When to use amulet of harm

[MrRokkomies]

I just found a new amulet, while playing trunk. Amulet of harm: Increases all damage done by and to you 25%, causes drain when taken off.

I was considering using this on my VsAs of Pakellas, since I got a dagger of speed that attacks fast and needs bonus to punch. Then again, the bonus is % based, which is not much on a dagger. This migh make my stabbs considerably more powerfull, but stabs are already plenty powerfull, my hp is low and I do not have that good defences, I think I should take this off.

This is probably a good amulet on heavy weapons users, ranged characters and evasive characters, but quite lethal on squishy races.

[WingedEspeon]

IMO the answer is "never". When you die in crawl it is usually due to bad luck in a hard encounter, and the amulet lets that happen more easily especially on a VS that can't quaff HW. A speed dagger is a fine weapon for a VS however because a lot of your damage comes from your bite.

[The Ferret]

if it's not "never" I'd imagine it's on a tanky character in heavy armor and shield wielding a triple sword or something.

(is the harm multiplier before or after AC?)

[MrRokkomies]

Since it affects all damage, ranged characters also get a great benefit from it. They get to use the bonus before a great portion of enemies get to benefit from it.

[WingedEspeon]

Since it affects all damage, ranged characters also get a great benefit from it. They get to use the bonus before a great portion of enemies get to benefit from it.

until they step on a tele trap into the middle of a bunch of enemies and need escape. then they get all the drawbacks and none of the benefits.

[Hurkyl]

There are surely other asymmetries too; e.g. you don't become 25% more likely to be paralyzed. How does it interact with torment?

[Lasty]

It doesn't increase torment damage.

[asdu]

Why? And are there other exceptions?

[ydeve]

If I'm not mistaken, torment doesn't really do "damage," instead it cuts your hp in half. So the amulet of harm doesn't do anything to it.

And yeah, I wouldn't wear the aumulet. Yes, on a ranged character it could help somewhat, but... damage spikes are still more dangerous than monsters getting into melee. With monsters getting into melee, a timely retreat neutralizes the issue, but it's harder to anticipate damage spikes.

I'd say an EV character is one of the worst characters to use this amulet on (unless you're playing a high hp, high EV character). Many EV characters tend to have lower hp, and when they take a hit, they already get hit hard. Now add on the extra damage from the amulet, and you're likely to get one-shotted or two-shotted when there isn't much you can do about it.

[edgefigaro]

Ranged attack users. This makes your mp and ammo last longer.

[bcadren]

Ranged attack users. This makes your mp and ammo last longer.

Conjurers concerned with keeping MP and killing things faster is really the only viable answer. And then you'd have to be a medium armour caster to try it (Caster in a robe would take too much damage). So ShDA-wearing Air or Fire Elementalist? +25% damage after spellpower would help a lot.

Side note; how does this work with pseudo-summons? Like CBL or IOOD?

[Celerity]

Just throwing this out there, but the draining you get from unequipping the amulet is pretty minor. I see it more as a situational item that you won't mind switching out now and then.

I play a lot of stabbers, and I've for sure had characters who would use this on Z:5 as they had no way to kill OoF's in a reasonable amount of turns, so the choice was always "get lit up like a Christmas tree" vs "ninja the orb and hope for the best". With rMut gone, this is even more true than before. I'm sure there are other situations where you'd want to kill more quickly, like as a ranged character in Vaults.

[onmach]

I've been using it on my current decj. Two runes down, and he's still going strong which is a stark contrast to how my deep elves usually end up. I just seem to have just enough mp to obliterate three or four things and then get away to recharge, leading to fewer cases of running away while getting hit. If I believe I am about to get hit, I can always haste and then remove the amulet and take the drain, although I haven't had to.

[duvessa]

Here's the secret to avoiding damage spikes while using amulet of harm: put it on when you need the damage boost, instead of wearing it while exploring which there is no reason to do

[Hurkyl]

Death cobs are another asymmetry.