Samurai - Revision history

Umbire the Phantom: /* Early game */ bit mote

2026-04-19T22:00:42Z

‎Early game: bit mote

Umbire the Phantom: /* Strategy */ some detailing

2026-04-19T21:59:39Z

‎Strategy: some detailing

Umbire the Phantom: /* Mid-game */ pothole

2026-04-19T21:56:35Z

‎Mid-game: pothole

Umbire the Phantom: /* Code of conduct */ pothole

2026-04-19T21:56:16Z

‎Code of conduct: pothole

Umbire the Phantom: copyedit for history

2026-01-14T23:28:27Z

copyedit for history

Umbire the Phantom: Reverted edits by Umbire the Phantom (talk) to last revision by Tomsod

2026-01-14T22:45:23Z

Reverted edits by Umbire the Phantom (talk) to last revision by Tomsod

Umbire the Phantom: /* Attributes */ table-ify HP/pw

2026-01-13T15:25:48Z

‎Attributes: table-ify HP/pw

Tomsod: /* Attributes */ hp/pw

2025-12-22T05:57:57Z

‎Attributes: hp/pw

Tomsod: /* History */ one of my least favorite changes

2025-12-16T01:52:31Z

‎History: one of my least favorite changes

Umbire the Phantom: /* Quest */ word choice

2025-10-14T03:31:29Z

‎Quest: word choice

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 It may be tempting to start [[two-weapon combat]] immediately, but accuracy and training base weapon skills should be the main priority with any early hero. The starting short sword is passable as an offhand weapon, but a long sword (or even another katana if you should find one) is much better and requires less skill slot investment overall. Additionally, the katana will outperform almost any other weapon as an offhand choice once a Samurai obtains an artifact weapon and starts training two-weapon combat. Most Samurai will want Excalibur as their primary weapon, though any of the artifact long swords or lawful gifts are suitable candidates&mdash;even Snickersnee can do the job by virtue of being a stronger katana. Excalibur itself should be reserved until a Samurai obtains an actual long sword item to dip in a [[fountain]] and reaches [[experience level]]s 5-7; more cautious players will opt to wait until they have better equipment, higher HP and/or a poison resistance source.
-The starting splint mail is sturdy, but weighty, so armor is similarly straightforward for a Samurai: swap the sturdy-but-weighty starting splint for a lighter suit of armor as soon as possible, and work towards either an [[elven mithril-coat]] or [[dwarvish mithril-coat]]. While the starting splint being rustproofed means that it is less ''immediately'' vital to cover with a [[cloak]], any cloak that significantly enhances the hero's AC or [[magic cancellation]] is still worth putting on, even before they switch suits. As with many melee-proficient roles, [[spellcasting]] is of no concern until much later down the line, if at all.
+The starting splint mail is sturdy, but weighty, so armor is similarly straightforward for a Samurai: swap the starting splint for a lighter suit of armor as soon as possible, and work towards either an [[elven mithril-coat]] or [[dwarvish mithril-coat]]. While the starting splint being rustproofed means that it is less ''immediately'' vital to cover with a [[cloak]], any cloak that significantly enhances the hero's AC or [[magic cancellation]] is still worth putting on even before they finally switch suits. As with many melee-proficient roles, [[spellcasting]] is of no concern for the player until much later down the line, if it becomes one at all.
 {{upcoming|NetHack 3.7.0|Per {{commit|e8212743825365569b2162384eb653520b59c1d3}}, non-[[Knight]]s have a {{frac|30}} chance of transforming a long sword into Excalibur by dipping. Though Excalibur is still a possibility if a Samurai obtains a long sword and has a means of securing high [[luck]] for [[crowning]], both crowning and dipping for Excalibur will prove far riskier, and it is unlikely that a Samurai will obtain the weapon before [[Sokoban]].

