SpEN of Makleb, not sure what to do next


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Temple Termagant

Posts: 12

Joined: Wednesday, 18th July 2018, 19:34

Post Wednesday, 18th July 2018, 19:45

SpEN of Makleb, not sure what to do next

Hi all, I picked up DCSS after a long time, my previous best was a two rune MiBe. Anyways, I am trying a Spriggan Enchanter and I am running out of places to go. I have cleared Lair, but my entry into Spider was pretty tough and I'm wary of Shoals without more MR. I don't know if I could handle Orc either. I know I need to add some spells to my repertoire but I'm not sure what would be best (Petrify?), or if I have the skill to even cast anything else.

I put a dump below. Let me know if you'd like to see anything else.

  Code:
 Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup version 0.21.1 (tiles) character file.

Fach the Unseen (Spriggan Enchanter)               Turns: 31561, Time: 07:06:17

Health: 72/72      AC:  9    Str:  4    XL:     14   Next: 34%
Magic:  39/39      EV: 29    Int: 19    God:    Makhleb [******]
Gold:   1132       SH:  0    Dex: 19    Spells: 24/35 levels left

rFire    + . .     SeeInvis +   d - +6 rapier of Watchfulness {pierce, rN+}
rCold    + . .     Gourm    .   (shield restricted)
rNeg     + . .     Faith    +   v - +0 troll leather armour
rPois    .         Spirit   .   m - +2 hat
rElec    .         Reflect  .   u - scarf {rC+ rF+}
rCorr    .         Harm     .   (gloves unavailable)
MR       ++...                  (boots unavailable)
Stlth    ++++++....             X - amulet of faith
HPRegen  0.62/turn              J - ring of magical power
MPRegen  0.26/turn              N - +3 ring of protection

@: very quick
A: very small, unfitting armour, see invisible, herbivore, speed 3, slow
metabolism 2
a: Minor Destruction, Lesser Servant of Makhleb, Major Destruction, Greater
Servant of Makhleb, Renounce Religion


You are on level 12 of the Dungeon.
You worship Makhleb.
Makhleb is exalted by your worship.
You are not hungry.

You have visited 4 branches of the dungeon, and seen 21 of its levels.
You have also visited: Bailey and Volcano.

You have collected 1172 gold pieces.
You have spent 40 gold pieces at shops.

Inventory:

Hand Weapons
 d - the +6 rapier of Watchfulness (weapon) {pierce, rN+}
   (You found it on level 9 of the Dungeon)   
   
   It inflicts extra damage upon your enemies.
   
   It protects you from negative energy.
 D - a +4 dagger of chaos
 Q - a dagger of electrocution
Armour
 m - a +2 hat (worn)
 u - a scarf of resistance (worn)
 v - a +0 troll leather armour (worn)
 B - a +2 buckler
Jewellery
 l - an uncursed ring of protection from cold
 s - an uncursed ring of flight
 A - an uncursed ring of positive energy
 J - a ring of magical power (left hand)
 N - a +3 ring of protection (right hand)
 V - an uncursed ring of poison resistance
 X - an amulet of faith (around neck)
Wands
 y - a wand of polymorph (23)
 E - a wand of digging (55)
 K - a wand of iceblast (15)
 L - a wand of clouds (12)
 M - a wand of paralysis (4)
 W - a wand of disintegration (17)
Scrolls
 e - 3 scrolls of magic mapping
 f - 5 scrolls of fog
 g - 8 scrolls of teleportation
 k - 3 scrolls of fear
 q - 9 scrolls of remove curse
 t - a scroll labeled PUIFRAX TOLOP
 w - 4 scrolls of blinking
 x - a scroll labeled FITHAYBRIU
 Z - 2 scrolls labeled TEESITRYLEE
Potions
 a - a dark potion
 b - a potion of resistance
 c - a bubbling brown potion
 h - 2 viscous golden potions
 j - 2 green potions
 n - 4 potions of brilliance
 r - 2 pink potions
 z - 4 murky coppery potions
 C - 4 potions of lignification
 O - 6 potions of curing
 P - a ruby potion
 R - 2 fizzy white potions
 U - 3 emerald potions
 Y - 2 puce potions
Books
 i - a book of Alchemy   
   
