CiP How to MiBe


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Cocytus Succeeder

Posts: 2297

Joined: Saturday, 14th April 2012, 21:35

Post Sunday, 21st April 2013, 11:25

CiP How to MiBe

Ok, I decided to just go ahead and do this. A partially-illustrated CiP guide on how to MiBe. First thing to do before taking a single turn:
  Code:
   Skills:
 - Level 3.6 Fighting
 + Level 3.6 Maces & Flails
 - Level 2.4 Armour
 - Level 2.1 Dodging
Switch skill training to Manual mode and put everything into your weapon skill. I happen to have chosen Maces as my weapon category for this tutorial. I will assume you already are doing the extreme basics like "sacrifice corpses to Trog".

This is what I've been doing thus far, I'm at D:3 and recently hit XL:4:
  Code:
Action                   |  1- 3 |  4- 6 || total
-------------------------+-------+-------++-------
Melee: Mace              |    77 |    31 ||   108
Throw: Dart              |     5 |       ||     5
       Stone             |       |    27 ||    27
  Use: Scroll            |     8 |     1 ||     9

I've read-ID'd some scrolls and those stones were thrown at a jelly (it's the one non-artifact thing they can't eat) while kiting it. Instead of charging into melee, I may as well throw those darts I've been picking up.

Here is a potentially dangerous situation on D:3:
  Code:
Key:
@ = me, the player
o = orc
# = wall
. = floor

What I saw:
       #..#.####.#.・
       #..#.#  #...・
       #..#.#  ###..・
       #..#.#    ##・
       #..#.#     ##.
       #.##.#########
 #######...........#.
#...........######.#.
 .######.########  #.
       #.........  #.
       #..######.  #.
       #.@####.#   #.
       #.....).#   ##
       #.#####.#
       #.#    .#
       #o#    .#
       #.#    .#
       ...    .#
       #.#    .#
        .     .o

Where I fought:
#...........(.....)....'
........##########.....#
...・・・##      #.....#
.・・・・.#      #######
.・・・・.#            #
・・・・・#            #
・・・・・#            #
.・・.・・#            #
・・.<...#             #
#.......##             #
####...#################
#.........o.@...........
#.###########.....######
#.#   #######.#.........
#.#   #.........^...####
#.######.####.####..##..
#...................##.#
########.#.#######.#....
       #.#.......#.#.#.#
       #.#..####.#.#.#.#
       #.#..####.#.#.#.#
       #.###.#...#...#.#
       ###..##########..
Notice the terrain is completely different. I've run back some 30~40 steps to bring myself back to familiar terrain. Why? Because orcs form squads and that might include an orc priest or an orc wizard, which I'd be hard pressed to fight right now. Gnolls and jackals also form squads in the very earlygame. You'll start to grasp which monsters form squads as you keep playing - this is how to separate them. Notice that the monsters shout when they see you, this alerts others to your current location, but the monsters don't bother continuing to shout as they chase you. So if you move away from where you were, the rest of the squad only has a single audio cue to trace you and will soon lose track of you, whereas that first monster has a visual lead and will continue chasing you.

Here's another situation to be wary of:
  Code:
g = goblin with a sling
( = darts I threw to kill some previous enemy

What I saw:
                  #
      #g#         #
      #.#         #
      #.#  ########
      #.#  #......#
      #(#  #.####.#
      #(##.#......#
      #(##.#..#####
      #.##.#..#####
      #@##.#.......
      #..#.#.######
      ##.#.#..#....
       #.#.#>......
########.#.#..#.###
#..........#..#.#
##.#######.#..#.#
#..........#..#.#
##..########..#.#
 #..#      #)##.###
 #..########.......
 #..#.........).###

Where I fought:
      #.#  #######
      #.#  #......
      #(#  #.####.
      #(##.#......
      #(##.#..####
      #.##.#..####
      #(##.#......
      #..#.#.#####
      ##.#.#..#...
       #.#.#>.....
########g#.#..#.##
#.....@....#..#.#
##.#######.#..#.#
#..........#..#.#
##..########..#.#
 #..#      #)##.##
 #..########......
 #..#.........).##
 #..#.######.#####
 #..#.#    #......
 #..#.#    #..####
 #..#.#    #..####
 #..#.#    #.....)
Now, a goblin with a sling isn't so dangerous, but it's a good time to introduce the principle: run around a corner to make ranged monsters come into melee range. If that had been a centaur or a lone orc priest, charging at it would be suicide. Also note that ranged monsters will try to turn corners wide so this maneuveur wouldn't have been as effective if it wasn't a corridor.

Now then, a unique:
  Code:
e = Dowan

What I saw:
 .###############
 .e......@......#
 ##############.#
              #.#
              #.#
      #####   #.#
     ##...##  #.##
    ##.#...## #..##
    #.#.###.###...##
    #..## ##.......##
    #..#   #........#
    #..## ##.#.....##
#####?#.###.###...##

Where I fought:
     ##############.#
                  #.#
                  #.#
          #####   #.#
         ##...##  #.##
        ##.#...## #..##
        #.#.###.###...##
        #..## ##.......#
        #..#   #........
        #..## ##.#.....#
    #####?#.###.###...##
 ###........@.e## ##.##
 .............##   #.#
 #.#.########.###  #.#
 #.#.#    #.....####.#
##.#.######........#.##
................##.#..#
##...######...........#
##..##   #......##.##.#
...)#    #......##.##.#
.##^#    #............#
.##.#   ##.####.##.##.#
.##.#####...# #.##.##.#
As you probably know, Dowan always spawns together with his sister, Duvessa. She never showed up in this fight, I never even saw her as I killed Dowan. Even close siblings fail to accurately coordinate when you run away enough. This fight had a nasty surprise in that Dowan drank a potion of heal wounds when he was almost dead - so I did the same and kept up the fight. I happened to have a lot of heal wounds on me. Berserking would have been suicide as Dowan blinks around and being slowed (berserk runs out fast if you're not beating something up) would have fatal.

