speciesxx wrote:Hey all,
yesterday i had my first win with a NaWz, and now i want to see the extended game. I wonder what species/backgrounds are considered good for the extended game.
Or is it a matter of taste and are there no bad combo's?
One way i want to try the wizard again, cause i didn't see its full power yet. But on the other hand i aint sure if he is strong enough for extended game (vs for example a more hybrid build).
Any tips are welcome
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Of course there are bad combos. Some combos barely have a chance at getting 15 runes, while some slightly inferior combos definitely have a shot at it.
I think the biggest factor for postgame is race. Your class is just your starting kit. Even a berserker could leave Trog and become a spellcaster, in theory. So the Wizard kit is nice for the early game, then you can pretty much make your character however you want. I've started Wizards that end up good at melee, no problem.
Though race is important, some racial differences aren't. Good skill aptitudes help in the early, mid, and even endgame, but postgame, you'll get plenty of exp for all the important stuff. Certain innate abilities and max HP are most important, so the best races for postgame would be good to go on those.
This is a lot of theory-crafting on my part, since I can barely make it past Zot, but my thoughts on some choices, based on reading up on what better players say:
High Elves, Deep Elves, Merfolk, Spriggans: Easy early game, decent postgame. It goes without saying that the easier your early game is, the more likely you are to get to the postgame, but the low hp of the elves and Spriggan hurts you. Spriggan's speed is kinda moot later on, since spells can give the same speed, but I suppose it helps a bit if you get caught with low mp or something, but you miss out on gear, which further hurts your survivability. The hunger issue isn't huge, but I guess you'd wanna wait a little longer to start casting your high level spells until you bring the spell hunger down.
Mummy: Pretty good. It's basically permanent Necromutation, but consider that you can get Necromutation castable reliably with some other races before a Mummy can get some of it's high level spells castable. Not to mention you can't turn alive as a Mummy, so you can never use potions, cast regenerate or certain other spells on yourself, and you're really vulnerable to Dispel Undead. I like to be flexible in choosing my form.
Demonspawn: Complete crapshoot. Could end up being one of the best, or below average (or a bit bad, if monstrous). Demonic Guardian 3 is great, but sometimes they can get in the way of your spells, so you'll probably wanna go with Fire Storm, or be content with hitting them with Ice Storm or Tornado. On the flip side, Ice Mail will make casting fire spells a hassle. A bit annoying, in my experience, because I usually end up quitting if I get bad or meh mutations. (Claws are my least favorite body slot mutation, because if you wield a weapon and a shield or a 2-handed weapon, you don't even get auxiliary unarmed attacks. Also, you WILL go tons of games without finding boots of speed, them find them as soon as you roll a DS with a feet-slot mutation.
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Naga: One of the best. Huge hp, and their only weakness can be overcome with spells. You don't have to waste equipment slots on rpois and sinv. You're bound to find a good barding eventually. A little extra ac is nice. I find their early game kinda hard, but later on, they have few restrictions.
Deep Dwarf: Great but tricky to learn. You probably wanna go with Makhleb or Vehumet.
Vampires: Interesting, because unlike Mummies, they can go alive or undead at will. Better apts than Mummies, too. Good in theory, annoying to play in practice.
Sif Muna: My current favorite. I like quick access to key spells, some books might not even spawn over the course of a whole game, and reliable channeling is something I use constantly, compared to fancier god abilities that I only end up using occasionally, to preserve piety. Also, forgetting spells is handy if you don't happen to have any amnesia scrolls, and don't wanna destroy the spell's book.
TSO: I've actually never used him before. Seems like you're basically trading one means of dealing with demons/undead for another. My impression is that I'd rather have torment immunity via lich form, but I dunno. I thought I heard something about getting Okawaru wrath if you convert to TSO, though, which would make me less likely to go with him.
Nemelex: A little risky, but great power and versatility. My second-favorite god, got me my first victory. I'd probably go with him all the time if I weren't so paranoid about going a whole game without finding one or more key books.
Ashenzari: Never tried him either. I really don't like the idea of being restricted in swapping out equipment. Cuts you off from key resists and situational needs. I don't really see myself needing anything related to skill boosts in the post game, but I'd definitely consider Ashenzari for a 3 runer.
Makhleb and Vehumet, I'd mostly just use them for classes that don't (easily) regenerate.
And then I narrow it down by spell schools, what with the crosstraining penalty.
Fire vs. Ice: I gotta give it to Ice. Fire Storm being smite-castable is mighty handy, but Ice Storm generally does more damage, and other ice spells have a lot of utility and decent damage, whereas other fire spells are just decent damage.
Air vs. Earth: Gotta give it to Air, if only for Deflect Missiles.
I probably wouldn't bother crosstraining a penalized skill more than a couple of levels. I'd rather focus on my main spellcasting skills, fighting, dodging, shields, etc.
Tuesday, 19th July 2011, 15:51 
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