Alright in an attempt to defuse this argument IT DOESN'T MATTER. The devs will do what they want to do. However. From a gameplay point of view, it's justifiable simply in the fact that almost every other roguelike in existence has ranged weapons. This, in my opinion however, is NOT sufficient reason to include them. That's like saying IVAN should have kitchen sinks because NetHack has them. On the other hand realistically, it does not makes sense for really anyone to be using a longbow indoors. Of course there are exceptions -- some caverns can be large enough to be more or less like an outdoor area. But go in your average hallway and movement really does become a lot more restricted, and using anything larger than a handgun will get pretty hard. Not to mention that vision is limited... in most tunnels, unless you're the Flash you'll probably get off one, maybe two arrows from a bow before someone's on top of you, unless you're firing blindly. HOWEVER this is also not a sufficient reason NOT to include them. So it all comes down to what the devs feel like coding in.

OK, one final comment. Keep in mind, the game starts out, you are completely untrained in the use of anything other than a banana. The entire course of the game takes... Oh, maybe a week? Two weeks? It takes YEARS to master the use of a longbow. Crossbows are easier but still, it takes more than a week or so to really get good at using a crossbow.

I kinda agree with U_E, though having throwing weapons designed for throwing COULD be nice. As for magic... nah. Wands and scrolls are good enough for me.

As far as I'm concerned, the difference between monkeys and apes is a matter of size. It's like rock vs boulder.

I'd like designated thrown weapons. I.e. boomerangs, javelins, etc. And a skill associated would be nice.

Well first of all I've never actually managed to beat the Sumo. Second of all, since the ring of searching effectively eliminates the need for the belt of levitation, using a belt of carrying means I can raise my carrying capacity. Aside from that what other ring would I put there? Resistance? Hardly needed. The only resistance you really need is fire, and I more or less ALWAYS get that from a cloak. Typically my second ring is interchangeable between other resistances (if needed) and control rings.

Also, by the time I hit GC2 I usually already have these items. Belts of Carrying are pretty common. Rings of Searching aren't that rare either. Cloaks of fire resistance are usually the only gear item I have to spend a wish on.

If I get a wish fairly late on (i.e. GC2 or later) I tend to use it to find any missing bits of gear first: cloak of fire resistance, belt of carrying, ring of searching, stuff like that. More often than not however I do tend to spend them on wands of cloning/mirroring.

We could.

Slob: Agreed on the gifts are best early. My Mortifer win got his first Neerc on UT2, after a lot of polypiling.

My win was 050, dual-wielding Neerc se'Ulb. I believe one was +10 and the other +11. May have been higher however.

However the problem isn't really reproducing the same win, so much as trying to win with a different tactic. I don't want to just do the same thing over again. I would like to score a lawful win, preferably with Valpurus' gifts. However thus far I've only managed to get the shield once since my win, and I starved to death shortly thereafter.

Also, you did say "repeat your Elpuri win", which made me think you were suggesting I try the same tactic again for another similar win.

Slob: Actually I've yet to find another Mortifer altar. And all my CVS attempts have ended poorly.

JESUS christ slob. Look at all those wins. WTF hax.

EDIT: Also I noticed the existing honor rolls don't show the version any given score was achieved with.