How to deal with centaurs as a MiFi

[freetheworld]

Ok this trend has been going far too long for me.... Do awesome... accidentally open the door to a room with 3-5+ centaurs and the red centaurs. Ofcourse centaurs cheat and always have awesome arrows or an awesome bow on them too. They then proceed to laugh manically while they tear me apart and no amount of running, wands, scrolls or potions ever seems to save my life. Is dodging and the perfect encounter the only way to survive ranged threats like these early game?

I also always take huge amounts of damage from them, they seem to hit harder then hill giants, though it might be because it is usually 3+ of them hitting me at once before I can escape to a corridor.

  Code:

 Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup version 0.12-a0-2818-g3f3e58e (tiles) character file.

bobo the Fencer (Minotaur Fighter)                  Turns: 8675, Time: 00:43:46

HP  79/79        AC 15     Str 22      XL: 10   Next: 46%
MP   3/3         EV  7     Int  5      God: Okawaru [****..]
Gold 492         SH  0     Dex 12      Spells:  0 memorised,  9 levels left

Res.Fire  : . . .   See Invis. : .   b - +0 great sword
Res.Cold  : . . .   Warding    : .   E - +4 chain mail
Life Prot.: . . .   Conserve   : .   (no shield)
Res.Poison: .       Res.Corr.  : .   (helmet restricted)
Res.Elec. : .       Clarity    : .   (no cloak)
Sust.Abil.: . .     Spirit.Shd : .   v - +1 pair of dwarf gloves (curse)
Res.Mut.  : .       Stasis     : .   j - +0 pair of boots
Res.Rott. : .       Ctrl.Telep.: .   A - amulet of faith
Saprovore : . . .   Flight     : .   (no ring)
                                     l - ring of sustenance

@: somewhat resistant to hostile enchantments, extremely unstealthy
A: retaliatory headbutt, horns 2
a: Heroism, Renounce Religion


You are on level 9 of the Dungeon.
You worship Okawaru.
Okawaru is greatly pleased with you.
You are not hungry.

You have visited 2 branches of the dungeon, and seen 11 of its levels.

You have collected 472 gold pieces.

Inventory:

Hand weapons
 a - a +0,+1 falchion
 b - a +0,+0 great sword (weapon)
Missiles
 c - 13 poisoned darts
 q - 5 darts of frost (quivered)
 w - 14 arrows of frost
Armour
 j - a +0 pair of boots (worn)
 s - a +0 shield
 v - a cursed +1 pair of dwarven gloves (worn)
 E - a +4 chain mail (worn)
Magical devices
 f - a wand of disintegration {zapped: 5}
 J - a wand of digging {zapped: 2}
 L - a wand of draining {zapped: 4}
Comestibles
 d - 5 bread rations
 g - a choko
 h - 3 apples
 o - a beef jerky
 p - 2 pears
 z - a meat ration
Scrolls
 k - 4 scrolls of teleportation
 m - a scroll of enchant weapon II
 n - 3 scrolls of blinking
 r - a scroll labeled GUANAOROSM
 u - 2 scrolls of remove curse
 y - 2 scrolls labeled KHOEKE TRICI
 B - a scroll labeled VOCSU BEDEELL
 K - a scroll labeled BUZAR HOUDUST
Jewellery
 l - a ring of sustenance (left hand)
 A - an amulet of faith (around neck)
Potions
 e - 4 potions of resistance
 i - a potion of heal wounds
 t - a potion of magic
 C - 2 potions of flight


   Skills:
 - Level 3.6 Fighting
 - Level 17.0 Long Blades
 * Level 3.6 Armour
 + Level 0.2 Dodging
   Level 3.6 Shields


You have 9 spell levels left.
You don't know any spells.

Dungeon Overview and Level Annotations

Branches:
Dungeon (10/27)            Temple (1/1) D:6         
   Orc: D:6-11        Lair: D:8-13     

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

Shops:
D:5: =  D:6: +


Innate Abilities, Weirdness & Mutations

You reflexively headbutt those who attack you in melee.
You have a pair of horns on your head.