    Spells                           Type                      Level
    a - Sublimation of Blood         Necromancy                    2
    b - Ignite Poison                Fire/Transmutation/Poison     3
    c - Petrify                      Transmutation/Earth           4
    d - Alistair's Intoxication      Transmutation/Poison          5
    e - Irradiate                    Conjuration/Transmutation     5
 o - a book of Cantrips   
   
    Spells                           Type                      Level
    a - Confusing Touch              Hexes                         1
    b - Animate Skeleton             Necromancy                    1
    c - Summon Small Mammal          Summoning                     1
    d - Apportation                  Translocation                 1
 F - a book of Callings   
   
    Spells                           Type                      Level
    a - Summon Small Mammal          Summoning                     1
    b - Call Imp                     Summoning                     2
    c - Call Canine Familiar         Summoning                     3
    d - Summon Guardian Golem        Hexes/Summoning               3
    e - Summon Lightning Spire       Summoning/Air                 4
    f - Summon Ice Beast             Ice/Summoning                 4
 I - a book of Enchantments   
   
    Spells                           Type                      Level
    a - Cause Fear                   Hexes                         4
    b - Yara's Violent Unravelling   Hexes/Transmutation           5
    c - Silence                      Hexes/Air                     5
    d - Deflect Missiles             Charms/Air                    6
    e - Discord                      Hexes                         8
 S - a book of Misfortune   
   
    Spells                           Type                      Level
    a - Confusing Touch              Hexes                         1
    b - Confuse                      Hexes                         3
    c - Gell's Gravitas              Translocation                 3
    d - Petrify                      Transmutation/Earth           4
    e - Metabolic Englaciation       Hexes/Ice                     5
    f - Yara's Violent Unravelling   Hexes/Transmutation           5
Miscellaneous
 G - a fan of gales
 H - a phantom mirror
 T - a lamp of fire (inert)
Comestibles
 p - 19 rations


   Skills:
 + Level 7.5 Fighting
 + Level 11.3 Short Blades
 + Level 14.3 Dodging
 + Level 16.0 Stealth
 * Level 3.8 Shields
 + Level 11.1 Spellcasting
 + Level 12.0 Hexes
 + Level 7.2 Invocations


You have 24 spell levels left.
You know the following spells:

 Your Spells              Type           Power        Failure   Level  Hunger
a - Mephitic Cloud        Conj/Pois/Air  ##......     34%         3    None
b - Ensorcelled Hibernat  Hex/Ice        ####..       1%          2    None
c - Confuse               Hex            ######..     1%          3    None
d - Tukima's Dance        Hex            ######..     1%          3    None


Dungeon Overview and Level Annotations

Branches:
Dungeon (13/15)            Temple (1/1) D:6            Lair (6/6) D:9
 Shoals (0/4) Lair:4       Spider (1/4) Lair:3        Slime (0/5) Lair:6
    Orc (0/2) D:12       
Vaults: D:13-14     

Altars:
Ashenzari
Cheibriados
Dithmenos
Elyvilon
Fedhas
Gozag
Hepliaklqana
Kikubaaqudgha
Makhleb
Nemelex Xobeh
Okawaru
Qazlal
Ru
Sif Muna
Trog
Uskayaw
Vehumet
Wu Jian
Xom
Yredelemnul
Zin
The Shining One

Shops:
D:4 !%**[   D:9 !   D:12 =   D:13 *

Annotations:
D:8 1 runed door
D:10 1 exclusion
D:12 2 runed doors
D:13 1 exclusion
Lair:1 exclusion: 2 oklob plants
Lair:5 exclusion: oklob plant


Innate Abilities, Weirdness & Mutations

You are very small and have problems with some larger weapons.
You are too small for most types of armour.
You have supernaturally acute eyesight. (SInv)
You are a herbivore.
You cover ground extremely quickly.
You need consume almost no food.


Message History

The skeletal warrior is too close now for your liking.
There is a stone staircase leading up here.
You climb upwards.
Level annotation: 2 runed doors
There is a stone staircase leading down here.
You see here a dagger.
You feel a surge of divine interest.
X - an amulet of faith (around neck)
Search for what [Enter for "book", or ? for help]? amulet
Your movement speed is very quick. Your attack speed is quite fast.
Unknown command.
Unknown command.
Char dumped to 'morgue/Fach.txt'.
Saving game... please wait.
Level annotation: 2 runed doors
Welcome back, Fach the Spriggan Enchanter.
Blood and souls for Makhleb!
Press ? for a list of commands and other information.
Unknown command.
Save game and exit?

