Talk:Mummy

Mummy Strategy Section

Okay, most of my edits on the species pages thus far have been focused on fairly minor clean up and clarification. However I feel that the strategy section here should be almost, if not entirely, removed. As this is a major edit I wanted to discuss first.

I don't think scumming early levels is a good idea with anyone, even a mummy. Early on, where extra experience would be helpful, you confront the fact that the amount of experience you get from rats and hobgoblins and the like very quickly becomes irrelevant due to the increase in cost of getting to next level with skills and character. The actual benefit you gain is extremely small due to the slow rate of monster (re)spawn in levels, and the OoD timer adds enough of an element of risk to offset whatever small gains you might secure.

As far as spamming high level spells... By the time you can cast high level spells despite a mummy's bad aptitudes, you are late enough into the game that hunger cost won't be an issue, regardless of species. So really a mummy lets you abuse channeling, which is extremely rare in early game unless you worship Sif, and even then channeling isn't really great unless you can leverage that in certain ways (which largely depends on background)—recent nerfs to summoning really hurt the "best" ways to abuse mummy channeling (mummeling?), actually.

Mummies are a challenge species and so maybe it makes sense to have a strategy section here, I don't know, but then I think the strategy section should begin by saying, "Mummies are a challenge species, but if you want to win one, here are the things you have to consider." But in that case it should also be much shorter and primarily dedicated to drawing attention to the mummy's major disadvantages and how to offset them (rF-, no potions, and as a corollary every type of confusion is basically as bad as paralysis for mummies, and so on).

Yours, and into

Yeah, the strategy section is an example of where wiki editing isn't as good. It was originally written in the days when mummies could truly scum indefinitely, before the OOD timers were introduced. There should probably be a note that scumming *isn't* a good idea - a lot of newer players are likely to think of it.

For spamming high-level spells: it's similar to what I said about ghouls, which is that you get L4-L6 spells online a bit sooner, since those tend to become castable at a time when you may not have accumulated a ton of permafood, and do have appreciable hunger costs when they do. As for abusing channeling - Sif channeling is very handy for mummies. It's not going to let you defeat Antaeus in one go like a CBoE can, but it's great for ensuring that you're always full on MP between fights, particularly in places like Lair that have a ton of medium-strength monsters and open layouts.

Mummies are a challenge species, but a strategy section should also mention that they're pretty good post-endgame: you have torment immunity, and unlike ghouls and vampires you don't have to worry about keeping fed. You also can pretty well compensate for their weaknesses: rF+ gear isn't hard to find later on, a wand of heal wounds compensates a lot for their inability to drink potions, they have high MR so confusion (and other hexes) becomes less likely, and they actually have decent HP and MP. -Ion frigate (talk) 02:45, 7 February 2014 (CET)