DCSS pasta for /vg/ Roguelike General v. 1.28

------------------------------------------------------------------
			       Contents
------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Links.
2. FAQ.
3. Good guides.
4. More links (changelog, youtube, online morgues and more).
5. Tips and tricks.

------------------------------------------------------------------
			      1. Links
------------------------------------------------------------------
Download link (stable):
	http://crawl.develz.org/wordpress/downloads

Download link (trunk):
	http://crawl.develz.org/trunk/
	//Download a .zip version instead of installer.
	//Unpack it into a folder with English-only full path and name.

WebTiles:
	http://crawl.akrasiac.org:8080		//USA, Arizona
	https://crawl.s-z.org			//USA, Florida
	http://crawl.lantea.net:8080		//Germany
	http://rl.heh.fi:8080			//Finland
	//You can play yourself or spectate other players.
	//You might need to enable WebSockets in your browser.

Console (online) instructions:
	http://crawl.develz.org/wordpress/howto
	//ASCII interface is faster and more responsive.

Scoring (for online players only):
	http://crawl.akrasiac.org/scoring/players/YOUR_ACCOUNT_NAME.html
	//Identically named accounts on different servers
	//count as one for scoring purposes.

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

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

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	//Is known to contain a lot of outdated or plain wrong info;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.

------------------------------------------------------------------
				2.FAQ
------------------------------------------------------------------
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 way to speed up WebTiles play?
16. Is there a shorter way to cast spells? What are and how do I create macros?
17. I've got a question not covered here.
18. This game sucks, there's too much RNG! Waaah!

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

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

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

4. I'm new to DCSS, what should I play?
---------------------------------------
Melee: Minotaur or Hill Orc Berserker: wear a good armour (something like a plate or better), use a good two-hander, learn how and when to use Trog's powers (Berserk, in particular).

Magic: Deep Elf or High Elf Wizard or Fire Elementalist of Vehumet.

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

5. What skills should I train?
------------------------------
Roughly: http://crawl.develz.org/info/inline.php?q=skills
>Here is how you train skills. First you train the skills that you use to kill dudes. Once you are killing dudes well enough, then you train the skills you use to not die to dudes. If you later run into problems killing dudes, you switch back to killdudes skills.

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, get some more MP and reduce spell hunger (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 crude "guide" - other skills can be useful too, but it would take too much space to write all that here.

6. What's min delay?
--------------------
http://crawl.develz.org/info/inline.php?q=min_delay
>Min delay for a melee weapon is min(7, floor(base delay / 2)), or 5 for a sabre. To achieve min delay, you need your weapon skill to be at least max(base delay, 2*base delay - 14), plus 1 if odd, or 14 skill for a sabre.
>You can get an estimate of your attack speed by pressing '@'.

Skill required to reach min delay for each weapon type (table):
http://crawl.chaosforge.org/index.php?title=Weapon_Speed

7. How to identify items better?
--------------------------------
Identify scrolls by reading them on a clean floor while not surrounded by allies, wands by zapping them at weak enemies (and if it didn't work, rock walls), potions by scrolls of identification (quaff-ID is normally a very bad idea, but if you find yourself in a tight spot and have no other choice, the biggest stack of potions is usually curing). Identify armour by wearing it (if you have remove curse scrolls) in a safe place. Do not wield-ID weapons you won't use in case they are distortion branded.

8. I leveled up, what stat should I raise?
------------------------------------------
As a general rule, get Int if you want to kill things with spells, get Str if you want to use really heavy armour, and get Dex if you're doing anything else. Ask knowledge bots if you want to learn more about what each stat does.

