Ring of increase accuracy
A ring of increase accuracy is a type of ring that appears in NetHack.
Contents
Generation
Wizards may be given a ring of increase accuracy as one of the two random rings in their starting inventory.[1]
General stores and jewelers shops can sell rings of increase accuracy.
Description
A hero putting on the ring gains a flat, enchantment-based to-hit bonus or penalty. The ring can be charged to increase its enchantment. Monsters will not wear this ring.
A hero eating the ring has a 1⁄3 chance of successfully absorbing its magic and gaining a permanent to-hit bonus or penalty equal to its enchantment at the time, with diminishing returns if the hero already has a high to-hit bonus:[2][3][4] specifically, if the bonus from absorbing a positively-enchanted ring's power by eating it would place the hero at 10 or more points of increased to-hit, the bonus is reduced to a random number between 1 and that ring's enchantment; if the bonus would place the hero at 20 or more points of increased to-hit, they have a x - 1x chance (where x is the ring's enchantment - 1) of gaining any bonus at all, and will only gain a single extra point of increased to-hit; and if the bonus would place the hero at 40 or more points of increased to-hit, then no bonus is gained.
Strategy
The ring of increase accuracy is most useful in the early game, where early heroes benefit most from the accuracy bonus while training their desired weapon skills, particularly those that are weaker in melee combat, and Monks that decide to wear body armor may benefit from the accuracy bonuses well into the mid-game. Enchanting weapons can also help with to-hit problems, though to a much lesser degree depending on if a hero can identify the scroll and stockpile enough of them.
For most other heroes that reach the mid-game, the ring becomes a polyfodder candidate once they obtain a luckstone or other luck item and maximize their luck—this similarly makes eating the ring a venture that is rarely ever helpful, since polymorph control is hard to obtain in the early game and the need for to-hit bonuses is easy to supersede at any point after upon obtaining a luck item.
Identification
The ring of increase accuracy has the most common base cost of rings at 150zm, and both it and many other 150zm rings do not auto-identify, making it difficult to distinguish them by price identification alone. Furthermore, unlike damage which can be tracked with probing or a stethoscope, there is no way to infer or definitively measure accuracy. While dropping the ring down a sink produces distinct messages depending on whether or not the ring's enchantment is positive or negative, a hero may not want to risk the 4⁄5 chance of losing what may be a decently-charged ring.[5]
Another option is enlightenment, which will give one of the following messages while the hero is wearing at least one ring of increase damage, provided all such worn rings have a cumulative non-zero enchantment:[6][7]
| Enchantment | Enlightenment Message |
|---|---|
| -13 or less | You have a huge penalty to hit. |
| -12 to -7 | You have a large penalty to hit. |
| -6 to -4 | You have a moderate penalty to hit. |
| -3 to -1 | You have a small penalty to hit. |
| 0 | [no message] |
| 1 to 3 | You have a small bonus to hit. |
| 4 to 6 | You have a moderate bonus to hit. |
| 7 to 12 | You have a large bonus to hit. |
| 13 or more | You have a huge bonus to hit. |
History
The ring of increase accuracy first appears in NetHack 3.3.0.
Messages
- The water flow <misses/hits> the drain.
- You dropped a ring of increase accuracy down a sink: "misses" is used for rings with an enchantment below +0, and "hits" is used otherwise.
Variants
SLASH'EM
In SLASH'EM, Flame Mages, Ice Mages and Necromancers may be given a ring of increase accuracy as the random ring in their starting inventory.[8][9][10]
A blessed -9 ring of increase accuracy named 'polymorph control' is generated within the Chamber of Junk in the Lawful Quest at level creation.
SporkHack
SporkHack reduces the to-hit bonus from luck to luck⁄3, giving the ring of increase accuracy some more use.
UnNetHack
UnNetHack reduces the to-hit bonus from luck to luck⁄3 as SporkHack does and has luck slowly time out, giving the ring of increase accuracy some more use.
dNetHack
In dNetHack, notdNetHack and notnotdNetHack, a ring of increase accuracy can be used with an upgrade kit to repair the targeting subsystem of an imperial elven helm, granting that ring's enchantment as a bonus to accuracy while the helm is worn.
DynaHack
DynaHack removes the to-hit bonus from luck entirely, giving the ring of increase accuracy some more use.
xNetHack
xNetHack similarly reduces the to-hit bonus from luck, but does so using a different method: the equation is luck + 23, ensuring that the scaling factor is retained while the ranges and peaks are pushed down. This makes the ring of increase accuracy somewhat more useful.
SpliceHack
SpliceHack removes the to-hit bonus from luck entirely, giving the ring of increase accuracy some more use.
EvilHack
EvilHack reduces the to-hit bonus from luck as in xNetHack and has luck slowly time out as in UnNetHack, giving the ring of increase accuracy some more use.
SlashTHEM
In SlashTHEM, in addition to SlashTHEM details, Acid Mages, Corsairs, Electric Mages, Nobles, and Pirates may be given a ring of increase accuracy as the random ring in their starting inventory.
References
- Jump up ↑ src/u_init.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 165
- Jump up ↑ src/eat.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 1896
- Jump up ↑ src/eat.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 1959
- Jump up ↑ src/eat.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 2035
- Jump up ↑ src/do.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 446
- Jump up ↑ src/cmd.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 1657
- Jump up ↑ src/cmd.c in NetHack 3.6.7, line 2843
- Jump up ↑ u_init.c in SLASH'EM 0.0.7E7F2, line 69
- Jump up ↑ u_init.c in SLASH'EM 0.0.7E7F2, line 99
- Jump up ↑ u_init.c in SLASH'EM 0.0.7E7F2, line 136
