Ancient Domains Of Mystery, forum overview / Spoilers / Handy tips for newcomers
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Doalag Registered user Last page view: 5851 days, 5 hours, 1 minute and 15 seconds ago. |
Darren : Ok I have perhaps read too fast the manual, I'll dig it better. The point is that I feel that many hints here can't apply to a character level 1, 7 (higher I reach for now!) and I bet even with a character like level 10 and probably much higher. Even if they are basic hints if a character level 10, 15 can't apply them apart with a big big luck can you call that newbie char? Well ok you think newbie and that's the thread topic, I saw it more newbie char. Well at least some can apply even to a newbie char. [Edited 1 time, last edit on 1/9/2008 at 19:33 (GMT -5) by Doalag] |
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Doalag Registered user Last page view: 5851 days, 5 hours, 1 minute and 15 seconds ago. |
rmcin329 : I just found my tinderbox in the shop in bandit town!! I'm too good isn't it? ;-) Well in fact it's almost not cool because it's just when I started to find funny to explore dark area without any light! :-p [Edited 1 time, last edit on 1/9/2008 at 19:43 (GMT -5) by Doalag] |
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Silfir Registered user Writer of Overly Long Guides Last page view: 4069 days, 3 hours, 16 minutes and 38 seconds ago. |
The problem is, for a total newbie PC - level one to about ten - there simply aren't that many options. He hasn't found that many potions, scrolls and wands or advanced items and dungeon features yet, he hasn't obtained some of the skills you can get yet - he is restricted to very few things. To make do with what you get in the beginning is probably the most difficult part of the entire game. Once a character "gets off the ground", as I like to say, nothing short of stupidity (or better, uncautiousness), lack of knowledge and EXTREMELY bad luck should be able to kill him. I say extremely because ADOM knowledge tells you a lot about the precautions to take to survive. "Lack of knowledge" is of course a pretty big problem considering the sheer amount of knowledge there is to gain in ADOM. You drop the golden ball. You kick the golden ball. It slides to the west. Suddenly Harry Potter, the apprentice wizard, appears! "That's not how you play Quidditch! are you even listening?" Which direction? (123456789) 4 Harry Potter, the apprentice wizard, is hit by a bolt of acid! Harry Potter, the apprentice wizard, is annihilated. You hear the ecstatic cries of a large crowd! |
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Doalag Registered user Last page view: 5851 days, 5 hours, 1 minute and 15 seconds ago. |
EDIT : Silfir, yes I understand that little by little. I feel that could have been a little tempered, like few special stuff to do for new char even if later it's useless, also perhaps a bit more hints for some stuff like about eating kobold. Well I cheat a little and make some backup of some save at least that soften a little the game. That said I don't use this to spoil too much the spirit, I don't do that too often nor I do it to attempt discover cursed items or things like that. [Edited 1 time, last edit on 1/9/2008 at 20:15 (GMT -5) by Doalag] |
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Darren Grey Registered user Last page view: 4240 days, 2 hours, 34 minutes and 28 seconds ago. |
I think many of these hints do applly even to level 1 characters. Enemies like ghuls can be found very early on, and a lot of these items can be found early. Wizards and other classes start with various potions and magic items, and there's a few hints on how best to use them in there. Some things can be rare to find early on, but they can still crop up, and there's even a semi-reliable way of getting artifacts by level 8. Play about a bit more with different characters and review some of the hints up above - you might start seeing the relevance of some. Of course the questions you're asking make it a bit clearer the sort of advice new players need, so keep them coming. And don't feel bad about save-scumming - almost all of us did that when we first starting playing the game. It's necessary in the crazy and treacherous world of ADOM... Waldenbrook, the dwarven shopkeeper, mumbles: "I'd offer 9 gold pieces for yer dwarven child corpse." [Edited 1 time, last edit on 1/9/2008 at 21:43 (GMT -5) by Darren Grey] |
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gut Registered user Painted this one too. Last page view: 4898 days, 4 hours, 51 minutes and 24 seconds ago. |