Message History

There is a stone staircase leading up here.
A kobold comes into view. It is wielding an elven short sword.
The kobold shouts!
The kobold hits you but does no damage.
You hit the kobold. Your headbutt misses the kobold.
The kobold is moderately wounded.
The kobold barely misses you.
You closely miss the kobold.
The kobold is moderately wounded.
The kobold hits you but does no damage.
You barely miss the kobold. You headbutt the kobold.
You kill the kobold!
Okawaru accepts your kill.
Things that are here:
an elven short sword; a kobold corpse
You offer a prayer to Okawaru.
The kobold corpse slowly burns to ash.
Okawaru is greatly pleased with you.
Done exploring.
Saving game... please wait.

##.#      #...#  #.......##.#.......#  #...#
 #.#      #...#  ###.............####  ###.#
 #.#      #...#  ##..........###.#       #.#
 #.#      #...####...##.#....###.#  ######.#
##.#      ##..........#.......##.####......#
.).###############...####..##.........######
#####.....#      ##..####.(#####.######
    #.#.#.#    ####.....(........#
   ##.....######......############
   #...............)..#
   #......##..........#
 ###..#.#.##.####.....##
 #........##.#  #.....@#
 #.#########.#  ######.#
 #.#     ###.###     #.#
 #.#     #.....#     #.#
 #.#     #.....#     #.#
 #.#     #.....#  ####.####
 #.####  #.....#  #.......#
 #....#  #.....#  #.##.##.#
 ####.##########  #.##.##.#
    #.......#     #.##.##.#
    #..####.#######.##.##<#
    #..####.........##.##.#
    #...........##........#


There are no monsters in sight!

Vanquished Creatures
  A draconian (shapeshifter) (D:8)
  3 yaks (D:9)
  Eustachio (D:7)
  3 hippogriffs
  A yak (shapeshifter) (D:8)
  A necrophage (D:9)
  2 orc warriors
  3 phantoms
  2 ogres
  2 sky beasts
  3 centaurs (D:9)
  Sigmund (D:2)
  Duvessa (D:6)
  A yellow wasp (D:8)
  A gnoll sergeant (D:6)
  3 water moccasins
  4 giant frogs
  An eye of draining (D:9)
  3 killer bees (D:9)
  5 crimson imps
  Dowan (D:6)
  A goliath beetle (D:9)
  6 orc priests
  5 hounds
  2 iguanas (D:6)
  4 scorpions
  2 hound skeletons (D:9)
  6 orc wizards
  A quasit (D:7)
  5 worker ants
  A jelly (D:9)
  13 gnolls
  An iguana zombie (D:9)
  A lemure (D:7)
  5 adders
  A green rat (D:7)
  5 giant mites
  An adder skeleton (D:8)
  An inept item mimic (D:9)
  2 worms
  An ufetubus (D:7)
  2 giant eyeballs
  A giant gecko (D:3)
  2 oozes
  39 orcs
  15 bats
  4 giant cockroaches
  18 hobgoblins
  6 jackals
  3 quokkas
  2 ball pythons
  7 giant newts
  2 giant spores (D:8)
  8 goblins
  A hobgoblin skeleton (D:4)
  2 hobgoblin zombies (D:7)
  12 kobolds
  An orc skeleton (D:8)
  A quokka zombie (D:7)
  14 rats
  5 ballistomycetes
252 creatures vanquished.

Vanquished Creatures (others)
  A giant spore (D:9)
  A rat (D:2)
2 creatures vanquished.