9. I have weapons X and Y, which is better?
-------------------------------------------
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?
--------------------------------------------
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, except for magic resistance. 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?
---------------------------------------------------------
Wand acquirement has a good chance of giving you one of great wands (hasting, teleport, heal wounds), especially if you haven't seen one yet.
Armour acquirement will often try to fill an empty slot and is weighted by your skills.
Weapon acquirement - base type is weighted towards your skill, is likely to be good and have a brand you haven't seen yet. Worth considering, especially if you aren't worshiping a gifting god.
Staff acquirement checks your magic school and Evocation skills. For magic-heavy characters it has a good chance of generating an enhancer staff for your best elemental magic school, characters specializing in Evocations are more likely to get a rod instead. Trog followers are guaranteed to get a rod.
http://crawl.develz.org/info/inline.php?q=acquirement

12. I keep dying, what the fuck?
--------------------------------
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?
----------------------------------------------
Probably, you can always try and escape if you get into trouble - most of those contain an exit portal right next to the entrance. You may want to drop most of your potions/scrolls before entering Ice Caves/Volcanoes as they can be destroyed without conservation, but keep some vital ones just in case. Appropriate resistances help with those portals too.

14. I've finished <branch>, where should I go next?
---------------------------------------------------
Dungeon -> Lair -> Orcish Mines -> more Dungeon -> Vaults:1-4 -> finish Dungeon and/or try Lair branches (not Slime, though) -> Vaults:5 -> Zot -> win.  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 (though most characters should finish Lair before going into Orcish Mines). 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.
It's also worth mentioning that last floors of each branch are often much more challenging.

15. Is there a way to speed up WebTiles play?
---------------------------------------------
Try putting those two lines into your rc file (accessed from your server's WebTiles page):
explore_delay = -1
travel_delay = -1
This will stop the game from visualizing anything during autoexploration and autotravel.

Note that rc files have many more options that can significantly enhance your crawling experience, along with instructions on how to use them.

16. Is there a shorter way to cast spells? What are and how do I create macros?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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

17. I've got a question not covered here.
-----------------------------------------
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.

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

------------------------------------------------------------------
			  3. Good guides
------------------------------------------------------------------
Abyssal Knight: http://pastebin.com/QnHCvEVv
		http://crawl.chaosforge.org/IonFrigate%27s_Abyssal_Knight_guide
Deep Dwarf: http://crawl.develz.org/info/inline.php?q=dd+guide
Fire Elementalist: http://crawl.chaosforge.org/Elynae%27s_Fire_Elementalist_guide
Merfolk Death Knight: http://crawl.chaosforge.org/Ophanim%27s_Merfolk_Death_Knight_Guide
Mummy Wizard: http://crawl.chaosforge.org/Elynae%27s_Better_MuWz_Guide
Spriggan Enchanter: http://crawl.develz.org/info/inline.php?q=hyperbolic
Transmuter: http://crawl.chaosforge.org/Elynae%27s_Sludge_Elf/Merfolk_Transmuter_guide
Troll Conjurer: http://crawl.chaosforge.org/Elynae%27s_Troll_Conjurer_guide

------------------------------------------------------------------
			  4. More links
------------------------------------------------------------------
Changelog:
	http://crawl.develz.org/trunk/changes.txt
	http://gitorious.org/crawl/crawl/commits/master

Online morgues, ttyrecs and rcfiles locations:
	http://crawl.akrasiac.org/		//links are under "Server"
	http://crawl.lantea.net/crawl/
	http://crawl.develz.org/morgues/
	http://crawl.develz.org/ttyrecs/
	http://crawl.develz.org/configs/
	http://dobrazupa.org/			//CSZO
	http://rl.heh.fi/

Species and classes abbreviation list: https://crawl.develz.org/tavern/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=4605

Youtube walkthroughs:
Hill Orc Berserker: http://youtube.com/watch?v=ix7srBKuXd0

DCSS clua functions: http://pastebin.com/eXvDvEfk

------------------------------------------------------------------
			 5. Tips & tricks
------------------------------------------------------------------
Imp parking: http://crawl.develz.org/info/inline.php?q=imp+parking
>Get an imp next to you while standing on up-stairs, go up the stairs, wait for the imp to blink away, go back down the stairs, leaving the imp on the level above you. Good for early-game necromancers and others who have trouble with early imps.