
Evoke Invisibility
}: 1/15 runes: serpentine


You are on level 1 of the Lair of Beasts.
You worship Trog.
Trog is exalted by your worship.
You are not hungry.

You have visited 6 branches of the dungeon, and seen 37 of its levels.
You have also visited: Sewer, Ossuary and Ice Cave.

You have collected 3964 gold pieces.
You have spent 2977 gold pieces at shops.

Inventory:

Hand weapons
 a - a +1 great sword of flaming (weapon)
 b - a +2 dagger of flaming
 c - a +0 blowgun
 Z - a +1 antimagic double sword
Missiles
 m - 14 tomahawks (quivered)
 t - 119 poisoned needles
 w - 13 needles of sleeping
 N - 5 javelins of penetration
 P - 2 throwing nets
 W - 8 curare-tipped needles
Rods
 f - a +4 rod of clouds (16/16) {!a}
   (You bought it in a shop on level 5 of the Dungeon)
Jewellery
 j - a ring of protection from cold (left tentacle)
 k - a ring of stealth (on tentacle)
 p - a +5 ring of protection (on tentacle)
 y - a +2 ring of dexterity (right tentacle)
 C - an amulet of regeneration (around mantle)
 E - a ring of invisibility (on tentacle)
 T - a ring of poison resistance (on tentacle)
 X - a +3 ring of slaying (on tentacle)
 Y - a ring of protection from fire (on tentacle)
Magical devices
 n - a wand of paralysis (6)
 o - a wand of teleportation (4)
 q - a wand of enslavement (2)
 r - a wand of confusion (6)
 v - a wand of digging
 z - a wand of cold
 D - a wand of digging (11)
 I - a wand of polymorph (10)
 Q - a wand of fireball
 V - a wand of fire (2)
Scrolls
 d - 15 scrolls of remove curse
 i - 3 scrolls of magic mapping
 l - 7 scrolls of immolation
 u - 2 scrolls of fear
 A - a scroll of silence {!r}
 K - 5 scrolls of teleportation
 M - a scroll of vulnerability
Potions
 e - 3 potions of heal wounds
 s - 2 potions of haste
 x - 15 potions of curing
 B - 7 potions of might
 F - 2 potions of cancellation
 G - 7 potions of flight
 O - a potion of resistance
 R - 3 potions of agility
 S - 2 potions of ambrosia
Miscellaneous
 g - a phantom mirror
 J - a fan of gales
 L - a sack of spiders {used: 1}
 U - a phial of floods
Comestibles
 h - 10 bread rations


   Skills:
 + Level 14.3 Fighting
 + Level 17.1 Long Blades
 + Level 12.4 Throwing
 + Level 14.9 Dodging
 - Level 15.0 Stealth
 - Level 15.0 Evocations


You have 18 spell levels left.
You don't know any spells.

Dungeon Overview and Level Annotations

Branches:
Dungeon (14/15)            Temple (0/1) D:4            Lair (8/8) D:11
  Swamp (4/4) Lair:3        Snake (4/4) Lair:3        Slime (0/6) Lair:7
    Orc (4/4) D:12            Elf (3/3) Orc:4        Vaults (0/5) D:13

Altars:
Ashenzari
Fedhas
Makhleb
Nemelex Xobeh
Okawaru
Ru
Trog
Vehumet
Xom
Yredelemnul
Zin
The Shining One
Beogh
Jiyva

Shops:
D:5 }   D:7 }   D:11 [   Orc:2 [   Orc:3 !   Orc:4 =[*(   Elf:3 **((*
Snake:2 [

Annotations:
D:10 UH
Lair:4 exclusion: oklob plant
Swamp:4 cold end
Elf:2 3 runed doors
Elf:3 bb, 1 exclusion, dialectric's ghost, mighty GrFi


Innate Abilities, Weirdness & Mutations

You cannot wear most types of armour.
You are amphibious.
You can wear up to eight rings at the same time.
You can use your tentacles to constrict eight enemies at once.
Your skin changes colour to match your surroundings (Stealth).
Your rubbery body absorbs attacks (AC +1).


Message History

You climb upwards. Welcome back to the Dungeon!
There is a staircase to the Lair here.
You climb downwards. Welcome to the Lair of Beasts!
There is a staircase back to the Dungeon, spattered with blood here.
Items here: (((((((((
Items here: !!! " %% ))))) //////// ::::::: ????? [ }
Eat one of 6 beef jerkies? (ye/n/q/i?)
That beef jerky was delicious!
Eat one of 5 beef jerkies? (ye/n/q/i?)
That beef jerky was delicious!
Items here: (((((((((
Drop what? 52/52 slots (_ for help) (? for menu, Esc to quit)
Okay, then.
Unknown command.
Items here: !!! " %% ))))) //////// ::::::: ????? [ }
Items here: ))) ?
a +1 rapier of electrocution; a +2 triple sword of freezing
a +0 antimagic triple sword; 2 scrolls of enchant weapon
Drop what? 52/52 slots (_ for help) (? for menu, Esc to quit)
You drop a +4 great sword of slicing.

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There are no monsters in sight!

[tabstorm]

Always use a shield on Op.

[Berder]

Yeah, shield, you need the extra defenses unless you're a transmuter/have statue form. 6/26 defenses at XL 19 are awfully low (even, low for an octopode) when you have no rmsl/dithmenos. You can probably manage vaults1-4 but you're going to have to be extremely careful about luring and use invis a lot.