Grand Total: 254 creatures vanquished

Notes
Turn   | Place    | Note
--------------------------------------------------------------
     0 | D:1      | bobo, the Minotaur Fighter, began the quest for the Orb.
     0 | D:1      | Reached XP level 1. HP: 19/19 MP: 0/0
   164 | D:1      | Reached XP level 2. HP: 21/26 MP: 0/0
   429 | D:1      | Reached skill level 4 in Long Blades
   682 | D:3      | Reached XP level 3. HP: 29/33 MP: 1/1
  1010 | D:2      | Noticed Sigmund
  1013 | D:2      | Reached skill level 5 in Long Blades
  1027 | D:2      | Killed Sigmund
  1027 | D:2      | Reached skill level 6 in Long Blades
  1027 | D:2      | Reached XP level 4. HP: 13/39 MP: 1/1
  1309 | D:3      | Reached XP level 5. HP: 42/46 MP: 1/1
  1568 | D:3      | Reached skill level 7 in Long Blades
  1822 | D:3      | Reached XP level 6. HP: 52/52 MP: 2/2
  2186 | D:4      | Reached skill level 8 in Long Blades
  2614 | D:5      | Entered Level 5 of the Dungeon
  2726 | D:5      | Paralysed by a giant eyeball for 2 turns
  3008 | D:5      | Found an ancient bone altar of Kikubaaqudgha.
  3243 | D:5      | Reached skill level 9 in Long Blades
  3243 | D:5      | Reached XP level 7. HP: 48/59 MP: 2/2
  3274 | D:5      | Found Fusmy's Jewellery Emporium.
  3684 | D:6      | Noticed Dowan
  3685 | D:6      | Noticed Duvessa
  3692 | D:6      | Killed Duvessa
  3707 | D:6      | Killed Dowan
  3770 | D:6      | Reached skill level 10 in Long Blades
  3896 | D:6      | Found Gribeish's Book Shop.
  4056 | D:6      | Found a blossoming altar of Fedhas.
  4239 | D:6      | Reached XP level 8. HP: 57/66 MP: 2/2
  4315 | D:6      | Reached skill level 11 in Long Blades
  4422 | D:6      | Found a staircase to the Ecumenical Temple.
  4434 | Temple   | Entered the Ecumenical Temple
  4450 | Temple   | Became a worshipper of Warmaster Okawaru
  5284 | D:7      | Reached skill level 12 in Long Blades
  5455 | D:7      | Found a shattered altar of Ashenzari.
  5561 | D:7      | Noticed Eustachio
  5588 | D:7      | Killed Eustachio
  5740 | D:7      | Acquired Okawaru's first power
  5781 | D:7      | Reached XP level 9. HP: 69/72 MP: 3/3
  5796 | D:7      | Found a sand-covered staircase.
  5883 | D:8      | Reached skill level 13 in Long Blades
  6305 | D:7      | Paralysed by a potion of paralysis for 3 turns
  6643 | D:8      | Found a shimmering altar of Xom.
  6644 | D:8      | Found a shimmering altar of Xom.
  6644 | D:8      | Found a shimmering altar of Xom.
  6645 | D:8      | Found a shimmering altar of Xom.
  6645 | D:8      | Found a shimmering altar of Xom.
  6648 | D:8      | Found a shimmering altar of Xom.
  6650 | D:8      | Noticed a draconian
  6650 | D:8      | a soldier ant changed into a draconian
  6683 | D:8      | Killed a draconian
  6683 | D:8      | Reached skill level 14 in Long Blades
  6788 | D:8      | Reached skill level 15 in Long Blades
  7025 | D:8      | Reached XP level 10. HP: 79/79 MP: 3/3
  7146 | D:8      | Found a shimmering altar of Xom.
  7161 | D:8      | Found a blossoming altar of Fedhas.
  7767 | D:9      | Reached skill level 16 in Long Blades
  7913 | D:10     | Entered Level 10 of the Dungeon
  8418 | D:9      | Found a burning altar of Makhleb.
  8489 | D:9      | Reached skill level 17 in Long Blades


Action                   |  1- 3 |  4- 6 |  7- 9 | 10-12 || total
-------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------++-------
Melee: Falchion          |   100 |   169 |    48 |       ||   317
       Great sword       |       |       |   341 |   135 ||   476
Throw: Dart              |     8 |    17 |     4 |     1 ||    30
Invok: Heroism           |       |       |     1 |       ||     1
Evoke: Wand              |       |    10 |    16 |     1 ||    27
  Use: Potion            |     1 |       |     9 |     6 ||    16
       Scroll            |       |     9 |     2 |     2 ||    13



[rchandra]

If you find centaur warriors before Lair, that's a bit unlucky. You can often get to a corridor. If not, scrolls of blinking, fear, teleportation will probably help. Don't forget about Heroism.