Now here's Duvessa:
  Code:
e = Duvessa, berserk
P = plants
> = downwards staircase
           ###・?
           ...P・
           #e・??
           #P.P・
           #.P・
#.#        #..
#.#        #.#
#.#     #  #.#
#.#     #.##@##
#.#     #.#...####.#
#.###   #....>.....#
#.#.##  ###.....########
#....####..###.........#
#.........##  #........#
##...###.##    #.#####(.
 ##.##...#      .####...
###.##.#.##    #........
....##.##.#     .####...
######.##..         ##.#
     #.##.#          #.#
I had already looked at what's beyond the staircase before Duvessa noticed me. It was safe so I let her see me and then ditched her upstairs. Waited some 20 turns then returned to see her out of berserk (she only berserks once when Dowan dies). Just to show her how it's done, I berserked myself to kill her but it was completely unnecessary.

Here's how I look thus far:
  Code:
 Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup version 0.13-a0-412-g62db944 (tiles) character file.

TutorMan the Basher (Minotaur Berserker)            Turns: 4383, Time: 00:26:37

HP  52/52        AC  8     Str 21      XL: 6   Next: 61%
MP   2/2         EV  8     Int  4      God: Trog [***...]
Gold 168         SH  0     Dex 12      Spells:  0 memorised,  5 levels left

Res.Fire  : . . .   See Invis. : .   a - +1,+0 mace
Res.Cold  : . . .   Warding    : .   m - +1 scale mail
Life Prot.: . . .   Conserve   : .   (no shield)
Res.Poison: .       Res.Corr.  : .   y - +0 elf wizard hat
Res.Elec. : .       Clarity    : .   n - +0 dwarf cloak (curse)
Sust.Abil.: . .     Spirit.Shd : +   (no gloves)
Res.Mut.  : .       Stasis     : .   (no boots)
Res.Rott. : .       Ctrl.Telep.: .   j - amulet of guardian spirit
Saprovore : . . .   Flight     : .   (no ring)
                                     (no ring)

@: slightly resistant to hostile enchantments, extremely unstealthy
A: retaliatory headbutt, horns 2
a: Burn Spellbooks, Berserk, Trog's Hand, Renounce Religion


You are on level 5 of the Dungeon.
You worship Trog.
Trog is greatly pleased with you.
You are not hungry.

You have visited 1 branch of the dungeon, and seen 5 of its levels.

You have collected 148 gold pieces.

Dungeon Overview and Level Annotations

Branches:
Dungeon (5/27)           
Temple: D:4-7       

Altars:
Kikubaaqudgha
Makhleb

   Skills:
 - Level 3.6 Fighting
 + Level 9.1 Maces & Flails
 - Level 2.4 Armour
 - Level 2.1 Dodging


You have 5 spell levels left.
You don't know any spells.

Inventory:

Hand weapons
 a - a +1,+0 mace (weapon)
 b - an uncursed sling
Missiles
 d - 102 stones
 f - 22 bolts
 p - 14 darts of frost
 s - 10 darts
 x - 46 sling bullets
 C - 3 steel darts (quivered)
Armour
 m - a +1 scale mail (worn)
 n - a cursed +0 dwarven cloak (worn)
 o - an orcish plate armour
 y - a +0 elven wizard hat (worn)
Magical devices
 A - a wand of polymorph {zapped: 1}
Comestibles
 c - 2 bread rations
 l - 2 lychees
 q - 2 meat rations
 t - a chunk of goblin flesh
 v - a choko
 w - 2 apples
 z - an apricot
Scrolls
 k - a scroll of remove curse
 r - a scroll of teleportation
 E - 2 scrolls of identify
Jewellery
 i - an uncursed ring of ice
 j - an amulet of guardian spirit (around neck)
 B - an uncursed thin cabochon amulet {tried}
 F - an uncursed thick golden amulet {tried}
Potions
 e - 2 potions of speed
 g - a white potion
 h - 3 potions of heal wounds
 u - 2 potions of curing
 D - a viscous white potion
 G - a viscous red potion



Action                   |  1- 3 |  4- 6 || total
-------------------------+-------+-------++-------
Melee: Mace              |    77 |   175 ||   252
 Fire: Sling             |       |    17 ||    17
Throw: Dart              |     5 |    22 ||    27
       Stone             |       |    28 ||    28
Invok: Berserk           |       |     1 ||     1
Evoke: Wand              |       |     1 ||     1
  Use: Scroll            |     8 |     9 ||    17
       Potion            |       |     1 ||     1

I ought to be putting on that plate armour ASAP but I want to save my one and only remove curse scroll for later. So for now I tolerate the cursed cloak preventing me from swapping armour. Those sling shots at 0 skill? A troll zombie on D:5 - because zombie (of a speed 10 monster) I could kite it.

Also, note that I haven't quaff-ID'd - the one time I drank a potion was heal wounds after I had scroll-ID'd it. I don't need to know what my jewelery does right now as nothing that doesn't auto-ID would be useful to me this early in the game. Ok, rPois would be nice but isn't necessary. You don't die to poison this early if you kill things fast enough.