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##.##...##   ##...[.[[....><...#
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######.#........##  ########....
8...8#.#.#####.## ######.....#.#
.....#.#..#.)..####......#####.#
..>..).##..<###..).÷######   #..
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8...8#)##..#)[.#####          ##
######.##(###....).#############
...#.(.))...[.####).............
...#..[†..#####  ###############


There are no monsters in sight!

Vanquished Creatures
  Nessos (Lair:4)
  3 hydras
  Harold (D:10)
  2 centaur warriors (D:13)
  3 two-headed ogres
  2 orc knights (Bailey)
  A wolf spider (Lair:3)
  A manticore (D:12)
  2 salamanders (Volcano)
  5 ugly things
  Maurice (D:8)
  2 black mambas
  Psyche (D:11)
  A torpor snail (Lair:6)
  21 spiny frogs
  9 komodo dragons
  A komodo dragon (shapeshifter) (D:12)
  A rime drake (Lair:4)
  8 jumping spiders
  5 trolls
  2 polar bears
  3 hornets
  4 tyrant leeches (Lair:6)
  Prince Ribbit (D:8)
  2 dream sheep (Lair:6)
  21 blink frogs
  4 slime creatures
  7 hippogriffs
  Sigmund (D:3)
  4 shadows
  A tarantella (Spider:1)
  A wyvern (D:9)
  7 redbacks
  A human (D:7)
  2 fire bats (Volcano)
  50 yaks
  2 basilisks
  4 hogs (D:6)
  6 vampire mosquitoes
  A hungry ghost (D:7)
  Edmund (D:6)
  8 water moccasins
  3 hell hounds
  19 porcupines
  An eye of draining (D:13)
  4 orc warriors
  5 sky beasts
  A black bear (Lair:1)
  4 ice beasts
  A necrophage (D:10)
  13 ogres
  5 centaurs
  10 crocodiles
  3 big kobolds (D:12)
  24 bullfrogs
  A wyvern zombie (D:9)
  A gnoll sergeant (D:12)
  4 scorpions
  3 killer bees
  6 wights
  3 electric eels
  2 howler monkeys (D:9)
  A bullfrog zombie (D:5)
  6 crimson imps
  2 quasits
  Crazy Yiuf (D:4)
  3 bullfrog skeletons
  A centaur skeleton (D:9)
  5 hounds
  3 jellies
  An orc priest (D:7)
  An iguana (D:5)
  9 worker ants
  12 orc wizards
  A hound skeleton (D:5)
  2 howler monkey zombies
  Robin (D:2)
  8 gnolls
  11 adders
  7 shadow imps
  An ooze (D:2)
  7 worms
  4 dart slugs
  4 leopard geckos
  34 orcs
  12 bats
  6 giant cockroaches
  16 goblins
  15 hobgoblins
  26 jackals
  5 kobolds
  5 quokkas
  5 frilled lizards
  A giant cockroach zombie (D:5)
  A leopard gecko skeleton (D:5)
  8 rats
542 creatures vanquished.

Vanquished Creatures (collateral kills)
  A two-headed ogre (Volcano)
  A merfolk siren (Lair:4)
  A tarantella (Lair:3)
  A porcupine (Lair:2)
  An orc warrior (D:12)
  An ogre (D:12)
  A big kobold (D:12)
  A gnoll sergeant (D:12)
  An orc priest (D:12)
  2 orc wizards
  A gnoll (D:12)
  5 orcs
17 creatures vanquished.

Vanquished Creatures (others)
  A lindwurm (Volcano)
  3 dancing weapons
  An orc wizard (D:7)
  14 fungi (Lair:6)
  47 plants
66 creatures vanquished.

