Difference between revisions of "Speed ascension"

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(General speed strategy: Don't be a pack rat)
(Specific speed tactics: regeneration)
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* Move [[Movement tactics#Diagonal movement|diagonally]]
 
* Move [[Movement tactics#Diagonal movement|diagonally]]
* Kick down doors (be careful in [[minetown]])
+
* Kick down doors if you arrive diagonally (be careful in [[minetown]])
 
* Wear a [[ring of conflict]]
 
* Wear a [[ring of conflict]]
 +
* Wear a [[ring of regeneration]] while polymorphed into a strong fighter form (master mind flayer, minotaur, jabberwock, titan,...)
 
* Wish for [[The Eye of the Aethiopica]]
 
* Wish for [[The Eye of the Aethiopica]]
 
* [[Sanctum#The Sanctum done quick|Teleport into the Sanctum]], or have a [[covetous]] monster (e.g. [[Asmodeus]] or [[Orcus]]) fetch the amulet for you
 
* [[Sanctum#The Sanctum done quick|Teleport into the Sanctum]], or have a [[covetous]] monster (e.g. [[Asmodeus]] or [[Orcus]]) fetch the amulet for you
 
* Use [[jumping]] and a [[helm of opposite alignment]] to reduce time spent on the [[Astral Plane]]
 
* Use [[jumping]] and a [[helm of opposite alignment]] to reduce time spent on the [[Astral Plane]]
 
* Controlled [[Polymorph#Self-polymorph|polymorph self]] into a [[xorn]] to phase through the [[Castle]] walls
 
* Controlled [[Polymorph#Self-polymorph|polymorph self]] into a [[xorn]] to phase through the [[Castle]] walls
* Controlled [[Polymorph#Self-polymorph|polymorph self]] into a [[master mind flayer]] and use #monster to wake the Wizard from outside his tower
+
* Controlled [[Polymorph#Self-polymorph|polymorph self]] into a [[master mind flayer]] and use #monster to wake the Wizard from outside his tower, or use a [[drum of earthquake]]. At the very least, [[levelport]] within his tower.
* Wake the [[Wizard of Yendor]] from outside with a [[mind flayer]] blast or a [[drum of earthquake]], or at least [[levelport]] within his tower.
+
* After retrieving the [[Amulet of Yendor]], convert to chaotic to minimize the effects of the [[mysterious force]]
* After retrieving the [[Amulet of Yendor]], convert to chaotic to minimize the effects of the [[Mysterious force]]
 
  
 
==Sample ascensions==
 
==Sample ascensions==

Revision as of 02:06, 15 May 2011

A speed ascension is a type of informal conduct, taking one of two forms: lowest turn-count, or shortest real time elapsed. Short ascensions tend to be low turn-count ascensions too.

How fast is fast?

First ascensions vary greatly in turn-count, with most falling between 50,000 and 100,000 turns. A careful well-spoiled player can ascend in under 50,000 turns with most classes, and ascensions below 30,000 are not uncommon. Anything below 20,000 probably counts as a speed ascension. On NAO, 1% of all winning player accounts have a sub-10450-turns ascension, and 10% have sub-24450.

Real-time speed records are very hard to determine, since vanilla NetHack does not track real time elapsed. The usual method is to time the ttyrec of the game with a utility such as timettyrec.

Certain classes are better than others at the very fastest ascensions, though any class can be ascended relatively quickly. Good spellcasting ability and being able to get The Eye of the Aethiopica are both very handy, making wizards and neutral monks the two classes that pushed speed ascensions the farthest.

General speed strategy

  • Don't fully map every level
  • Become very fast as soon as possible
  • Avoid monsters rather than fighting them
  • Avoid being burdened to any degree
  • Make extensive use of digging and level teleportation
  • Don't be a pack rat

Specific speed tactics

Sample ascensions