Oh look, a Centaur:
  Code:
c = Centaur
' = open door

What I saw:
              #+#
     #       ##.#######
     #.      #.........
     #..     #.........
     #...    #..#######
   ###..._####..#     #
   .......'@....#     #
   ###.c..#####.#     #
     ####     #.#     #
              #.#     #
             ##.#######
             #.........
.#############..#######
.................%.....
##############........#
      ........#.#####+#
       ######.#........
          ###.#..##....

What I did:
You close the door.
A centaur opens the door.

What happened after:
              #+#
     #       ##.#######
     #.      #.........
     #..     #.........
     #...    #..#######
   ###..._####..#     #
   ......c'@....#     #
   ###....#####.#     #
     ####     #.#     #
              #.#     #
             ##.#######
             #.........
.#############..#######
.................%.....
##############........#
      ........#.#####+#
       ######.#........
          ###.#..##....
Doors are powerful.

Now here in D:7 I had a bad situation with polymorph: I was a tad greedy as I was short on ID scrolls and a jelly was about to eat one in front of me. So I polymorphed it... into a yellow wasp. I failed to transform it into something else and I don't have BiA yet, so I had to teleport out and just descend to the next level for the time being.

D:8, I see a lot of orcs and an orcish idol. This is probably an Orc Mines entrance floor, I don't feel like fighting lots of orcs right now so I ditch the floor.

By D:10 I have found a great mace off an ogre. I've never bothered remembering what the mid-tier maces are because ogres bring great maces frequently. This is what my skills look like:
  Code:
   Skills:
 - Level 3.6 Fighting
 + Level 14.7 Maces & Flails
 - Level 2.4 Armour
 - Level 2.1 Dodging
Hmm, now would be a good time to train some fighting/armour. I found another remove curse so I'm wearing plate armour now.

Just now, I had to shout ('tt') around a corner to get a Centaur to cooperate into coming into melee range.

Oh, D:8 was the Lair entrance. That explains the Yak squad I had to run away from. Or WAS SUPPOSED TO BE - Mimic staircase! Yes, a floor can spawn hard things because it's a branch entrance and then a Mimic can take the place of that entrance.

Anyway, I was getting inventory clutter so I made a stash in a non-corridor corner on D:8. The chances of a jelly coming over to eat it are slim and I don't really need anything I left behind anyway. To make it easier to navigate to, I set a waypoint there (Ctrl-W).

My current skills:
  Code:
   Skills:
 - Level 6.2 Fighting
 + Level 14.7 Maces & Flails
 - Level 10.0 Armour
 - Level 2.1 Dodging

Now that I purchased some cheap skills, I go back to Maces. I want to get to min.delay on my big 2h weapon ASAP. I can comfortably use my great mace at 14 Maces as that's when I hit standard delay (1.0 aut per swing).

Just now, I had to maneuveur about to have enemies block the line of sight of other enemies with ranged attack. Specifically, a kobold squad where one dude had darts of frost. Open terrain so there wasn't anywhere ot hide behind. Not a problem, I put the other kobolds in the line of fire so the darts dude had to walk up to me.

I found myself sandwiched between a darts kobold and a hill giant. Do I berserk? No. I call in a bro to be angry for me. This bro then proceeds to beat up the wight squad that was up ahead after the hill giant fight.

Met an orc with a distortion axe. I blinked because of it. The orc never got into melee range again because of my 0 skill sling shots.

Now this was a nasty situation:
  Code:
c = Centaurs, one of which had Dispersal arrows
D = Wyvern

      ##.#     #.#
   ###....#   ##.#
    ......#   #..#
   ##.....#   #..#
#  #......   ##..#
.###...>.#   #...#
..#......#  ##...#
.........#  #...##
.........####...#
..........##....#
..........##(...#
..........(D@...#
...........cc...#
..###########...#
..#         #...#
.D#         #...#
..###       #..##
....#########..###
#..............#.#
###....[...###..##
  #...)##### ##.#
  ##..##      ###
   ##[##     ##.#


The place was wide open when I met those 2 centaurs at range 8. Fortunately, there was a wyvern to act as mobile cover. Chess has a similar situation: a black king hiding behind a white pawn. The wyvern hits hard but the 2 centaurs hit harder so I tolerated it until the above positioning manifested. Now I can berserk and win this fight - in fact each enemy there died in one hit (+1/+1 great mace of crushing).

Trog just gave me a longbow of frost. I was intending to go crossbows initially but this is a good time to change plans. But first, min.delay on my mace. Also of note:
  Code:
Magical devices
 v - a wand of magic darts {zapped: 7}
 A - a wand of polymorph {zapped: 6}
 C - a wand of lightning {zapped: 3}
 I - a wand of slowing {zapped: 4}
 L - a wand of teleportation {zapped: 2}
 O - a wand of confusion {zapped: 2}
Many of these wands are going to be obsolete soon. There is no benefit in saving them up, so I use them wherever I can.

  Code:
k = Killer Bee
M = mummy
s = scorpion

What I see:
   ...
  #......
  #.....k.
  #.......#
  #..k....#
###.......##
 .k..s......
  #.......#
  #.@.....#
  #....M..#
  ######.##
         #

Where I fight:
   #......#
   #...[..#
   #......#
   #......#
   +......+
   #..<...#
   #......#
   #......#
   ##'#####
    #..###
    ##..(#
     ###@#
  #....skT#
  #.....k.#
  #.......#
  #..M....#
  #.......#
###.....k.##
 ...........
  #ks...(.#
  #.<.....#
  #....M..#
  ######.##

T = my angry iron troll bro

I walked up the stairs and went down another, it happened to be right next door I emerged. So I walked into that room again and beat up everyone. My bro took the death curse for me so I don't have to waste a remove curse scroll. Incidentally, I ran into Psyche not long after. She died in one turn as my bro was still around.

