User:Hordes/Guide Appendix - Revision history

Hordes: i'll update this later, if i remember

2024-01-21T05:45:48Z

i'll update this later, if i remember

Hordes: /* Appendix 2: Older Versions & Mechanics */

2023-06-17T15:56:03Z

‎Appendix 2: Older Versions & Mechanics

Hordes: /* Deserves its own section */

2023-06-17T15:51:37Z

‎Deserves its own section

Hordes: /* Deserves its own section */

2023-03-19T06:00:12Z

‎Deserves its own section

Hordes: /* Strategic Scrolls */

2023-03-19T05:57:34Z

‎Strategic Scrolls

Hordes: /* Appendix 2: Older Versions & Mechanics */

2023-03-19T05:55:20Z

‎Appendix 2: Older Versions & Mechanics

Hordes: /* Appendix 2: Older Versions & Mechanics */

2023-03-19T05:53:59Z

‎Appendix 2: Older Versions & Mechanics

Hordes: /* Appendix 2: Older Versions & Mechanics */

2023-03-12T22:10:09Z

‎Appendix 2: Older Versions & Mechanics

Hordes: /* Appendix 2: Older Versions & Mechanics */

2023-03-12T22:09:20Z

‎Appendix 2: Older Versions & Mechanics

Hordes: /* Appendix 2: Older Versions & Mechanics */

2023-03-12T22:07:13Z

‎Appendix 2: Older Versions & Mechanics

← Older revision		Revision as of 05:45, 21 January 2024
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−	Companion pieces to [[H's Minotaur Fighter Guide]].	+	Companion pieces to [[H's Minotaur Fighter Guide]]. '''Outdated - written for version 0.30'''

	==Appendix 1: Potions & Scrolls==		==Appendix 1: Potions & Scrolls==

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 '''Curses''' - [[Curse]]d items would stick to you if you equipped them, rendering you unable to equip another one in it's stead. Weapons, armour, and jewllery were not identified until you wore them or used a scroll of ID. The mechanic served to create some form of strategic risk/reward (which I personally miss ''a lot'') outside of battle, and limit how early you could use floor items. However, the dominant strategy was much too safe and optimal to pull off.
-In versions with cursed items (before 0.27), identify scrolls as normal. When you find the [[scroll of remove curse]], you can put on all non-weapon equipment slots, and wield weapons if you want to risk the extremely low chance for [[distortion]]. Scrolls of RC were in the top 3 most common scrolls and curses served zero risk once you had more than one, barring very specific artefacts like the [[obsidian axe]] and the curse-focused god [[Ashenzari]]. There was space to break this rule, but really only in the first few floors for a vast majority of games.
+In versions with cursed items (before 0.27), identify scrolls as normal. When you find the [[scroll of remove curse]], you can put on all non-weapon non-amulet equipment slots, and wield weapons if you want to risk the extremely low chance for [[distortion]]. Scrolls of RC were in the top 3 most common scrolls and curses served zero risk once you had more than one, barring very specific artefacts like the [[obsidian axe]] and the curse-focused god [[Ashenzari]]. There was space to break this rule, but really only in the first few floors for a vast majority of games.
-Overall, if you knew the optimal strategy, there was too little of risk that applies for too little of the game. If you did not know it, then you just got randomly punished for wearing items. Plus, in the lategame, curses just served as annoyance: items were not identified, so you had to wear ''every single item'' that you ''could possibly want to use''. Also, lugging around scrolls of ID/RC took up two inventory slots. The devs decided that the lategame burden and "noob trap" functionality were not worth whatever positives this mechanic had, and they were removed.
+Overall, if you knew the optimal strategy, there was only a small risk that applies for a small portion of the game. If you did not know it, then you just got randomly punished for wearing items. Plus, in the lategame, curses just served as annoyance: items were not identified, so you had to wear ''every single item'' that you ''could possibly want to use''. Also, lugging around scrolls of ID/RC took up two inventory slots. The devs decided that the lategame burden and "noob trap" functionality were not worth whatever positives this mechanic had, and they were removed.
 '''Random energy, Pillar dancing, Attack of opportunity''' - Mentioned in the guide itself, but included for completeness' sake. [[Random energy]] was a mechanic where monsters would randomly get +/- 0.1 turn; a 1/3 chance for each of: +, -, or no change. [[Pillar dancing]] is where you run around a monster in a circle (requiring a wall to circle around to do so). Pdancing let you re-roll combat infinitely so long as you can take at least one more hit, as both you and the monster regenerated. [[Attacks of opportunity]] were introduced in 0.29 to severely nerf pillar dancing to the point where it isn't really viable on melee. (Still possible if you can get an extra tile of space)

