Score
Score is calculated all throughout the game, and if you have the showscore setting in your rcfile, you can see it on the bottom line at all times. Score also decides if the game considers your character a beginner.
How score is calculated
The following things contribute to your score:
- Killing a monster — worth 4 times the monster's experience in points
- Identifying a wand by engraving or zapping — 10 points:
- Non-directional wands always give score.
- Ray-type wands give score if zapped in any direction except yourself, or if engraved with.
- Immediate-type wands give score if zapped up or down, but not in other directions or at a monster engulfing you.
- Breaking wands never gives score.
- Identifying a potion by quaffing — 10 points
- Identifying a scroll by reading — 10 points
- Oiling or greasing a squeaky board trap — 9 points
- Eating a tripe ration when not a carnivorous non-humanoid — 4 points
- Quaffing from a sink and getting the message "Yuk, this water tastes awful" — 4 points
The first oracle of each type:
- Minor (if not yet major): 21 points.
- Minor (if already major): 9 points.
- Major (if not yet minor): 210 + (21 * XL) points.
- Major (if already minor): 90 + (9 * XL) points.
At the end of the game (via death, ascension or escape):
- 1 point for each zorkmid more than starting gold ( * 90% if game ended in death).
- 50 * (DL-1) points where DL is the deepest level reached.
- 1000 points for each dungeon level reached beyond 20, to a maximum of 10000 points.
The score so far is doubled if you ascended. Then, if you escaped the dungeon or ascended, you receive points for items in inventory:
- Value of amulets and valuable gems
- Value of artifacts * 2.5, including invocation items.
And finally points for adjacent pets equivalent to their total current hit points.
The lowest possible score one can achieve when ascending is 24400[1], although this depends on the Sanctum's depth (see below for details).
How to maximize score
Certain things are worth more than others when completing the game. When the player ascends, his base score is doubled. Because gold is part of this base score, each gold piece is essentially worth two points. Gold has a weight of one unit per 100 pieces. This means that 100 gold, or 200 points weighs one unit, which is the same weight as the least valuable gem.
Each amulet weighs twenty units and, except for the cheap plastic imitation of the Amulet of Yendor, is worth 150 zorkmids. This makes each amulet worth far less than its weight in gold; however, some of the amulets (such as life saving) would be worth carrying even if they contributed nothing to your final score.
Artifacts weigh more than one unit, so depending on their value, they may or may not be worth more than an equivalent weight in gold. The following chart lists the value of each artifact, its weight, and its value/weight. If the value/weight column is not at least 200, the artifact is worth less than its weight in gold, and, for score purposes, you would be better off carrying gold than that artifact into the End Game.
* The Invocation items cannot be held in a bag of holding, so if you have one, they're relatively heavier than items in the bag; however, they are still more worthwhile than gold for carrying into the endgame.
Each gem weighs one unit, so every gem is at least as valuable as its weight in gold; some many times over.
| Gem | Value | Color |
|---|---|---|
| dilithium crystal | 4500 | white |
| diamond | 4000 | white |
| ruby | 3500 | red |
| jacinth | 3250 | orange |
| sapphire | 3000 | blue |
| black opal | 2500 | black |
| emerald | 2500 | green |
| turquoise | 2000 | green, blue |
| aquamarine | 1500 | green, blue |
| citrine | 1500 | yellow |
| amber | 1000 | yellowish brown |
| topaz | 900 | yellowish brown |
| jet | 850 | black |
| opal | 800 | white |
| chrysoberyl | 700 | yellow |
| garnet | 700 | red |
| amethyst | 600 | violet |
| jasper | 500 | red |
| fluorite | 400 | green, blue, white, violet |
| jade | 300 | green |
| obsidian | 200 | black |
| agate | 200 | orange |
How to minimize score
- Play as a pacifist. Because this is easiest with gnomish healers, this is a good role choice, although elven wizards, for example, have advantages regarding starting equipment (particularly scrolls and spellbooks of identify) and are also good choices.
