Beyond the mines and Sokoban

[NotYet]

I'm new to the forum but have played Hack (1990's) and Nethack for many years. Still, I never got further than the Gnomish Mines and/or Sokoban. In frustration I have deleted the game a few times but here I am back once more...

This time around I am a Valkyrie in the Mines with Excalibur (by dipping my long sword in a fountain) and Mjollnir (gotten by sacrificing) and a blessed +2 gray dragon scale mail (because I got a wish). Seems like a pretty good start. But I know my luck won't last...

In practical terms, what should my short-term goals be now?

I would appreciate some practical hints. Thanks!

 

[Eemeli]

Do you have any extra money yet? If you do, donate 400*XL to a priest (as many times as you can afford) and you'll get a nice AC. Also leveling up doesn't hurt. Have you been to sokoban? A bag of holding or an amulet of reflection is useful. The gray dragon scale mail eliminates many risks, but don't get too self confident, a group of baddies will get your HP down.

I think the main tactic is to advance slowly, try to keep your XL (experience level) higher than the DL (dungeon level). Keep some food in the inventory so you won't have to hurry and think before do. That'll get you far.

 

[NotYet]

Thanks!

Now I was lucky enough to find a wand of wishing and got myself a blessed scroll of charging.

I now have Frost Brand, a blessed +2 gray dragon scale mail and a fireproof +2 cloak of displacement.

What should my last wish be for?
(BTW I also happen to have an uncursed ring of teleport control)

 

[Eemeli]

Nice gaming you're going through.

I'd suggest speed boots or gauntlets of strength. Or if there is a bag of holding in the sokoban, a shield of reflection would offer great help. (I suppose your character is quite strong now - just beware any lurking instadeath.)

Oh and do you use the wand of wishing totally, until it turns to dust? (I suppose you charged it once already.) By adjusting it to z and pressing z all the time you'll zap it again and again - there is a small chance to use the one last charge.

Scroll of genociding won't probably be needed yet since you won't be facing nasty lichs for a while. Also with your armor team ant shouldn't be too tough. Just don't do anything stupid.

 

[NotYet]

Thanks, but....

What about a ring of conflict? Against "gangs"?
Or a ring of slow digestion?
Or a ring of teleportation. Does that exist? Since I already have one of teleport control.

What would you say?

 

[NotYet]

Thanks, but....

What about a ring of conflict? Against "gangs"?
Or a ring of slow digestion?
Or a ring of teleportation. Does that exist? Since I already have one of teleport control.

What would you say?

 

[Eemeli]

Ring of conflict is pretty nice, and so is ring of slow digestion, but I'd say they aren't worth wishing. If you try to identify all the rings you find, you'll get them pretty soon. And if you go to sokoban you'll get a lot of food. Plus being cautious will avoid you from most of the gangs.

I wouldn't wish for a ring of teleportation. It, too, ain't that hard to find and it works only in random turns. However, if you wish to get controllable, but random teleportation, you'll just have to eat a leprechaun corpse and wield the ring of teleportation control.

One good option is to save the charge and see later on if you're gonna need it for something spesific.

Oh and one short-term goal: get some potions of water (maybe by dipping useless potions), find a co-aligned altar and pray. Holy water is quite useful for your inventory. At least if you keep trying on (cursed) rings.

Too bad that you have that many artifacts already, there would have been plenty of cool stuff to wish for, now it might result in a waste of charge (the amount of artifacts already in the game lessens the probability to get one by wishing).

 

[NotYet]

That is helpful information! I did not know you could dip useless potions to turn them into water. I thought you had to wait to find potions of water!

One other question: I have now finished Sokoban (!!!) and the mines (!!!) and have a bag of holding. BTW I am a Barbarian (the Valkyrie of my first message was killed) with Frost Brand, cloak of displacement and blessed bag of holding.

I also offered gold to a priest as you suggested. My arour class is now -11.

Now I have to find the portal, right? Is that easy to find?
Is that where you find out your Quest?

Thanks for your valuable help. You're like a mentor to me!

 

[Eemeli]

No problem NotYet, I love helping in such a great game as NetHack.

(Barbarian is my favourite class, I've even ascended with it. Going to try some other when I next start hacking.)

The portal is easy to find.

First of all you'll have to go approximately below level 10 in the Dungeons of Doom, and you'll find the big room. And you're gonna have to be prepared for it, even if you're a fighter. It's an open room full of nasties, much more than you could imagine after the first levels. Stay in the stairway and escape when necessary. It's also useful to have a scroll of earth (from the beginning of the sokoban) with you, so that you can block all but two enemies (after reading it one step away from the stairs push a boulder a bit). You'll just have to kill all the enemies and then continue on your way down.

The next levels are pretty much the same as the first ten, and once you enter the level with the portal, you'll hear Pelias pleeding you to look for a sonic transporter (or whatever it is). It is invisible and you'll just have to go through each square in that level in order to find it. Then you'll be entering the quest levels (the quest leader won't let you any further if you're below XL 15).

By the way, there's a guaranteed luckstone in the end of the mines, but it's a bit hard to identify it. A blessed luckstone will never let you down. And if you get a blessed touchstone, you'll be able to identify and sell valuable gems. (Once you can afford to buy all the useful things from the shop, you're gonna need money only for donating to get your AC down.)

Oh, why did the valkyrie die?

