Unidentified items?

[Unparallelogram]

I always end up with a ton of stuff, and I don't necessarily know what to do with it that doesn't put myself at unworthwhile risk.

1. Weapons / Armor
Which ones are worth testing by wearing? Should I care about ones without a special adjective? Should I care about things I wouldn't normally use? (Heavy armor on a caster, or weapons with bad proficiency.) How do I decide what to keep/use without fully knowing? (Mostly, the weapons that have adjectives but no direct indication of power.)

2. Scrolls / Potions
Are they safe to identify by using? If so, when should I start doing this?

3. Wands
They seem rare and I feel bad using up a charge.

Thanks!

[Jenx]

1. I'm no expert at this game (have yet to even get two runes in one game), but the way I do it with fighters is I decide if I'll be going for EV or AC. if I go for AC, try and wear the heaviest armor I can get my hands on. From then onward, I just test out heavy armor with blue names (meaning magical) and look out for armor with white names (meaning artifacts). Same thing for caster, although I'd suggest you stick to robes or leather armor at best, at least until later in the game.

Same thing for weapons - Decide what you're using and check out magical weapons of that same type. I tend to ignore almost everything else unless I'm playing Nemelex in which case you should just be sacrificing everything you see and don't use anyway.

2. Scrolls/Potions - I usually wait until D:2 or sometimes even D:3 to start test IDing potions and scrolls. Scrolls are a lot easier - the worse they can do is curse your armor/weapon/jewelry or cause immolation, which you should be able to survive on D:2/D:3. Read the scrolls you have the most of, since those tend to be Identify/Remove Curse/Enchant [Something] and one of those curse ones, which doesn't matter since you also probably have remove curse too.

Potions are a bit trickier, but in general try to drink the ones you have the most of anyway, or use an ID scroll on them. Once you find Potion of Healing you can fairly safely test out other potions by drinking them, since the worse ones - Poison, Decay and such can easily be fixed by a potion of healing. Degradation is annoying since it lowers one of your stats, but you'll walk it off.

3. Look at it like this - Would you feel more worse about spending a wand or about dying?

[Grimm]

2. Scrolls / Potions
Are they safe to identify by using? If so, when should I start doing this?

Use-identify is fine for s & p. My method is to wait until about DL 5. By then I have a stack of s & p with standard frequencies starting to show up. (Healing potions are the most common; identify scrolls are the most common). I also wait till I have cleared the level, in order to avoid teleporting into trouble, and until I have some XP in pool, so that reading scrolls will train spellcasting. Then I put my unID'd rings, weapons and armour on in order to check for cursed items. Then I read scrolls, starting with the ones I have the fewest of and going up. Three types of scrolls prompt you to select an item: enchant armour, recharge wand, and identify. If it's a low-frequency scroll it is one of the first two types: I usually try it on armour first as a +1 will be of long term benefit. If that fails you know it's a recharge. Identify scrolls are for use on jewellery that doesn't wear-identify, and if you have none of that, on potions. Scrolls that don't read-ID and don't prompt for an item are either fear or amnesia - I think there's one other type that does this too. Read them in the presence of a monster: fear will ID at that point. Remove curse scrolls are fairly high frequency while curse foo are fairly low freq, so you should be able to scrub your curses with one scroll if you test in reverse frequency order.

I test potions in reverse frequency order too. The chief danger is mutation. Mutation and cure mutation are both rare so I am gambling that I get the former before the latter. Degeneration is curable by using a healing potion right away, as are poison and strong poison - though regular poison can be waited out if you have a nice bank of HP. Confuse, paralyse and slow are no threat when you are on a cleared level.

If you don't have a big stack of either scrolls or pots by DL 5, wait a bit longer, but if you need healing/remove curse right away in an emergency, start at the highest frequency.

3. Wands
They seem rare and I feel bad using up a charge.

Their rarity seems to fluctuate pretty wildly - some games I get only a handful, in others I drown in wands, plus find wand shops. Basically, use-ID these guys early and often. They can save your life. Start by shooting them at an angle towards wall two or more squares away - this will ID digging wands and keep fireballs and lightning bolts from hitting you. If "nothing happens" then use them on yourself. The self-shot will ID the non-bolt effects while avoiding polymorphing creatures into something dangerous or healing or hasting them. These two shots will ID pretty much all wands. I think there might be one wand that isn't revealed by this method but I can't remember what it is.

Once you find recharge scrolls stash those little buggers like diamonds. Don't carry too many at once in case they get burnt.

