Archived from groups: rec.games.roguelike.nethack (
More info?)
On Sat, 10 Sep 2005 22:57:46 GMT, John Campbell
<jcampbel@lynn.ci-n.com> wrote:
>terrencev@softhome.net wrote:
>> Hello, all,
>> Are there any role/race combinations that work better than others,
>> especially for someone starting out? I've done a lot of Dwarven
>> archaeologists, and done fairly well with them, compared to my other
>> characters, that is. I've never managed to get much past the gnomish
>> mines though.
>
> Valkyries are widely considered to be the easiest class, and
>they're pretty straightforward to play... "VALK SMASH!" works remarkably
>well.
What John said. Dwarven Valkyries have good starting/max
strength in a class that's mostly about strength.
>Barbarians are pretty easy, too... and they start with poison
>resistance, which helps with the "I keep starving to death!" problem
>that a lot of newbies have.
>
>> Also, I have *never* managed to defeat a mimic. Is there some
>> special equipment or something needed to accomplish this?
>
> Mimics hit like trucks, but they're *slow*... they can't hit you
>unless you stand there and let them do it. Whack them once, then back up
>and wait for them to chase you. Rinse, repeat. They'll use all their
>actions moving to follow you, and will never get to attack you.
>
> There's a risk that you'll get the timing wrong and they'll grab
>you immediately after your first attack, before you can move away, but
>if they don't, it's perfectly safe. You can eliminate even that risk by
>making the first attack from out of range with missile weapons (rocks
>are handy here... if you're inside a shop, as is usual for mimics, the
>shopkeeper will assume ownership of anything you throw, and rocks are no
>great loss) or polearms. Or spells or wands, but be careful of any
>merchandise in the line of fire.
Looks like Terrence needs to learn to appreciate "The joys of
bravely running away." ;^)
You don't have to kill everything. Learn how to tell if a
monster is peaceful. If it is, leave it alone!
Very slow hostile monsters can be maneuvered past.
Learn how to hit without being hit back. (It doesn't get
much better than that.
Ranged attacks are one of the best ways to do this. Throwing
rocks is probably the first ranged attack you'll have the chance
to get.
Hostile monsters can sometimes be made peaceful, or even
friendly.
Your main goal in the dungeon isn't to kill everything.
(Players have won without killing *anything*.) or get all the
gold you can, or get all the items you can.
Your main goal is to *survive*. Dead characters rarely
accomplish much.
Learn from watching how monsters behave. What do they
do when they're in trouble?
Some items are more useful in an emergency than others.
Monsters know which ones these are and you can learn them
by watching monsters use them.
You'll find stuff in the dungeons. It's use it or lose it.
That doesn't mean take foolish risks, but if you're in trouble
anyway, die on a heap of burned out wands, scroll fragments and
empty potion bottles, cursing your god for not helping more.
I play early characters as armor testers. Find the best
armor combination that's not too heavy.
Does that seem vague? Good, because it is. The best armor
combination varies from character to character, from situation
to situation, and even from moment to moment.
In general the single most important characterstic of good
armor is that you can take it off when you want, hopefully
for better armor.
The next most important characteristic of armor is that it
NOT slow you down. If you're burdened you're carrying too
much weight. Drop something less important than armor if
you can.
You can't take cursed armor off. So don't put it on. :-D
Since altars are few and far between and you want the armor *now*
what you need is some kind of portable altar.
Your pet can help. But remember, while your pet can help
*keep* you out of trouble, it will rarely *get* you out of
trouble.
Your pet also gets tougher with more kills. They have a limit
on size & strength, but get plenty tough before that happens.
Pets also make good portable obstacles. Run around your pet
keeping it between you and the bad guy. Your pet will contribute
by snapping at the monster circling it.
Read the guidebook again.
All the best,
Jove
--
"I don't think you actually meant to condemn such practices,
which are probably those of any professional user. But the words
you used did." - "kanze" <kanze@gabi-soft.fr>
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