Grand Total: 625 creatures vanquished

Notes
Turn   | Place    | Note
-------+----------+-------------------------------------------
     0 | D:1      | Fach the Spriggan Enchanter began the quest for the Orb.
     0 | D:1      | Reached XP level 1. HP: 9/9 MP: 5/5
    67 | D:1      | Reached XP level 2. HP: 13/13 MP: 4/6
    71 | D:1      | Learned a level 2 spell: Ensorcelled Hibernation
  1091 | D:1      | Reached skill level 5 in Stealth
  1445 | D:1      | Reached XP level 3. HP: 11/16 MP: 2/8
  1462 | D:1      | Learned a level 3 spell: Confuse
  2773 | D:2      | Reached XP level 4. HP: 21/21 MP: 6/9
  3198 | D:2      | Found a radiant altar of Vehumet.
  3201 | D:2      | Noticed Robin
  3298 | D:2      | Killed Robin
  3802 | D:2      | Found a shadowy altar of Dithmenos.
  4033 | D:3      | Noticed Sigmund
  4053 | D:3      | Killed Sigmund
  4053 | D:3      | Reached skill level 6 in Stealth
  4053 | D:3      | Reached XP level 5. HP: 5/24 MP: 5/11
  4053 | D:3      | Reached XP level 6. HP: 6/28 MP: 5/12
  4307 | D:2      | Learned a level 3 spell: Tukima's Dance
  5264 | D:3      | Reached skill level 7 in Stealth
  5698 | D:4      | Found Quhulups's Distillery.
  6084 | D:4      | Bought a potion of curing for 30 gold pieces
  6084 | D:4      | Bought a potion of degeneration for 10 gold pieces
  6156 | D:4      | Found Joleych's Armour Shop.
  6159 | D:4      | Reached skill level 5 in Dodging
  6159 | D:4      | Reached skill level 5 in Hexes
  6159 | D:4      | Reached XP level 7. HP: 30/32 MP: 14/14
  6248 | D:4      | Found Leadghere's General Store.
  6260 | D:4      | Found Hohus's Assorted Antiques.
  6262 | D:4      | Found Ofraek's Food Shop.
  6703 | D:4      | Found a runed door.
  6707 | D:4      | Noticed Crazy Yiuf
  6711 | D:4      | Killed Crazy Yiuf
  6777 | D:5      | Entered Level 5 of the Dungeon
  6796 | D:5      | Reached skill level 8 in Stealth
  7187 | D:5      | Reached skill level 5 in Short Blades
  7743 | D:5      | Found a glowing golden altar of the Shining One.
  8789 | D:6      | Noticed Edmund
  8811 | D:6      | Killed Edmund
  8811 | D:6      | Reached skill level 5 in Spellcasting
  8811 | D:6      | Reached XP level 8. HP: 36/36 MP: 11/16
  8818 | D:6      | Found a staircase to the Ecumenical Temple.
  8831 | Temple   | Entered the Ecumenical Temple
  8847 | Temple   | Became a worshipper of Makhleb the Destroyer
  9440 | D:6      | Found a sacrificial altar of Ru.
  9440 | D:6      | Found a snail-covered altar of Cheibriados.
  9441 | D:6      | Found an ornate altar of the Wu Jian Council.
  9442 | D:6      | Found a deep blue altar of Sif Muna.
  9442 | D:6      | Found a stormy altar of Qazlal.
  9593 | D:6      | Reached skill level 9 in Stealth
  9924 | D:6      | Noticed a moth of wrath
  9927 | D:6      | Found a bloodstained altar of Trog.
 11185 | D:6      | Reached XP level 9. HP: 39/39 MP: 13/19
 11240 | D:6      | Reached skill level 10 in Stealth
 11389 | D:6      | Reached * piety under Makhleb
 11669 | D:7      | Reached skill level 1 in Fighting
 12755 | D:8      | Noticed Maurice
 12846 | D:8      | Found a runed door.
 12846 | D:8      | Found a glowing silver altar of Zin.
 12846 | D:8      | Noticed an angel
 12882 | D:8      | Reached XP level 10. HP: 48/48 MP: 17/21
 12921 | D:8      | Noticed Prince Ribbit
 13076 | D:8      | Killed Maurice
 13153 | D:8      | Reached ** piety under Makhleb
 13195 | D:8      | Reached skill level 11 in Stealth
