ZAngband difficulty

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Archived from groups: rec.games.roguelike.angband (More info?)

Please excuse me while I rant for a while

After playing around with other variants for a while, I returned to my
old favorite (ZAngband) and found the beginning levels to be incredibly
obnoxious compared to the other variants. In particular:

1) Level 1 (50') seems to be populated by 90% Blubbering Icky Things,
which are poisonous and move quickly. Makes it rather tricky for new
characters with low constitution. You're virtually gauranteed to run
into a Blubbering Icky Thing on your first trip down, since they're in,
like, *every room*. And when you do run into them, it can be quite
difficult to avoid being touched by them since they move so quickly.
Characters without a long range attack will probably be poisoned, and
will then probably die.

2) I would expect mages to be bad at combat. That's not a problem.
But I swear, in Z they're SO bad at combat, that even with
invulnerability you'd be unable to kill most of the enemies at 50'.
You miss so often that the monsters regain all their HP before you can
finish them off!

Okay, I'm done for now

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.roguelike.angband (More info?)

if you don't have an offensive spell, learn detect monsters as soon as
possible and steer clear of any kobolds or icky things. if you are
patient enough you can reach level two just casting spells and opening
locked doors.

or here's a shortcut. instead of going into the dungeon, buy all the
potions of poison you can afford, walk out into the wilderness, and
whip 'em at anything that moves. one orc or wolf killed should gain
you 5-10 levels. then you can go back to the dungeon, in good shape to
handle anything.

Murphy S.

 

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Archived from groups: rec.games.roguelike.angband (More info?)

In article <1113838462.161905.101890@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>, rogercnorris@yahoo.com wrote:
>Please excuse me while I rant for a while
>After playing around with other variants for a while, I returned to my
>old favorite (ZAngband) and found the beginning levels to be incredibly
>obnoxious compared to the other variants. In particular:
>
>1) Level 1 (50') seems to be populated by 90% Blubbering Icky Things,
>which are poisonous and move quickly. Makes it rather tricky for new
>characters with low constitution. You're virtually gauranteed to run
>into a Blubbering Icky Thing on your first trip down, since they're in,
>like, *every room*. And when you do run into them, it can be quite
>difficult to avoid being touched by them since they move so quickly.
>Characters without a long range attack will probably be poisoned, and
>will then probably die.

Buy iron spikes early on ... cheap (if fairly useless) missile weapon

>2) I would expect mages to be bad at combat. That's not a problem.
>But I swear, in Z they're SO bad at combat, that even with
>invulnerability you'd be unable to kill most of the enemies at 50'.
>You miss so often that the monsters regain all their HP before you can
>finish them off!
>
>Okay, I'm done for now

Again, buy iron spikes if you don't get a ranged spell

Bruce


-------------------------------------
The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it.
- George Bernard Shaw
Cynic, n: a blackguard whose faulty vision sees things as they are, not as they ought to be.
- Ambrose Bierce

Caution ===== followups may have been changed to relevant groups
(if there were any)

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.roguelike.angband (More info?)

In article <1113883358.854109.187810@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com>, "Murphy S." <odradek71@yahoo.com> wrote:
>if you don't have an offensive spell, learn detect monsters as soon as
>possible and steer clear of any kobolds or icky things. if you are
>patient enough you can reach level two just casting spells and opening
>locked doors.
>
>or here's a shortcut. instead of going into the dungeon, buy all the
>potions of poison you can afford, walk out into the wilderness, and
>whip 'em at anything that moves. one orc or wolf killed should gain
>you 5-10 levels. then you can go back to the dungeon, in good shape to
>handle anything.

Brave is the first level character that ventures into the wilderness. Well,
brave or dead


Bruce


-------------------------------------
The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it.
- George Bernard Shaw
Cynic, n: a blackguard whose faulty vision sees things as they are, not as they ought to be.
- Ambrose Bierce

Caution ===== followups may have been changed to relevant groups
(if there were any)

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: rec.games.roguelike.angband (More info?)

i'm serious, its a viable strategy. use your 100 gold to buy 2-3 phase
door scrolls and spend the rest on potions of poison. when you get
outside the town walls, don't walk away from the town in a straight
line, because your escape route can be cut off. instead circle around
the perimeter of the town. if you see a monster you can't handle, try
to phase door over the wall, and make a run for the stairs. using this
strategy i think i ought to have at least a 75% success rate of killing
a wilderness monster. and why not gamble a little early in the game,
its supposed to be fun ;-)

Murphy S.