What should I wear?

[ddubois]

My thought process was a berserker naga made sense since constriction helps with runners and is currently OP in this version, and being able to eat poison corpses should help with food clock. In retrospect, I'm not sure it's the most powerful combo, but my many deaths are mostly due to me hubris ("WOW! Trog gave me a triplesword - this thing is amazing!! And I have rC++, so I don't need to berzerk to kill that ice dragon! I'll just hit tab a few times.") and sloppiness ("Ha, Orcs are easy, I'll just tab through them all. Hey, there's five of them surrounding me now... and one's a knight... and the warrior has a branded axe...").

Anyway, this character has some good stuff, and more armor options that you can shake a stick at. I haven't found an enchant armor scroll yet, but I suspect that item Z might be one. What should I wear, and what skill targets should I focus on to "wear it right"?

  Code:

Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup version 0.10.2 character file.

Constrictor the Fighter (Naga Berserker)           Turns: 12769, Time: 01:15:57

HP 109/109       AC  6     Str 21      XL: 11   Next: 61%
MP  10/10        EV 16     Int  8      God: Trog [*****.]
Gold 1331        SH  9     Dex 17      Spells:  0 memorised, 10 levels left

Res.Fire  : + . .   See Invis. : +    (no weapon)
Res.Cold  : + . .   Warding    : . .  (no armour)
Life Prot.: . . .   Conserve   : .    W - +1 buckler
Res.Acid. : . . .   Res.Corr.  : .    (helmet restricted)
Res.Poison: +       Clarity    : .    (no cloak)
Res.Elec. : +       Spirit.Shd : .    (no gloves)
Sust.Abil.: . .     Stasis     : .    (no barding)
Res.Mut.  : .       Ctrl.Telep.: .    (no amulet)
Res.Rott. : .       Levitation : .    d - +3 ring of protection
Saprovore : . . .   Ctrl.Flight: .    V - +2 ring of evasion

@: agile, very slow, somewhat resistant to hostile enchantments, extremely
stealthy
A: spit poison, constrict 1, horns 1, see invisible, deformed body, mutation
resistance 1, poison resistance, slowness 2, Str +1, Dex -1
a: Spit Poison, Burn Spellbooks, Berserk, Trog's Hand, Brothers in Arms,
Renounce Religion


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

You have visited 1 branch of the dungeon, and seen 12 of its levels.
You have visited 1 portal chamber: ossuary.

You have collected 1388 gold pieces.
You have spent 77 gold pieces at shops.

Inventory:

Hand weapons
 f - an uncursed sling
 s - an uncursed glowing elven short sword
 w - the +1,+5 long sword of Causality {speed, rF+ rC+}
   (You found it on level 5 of the Dungeon)   
   
   Attacks with this weapon take half as long, but cause slightly less damage.
   
   It protects you from fire.
   It protects you from cold.
 K - an uncursed great mace
Missiles
 l - 40 stones (quivered)
 E - 33 sling bullets
Armour
 i - a +0 golden helmet
 p - an uncursed crystal plate armour
 r - an uncursed glowing orcish shield
 y - a +2 orcish robe
 A - a +2 dwarven plate armour of poison resistance
 H - an uncursed mottled dragon hide
 T - a +0 troll hide
 W - a +1 buckler (worn)
Magical devices
 a - a wand of digging {zapped: 3}
 b - a wand of magic darts {zapped: 1}
 v - a wand of paralysis {zapped: 6}
 I - a wand of confusion {zapped: 2}
 J - a wand of cold {zapped: 2}
 N - a wand of slowing {zapped: 1}
 S - a wand of fire {zapped: 2}
 U - a wand of fire
 X - a wand of flame {zapped: 2}
Comestibles
 c - 9 bread rations
 o - a chunk of hippogriff flesh
 u - 2 meat rations
 C - 3 chokos
 F - 40 strawberries
 L - 11 grapes
 M - 11 sultanas
 Y - 11 pears
Scrolls
 h - 2 scrolls of identify
 j - 5 scrolls of remove curse
 m - 2 scrolls of detect curse
 t - a scroll of fog
 x - 3 scrolls of recharging
 D - 3 scrolls of enchant weapon I
 G - a scroll of blinking
 R - 2 scrolls of teleportation
 Z - a scroll labeled BLANUT UMEKHUU
Jewellery
 d - a +3 ring of protection (right hand)
 k - an uncursed ring of fire
 n - an uncursed amulet of rage
 q - an uncursed amulet of stasis
 O - an uncursed ring of sustain abilities
 V - a +2 ring of evasion (left hand)
Potions
 e - 2 potions of brilliance
 g - 7 potions of curing
 z - a potion of heal wounds
 B - 2 potions of resistance