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 * [[File:Potion of attraction.png]] [[Potion of attraction]] - Attracts enemies at a rate of 3 tiles per turn. This potion incredibly dangerous in theory, liable to flat out ''killing'' you: it'll drag in monsters that you simply aren't aware of (it isn't limited to line of sight?), which can surround you with no way to run from them. The only "safe" use is using this while in [[Tree Form]] to kill enemies.
-: But I have to admit there are some actual uses. Most obvious being centaurs (and other ranged enemies), which the potion allows getting to melee faster, and merfolk, who will hit you all at once, and attraction allow you to cleave all of them back. If you know there is a [[vault]] with a ton of monsters, such as the end of Elf:3 and pretty much every other branch, you can get into a hallway or [[kill hole]] and drag them in. You can win and win comfortably without ever using this potion - I don't really use it, so I can't guarantee how good/bad these uses are.
+: But I have to admit there are some actual uses. Most obvious being centaurs (and other ranged enemies), which the potion allows getting to melee faster. Merfolk have polearms, so they can hit you all at once; attraction can let you cleave them at all once. If you know there is a [[vault]] with a ton of monsters, such as the end of Elf:3 and pretty much every other branch, you can get into a hallway or [[kill hole]] and drag them in.
 ====Strategic / Useless Potions====

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 ====Deserves its own section====
-* [[File:Potion of attraction.png]] [[Potion of attraction]] - Attracts enemies at a rate of 3 tiles per turn. This potion incredibly dangerous in theory, liable to flat out ''killing'' you: it'll drag in monsters that you simply aren't aware of (it isn't limited to line of sight?), which can surround you with no way to run from them. The only "safe" use is using this while in [[Tree Form]] to kill enemies. <br><br>But I have to admit there are some uses. Most obvious being centaurs (and other ranged enemies), which the potion allows getting to melee faster, and merfolk, who will hit you all at once, and attraction allow you to cleave all of them back. If you know there is a [[vault]] with a ton of monsters, such as the end of Elf:3 and pretty much every other branch, you can get into a hallway or [[kill hole]] and drag them in. You can win and win comfortably without ever using this potion - I don't really use it, so I can't guarantee how good/bad these uses are.
+* [[File:Potion of attraction.png]] [[Potion of attraction]] - Attracts enemies at a rate of 3 tiles per turn. This potion incredibly dangerous in theory, liable to flat out ''killing'' you: it'll drag in monsters that you simply aren't aware of (it isn't limited to line of sight?), which can surround you with no way to run from them. The only "safe" use is using this while in [[Tree Form]] to kill enemies.
 ====Strategic / Useless Potions====

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 * [[File:Scroll of enchant armour.png]] [[File:Scroll of enchant weapon.png]] [[Scroll of enchant armour]] / [[scroll of enchant weapon|enchant weapon]] - See the [[H%27s_Minotaur_Fighter_Guide#Items_and_Gear|Items and Gear]] section. Basically, don't enchant anything that would be replacable. You'll stick with: Broad axe for weapon. Plate armour of fire resistance/willpower, gold dragon scales, crystal plate armour for body armour. Tower shields.
-*[[File:Scroll of magic mapping.png]] [[Scroll of magic mapping]] - Maps out the current floor. Most useful if you just got teleported or [[shaft]]ed, also useful for finding the [[Temple]]. Outside of temple finding, you shouldn't really need these for general use - save until the afomentioned scenarios or the final stretches of Zot.
+*[[File:Scroll of magic mapping.png]] [[Scroll of magic mapping]] - Maps out the current floor. Most useful if you just got teleported or [[shaft]]ed, also useful for finding the [[Temple]]. Outside of temple finding, you shouldn't really need these for general use - save until the aforementioned scenarios or the final stretches of Zot.
 *[[File:Scroll of brand weapon.png]] [[Scroll of brand weapon]] - Use it on a broad axe. Vorpal (Heavy in 0.30), Flaming, Freezing, Electrocution, Vampiric (can't get vamp from the scroll) are worth keeping, the others can be replaced. If you got 2 or more scrolls early on, you can also use one on the war axe. Even if you get chaos, Okawaru can give you a replacement axe.

