A Players' Guide to Angband
***************************

This guide assumes familiarity with the basic mechanics of the game.
If you're completely new to Angband, check out the user's manual and
just start playing, get into the dungeon and try, well, whatever seems
to be prudent. You'll probably die rather quickly, but the following
will make much more sense to you if you have just a little actual
gameplay experience.

This guide was written for Angband 3.5.0, and is now a little out of
date (although the worst of the obsolete stuff has been cleaned out).
It is still a handy source of hints and advice; just don't take it as
an authority.


The basics
==========

As borrowed from a classic rgra post, there's not much that you
actually have to do. Your one and only mission is to slay Morgoth on
dungeon level 100. In order to get there, you need to go down a lot of
stairs and kill Sauron on dungeon level 99. That's about it -
everything else is optional. Of course, before you can kill Sauron
you'll need lots of experience and good equipment, but by the time you
get that deep you'll have both. Just see to it that you don't die
along the way.

The one and most important thing you need to get in your head is that
you can't possibly kill every monster on every level. Think of the
game as forays into the dungeon from which you want to return with
cool stuff; think of the shallower levels as obstacles you need to
overcome on your way deeper into the dungeon; or whatever you like.
Just never-ever think of it as a killing spree. Until you find Sauron,
your task is to survive and eventually get to level 99.

The next point is that you don't need to fight any particular monster
(other than the big two). Yes, there might be a rather impressive
hoard in that vault – but if the monsters guarding it are too many or
too fierce, well, just give it a pass. Angband offers an endless
supply of monsters and treasure and everything. There will always be
another day – provided you live to see another day. Sometimes you just
have to bug out and run for your life.

So, let me recap, the vital points of Angband are:

* go down a lot of stairs

* kill Sauron (dl 99)

* kill Morgoth (dl 100)

* Quick start

From this point, the guide assumes that you are playing a fighting
class (warrior, ranger, rogue or paladin) and race (Dunedain, High-
Elf, Dwarf, Half-Orc, Half-Troll.) First, use the 'cost-based' stats
selection, and create a character with 3 or 4 blows (Don't pick a
class/race combinations, like Dwarf Ranger, that can only get 2
blows.)

First, set your stats to get maximum blows. If you have a combination
with good dexterity, select 18/10 dexterity, and then set your
strength to 17 or 18. Set your spell-casting stat to something low but
usable (~12), and spend the rest on constitution. For a beginning
character, constitution is least important, because it doesn't add
significant HP until well above 18.

Example character:

    [Angband 3.5.0 Character Dump]

   Name   Anar         Age            102          Self  RB  CB  EB   Best
   Sex    Female       Height       5'11"   STR:     17  +1  +0  +0     18
   Race   High-Elf     Weight    14st 0lb   INT:     10  +3  +2  +0     15
   Class  Ranger       Turns used:          WIS:     10  -1  -2  +0      7
   Title  Runner       Game             1   DEX:     18  +3  +1  +0  18/40
   HP     14/14        Standard         0   CON:     10  +1  -1  +0     10
   SP     0/0          Resting          0

   Level                  1    Armor        [0,+2]    Saving Throw     49%
   Cur Exp                0                           Stealth         Good
   Max Exp                0    Melee        1d4,+2    Disarming        36%
   Adv Exp               23    To-hit        23,+4    Magic Devices     55
                               Blows      2.0/turn    Perception   1 in 20
   Gold                 139                           Searching        27%
   Burden          18.5 lbs    Shoot to-dam     +0    Infravision    40 ft
   Speed             Normal    To-hit        33,+4
   Max Depth           Town    Shots        1/turn


A Fighting Chance
-----------------

For a melee character, the most important measure of power is how much
damage they can do in a single turn. Consider the above cl 1 character
with 3 blows from a Rapier (+7,+9), in a fight vs an out-of-depth
Bullroarer, with no escapes, no ranged weapons, and no armor. On the
face, she has no chance. However, if she can get in the first blow,
she in fact has a 71% chance of killing Bullroarer in a single turn,
and a 95% chance of frightening him.

Further, with full buffing (!Hero, ?Blessing ?Berserk Strength), the
character has an 81% chance of killing him in a single turn. As well
as improving the to-hit probability from 91% to 95%, this corresponds
to a 50% reduction in the chance of failure in a dangerous situation.
Finally, assuming 'Anar' does win this battle, she gets 450
experience, and immediately goes jumps to cl 8.


