> > Okay, I have a situation in MR that I would like some advice on.
> >
> > One of my assassins has a natural speed of 4 (she's equipped with bow and arrows, which is a one-hit-per-turn weapon, along with a bunch of iron equipment, so her speed is 1 right now), an AC of 39, and a WC of 13. I am only at level seven of the labyrinth, so the only speed-enhancing item I have found is Light Armor. If I use Flamberge instead of Bow and Arrows, replace the iron equipment with equipment that doesn't slow down the speed, and replace Plate Armor+1 with Light Armor, my assassin can have a speed of five (just enough to strike multiple enemies),an AC of only 20, and a WC of 8. Is the loss of AC and WC worth the multiple hits? Or should I just keep leveling up (the assassin in question is at level 13) until I am strong enough to venture deeper into the labyrinth to get better equipment, while keeping the Bow and Arrows as well as the iron equipment? Oh, and the Flamberge has a crit hit of 15%, I think, and the B&A has a crit hit of 3%, just to factor that in.
>
> One thing that I noticed is that you have bows and arrows on an assassin. Bows and arrows is a long range weapon so it automatically puts your speed to 1, no matter if you have iron equipment or not. In my personal opinion, I would try to find a long sword +3, stealth blade, blade of power, or light sword. Even long sword +2 or +1 would do. Anything to keep your speed high. The higher your speed, the more monsters you can attack which kills them faster. Then you really wouldn't have to worry too much about AC. But until you can find one of those, use the flamberge. It's a lot better than bows and arrows. And try to change your equipment as soon as possible.
>
> If you have a sorcerer(ess)/wizard(ess)/druid in the back, give it to them. Their speed doesn't really matter unless they are in the front 3. In my opinion, it gives them something to do if they don't cast spells.

Right, thanks. The thing is, up until now, ALL my characters were equipped with B&A, because up until now, all their speeds have been hopelessly below 5 anyway.
Just as a recap: The thing to do is to sell B&A, equip flamberge, sell my iron equipment, replace them with other equipment that don't provide as much AC but don't lower my speed, sell plate armor+1 (my other characters have better armor than that), and equip light armor, right? This will bring my speed up from 1 to 5, my AC down from 39 to 20, my WC down from 13 to 8, and my crit hit up from 3% to 15%. The reason I'm skeptical about this is that with a speed of 5, I will only be able to hit 2 monsters at a time, for 8/13 of the damage of B&A. I just still wonder if it's worth the loss of AC (cuts my AC almost in half!).

What does everyone else think?