Are Tourists the hardest class?

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Are Tourists the hardest class? I know they start off with lame
weapons and lame armor, but doesn't that just effect the first 15
minutes of the game? It seems like I usually get decent weapon and
armor by the time I reach Minetown.

Are there harder classes than the Tourist? Like maybe the Monk class?
Or maybe the Priest class when they roll lame starting spellbooks?

 

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I think I might second that Healer comment. After I ascended a wizard,
I started to get almost cocky, ascending a tourist and a priest after
that in short order. But I've killed a number of healers, my last one
to the Cyclops in the quest dungeon.

I'm not complaining; it's a nice challenge.

- John H.

BWIGLEY wrote:
> <chillynois@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:1122262757.057444.294550@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> > Are Tourists the hardest class? I know they start off with lame
> > weapons and lame armor, but doesn't that just effect the first 15
> > minutes of the game? It seems like I usually get decent weapon and
> > armor by the time I reach Minetown.
> >
> > Are there harder classes than the Tourist? Like maybe the Monk class?
> > Or maybe the Priest class when they roll lame starting spellbooks?
> I'd say healer is, Tourists can use ?any? weapon.

 

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<chillynois@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1122262757.057444.294550@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> Are Tourists the hardest class? I know they start off with lame
> weapons and lame armor, but doesn't that just effect the first 15
> minutes of the game? It seems like I usually get decent weapon and
> armor by the time I reach Minetown.
>
> Are there harder classes than the Tourist? Like maybe the Monk class?
> Or maybe the Priest class when they roll lame starting spellbooks?
>

For those who go for the combat-wombat approach Tourists can be a challenge,
but with a bit of care those darts can make the early game fairly easy.
After that you have the choice of any weapon you find, though practice is
needed. Daggers are a good choice especially when you start to run low on
darts. Sabre and Longsword two-weaponed at skilled make the mid and late
game much easier. And the PYEC is the quest artifact to die for.

I've ascended two tourists, including a Geno/Poly/Wishless conduct game.
But YMMV.

As for the hardest class, unless one is well versed in the way of the
pacifist, Healers are a serious pain. As a few of the other posters have
commented as well. H was the last class I managed to ascend, and I killed a
LOT of them trying.

Danny
Ascended all Roles
Best Conducts: Wish/Geno/poly/polyselfless,
Illiterate/atheist/geno/poly/polyselfless
Working on Extinctionist

 

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chillynois@yahoo.com writes:

> Are Tourists the hardest class? I know they start off with lame
> weapons and lame armor, but doesn't that just effect the first 15
> minutes of the game?

Other factors include lousy starting stats, mediocre hit points
and not too great weapon skills -- in the early/mid game.

> Are there harder classes than the Tourist? Like maybe the Monk class?

To me, monks are way harder than tourists. But to me, healers
are quite easy, while barbarians are hard, so don't take my
evaluation as the typical one ;-).

Best,
Jakob

 

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<chillynois@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1122262757.057444.294550@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> Are Tourists the hardest class? I know they start off with lame
> weapons and lame armor, but doesn't that just effect the first 15
> minutes of the game? It seems like I usually get decent weapon and
> armor by the time I reach Minetown.
>
> Are there harder classes than the Tourist? Like maybe the Monk class?
> Or maybe the Priest class when they roll lame starting spellbooks?
I'd say healer is, Tourists can use ?any? weapon.

 

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Boudewijn Waijers wrote:
> chillynois@yahoo.com wrote:
>
> > Are there harder classes than the Tourist? Like maybe the Monk class?
> > Or maybe the Priest class when they roll lame starting spellbooks?
>
> Even *without* starting spellbooks, the priest isn't a very difficult
> class.

What can priests that don't start with a healing spellbook do better
than a tourist? They have a worse weapon selection, they can't
#two-weapon, and they can't use ranged weapons.

 

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chillynois@yahoo.com wrote:

> Are there harder classes than the Tourist? Like maybe the Monk class?
> Or maybe the Priest class when they roll lame starting spellbooks?

Even *without* starting spellbooks, the priest isn't a very difficult
class.

--
Boudewijn.

--
"I have hundreds of other quotes, just waiting to replace this one
as my signature..." - Me

 

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chillynois@yahoo.com wrote:

> What can priests that don't start with a healing spellbook do better
> than a tourist? They have a worse weapon selection, they can't
> #two-weapon, and they can't use ranged weapons.

Tell which items are blessed or cursed. Some non-healing low-level spells
are useful: light and detect monsters come to mind. Both are divination
spells, good practice for identify and magic mapping.

Raisse, killed by a burning book

--
irina@valdyas.org LegoHack: http://www.valdyas.org/irina/nethack/
Status of Raisse (piously neutral): Level 8 HP 63(67) AC -3, fast.

 

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Quoting <chillynois@yahoo.com>:
>Boudewijn Waijers wrote:
>>Even *without* starting spellbooks, the priest isn't a very difficult
>>class.
>What can priests that don't start with a healing spellbook do better
>than a tourist?

Holy water and buc-ID, few starting spellbooks are genuinely useless, and
a priest has a good chance of acquiring more spells easily.

I think you grossly overestimate the utility of a starting healing spell.
A priest can improve their AC very rapidly thanks to buc-ID if they will
sacrifice spellcasting; and it's generally better not to take the damage
than to try and use your limited mana supply healing it.

You also mention #twoweapon, but that's not pertinent to getting over the
early mortality hump, which frankly is most of the challenge of the game.

Did I mention buc-ID? It's really amazingly useful.
--
David Damerell <damerell@chiark.greenend.org.uk> Kill the tomato!
Today is Second Potmos, July.

 

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BWIGLEY wrote:
> <chillynois@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:1122262757.057444.294550@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> > Are Tourists the hardest class? I know they start off with lame
> > weapons and lame armor, but doesn't that just effect the first 15
> > minutes of the game? It seems like I usually get decent weapon and
> > armor by the time I reach Minetown.
> >
> > Are there harder classes than the Tourist? Like maybe the Monk class?
> > Or maybe the Priest class when they roll lame starting spellbooks?
> I'd say healer is, Tourists can use ?any? weapon.

Maybe this is just randomness, but I killed countless Tourists before I
Ascended one, and hadn't even played a Healer in recent memory (like,
two years). The next game after my tourist Ascension, I played a
healer, and BAM, she's doing very well; full Ascension kit before
Medusa and Quest and I haven't even used any wishes! I'm now in the
Valley of the Dead with a /oW (0:3) in reserve (hoping to remain
wishless) and everything is going extremely well. It's not a
guaranteed Ascension, but it's looking very good.

Why was my healer easy? I'm playing a gnome, so she was able to sneak
through the Mines at level 1, healing her dog when it got injured, and
she traded in a ton of money for something like 7 points of naked AC.
Then I put on some armor and BAM, I entered easymode for the rest of
the game. With my human tourist I couldn't do that.

 

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chillynois@yahoo.com wrote:
> Are Tourists the hardest class? I know they start off with lame
> weapons and lame armor, but doesn't that just effect the first 15
> minutes of the game? It seems like I usually get decent weapon and
> armor by the time I reach Minetown.

> Are there harder classes than the Tourist? Like maybe the Monk class?
> Or maybe the Priest class when they roll lame starting spellbooks?

Both Caveman and Ranger are difficult for me.