Digging for victory - Revision history

Umbire the Phantom: potholes

2026-05-18T23:27:18Z

potholes

Umbire the Phantom: potholes et. al.

2025-07-08T07:39:40Z

potholes et. al.

Umbire the Phantom: upcoming copyedit

2025-04-20T20:38:00Z

upcoming copyedit

YourAdHereCZ: unrelated change deserves its own newline

2025-04-18T14:19:06Z

unrelated change deserves its own newline

Umbire the Phantom: /* Recommended items */ pothole

2023-10-29T23:10:21Z

‎Recommended items: pothole

Netzhack: /* Execution */ Wording

2023-02-10T17:14:14Z

‎Execution: Wording

Netzhack: /* Criticism */ Wording

2023-02-10T17:11:31Z

‎Criticism: Wording

Netzhack: /* Criticism */

2022-08-03T11:51:51Z

‎Criticism

Umbire the Phantom at 15:25, 27 June 2022

2022-06-27T15:25:53Z

Umbire the Phantom at 11:37, 2 February 2022

2022-02-02T11:37:15Z

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 A noncursed [[scroll of earth]] will create a defensive [[boulder fort|fort of boulders]] around you, preventing most monsters from coming near or hitting you with ranged attacks. It also allows you to cordon off a section of the Castle moat from [[eel]]s by pushing a boulder into a moat square, creating a square of dry land that eels cannot cross. In a pinch, it provides a way to cross the Castle moat if the drawbridge gets destroyed for some reason. If the Castle level contains a minotaur, the boulders can help block the minotaur from attacking you: minotaurs do not respect [[Elbereth]], so this is one of the few ways to keep them at bay. However, [[xorn]]s and [[giant]]s can pass over boulders, so an additional defensive mechanism (such as [[Elbereth]]) is still needed.
-Having a source of [[reflection]] or [[magic resistance]] contributes greatly to survival in the castle. Of course, the idea is to have both, but in most cases a character with both is better off employing a more cautious strategy than digging for victory. However, a character with '''neither''' reflection nor magic resistance is extremely vulnerable to soldiers carrying [[wand of death|wands of death]] or other attack [[wand]]s. Magic resistance can be obtained by starting as a [[Wizard]]. Reflection can be obtained either from the [[amulet of reflection]] in [[Sokoban]] or the [[shield of reflection]] in [[Perseus]]'s statue. A character without reflection and magic resistance is advised to at least obtain [[invisibility]] or [[displacement]] to minimize the chances of getting hit by a death ray, although one needs to be aware that invisibility and displacement are of limited use in the long corridor leading to the wand of wishing, which contains a number of soldiers that cannot be killed at the drawbridge since there is a locked door in the way.
+Having a source of [[reflection]] or [[magic resistance]] contributes greatly to survival in the castle. Of course, the idea is to have both, but in most cases a character with both is better off employing a more cautious strategy than digging for victory. However, a character with '''neither''' reflection nor magic resistance is extremely vulnerable to soldiers carrying [[wands of death]] or other attack [[wand]]s. Magic resistance can be obtained by starting as a [[Wizard]]. Reflection can be obtained either from the [[amulet of reflection]] in [[Sokoban]] or the [[shield of reflection]] in [[Perseus]]'s statue. A character without reflection and magic resistance is advised to at least obtain [[invisibility]] or [[Displacement (property)|displacement]] to minimize the chances of getting hit by a death ray, although one needs to be aware that invisibility and displacement are of limited use in the long corridor leading to the wand of wishing, which contains a number of soldiers that cannot be killed at the drawbridge since there is a locked door in the way.
 A [[wand of teleportation]] is useful both as an [[escape item]] and as a means of teleport threatening monsters away, especially on no-teleport levels. It is best to save this item for really dangerous monsters such as minotaurs or soldiers with a wand of death.