Missile Damage
--------------

With proper preparation even a weak character has an almost guaranteed
chance of killing Bullroarer, if you meet him at a distance (across a
lighted room). An unenchanted longbow does 7.5 damage/shot with
ordinary (unenchanted) arrows. However, flasks of oil do 7HP nominal
damage when thrown, and do triple damage (21HP) vs fire-vulnerable
monsters. Bullroarer has 60 HP, so even a small stack of oil will
finish him off.


Summary
-------

* Character power is more closely associated with damage output rather
  than HP or character level.

* If you preserve your supplies, you can fight well above your weight.
  Early in the game, this means using flasks of oil against worthwhile
  targets; later in the game this means using branded or slaying "ego"
  ammunition. Good ammunition is too valuable to waste on less
  valuable targets (like red jellies, or groups of orcs.)

* Buffing, generally with !Heroism, can be very helpful to get
  starting characters out of sticky situations.

* Going deeper in the dungeon is often a more conservative (safer)
  strategy than staying at a shallow (cl < dl) depth. (cl: character
  level; dl: dungeon level)  HP and character level are easy to come
  by.

* Starting Equipment


Fighting Power
==============

Buy a light weapon that gives you the maximum possible blows, with the
highest dice available. This is generally a Rapier, Main Gauche, or
Dagger. If these are not available, you may be better off quitting and
restarting.


Plan to be deep
===============

Always make sure to have a scroll of recall, even on your first trip
into the dungeon. Monsters and items at dl 5 (250') and deeper are
much (~100x) more valuable than items at dl 1. (The example above may
be contrived, but it is representative.)

To survive deep(er) you will want:

1. Escapes:

   * 3+ ?Phase Door

   * 1 ?Recall

2. Protection from secondary effects (confusion, blindness, poison)

   * 1 !CLW (for identification and blindness)

   * 1+ !CSW (for identification and confusion)

3. Buffing

   * 1 !Hero (for protection from fear.)

4. Ranged attack to soften up a (single) unique

   * ~5 Flasks of Oil to kill dangerous and/or valuable monsters
     (throw oil for damage with the "v" throw command)

   * ~10-20 Iron shots (or arrows for Rangers) to throw at non-
     dangerous monsters with annoying side effects. (Stat drainers and
     acid damagers that are between you and the stairs down.) extra
     arrows for a ranger (shoot arrows with the "f" fire command.)
     Shots can be reused; oil can't.

5. Armor

Don't bother buying armor - it's very expensive in comparison to AC.
You will find it in the dungeon soon enough.

Your starting equipment will include more than enough food and
illumination for the first trip down.


The first trip
--------------

It's quite possible to get to 500' (dl 10) or deeper in the first trip
into the dungeon. Plan to return when you run out of either escapes
(?Phase door), protection from side-effects (curing potions), or
damage (arrows if you are a ranger, flasks of oil if you are otherwise
weak.)

Since you don't have much, don't spend it on less valuable monsters.


What to kill
------------

* Any mobs of monsters that you can defeat (kill or frighten) in a
  single turn and either give good experience (a pack of wolves) or
  good drops (weaker orcs, novice humans.) If you are deep enough,
  this is likely to increase your character by several levels in a
  single battle.

* Uniques with good drops (Bullroarer, Brodda, Wormtongue)

* Easy kills that are likely to drop something worthwhile.


What to ignore
--------------

* Monsters that will damage or destroy gear. (jellies, water hounds,
  etc)

* Non-valuable monsters that are likely to use up consumables (baby
  gold dragons, groups of spell-casters in line-of-sight, etc)

* Mobs that you can't dominate.

* Uniques with escorts you can't dominate

* Monsters at shallow depth. Drops for any given monster get better
  the deeper you go. Killing a novice mage at dl 1 generally gives
  nothing; at dl 20 he's likely to drop something worth hundreds of
  gold. Wormtongue has, on average, a noticeably better drop at dl 20
  than dl 10.

* Things that waste effort. (Run-away breeders, low-EXP monsters with
  no drop. Just close the door and move on.)


What to avoid
-------------

* Anything that can kill you in a single turn.


