Prayer timeout - Revision history

Tomsod: /* Sacrificing corpse */ mention gifts

2026-05-11T14:09:43Z

‎Sacrificing corpse: mention gifts

Umbire the Phantom: word choice, earmark

2025-10-07T20:44:27Z

word choice, earmark

Derekt75: Discussing ability to successfully pray with positive timeout when in trouble.

2023-03-28T17:00:11Z

Discussing ability to successfully pray with positive timeout when in trouble.

Cathartes: /* Typical prayer timeouts */ upcoming (3.7 fix for angering a god possibly shortening the prayer timeout)

2022-12-09T04:29:35Z

‎Typical prayer timeouts: upcoming (3.7 fix for angering a god possibly shortening the prayer timeout)

Andrio Celos: Link to NetHack 3.7.0 specifically.

2021-02-16T03:07:24Z

Link to NetHack 3.7.0 specifically.

Andrio Celos: /* Praying */ If the game goes on longer than 100 000 turns, the prayer timeout after successfully praying is now increased by 1 turn per 100 turns beyond that time.

2020-11-07T09:06:14Z

‎Praying: If the game goes on longer than 100 000 turns, the prayer timeout after successfully praying is now increased by 1 turn per 100 turns beyond that time.

Ardub23: Cleanup

2020-01-31T18:37:44Z

Cleanup

70.30.88.143: Beautify

2012-11-13T18:57:14Z

Beautify

Tjr: Text replace - " \[\[([a-zA-Z][a-zA-Z]\.c)#[Ll]ine([0-9][0-9])\]\] <\/ref>" to "{{refsrc|$1|$2}}"

2012-09-10T15:43:09Z

Text replace - "<ref> *\[\[([a-zA-Z][a-zA-Z]*\.c)#[Ll]ine([0-9][0-9]*)\]\] *<\/ref>" to "{{refsrc|$1|$2}}"

80.221.15.70 at 18:02, 8 July 2012

2012-07-08T18:02:16Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:09, 11 May 2026
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	Where <var>M</var> is the [[Monsters (by difficulty)\|difficulty level]] of the monster the corpse came from. The value from above is then subtracted from your prayer timeout. You can determine if it is safe to pray depending on what [[Sacrifice#Prayer timeouts and sacrifice \| message you received]] after your sacrifice.		Where <var>M</var> is the [[Monsters (by difficulty)\|difficulty level]] of the monster the corpse came from. The value from above is then subtracted from your prayer timeout. You can determine if it is safe to pray depending on what [[Sacrifice#Prayer timeouts and sacrifice \| message you received]] after your sacrifice.
		+
		+	If your prayer timeout is already zero, sacrificing may sometimes grant an artifact [[gift]] from your god, in which case the timeout is also reset to a random value. Said value is determined by the same random function used when praying, but the magnitude grows with the number of artifacts generated in the current game, becoming larger than that of an ordinary prayer if the gift is at least the third artifact to exist.

	== Typical prayer timeouts ==		== Typical prayer timeouts ==

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 If you are experiencing a major [[trouble]], Gods will accept your prayer if your timeout is less than 201. If you are experiencing a minor trouble, Gods will accept your prayer if your timeout is less than 101. Since your prayer timeout is reset after prayer (as opposed to increased), if deliberately praying for an increase in max [[HP]] at the start of the game, it's better to do this on turn 101 than 301.
-In the typical early game state (Gods are pleased, you are not crowned, and you are not in the endgame), there is a ~22% chance that your prayer timeout will be reset to less than 201. That means that there is a chance to successfully pray for major trouble help on consecutive turns (perhaps if a [[cockatrice]] is hissing at you during a [[new moon]] and you have no better option).
+In the typical early game state (Gods are pleased, you are not crowned, and you are not in the endgame), there is a ~22% chance that your prayer timeout will be reset to less than 201. That means that there is a very small chance of successfully praying for major trouble help on consecutive turns (perhaps if a [[cockatrice]] is hissing at you during a [[new moon]] and you have no better option).
 Enlightenment's message regarding safe prayer does account for your trouble status. That means that the message might say that it's safe to pray when your HP is low, but when your HP improves it becomes unsafe to pray due to a still positive prayer timeout.

