DCSS pasta for /vg/ Roguelike General

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				Links
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Download link (stable): http://crawl.develz.org/wordpress/downloads
Download link (trunk): http://crawl.develz.org/trunk/
//Download .zip version instead of installer.

Europe webtiles:
https://tiles.crawl.develz.org/#lobby
http://crawl.akrasiac.org:8080/#lobby
US webtiles:
https://crawl.s-z.org/#lobby
AU/asian
http://crawlus.somatika.net:8080 (no scoring yet)

//Play yourself or spectate.

How to play online: http://crawl.develz.org/wordpress/howto
//All you need to do to play webtiles is enable WebSockets.

Knowledge bots: http://crawl.develz.org/wordpress/bots
//Best source of Crawl-related information.

Wiki: http://crawl.chaosforge.org/index.php?title=CrawlWiki
//Is known to contain a lot of outdated or plain wrong info; has an affectionate nickname "badwiki". Use at your own risk.

Detailed official FAQ: http://crawl.develz.org/wordpress/faq

Changelog (MUH CONTENT!): http://crawl.develz.org/trunk/changes.txt

I WANT TO BE A MOUNTAIN DWARF (0.11 and earlier): http://pastebin.com/W9papVbF
I WANT TO BE A MOUNTAIN DWARF (Compiled 0.12 version): http://www.mediafire.com/?hrsptro4bbonmog

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				 FAQ
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1. What should I start with?
2. What does <monster/spell/item/mutation> do?
3. What's "trunk"?
4. I'm new to DCSS, what should I play?
5. What skills should I train?
6. What's min delay?
7. How to identify items better?
8. I leveled up, what stat should I raise?
9. I have weapons X and Y, which is better?
10. I have armours X and Y, which is better?
11. I got a scroll of acquirement, what should I ask for?
12. I keep dying, what the fuck?
13. I found <portal entrance>, should I go in?
14. I've finished <branch>, where should I go next?
15. Is there a shorter way to cast spells? What are and how do I create macros?
16. I've got a question not covered here.
17. This game sucks, there's too much RNG! Waaah!

1. What should I start with?
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Play through tutorials and read this FAQ.

2. What does <monster/spell/item/mutation> do?
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http://crawl.develz.org/wordpress/bots

3. What's "trunk"?
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Fresh version of Crawl, full of new features (and new bugs).

4. I'm new to DCSS, what should I play?
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Melee: Minotaur Berserker, Hill Orc Berserker: wear the armor with the best AC you can get, use a good two-hander, learn how and when to use Trog's powers (Berserk, in particular).
Hill Orc Berserker walkthrough: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ix7srBKuXd0

Magic: Deep Elf / High Elf Wizard, Deep Elf / High Elf / Hill Orc Fire Elementalist of Vehumet. Fire Elementalist guide:
http://crawl.chaosforge.org/index.php?title=Fire_Elementalist_guide

Stealth: Spriggan Enchanter:
http://crawl.develz.org/info/inline.php?q=hyperbolic

5. What skills should I train?
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Generally it is wise to train one skill only, and do so in manual mode (toggle it on in skill 'm'enu).
If you're melee, get your weapon to min delay first by training respective skill, then train Shields if you use one to eliminate penalty, then Fighting and Armour/Dodging depending on what you're using to raise your AC/EV.
If you're a magic user, train whatever spell schools you need to get your spells working (if a spell uses two or more schools its success rate and power are determined by their average) and increase their power, and Spellcasting to get more spell slots, reduce spell hunger and increase MP amount (Spellcasting increases spell success and spell power too, but is roughly four times less effective at that than average of respective spell schools).
All characters might benefit from training Traps and Doors to 1-5 around Lair, and maybe to 10 later in the game.
Note that this is a rough "guide" - other skills can be useful too, but it would take too much space to write all that here.

6. What's min delay?
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http://crawl.develz.org/info/inline.php?q=min_delay
http://crawl.chaosforge.org/index.php?title=Weapon_Speed
It's pretty important.

7. How to identify items better?
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Identify scrolls by reading them on a clean floor while not surrounded by allies, wands by zapping them at weak enemies, potions by scrolls of identification (but the biggest stack of potions is usually curing). Identify armour by wearing (if you have remove curse scrolls) in a safe place. Do not wield-ID weapons you won't use if they are distortion-branded (i.e. weapons out of your skill or of bad type).

8. I leveled up, what stat should I raise?
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If you plan to cast spells at any point (and even heavy armor users can benefit greatly from magic), raise Int. You may also want to raise Str in order to to increase carrying capacity (if your starting Str is really low) or to use heavy armour without hindrance (you need Str to be at least 3 times the armour's evasion penalty), or if you are using ranged or thrown weapons. Otherwise, put points in Dex - especially if you have good Dodging aptitude.