On Bad Luck
===========

This is rule number one of Angband: don't take unnecessary risks. If
you take enough low-probability chances of death, you'll never survive
to fight Sauron. Such deaths are generally called 'stupid', but that's
not always accurate. Sometimes it's just bad luck. But given enough
chances, you are guaranteed to receive it. It's the trick to extremely
fast dives: the fewer moves you make, the less chance any one of them
will be fatal, even if on average, your individual moves are riskier
than in slower play. But the strategy applies more generally: unless
you are exceedingly careful in play, messing around long enough at any
one depth guarantees that something bad will eventually happen.


Face-palm Tips
==============

The preceding is good advice; however, it does not offer much more
than generalizations, albeit valid, for the "intermediate" (?) player.
The following is intended to state what many perceive to be blatantly
obvious, hence "you did WHAT!" face-palm deaths. This really should be
cleaned up and refactored, but placing here for now.

WARNING. I have yet to defeat Angband. This is a compilation of some
of the better tips I've learned while trying to explore the depths...
(to Level ~35). Additional advice would be greatly appreciated!


Start simple
------------

Begin your Angband career as a warrior. Warriors are relatively simple
to begin with, and are less likely to be eaten by a pack of jackals.


Focus!
------

Angband is a very harsh game, in that the character you've been
playing for months could be killed by a single careless action.
Playing when tired or drunk is probably a good way to leave yourself
with nothing but a sad tale to share on the forums. If you have the
ability to sense monsters or traps then use it. This is particularly
important when you begin to encounter monsters that, without the
appropriate gear, will kill your character in a single move.


Use that stuff
--------------

Angband has potions, spell books, wands, staffs, rods, activate-able
items, melee weapons, ranged weapons, and whatnot. They're meant to be
used, for crying out loud! It can take a while to get used to using
all the different types of items, but they work best when used in
concert. For those able to use magic devices, rods wands and staves
can be very useful when your mana is running low, and allow you access
to spells that may not normally be available to your class. They are
also very useful for dealing with monsters that


Rangers have a bow
------------------

Really a subset of the previous point, but it happens so often...
Don't try to play a ranger like a warrior -- rely on the bow!
Similarly for mages, don't do a Gandalf. He may be able to draw a
sword and rush headlong in to a pack or orcs, but mages in Angband are
considerably more fragile. Priests are better equipped to engage in
melee combat - with their healing abilities compensating for their
somewhat fragile nature.


Stockpile!
----------

Players may not be inclined to carry multiples of an item, or do so in
a limited quantity, perhaps due to weight encumbrance concerns. Don't
be afraid to carry a LOT of an item, particularly the basics -- food,
light, projectiles, cure potions, "run away" scrolls, etc. Don't be
afraid to MAX OUT important items! Some monsters will steal or destroy
your items, so it's worth carrying additional quantities of key items
- such as Scrolls of Recall or important spell/prayer books. This
becomes very important when you reach dungeon levels in which monsters
develop fire and acid-based attacks. Mages and priests tend to start
out with low strength, and so are very limited in how much stuff they
can carry, so consider carrying additional copies of the spellbooks
that you know you can't afford to lose during a fight.


An item you don't use is useless
--------------------------------

Common fallacy: you find an incredibly powerful Staff of Mighty BOOM!
(3 charges), or a single Potion of become Chuck Norris, and then you
keep carrying it around and never actually use it. It could be a life
insurance, but you might still reconsider your strategy: maybe you've
become too careful lately (Angband rewards deliberate risk-taking,
after all).


Identifying your items
----------------------

Many items found, especially early in the game, will be unidentified
or partially identified. Weapons and armour can be identified by being
worn and used in combat, and can be removed if found to be of poor
quality. Some characters learn to cast spells to identify the runes on
wearable items that define their properties.

Staves, rods and wands can often be identified by being used against
monsters, but be aware that some of these magical items can have
negative effects. Only use this approach when facing easily defeated
monsters. Consuming unidentified potions and mushrooms can be risky,
so the risk-averse player may prefer to sell them in the town.
Ammunition can normally be identified by being thrown or fired at a
monster, and typically the worst thing that can happen is that the
attack does little damage to the monster. As with staves, wands and
rods, do this when facing a monster than can be easily defeated.

