YAVP: 15 rune + zig gargoyle

[snow]

I haven't ascended in a while, so it feels good to have crawl it solved again:

https://crawl.kelbi.org/crawl/morgue/sk ... 013734.txt

  Code:

 Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup version 0.25-a0-565-g8875c97ebb (webtiles) character file.

Game seed: 12878446190084442724, levelgen mode: deterministic

7883926 sky the Conqueror (level 27, 199/199 HPs)
             Began as a Gargoyle Berserker on Feb 25, 2020.
             Was an Initiate of Dithmenos.
             Escaped with the Orb
             ... and 15 runes on Feb 26, 2020!
             
             The game lasted 10:45:47 (245850 turns).

sky the Conqueror (Gargoyle Berserker)            Turns: 245850, Time: 10:45:48

Health: 199/199    AC: 71    Str: 30    XL:     27
Magic:  54/54      EV: 24    Int: 19    God:    Dithmenos [......]
Gold:   7313       SH: 35    Dex:  5    Spells: 7/80 levels left

rFire    + + +     SeeInvis +   a - +9 eveningstar (freeze)
rCold    + . .     Gourm    .   e - +8 tower shield {AC+3}
rNeg     + . .     Faith    .   z - +13 storm dragon scales of Nougezib {rElec Str+4 Stlth+}
rPois    ∞         Spirit   .   k - +2 helmet {SInv}
rElec    +         Reflect  .   Q - scarf {rC+ rF+}
rCorr    .         Harm     .   s - +2 pair of gloves {Str+3}
MR       ++...                  E - +2 pair of boots {Stlth+}
Stlth    +++.......             O - amulet "Anubidorch" {rF++ Regen+ Dex-2 Stlth+}
HPRegen  0.83/turn              K - ring of wizardry
MPRegen  0.34/turn              M - ring of Phasing {EV+8}

@: flying, lightly drained
A: big wings, [blurry vision 2], clumsy 1, [deterioration 2], negative energy
resistance 1, electricity resistance, unbreathing, petrification resistance, rot
immunity, AC +20
0: Orb of Zot
}: 15/15 runes: decaying, serpentine, slimy, silver, golden, iron, obsidian,
icy, bone, abyssal, demonic, glowing, magical, fiery, dark
a: Stop Flying, Renounce Religion


You escaped.
You worshipped Dithmenos.
Dithmenos was noncommittal.
You were not hungry.

You visited 18 branches of the dungeon, and saw 90 of its levels.
You visited Pandemonium 11 times, and saw 70 of its levels.
You visited the Abyss 66 times.
You visited 4 bazaars.
You completed 1 ziggurat, and saw 27 of its levels.
You also visited: Gauntlet.

You collected 35210 gold pieces.
You spent 11246 gold pieces at shops.
You donated 16651 gold pieces to Zin.

Inventory:

Hand Weapons
 a - a +9 eveningstar of freezing (weapon)
Armour
 e - a +8 tower shield of protection (worn)
 k - a +2 helmet of see invisible (worn)
 s - a +2 pair of gloves of strength (worn)
 z - the +13 storm dragon scales of Nougezib (worn) {rElec Str+4 Stlth+}
   (You found it on level 7 of the Iron City of Dis)   
   
   It affects your strength (+4).
   It insulates you from electricity.
   It makes you more stealthy.
   
   If you remove this armour, your AC will decrease by 35 (71 -> 36).
 E - a +2 pair of boots of stealth (worn)
 Q - a scarf of resistance (worn)
Magical Staves
 b - an uncursed staff of energy {!a}
Jewellery
 w - the amulet of the Sneaky Scars {Regen+ Slay+3 Stlth+}
   (You found it on level 7 of the Iron City of Dis)   
   
   [amulet of regeneration]
   
   It affects your accuracy and damage with ranged weapons and melee attacks
   (+3).
   It increases your rate of regeneration.
   It makes you more stealthy.
 K - a ring of wizardry (left hand)
 M - the ring of Phasing (right hand) {EV+8}
   (You found it in a Gauntlet)   
   
   [ring of evasion]
   
   It affects your evasion (+8).
 N - the amulet "Etsegufa" {rF+ Regen+}
   (You found it on level 4 of a ziggurat)   
   
   [amulet of regeneration]
   
   It protects you from fire.
   It increases your rate of regeneration.
 O - the amulet "Anubidorch" (around neck) {rF++ Regen+ Dex-2 Stlth+}
   (You found it in Pandemonium)   
   
