                       What should I wish for?
                      =========================

                 by Peter Snelling (snelling@bnr.ca)
            and Eugene Hung (eyhung@garnet.berkeley.edu).


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 +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 to charge them. Ditto 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

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 artifact weapon                            => can't wish for them I think
any quest artifact                                                   => ditto