Scrolls can normally be identified by being read, but some scrolls
have negative effects. Your character may have a very short life if
they read a scroll that summons a horde of undead monsters. If using
this approach, it's a good idea to position your character on top of
some stairs so you can quickly escape if a mysterious scroll leaves
your character surrounded by monsters.

With weapons and armour, your character will in time learn their
inscribed runes.


The dungeon is dark
-------------------

Players will readily note that corridors are unlit; however, what may
not be blatantly obvious is that the dungeon gets darker with depth,
until it's pitch black. ALWAYS carry a light source. DON'T drop a
light source for more loot!


You can RUN AWAY
----------------

There is NO RULE that you have to clean out a dungeon -- AT ALL. See
something you can't handle? Don't be afraid to leave -- NOW. Sure you
could try to avoid it, but then again, it could be a hummerhorn. Half
way through the level? You can still LEAVE NOW. Nearly finished with
the level? You can still leave NOW. Think of it as a tactical strike,
not a genocide mission.


Get away NOW!
-------------

Sure, you should pay more attention and not get yourself in a next
turn = death situation, but this is not always avoidable and no one
(presumably) is so meticulously patient. ALWAYS carry get away items
-- Phase Door, Teleport, Recall, Teleport Level, etc. When you can,
stockpile those that work NOW. If a unique starts chasing you, you
don't want to be waiting for Recall to kick in.

You should seriously consider a quick escape if dealing with a
situation in which monsters are breeding explosively. Some classes,
such as mages, are more easily able to handle these though the use of
spells that affect multiple monsters simultaneously, but even they
should consider leaving if it becomes apparent that the monsters are
breeding more quickly than the player can kill them.


Level 1 is still there
----------------------

Don't forget that you can always replay, and re-re-play the early
levels for ANY reason whatsoever. Recalled from a depth too deep? Dive
from level 1 and reset the depth. Want to fill your armor slots? Need
a few more gold? Even if you're on a streak diving through the
dungeon, step back and reassess whether you want to return to an
earlier level -- you never know what could be lurking around the
corner.


Black Market Deals
------------------

Don't be afraid to buy from the "blackmarket". Sure the prices are
more expensive than the other stores, but it tends to offer a good
selection of items and it can be worth the gold versus not having it
in the dungeon. You can always get more gold, but the RNG is random.
It's just another store -- don't worry about the name. The blackmarket
is often a good source of potions to increase your stats, so it's
worth checking it each time you visit the town - and try to have
enough gold to purchase potions for the most important stats for your
character.


Try a Different Strategy
------------------------

Sure, what you're doing kinda works, but your characters keep dying
off. Playing conservatively? Try playing a character as though the
"iron-man" stairs setting is in effect. You'll probably want some
ranged weapons for this, but you may be surprised how fast you can
level if you DIVE! Granted, the lower levels are harder, but the
deeper you go, the more experience per kill you get. Still fight
conservatively, but dive aggressively. Once your character has gotten
a decent complement of items and spells ... (what next?). Don't be
afraid to throw away characters -- DIVE aggressively until you get a
good feel for your character and you've leveled up.


On Depth and Item Value
-----------------------

Whenever you kill a monster that may drop an item, a lot of randomness
is played out. No need to go into detail just here (if you really want
to know, you can look it up in the spoilers), suffice it to say that
depth is the single most important factor. You may, of course, find
rather valuable and/or useful stuff even on the very first level, but
the chances are rather small.

In short: if you want to find better things, you need to go deeper.


The monster barely matters
--------------------------

If a monster drops an item, it can be anything. Really. You may find
rare spellbooks on illiterate Trolls, and jellies may drop artifact
weapons. Some rare monsters, like powerful dragons, will carry good or
even exceptional objects -- but still, the dungeon level is the most
important factor. What was "exceptional" on dl8 will probably be
rather uninteresting on level 30.


Regarding Artifacts
-------------------

For every single wearable item, there is a small chance that it will
be an artifact. This might seem slim, but considering the number of
monsters you will slay, it soon adds up. If you work through a large
room full of orcs, there's about a one-in-ten chance that you'll
discover at least one artifact among the carnage. Artifacts typically
have impressive statistics and an ability that can be activated.