Silfir: Indeed, I like your phrasing of #54 better. Sometimes (most times) I'm too long winded! Here I go again... 56. If an alter is not available to you, you still don't have to resort to blindly 'equip identifying' your wearable items. Instead, carry them to the nearest shopkeeper. Drop your items in his shop, and he will offer you prices, in relation to what he thinks the items are worth. You don't have to accept the offers, just say 'n'o to them. This will help you to make an educated guess, as to which item to try out. Put me in the 'fool filter', where I belong! [Edited 1 time, last edit on 1/9/2008 at 22:02 (GMT -5) by gut] |
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Nightmare Registered user Soul Calibur 2 Last page view: 4599 days, 16 hours, 39 minutes and 42 seconds ago. |
Forgive me if these are already covered, I read the whole thread and don't recall these tidbits. Newbies need to upgrade their gear quickly. A lot of slots are left open and the starting equipment leaves a lot to be desired. Problem is, you don't want to get stuck with a lousy cursed item, and you don't have scrolls of identify, and may not find an altar in the dungeons around Terinyo. There are a few ways to deal with this. One is to take note of the Weight of items. Generic low quality iron items usually have even numbers for weight, and are relatively heavy. Higher quality items are often made of different metals and have strange weights. This can take some experience to recognize, it's easier if you have multiple items that have the same name (ie longsword, chain mail) that have different weights. Try on the lower one. Conversely, crystal items have higher weight than iron items, but crystal weapons and armor have superior stats. You can usually tell these apart from their dark color. Another way is to sell test. As a newbie, the shop in Lawenilothel is your only early option. Drop an item in the store, and note the price you are offered. This works best if you have multiple similar items. If one item has a much higher price than the others, try it on. If it has a low price, it's probably junk and worth selling. Another method is the Appraisal skill. Over time, your character who has this skill will evaluate each item, and rate it, from poor, fair, good, great, ect. If it's poor or fair, don't try it on unless you're desperate. Keep in mind, even items rated good can still be cursed, but should be relatively powerful to compensate. "As for me, I feel priveleged to be among the only species able to make scientific inquiries." -unknown "Be sure to keep your distance if you don't have resistance." -DG |
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Darren Grey Registered user Last page view: 4240 days, 2 hours, 34 minutes and 28 seconds ago. |
I don't recommend putting faith in the appraisal skill. I recently got the message "You have a mediocre feeling about the glowing wand." It was of course a wand of wishing, 3 charges... The weight advice might be better simplified slightly: Items with odd weights or different colours when lying on the ground might be made of special materials such as mithril that are resistant to fire and acid, and do more damage or offer more defence. These are more valuable than normal items, and can be worth the risk to try wearing without identifying them. Beware of funny coloured objects on the ground though - they might be mimics! Waldenbrook, the dwarven shopkeeper, mumbles: "I'd offer 9 gold pieces for yer dwarven child corpse." |
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Silfir Registered user Writer of Overly Long Guides Last page view: 4069 days, 3 hours, 16 minutes and 38 seconds ago. |
Indeed. A cursed adamantium longsword will do you better in the near to mid-future than a normal broadsword. Just remember that you have an alternate way of attacking in the form of missile or throwing weapons. Good to know if you encounter undead while fighting with a cursed weapon. You drop the golden ball. You kick the golden ball. It slides to the west. Suddenly Harry Potter, the apprentice wizard, appears! "That's not how you play Quidditch! are you even listening?" Which direction? (123456789) 4 Harry Potter, the apprentice wizard, is hit by a bolt of acid! Harry Potter, the apprentice wizard, is annihilated. You hear the ecstatic cries of a large crowd! |
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Battle bunny Registered user I'm just that cool Last page view: 5827 days, 22 hours, 52 minutes and 7 seconds ago. |