Erica was found shortly too and turned invisible. But as we were in a corridor, I figured out where she was and just mashed away at her. Being invisible just makes me take a -5 accuracy penalty, not a problem with this much weapon skill.

I just 3-shotted a 2-headed ogre with my longbow. At 0 skill. Lucky shots, but it shows you may as well try ranged attacks until it's melee time. Actually, I later find out it's a +2/+6 longbow of frost. Still, even a +0/+0 longbow would have knocked off enough health to save me a swing or few had it come to melee.

Found a CPA (Crystal Plate Armour) in a Labyrinth. Up until now I've been putting points into Dex, but now I need to put points into Str. You do not anticipate getting a CPA, it's too rare to build your character around finding one.

This is what I look like now:
  Code:
 Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup version 0.13-a0-412-g62db944 (tiles) character file.

TutorMan the Bludgeoner (Minotaur Berserker)       Turns: 17884, Time: 02:01:22

HP  95/96        AC 18     Str 23      XL: 12   Next: 40%
MP   4/4         EV  6     Int  4      God: Trog [******]
Gold 763         SH  0     Dex 14      Spells:  0 memorised, 11 levels left

Res.Fire  : . . .   See Invis. : .   a - +1,+2 great mace (crush)
Res.Cold  : . . .   Warding    : .   p - +0 plate armour
Life Prot.: . . .   Conserve   : .   (no shield)
Res.Poison: .       Res.Corr.  : .   y - +1 elf wizard hat
Res.Elec. : .       Clarity    : .   n - +0 dwarf cloak
Sust.Abil.: . .     Spirit.Shd : .   s - +0 pair of gauntlets
Res.Mut.  : .       Stasis     : .   (no boots)
Res.Rott. : .       Ctrl.Telep.: .   W - amulet of faith
Saprovore : . . .   Flight     : .   f - agate ring {tried}
                                     v - peridot ring {tried}

@: somewhat resistant to hostile enchantments, extremely unstealthy
A: retaliatory headbutt, horns 2
a: Burn Spellbooks, Berserk, Trog's Hand, Brothers in Arms, Renounce Religion


You are on level 3 of the Lair of Beasts.
You worship Trog.
Trog is exalted by your worship.
You are not hungry.

You have visited 2 branches of the dungeon, and seen 16 of its levels.
You have also visited: Labyrinth.

You have collected 743 gold pieces.

Dungeon Overview and Level Annotations

Branches:
Dungeon (13/27)               Orc (0/4) D:8            Lair (3/8) D:13
 Spider (0/5) Lair:3     
Temple: D:4-7        Swamp: Lair:3-6    Shoals: Lair:3-6     Snake: Lair:3-6

Altars:
Ashenzari
Cheibriados
Fedhas
Kikubaaqudgha
Makhleb
Okawaru
Sif Muna
Trog
Xom

Shops:
D:7: %  D:9: +

Annotations
D:12 exclusion: 2 doors

   Skills:
 - Level 6.2 Fighting
 - Level 20.0 Maces & Flails
 + Level 8.6 Bows
 - Level 10.0 Armour
 - Level 2.1 Dodging

Action                   |  1- 3 |  4- 6 |  7- 9 | 10-12 || total
-------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------++-------
Melee: Mace              |    77 |   188 |   230 |       ||   495
       Great mace        |       |       |   160 |   512 ||   672
 Fire: Sling             |       |    17 |    16 |    25 ||    58
       Blowgun           |       |       |    13 |    31 ||    44
       Bow               |       |       |       |     7 ||     7
       Longbow           |       |       |       |    32 ||    32
Throw: Dart              |     5 |    22 |    41 |    12 ||    80
       Stone             |       |    28 |     1 |       ||    29
       Spear             |       |       |     3 |       ||     3
       Throwing net      |       |       |       |     1 ||     1
Invok: Berserk           |       |     1 |     6 |     5 ||    12
       Brothers in Arms  |       |       |       |     2 ||     2
Evoke: Wand              |       |     1 |    14 |    13 ||    28
  Use: Scroll            |     8 |     9 |     7 |     9 ||    33
       Potion            |       |     1 |     3 |     1 ||     5
Arguably I could have stopped Bows training at 7.9 until Trog gave me a decent 2h weapon. But I already have a decent 2h weapon so I don't mind getting showered with arrows and bows now. Trog will eventually get me something suitable or I will find/make it myself.
Last edited by Psieye on Monday, 22nd April 2013, 11:13, edited 2 times in total.

For this message the author Psieye has received thanks: 8
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Ziggurat Zagger

Posts: 11111

Joined: Friday, 8th February 2013, 12:00

Post Sunday, 21st April 2013, 12:35

Re: CiP How to MiBe

Very good article, well done!

  Code:
 I've run back some 30~40 steps to bring myself back to familiar terrain.


I am surprised by this. I usually take 10-15 steps only, 40 looks very much to me.
You might want to edit "g = goblin, [ b ]with a sling[ /b ]"

Vestibule Violator

Posts: 1567

Joined: Friday, 21st January 2011, 22:56

Post Sunday, 21st April 2013, 12:57

Re: CiP How to MiBe

Very nice post!

