Ring of shock resistance
A ring of shock resistance is a type of ring that appears in NetHack.
Contents
Generation
Wizards may be given a ring of shock resistance as one of the two random rings in their starting inventory.[1]
General stores and jewelers shops can stock rings of shock resistance.
Description
A hero putting on the ring gains the extrinsic shock resistance property, which lowers or nullifies shock damage from certain attacks, wands and hazards, and any other rings and wands in the hero's inventory have a 99⁄100 chance per item of being protected from destruction by shock damage.[2] The ring of shock resistance itself is immune to destruction from shock damage.[3] Monsters will not wear this ring.
A hero eating the ring has a 1⁄3 chance of successfully absorbing its magic and gaining intrinsic shock resistance.[4]
Strategy
An identified ring of shock resistance is a fairly valuable choice of ring when dealing with monsters that pick up a wand of lightning, as well as troublesome shocking spheres and energy vortices—while the intrinsic property can stop most HP damage, and reflection can block and reflect lightning rays (which will still blind the hero), an extrinsic source like the ring is highly valuable to protect the hero's other rings and wands from repeated energy vortex attacks and shocking sphere explosion attacks, especially for those wearing gauntlets of power.
Identification
The ring of shock resistance is 150zm like many other rings with resistance properties, and testing for a ring of shock resistance is naturally difficult without significant danger to the hero or their inventory. One of the more reliable methods of testing a worn ring for shock resistance is to use grid bugs: their bite attack does shock damage, but is weak enough that it will not affect the hero's inventory unless the grid bug managed to kill a monster or otherwise gain HP. As with many other rings, dropping a spare ring down a sink will also print a distinct message if it is a ring of shock resistance.[5]
History
The ring of shock resistance first appears in NetHack 2.3e.
NetHack 5.0.0 refactors the effects of shock damage on rings and wands and grants extrinsic sources of shock resistance the ability to prevent their destruction via commit 9942b65d.
Messages
- Static electricity surrounds the sink.
- You dropped a ring of shock resistance into a sink[5]—this will prompt you to type-name the ring.
Variants
NetHack variants created prior to NetHack 5.0.0 may or may not adapt the ring of shock resistance's protective abilities introduced in later versions.
SLASH'EM
In SLASH'EM, the ring of shock resistance behaves as it does in NetHack 3.4.3. Flame Mages, Ice Mages, Necromancers, and Wizards may be given a ring of shock resistance as any of the random rings in their starting inventory.[6][7][8][9]
SporkHack
In SporkHack, the ring of shock resistance behaves as it does in NetHack 3.4.3. SporkHack also uses a partial intrinsic system, allowing the ring of shock resistance and other items that grant extrinsics to remain useful for much longer.
dNetHack
In dNetHack, notdNetHack and notnotdNetHack, the ring of shock resistance gives a message when worn, and it also protects open inventory from shock damage like all extrinsic sources of shock resistance in these variants. In addition, extrinsic sources of resistance properties are much more desirable due to the temporary intrinsic system.
Message
- Your finger feels numb!
- You put on a ring of shock resistance.
EvilHack
In EvilHack, the ring of shock resistance is more useful in the short and long term, e.g. once the hero starts encountering energy vortices and shocking spheres: shock resistance and some other intrinsics are partial intrinsics as in SporkHack, and reflection no longer completely protects from the effects of lightning rays.
SlashTHEM
In SlashTHEM, in addition to SLASH'EM details, Acid Mages, Corsairs, Electric Mages, Nobles, and Pirates may be given a ring of shock resistance as any of the random rings in their starting inventory—the ring is redundant for Electric Mages in particular, who start with shock resistance.
References
- ↑ src/u_init.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 171
- ↑ src/zap.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 5685-L5689: protection via extrinsic resistances
- ↑ src/zap.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 5641-L5644
- ↑ src/eat.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 2280
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 src/do.c in NetHack 5.0.0, line 527-L529
- ↑ u_init.c in SLASH'EM 0.0.7E7F2, line 69
- ↑ u_init.c in SLASH'EM 0.0.7E7F2, line 99
- ↑ u_init.c in SLASH'EM 0.0.7E7F2, line 136
- ↑ u_init.c in SLASH'EM 0.0.7E7F2, line 245
