Dealing with Distortion?

[snow]

I pick up a glowing dagger and click it to see if it's something cool like a dagger of venom. It turns out to be a dagger of distortion.

In the past every time I've unequipped these I've ended up in the Abyss and ended up wandering for a few 1000 turns looking for the rune (why not right?) and ended up being killed in one shot by something the moment I see it.

What would you do in such a situation? Keep the dagger equipped for the rest of the game? Try your luck unequipping it? How can I avoid such a situation?

[Jenx]

When this happens i usually try and unequip it. To me the character is basically ruined, but I don't want to just delete him so I try to see if, by some amazing luck, I will not get banished. I usually do and just quit.

[KoboldLord]

If you're a pure or near-pure caster, and the distortion weapon in question can butcher, just leave it in place. Trying to train fighting with it will be annoying, but it isn't necessarily crippling. Distortion is actually a very high-damage brand for a fast weapon, although uncontrolled blinking of enemies makes it hard to maintain a defensive corridor. Eventually, you will be strong enough to survive a trip to the Abyss, and at this point you can discard it.

If the distortion weapon is absolutely unacceptable for whatever reason, get to a completely-cleared level and unwield it while hoping for the best. The chance of banishment is actually fairly slim, but there's also the possibility of up to nearly 50hp worth of damage, random forced teleportation within the level, and fairly long-lasting confusion. Or you could get no negative effect whatsoever. Grab a good stack of food and whatever teleportation scrolls and speed potions you've accumulated up to this point, and even a fairly low-level character can possibly survive an unlucky Abyssing.

[7hm]

Heh. I just had this happen to me as well.

I'm playing with a DSFE who go the stealth mutation - so he's a stabby / caster for now.

[lucy_ferre]

A player once equipped a dagger of distortion early on. He managed to win the game for the 1st time with it. Me? I would keep it on, unless I had a ring of teleportation or was around LV15-16.

[tormodpwns]

Yep a Distortion weapon is actually not so bad, it deals more damage than electrocution on average. It also banishes or blinks foes, and unless it's a centaur or something, it has no major effect on gameplay (early on, at least, until when you can survive the Abyss which is level 10-12 or so).

[smock]

Heh. I just had this happen to me as well.

I'm playing with a DSFE who go the stealth mutation - so he's a stabby / caster for now.

Does the distortion effect kick in after the main damage, like with flaming and others? If so, distortion could be a wonderful weapon for a stabber relying on sleep. If the monster survives long enough for the effect to kick in, you may prefer it to not be near you. (Given how many SpEn's I've played, it makes me sad that I'm just realizing this now.)

[danr]

I really like distortion weapons. I used to find them all the time, but I haven't seen one in a long time now, at least not one in my weapon school.

[galehar]

A player once equipped a dagger of distortion early on. He managed to win the game for the 1st time with it.

Was he writing a "Let's play"? Was he playing a KoEE named Meepo? I remember this guy! Great story

[lucy_ferre]

A player once equipped a dagger of distortion early on. He managed to win the game for the 1st time with it.

Was he writing a "Let's play"? Was he playing a KoEE named Meepo? I remember this guy! Great story

Yeah. I remember giving him some advice. I was surprised when he defeated Cerebov with the dagger.

[Jenx]

I really don't feel like reading trough that entire thread - what page does the victory run start at?