 13346 | D:8      | Found a sparkling altar of Nemelex Xobeh.
 13414 | D:8      | Killed Prince Ribbit
 13519 | D:9      | Found Naosm's Distillery.
 13564 | D:9      | Found a staircase to the Lair.
 13766 | D:9      | Found a bloodstained altar of Trog.
 14461 | D:9      | Got a shimmering rapier
 14462 | D:9      | Identified the +6 rapier of Watchfulness {pierce, rN+} (You found it on level 9 of the Dungeon)
 14713 | D:9      | Found Naosm's Distillery.
 14759 | D:10     | Entered Level 10 of the Dungeon
 14817 | D:10     | Found a flagged portal.
 14850 | Bailey   | Entered a bailey
 14961 | Bailey   | Noticed an orc knight
 14975 | Bailey   | Noticed an orc knight
 15016 | Bailey   | Reached *** piety under Makhleb
 15145 | Bailey   | Killed an orc knight
 15145 | Bailey   | Reached skill level 12 in Stealth
 15242 | Bailey   | Found the +8 orange crystal plate armour {Archmagi, Int+3 Clar}
 15244 | Bailey   | Got a pitted large shield
 15287 | Bailey   | Killed an orc knight
 15831 | D:10     | Noticed a two-headed ogre
 15836 | D:10     | Killed a two-headed ogre
 15836 | D:10     | Reached XP level 11. HP: 53/53 MP: 24/24
 15994 | D:10     | Noticed Harold
 15996 | D:10     | Killed Harold
 15996 | D:10     | Reached skill level 10 in Dodging
 16277 | D:9      | Found a bloodstained altar of Trog.
 16310 | D:9      | Found a staircase to the Lair.
 16709 | Lair:1   | Entered Level 1 of the Lair of Beasts
 16800 | Lair:1   | Noticed an oklob plant
 16827 | Lair:1   | Reached skill level 1 in Invocations
 17227 | Lair:1   | Noticed an oklob plant
 17410 | Lair:2   | Reached skill level 13 in Stealth
 18037 | Lair:2   | Reached skill level 5 in Fighting
 18037 | Lair:2   | Reached skill level 10 in Hexes
 18788 | Lair:3   | Found a hole to the Spider Nest.
 19104 | Lair:3   | Reached XP level 12. HP: 60/60 MP: 26/26
 19117 | Lair:3   | Reached **** piety under Makhleb
 19385 | Lair:3   | Learned a level 3 spell: Mephitic Cloud
 19506 | Lair:4   | Noticed Nessos
 19519 | Lair:4   | Killed Nessos
 19961 | Lair:4   | Found a staircase to the Shoals.
 20723 | D:11     | Noticed Psyche
 20725 | D:11     | Noticed an eight-headed hydra
 20732 | D:11     | Killed an eight-headed hydra
 20732 | D:11     | Reached skill level 10 in Short Blades
 20920 | D:10     | Reached skill level 5 in Invocations
 20976 | D:10     | Reached skill level 14 in Stealth
 21458 | D:11     | Killed Psyche
 22096 | D:12     | Reached skill level 10 in Spellcasting
 22180 | D:12     | Reached ***** piety under Makhleb
 22743 | D:12     | Found Guxzyar's Jewellery Emporium.
 22903 | D:12     | Found a staircase to the Orcish Mines.
 22916 | D:12     | Reached XP level 13. HP: 59/65 MP: 22/28
 23548 | D:12     | Found a large runed door.
 23556 | D:12     | Found a large runed door.
 23712 | D:13     | Reached skill level 15 in Stealth
 24685 | Lair:4   | Found a staircase to the Shoals.
 25182 | Lair:5   | Found a dark tunnel.
 25209 | Volcano  | Entered a volcano
 26788 | Lair:3   | Found a hole to the Spider Nest.
 26852 | Spider:1 | Entered Level 1 of the Spider Nest
 27319 | Lair:3   | Reached skill level 1 in Shields
 27574 | Lair:6   | Entered Level 6 of the Lair of Beasts
 28248 | Lair:6   | Reached ****** piety under Makhleb
 28357 | Lair:6   | Found a staircase to the Slime Pits.
 28976 | Lair:6   | Reached XP level 14. HP: 72/72 MP: 29/29
 30860 | D:13     | Found Buojy's Assorted Antiques.
 31044 | D:13     | Reached skill level 16 in Stealth