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 ==Strategy==
-Samurai are among [[Role difficulty|the easier roles]] overall with great starting [[body armor]], a strong melee weapon in the katana and strong ranged weapons in their yumi and ya, though they lack the (relatively) straightforward and easy quest of the [[Valkyrie]] and the starting [[poison resistance]] of the [[Barbarian]]. In fact, their quest is among one of the most difficult, due to the amount of wand-wielding monsters and the threat of instant death that their nemesis poses while wielding the quest artifact against them. As an exclusively-lawful human role, luck of the draw in finding a [[long sword]] to dip for [[Excalibur]] and/or an altar to sacrifice at can also make a large difference in how easy the early game is for the hero.
+Samurai are among [[Role difficulty|the easier roles]] overall with great starting [[body armor]], a strong melee weapon in the katana, and strong ranged weapons in their yumi and ya, though they lack the (relatively) straightforward and easy quest of the [[Valkyrie]] and the starting [[poison resistance]] of the [[Barbarian]]. In fact, their quest is among one of the most difficult, due to the amount of wand-wielding monsters and the threat of instant death that their nemesis in particular poses while wielding the quest artifact against them. As an exclusively-lawful human role, luck of the draw in finding a [[long sword]] to dip for [[Excalibur]] and/or an altar to sacrifice at also makes a large difference in how easy the Samurai's early game is.
 ===Early game===
-The samurai's starting katana is essentially a better long sword and one of the best 'mundane' weapons available, while the yumi is a good ranged weapon due to the Samurai's multishot. Early combat is thus more or less laid out to a degree: slash any hostile monster that moves, and shoot any [[Sessile|that doesn't]]. The yumi is the more ideal secondary weapon for threats that melee might be ineffective or even counterproductive against, such as [[floating eye]]s and [[cockatrice]]s&mdash;Skilled is an ideal plateau to settle on for training skill in bows in the event you decide to collect and switch to [[shuriken]] down the line, saving the three skill slots that would be used on reaching Expert until then.
+The samurai's starting katana is essentially a better long sword and one of the best 'mundane' weapons available, while the yumi is a good ranged weapon due to the Samurai's multishot. Early combat is thus more or less laid out to a degree: slash any hostile monster that moves, and shoot any [[Sessile|that doesn't]]. The yumi is the more ideal secondary weapon for threats that melee might be ineffective or even counterproductive against, such as [[floating eye]]s and [[cockatrice]]s, and can be invaluable in shooting down monster that have [[poison]] attacks before they reach melee range&mdash;Skilled is an ideal plateau to settle on for training skill in bows in the event you decide to collect and switch to [[shuriken]] down the line, saving the three skill slots that would be used on reaching Expert until then.
-It may be tempting to start [[two-weapon combat]] immediately, but accuracy and training base weapon skills should be the main priority with any early hero. The short sword is passable as an offhand weapon, but a long sword (or even another katana if you should find one) is much better and requires less skill slot investment overall. Additionally, the katana will outperform almost any other weapon as an offhand choice once a Samurai obtains an artifact weapon and properly begins training two-weapon combat. Most Samurai will want Excalibur as their primary weapon, though any of the artifact long swords or lawful gifts are suitable candidates&mdash;Snickersnee can do the job by virtue of being a stronger katana. Excalibur itself should be reserved until a Samurai obtains an actual long sword to dip in a [[fountain]] and reaches [[experience level]]s 5-7; more cautious players will opt to wait until they have better equipment, higher HP and/or a poison resistance source.
+It may be tempting to start [[two-weapon combat]] immediately, but accuracy and training base weapon skills should be the main priority with any early hero. The starting short sword is passable as an offhand weapon, but a long sword (or even another katana if you should find one) is much better and requires less skill slot investment overall. Additionally, the katana will outperform almost any other weapon as an offhand choice once a Samurai obtains an artifact weapon and starts training two-weapon combat. Most Samurai will want Excalibur as their primary weapon, though any of the artifact long swords or lawful gifts are suitable candidates&mdash;even Snickersnee can do the job by virtue of being a stronger katana. Excalibur itself should be reserved until a Samurai obtains an actual long sword item to dip in a [[fountain]] and reaches [[experience level]]s 5-7; more cautious players will opt to wait until they have better equipment, higher HP and/or a poison resistance source.
 The starting splint mail is sturdy, but weighty, so armor is similarly straightforward for a Samurai: swap the sturdy-but-weighty starting splint for a lighter suit of armor as soon as possible, and work towards either an [[elven mithril-coat]] or [[dwarvish mithril-coat]]. While the starting splint being rustproofed means that it is less ''immediately'' vital to cover with a [[cloak]], any cloak that significantly enhances the hero's AC or [[magic cancellation]] is still worth putting on, even before they switch suits. As with many melee-proficient roles, [[spellcasting]] is of no concern until much later down the line, if at all.

