SpBe Zot Run- looking for pointers

[mageykun]

Char Dump time.

So, after my first SpEn's ignoble and careless death to poison in Zot, I dove back in with another. I've got the first 5 runes, and I'm technically able to being the assault on Zot, but I'm not sure I'm ready and I'm looking for some advice. This time I'd really like the first win thing to work.

Last time, I planned to walk in with rMut, rF+++ and hasted sling orbs of fire to death with a +12 sling. This time though, my sling is much less impressive. I do have pretty good mele damage with the katana, but the lack of shield means I'm a bit more fragile in combat. Also, I'm at all not convinced it' sane to try and close with an orb of fire.

I haven't found anything with rMut all game- despite getting a trove that was entirely rings and amulets. I even went back and checked all the extra non-rune Shoals:5 vaults, and cleared Slime looking for it! Yes, I know. Clearing slime for rMut, real smart. But hey, for some reason the shining eyes only gave me good mutations! :p At this point I'm almost tempted to just wander the abyss for a while till I find the amulet- it'll have to spawn eventually- but that seems an overwhelming lame thing to do.

That crown I've got in inventory is the only hat I've found all game. Weird, huh? One level of hunger doesn't really hurt a sprig much, but I still reserve it for areas where rElec actually matters.

So, yeah. What should I do for Zot? How should I get past those pesky Orbs of Fire?

  Code:

 Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup version 0.7.1-1-g7ce9b19 character file.

Skian the Intangible (Spriggan Berserker)                                             Turns: 139458, Time: 13:37:44

HP 178/178       AC 16     Str 13      Exp: 27/1209639 (13360)
MP  32/32        EV 45     Int  4      God: Trog [*****.]
Gold 7912        SH  0     Dex 30      Spells:  0 memorised, 28 levels left

Res.Fire  : + + .   See Invis. : +   a - +9 katana (slice) {god gift}
Res.Cold  : + . .   Warding    : .   g - +6 robe {rF+}
Life Prot.: . . .   Conserve   : .   (shield restricted)
Res.Poison: .       Res.Corr.  : .   (helmet restricted)
Res.Elec. : .       Clarity    : .   S - +3 cloak of the Rose {rF+ rC+}
Spirit.Shd: +       Stasis     : .   (gloves unavailable)
Sust.Abil.: . .     Rnd.Telep. : .   (boots unavailable)
Res.Mut.  : .       Ctrl.Telep.: +   W - amulet of guardian spirit
Res.Rott. : .       Levitation : .   m - ring "Uphe" {MR AC+4 Int-4}
Saprovore : . . .   Ctrl.Flight: .   K - +3,+3 ring of slaying

@: very quick, incredibly resistant to hostile enchantments, incredibly stealthy
A: unfitting armour, see invisible, breathe flames 1, herbivore 3, speed 3, regeneration 1, slow metabolism 3,
teleport control, Dex +1
a: Burn Spellbooks, Berserk, Trog's Hand, Brothers in Arms, Renounce Religion, Breathe Fire


You are on level 1 of the Lair of Beasts.
You worship Trog.
Trog is exalted by your worship.
You are full.

You have visited 15 branches of the dungeon, and seen 83 of its levels.
You have visited the Abyss 1 time.
You have visited 1 Labyrinth.
You have visited 1 bazaar.
You have visited 3 portal chambers: ice cave, wizlab, trove.

You have collected 11149 gold pieces.
You have spent 1932 gold pieces at shops.
You have used 1325 gold pieces for miscellaneous purposes.

Inventory:

