minmay wrote:A fully dexterity-weighted weapon still uses (Str+Dex)/2 for the damage multiplier...and the damage multiplier is rather small. You are better off disregarding the effects of strength/dexterity on damage and accuracy entirely unless you are in dragon form (and even then it's only for strength) - it's just too small to be something that should affect your decisions.
And on that note, bucklers get a SH bonus from dexterity, shields from (Str+Dex)/2, and large shields from strength. Again, not large enough that you are likely to care about it.
Actually this is very good information! Thank you. Considering my HECj usually plays with 10 STR and over 21 DEX, it might make more of a difference than you'd think for me-- perhaps the difference itself is small, but over the course of the game it can add up.
By the way, last game I played (which was the very first one I ever won), I was using a Medium Shield with 14 STR and 22 DEX, and 14.6 levels in Shield skill, and that gave me a 31 in my SH stat. I've never gotten it so high before, so from now on when I play casters my goal is to get a Medium Shield up and running at full potential. Since I also had 26 AC and 32 EV, it REALLY helped me survive the ascent; the only things that remained extremely dangerous for me were Tentacled Monstrosities (which Constrict, shooting your EV down to nothing until you break free with Blink) and Hellfire which never misses (I had one level of Fire Res, I guess most people recommend two or higher), and Torment from Tormentors.
I like to call this setup a "War Mage", who can hold her own in melee as she can in magic. ^^ I'm not one to care much for optimization. I go for badassery. Heck, you
personally told me before that I could "never win that way", and yet I have my first YAVP up as of two days ago! It feels amazingly satisfying knowing I beat you, just so you know.
minmay wrote:Also carrying capacity is only for convenience, it's not actually useful.
Speak for yourself, dood! My poor elf girlie was CONSTANTLY Burdened last game. I had to make LOTS of return-trips to my Stash in Lair:1 just to drop off my extra stuff I didn't need yet! If that hadn't been an issue I probably wouldn't have upped STR to 14 with the extra points I was given every third level-up.
Near the end of the game I was almost scrambling to use up my Wands just so I could drop them once they had 0 charges. ;_;