As to strange objects - if you meet a cyan-colored weapon, you can discover whether it's a mimic from afar. If you hit the ground then it's really a magical thing. (\_/) (o.0) (> <) ( / \ ) Don't click this http://www.mindistortion.net/iwantyoursoul/?i_am=Darkcutter |
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J. Registered user You'll never get rid of me Last page view: 5664 days, 21 hours, 28 minutes and 48 seconds ago. |
I read about the missile damage multipliers on r.g.r.a. If you're feeling happy, don't worry, it'll go away. Originally posted by noob: "I'm everytime amazed how you people know to exploit every single little bug (or not-bug) for elaborated scumming tatics even if the feature seems completely useless or bad." |
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Darren Grey Registered user Last page view: 4240 days, 2 hours, 34 minutes and 28 seconds ago. |
Hrm-hmm, very very interesting. I must've been away from the group for some reason when that was posted. Malte's research is generally very reliable, though there doesn't seem to be conclusive investigation of melee slaying damage. Still, the enormitude of missile damage on crits and slaying is... well, astounding. Very astounding. I guess I'll have to play archers more... Waldenbrook, the dwarven shopkeeper, mumbles: "I'd offer 9 gold pieces for yer dwarven child corpse." |
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Nightmare Registered user Soul Calibur 2 Last page view: 4599 days, 16 hours, 39 minutes and 42 seconds ago. |
DG - I thought the critical hit numbers for missile weapons were off the mark too. x5? Hard to believe. But then, think of a blessed 2d6 dragon slaying arrow one-shotting the Ancient Chaos Wyrm, which has over 500 HPs? I've one shotted fire grues and elementals with a lvl 24 hurthling archer (RIP Samantha) using 1d4 rocks. 1 to 4 points, plus the bonus damage from weapon skill and dexterity and berserker, say 34 x 5 = 170 damage. I think up to x5 is realistic due to the small amount of damage each missile does. Maybe it's like an arrow going right through a monsters eyeball and into their brain, or a bolt going between their ribs and into their heart, or a rock travelling 120mph smashing against their head. Big ouch. "As for me, I feel priveleged to be among the only species able to make scientific inquiries." -unknown "Be sure to keep your distance if you don't have resistance." -DG |
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Molach Registered user Lord of DurisMud Last page view: 5142 days, 8 hours, 28 minutes and 51 seconds ago. |
"Maybe it's like an arrow going right through a monsters eyeball and into their brain, or a bolt going between their ribs and into their heart, or a rock travelling 120mph smashing against their head" Yes, but why not have similar multipliers for melee? A spear of penetration aimed directly at the medulla oblongata of any humanoid would be rather ...painful. If not, shall we say, insanely lethal. But then again mabye the multiplier works like that for melee too, in which case I be quiet now. Mabye it goes like this: Crit = 2x damage. At least. Then a chance to "upgrade" to 3x. Then a chance (smaller) for 4x. And so forth. Mabye 20x is possible too, just very very unlikely. I can dream. 57. It's a vicious environment out there, don't shy from using vicious tactics. Monsters can be poisoned, paralyzed, sickened, blinded, and stuck in a web just like you can. Wands of webbing, paralyzation and poison along with potions of blindness and poison can let you take down enemies many times tougher than yourself. 58. Be paranoid! The game IS out to get you. The one door you didn't check for traps before kicking down has the most lethal trap. 59. Keep your escape path clear when entering high-danger areas or when exploring new areas. Running into the unknown in front of a pursuing monster is not an ideal situation. 60. Practise skills any chance you have. This will allow you to train them at level-up or even advance them spontaneously. Examples: Every time you get hit, switch to coward and apply first aid. Read scroll of warning 20 times (literacy). Pick pockets of monsters (in coward) when you can. 61. Know how to increase your stats, apart from certain hard-to-come-by potions. Carry a heavy load will make you stronger. Read stuff and you get smarter. Eat certain tough corpses to get tougher. Cast spells to gain mana. |
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Darren Grey Registered user Last page view: 4240 days, 2 hours, 34 minutes and 28 seconds ago. |