 

[NotYet]

Valkyrie died when I became careless, early on actually.

Then I started as a Barbarian and immediately found that wand of wishing (as reported above) and got myself a scroll of charging and then Frost Brand, a blessed +2 gray dragon scale mail and a fireproof +2 cloak of displacement. That has made me almost invincible (?) and the Mines and Sokoban were easy.

Over the weekend I stumbled onto the portal (I was not even looking for it) but my experience level was only 11 so I was not ready for the quest and I had to go on and then I found Medusa... and killed him with a wand of death! It bounced (oops) but I was not effected.

However, I am now stuck between the Medusa level and the Castle because I have no ring (or scroll or boots) of levitation so and I cannot go back to the quest leader. Or can I? Wish I brought some scrolls of earth!!!

Also do you get your luckstone blessed? Or any other item for that matter?

I appreciate your help!

 

[Eemeli]

Nice to see you're advancing a lot.

You can always go to the quest leader, the portal will never vanish. Also I strongly suggest you to finish the quest before entering the castle. It would be nice to have reflection too, since there are many dragons and soldiers with wand.

Have you hacked down the statue of Perseus from the Medusa's lair? If I'm right, there is always a pair of (cursed, I suppose) levitation boots, and sometimes a cursed shiled of reflection. You can uncurse them by #dipping into holy water (which is easy to get by diluting and praying). In order to get over the water, you might be able to find jumping boots (the Medusa level is designed so that they'll work), a wand of cold, potion of levitation or something else. Also if you are able to finish the quest, you'll get the Heart of Ahriman, which will make you levitate when #invoked.

 

[NotYet]

Thanks, but I still do not understand this "blessing" of items.

(1) Do you really get potions of water by #dipping ANY other potion in ANY fountain?

(2) And if so, then those potions of water still are not blessed, or are they?

And then you can dip any item in one of your blessed potions of water, right?

Or am I missing somethng?

 

[Eemeli]

(1) In most cases, yes. I'm not sure if there are any other exceptions than acid. You'll have to dip twice anyway.

(2) No they're not. If I remember right the diluted potions become uncursed when they're full of water.

When you drop potions of water on a coaligned altar and pray succesfully, all the water turns into holy water (blessed clear potions).

I'd say you can dip anything in the water, at least I haven't seen any exceptions yet. Cursed things turn uncursed and uncursed ones blessed. You can also dip a stack of items, i.e. 4 scrolls by using only one potion.

 

[NotYet]

So if I drop stuff on a coaligned altar and then #pray (even if there is no priest) all the stuff gets blessed or uncursed?

When I did that two days ago (all my unblessed armour) only ONE got blessed.

Then I #prayed again and my god did not like it and I lost 8 points of armour class.... sigh .....

Why was that then?

 

[Eemeli]

Uuh, sorry for having said things unclearly. Only your water will turn blessed while praying on an altar. (You must have been mistaken with the armour.)

Be careful when praying, don't do it too often. I suggest you could do some sacrificing. Killing (powerful) monsters and #offering them to your god. It'll tell you when you can pray (you notice a four-leaf clover at your feet) and might help you otherwise too (especially if there is a priest) - the god will sometimes reward you.

 

[NotYet]

I have "polymorphed" again. Barbarian died and I am now a Valkyrie once more.

I have learnt a lot (especially about #dipping potions and then blessing them to get holy water) so again I have been succesful to some degree,

I survived the Mines and Sokoban and went on and killed Medusa. Had to go back to the Mines to find my priest to get my armour class improved.

I even completed the Quest (without much difficulty - Valkyrie is good!) and now have a Bell of Opening and an Orb of Fate!

I only have Excalibur and a plate mail, but I have been "crowned" so I have good intrinsics except magic resistence!!! No amulet or shield of reflection.

Much is expected of me, it seems! How do I go about the Castle now? I am at the gate and there are many creatures behind the wall, waiting for me. I guess I use my Bell of Opening?

 

[Eemeli]

I've never been too fond of opening the drawbridge, but this is how it seems to happen:

"The # at the front of the castle is the drawbridge. One way to open it is to play a game of "mastermind" with it. The hero must use an instrument and be standing a knight's move from the drawbridge. Applying the insturment, the player must guess the 5 note combination to open the drawbridge. The different notes you can play are A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Once you get the right combination, the drawbridge opens and you can cross the moat. You may close the drawbridge by playing the passtune again, to crush any monster that happens to be on it. Zapping the open drawbridge with a wand of striking will smash it to pieces, also tearing apart any monster - or player - currently standing on it."

There seem to be 7^5 = 16807 different possibilities for the right tune, so I guess it won't be easy. (I suppose a successful prayer might reveal you the right tune.)

I've tried the Bell of opening, but it never worked for me. Therefore I tend to use the back door. You just need levitation or water walking and you'll get in the good route (it ain't too safe either, but you'll find some hidden treasuries if you're able to beat some dragons - remember to watch out trap doors, but do not block them (all), they're the only way to the valley of the dead). Oh and if you get to the valley of the dead, remember to eat all the wraith corpses you'll get, they'll level you up every time (though corpses are not guaranteed from all the killed wraiths).

 

[NotYet]

I knew the code! My god had told me once when I prayed and I write these things down!

So I entered the Castle and created a new Forum topic: Beyond the Castle.

Hope you'll have some more advice for me?

Thanks!

Over & Out

NotYet