ToME WikiPatekShoggot writes, in probably improperly formatted wiki...
Playing around with the edit files, I dropped the price on create artifact scrolls, and made 'em easily available in shops. I picked up a few hundred, and went to town making artis...
After a few hundred, anomalous behaviour cropped up - the artifact would have its specs listed, prompt for a name, and upon a name being entered, still show up as an unnamed, plain item. However, all arti benefits were still active in 'em. Reading another scroll against it, new specs would be added to the old, and base values would only rise - I ended up with a shadow blade with all afflicts, +72/+115, +6 attacks, for example, via multiple readings against the same base weapon. Eventually some items started accepting names, but it was hit or miss.
Saving & restarting, the next read of a scroll against the item would 'finalize' it, and give it a name / freeze its specs.
Thoughts?
My initial guess (based on another 'cheating' scenario where I made all the basic town mobs drop randarts) is that there's a limit to how many named randarts / created randarts can exist at any point in time - when I had the town mobs dropping randarts, after collecting a few hundred or so, they'd start dropping what looked like basic items, but which had randart qualities - I don't recall if I could *Identify* 'em or not, but a broken dagger id'd as 1,0 but sold for 20,000... Save, exit & restart, and they'd start dropping named randarts once again.
Note: Although general abusability might be low due to cost / frequency of create artifact scrolls, I can see a path to its abuseability: play for an extended period without save/restarts, stockpiling as many create artifact scrolls as possible, and when randarts (already rare, so a long, long playtime might be required) start showing up as regular weapons (pseudo-id as special, identify as base), begin chained use of create arti against a single object. Might work.
addendum Further details! It appears I was wrong about how this occurs. Having a plain suit of dragon scale armour in your inventory (IE, non-ego) is sufficient (Edit: No, it's not. It does seem to be required. Also, when in the state that allows multiple readings, any name which only consists of lowercase characters will finalize the item, as will giving no name at all). Other items can than be repeatedly 'create artifacted' ad infinitum... Some notes on this: I was able to lock down any individual item (IE, complete its transformation and give it a name) if I gave it the same name as a pre-existing created artifact. Rings retain their base properties. A ring of speed can get all resists etcetera, but will never go above what its original speed rating was. A ring of slaying will never increase its bonuses, but can acquire all three of speed+, attack speed+, criticals+, up to +6. Swords can get up to speed+ & attack speed+ of 6 as well. I haven't been able to find an amulet which would accept a speed flag as yet =)
Artifacted boomerangs retain the chance to break, at 1% - or at least, so it's reported. I have yet to see one break. Cesti will increase weapon stats and armour class +, but never get other weapon bonuses. Mimicry cloaks are changed at each create artifact reading to a random mimicry cloak type, only reported when the process is complete - IE, using a pre-existing arti name to lock it down, it'll get locked with the reported stats, but you'll never be able to ensure a cloak of mist, for example. ~~~ (hrm, it appears ~~~ doesn't work as a signature here. Hokay.) - PatekShoggot
And a few questions!
- When I have a pack of chain-summoned pets around me (heck, filling the small level, more or less), after squishing a dungeon level into squishdom, and I dismiss 'em all - there seems to be far less loot lying around than I'd expect (IE, if I'd melee'd everything without pets). Are the pets picking things up, and leaving without dropping 'em? Are floor items under dismissed pets vanished away?
- Low sanity - is there any downside, aside from the mis-identification of monsters? I know / heard / read that 0 sanity will kill you, but is there any downside to not being at full sanity -and- not being at zero, aside from misidentification?
- In 2.3.4, I can't seem to examine anything which isn't sold in a shop. I'm not using the rogue-like keymaps, but 'x' gives me some jive about area mana level, without an option to examine an object, and then shifts to 'inscribe what?'. What'm I doing wrong?
Edit: Okay, I think I've figured it out. 'x' by default is engrave floor, but the commands description has the following listed:
- Look around (l) or Examine things (x) Hence, my confusion. I'm guessing (at work, or I'd test) that examine works as a subset of look - IE, I already have to be looking. However - items in inventory, is there any way to examine non-*ID*'d objects? IE, does 'I' work?
- Praying to Tulkas, I get his hand guiding my blows - very nice. But I also hear references to praying for various effects, which don't seem related to reading spells out of books (eg, 'war tome of Tulkas'). Is there some aspect of prayer that I'm neglecting?
- Haven't located a spoiler for the symbiont top-level skill, 'force symbiosis', and having a fairly nice / sufficient symbiote, I'm somewhat loathe to experiment. Anyone care to spoil this for me?
(Erm. Looks like I wasn't logged in when I made the last edit. 'Twas I, though - PatekShoggot)