The results of Malte's testing very clearly show about an equal chance of a 2x, 3x, 4x or 5x multiplier, and damage only being caused in those multiples. He's done his testing quite thoroughly, so I believe those figures. I'm quite sure from my own experience that melee doesn't benefit quite so well. Waldenbrook, the dwarven shopkeeper, mumbles: "I'd offer 9 gold pieces for yer dwarven child corpse." |
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Silfir Registered user Writer of Overly Long Guides Last page view: 4069 days, 3 hours, 16 minutes and 38 seconds ago. |
Um, Molach, don't you think some of your tips are pretty advanced and exploit-y? I don't think pickpocketing every single monster you encounter is something newcomers should grow too attached to. I mean, I know it's free items, but... You drop the golden ball. You kick the golden ball. It slides to the west. Suddenly Harry Potter, the apprentice wizard, appears! "That's not how you play Quidditch! are you even listening?" Which direction? (123456789) 4 Harry Potter, the apprentice wizard, is hit by a bolt of acid! Harry Potter, the apprentice wizard, is annihilated. You hear the ecstatic cries of a large crowd! |
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Doalag Registered user Last page view: 5851 days, 5 hours, 1 minute and 15 seconds ago. |
Darren Grey : About tips for newbie chars, sure there are many I see that a low level char can apply. That would be more cool to get them sorted! :-D I don't want too much read all the hints to let me few chance to discover one or two. But yes I saw many (not all) that can apply to newbie char. Nightmare : Your identify tricks are quite cool, interesting thing to quote, but if that allow to identify better stuff is this really work for curse items? I don't have many experience, but I notice cursed item can be better item, still a problem to get it sticky even if it's a better item it's less a problem during some time. About 59: This hint isn't clear, what "clear" means for this? I noticed often that run back to flee a fight in a dungeon could runs in worse because often random stuff are spawned in your back path. About 61: Cool, I'm almost constantly strained if not more! I noticed eating an ogre brought me 1 str point but I lost one perception point no idea how, I didn't notice/identify the message so no idea when it happened. In another party with the same char just when walking I got +1 to dex, no idea why. The character died some time after! About 60: About pickpocket monsters, I think it's not a so bad idea even for a newbie char, because coward can be very protective. So if you have full health and a fight that doesn't seem too tough you can attempt it. My char don't have this skill so I cannot do it but with pet I practice a lot coward with wait or switch with the pet to train it. For sure I don't do it if me or the pet has too low health or if the fight seems to require more care. That said if intense training can be mildly fun for newbie it's a sort of mildly necessity for those sort of games with skills training. Eventually practice during fights if done with a lot of care can even add a little spice to the training. :-D When I walk in wilderness I often take opportunity to practice Survival. I don't think it increase encounters and when I search food I never got an encounter. That said my char has the Stealthy talent some some skills in stealthy plus good Survival, perhaps this change some game rules for searching food. Also I admit that it's not a so good training tips because mildly fun but for those who aren't bored by it, why not? [Edited 1 time, last edit on 1/10/2008 at 19:13 (GMT -5) by Doalag] |
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noob Registered user Last page view: 5929 days, 5 hours, 46 minutes and 44 seconds ago. |
I know you don't like pickpocketing, Silfir because it generates new items instead of stealing from monster-inventory which you believe being some sort of broken remain from older versions. But what would actually be the point of pickpocketing from inventory when your character kills and loots almost everybody anyway? There have to be some benefit for the skill and the skill is also essential since thiefs exist as a class. The only unbalancing thing about it in my opinion is that it's too easily available for every class. |
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gut Registered user Painted this one too. Last page view: 4898 days, 4 hours, 51 minutes and 24 seconds ago. |