- Do not consult the oracle. Instead, use a potion of gain level to reach XL 2, at which point it is safe to dally with a foocubus. Note that you will have to formally identify this potion, or see a monster using a non-cursed one, if you are to avoid getting points for identifying it on quaffing. If you can safely get to depths at which wraiths are generated, eating a wraith corpse is also a viable method of getting to XL 2. If you use foocubi to get from level 2 to 3, make sure you have a blessed potion of full healing on you in case you get drained to level 1. Tripe rations are not an option as gaining XP by eating them also gives points.
- Obtain a spellbook of identify (from a wish, prayer, magic marker, polypiling, or random loot (47% chance in mines or above Medusa)), and formally identify any wands, scrolls, potions before use. Note that the wand of speed monster does not give points on formal identification, unlike other wands. Early intrinsic speed is a valuable trait.
- If you can't, price-ID the scroll of identify, then find and bless as many as possible. Use these scrolls to identify any potions, scrolls and wands before using (or engraving, in the case of wands). Preferably, formally identify the scroll itself with a throne first. You could nudge your quest leader off her throne.
- If your game does not give you a spellbook of identify, finding and identifying a wand of polymorph is the bottleneck. Temple priests often have the books. After monsters identify the wand of create monster for you, you can engrave with $200 wands. Once you have found a wand of polymorph, you can zap it at yourself (preferably while wearing a ring of polymorph control), or at an engulfing monster while you are engulfed. Alternatively, give it to a wand-using monster of difficulty <5; it will use-identify it for you. Monsters using wands or potions of polymorph do not generate out-of-depth monsters, unlike polymorph traps.
- If you spend a long time with no source of identification, but have reflection, you may want to let monsters zap $175 wands at you; hopefully this will give access to a source of permanent engraving. Note that because zapping at yourself ignores reflection, this is preferable to zapping at yourself, at least until you have all the necessary resistances.
- Note that $150 wands are not usually worth sorting through, as the wand of enlightenment will auto-identify on engraving, and monsters will not use it. Nevertheless, having monsters identify wands of striking and digging for you is a bonus. Use the former (or a pick-axe) to break statues on the oracle level for a chance of spellbooks. Shopkeeper inventories will always contain wands that do not give points on self-zapping (use price-ID in another shop to tell wands of death from magic missile, striking, speed monster, make invisible first) and make sure you have MR or the necessary HP to survive the possible damage.
- If you (and all monsters around you) are not invisible, it is possible to safely quaff $50 potions once you identify the potion of sickness by #dipping a dart, arrow or unicorn horn into it. Do not #dip into random potions without price-ID as this may formally identify the potion of polymorph inadvertently. Once you know which one is sickness, you can either bless and quaff one of each of the others, or use a delicatessen to determine which potion is see invisible. This is arguably a better way of obtaining this intrinsic than fountain quaffing or waiting until you are deep enough for stalkers to be generated.
- If you are playing as a healer, or have identified the potions of healing and extra healing, you may want to dilute any further $100 potions, as these tend to be junk. Note, however, that the $100 potion of restore ability does not auto-identify and can be quaffed once you can tell which it is by process of elimination. This can be useful before you find a unicorn horn, or if the potion of restore ability happens to be smoky.
- The need for rapid item identification has implications on ascension kit: that $500 wand is no use to you in a pinch if you can't cast identify reliably. This increases the need for robes for some roles; while wizards can use their starting cloak, healers need to rely on magic resistance from other sources.
- Do NOT untrap any squeaky board traps, as this gives points. Similarly, sinks are for kicking and digging on, not quaffing from.
- Drop all gold, valuable gems, amulets and artifacts before offering the Amulet of Yendor. When you do offer it, make sure any pets are not next to you.
The minimum possible score for an ascension is dependent on the depth of Moloch's Sanctum in the game:
| Sanctum Depth | Minimum Score |
|---|---|
| 45 | 24400 |
| 46 | 24500 |
| 47 | 24600 |
| 48 | 24700 |
| 49 | 24800 |
| 50 | 24900 |
| 51 | 25000 |
| 52 | 25100 |
| 53 | 25200 |
