What should I wish for? ========================= by Peter Snelling (snelling@bnr.ca) and Eugene Hung (eyhung@garnet.berkeley.edu), with a correction by Charles Shapiro (c1shapir@stratasys.com). Someone asked: What are good things to wish for? Shouldn't I be able to wish for 3 blessed scrolls at a time? Or was this taken out? Every time I try, I only get one. Three blessed scrolls is still possible, but unlikely. Two blessed scrolls is much more likely. The same goes for plusses you might wish for for your weapon. Anyhow, here's the list: High Priority ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "blessed +2 gray dragon scale mail" "blessed rustproof +2 pair of speed boots" "blessed rustproof +2 gauntlets of power" "blessed fireproof +2 gauntlets of dexterity" "blessed +2 shield of reflection" => in 3.1.1 or later "blessed amulet of life saving" "blessed wand of polymorph" "blessed bag of holding" "blessed magic marker" => for writing blessed scrolls of charging, etc. Medium Priority ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "blessed figurine of an Archon" => better than shield of reflection in 3.1.0 "blessed +2 Grayswandir" => good against major demons "blessed rustproof +2 Mjollnir" => Great if you're a Valkyrie "blessed rustproof +2 Vorpal Blade" => good for a quick kill "blessed rustproof +2 Stormbringer" => tough to control "blessed rustproof +2 Excalibur" => protects against level drain "blessed platinum yendorian express card" => if Neutral "2 blessed scrolls of charging" => if not Neutral, and can't write it yet "blessed tinning kit" => makes blessed tins "2 blessed potions of gain ability" "2 blessed scrolls of genocide" "blessed ring of levitation" => you'll probably find one before endgame "blessed ring of teleport control" => if you got teleport without control "blessed luckstone" => get it in the mines instead of wishing "blessed rustproof +2 helm of opposite alignment" many more weapons, but it's easier to get them by sacrificing Low Priority ~~~~~~~~~~~~ "blessed amulet of magical breathing" "blessed fireproof +2 water walking boots" "blessed rustproof +2 helm of brilliance" "blessed rustproof +2 helm of telepathy" "blessed fireproof +2 cloak of displacement" "blessed fireproof +2 Hawaiian shirt" "2 cursed scrolls of genocide" => caution is advised "blessed spellbook of identify" many other spell books, but it's easier to get them by sacrificing NetHack Plus is quite different. Here, it's probably a bad idea to go for "blessed +2 armor" since it's more important to get the extra plus. You can more easily bless items than charge them. Idem dito with quantities. Anyway, here is a suggested list for NetHack Plus: Top Priority ~~~~~~~~~~~~ "blessed ring of regeneration" => MANDATORY to complete the game with for for Neutrals and maybe even some non-Neutrals "+3 pair of speed boots" => can't live without them "+3 silver long sword" => if Lawful: dip it for Excalibur "+3 deep dragon scale mail" => protects level from drain! great for Neutral "+3 shield of reflection" => reflection too vital when rays still hit you a lot "+3 grey dragon scale mail" => magic resistance still key, downgrade if your Quest Artifact provides it "blessed wand of polymorph" => with credit and a wand of create monster, polypiling is very powerful "blessed ring of polymorph control" => if doppleganger, or combined with wand of polymorph to make you a Vampire Lord "blessed orb of charging" => for that wand of wishing and other stuff Medium Priority ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "blessed amulet of life saving" => you're probably going to screw up "blessed bag of holding" => gotta have one sometime, probably find in Mines "blessed luckstone" => no longer guaranteed in Mines, check the bottom first though "blessed magic marker" => for mapping out Gehennom "+3 helm of opposite alignment" => getting out of Gehennom, using another altar if you're too weak to convert it, etc. "+3 gauntlets of dexterity" => both are equally useful. Take the "+3 gauntlets of power" one your character is deficient in "blessed orb of enchantment" => if you can't get the weapons shop to give you credit "3 scrolls of enchant armor" => enchant scrolls are very expensive to "blessed spellbook of enchant armor" write, and the orb doesn't do armor "3 scrolls of genocide" => for Ls, Ds, and maybe Vs or Hs allows you to write them, later "3 potions of gain level" => wraiths no longer guarantee you levels "+3 robe of protection" => very light, good for Monks/Healers, great AC "+3 axe of throwing" => can't wish for Mjollnir; good secondary weapon Low Priority ~~~~~~~~~~~~ "+3 helm of brilliance "+3 cloak of displacement" => defense is more important in NH+ "blessed amulet of magical breathing" "blessed amulet of reflection" => if you want to use a 2-handed weapon "blessed crystal ball" => for planes: harder to confuse yourself now "blessed unicorn horn" => only early in the game, will find plenty at 20th dungeon level or so They now have charges "blessed tinning kit" => for intrinsics "blessed ring of levitation" => more useful in endgame, but still powerful when combined with Elbereth "blessed ring of conflict" "blessed ring of teleport control" "3 potions of gain ability" => bless them, of course "cockatrice corpse" => for some annoying monsters/shopkeepers No longer a Priority ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "spellbook of magic mapping" => just use magic markers or shopkeepers "spellbook of identify" => just use magic markers or shopkeepers "+3 cloak of protection" => displacement is more important "wand of death" => anything tough is immune to it now. What's the use of it except as a player killer? "3 scrolls of charging" => orb is better, although heavier any quest artifact => ditto some artifact weapons => can't wish for them I think It appears that the last assumption is not true: there are several artifacts that can be wished for in NetHack Plus, some of which are fantastic. Wishing for these apparently always works, no matter how many artifacts exist in the game. Some of the artifacts that apparently can be wished for are: Demonbane: the blessed +5 Demonbane is better than the +7 Grayswandir was, against major demons. Disruptor: Great against ghosts, mummies, vampires and wraiths. Dragonbane: Better than anything else against dragons. Trollsbane: If there are trolls on your quest. Less useful, but still better than most normal weapons are Giantkiller, Werebane, and Ogresmasher.