You should probably just wear that CPM. 23 strength is just one extra point of EV penalty, and you have some armor skill and enough weapon skill to mitigate the effects of EVP.

Cocytus Succeeder

Posts: 2297

Joined: Saturday, 14th April 2012, 21:35

Post Sunday, 21st April 2013, 14:20

Re: CiP How to MiBe

Just met Gastronok. Curare + bro solved him a bit too fast to be fun.

Oh by the way, I like having this in my init.txt to make sure I don't miss skill swap milestones:
  Code:
force_more_message += skill increases to level


Death yak squad on Lair:6 with no suitable corridor. Solution? Bro. Death yaks came to us single file and we killed every one of them in one turn each. I didn't berserk at all, because my bro was an angry iron troll. If he wasn't so awesome, I'd have brought in a second bro or raged myself.

  Code:
Y = yak
j = giant slug

When we finally got into melee:
                ###
       ## #######f######
      #..##.P..#....#..#
     ...................
     ....P........#..##.
    ...........%.((.....
    .........j..##......
    #........YY.Y.......
   .........@##.#.......
   .........##..?#......
   ....[.....#..#.......
........................
.....#.#......P##.......
....#..#............   .
.......##.....P.....
.......f....###.P...
...#...#P...........
..........#....P#..
..................#
....<.......#....f#

Going around the corner to keep only 1 enemy in melee:
                ###
       ## #######f######
      #..##.P..#....#..#
     ...................
     ....P........#..##.
    ...........%.((.....
    ............##......
    #.........Y.........
   ........j.##.#.......
   ........Y##..?#......
   ....[....@#..#.......
........................
.....#.#......P##.......
....#..#............   .
.......##.....P.....
.......f....###.P...
...#...#P...........
..........#....P#..
..................#
....<.......#....f#
...###.#..........
....#...........#
Just keep going around the pillar - the other mobs have to travel further to get back into melee again, so you should only have to fight 1 melee guy at a time when a pillar is around.

So I'm finding all these good swords around. Do I care? No, I'm a maces guy. These other weapons are just temptations to kill me by making me waste EXP.

A could-be dangerous situation:
  Code:
       ...
    Y.......
   ........###
  Y.<Y......#.f
 ..........f..
 ............
 ..........#
.........P.#
........@..#
..........<#
 ........<.#
 ....P...#.#
 ........###
  .......#
   $......
    ....#.
       . .

All the stairs are clumped together, the yaks have spotted me, no reliable cover, who knows what else is around the corners. Call in a bro.

So here's my skill situation now:
  Code:
 - Level 12.1 Fighting
 - Level 20.0 Maces & Flails
 - Level 10.0 Bows
 - Level 15.3 Armour
 - Level 2.1 Dodging
I am now stable, so I can afford to train a bit of Traps. I don't need to - I could be putting that EXP into Evo instead, but as a MiBe I don't have anything urgent to train anymore so I can take luxuries.

10 Bows skill, +4/+1 longbow (of evasion), flame arrows. That's enough to kill solo elephants and similar threats before they get to melee range. I'm saving my unbranded arrows in case I want to do extended with a TSO blessed longbow (though I'll probably just end this guide before extended, thus not making god swapping worth it). Note I'm not particularly interested in getting my bow to min.delay - it's not my primary means of damage.

Any Trog gift that isn't a great mace (or a demon whip or an evening star), I don't even bother picking up. Doesn't matter how good the enchantments and brand are, I'm not interested if the base type is shit.

Oh, in case you're unfamiliar: the ' key lets you swap between weapons in slots a and b. Use =i to designate which items occupy slots a and b. Like so:
  Code:
Hand weapons
 a - a +2,+1 great mace of protection (weapon)
 b - a +4,+1 longbow of evasion
This way, swapping between your ranged weapon and melee weapon are one key press.

I just picked up a rod in Lair:8, so now it's time to pump Evo a bit:
  Code:
   Skills:
 - Level 12.1 Fighting
 - Level 20.0 Maces & Flails
 - Level 10.0 Bows
 - Level 16.3 Armour
 - Level 2.1 Dodging
 - Level 5.0 Traps
 + Level 1.4 Evocations
I probably won't take Traps any higher until I'm doing Vaults or something. Maces may not get trained ever again in a 3-rune game.

Yak spam!
  Code:
What I saw:
   ###
   ...
 # #.# #
 #.#Y#.######
 #>.@........
 #..Y..######
 #...Y.#
 #....Y..
 #.Y..Y###
 ...Y.YY
....#.Y##
##.# ..<
     Y

Where I fought:
#########
#.......#
  #@#.# #
  #Y#.#.######
  #YYY........
  #YYY..######
  #YY...#
  #.......
  #.....###
  .......
 ....#..##
 ##.##Y.<
   .  .

My status afterwards:
HP 103/122       AC 27     Str 23      XL: 14   Next: 35%
MP  18/18        EV  7     Int  4      God: Trog [******]
Gold 1412        SH  0     Dex 14      Spells:  0 memorised, 13 levels left


Centaur squad!
  Code:
What I saw:
    #.#.#.#.######
    #.#>.<........
    #.#.....######
    #.#.....#.####.#
    #.#....%.......#
    #.#.....########
   .................
    #....#..########
    ###.##..<#.#
     ... #.....#
.######.##...#.#
........@....#.#
!.........[....#
 .#####.##..####
     ... .....
    ###.##..###
      c. ...#
      #.##.##
      #. #.#
       c #.#

Where I fought:
    #.#>.<........
    #.#.....######
    #.#.....#.####.#
    #.#....%.......#
    #.#.....########
   .................
    #....#..########
    ###.##..<#.#
     ... #.....#
.######.##...#.#
........(4...#.#
!.......@([....#
#.#####c##..####
     ... ......
    ###.##..####
      .. ...#
      #.##.##
      #. #.#
      .J #.#
       .  .

