Speed running

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Speed running is a type of informal conduct designed to test a player's skill, creativity, resourcefulness, or, perhaps most importantly, luck. There are two types of speedruns: real time (clock time) and turn count. Either way, you try and ascending with the fastest/lowest time possible.

How Fast is Fast?

Ascensions are typically completed in 60,000 to 160,000 turns and can take a few hours to days depending on the play style. A speed run in real time will aim for less than 3 hours of play time. Turn count speed runs are typically below 30,000 turns. This, of course, is where you obtain only 3 runes - low turn count 15 rune runs are documented in score.

Real Time

• Deep Dwarf Fighter of Makhleb is a popular choice, and one that currently holds the world record (as of Feb. 2022). Deep Dwarves' heal wounds ability lets you win otherwise out of depth fights, Fighter gives immediately strong gear and a one time out in a potion of might, and Makhleb makes up for your lack of passive regeneration.
  • Other melee warriors, such as Gargoyle and Minotaur, still can be fast! Melee is always preferred over magic; autofighting is much more reliable if you have the armor and HP to back it up.
• Autoexplore and autofight are your friends!
• You don't have to explore every level; even when autoexploring, it wastes valuable time.
  • Exactly how much have to explore is fairly arbitrary - it depends on lots of luck!
• Use macros and [rc file options] in order to automate less useful tasks. For example, you can set emergency items like scrolls of blinking and potions of haste to specific keys.

Low Turn Count

• Like Real Time runs, Deep Dwarves reign supreme. Instead of wasting hundreds of turns regenerating, your heal wounds ability can solve that instantly. The fast-regenerating Vine Stalker works, as well as most melee races. Jiyva, if you are lucky enough to find it early, also provides regeneration.
  • For other classes, bread swinging - or swinging a heavy weapon like an executioner's axe will cause you to regenerate more for the same amount of turns. Cheibriados lets you explore to the same effect, though matters less for 3 runes rather than 15 runes. Better yet - avoid resting as much as possible by exploring, potentially at floors you've skipped, at low health.
  • The current lowest turn count run uses the Delver class to find an altar immediately and skip the first 4 floors until getting the Orb of Zot.
• Careful movement is a must; autoexplore is very inefficent.

History

• Makhleb's HP heal was nerfed in 0.27, and Fighters no longer start with a kite shield in 0.28.
• In 0.26, and 0.27, there existed a bug where quivering a god ability would let you use it, even when you switched gods (say, to Uskayaw).
• In 0.21, Necromancer started with Borgnjor's Vile Clutch, an incredibly strong and useful spell, especially for a starting book. Gnoll had high starting attributes and aptitudes, though this was most commonly used for 15 rune LTCs.

Speedrun Ranking

For an up to date list of speedruns see the following links:

• Fastest wins (time)
• Fastest wins (turns)