Talk:Speed ascension

Could someone with moderate experience with speed runs please post some "typical" times of some milestones, in order to set myself goals? I am thinking of something like

• found mines by ... turns
• buying/stealing/price-id in mine town by ... turns
• stack of holy water by ... turns
• crowned / intrinsics
• luckstone by ... turns
• found quest by ... turns
• completed castle by 12k turns
• start quest by ... turns
• complete quest by ... turns
• pre-gehennom prepratations ...
• wake up wizard by 20k turns
• ascend by ...

-Tjr 01:01, 13 July 2009 (UTC)

After some moderate experience, a few rough targets:

• Got digging tool by turn 500.
• Do price ID and have a plan for Medusa's titan.
• Then dig down straight, collecting/stealing as many scrolls and eggs/tripe as possible.
• Got wand of wishing by turn 1500.
• Reverse genocide unicorns for Luck. Wish for polymorph control, a wand of polymorph, and bazillions of magic markers to write charging with. Write spellbooks of detect monsters, magic mapping, sleep, remove curse, confuse monster.
• Dig / phase through Gehennom, mapping each level, recharging power as needed. Get the amulet of life saving, the Candelabrum, Rodney's book, and the vibrating square.
• Level teleport to the quest. Teleport control is gained by reverse genociding wraith or by turning into a tengu.
• Ascend by turn 6000.

Fastest possible

Does anyone know, if you assume absolutely ideal conditions (shortest dungeon possible, poly'd into an air elemental except to read the Book, no monsters in the way, using levelporting/teleporting where possible, etc) what the fastest possible ascension would be? It seems that it shouldn't be random - if you let a monster carry the Amulet for you, the mysterious force shouldn't be a problem, and so you could always teleport between staircases. Of course you have to add a turn then to kill the monster carrying the Amulet, but that's probably still faster than it could be otherwise (given that levels in the Dungeon proper can't have adjacent staircases, teleportation will always save you at least a turn, even in constructed, highly improbable "ideal" circumstances) -Ion frigate 04:01, 1 June 2011 (UTC)

The only strict minimum is 2000 turns, as before that you cannot have enough alignment to do the quest and thus the invocation. It's perfectly possible to map out every level and obtain the candellabrum, 7 candles, and the book of the dead in this time (I believe one of Maud's near-2000 turn ascension details this in RGRN). So you need enough time to do the quest, a few turns to get the amulet using Asmodeus or another demon, then at least two movements per level to go up the stairs. Then the elemental planes and all. -- Qazmlpok 12:17, 1 June 2011 (UTC)

Ais523 is preparing a TAS speedrun going for the fastest theoretically possible turn count, of course savescumming the random number generator. I believe he said something like 2017 turns. A few highlights:

• Polymorphing into a (hasted) air elemental wearing the Eye of the Overworld lets your take several actions per turn, including a jump on the last.
• Quaffing cursed gain level you "happen to find" lets you traverse the dungeon at one level per action.
• The High Priest of Moloch can be killed by a tame shapeshifter/polytrapped air elemental turned cockatrice on the same turn you levelport into the Sanctum.
• The Elemental Planes each get their own almost comical strategy, e.g. stepping onto lava in the plane of fire will lifesave you next to the portal, and the Astral Planes uses a neat egg trick.

Please ask Ais523 himself if you want to know more details, I'm just a bystander. I'm positive this TAS and its writeup will be awesome. --Tjr 17:06, 1 June 2011 (UTC)