I stepped SE, spent 1 turn getting out a demon from my rod, then we got into melee range like this. The situation develops:
  Code:

    #.#>.<........
    #.#.....######
    #.#.....#.####.#
    #.#....%.......#
    #.#.....########
   .................
    #....#..########
    ###.##..<#.#
     ... #.....#
.######.##...#.#
........(4...#.#
!......c@([....#
#.#####.##..####
     J.. ......
    ###c##..####
      .. ...#
      #J##.##
      #. #.#
      JZ #.#
       .  .
My move:
     #.#.#.#.######
     #.#>.<........
     #.#.....######
     #.#.....#.####.
     #.#....%.......
     #.#.....#######
    ................
     #....#..#######
     ###.##..<#.#
      ...##.....#
#.######.##...#.#
#.......@(4...#.#
#!......c.([....#
 #.#####.##..####
      .Jc.......
     ###.##..####
       .J....#
       #.##.##
       #J##.#
       .Z.#.#
        .  .
I call in a bro as those Js are slime creatures - the threat level of this situation has escalated. I also call for Trog's Hand as I'm down to 59 HP. After that fight, I had to retreat because more slime creatures showed up and combined together.

Ogre mage!
  Code:
The front-most O is an ogre mage.
k = Killer bees
    ...
    ...# .
    ...##..
    ...#....
    #........
   ##.........
    ..... ....
#.###..# .....
 #...<.#.....O.
 #..##@...O..O.
 #.  ##.......O
 #     ....#..
       .#ZOO.k
       ..  .Ok
       ..   .
       .##
       ..
       #

First thing to do: Trog's Hand. Then I put on my MR ring. Now I call in a bro. One bro was all I needed to mow down an Ogre Mage squad, a vampire mosquito squad, a killer bee squad and a slime creature squad - back-to-back. Again, I never went berserk myself.

An Eye of devastation (OOD I think) showed up. That alone was justification enough to call in a bro and to drink a heal wounds potion. This bro then let me split forces to tackle a cyclops and an ugly thing squad coming from 2 different directions.

Got a holy great mace off an ogre. Now I'd be certain to bless my +2/+6 longbow of frost in my stash if I were to go TSO.

I've cleared up to D:18, I could go further but decide to backtrack and pick up an enchant armour scroll that was encased in rock-glass all the way back in D:1. may as well do Orc now actually.

And now I shall end this guide on an important note: Orc:4 can be more dangerous than D:18, especially since the branch lulls you into relaxing your guard with easy trash all over.
  Code:
 Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup version 0.13-a0-412-g62db944 (tiles) character file.

113931 TutorMan the Bludgeoner (level 16, 0/145 HPs)
             Began as a Minotaur Berserker on Apr 21, 2013.
             Was the Champion of Trog.
             Killed by divine providence
             ... invoked by an orc priest
              (16 damage)
             ... on Level 4 of the Orcish Mines.
             The game lasted 03:42:22 (34012 turns).

TutorMan the Bludgeoner (Minotaur Berserker)       Turns: 34012, Time: 03:42:22

HP   0/145       AC 42     Str 28      XL: 16   Next: 21%
MP  25/25        EV  6     Int  4      God: Trog [******]
Gold 1371        SH  0     Dex 14      Spells:  0 memorised, 15 levels left

Res.Fire  : . . .   See Invis. : .   a - +2 great mace (protect)
Res.Cold  : . . .   Warding    : .   X - +1 crystal plate armour
Life Prot.: . . .   Conserve   : .   (no shield)
Res.Poison: +       Res.Corr.  : .   y - +2 elf wizard hat
Res.Elec. : .       Clarity    : .   r - +1 dwarf cloak
Sust.Abil.: . .     Spirit.Shd : .   m - +1 pair of gauntlets {Str+3}
Res.Mut.  : .       Stasis     : .   z - +0 pair of boots
Res.Rott. : .       Ctrl.Telep.: .   W - amulet of faith
Saprovore : . . .   Flight     : .   i - ring of poison resistance
                                     F - ring of sustenance

@: somewhat resistant to hostile enchantments, extremely unstealthy
A: retaliatory headbutt, horns 2
a: Burn Spellbooks, Berserk, Trog's Hand, Brothers in Arms, Renounce Religion


You were on level 4 of the Orcish Mines.
You worshipped Trog.
Trog was exalted by your worship.
You were hungry.

You visited 3 branches of the dungeon, and saw 30 of its levels.
You also visited: Labyrinth and Volcano.

You collected 2719 gold pieces.
You spent 1368 gold pieces at shops.

