Explain Kronging to me please.

I was under the impression that the first time you Krong an item, it should come out positive. But for ages now, the anvils have been cursing my items on the very first pass.

Is it only non-artifact items that are guaranteeed a good Krong on the first go? Or is that wrong altogether?

I have Ancient Krongian Ritual and it seems like my luck with Kronging has been drastically reduced - but maybe that's just how the RNG is treating me right now. Is it known if that has any influence on the chance to get a good Krong?

 

The very first time you Krong ANYTHING turns out positive. After that you get a 5/7 positive and a 2/7 negative. It doesn't apply to any item you haven't Kronged. And it doesn't apply for single tries with each anvil either. There is a low chance that the first Krong can be negative, and woe betide you if that first Krong happens to be on an artifact quality item with no bonuses. They usually get all cursed.

 

So, if I understand what you're saying - it's only the very first time a character Krongs something that the result is guaranteed to be positive. It's not the first Krong for each item - it's the very first Krong for each character that is guaranteed to be positive. Is that right?

 

Yes.

 

My question is: is it good strategy to ignore ALL anvil's until you're get a high level, ready to face Dredmor with a "good set" of items, then backtrack to all the levels prior to Krong them up? That is, before facing Dredmor, then you go and krong items? Or do people generally just krong as you go?

. . no clue what you're saying there.

 

There's a 5/7ths chance of a positive result and a 2/7ths chance of a negative result.

 

If you use 7 anvils, you will average 5 bonuses and 2 curses.

Edit: Rogue'd.

 

Do not wait. Use them as you find them. It would be crazy to have to backtrack through 15 levels to use the anvils. And the odds are it would not amount to much benefit beyond just using them when you find them, But this is all my opinion. Feel free to ignore it even though I am incapable of being wrong on any subject.

*Edit* If it has not changed, the lower level anvils give lower levels of benefit to the items you Krong. This has been the case for a long time now. But may have changed. If so, expect someone to correct me on this. (Even myself if I find evidence this has changed. But even if it has, that in no way means I would be wrong.)

I typically wait until the level I am on is finished or I have a great item before using the anvils. And like many others, I will use the hell out of anvils on a single item if it is really good rather than spreading it around.

I usually will try Crossbows as a priority to get an added proc. Even a crappy crossbow is great for a melee character since the proc extends to melee attacks too. By the end game I will usually have several reasonable crossbows with different effects so I can switch and have good odds of procing that effect via bolts against pests or even swapping for a melee battle when it seems appropriate.

 

anvil + archeology = turning vendor trash into xp.

That's why I use em for. You are pretty unlikely to get a whole lot of benefit out of anvils.

 

Thanks everyone for the info. I'll revise my anvil strategy appropriately.

 

My method is to krong anything I have duplicates of , so that curses don't matter. It's always worth it for the chance of a +2 trap affinity , which makes most items useful forever.

Some curses can be fairly harmless , like lowered magic power or mana regen on warrior equipment (you're already sacrificing most of it) or dodge / block / counter on orbs. Conversely , your plate armor may be blessed with extremely useless sagacity.

 

you can get +3 to any given bonus if you get lucky on a Kronging, just as an FYI.