troll healer tip

[Stingray1]

Could someone explain to me why someone going for a regular ending; needs to risk his life to get to HMV. Is that SoCR so important?

[grobblewobble]

You don't need to, but it can be fun. And you can find shops and stuff.

Personally I prefer to go straight for the arena and dwarftown instead.

[anon123]

The passage through the UD can yield very high quality loot for that point in the game. Getting things like +11-ish DV crystal shields, mithril gear and other armor with good PV modifiers right from the start, can be a real boon.

[JellySlayer]

I'd never recommend a UD run to start with, but if you visit there above level 8 or so, there's a good chance you'll find a couple vaults or maybe some herbs.

Depending on race, having access to the HMV shopkeeper can be a real boon as well.

[gut]

It isn't so much 'advisable' as it is a playstyle, the darwinian playstyle to be exact.

[Dogbreath]

Could someone explain to me why someone going for a regular ending; needs to risk his life to get to HMV. Is that SoCR so important?

Well, I wait until after the Griffyard to do the UD (by that point you either have a source of teleportation or invisibility to make it to the SMC downstairs) so it's not a life threatening area any more, but there are plenty of good reasons:

1. The chance of at least one vault, sometimes three or four. They always have lots of good stuff, and are good for experience as well.
2. Almost guaranteed to have a level with herbs. (this is nice if you just got herbalism from the Druid)
3. Very high chance of at least one altar, which makes pre-crowning a lot easier. Especially in conjunction with said herbs. (either to sac, or in newer versions, use as a food source while you sac monsters)
4. The shop really is nice - especially if you're playing a Dark Elf. (which I frequently do)

Overall, it's just a great area to visit before doing the Pyramid, as it has a lot of experience, a lot of nice gear, and will almost always improve your chances of survival in the teens and twenties of the CoC.

[NMBLNG]

I try to enter the SMC at level 1, or really any low level, then come back later. Preferably with teleport.

[Dogbreath]

*nods* Locking a door and reading one of the scrolls for a few hundred turns is a good way of letting the SMC populate with level 1 or 2 monsters, making it easier to travel through later.

[NMBLNG]

It also helps train literacy, as those scrolls don't disappear when read in the SMC.

[Stingray1]

It also helps train literacy, as those scrolls don't disappear when read in the SMC.

I think that's been fixed.