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 ===Mid-game===
-With maximum [[strength]] and enchantment, shuriken and ya deal roughly comparable damage: ya are slightly more effective when their multishot is combined with a [[ring of increase damage]] (including multiple bonuses from [[eating jewelry]]), but require a launcher and do not benefit from strength bonuses; shuriken are very rare, and training the skill requires three skill slots and a combination of high [[luck]], blessing and enchantment, but they are light, require no launcher, and benefit from strength. Whichever projectiles you train to Expert, it might be worth using a [[potion of sickness]] to [[poison]] them for situations where killing monsters such as [[minotaur]]s and [[mind flayer]]s quickly is more important than a few points of alignment (especially post-[[Quest]]).
+With maximum [[strength]] and enchantment, shuriken and ya deal roughly comparable damage: ya are slightly more effective when their multishot is combined with a [[ring of increase damage]] (including multiple bonuses from [[eating jewelry]]), but require a launcher and do not benefit from strength bonuses; shuriken are very rare, and training the skill requires three skill slots and a combination of high [[luck]], blessing and enchantment, but they are light, require no launcher, and benefit from strength. Whichever projectiles you train to Expert, it might be worth using a [[potion of sickness]] to poison them for situations where killing monsters such as [[minotaur]]s and [[mind flayer]]s quickly is more important than a few points of alignment (especially post-[[Quest]]).
 The [[Samurai quest]] has a decent amount of loot due to the amount of human hostiles present: [[ninja]] and enemy [[Samurai (player monster)|samurai]] carry several [[wand]]s that can include {{of|wand|sleep|fire|lightning}} or even a [[wand of death]]. [[Reflection]] (e.g. from the [[Sokoban]] [[Amulet of reflection|amulet]]) is highly desirable if not ''strictly'' necessary at this juncture, and a minimum of [[sleep resistance]], [[cold resistance]] and [[fire resistance]] can help a lot. The ninja can also provide a useful source of shuriken on the home level alone, especially if you can kill them quickly without losing too many to mulching. The attack wands obtained during the Quest and from other areas can help against [[Ashikaga Takauji]], who ignores [[Elbereth]] and is very deadly in melee even without the chance of bisecting a Samurai outright by using their quest artifact, [[The Tsurugi of Muramasa]], against them.

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 {{message|You disturb the honorable dead!|You incurred a -1 penalty to alignment record from [[digging]] up a [[grave]].{{refsrc|src/dig.c|920|nethack=3.6.7}}}}
 {{message|You dishonorably attack the innocent!|You incurred a -1 penalty to alignment record from attacking [[peaceful]] or [[tame]] monster.{{refsrc|src/uhitm.c|248|nethack=3.6.7}}}}
-{{message|You dishonorably use a poisoned weapon!|You incurred a -1 penalty to alignment record from attacking with a [[poisoned]] weapon.{{refsrc|src/uhitm.c|1122|nethack=3.6.7}}}}
+{{message|You dishonorably use a poisoned weapon!|You incurred a -1 penalty to alignment record from attacking with a [[poisoned weapon]].{{refsrc|src/uhitm.c|1122|nethack=3.6.7}}}}
 ===Japanese names for items===