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 Food also served to punish spellcasters casting their biggest spells all the time via [[spell hunger]]. While this did create ''some'' amount of depth and had a non-zero effect on balance, the devs decided that it simply wasn't necessary (weak spells on weak monsters isn't a very interesting choice). For melee characters with any amount of competency, hunger did not matter past the first few floors - even for the hunger consuming [[Berserker]], even for the corpse-destroying [[Gozag]].
-Most players automated most things via [[rcfile]] anyway, so it really did not matter (on the surface) other than for flavor/traditional roguelike reasons. Now it is replaced by the automatic [[Zot clock]], which is non-intrusive enough that you have to actively enable it via settings to see (it is extremely long and comes with a warning if you get anywhere close to ending, so the "don't worry" intent is right).
+Most players automated most things via [[rcfile]] anyway, so it really did not matter (on the surface) other than for flavor/traditional roguelike reasons. Now it is replaced by the automatic [[Zot clock]], which is non-intrusive enough that you have to actively enable it via settings to see. This clock is excessively long and comes with a warning if you get anywhere close to ending, so you're not supposed to worry about it.
 It's worth noting that the game feel and many mechanics were tied around food and its soft limit. For example, they had to give [[invisibility]] items and [[Formicid]] the wayyy more punishing [[drain]] in part due to food's removal, and the aforementioned casters, and [[pillar dancing]]...

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 '''Food, Butchering, Chunks''' - [[Food]] was a mechanic in which you had to eat with the '''e''' command; food runs down as you explore and/or fight. The main source of food was to chop up corpses and eat their chunks. Food's main purpose (as an extremely soft clock to force players deeper) really could be automated, so... it was automated.
-Food also served to punish spellcasters casting their biggest spells all the time via [[spell hunger]]. While this did create ''some'' amount of depth and had a noticable effect on balance, the devs decided that it simply wasn't necessary. For melee characters with any amount of competency, hunger did not matter past the first few floors - even for the hunger consuming [[Berserker]], even for the corpse-destroying [[Gozag]].
+Food also served to punish spellcasters casting their biggest spells all the time via [[spell hunger]]. While this did create ''some'' amount of depth and had a non-zero effect on balance, the devs decided that it simply wasn't necessary (weak spells on weak monsters isn't a very interesting choice). For melee characters with any amount of competency, hunger did not matter past the first few floors - even for the hunger consuming [[Berserker]], even for the corpse-destroying [[Gozag]].
 Most players automated most things via [[rcfile]] anyway, so it really did not matter (on the surface) other than for flavor/traditional roguelike reasons. Now it is replaced by the automatic [[Zot clock]], which is non-intrusive enough that you have to actively enable it via settings to see (it is extremely long and comes with a warning if you get anywhere close to ending, so the "don't worry" intent is right).

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 '''Floors of the Dungeon''' - DCSS likes to just remove floors from time to time, like it replaces species. It happens. No [[branch]] has been removed since the [[Hall of Blades]] over 8 years ago (and it still exists on [[Elven Halls|Elf]]:2), though the portal [[Labyrinth]] was replaced with the [[Gauntlet]] sometime recently (due to being annoying; it was non-combat related).
-'''Okawaru''' - [[Okawaru]] has existed for the entirety of DCSS, and then some. What changed recently (0.28) was that Okawaru now completely forbids allies, but gained the Duel ability. Previously, Okawaru did not care about allies, and even prior just hated you betraying allies (which didn't matter for 99% of the game). Also, in [[0.29]], Okawaru throwing gifts were halved, which I didn't actually have a place to put in the guide proper.
+'''Okawaru''' - [[Okawaru]] has existed for the entirety of DCSS, and then some. What changed recently (0.28) was that Okawaru now completely forbids allies, but gained the Duel ability. Previously, Okawaru did not care about allies, and even prior just hated you betraying allies (which didn't matter for 99% of the game). In [[0.30]] (most recent version as of writing), the Heroism and Finesse abilities were made much more expensive, and in [[0.29]] the amount of Throwing gifts were nerfed.
 '''Shield penalties, Shield skill level, Large Shield''' - There were specific skill thresholds: Bucklers at 4 Shields skill, kite shields (formerly just shields) at 15 skill, and tower shields (large shields) at 25 skill. Once you hit that threshold, there would be no penalties for wearing the shield. Shield penalties are now only removed at Shields 27.