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 A [[wand of teleportation]] is useful both as an [[escape item]] and as a means of teleport threatening monsters away, especially on no-teleport levels. It is best to save this item for really dangerous monsters such as minotaurs or soldiers with a wand of death.
-Some method of monster detection (such as [[potion of monster detection]] or [[telepathy]]) is helpful to receive advance warning of dangerous monsters. Similarly, some method of [[object detection]] is useful so that you know which of the four towers contains the wand of wishing.
+Some method of monster detection (such as [[potion of monster detection]] or [[telepathy]]) is helpful to receive advance warning of dangerous monsters. Similarly, some method of [[object detection]] (usually a [[Potion of object detection|potion]]) is useful so that you know which of the four towers contains the wand of wishing.
-[[Polymorph control]] is highly recommended. Try quaffing from [[sink]]s on your way down and turn into a [[xorn]] - you can then phase directly into a turret, bypassing the battles at the drawbridge and the throne room.
+[[Polymorph control]] is highly recommended. Try quaffing from [[sink]]s on your way down and turn into a [[xorn]]&mdash;you can then phase directly into a turret, bypassing the battles at the drawbridge and the throne room.
 ===What to do after getting the wand of wishing===
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 In a dig for victory, the player has '''not''' explored most of the dungeon levels above the castle, and will typically have far fewer useful items than usual at this point in the game. It is not advisable to wish for all of the missing items in an ascension kit, simply because there are too many missing items and not enough wishes. The best advice is to initially wish for only those items that are essential for immediate survival, and save the remaining wishes for later. Then go back up the dungeon and explore all the levels that were dug past on the way down, after collecting all the items in the dungeon, the player will have a much larger portion of their ascension kit than before, and the last few wishes from the wand of wishing can be used much more effectively without fear of duplicating already-generated items.
-Common wishes in dig for victory games include some form of [[dragon scale mail]] (either gray or silver depending on whether one lacks magic resistance or reflection) and a [[bag of holding]] to make it easier to collect items on the way back up. Another popular choice is an [[artifact]] of some sort, since a dig for victory involves getting the wand of wishing earlier than usual: fewer artifacts are present, and the chance of successfully wishing for one is higher.
+Common wishes in dig for victory games include some form of [[dragon scale mail]] (either [[Gray dragon scale mail|gray]] or silver depending on whether one lacks magic resistance or reflection) and a [[bag of holding]] to make it easier to collect items on the way back up. Another popular choice is an [[artifact]] of some sort, since a dig for victory involves getting the wand of wishing earlier than usual: fewer artifacts are present, and the chance of successfully wishing for one is higher.
 Characters who succeed in obtaining the wand of wishing are likely to be in a good position to enter the [[Quest]], even if they entered the Castle level with a low experience level, because the killing of monsters at the drawbridge results in a large amount of experience.

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 [[Image:Digforvictory.jpg|frame]]
 '''Digging for victory''' is a ''[[NetHack]]'' [[metastrategy]] in which the player aims to quickly reach the [[Castle]] and obtain its [[wand of wishing]] by digging down as soon as possible; the resulting game is called a '''"dig for victory"'''. In addition to a digging instrument, the player needs a tonal [[musical instrument]] (not a [[leather drum]], [[bell]] or [[whistle]] ) to open the castle [[drawbridge]]. [[elf (starting race)|Elven]] [[wizard]]s and [[priest]]s are guaranteed to start with an otherwise-rare instrument; the elven wizard is the more popular choice for this strategy, due not only to the starting instrument but to the large selection of other magical equipment with which they begin.
 The dig for victory strategy is mostly preferred by players who find it an exciting way to reach the castle in a high percentage of newly begun games.  However, many strong players do employ a controlled dive to the Castle if they do not yet have magic resistance or reflection after completing [[Minetown]] and [[Sokoban]].  This dive can take a variety of forms, from simply not exploring every dungeon level thoroughly to actually digging down all the way.  A player making the dive after getting some protection, building up a set of armor, and collecting wands is much more likely to succeed.  Reasons to do this include the avoidance of [[trap]]s which are painless with [[magic resistance]] (especially [[polymorph traps]], which can destroy armor, and [[teleportation trap]]s and [[level teleportation trap]]s) and being able to obtain relatively early immunity to the [[touch of death]] (for which some players would preferentially genocide [[master lich]]es over [[arch-lich]]es because the former is more likely to appear at the castle).
-{{upcoming|NetHack 3.7.0|As of {{commit|95acaf29897c734ba5eba0b497341455b3598d25|this commit}}, falling through a hole will inflict damage, expressed as an amount of d6 equal to the number of floors you fell - this means that you may end up digging a deep shaft and die from the landing, particularly if you are low in level and/or HP.
+{{upcoming|NetHack 3.7.0|Per {{commit|95acaf29897c734ba5eba0b497341455b3598d25}}, falling through a hole will inflict damage, expressed as an amount of d6 equal to the number of floors you fell&mdash;this means that you may end up digging a deep shaft and die from the landing, particularly if you are low in level and/or HP.
-As of {{commit|c29ffe1d823b338956de2517057b7e87ef64795e|this commit}} and {{commit|fe88fa80d82779986df494a10df950aa93d79cd7|its followup commit}}, neither master nor arch-liches can appear in the Castle.}}
 ==Execution==