After Lair you should have more HP, better armour and Armour skill, which will help. If you open a door to centaurs, close the door and wait. a centaur will open it and you can then step into the doorway, hopefully next to 3 centaurs with none shooting at you.

[defen]

Fog -> teleport if no nearby cover, fog -> retreat if you can engage on safe terms. Blink away instead of fogging if the situation is immediately life-threatening.

Unrelated, unsolicited advice: Trog is much, much easier than Okawaru when you are starting out. Read-ID your scrolls as soon as you clear a level, sooner once you have teleport identified. When using heavy armour, delay training your dodging until you finish Lair or so, as you need a whole bunch of levels in it before it has any effect.

[Lafaros]

I usually retreat around a corner, then double-back. They'll try to follow you pretty often and you'll end up in melee range with them. At melee range, they're not too tough. Also, don't forget you can close doors. If they haven't shot an arrow to block the entrance, a closed door will force them to literally walk right up to it and open it.

[crate]

accidentally open the door to a room with 3-5+ centaurs and the red centaurs.

try closing the door

[freetheworld]

Ok bad wording.... it's not always opening a door but just walking into and entrance to a room of them. My luck always puts me in a situation where I can't really duck behind a wall without just being in another open room. Go figure this guy died to a single centaur with distortion arrows no too long after, and before I even got to lair. Unfortunately didn't have any fogs left and Tele put me ~3 spaces from were I was anyways. I'll reach D:27 one day.

[FDru]

Centaurs are the bane of my existence in early levels for most characters. MiFi are not one of those characters. I deal with them all in the exact same way, drawing them around corners. I rarely take serious damage in doing so, and they like to stack up once you get the first one to come around the wall, making the whole pack of them generally easier.

Spamming Heroism helps (and is fine to use against basically anything that poses even a minor threat) but I also tend to use shields which may make a difference.

[freetheworld]

Centaurs are the bane of my existence in early levels for most characters. MiFi are not one of those characters. I deal with them all in the exact same way, drawing them around corners. I rarely take serious damage in doing so, and they like to stack up once you get the first one to come around the wall, making the whole pack of them generally easier.

Spamming Heroism helps (and is fine to use against basically anything that poses even a minor threat) but I also tend to use shields which may make a difference.

maybe it's just me but I always see centaur warriors way too early in the game for my minotaurs. My current playthrough is the first time I haven't run into a mob of 5+ in an open area.... I still rue the day I got hit with a distortion arrow and it pulled me into the room with something like 5+ centaur warriors 5+ centaurs a troll and a couple cyclops. then spent the next 4 turns being warped around the room and being pummeled to death by arrows... the game can be so cruel some times

[Psieye]

Are you putting on good armour? That dump had bad AC though it can't be helped as you were still getting your 2h to min delay. Heroism with plate is better than Heroism with chain mail.

[ZipZipskins]

If you wheel around the corner into an open room and there are centaurs everywhere, scroll of fog is an incredibly potent and inexpensive (and relatively common) defense. Granted, you won't always have one, but I've seen plenty of morgues where people get sniped by centaurs with scrolls of fog in their inventory.

[atticus712]

Hmm, played MiFi of Oka very often these days. Centaurs without arrows of dispersal are a not really a big threat, even on early levels. Explore always at full health,
use that shield of yours and engage them recklessly right in the face. Very often it is not advisable to run away, because they are faster than you. Run only, if you
can retreat behind a corner to engage them in melee right after that.

Fog, speed, heroism, in that order, if you feel to weak.

[Rast]

Note that sometimes when you read a scroll of fog, you're still exposed, but then taking one step backward hides you.