pmt (06/24/82)
Has anyone been transfixed and lived? I either get killed by another monster, or die of starvation EVERY time! This is a little ridiculous......... Anyone have any suggestions on how to handle these beasts? I try to avoid them, but they have a tendency to come spilling out of treasure rooms. Every potentially good game I have had has been ruined by floating eyes so far......HELP!
sjb (06/24/82)
Floating Eyes do not tranfix you permanently every time. I do not know what determines how long they do transfix you (Ken, Mark?), but it appears to me that they do it less frequently at higher levels (is this true, or is this my imagination?)
mark (06/24/82)
I don't claim any familiarity with the innards, but here are some good strategies for dealing with eyes: In Ken's rogue 5.2 they seem much more likely to permanently transfix you. If you can just walk around them, do so. They are no longer worth the risk of just walking up to them and beating on them. If one gets woken up (in a treasure room, from aggravate monster, or because you tromped too noisily by him), and there is no reasonable escape (e.g. you were about to head for the stairs), beat on them as fast as possible. The odds are still that you can kill them before they transfix you, but if you waste time, they can get in some extra chances to transfix you. Eyes can also be profitably attacked with bow and arrow, or with a stick, since you can get them from a distance. If you can get in 2 or 3 hits before they get to you, it's a pretty safe bet. Eyes are handy for trying out new sticks that you haven't identified. Make sure you have room to run for the stairs, and at least 1 space between you and the eye, in case you polymorph it into a Xorn.
ARPAVAX:CAD:ESVAX:Cory:cc-18 (06/27/82)
Using sticks on eyes is a good idea. I used to just toss some arrows (without benefit of bow; they still do some damage) at them, in case they were on the staircase! Apparently, floating eyes add to the NOCOMMAND flag. Every time they hit, they steal a couple of turns. It doesn't take long for them to steal more than 1 turn per attempted attack, and then you're doomed... Michael Chastain ucbvax!Cory:cc-18 (UUCP) Cory.cc-18@Berkeley (ARPA)
retzlaff (06/28/82)
Floating I's
We up here in the frozen north have no problem with floating
eyes, we merely put them outside until THEY are frozen and transfixed,
and then we kill them!!
Saskatchewan Accelerator Lab.