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 The dig for victory strategy is mostly preferred by players who find it an exciting way to reach the castle in a high percentage of newly begun games.  However, many strong players do employ a controlled dive to the Castle if they do not yet have magic resistance or reflection after completing [[Minetown]] and [[Sokoban]].  This dive can take a variety of forms, from simply not exploring every dungeon level thoroughly to actually digging down all the way.  A player making the dive after getting some protection, building up a set of armor, and collecting wands is much more likely to succeed.  Reasons to do this include the avoidance of [[trap]]s which are painless with [[magic resistance]] (especially [[polymorph traps]], which can destroy armor, and [[teleportation trap]]s and [[level teleportation trap]]s) and being able to obtain relatively early immunity to the [[touch of death]] (for which some players would preferentially genocide [[master lich]]es over [[arch-lich]]es because the former is more likely to appear at the castle).
-{{upcoming|NetHack 3.7.0|As of {{commit|95acaf29897c734ba5eba0b497341455b3598d25|this commit}}, falling through a hole will inflict damage, expressed as an amount of d6 equal to the number of floors you fell - this means that you may end up digging a deep shaft and die from the landing, particularly if you are low in level and/or HP. Additionally, per {{commit|c29ffe1d823b338956de2517057b7e87ef64795e|this commit}} and {{commit|fe88fa80d82779986df494a10df950aa93d79cd7|its followup commit}}, neither master nor arch-liches can appear in the Castle.}}
+{{upcoming|NetHack 3.7.0|As of {{commit|95acaf29897c734ba5eba0b497341455b3598d25|this commit}}, falling through a hole will inflict damage, expressed as an amount of d6 equal to the number of floors you fell - this means that you may end up digging a deep shaft and die from the landing, particularly if you are low in level and/or HP.
 ==Execution==

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 * An Elbereth [[engrave]]d by any other method, together with some means of [[levitation]] to avoid smudging out the word.
-It is highly recommended to establish a permanent Elbereth on the [[stairway|upstairs]] of the Castle level, and on a square within a knight's move of the [[drawbridge]]. The former will protect against the [[touch of death]] and [[destroy armor]] attacks of any higher level [[lich]]es that teleport to meet you in the Castle. The latter will protect you from melee attacks from [[xorn]]s and [[eel]]s while you are opening and closing the drawbridge. Make sure the second Elbereth is '''exactly''' a knights move away from the drawbridge. If it is any closer, either the falling drawbridge will kill you or you will be in the direct line of fire of ranged attacks from within the castle. If it is any farther, you will not be able to control the drawbridge.
+It is highly recommended to establish a permanent Elbereth on the [[stairway|upstairs]] of the Castle level, and on a square within a knight's move of the [[drawbridge]]. The former will protect against the [[touch of death]] and [[destroy armor]] attacks of any higher level [[Lich (monster class)|liches]] that teleport to meet you in the Castle. The latter will protect you from melee attacks from [[xorn]]s and [[eel]]s while you are opening and closing the drawbridge. Make sure the second Elbereth is '''exactly''' a knights move away from the drawbridge. If it is any closer, either the falling drawbridge will kill you or you will be in the direct line of fire of ranged attacks from within the castle. If it is any farther, you will not be able to control the drawbridge.
 A noncursed [[scroll of earth]] will create a defensive [[boulder fort|fort of boulders]] around you, preventing most monsters from coming near or hitting you with ranged attacks. It also allows you to cordon off a section of the Castle moat from [[eel]]s by pushing a boulder into a moat square, creating a square of dry land that eels cannot cross. In a pinch, it provides a way to cross the Castle moat if the drawbridge gets destroyed for some reason. If the Castle level contains a minotaur, the boulders can help block the minotaur from attacking you: minotaurs do not respect [[Elbereth]], so this is one of the few ways to keep them at bay. However, [[xorn]]s and [[giant]]s can pass over boulders, so an additional defensive mechanism (such as [[Elbereth]]) is still needed.