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 Your '''prayer timeout''' is the amount of time you need to wait before your [[god]] will accept another [[prayer]]. Gods in ''[[NetHack]]'' are often benevolent, but prefer if you wait some time between prayers. The initial value of your prayer timeout is set to 300, and decreases by one each game [[turn]]. That means it is generally safe to pray on turn 301, but not on 300. If you are [[fast]] or very fast, you may move more than once per game turn, and your prayer timeout may appear longer because you take more actions in the same number of game turns. A [[wand of enlightenment | wand]] or [[potion of enlightenment]] can be used to determine if it is safe to pray.
-The exact amount by which your prayer timeout increases after praying is a [[rnz|complex mathematical function]] involving several random variables, causing the increase to ''usually'' range between 50 and 1000, though it can be much higher on occasion (see the tables below for precise numbers).
+The exact amount to which your prayer timeout is set after praying is a [[rnz|complex mathematical function]] involving several random variables, causing the timeout to ''usually'' range between 50 and 1000, though it can be much higher on occasion (see the tables below for precise numbers).
 == Praying ==
-Your prayer timeout is reset by praying. The amount it is reset to depends on several things:
+Your prayer timeout is reset by praying. The amount it is reset to is significantly increased if you have:
-*Whether you have been [[crowned]]{{refsrc|pray.c|1019}}.
+*have been [[crowned]]{{refsrc|pray.c|1019}}.
-*If you've killed the [[Wizard of Yendor]] or have performed the [[invocation]]{{refsrc|spell.c|255}}{{refsrc|wizard.c|550}}.
+*killed the [[Wizard of Yendor]] or have performed the [[invocation]]{{refsrc|spell.c|255}}{{refsrc|wizard.c|550}}.
 Also your prayer timeout may be incremented further if you've done any of the following actions:

← Older revision		Revision as of 04:29, 9 December 2022
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	The confidence value is the prayer timeout value that will result 95% of the time. In other words, if you've waited that many [[turns]], you can be 95% confident that you can pray again. As you can see, the 100% confidence value is extremely large and fairly useless except for those who fear the [[RNG]]. (Amusingly, for crowned characters, praying too early may actually shorten the prayer timeout.)		The confidence value is the prayer timeout value that will result 95% of the time. In other words, if you've waited that many [[turns]], you can be 95% confident that you can pray again. As you can see, the 100% confidence value is extremely large and fairly useless except for those who fear the [[RNG]]. (Amusingly, for crowned characters, praying too early may actually shorten the prayer timeout.)
		+
		+	{{upcoming\|NetHack 3.7\|Prior to {{commit\|dde1ae2e9bf8ed6500e088a6c5f5d9adbb1b93c5}}, being smited by a god would unconditionally set prayer timeout to rnz(300), possibly making it shorter than the existing timeout, especially for a crowned character. Being smited now sets the prayer timeout to whichever is greater: the existing prayer timeout, or rnz(300).}}

	{\|class="prettytable"		{\|class="prettytable"

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 * Praying at an [[altar]] not of your alignment
-{{upcoming|NetHack 3.7|If the game goes on longer than 100 000 turns, the prayer timeout after successfully praying is now increased by 1 turn per 100 turns beyond that time. This is to counter denial of service on public servers by pasting the same commands indefinitely.<ref>https://github.com/NetHack/NetHack/commit/0968d06</ref>}}
+{{upcoming|NetHack 3.7.0|If the game goes on longer than 100 000 turns, the prayer timeout after successfully praying is now increased by 1 turn per 100 turns beyond that time. This is to counter denial of service on public servers by pasting the same commands indefinitely.<ref>https://github.com/NetHack/NetHack/commit/0968d06</ref>}}
 == Wishing ==

