Spoiled questions about cats...

[UnknownSoldier]

I used to jump through hoops to avoid killing cats. Which isn't especially easy when you are playing a melee character. It uses some resources which aren't abundant in the beginning of the game.

So the last char (a drakish paly) that made it to the kitty lord had to kill him. Not to hard, all thing considered, cost me a couple of prayer, one !oUH and a few charges from a wand of paralization.
I gained 6 levels ! Ok, I cheated, I cast slow on myself before the killing blow.

So I'm asking : is the kitty ring really worthwhile to get compared to this mass of experience I got in exchange, not to mention all the hassle of not killing cats ?

another related question :
I think I read somewhere that the cat lord increase in level for each cat killed ? Would it be worthwhile to hunt cats before his level to gain more experience when you kill him ?

[vogonpoet]

Its no tragedy to swap the ring for XP, if your PC desperately needs XP. You don't really want to go cat hunting though - the very best that could happen is you integer overflow the cat lord and get not very much XP, and the worst that could happen is that it totally rapes your PC and leaves you utterly dead.

Sure, you didn't have too much problem with it once, after maybe killing a handful of cats. That does not mean that every time will be the same - the RNG might decide a similary XP'd kitty king is going to roll lots of paralysis bolt shrugs next time.

My 2 cents: If you kill a cat, shrug and move on, but don't go on an endless kitty slaying rampage until after you kill the CL.

[Nezur]

So I'm asking : is the kitty ring really worthwhile to get compared to this mass of experience I got in exchange, not to mention all the hassle of not killing cats ?

I think one should try to acquire it because there are other ways to gain experience, but one doesn't get another chance to get that powerful ring.

I think I read somewhere that the cat lord increase in level for each cat killed ? Would it be worthwhile to hunt cats before his level to gain more experience when you kill him ?

It may be worthwhile if you've already killed cats, but don't kill too many of them or the cat lord will be a really challenging opponent.

[Molach]

Treat 'f' randomly generated in a dungeon as any other creature. Slay them with extreme prejudice.
If you get a wilderness enounter of cave lion, leave them alone.

If you make it to cat lord, you normally don't really need the ring, but might need the XP. If you die before reaching the catmeister, you did not lose anything, and saved yourself some major hassle. If you died because you tried something cute to avoid killing a cat, well then you just lost a potential YAVP.

For me the cat ring is a "challenge" game, on par with "bringing joy to the life of a little girl" or "defeating an emperor minotaur".

Mabye I'm more a dog person.

[Silfir]

When do you ever "really need" a single item? Apart from the orbs?

[vogonpoet]

Hence the utter uselessness of the TH talent. Thanks for clearing that up definitively Silfir.

No extra orbs for treasure hunters, not yours.

[Silfir]

This would have worked better if I didn't know that you are perfectly capable of detecting sarcasm

Some characters need the extra XP, some don't. The powers of the kitty ring alone are worth a couple of levels for most characters. If you're playing, let's say, a druid, there is absolutely no good reason to go about killing cats - druid class powers suck with the overwhelming force of several black holes, and avoiding to kill cats with them is as easy as it comes.

[vogonpoet]

*innocent*

What is this 'sarcasm' of which you speak?

[Grey]

Whoever needs the xp? Trolls are the only ones really short on it, and they can get by just fine without it. Can be nice for some chars, but so is the ring. Ultimately getting the ring is nice just for the luxury of not having to worry about a promising char who has beaten the tower being suddenly killed in a most brutal and vicious way.

[Molach]

Nono, the ring is EVIL. Slay at least one cat to avoid temptation

Being a carryholic, I often have a lot more rings than I do fingers.
Ring of damage on right finger...+8damage is pretty good. Ring of slaying on left? For big damage output...ring of immunity or elemental mastery for protection? Ring of invisibility for speedplaying? I dunno. So many good rings, so few fingers.

Like the old saying; "So many assholes, so few bullets."

The cat lord can be killed with the Thundrarr' fireball wand (tm), or just avoided. No reason to die to him. Spend a scroll of magic mapping to find downstairs on his level if in doubt of fighting skills.