Pounding

Players can pound colored squares, depending on their skill level.

In NetHack, pounding is the action of applying a polearm (including but not limited to lances) on a target that is at a distance of exactly two squares from the wielder.

Terminology

This game function was given the name "pounding" by Shawn M. Moore, who gave a thorough description of it in The Knight FAQ.

Description

At Basic and Unskilled level, the target must be in a straight line from the wielder. At Skilled level, it can be a knight's jump from the wielder. At Expert level the target can also be at a diagonal, meaning that any of the sixteen squares at a distance of two can be hit. Only Knights may reach Expert skill level in lance, and no roles can reach expert in polearms. Pounding can scuff engravings beneath you, just like attacking in melee.

When twoweaponing, the range for pounding is determined by the lesser of your polearm or lance skill and your two-weapon combat skill. This is only possible with a lance, because all other polearms are two-handed. A lance can be used for pounding without any penalty, even when the wielder is not mounted.

Most monsters can only use polearms with a skill level equivalent of unskilled, with the exception of the troll - all trolls can use them with a skill level equivalent of skilled, meaning they can hit you from a knight's jump away.

Strategy

Pounding is an excellent strategy for hitting both melee and ranged targets; if you have adequate speed and at least Skilled level, you can attempt to kill a group of opponents at a choke point (such as a door) a knight's move away. If you plan on pounding in corridors, though, you will need either a light source or infravision, as you cannot pound a monster you cannot see (even if you can detect it via other means).

In addition, pounding does not trigger passive attacks, meaning you can use it against dangerous creatures without depleting your projectiles or wand charges. Some players like to pound dangerous sea monsters on levels such as Medusa's Island, the Castle, and the Wizard's Tower in order to remain safe from their drowning attacks.

Pounding can also be used for the hit and run tactic, and is much safer than melee attacks in that respect, especially after 3.6 monster speed changes.

History

The feature of pounding scuffing engravings on the square beneath the pounder is introduced in NetHack 3.6.0.

Variants

SLASH'EM

In SLASH'EM, the range for pounding with a lance or polearm is expanded and made unrestricted by skill level:

UUUUU
UXXXU
UX@XU
UXXXU
UUUUU

dNetHack

dNetHack and notdNetHack allow the use of other weapons besides polearms and lances to pound.

The aklys, white vibrospear, gold-bladed vibrospear, and force pike can be applied to pound as a polearm; the shepherd's crook is a weapon that can be applied to pound like a polearm, but is also able to pick up items and pull monsters on those squares. Sol Valtiva and Shadowlock are artifacts that can also be applied to pound as a polearm, and The Rod of Lordly Might, dNetHack artifacts#The Rod of the Elvish Lords and The Sceptre of Lolth can be applied to pound while in lance form.

A weapon's pounding range is determined by that weapon's skill, and when pounding a menu is brought up that offers any monsters in range, as well as an option that allows selecting a square as in NetHack if targeting a specific square or an invisible monster. The letters used in the pounding menu can be arranged in either sequential order of target, starting clockwise from N (north), or else apply the same letter to a given directional square (i.e., a is always north, b is north-northeast, etc.) regardless of if it is occupied.

References

This page may need to be updated for the current version of NetHack.

It may contain text specific to NetHack 3.6.0. Information on this page may be out of date.

Editors: After reviewing this page and making necessary edits, please change the {{nethack-360}} tag to the current version's tag or {{noversion}} as appropriate.