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-'''Prayer timeout''' refers to how much time you need to wait before your [[god]] will accept another [[prayer]]. Gods in ''[[NetHack]]'' are often benevolent, but prefer if you wait some time between prayers. The initial value of your prayer timeout is set to 300, and decreases by one each game [[turn]]. That means it is generally safe to pray on turn 301, but not on 300. Note that if you are [[fast]] or very fast, you may move more than once per game turn, and your prayer timeout may appear longer because you take more actions in the same number of game turns. A [[wand of enlightenment | wand]] or [[potion of enlightenment]] can be used to determine if it is safe to pray.
+Your '''prayer timeout''' is the amount of time you need to wait before your [[god]] will accept another [[prayer]]. Gods in ''[[NetHack]]'' are often benevolent, but prefer if you wait some time between prayers. The initial value of your prayer timeout is set to 300, and decreases by one each game [[turn]]. That means it is generally safe to pray on turn 301, but not on 300. If you are [[fast]] or very fast, you may move more than once per game turn, and your prayer timeout may appear longer because you take more actions in the same number of game turns. A [[wand of enlightenment | wand]] or [[potion of enlightenment]] can be used to determine if it is safe to pray.
 The exact amount by which your prayer timeout increases after praying is a [[rnz|complex mathematical function]] involving several random variables, causing the increase to ''usually'' range between 50 and 1000, though it can be much higher on occasion (see the tables below for precise numbers).
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 The only way to decrease your prayer timeout (other than waiting) is to [[sacrifice]] [[corpse]]s at a co-aligned altar. This is governed by the following formula which depends on your alignment.
-*Chaotic: <math>\frac{\text{MONSTR} * 500}{24}</math>
+*Chaotic: <math>\frac{M \times 500}{24}</math>
-*Lawful and Neutral: <math>\frac{\text{MONSTR} * 300}{24}</math>
+*Lawful and neutral: <math>\frac{M \times 300}{24}</math>
-Where [[Monsters (by difficulty) | MONSTR]] is the difficulty level of the monster the corpse came from. The value from above is then subtracted from your prayer timeout. You can determine if it is safe to pray depending on what [[Sacrifice#Prayer timeouts and sacrifice | message you received]] after your sacrifice.
+Where <var>M</var> is the [[Monsters (by difficulty)|difficulty level]] of the monster the corpse came from. The value from above is then subtracted from your prayer timeout. You can determine if it is safe to pray depending on what [[Sacrifice#Prayer timeouts and sacrifice | message you received]] after your sacrifice.
 == Typical prayer timeouts ==
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 {|class="prettytable"
-! Prayer !! 95% Confidence !! 100% Confidence if your level <=17 !! 100% Confidence at level 30
+! Prayer !! 95% confidence !! 100% confidence if XL &le; 17 !! 100% confidence at XL 30
 |-
 | God is displeased || 1053 || 2998 || 5997
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 | God is pleased || 1229 || 3498 || 6996
 |-
-| God is pleased, and you've been crowned OR have killed [[Wizard of Yendor | Rodney]]* || 3980 || 13493 || 26986
+| God is pleased, and you've been crowned OR are a [[demigod]]* || 3980 || 13493 || 26986
 |-
-| God is pleased, and you've been crowned AND have killed [[Wizard of Yendor | Rodney]]* || 7479 || 23488 || 46976
+| God is pleased, and you've been crowned AND are a [[demigod]]* || 7479 || 23488 || 46976
 |}
-<nowiki>*</nowiki>The invocation ritual also counts, in case you get the Book of the Dead without killing Rodney.
+<nowiki>*</nowiki>This refers to having killed the [[Wizard of Yendor]] or performed the [[invocation ritual]].
-The waiting time is graphed below as a function of the desired confidence level (assuming you are level <=17): <gallery widths="100" captionalign="center">
+The waiting time is graphed below as a function of the desired confidence level (assuming you are level 17 or lower): <gallery widths="100" captionalign="center">
 Image:PrayerTimeoutConfidenceHappy95.svg|Pleased, zoom 95-100%
 Image:PrayerTimeoutConfidenceHappy.svg|Pleased