9. I have weapons X and Y, which is better?
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In general, weapons with higher base damage are better since base damage is amplified by your skills and stats (not taking brands into account). The exceptions to that rule are usually fast one-handed weapons like demon whips.
Here's one good player's advice regarding enchantments and base damage:
"For one-handed weapons, +3 to-damage enchantment is reasonably close to +2 base damage
For two-handed weapons, +2 to-damage is reasonably close to +1 base damage (since you have more skill)".

If you are really torn between two or more weapons, you can backup your save file, enter wizard mode (press &), and use fight simulator (press &f and enter monster's name), it will give you average damage you'll deal to said monster with your skills and the weapon you wield (and average damage you'll take). Do not pick a trivial monster like a rat for your tests though, as those have rather low defense values and do not represent an average threat to your character. Overwrite your wizmode save with your backup save after you've finished testing.

10. I have armours X and Y, which is better?
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Unlike with weapons, it's easy to check AC difference (base AC is multiplied by your Armour skill) by simply wearing them. Resistances past first + are usually not important. Remember that you need your Str to be 3 times the armour's evasion penalty to wear it. Spellcasters should consider the penalty heavier armours impose on their casting capabilities, obviously.

11. I got a scroll of acquirement, what should I ask for?
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Wand (you have good chance on getting one of good wands (hasting, teleport, heal wounds), has better chances of giving you a wand you haven't seen yet) or armour, probably. Maybe a staff if you're an elementalist.
If you're a Berserker, you might want to get a rod (ask for "staff" in 0.10), some rods contain very powerful spells and Trog doesn't prohibit their use.
http://crawl.develz.org/info/inline.php?q=acquirement

12. I keep dying, what the fuck?
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Change your tactics. Fight in corridors, don't charge monsters as soon as you see them (especially pack ones like gnolls and orcs), kite them to explored place. Throw stones at them to catch their attention without (hopefully) raising too much noise. Use your consumables like potions, scrolls, wands (after you die, examine your inventory to see what kind of items you have and think how could they save your character). Do not run in unexplored territory if possible. If you managed to split an enemy pack, take some of them upstairs to a cleared floor, where you can deal with them without having worry much about reinforcements (aka "stairdancing"). Unless you're reasonably sure you can beat something, run away. Skip entire floors if you need to. Examine (with "x") any enemy you haven't seen before to check resistances, speed and other helpful information (or consult bots). Always treat any unique you see with respect, even if you slapped its shit with ease on your last character! A few non-unique enemies to watch out for in the early game: anything with "glowing" weapons, orc priests and wizards, ogres, centaurs, gnolls.
What you also can do is pastebining your morgue file and posting it in the thread or asking someone to watch you playing on webtiles.

13. I found <portal entrance>, should I go in?
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Probably, you can always try and escape if you get into trouble. You may want to drop most of your potions/scrolls before entering Ice Caves/Volcanoes as they can be destroyed. Appropriate resistances help with those portals too.

14. I've finished <branch>, where should I go next?
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Dungeon -> Lair -> Orc -> Dungeon -> Vaults:1-7 (1-4 in 0.12) -> finish dungeon or try Lair branches (not Slime) -> Vaults:8 (5 in 0.12) -> Zot.  In general once you get past the early game you'll have a couple of options on where to go so this is not a definitive guide. Progress on a given path until you encounter enemies you cannot handle given your current items and abilities. Decide on whether you should just bypass the monster in question or try a different branch.

15. Is there a shorter way to cast spells? What are and how do I create macros?
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The best way to play casters is by setting macros. Macros are shortcuts that bind a key (the trigger) to a combination of commands.
To set a macro, press either the '~' key or Ctrl+d, then press "m" to set a new macro. When prompted for a trigger choose whichever key you want to bind (usually the fast keys (f1, f2, f3, etc...)). Finally, set the route, for example, Za. Press enter when done. Now whenever you press f1, it will be the same as pressing Z and then a.
You might want to add \{13}\{27} after the command (eg. "Za\{13}\{27}"). The \{27} auto-escapes if you would hit yourself with splash damage or if there's no target in range. (This macro doesn't work with fire storm.)
If you save the game and accept to save macros, they will be kept for future games.
To erase a macro, just press ctrl+d, then the trigger you want and choose clear.
For more info, check http://git.develz.org/?p=crawl.git;a=blob_plain;f=crawl-ref/docs/macros_guide.txt;hb=HEAD

16. I've got a question not covered here.
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Check the bots, the wiki, the official FAQ linked above, or in-game help (accessed by pressing "?"). Play through the in-game tutorial. Failing that just ask the thread, of course.

17. This game sucks, there's too much RNG! Waaah!
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Stop being bad.

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			  Tips & tricks
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Weapons of electrocution don't work on flying monsters. That includes you!