Surviving to clvl 31 / dlvl 36
==============================

Additional tips learned from various failed attempts. Still have not
beat angband, but making considerable progress of late, particularly
with my (now) current character.


RUN AWAY!
---------

Very first tip is a basic tenet repeated throughout the guide;
however, it is far too easy to become engrossed in your achievements
(eg an awesome artifact, maximizing stats, a slightly better item,
gaining a second blow, getting a speed bonus, etc) and lose it all due
to something very avoidable had you been paying diligent attention.

While playing, always make sure to check for the basics --
particularly monsters, stairs, and traps. Don't lose a character,
asserting that you can kill a "C" easily only to discover that a "wild
dog" is a far cry from a "hellhound".

Similarly, if you just got some nice artifacts / other equipment or
achieved a significant accomplishment -- save your game and take a
break. You don't have to continue to play to enjoy your past success,
and when you return you will likely be more able to play diligently.

See a few uniques or other monsters that might possibly give you some
trouble -- maybe? Perhaps with only slight difficulty? See a vault
with some cool treasure, but a few troublesome monsters / uniques? If
you're not highly confident (perhaps even 100%) that you can easily
survive the level, you can leave on the spot. Just enter the level,
immediately do your detection routine (monsters, stairs / traps, etc)
assess the immediate threat, and use the stairs immediately if you
want to. You can go up as readily as you came down, and you can go
down as readily as you came up. Further, artifacts can be regenerated
(unless you disabled that option) and as you dive, even better items
will be available. So, if you skip out on levels just because you want
to play it very conservatively, you will still find great items and
better yet, you have a higher chance of survival.


Information Awareness
---------------------

Angband offers a LOT of information on a LOT of different screens. If
you haven't already, try enabling multiple consoles -- ALL of them --
and then try out different options / combinations. Being able to view
a lot of information simultaneously at a glance is a considerable
benefit over having to be diligent enough to manually check each
relevant screen each time.

Also, change the text size. Sure you may be accustomed to your
terminal font and size for reading; however, you can read and make
sense from context a lot easier than you can reliably identify the
glyph, color, and relative position of every character on the screen.
Angband may be a text-based game, but you don't have to play with a
tiny (or even normal size font). Using a slightly larger font makes
identifying things a LOT easier. The SDL interface is perhaps the
easiest for using multiple terminals and changing fonts.

This alone has greatly contributed to my survivability!


Start from the Beginning
------------------------

Trying to mature your character through the clvl / dlvl 20s can be
challenging until you can survive even lower depths. One tip here is
to use Recall exclusively to return from the dungeon and use the
stairs to return back down to the level you left.

Yes, this is more work, and as your clvl increases, the early levels
become exceptionally easy; however, it guarantees that you will always
enter a level on stairs, facilitating running away.


Item Collecting
---------------

Its easy to stockpile, but you'll run out of space VERY quickly.
Further, what was useful may not be useful now and what's useful now
may not be useful later. It can be easy to try to grab everything in
sight and then return to town when your inventory is full; however,
when you reach this point, try continuing to dive, even with a full
inventory.

As your character progresses and you continue to dive you will find
better classes of items. Don't be afraid to toss the less valuable
stuff to make room, so you can continue diving.

This is particularly important while diving. If you let a full
inventory be a limiting factor, you won't be able to get nearly as
deep as if you are willing to discard items along the way.


Take a Break
------------

Again, this is another basic tip repeated thorough out the guide;
however, learn to stop playing. You can always save your game and
resume later when you would be in your prime and optimally ready to
play as opposed to trying to continue to play as drowsiness sets in.

This may be difficult at first, but it can help you avoid running
decent characters into the ground for avoidable mistakes...


Don't forget your Ranged Attacks!
---------------------------------

Granted, as your character develops, you become more powerful at
melee; however, this does not preclude you from using ranged attacks!
It is far to easy to start playing a ranger like a warrior mage if you
get a good melee weapon, but don't forget your ranged skill! You may
be "Superb" at Fighting, but ranger's are even better at Shooting --
perhaps even "Legendary" or better.

This can be a hard one to do diligently, especially if your melee
weapon is powerful, but try to play diligently and use ranged attacks.
Try earlier levels where survivability is much higher and try to play
without melee attacks for awhile to get used to using the bow again.

Even as your character matures, try to keep in mind your race / class
core strengths.