   [amulet of regeneration]
   
   It affects your dexterity (-2).
   It greatly protects you from fire.
   It increases your rate of regeneration.
   It makes you more stealthy.
 S - the ring "Tuiskie" {rN+ Int+6}
   (You found it on level 25 of a ziggurat)   
   
   [ring of positive energy]
   
   It affects your intelligence (+6).
   It protects you from negative energy.
 U - the macabre finger necklace {rN+}
   (You found it on level 12 of a ziggurat)   
   
   [amulet of nothing]
   
   It protects you from negative energy.
Wands
 D - a wand of digging (24)
Scrolls
 f - 90 scrolls of remove curse
 i - 84 scrolls of identify
 q - 17 scrolls of enchant weapon
 t - 19 scrolls of magic mapping
 x - 24 scrolls of amnesia
 y - 28 scrolls of blinking
 A - 52 scrolls of teleportation
 B - 19 scrolls of enchant armour
 G - 11 scrolls of holy word
 T - 42 scrolls of fog
Potions
 h - 53 potions of curing
 l - 25 potions of cancellation
 n - 11 potions of resistance
 o - 6 potions of might
 F - 31 potions of heal wounds
 I - 8 potions of ambrosia
 J - 23 potions of magic
 L - 23 potions of brilliance
 P - 15 potions of mutation
Miscellaneous
 r - 2 +1 figurines of a ziggurat
 V - a crystal ball of energy
Comestibles
 m - 160 rations


   Skills:
 O Level 27(26.6) Fighting
 O Level 27(26.6) Maces & Flails
 O Level 27(26.6) Armour
 O Level 27(26.6) Dodging
 O Level 27(26.6) Stealth
 O Level 27(26.6) Shields
 O Level 27(26.6) Spellcasting
 O Level 27(26.6) Conjurations
 - Level 13.4(13.2) Hexes
 - Level 15.3(15.1) Summonings
 - Level 24.6(24.3) Necromancy
 - Level 23.7(23.4) Translocations
 + Level 6.4(6.2) Transmutations
 O Level 27(26.6) Fire Magic
 - Level 7.5(7.3) Ice Magic
 O Level 27(26.6) Air Magic
 - Level 13.0(12.7) Invocations
 O Level 27(26.6) Evocations


You had 7 spell levels left.
You knew the following spells:

 Your Spells              Type           Power        Failure   Level  Hunger
c - Controlled Blink      Tloc           N/A          1%          8    ######.
d - Dispel Undead         Necr           #######.     0%          4    None
e - Apportation           Tloc           ######       0%          1    None
f - Fire Storm            Conj/Fire      #######...   1%          9    #######
i - Invisibility          Hex            ######..     1%          6    ##.....
k - Aura of Abjuration    Summ           ######....   1%          5    None
l - Necromutation         Tmut/Necr      ######....   14%         8    ######.
r - Deflect Missiles      Chrm/Air       ######....   1%          6    ##.....
s - Lehudib's Crystal Sp  Conj/Erth      ######....   28%         8    ######.
t - Tornado               Air            #######...   1%          9    #######
P - Glaciate              Conj/Ice       ######....   67%         9    #######


The strategy is to do a normal 3 rune run as a berserker, then switch between zin and tso to farm the abyss, hells, and pan until you can do zigs with tornado.

[snow]

res

[delarado]

How do you use tornado?

I once learnt it on a DEFE and didn't find it useful. In fact, it pretty much got me killed. Nothing seemed to take much damage, and I still took a load of damage while it ran its course.

I couldn't see any situations where it would be better than the instant damage of firestorm.

[Nebukadnezar]

Tornado is 1 action for many turns duration.
It only costs 9 mp for the full duration.
Damage is high....but only for anything close to you when you cast it.
You want some good defences/hp for it because it requires you to stand in the middle of everything

Firestorm/etc. cost 9 mp/cast.
They are totally different screen-clearing spells (which is nice to have this variety)
On a DeXY it is most likely that tornado is not the best use of mp but there might be situations where the spell is good: when you are suddenly surrounded by enemies very close to you without a good way to cblink.

On characters without regaining mp from killing Tornado is a very nice and cheap spell.
You can still melee while Tornado is on, so Tornado is very good at adding a lot of dmg to anything you are fighting in melee.

Edit: Link to my gargoyle of zin doing megazigs (0.16) using Tornado/singularity/santuary mainly with detailed discussion on where to use what spells and why:
viewtopic.php?t=15849
(this lead to the removal of singularity)