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 ==History==
-The Samurai first appears in [[NetHack 1.3d]]. From this version to [[NetHack 3.0.10]], including some variants based on those versions, Samurai start with a stack of shuriken{{refsrc|nethack=3.0.0|u_init.c|200}}&mdash;[[NetHack 3.1.0]] introduces the yumi and ya and adds it to their starting inventory in place of the shuriken.
+The Samurai first appears in [[NetHack 1.3d]]. From this version to [[NetHack 3.0.10]], including some variants based on those versions, Samurai start with a stack of shuriken{{refsrc|nethack=3.0.0|u_init.c|200}}&mdash;[[NetHack 3.1.0]] introduces the yumi and ya to replace the shuriken in their starting inventory.
-Before [[3.6.1]], Samurai could advance to ''Skilled'' in [[attack spells]], but were restricted in [[divination spells]].
+From [[NetHack 3.3.0]] to [[NetHack 3.6.0]], Samurai can advance to Skilled in [[attack spells]] while being restricted in [[divination spells]]. This is changed for [[NetHack 3.6.1]] via {{commit|3c4152f52ad5d1bfbf0c0208de0e1592a90f10f6}} so that Samurai can train to Basic skill in both schools and can thus reduce failure rates for their special spell ({{+ of|clairvoyance}}).
 ==Origin==

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 The means and standard deviations were calculated for ''NetHack'' via simulation, whose source code can be found on [[Talk:Role#Initial attribute simulation code|the role article's talk page]], and assumes that all given roles are played as humans&mdash;non-human races will have different attribute means as a result of different attribute maximums.
-The following table summarizes the starting [[HP]] and [[energy]] values for Samurai, as well as their bonuses upon gaining an experience level:
+Samurai start with 15 [[HP]] and 2 [[Pw]].
 ==Skills==

← Older revision		Revision as of 05:57, 22 December 2025
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	The means and standard deviations were calculated for ''NetHack'' via simulation, whose source code can be found on [[Talk:Role#Initial attribute simulation code\|the role article's talk page]], and assumes that all given roles are played as humans—non-human races will have different attribute means as a result of different attribute maximums.		The means and standard deviations were calculated for ''NetHack'' via simulation, whose source code can be found on [[Talk:Role#Initial attribute simulation code\|the role article's talk page]], and assumes that all given roles are played as humans—non-human races will have different attribute means as a result of different attribute maximums.
		+
		+	Samurai start with 15 [[HP]] and 2 [[Pw]].

	==Skills==		==Skills==

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 ==Quest==
 {{main|Samurai quest}}
-The Samurai's quest sees them fighting [[Ashikaga Takauji]] for [[The Tsurugi of Muramasa]], an [[artifact]] [[tsurugi]]. The Tsurugi of Muramasa acts as a [[luckstone]] while carried, and while wielded it provides extrinsic [[protection]] and augmenting the hero's [[magic cancellation]] by 1, similar to a [[ring of protection]] (which does not stack). The Tsurugi deals +d8 damage against all [[monster]]s, with a {{frac|20}}} chance (5%) of a [[Physical size|size-dependent]] effect: against medium-size or smaller monsters and any monster that is [[engulfing]] the wielder, the Tsurugi can [[bisect]] and [[Instadeath|instantly kill]] them upon hitting, '''which can include the hero''' if Ashikaga Takauji uses the weapon against them&mdash;against large-or-bigger monsters, the Tsurugi instead deals [[double damage]].
+The Samurai's quest sees them fighting [[Ashikaga Takauji]] for [[The Tsurugi of Muramasa]], an [[artifact]] [[tsurugi]]. The Tsurugi of Muramasa acts as a [[luckstone]] while carried, and while wielded it grants extrinsic [[protection]] and augments the hero's [[magic cancellation]] by 1 similar to a [[ring of protection]] (which does not stack). The Tsurugi has a +d8 damage bonus versus all [[monster]]s, with a {{frac|20}}} chance (5%) of a [[Physical size|size-dependent]] effect: against medium-size or smaller monsters and any monster that is [[engulfing]] the wielder, the Tsurugi can [[bisect]] and [[Instadeath|instantly kill]] them upon hitting, '''which can include the hero''' if Ashikaga Takauji uses the weapon against them&mdash;against large-or-bigger monsters, the Tsurugi instead deals [[double damage]].
 ==Strategy==