Hand weapons
 a - a +9,+9 katana of slicing (weapon) {god gift}
 b - a +4,+4 sling of flame {god gift}
 U - the +6,+5 long sword "Treuner" {venom, rF+ rN+ AC+7}
   (You found it on level 18 of the Dungeon)   
   It poisons the flesh of those it strikes.
   It affects your AC (+7).
   It protects you from fire.
   It protects you from negative energy.
Missiles
 c - 16 poisoned sling bullets {god gift}
 f - 17 +4 sling bullets of flame {god gift}
 q - 24 steel +9 sling bullets {god gift}
 A - 11 exploding sling bullets {god gift}
 E - 20 +4 sling bullets of frost {god gift}
 O - 9 poisoned +3 sling bullets
Armour
 g - a +6 robe of fire resistance (worn)
 L - a +2 robe of positive energy {Francis'}
 Q - the +3 crown of Dyrovepreva {Hunger rElec Int+2 SInv, rElec}
   (You bought it in a shop on level 10 of the Dungeon)   
   It affects your intelligence (+2).
   It insulates you from electricity.
   It enhances your eyesight.
   It speeds your metabolism.
 S - the +3 cloak of the Rose (worn) {rF+ rC+}
   (You found it on level 18 of the Dungeon)   
   It protects you from fire.
   It protects you from cold.
Magical devices
 h - a wand of disintegration {zapped: 8}
 l - a wand of hasting (2)
 v - a wand of teleportation {zapped: 5}
 w - a wand of digging {zapped: 3}
Comestibles
 y - 3 bread rations
 M - 3 royal jellies
Scrolls
 d - a scroll of recharging
 e - 2 scrolls of blinking
 i - a scroll of magic mapping
 r - 2 scrolls of detect curse
 t - 2 scrolls of identify
 z - 4 scrolls of fear
 H - 2 scrolls of teleportation
 J - 3 scrolls of remove curse
 P - 3 scrolls of fog
Jewellery
 j - an uncursed ring of teleportation
 m - the ring "Uphe" (right hand) {MR AC+4 Int-4}
   (You found it on level 1 of the Vaults)   
   [ring of protection from magic]
   It affects your AC (+4).
   It affects your intelligence (-4).
 p - an uncursed ring of levitation
 I - the ring "Smar" {rPois AC+4 Int+1}
   (You found it in a Labyrinth)   
   [ring of poison resistance]
   It affects your AC (+4).
   It affects your intelligence (+1).
 K - a +3,+3 ring of slaying (left hand)
 T - an uncursed ring of protection from fire
 W - an amulet of guardian spirit (around neck)
Potions
 D - 3 potions of healing
 Z - 3 potions of heal wounds
Books
 x - a blackened book   
   Trog disapproves of the use of such an item.
 V - a tome of Destruction   
Magical staves
 s - a +6 rod of warding (11/11)
   (You found it on level 6 of the Elven Halls)


 You have 13360 experience left.

   Skills:
 + Level 16 Fighting
 - Level 11 Short Blades
 - Level 18 Long Blades
 - Level 2 Axes
 - Level 1 Maces & Flails
 - Level 1 Polearms
 - Level 16 Slings
 - Level 2 Throwing
 * Level 27 Dodging
 + Level 20 Stealth
 + Level 18 Stabbing
 + Level 9 Traps & Doors
 + Level 3 Unarmed Combat
 - Level 1 Spellcasting
 + Level 7 Evocations


You have 28 spell levels left.
You don't know any spells.

Dungeon Overview and Level Annotations

Branches:
Dungeon (27/27)            Temple (1/1) D:6             Orc (4/4) D:8
    Elf (7/7) Orc:3          Lair (8/8) D:13         Shoals (5/5) Lair:4
  Slime (6/6) Lair:6        Snake (5/5) Lair:5         Hive (2/2) D:13
  Vault (8/8) D:16          Blade (1/1) Vault:6       Crypt (5/5) Vault:2
   Tomb (0/3) Crypt:2         Dis (2/7) Hell            Geh (0/7) Hell
    Coc (0/7) Hell            Tar (0/7) Hell            Zot (1/5) D:27

Altars:
Cheibriados
Elyvilon
Fedhas
Kikubaaqudgha
Makhleb
Nemelex Xobeh
Okawaru
Sif Muna
The Shining One
Trog
Vehumet
Xom
Yredelemnul
Zin
Jiyva

Shops:
D:10: [  D:12: /  D:19: ?  D:20: =  Elf:1: (  Elf:7: !  Vault:1: [  Vault:4: *  Vault:8: !

Portals:
Hell: D:21 D:22 D:23 D:24 D:25 D:26 D:27
Abyss: D:22* D:24 D:25 D:26
Pan: D:22 D:24 D:27

Annotations
D:4 exclusion: downstairs
D:10 Lava Level!
D:14 exclusion: neqoxec
D:15 exclusion: upstairs
D:16 exclusion: oklob plant
Elf:4 exclusion: 2 downstairs
Shoals:1 exclusion: downstairs
Shoals:4 exclusion: oklob plant
Snake:2 exclusion: downstairs
Snake:3 Frances, Mara, Friggin Mara!, exclusions: Frances and Mara
Snake:4 exclusion: downstairs
Crypt:5 exclusion: 2 curse skulls


                    Innate Abilities, Weirdness & Mutations

You are tiny and cannot use many weapons and most armour.
You have supernaturally acute eyesight.
You are a herbivore.
You cover ground extremely quickly.
You need consume almost no food.
You are agile (Dex +1).
You can breathe flames.
Your natural rate of healing is unusually fast.
You can control translocations.


Message History

the +3 cloak of the Jolly Planets {EV+4 Str+2}
There is a staircase back to the Dungeon here.
Unknown command.
Save game and exit?
Welcome back, Skian the Spriggan Berserker.
Trog says: Kill them all!
Press ? for a list of commands and other information.