[mageykun]

Potions:

Quaff Identification is it's own minigame. Once you've built up a few stacks of potions, it's time to start test ID-ing. I like to do my drinking standing on the down stairs of a cleared floor. Your biggest stack is probably healing. Save those for if you get poisoned. Test another one at random. If you get something good- like speed or might, go down the stairs and use your temporary boost to help you slap monsters. If you get something bad or useless, wait it out. If you get poisoned, try and find healing to cure it- again, it's probably your biggest stack.

It's essential you ID healing, heal wounds, and maybe the buffs. Once you've done that, either stop, or start using ID scrolls. Sometimes, if you're particularly afraid of a certain potion (for instance, finding mutation or cure mutation when you lucked into a good mutation set and don't want it messed up) you may want to stop quaff ID-ing entirely.

Scrolls:

I usually wait till I have something I need an ID scroll for before I start test ID-ing scrolls (like a ring or amulet). I like to do my reading standing on the up stairs of a new floor, just in case I find magic mapping. If you get tele, go back upstairs to the cleared level, where it's safe to be moved somewhere at random. If you get a scroll that asks for a target, it's either ID, enchant weapon, or recharging.

It's also a good ID to be wielding a non ego item. That way you can ID scrolls of enchant weapon I, II, and III, as well as vorpalize weapon. If you read a scroll and nothing happens, it's either remove curse (if you had no curses) or fear or holy word. Some people say you should test scrolls with a popcorn monster in sight to ID fear, but I just assume the stack I couldn't ID was fear.

Wands:

They ain't that rare. Fire at will.

Most wands will auto identify when fired at something. Make sure you shoot at popcorn, hasting or polymorhing something reasonably tough can get you killed. Until you find dig, try and set up shots so there's a wall behind your target. Until you find fireball and lightning, make sure you stand far enough away that the blast or bounce won't hit you. If you fire at something and nothing happens, it's probably dig. Test it on a wall. If nothing still happens, it's probably haste or healing and it's safe to test it on yourself.

Weapons, Armor:

If you need a weapon (either because you class doesn't start with one, or you don't want to use the kind your class starts with) feel free to just grab the first one you find. It probably isn't cursed, or negatively enchanted. After that, collect anything with an adjective, and test them in bulk with scrolls of detect curse and equipping (I often wait till I get encumbered. Then test and dumb the junk you don't need). Once you've got a nice branded weapon, and have filled most your armor slots, you can stop this. You might do it again if you're looking for armor of a particular resist, or if you're going through every robe in the dungeon looking for a robe or resistance. Mostly however, once you're fully equipped you only upgrade if you find something of a better base type, or for artefacts, or if you kill a nice unique and you're wondering if their shiny sword is better than yours. :p

Edit: double ninja-ed! I hate you all. u_u

[Grimm]

I concur with mageykun's advice to refrain from potion IDing. If you've ID'd most pots but haven't come across mutation, or cure mutation when you have a nice mute set, then stop drinking unIDed pots until you've scroll-ID'ed the dangerjuice.

You can check which items you know and don't know with \.

[XuaXua]

When ID'ing scrolls, always wear your best armor, wield your favorite weapon, and wear good jewelery (ring or amulet) just in case they get cursed and you don't happen to have a remove curse scroll.

When you get a scroll where "nothing happens", and you are wearing a cursed item, it is not Remove Curse.
Try using it in front of a red imp; then you'll find out if it is Fear or Holy Word.

The worst thing to accidentally wield-identify is a weapon with distortion brand because the only way to id that beforehand is either
(1) to have witnessed it in combat
(2) know it is a dagger dropped by Psyche
(3) use (read: waste) an identification scroll on it

I have found that distortion-branded weapons seem to always have the "glowing" adjective. "Glowing" adjective is also used for many other things, so don't automatically shy away, but I've always found distortion to use it as well. Is this a constant for all distortion brands - can anyone answer that?

[Stormfox]

When ID'ing scrolls, always wear your best armor, wield your favorite weapon, and wear good jewelery (ring or amulet) just in case they get cursed and you don't happen to have a remove curse scroll.

At least in 0.7, don't make it an artifact weapon. Enchant weapon scrolls will also get you "nothing happens" unless it happens to be cursed.

[galehar]

I have found that distortion-branded weapons seem to always have the "glowing" adjective. "Glowing" adjective is also used for many other things, so don't automatically shy away, but I've always found distortion to use it as well. Is this a constant for all distortion brands - can anyone answer that?

Adjectives are random. This is a coincidence.

