Speed ascension

A speed ascension is a type of informal conduct, taking one of two forms: lowest turn-count, or shortest real time elapsed. Short ascensions tend to be low turn-count ascensions too.

How fast is fast?

First ascensions vary greatly in turn-count, with most falling between 50,000 and 100,000 turns. A careful well-spoiled player can ascend in under 50,000 turns with most classes, and ascensions below 30,000 are not uncommon. Anything below 20,000 probably counts as a speed ascension.

Real-time speed records are very hard to determine, since vanilla NetHack does not track real time elapsed.

General speed strategy

• Don't fully map every level
• Be very fast early on
• Avoid monsters rather than fighting them

Specific speed tactics

• Move diagonally
• Kick down doors
• Wear a ring of conflict
• Wish for The Eye of the Aethiopica
• Teleport into the Sanctum
• Use a helm of opposite alignment to reduce time spent on the Astral Plane

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