   Skills:
 + Level 13.6 Fighting
 + Level 10.8 Long Blades
 - Level 3.0 Axes
 - Level 1.5 Armour
 - Level 1.5 Dodging
 - Level 9.1 Stealth
 - Level 3.0 Traps & Doors


You have 10 spell levels left.
You don't know any spells.

Dungeon Overview and Level Annotations

Branches:
Dungeon (12/27)            Temple (0/1) D:6             Orc (0/4) D:8
   Lair (0/8) D:10       

Altars:
Fedhas
Makhleb
Vehumet

Shops:
D:10: *

Annotations
D:10 exclusion: oklob plant


                    Innate Abilities, Weirdness & Mutations

You cannot wear boots.
You can spit poison.
You can use your snake-like lower body to constrict enemies.
Your serpentine skin is tough (AC +3).
You have supernaturally acute eyesight.
Armour fits poorly on your strangely shaped body.
Your system is resistant to poisons.
You cover ground very slowly.
You have a pair of small horns on your head.
You are somewhat resistant to further mutation.
Your muscles are strong, but stiff (Str +1, Dex -1).


PS: Stupid oklob is blocking the entrance to Lair. I tried to make a trog bother and take him out, but just stepping into LOS to do a tell-attack dropped me 80% and I couldn't even get the (t) off. Any ideas how to burst it down? On the other hand, maybe it's doing me a favor, keeping me from getting myself killed by hydras.

PSS: Look at that fruit! Maybe I shoud dconvert to Fedhas, then the oklob wouldn't be a problem.

[XuaXua]

IMHO, a reaching weapon is superior; trident -> demon trident.

[ddubois]

That was one of the things that was making me think naga didn't make sense. Reach and constricting are sort of at odds with each other. I've been melee kiting more with my demon-trident wielding Spriggan since my post about it, and really grown to appreciate the safety and reliability of it.

But anyway, when I said "What should I wear?", I was mostly referring to armor. I feel like I'm sort of set in long blade unless Trog gifts something really compelling.

[One-Eyed Jack]

IMHO, a reaching weapon is superior; trident -> demon trident.

You're recommending that he switch from a weapon type he has 10 skill with and a decent randart to a weapon type he has no skill with and none of whatsoever?

Reach and constricting are sort of at odds with each other.

But anyway, when I said "What should I wear?", I was mostly referring to armor. I feel like I'm sort of set in long blade unless Trog gifts something really compelling.

There is not really any synergy between reach and constriction but they're both still very strong.

I would put on the crystal plate, but I don't have much experience with heavy armour

[ddubois]

ID'ed, the choices are:

Naked reference point: ac6,ev12

+0 crystal plate armour (ac14,ev0)
+2 orcish robe (ac9, ev12)
+2 dwarven plate armour of poison resistance (ac15, ev5)
+0 mottled dragon hide (ac8, ev11)
+0 troll hide (ac7, ev11)

Of course, the last two are kind of meaningless until I find a scroll. I was surprised about the crystal plate. 21 STR apparently is not enough for that thing.

+1 orcish shield (ac6, ev9)
+1 buckler (ac6, ev11)

Part of my problem is I don't know what exactly "Armour fits poorly on your strangely shaped body" means.