Dungeon Overview and Level Annotations

Branches:
Dungeon (18/27)               Orc (4/4) D:8             Elf (0/3) Orc:4
   Lair (8/8) D:13          Swamp (0/5) Lair:6       Spider (0/5) Lair:3
  Slime (0/6) Lair:6       Vaults (0/5) D:18       
Temple: D:4-7       

Altars:
Ashenzari
Cheibriados
Elyvilon
Fedhas
Kikubaaqudgha
Makhleb
Okawaru
Sif Muna
Trog
Xom

Shops:
D:7: %  D:9: +  D:14: /**[  Orc:2: [  Orc:4: /

Annotations
D:12 exclusion: 2 doors
Lair:7 exclusion: door

   Skills:
 + Level 15.6 Fighting
 - Level 20.0 Maces & Flails
 - Level 10.0 Bows
 - Level 20.0 Armour
 - Level 2.1 Dodging
 - Level 5.0 Traps
 - Level 10.0 Evocations


You had 15 spell levels left.
You didn't know any spells.


Innate Abilities, Weirdness & Mutations

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


Inventory:

Hand weapons
 a - a +2,+2 great mace of protection (weapon)
 b - a +4,+1 longbow of evasion
 c - a +0 elven blowgun
 d - a +1,+1 great mace of holy wrath
 n - a +1,+6 longbow of flame
Missiles
 g - 27 poisoned arrows
 k - 4 javelins (quivered)
 p - 95 arrows
 x - 64 arrows of dispersal
 C - 85 arrows of flame
 E - a throwing net
 G - 77 arrows of frost
 K - 21 curare-tipped needles
Armour
 m - a +1 pair of gauntlets of strength (worn)
 r - a +1 dwarven cloak (worn)
 y - a +2 elven wizard hat (worn)
 z - a +0 pair of boots (worn)
 X - a +1 crystal plate armour (worn)
Magical devices
 l - a wand of lightning (2)
 o - a wand of disintegration (8)
 A - a wand of digging (10)
 I - a wand of slowing (9)
 L - a wand of teleportation (7)
 U - a wand of polymorph (2)
Comestibles
 q - 3 meat rations
 J - 5 apples
Scrolls
 j - a scroll of magic mapping
 O - a scroll of fog
 R - 2 scrolls of teleportation
 Y - 2 scrolls of blinking
Jewellery
 i - a ring of poison resistance (right hand)
 v - an uncursed ring of see invisible
 w - an uncursed ring of protection from magic
 F - a ring of sustenance (left hand)
 H - an uncursed ring of protection from magic
 W - an amulet of faith (around neck)
Potions
 h - 3 potions of heal wounds
 u - 4 potions of curing
Rods
 f - a +1 rod of demonology (12/12)
   (You found it on level 8 of the Lair of Beasts)



Action                   |  1- 3 |  4- 6 |  7- 9 | 10-12 | 13-15 | 16-18 || total
-------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------++-------
Melee: Mace              |    77 |   188 |   230 |       |       |       ||   495
       Great mace        |       |       |   160 |   812 |  1006 |   332 ||  2310
 Fire: Sling             |       |    17 |    16 |    25 |       |       ||    58
       Blowgun           |       |       |    13 |    36 |     6 |       ||    55
       Bow               |       |       |       |     7 |       |       ||     7
       Longbow           |       |       |       |    37 |   339 |    17 ||   393
Throw: Dart              |     5 |    22 |    41 |    12 |       |       ||    80
       Stone             |       |    28 |     1 |       |       |       ||    29
       Spear             |       |       |     3 |       |       |       ||     3
       Throwing net      |       |       |       |     1 |       |       ||     1
       Javelin           |       |       |       |       |    10 |       ||    10
Invok: Berserk           |       |     1 |     6 |     5 |     1 |       ||    13
       Brothers in Arms  |       |       |       |     4 |     8 |     4 ||    16
       Trog's Hand       |       |       |       |       |     3 |     1 ||     4
Evoke: Wand              |       |     1 |    14 |    13 |    14 |     1 ||    43
       Rod               |       |       |       |       |     4 |       ||     4
  Use: Scroll            |     8 |     9 |     7 |    17 |    11 |     1 ||    53
       Potion            |       |     1 |     3 |     1 |     2 |       ||     7
 Stab: Distracted        |       |       |       |     1 |     4 |       ||     5

More specifically, I died because teleports are not a guaranteed escape from death. Be sure to teleport in advance or just run on foot. It was actually a situation that could have been solved by bringing in more bros too - there is no shortage of Trog piety in Orc.

Anyway, that should get the new player started on learning crawl through a string of MiBe characters. Dying is part of the process! In closing: do note the lack of berserks as the game went on. It really isn't necessary later on when bros are readily available.

For this message the author Psieye has received thanks:
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Cocytus Succeeder

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Joined: Saturday, 14th April 2012, 21:35

Post Sunday, 21st April 2013, 14:23

Re: CiP How to MiBe

Sandman25 wrote:
  Code:
 I've run back some 30~40 steps to bring myself back to familiar terrain.


I am surprised by this. I usually take 10-15 steps only, 40 looks very much to me.
Yeah 15 steps is usually enough, that particular case I ran back further as I didn't want to explain "this ascii letter represents an orc in shallow water" and I was debating where the best place would be to take a screenshot. Definitely not a normal consideration.

For this message the author Psieye has received thanks:
Sandman25
User avatar

Abyss Ambulator

Posts: 1111

Joined: Monday, 18th March 2013, 23:23

Post Sunday, 21st April 2013, 22:36

Re: CiP How to MiBe

Nicely done. Wish there'd been something like this easily accessible when I'd first started out.

Cocytus Succeeder

Posts: 2173

Joined: Saturday, 2nd February 2013, 09:52

Post Monday, 22nd April 2013, 08:55

Re: CiP How to MiBe

I think this is great.

For the sake of beginners, a bit more explainations would be good. For example, explain what is "kiting". Or, for example: explain weapon delay and min.delay.