Skill      XL: |  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 11 12 13 14 |
---------------+-------------------------------------------+-----
Stealth        |     5     6     7  8  9 10 12 13 14 15 16 | 16.0
Short Blades   |     2     3     4  5  6  7  8  9 10 11    | 11.3
Spellcasting   |        3        4  5  6  7  8  9 10    11 | 11.1
Hexes          |        4        5     7  8  9 10 11    12 | 12.0
Dodging        |           4     5     7  8  9 10 12 14    | 14.3
Fighting       |                          2  4  5  6  7    |  7.5
Invocations    |                                4  5  6  7 |  7.2
Shields        |                                      2  3 |  3.8

Action                   |  1- 3 |  4- 6 |  7- 9 | 10-12 | 13-15 || total
-------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------++-------
Melee: Dagger            |   143 |   313 |   470 |    84 |       ||  1010
       Rapier            |       |       |       |   286 |   379 ||   665
 Cast: Corona            |     1 |       |     4 |       |       ||     5
       Ensorcelled Hiber |    35 |    36 |    60 |   148 |   123 ||   402
       Confuse           |     3 |     6 |    27 |    91 |   136 ||   263
       Tukima's Dance    |       |       |     4 |    16 |    26 ||    46
       Mephitic Cloud    |       |       |       |     3 |     9 ||    12
Invok: Minor Destruction |       |       |       |     1 |       ||     1
       Lesser Servant of |       |       |       |     1 |       ||     1
       Major Destruction |       |       |       |     1 |       ||     1
 Abil: Stop Flying       |       |       |       |     1 |       ||     1
       Evoke Flight      |       |       |       |     1 |       ||     1
Evoke: Wand              |       |       |       |       |     1 ||     1
       Lamp of fire      |       |       |       |       |     1 ||     1
  Use: Scroll            |       |     4 |     4 |    20 |     3 ||    31
       Potion            |       |       |     1 |       |       ||     1
 Stab: Sleeping          |    23 |    23 |    49 |   131 |    70 ||   296
       Confused          |     1 |     2 |    12 |    39 |    74 ||   128
       Distracted        |       |       |       |     2 |     4 ||     6
  Eat: Ration            |     1 |     3 |     7 |     4 |     4 ||    19
Armor: Robe              |    26 |    16 |    24 |    12 |     2 ||    80
       Troll leather arm |       |       |       |       |    16 ||    16
Dodge: Dodged            |   179 |   214 |   289 |   202 |   321 ||  1205
Block: Buckler           |       |       |       |       |     1 ||     1

Swamp Slogger

Posts: 146

Joined: Wednesday, 30th August 2017, 23:08

Post Wednesday, 18th July 2018, 21:25

Re: SpEN of Makleb, not sure what to do next

The "default" order looks something like this:

Lair -> D:12 -> Orc -> D:15 -> S:3 -> maybe other S:3 -> maybe Elf:1-2 -> get one S rune -> Vaults:4 -> get second S rune -> maybe Crypt -> Depths:5 -> get three runes -> Zot ("S" means Shoals/Snake/Spider/Swamp)

(I tend to do D:12 -> Lair -> D:14/15 -> Orc, but in either case...) Orc is absolutely your next stop.

Where spells are concerned, Petrify is pretty redundant - if you can kill something with hexes, some combination of hibernation, confuse, and Tukima's will do the trick. Petrify affects some things hibernation doesn't (and paralyzes them,) but that's kind of a fringe benefit, since confuse also affects stuff hibernation doesn't. You definitely want to start thinking about how you're going to deal with stuff you can't hex, though. Earth magic IS a decent answer to that, if you get things like LRD or iron shot online. Summon Lightning Spire is one of the best spells of the game, especially for a fast species, so I'd start there.

How do you have so few identified potions? Have you been using identify scrolls on something else? They should definitely go to your potions first - potions are a lot of your emergency buttons, but also they're the thing most likely to actually hurt you if you just start quaff-IDing them.

Train some armour skill. Your troll leather's hurting your spell success rates, and like 6 skill would help a lot with that. Similarly, I would suggest raising your strength the rest of the levels - having a stat at 0 can potentially lose you the game, and if you get that far, Zot traps can drain up to 7 strength, and mutations can remove up to 6. It will also help you wear some nicer armor if you find it. (You don't have to worry much about statloss for a while, and it's a small chance, but I'd strongly recommend increasing your strength every level you can until you hit 8.