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 Once at the castle, the drawbridge can be opened and closed at will by playing the [[passtune]], crushing anything that stands on it, which will hopefully be everything. Once the castle is clear, the wand of wishing is available for the taking. Beware of the bad [[Luck]] from crushing peacefuls, even if you plan on using [[conflict]]. It can make your [[wish]]es fail or turn out cursed.
-Alternately one can perform a controlled level teleport to reach the castle.  This requires some form of teleport control (perhaps a starting ring as a wizard) and usually a cursed scroll of teleport, but occasionally a level teleport trap, if one can be located.  The castle lies somewhere between floors 25-29, but if one can always guess too far (e.g. 30) to go to the [[Valley of the Dead]] and come into the Castle level through the back side.  However, dealing with the monsters in the castle without the draw bridge and the trap doors in the back can make this difficult if you don't have a method to traverse the moat back to the front.  In that case, it may be better to teleport to floor 25 and work from there.
+Alternately one can perform a controlled level teleport to reach the castle.  This requires some form of teleport control (perhaps a starting ring as a wizard) and usually a cursed scroll of teleport, but occasionally a level teleport trap, if one can be located.  The castle lies somewhere between floors 25-29, but if one can always guess too far (e.g. 30) to go to the [[Valley of the Dead]] and come into the Castle level through the back door.  However, dealing with the monsters in the castle without the draw bridge and the trap doors in the back can make this difficult if you don't have a method to traverse the moat back to the front.  In that case, it may be better to teleport to floor 25 and work from there.
 ===Recommended items===

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 == Criticism ==
-Like the [[protection racket]], digging for victory is nice when it works. Unfortunately, low experience level, interference from monsters, lack of equipment, minotaurs, collapsing drawbridges and purple liches all conspire to make the fatality rate very high, so that the strategy is also nicknamed "dying for victory". Because it is not aimed at maximizing the survival chances of a particular character, it is actually not a strategy but a [[metastrategy]]: it only maximizes the chance of one or more of many characters surviving. By the same token, it is considered by some to be a form of [[scumming]] behavior.
+Like the [[protection racket]], digging for victory is nice when it works. Unfortunately, low experience level, interference from monsters, lack of equipment, minotaurs, collapsing drawbridges and purple liches all conspire to make the fatality rate very high, so that the strategy is also nicknamed "dying for victory". Because it is not aimed at maximizing the survival chances of a particular character, it is actually not a strategy but a [[metastrategy]]: it only maximizes the chance of one or more of many characters surviving. For that reason, some consider it to be a form of [[scumming]] behavior.
 == History ==

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 == History ==
-Digging for victory is not a new strategy; however, the first mention of it by the name "dig for victory" was in [[Freenode|#nethack]] on May 19th, 2006 by SpeedEvil.
+Digging for victory is not a new strategy; however, the first mention of it by the name "dig for victory" was by SpeedEvil on May 19th, 2006  in #nethack of the [[Freenode]] IRC network (now Libera).
+{{nethack-366|offset=1}}
+{{featured}}
 [[Category:Strategy]]