The Tavern

Code:: [19:39] <Sequell> 5641 games for * (snake recent): 1057x a shock serpent, 872x a naga sharpshooter, 473x a naga warrior, 332x a greater naga, 315x a salamander, 293x a nagaraja, 256x a black

Why do these do so much damage? Like holy shit, it's so much damage.

I think they actually don't do that much more damage than a naga warrior wielding a decent weapon, in theory. Naga warriors have 28, constrict(6) and the fighter flag, so with something like a glaive or battleaxe they can get to about 45 damage. Similarly naga sharpshooters I think do 17, 5(constrict), so if I'm calculating the ranged damage correctly it should get up to about 40 (master archer flag + 15 for longbow).

The difference is, shock serpents are fast and have af:elec which I think has some kind of non-interaction with AC, and naga sharpshooters don't seem to miss very often. Shock serpents also have the recoil thing.

Practically every other Snake enemy that hits reasonably hard is also slow, melee-only, or both, so I think it's reasonable to have such a skewed kill list in Snake.

If this is a rhetorical question thread I couldn't really tell you why they were added, probably because of interest or something.

tabstorm wrote:I think they actually don't do that much more damage than a naga warrior wielding a decent weapon, in theory. Naga warriors have 28, constrict(6) and the fighter flag, so with something like a glaive or battleaxe they can get to about 45 damage. Similarly naga sharpshooters I think do 17, 5(constrict), so if I'm calculating the ranged damage correctly it should get up to about 40 (master archer flag + 15 for longbow).

The difference is, shock serpents are fast and have af:elec which I think has some kind of non-interaction with AC, and naga sharpshooters don't seem to miss very often. Shock serpents also have the recoil thing.

Practically every other Snake enemy that hits reasonably hard is also slow, melee-only, or both, so I think it's reasonable to have such a skewed kill list in Snake.

If this is a rhetorical question thread I couldn't really tell you why they were added, probably because of interest or something.

I think ts is correct here, it isn't so much the comparitive amount of damage it is that the damage is harder to avoid or get away from.

I think shock serpants kill people because a lot of people haven't found rElec yet, and sharpshooters have crazy accuracy. If we were going to nerf them at all I'd want to make them miss a bit more often, so that AC characters can still be threatened. All the times I remember being in huge trouble in snake is mostly vashnia and his pack of sharpshooters, unless I've done something silly like letting a guardian serpent surround me with nagas in all directions.

I haven't played against them as much as some people but it seems like the shock serpents you're just not allowed to melee - unless you're really diesel and then you can melee them but they're a massive tax on your hp. The sharpshooters have portal projectile so they basically have smite++ I guess? Combined with constriction and random poisoning everything in snake is just some kind of tax on your hp but these two dudes are more taxing.

I often polymorph shock serpents.

bel wrote:I often polymorph shock serpents.

Me too. In addition to Sonja and Maurice they are to me the main reason to carry polymorph wands.

Sprucery wrote:
bel wrote:I often polymorph shock serpents.

Me too. In addition to Sonja and Maurice they are to me the main reason to carry polymorph wands.

That'll work since there is less likely to be a worse outcome (guardian serpent could be in some situations) but for me, enslavement is a go-to wand against shock serpents.

Paralyze and confuse work great if you're out of polymorph charges. The recoil alone doesn't do that much damage, it's that plus the constant lightning bolts that put it over the top.

Seconding Confuse as an excellent way to kill shock serpents

Yeah, any sort of confusion on serpents if it's strong enough. If you're lucky, you get to missile them down instead of melee them.

Summons can also do the dirty work, if you get them occupied.

The Tavern

Shock Serpent and Naga Sharpshooter

Shock Serpent and Naga Sharpshooter

Re: Shock Serpent and Naga Sharpshooter

Re: Shock Serpent and Naga Sharpshooter

Re: Shock Serpent and Naga Sharpshooter

Re: Shock Serpent and Naga Sharpshooter

Re: Shock Serpent and Naga Sharpshooter

Re: Shock Serpent and Naga Sharpshooter

Re: Shock Serpent and Naga Sharpshooter

Re: Shock Serpent and Naga Sharpshooter

Re: Shock Serpent and Naga Sharpshooter

Re: Shock Serpent and Naga Sharpshooter