For this message the author Stonar has received thanks: 2
arandomperson12, battalion

Temple Termagant

Posts: 12

Joined: Wednesday, 18th July 2018, 19:34

Post Wednesday, 18th July 2018, 21:50

Re: SpEN of Makleb, not sure what to do next

Stonar wrote:Earth magic IS a decent answer to that, if you get things like LRD or iron shot online. Summon Lightning Spire is one of the best spells of the game, especially for a fast species, so I'd start there.


I have access to both Lightning Spire and Lee's Rapid Deconstruction, as well as the spell slots for them. However, I can't train Earth or Summonings Skill and I have 0 air magic. Should I train some skill points to either?

Stonar wrote:How do you have so few identified potions? Have you been using identify scrolls on something else? They should definitely go to your potions first - potions are a lot of your emergency buttons, but also they're the thing most likely to actually hurt you if you just start quaff-IDing them.


Burned a lot of ID scrolls on weapons and rings/amulets, but I also haven't found an ID scroll in 4-5 levels.

Stonar wrote:Train some armour skill. Your troll leather's hurting your spell success rates, and like 6 skill would help a lot with that. Similarly, I would suggest raising your strength the rest of the levels - having a stat at 0 can potentially lose you the game, and if you get that far, Zot traps can drain up to 7 strength, and mutations can remove up to 6. It will also help you wear some nicer armor if you find it. (You don't have to worry much about statloss for a while, and it's a small chance, but I'd strongly recommend increasing your strength every level you can until you hit 8.


Should I just switch back to a robe then? I can up the STR.

I also don't really know what to train. I can add armor. I was focusing on Shields for now because I think having a buckler might be helpful, but right now I'm splitting between Fighting, Short Blades, Dodging, Shields, Spellcasting, Hexes, Invocations, and Stealth. Are any of these high enough that I can take a break and focus on different skills?

Swamp Slogger

Posts: 146

Joined: Wednesday, 30th August 2017, 23:08

Post Wednesday, 18th July 2018, 22:11

Re: SpEN of Makleb, not sure what to do next

battalion wrote:I have access to both Lightning Spire and Lee's Rapid Deconstruction, as well as the spell slots for them. However, I can't train Earth or Summonings Skill and I have 0 air magic. Should I train some skill points to either?


You can only train skills that you have access to something that use them - if you memorize Summon Lightning Spire, you will be able to train Summonings, and if you train LRD, you'll be able to train Earth Magic.

battalion wrote:Burned a lot of ID scrolls on weapons and rings/amulets, but I also haven't found an ID scroll in 4-5 levels.


I'd suggest not doing that in the future - you can wield weapons and wear rings with little risk, as long as you have a remove curse scroll. (Amulets are slightly riskier, since harm and faith have potentially nasty removal penalties, but even they're probably worth just wearing to identify.) Identify potions first.

battalion wrote:Should I just switch back to a robe then? I can up the STR.


Try both and compare spell failure rates, AC, and EV. If you can cast the spells you want to cast in leather, wear leather. Otherwise, wear robes, and check again later. Also, if wearing the leather reduces your EV by a lot more than it increases your AC (like if you go from 3 AC, 18 EV to 6 AC, 6 EV,) then you should also stay away from the heavier armor.

battalion wrote:I also don't really know what to train. I can add armor. I was focusing on Shields for now because I think having a buckler might be helpful, but right now I'm splitting between Fighting, Short Blades, Dodging, Shields, Spellcasting, Hexes, Invocations, and Stealth. Are any of these high enough that I can take a break and focus on different skills?


Train "the stuff you need to kill" first. So in your case, that means getting some skill into hexes, short blades, and stabbing. If you're killing stuff reasonably, then start putting skill into defenses as well. Stop training weapons once you reach mindelay (for a rapier, that's 14 short blades.) Your stealth is plenty. Your dodging is plenty for now, though you'll want to turn it back on eventually. You should train spellcasting until you have enough spell levels to memorize the spells you want and have enough mana. (You should be there.) Train spell schools until they're castable, and then evaluate further how effective they are - you're unlikely to increase the effectiveness of the hexes you currently have by training that further. Train shields until they no longer give you a spell penalty (7.2, for your buckler.) And train Invocations at least until you can use all of your god abilities, and then evaluate how good they are at killing stuff (in this case, you could probably use more.) Always train fighting. So if I were you, I'd be training Fighting, Shields, Invocations, Short Blades at minimum. I'd probably memorize Summon Lightning Spire, and work on getting that castable in leather armor, so I'd add Armour, Summonings, Air Magic (all to 6 or so.)