[One-Eyed Jack]

I was surprised about the crystal plate. 21 STR apparently is not enough for that thing.

You need 24 (which is 3 x ev penalty). So wear the plate until then.

Part of my problem is I don't know what exactly "Armour fits poorly on your strangely shaped body" means.

It halves base armour contribution to AC. Enchantment bonus and GDR are unaffected)

[KoboldLord]

Part of my problem is I don't know what exactly "Armour fits poorly on your strangely shaped body" means.

It means that the BASE armor value of your body armour is cut in half. Enchantment still counts for full, other body slots still count for full, and miscellaneous sources all count for full. So +0 plate armour only provides 5AC and +0 crystal plate armour only provides 7AC, but +10 plate armour provides 15AC and +14 crystal plate armour provides 21AC.

The extra crystal plate penalties will go away at 24 strength, so you might aim for that. Once you've accumulated enough enchant armour scrolls the mutation penalty isn't so horrible, and it isn't like you're likely to get a dodging build online with a naga berserker.

[XuaXua]

That was one of the things that was making me think naga didn't make sense. Reach and constricting are sort of at odds with each other. I've been melee kiting more with my demon-trident wielding Spriggan since my post about it, and really grown to appreciate the safety and reliability of it.

With a naga and reaching, it just gives you extra range till they get in close, and then it's a 1-2 polearm/constriction whammy.
IMHO, I think weapons with reaching should be less effective (penalty reduced with skill) when the target is adjacent in order to compensate for the innate reaching that, IMHO, makes polearms the best weapon.
Anyway, it's moot since you are doing long blades, but maybe next time.

[ddubois]

Ok, so STR to 24. But how much Armor skill do I want? Is there a particular sweet spot I should aim for? It's not like I'm trying to cast spells, so....

[Blade]

infinity

[ddubois]

OK, no diminishing returns, got it.

Trog just gift me a +5/+4 anti-magic double sword. So go ahead and go Shield build then (up to skill 9), right?

[mageykun]

Heavy armour skills builds look something like this-

weapon -> min delay. pump fighting and armour. Evasion optional, if you have good dex and/or cheap apps for it. Shields optional, stop training when the penalties go away. Likely some evocations (you'll often want a ring of lev for swamp/shoals. Depending on what gear you find, you might want more for blink, berserk, a rod, etc). Resume weapon training once more pressing needs have been met.

Edit:

3/9/15 eliminates bucklers/shields/large shields penalties for a naga. It's actually not that expensive to go all out for a large shield compared to other races.

[XuaXua]

Tip for the later game, carry one potion of restore abilities with you at all times. You have an int of 8 and that is just brain draining bait later on, though 8 is a lot higher than my 6 int berserker who died when he forgot to breathe when he hit 0.

[ddubois]

Would you use amulet of berserk over Trog's ability? I find coming out of berserk very hungry all the time to be increasingly annoying. Even though I have a big stack of rations, I feel compelled to try to chop for all my food, because "it's free". I think sometimes I 'press my luck' too far doing so.

[crate]

The berserk hunger cost is attached to berserking, not to how you berserk.

[Deimos]

If you're a Be, you probably have more then enough str to carry around some chunks with you. Especially if you know you're going to be berserking. You might lose out on some sacrifice piety but it beats having to eat permafood. This is especially useful if you have saprovore.

[tasonir]

Since you're never casting, the heavier armor is better. The plate is better for now since you don't have the 24 str for crystal plate, and the +2 bonus is helpful. Once you get the CPA enchanted and have higher strength, switch to it. Train armor as high as possible. The only reason to not wear CPA is if you find something with resistances, poison doesn't count since you are naturally (90%) immune to it.

Shields are useful but it will depend on what you want to do for weaponry. If you use a 1h weapon or unarmed, get a large shield and 15 skill, otherwise, use a 2handed weapon. I personally like shields, but most people prefer 2h weaponry.