dcss - decisions viz weapons for a MD Pa
Peter Huebner
Played this dwarven paladin to ~ level 9 or 10 now, and he's come across
a weapon shop :-D
Just now, he's using a +2 dwarven flail of crushing, and occasionally a
+1-1 orcish flail of protection (for socking jellies, there was a jelly
breeding farm on one level that I had 'cleared' of orcs). I can take
care of orc warriors, ogres and hill giants with the flail of crushing
fairly quickly (3-5 combat rounds). This guy hits pretty well (unlike
some of my past attempts at paladin, who sometimes seemed to 'choke' and
suddenly couldn't hit a barn side on).
He's got 3 in long sword and 10 in mace & flail skills. Nothing at all
in axes, since he never found one better than vanilla handaxes so far.
Shop sells:
a +3+7 battleaxe of electrocution (soon to be affordable)
a +2 morningstar of piercing
a +3+0 long sword of speed
The morningstar hardly seems worth the bother, for the extra 1 or 2
points of damage?
But, I've no idea how a sword of speed stacks up against the flails
(never used one before, only a dagger of speed on an assassin and that
was kind of lame), and I am not at all sure that it's a good idea to
start training axes or switching back to swords at this juncture.
What would you do?
Oh, and I've not found scrolls of enchant weapon II or III at this
point, so I couldn't put a bit more of an edge on that sword just yet.
B.t.w. why do dwarven paladins start out with long swords? Other profs
get a choice of starting weapon?!?
-P.
Erwin M.
> Played this dwarven paladin to ~ level 9 or 10 now, and he's come across
> a weapon shop :-D
>
> Just now, he's using a +2 dwarven flail of crushing, and occasionally a
> +1-1 orcish flail of protection (for socking jellies, there was a jelly
> breeding farm on one level that I had 'cleared' of orcs). I can take
> care of orc warriors, ogres and hill giants with the flail of crushing
> fairly quickly (3-5 combat rounds). This guy hits pretty well (unlike
> some of my past attempts at paladin, who sometimes seemed to 'choke' and
> suddenly couldn't hit a barn side on).
Remember to keep your targets in the halo if you want the to-hit bonus.
Not a problem once it's up to radius 2, but the initial halo only covers
the cardinal directions.
> He's got 3 in long sword and 10 in mace & flail skills. Nothing at all
> in axes, since he never found one better than vanilla handaxes so far.
>
> Shop sells:
>
> a +3+7 battleaxe of electrocution (soon to be affordable)
> a +2 morningstar of piercing
> a +3+0 long sword of speed
>
> The morningstar hardly seems worth the bother, for the extra 1 or 2
> points of damage?
Right, the difference is too minute, especially since you're getting a
racial bonus with the flail.
> But, I've no idea how a sword of speed stacks up against the flails
> (never used one before, only a dagger of speed on an assassin and that
> was kind of lame), and I am not at all sure that it's a good idea to
> start training axes or switching back to swords at this juncture.
You don't start to notice the benefits of the speed brand until you get
a decent hit rate. Switching back to long blades is not out of the
question, as you're not that far in, really. Also, most of your
guaranteed anti-hydra weapons (or as "guaranteed" as anything gets in
Crawl) are flaming long blades.
If you go axes, you will get that skill level up FAST. MD aptitude plus
the cross-training bonus from M&F. Don't use the battleaxe for initial
training, though, as the low speed plus zero skill will get you killed fast.
> What would you do?
>
> Oh, and I've not found scrolls of enchant weapon II or III at this
> point, so I couldn't put a bit more of an edge on that sword just yet.
Don't worry. It'll happen. Or you'll find a better sword.
> B.t.w. why do dwarven paladins start out with long swords? Other profs
> get a choice of starting weapon?!?
All paladins start with a long blade because of the TSO weapon blessing
much later on. Any weapon can get enhanced, but long blades get a much
better upgrade.
Öö Tiib
>
> a +3+7 battleaxe of electrocution (soon to be affordable)
> a +2 morningstar of piercing
> a +3+0 long sword of speed
>
Long sword of speed feels best of them, but nothing spectacular.
> What would you do?
I usually go with axes when a dwarf or with long blades when a
paladin. If i really decided to try it with mace (out of curiosity
probably?) then that shop won't probably change my mind.