For this message the author Stonar has received thanks: 2
arandomperson12, battalion

Swamp Slogger

Posts: 182

Joined: Monday, 2nd July 2018, 16:47

Location: United States

Post Wednesday, 18th July 2018, 23:30

Re: SpEN of Makleb, not sure what to do next

Confuse is extremely powerful. It is one of those character-defining spells that will almost always be the best action in almost every situation. When thinking about what you want next for your character, you should think about what will complement Confuse. Examples include better defenses, some way to kill enemies with high magic resistance, escape tools, etc.

Petrify does not complement Confuse at all, as it is basically a worse version of Confuse.

Makhleb provides some great ways to kill enemies, especially with an amulet of faith; starting a fight with a couple of demon allies will usually swing the odds in your favor. This can kill enemies that resist Confuse, or can be combined with Confuse to be even more devastatingly powerful. Lightning Spire serves a similar role, as it is also a very powerful summon. I suggest you focus on one of these for now (train invocations for Makhleb, or Air and Summoning for Lightning Spire).

Whatever you decide, I highly recommend turning off all skills except for what you are focusing on. This way you will have tighter control over how your experience is spent, and reach your specific goals faster.

The easiest areas for you to be in right now are the Dungeon and Orcish Mines. I would definitely try to finish those before attempting Spider or anywhere else.

As a new-ish player, the most important keys to you winning will be tactics and carefulness. Whenever you see an enemy, try to evaluate how likely it is to kill you - monsters with spells or ranged weapons can be pretty dangerous, since you won't always survive walking away from them. If an enemy has even a slim chance of killing you, make sure you do something to remove that chance: perhaps use your abilities to become overwhelmingly powerful (confusing it, making a swarm of summons, quaffing potions of might, agility, and/or speed), or perhaps just avoid that enemy indefinitely by walking upstairs and taking a different staircase back down. Do not get into any risky fight if you don't have to, because a large number of risks will eventually end in failure (if you roll a D20 many times, you will inevitably roll 1). If you have to take a risk, be sure to make it as small as possible by applying your abilities and resources.

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battalion

Crypt Cleanser

Posts: 689

Joined: Saturday, 12th December 2015, 23:54

Post Wednesday, 18th July 2018, 23:36

Re: SpEN of Makleb, not sure what to do next

My armor choice on this character would be, in order of preference, robe of archmagi, steam dragon scales, or any other ego robe. You should memorize cause fear. Assuming that those books are the only books you have, I would probably train for summon lightning spire next, which means turning off everything else unrelated to that until it has a decent failure rate. I guess I'd train dodging for a while after getting lightning spire. At some point you will want more fighting, maybe rapier mindelay, and maybe more shield skill but none of this stuff is really urgent. Long term I'd probably get more summons (mana vipers, shadow creatures, etc) if they are available but obviously you should pick up invis if you find it and typical utility spells like blink, and your character is built such that going for discord is not a completely insane idea so you could eventually consider that too.

For this message the author Hellmonk has received thanks: 2
battalion, duvessa

Temple Termagant

Posts: 12

Joined: Wednesday, 18th July 2018, 19:34

Post Thursday, 19th July 2018, 20:05

Re: SpEN of Makleb, not sure what to do next

Thanks for the advice! I cleared most of Orc:2 but now the way down to Orc:3 is blocked by a room that has at least 3 orc sorcerors and Nergalle. I already faced down an Orc High Priest, Orc Sorceror, and Or Warlord on this floor (a lot of stair dancing) so I don't know if I just got a really tough roll or what. I got a +2 robe so I ditched the Troll Leather Armor and am up to 3.5 summoning/3.8 air magic, so lightning spire failure rate is down to 14%. Just trying to nerve up to pop this door open and start stabbing.

Swamp Slogger

Posts: 182

Joined: Monday, 2nd July 2018, 16:47

Location: United States

Post Thursday, 19th July 2018, 20:37

Re: SpEN of Makleb, not sure what to do next

Those enemies are all slower than you, so with enough floor space, it should be possible to lure one out and kill it, and repeat to kill them all individually - that is, if you can kill them individually. You might have an easier time in Spider or Shoals.

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