renner (11/11/82)
#N:uiucdcs:9500079:000:386
uiucdcs!renner Nov 11 12:31:00 1982
To the rogue experts out there:
What tactics have you developed for figuring out which magic items
you have found? When you find a wand/staff, do you use a charge and try
to figure out what it does, or wait for an identify scroll? Do you try on
rings when you find them? Save scrolls or read them when you get them?
Just kind of curious about how other people do it.bcase (11/11/82)
#R:uiucdcs:9500079:uiucdcs:9500081:000:2372
uiucdcs!bcase Nov 11 14:08:00 1982
Rings: Wait until you get a scroll of remove curse, then try on rings.
If the rings do anythings totally obvious (like increase strength)
you'll know. If they are cursed you will know (try to remove them);
then you can use the remove curse. A ring that is not cursed but
doesn't do anything obvious should be worn for a while. If you
eat more food, it's probably something good like sustain (strength
or armor) regeneration, etc., or if you eat less food, it's slow
digestion.
Armor: At the same time you are trying rings on, try on armor. One scroll
of remove curse works for everything.
Weapons:Same as armor, but if not cursed, you will just have to try the thing
out on some monsters.
Potions:I just quaff 'em as soon as I get 'em, and as early as possible. A
potion of blindness is not too deadly on levels 1-4 but is devastating
after 12 or so. It is true that I waste some potions, but then I can
use identify scrolls on other things.
Scrolls:Same as Potions. I read 'em as soon as possible. One to watch out
for: aggrivate monster. I try to wait until just before descending
to the next level to read unidentified scrolls to prevent aggrivate
monster from resulting in death! This wastes magic mapping scrolls,
but so what? I ALWAYS check to see that a scroll is/is not scare
monster before picking it up (if possible; a scroll in the corner
is hard to test). I use identify scrolls on scrolls that I could not
test (for one reason or another). One scare mosnter can be worth
one or more experience levels!
Sticks: It depends. If I have some spare identify scrolls, I'll use them on
wands. If not, I'll just use 'em once on a weak monster.
I am sure that other people have different magic detection policies. Which
brings up one other technique: Gather a bunch of stuff to be indentified
and drop it all in one room. Quaff your magic detection potion and note
the positions of the dollar signs. The things that don't produce a dollar
sign are at least not cursed. The ones that do are enchanted or cursed.
Now you have a little more information about items in your pack, and under
some circumstances, you can determine whether to keep or discard some items.
-bcaserodolf (11/15/82)
For scrolls: I read them only after I have one ring or wand or staff (to avoid wasting an identify). After that, I read them as fast as I get them (when they are unidentified). For sticks: I generally wait for an identify, although if I get impatient or am desperate I will try one on a bat or jackal from a distance. For rings: I never wear an unidentified ring. They are the first things that get identified. Not afraid to share my secrets, Rick Lindsley uwvax!rodolf
mcdaniel (11/16/82)
#R:uiucdcs:9500079:uiucdcs:9500089:000:1141
uiucdcs!mcdaniel Nov 15 18:50:00 1982
I agree with the previous techniques, except:
(1) Obviously, I try the first 2-handed sword I get (when I get enough
hit points so that the lesser dexterity doesn't get me killed.
A rule-of-thumb is to wait until 30hps or so). Later 2-handers
I treat as bcase suggests.
(2) Potions: I quaff what I have at the end of level 2 (in case there's an
increase strength). Also, at the end of level 12 (end of As, start of Ts:
strength is rather desirable), I quaff in this order: unknowns, known
restore strengths, known gain strengths.
(3) Misc.: I try to keep a full pack. That way, I can test scares that are
in corners. Also, if I do drop a scare when I have a full pack, I might
be able to pick up another item, so that I can run back to the scare
(if nothing is in the way) and recover/kill. Thus, I generally hold
off on reading/quaffing until I absolutely have to (except to
identify rings, and as noted above).
Considering that I've never won, you should apply the old salt grain.
Tim McDaniel
(. . . pur-ee!uiucdcs!mcdaniel)svw (11/21/82)
This is for the guy (person?) who asked about strategies
in playing Rogue. I have discovered something useful about how
monsters move: every monster on the level, excluding, of course,
the sleeping ones, move in as straight a
line as possible towards you, regardless of where you are. Even
if it means trying to move directly through a wall. So, if you
are in the following situation:
### -----
# # |...|
########ABCD#####@ ##+...|
-----
The monsters will naturally come straight at you. But if you run
around the loop, thus:
### -----
# # |...|
##############ABCD @#+...|
-----
The monsters, with the dragon in the lead, will try to walk
straight through the empty space between the two of you. Because
he can't, and will try to anyway, you can stay where you are
until you get your hit points back, or test your armor, or search
for secret doors, or something.