When ID'ing scrolls, always wear your best armor, wield your favorite weapon, and wear good jewelery (ring or amulet) just in case they get cursed and you don't happen to have a remove curse scroll.

Better idea: take the armour and jewellery off so they don't get cursed at all.

But then the scroll isn't id'ed.

[Tiber]

For potions, there's a level 1 spell called fulsome distillation that's good for mutations. It also has the benefit of ID'ing negative potions for you.

[XuaXua]

When ID'ing scrolls, always wear your best armor, wield your favorite weapon, and wear good jewelery (ring or amulet) just in case they get cursed and you don't happen to have a remove curse scroll.

Better idea: take the armour and jewellery off so they don't get cursed at all.

The intent is to get any curse in the event curse weapon isn't found so remove curse can be determined.

Also correct regarding wielding an artifact; wield your best non-artifact so any enchant scrolls aren't wasted.

Super cautious may drop all scrolls before id'ing each in case immolation is discovered and eats your inventory. No bonus for carrying extra scrolls unless you count scroll of identification.

[sigfried von murdock]

A lot of in game probability helps to ID. I won't give any numbers, but getting a feel for how often certain potions and scrolls come up, and the quantity you have can help. Like if you are level 4 and have 4 of a certain potion, it probably isn't going to be any gain stat permanently, cure or give mutation, or strength, speed, or brilliance. Etc. Probably healing, poision, heal wounds, confusion.

Most potions are non lethal when in a safe position with reasonable HP, and having a dozen scrolls makes it easy to uncurse any items afflicted with a curse from the batch, assuming you have two uncurse scrolls.

Better to know what something is and waste a use, then not know what it is and fail to use it when it could save your life. A full wand of fireball on a corpse will do you no favors. A once used wand of fire ball... Can work wonders.

[FlyingPants]

Try playing ashenzari, eventhing instantly identified :> Except potions/scrolls of course, but you can spend your ID scrolls on them since you have plenty.

[Unparallelogram]

Thanks guys!

Also, what does it mean to have or not have an adjective? (I remember seeing certain +somethings without an adjective.) If I only check adjective weapons and armor, will I miss out on brands or artifacts or other such things?

[galehar]

Thanks guys!

Also, what does it mean to have or not have an adjective? (I remember seeing certain +somethings without an adjective.) If I only check adjective weapons and armor, will I miss out on brands or artifacts or other such things?

Branded stuff always have a cosmetic adjective. Things with an adjective have always either plus (or minus) or a brand. Things without an adjective can have some plus or minus, but never a brand.

[mageykun]

I'm going to fall back on my visual illustration, cause it's easier. Ego items and artefacts are color coded for your convenience, so you can't miss them. The adjectives we're referring to show up right in line.

example.png (8.05 KiB) Viewed 5174 times

a is an artefact. b is a potentially branded weapon, or at least enchanted. c has no brand. The colors are the same for armors and weapons.

All normal, potentially branded items use the same few adjectives, ie glowing, dyed, runed. Artefacts however have a long list of potential adjectives, and some fixdarts always use the same adjective (so you can ID them on sight if you're spoiled).

[XuaXua]

Also, if the item is in red, that doesn't mean you can't use it (I think); I've recently learned that the red simply indicates an arbitrary and likely unnecessary color coding to distinguish weapon types (like spears from swords).

[galehar]

Also, if the item is in red, that doesn't mean you can't use it (I think); I've recently learned that the red simply indicates an arbitrary and likely unnecessary color coding to distinguish weapon types (like spears from swords).

It depends where. In 0.7, the same item can have a different colour whether you're looking at it in the status area or in the inventory. Status area and % screen use item type colouring. Inventory colours are more about usefulness. This isn't the case anymore in 0.8. The same item should have the same colour across the whole interface. If it isn't the case, please, report it to me.

[Grimm]

Another ID tip: buy bad scrolls and potions in shops because they will count as IDing that scroll/potion type.

[XuaXua]

Also, if the item is in red, that doesn't mean you can't use it (I think); I've recently learned that the red simply indicates an arbitrary and likely unnecessary color coding to distinguish weapon types (like spears from swords).

It depends where. In 0.7, the same item can have a different colour whether you're looking at it in the status area or in the inventory. Status area and % screen use item type colouring. Inventory colours are more about usefulness. This isn't the case anymore in 0.8. The same item should have the same colour across the whole interface. If it isn't the case, please, report it to me.

Haven't paid attention to it for a while since I stopped picking up long weapons with my Spriggans. I'll see if I encounter it.

In other news, the buy inexpensive at shops tip is another good one that I totally forgot about. A+.