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[szanth]

Yeesh. Well... Damn. You've done all the 'sane' levels already. Tomb and the Hells are pretty 'insane'. I don't think anyone would begrudge you if you went and abyss-scummed for a while to get that rmut and maybe some kind of useful hat. Just be careful of getting bad mutations there.

[lucy_ferre]

Fight them one at a time or avoid them. You could drink a potion of invisibility and teleport randomly in Zot:5, until you land near the Orb chamber. Then stab the guardians, grab the Orb, and teleport near a staircase. Or summon a few allies, go berserk, slaughter the guardians, and grab the Orb. Both methods work.

[asdu]

I haven't found anything with rMut all game- despite getting a trove that was entirely rings and amulets. I even went back and checked all the extra non-rune Shoals:5 vaults, and cleared Slime looking for it! Yes, I know. Clearing slime for rMut, real smart. But hey, for some reason the shining eyes only gave me good mutations! :p At this point I'm almost tempted to just wander the abyss for a while till I find the amulet- it'll have to spawn eventually- but that seems an overwhelming lame thing to do.

Damn, pretty much the same thing happened to me on a recent SpEn game, except I was looking for teleport control in addition to rMut (can you belive I cleared the whole dungeon and all the "regular" branches and didn't find teleport control neither as spell nor as ring??? And yes, I did find the jewelry-only treasure trove too). I tried to scum the Abyss, but found nothing and got bored. I then resigned to try Slime, got bersekitis from a golden eye (no cure mutation in this game, either), it kicked in at the wrong time and an I got killed by an azure jelly :/

[mageykun]

Yeesh. Well... Damn. You've done all the 'sane' levels already. Tomb and the Hells are pretty 'insane'. I don't think anyone would begrudge you if you went and abyss-scummed for a while to get that rmut and maybe some kind of useful hat. Just be careful of getting bad mutations there.

The tomb is insane. Last time I was suicidal enough to brave it, it was with a HEAE spamming the pre-nerf air elemental fan and haste. And I almost made it. There isn't enough Trog piety in the world for me to try that now. I'm not really worried about mutations in the abyss- sprigs are much faster than Neqoxeces, and I already braved slime after all.

Fight them one at a time or avoid them. You could drink a potion of invisibility and teleport randomly in Zot:5, until you land near the Orb chamber. Then stab the guardians, grab the Orb, and teleport near a staircase. Or summon a few allies, go berserk, slaughter the guardians, and grab the Orb. Both methods work.

Fight them one at a time is my usual approach. I just have no idea if I'll be able to take them as is.

Just how viable is the random 'port strategy? What are the odds? It feels like a big risk relying on luck after a whole game of careful play. I think everything in Zot except the draconians can sInvs- do you still get a stealth boost even if they see you? The real risk with this, as I see it, is my only cTele comes from a mutation (never found that ring either). One lucky shot from an orb of fire, and I won't be able to teleport out to the stairs.

@asdu: My last SpEn had berserkitis too. Actually, so did his guy at one point- but thankfully I had a few cure mutations stashed. Actually, what's odd, is I haven't found any potions of mutation this game.

[78291]

If you have any silver sling bullets, they do double damage against orbs of fire and ancient liches, two of the biggest threats on zot:5.

[lucy_ferre]

Fight them one at a time is my usual approach. I just have no idea if I'll be able to take them as is.

Just how viable is the random 'port strategy? What are the odds? It feels like a big risk relying on luck after a whole game of careful play. I think everything in Zot except the draconians can sInvs- do you still get a stealth boost even if they see you? The real risk with this, as I see it, is my only cTele comes from a mutation (never found that ring either). One lucky shot from an orb of fire, and I won't be able to teleport out to the stairs.

Several people in the tournament got their 1st wins by doing it. And I do it pretty often. It's not nearly as risky as it sounds. Anyway, all you need is Haste, several healing potions, a ring of teleportation, an invisibility potion (gives a huge stealth boost), several fog scrolls, and a magic mapping scroll.

[GrimmSweeper]

Being mutated at the end point of a game isn't much of an issue. You will look pretty horrid when you haul yourself and that Orb out of the dungeons, but they are not going to completely screw your chances. What's more important is keeping your rF up if you plan on taking on Orbs. If you just start retreating the moment you see one, you don't even need rF+++; rF++ or if you're feeling buff rF+ will do.

Find all three exits from Zot:5 and check them to see if they're safe. Worse comes to worse if you need to bail you know the best direction to do so to heal up and try again.

Hasted, you can outrun all monsters so don't be afraid in just driving toward the Orb if you've dropped close by random teleport. You want to bail if the Ancient Liches have smelled your blood (or heaven forbid chain-casted Summon Major Demon) or there is an Orb of Fire within LoS. This has the added benefit of, if things don't work and you're blocked from getting to the Orb, the noise attracted the Guardians to that side of the vault. The other side will be a bit more clear if you get there.