Talk:Excalibur

Why prefer level 7?

The article says: "provided you are –– level 5 at least, and level 7 for preference"

What difference does it make whether you are level 5, 6, 7, 14 or 28? --ZeroOne 22:37, 12 June 2006 (UTC)

No difference at all to your chances of getting Excalibur, but the original article author might have been thinking about your chances of surviving a potential summoned water demon. I removed the reference anyway. --Jayt 22:33, 13 June 2006 (UTC)

And, sometimes, even Level 8 isn't enough. I once got a water demon, then he summoned another water demon, and I misspelled Elbereth. Oh, well: stuff happens. Not much in NetHack is really safe. Nowadays, I make sure to always dip on the highest dungeon level with a fountain (so there's a better chance a water demon won't be hostile), and never dip without a reliable escape item.--Ckbryant 14:39, 25 January 2008 (UTC)

Sacrificing

I can't remeber where I read it, but someone said get Excalibur, and stand near the altar fo your choice and wait for the sacrafices to come to you. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 208.186.134.103 (talk • contribs) 31 October 2006

I cannot see how standing near an altar and waiting for monsters to appear would be a different experience when wielding the Excalibur versus wielding something else. Although it does say "Even eyeless monsters will be able to locate you" in the NetHack artifacts spoiler, but it is not the same as aggravate monster. --ZeroOne 23:26, 31 October 2006 (UTC)

Monster paparazzi

Since wielding Excalibur makes monsters attracted to you, isn't that effectively canceling out stealth? --Xercess 20:02, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

I've played a lot of dwarven valkyries, so I know that it won't wake sleeping monsters. --anonymous

Rust

The article should mention that rust effects are removed when a longsword becomes excalibur, and that it is rustproof

Effects only if wielded?

The article doesn't make clear whether "monsters can find you effect" is only if the weapon is wielded or not (or is that the "(special)" entry under "when wielded?" I'm a newbie and don't know what the answer is, so someone else will have to update the entry. 68.83.72.162 17:51, 26 July 2008 (UTC)

I'm still confused about all this "monsters can find you" stuff. Is it like when you're invisible or displaced monsters will hit you instead of missing, or like monsters all over the dungeon level walk towards you? DemonDoll 18:32, 14 June 2009 (UTC)

According to the source for Excalibur in Artilist.h, all innate effects of the sword only apply when it is weilded and it has no inventory effects. In the article's current form, it removes ambiguity from the "monsters can find you" question - a sightless monster is able to intentionally path towards you - but the artifact itself contains no flags that would let a sightless monster find the player. There must be a special case somewhere else. --FJH 06:13, May 13, 2010 (UTC)

Self-enchanting?

[In Slash'EM, current stable release, no patches]

Not sure if it is an Excalibur thing, a knight thing, a crowning thing or entirely a Slash'EM thing. I dipped for Excalibur as soon as I reached level 5, while a +1 sword. I am now a level 12 knight (and unfortunately became The Hand of Elbereth around level 10, while obtaining holy water). Having yet to find any scrolls of enchant weapon, it confuses how my Excalibur became +3?

Does crowning in Slash'EM enchant Excalibur if it is already in your possession? Something happened somewhere; it seems as if this should be included in a description somewhere (of course, perhaps it is exists and I failed to find it).

--User (talk) 18:42, 25 February 2015 (UTC)

Of all places, I found information on the Crowning page. Perhaps it should be place here, too? --User (talk) 15:12, 26 August 2017 (UTC)

Crowning

Is the Crowning behaviour of getting excalibur true for 3.7? I recently was crowned as a Knight, while holding a non-artifact long sword and it removed rust and made it rustproof, but it did NOT turn into excalibur - which leaves me wondering if the behaviour is different in 3.7.0-66 or if there is a bone file I have missed somewhere. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Grouchy (talk • contribs)

Did you visit the Quest yet? If Excalibur was not already generated, King Arthur now generates with it when you first visit the Quest. Cathartes (talk) 20:48, 16 January 2023 (UTC)

Unskilled

I still think it's useful to mention that Excalibur might be fine unskilled. There are some early game circumstances where your hit rate with it is too low for it to be useful, but these circumstances go away pretty quickly. The 1d5 to-hit helps you get some hits. It's an obvious target for a scroll of enchant weapon, which helps you hit. The damage done by Excalibur is usually so much more than your other weapon that even if you hit 25% less often, you're still doing more damage by using it. Here's an example: an XL10 priest with no strength/dex/luck bonus averages more damage against a leocrotta when using an unskilled +0 Excalibur instead of an expert +1 mace. Get a luckstone, enchant Excalibur, work on your reflexes, or level up, and the gap widens. As for the wish being a "luxury", I think that a powerful artiweapon isn't any more of a "luxury" than, say, speed boots. You can certainly ascend without, but it's easier with. Sure the early lamp/throne/fountain wish should go to DSM instead of a weapon, but after you have DSM, getting a good artiweapon is a rather high priority. Chaotics often struggle to get gifted a decent artiweapon, and even neutrals might empty a bunch of wands of create monster and not get a premier weapon. The only reason why wishing for Excalibur is a questionable strategy is that if you're going to wish for an artiweapon, you're probably wishing for Grayswandir. If you have a desire for drain resistance (priest quest?) or auto-searching, then Excalibur is a great wish. Lastly, I still think it's better to say that "non-lawfuls" can use the HoOA rather than just "chaotic characters". Yes, any particular helm might not work for a neutral, but at the same time, any helm has a 50% chance, so it's still a valid strategy if you can uncurse it and you don't mind losing any divine protection. With all that in mind, I'm about to make changes to the article. Derekt75 (talk) 18:24, 24 March 2023 (UTC)