Also, do you plan to expand this into a series? I think you should :D
About some generic but fundamentally different characters, like DEFE or SpEn...

Cocytus Succeeder

Posts: 2297

Joined: Saturday, 14th April 2012, 21:35

Post Monday, 22nd April 2013, 11:21

Re: CiP How to MiBe

Well, I've thrown in some knowledge bot links for kiting and min.delay - that should be enough of a hint for beginners to use the bots as a dictionary for unfamiliar terms. Or they could ask here.

I have no concrete plans, meaning I'm not against the idea, for expanding this into a series. When I will actually do it is a complete mystery.

Cocytus Succeeder

Posts: 2173

Joined: Saturday, 2nd February 2013, 09:52

Post Monday, 22nd April 2013, 13:55

Re: CiP How to MiBe

Great, now I'm completely satisfied :D

Shoals Surfer

Posts: 300

Joined: Tuesday, 19th February 2013, 23:34

Post Monday, 22nd April 2013, 15:23

Re: CiP How to MiBe

Psieye wrote:By D:10 I have found a great mace off an ogre. I've never bothered remembering what the mid-tier maces are because ogres bring great maces frequently. This is what my skills look like:


I've had games where the only great maces or better are found off orc knights or hill giants, by which time ye olde basic mace is getting a bit wimpy. Flails and morningstars are pretty common upgrades.

Cocytus Succeeder

Posts: 2297

Joined: Saturday, 14th April 2012, 21:35

Post Monday, 22nd April 2013, 15:28

Re: CiP How to MiBe

Especially in 0.12, where morningstars are actually good. Good point on not needing to jump straight to endgame 2h from the starting weapon. At the same time, don't feel obsessed with having to find a middle step if you do find the big 2h early.

Mines Malingerer

Posts: 41

Joined: Thursday, 16th May 2013, 01:09

Post Thursday, 16th May 2013, 01:11

Re: CiP How to MiBe

I'll just say this is already proving to be helpful to me. I've been playing Crawl for a while, off and on, and the furthest I'd ever gotten was with a MiFi to just before the Vaults. Most of the time I die before or just after seeing the Temple, and from what I can see here the primary reason for that has been:

Never using ranged attacks in any way, as I'd been thinking of them as useless since the start for some reason or other.
Quaff-iding all my potions all the time.

So I thank you very kindly, Psieye, and will be watching closely to see how this proceeds should you decide to continue.
Wins: MiFi(6), SpEn(11)

Halls Hopper

Posts: 56

Joined: Tuesday, 29th July 2014, 04:36

Post Tuesday, 29th July 2014, 20:40

Re: CiP How to MiBe

So where can I find the extreme basics, like "sacrifice corpses to Trog"? Documentation is very lacking and forum search is bogus so can you post a link?
╔═══════════════════════════════════════════╗
●→ Wins: MiFi,MiGl DsFi HoBe DDHu DECj DrCj ←●
╚═══════════════════════════════════════════╝

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Joined: Saturday, 2nd February 2013, 09:52

Post Tuesday, 29th July 2014, 21:01

Re: CiP How to MiBe

http://crawl.chaosforge.org/Trog

The crawl wiki is not popular here, but it is good for the extreme basics.

Swamp Slogger

Posts: 136

Joined: Wednesday, 1st January 2014, 20:43

Post Tuesday, 29th July 2014, 21:03

Re: CiP How to MiBe

Lawndart Jedi wrote:So where can I find the extreme basics, like "sacrifice corpses to Trog"?

Fire up the game, hit the ? key.
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Spider Stomper

Posts: 185

Joined: Tuesday, 8th July 2014, 10:18

Post Tuesday, 29th July 2014, 21:23

Re: CiP How to MiBe

u still need to know that u sacrifice corpses by praying(p) on them, otherwise commands dont help u :P

wiki is good, despite some formulas and numbers, which are outdated. helped me alot

edit blink: nvm i only used it for command list for now :P never read the manual, my bad. anyway dont wanna spam this topic as the OP seems very helpful
Last edited by Octopode-monk-of-XOM on Tuesday, 29th July 2014, 22:46, edited 1 time in total.

Swamp Slogger

Posts: 136

Joined: Wednesday, 1st January 2014, 20:43

Post Tuesday, 29th July 2014, 22:27

Re: CiP How to MiBe

Octopode-monk-of-XOM wrote:u still need to know that u sacrifice corpses by praying(p) on them, otherwise commands dont help u :P


?? gets you the commands. Just ? gets you the instructions. Which includes a section about gods. And therein, it explains how p over a corpse is how you sacrifice.
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Pandemonium Purger

Posts: 1298

Joined: Wednesday, 11th April 2012, 02:42

Location: Sydney, Australia

Post Tuesday, 29th July 2014, 23:34

Re: CiP How to MiBe

If you don't know what kinds of commands there ARE, go to http://crawl.s-z.org/#lobby , pick some random people and watch them for a while. In particular, you won't be able to get a sense of what is good and bad play from just watching people, because most of the time you are not in a life-and-death situation in Crawl, so it's hard to evaluate how good a player is from the general day to day affairs. But you'll learn a lot about what kinds of actions are possible to do.
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Shoals Surfer

Posts: 293

Joined: Tuesday, 19th February 2013, 18:55

Post Wednesday, 30th July 2014, 15:06

Re: CiP How to MiBe

Oh, in case you're unfamiliar: the ' key lets you swap between weapons in slots a and b. Use =i to designate which items occupy slots a and b.


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