I was a save-scummer. I played Nethack locally, and save-scumming was the only way that I could make meaningful progress beyond the noob levels. Yeah, I knew all the spoilers by heart, I knew the secrets, I had access to the rumors and the Wiki, but I had some bad habits that led to YASD every time, such as hoarding everything in inventory, melee attacks when ranged would be better, not making much use of spells or magic, and I would often forget that I was carrying a particular item that would be perfect for a particular situation, so I'd die with it still unused.
So save-scumming was my solution. Sometimes I played in Wizard mode, but I enjoyed save-scumming immensely, and it allowed me to get quite far, especially to the Castle and drawbridge level, and even sometimes down to Gehennom.
I did reach the Astral Plane a few times, but I never actually ascended as far as I can recall, but frankly, after the Castle level, the game gets kind of boring and unfair for me. I never liked the Wizard's harrassment as you climb back up the dungeon, level by level. Also all the curses really got me down. Save-scumming can really only take you so far if you're not an expert at planning and execution too.
I quit playing Nethack entirely a few years ago. I have moral objections to worshipping false gods, even if it's "just a game". But I bow to the genius of the Developers Who Think of Everything, especially Ken Arromdee, who's played the same MUDs/MUCKs as me, and is also an occasional Wikipedia editor.
Curses can be addressed by:
1) blessing everything that matters before you start your ascension
2) carrying inventory in an oilskin sack (which will work fine while cursed, and protect items inside it from being cursed)
3) carrying holy water and/or scrolls of remove curse
4) knowing the remove curse spell
5) certain Artifacts and armor will reduce the effect of curses on your inventory
6) carrying a lot of lightweight junk as a curse "buffer" so that curses will have a lower chance of hitting something critical
7) wielding Magicbane, that blocks 95% of curses.
A lot of this is really just, as mentioned, time spent on planning and execution.
So save-scumming was my solution. Sometimes I played in Wizard mode, but I enjoyed save-scumming immensely, and it allowed me to get quite far, especially to the Castle and drawbridge level, and even sometimes down to Gehennom.
I did reach the Astral Plane a few times, but I never actually ascended as far as I can recall, but frankly, after the Castle level, the game gets kind of boring and unfair for me. I never liked the Wizard's harrassment as you climb back up the dungeon, level by level. Also all the curses really got me down. Save-scumming can really only take you so far if you're not an expert at planning and execution too.
I quit playing Nethack entirely a few years ago. I have moral objections to worshipping false gods, even if it's "just a game". But I bow to the genius of the Developers Who Think of Everything, especially Ken Arromdee, who's played the same MUDs/MUCKs as me, and is also an occasional Wikipedia editor.