Doalag: > I lost one perception point no idea how, > I didn't notice/identify the message so > no idea when it happened. If you entered a room and recieved a message like 'these walls are covered with mirrors, and you can't stand the sight of your warped self' that is what took that point of perception. If your appearance stat had been over 20 (I think) you would have gained a point of charisma instead. Put me in the 'fool filter', where I belong! |
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Doalag Registered user Last page view: 5851 days, 5 hours, 1 minute and 15 seconds ago. |
Lol yes, it's weird my charisma is 18, not 20 but very pretty anyway! Damit I hope I won't met more mirrors! |
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Nightmare Registered user Soul Calibur 2 Last page view: 4599 days, 16 hours, 39 minutes and 42 seconds ago. |
Doalag - I'm not sure I understand your question about trying to identify items. There are only a few ways to tell if an item is cursed - trying it on and then trying to remove it, dropping it on an altar when your god is at least "pleased" with you, or reading a scroll of identify (or by just looking at it with a character with the Detect Item skill, Priests and Merchants and sometimes bards get this skill). Shopkeepers offer less money for cursed items, that can be a giveaway. Also the appraisal skill often labels cursed items as "fair" or "poor". "As for me, I feel priveleged to be among the only species able to make scientific inquiries." -unknown "Be sure to keep your distance if you don't have resistance." -DG |
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noob Registered user Last page view: 5929 days, 5 hours, 46 minutes and 44 seconds ago. |
One other trick to identify cursed equipment is to drop it and lure a humanoid creature on it to pick it up. Then wait until the monster equips the item: If it's cursed you will get some indicating message (forgot which - something like "glows black" / "welds itself to the monster" ???) Sometimes they won't pick / equip it -> try again, wait longer or try a different monster... |
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Silfir Registered user Writer of Overly Long Guides Last page view: 4069 days, 3 hours, 16 minutes and 38 seconds ago. |
It's kind of my point that Pick Pockets in the current version is useful even if you kill the monster afterwards. Where's the logic in that? If I go around killing monsters for loot and XP, why should I pick their pockets beforehand? No other RPG gives you a reason to do that. The skill should be useful for the cases where you want to steal from people without killing them, for instance if you want to steal from the few neutral monsters you meet, or from the inhabitants of the cities. You would PRACTICE it on the monster in the dungeons to minimize the chance of failure. Thieves as a class have other things going for them: More powerful backstabbing, stun chance on criticals, and the ability to pick locks, disarm traps and so on. Of course, they have a class power concentrating on leet pickpocketing, but farmers can create iron rations from corpses, druids regain hitpoints and powerpoints quicker in the wilderness, and so on and so forth... Making Pick Pockets less cheesy would not hurt too much considering there's already lots of pointless class powers for other classes. You drop the golden ball. You kick the golden ball. It slides to the west. Suddenly Harry Potter, the apprentice wizard, appears! "That's not how you play Quidditch! are you even listening?" Which direction? (123456789) 4 Harry Potter, the apprentice wizard, is hit by a bolt of acid! Harry Potter, the apprentice wizard, is annihilated. You hear the ecstatic cries of a large crowd! |
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Darren Grey Registered user Last page view: 4240 days, 2 hours, 34 minutes and 28 seconds ago. |
Would be cool to pickpocket the orbs, haha... ADOM doesn't have a proper inventory system to allow that sort of thing though. JADE should be much more open to that style of pickpocketing. Waldenbrook, the dwarven shopkeeper, mumbles: "I'd offer 9 gold pieces for yer dwarven child corpse." |
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Molach Registered user Lord of DurisMud Last page view: 5142 days, 8 hours, 28 minutes and 51 seconds ago. |
59: This tip is intentionally vague. "Escape path" and "clear" acan mean what you want it to mean. Dont get caught without an escape route is smart. Advanced players could have teleportation or digging as "escape path". 60: I meant my tip not to be about pickpocketing (I think that was covered earlier), but about raising skills. Pickpocket was given as just an example of a skill you could raise. Sorry if that was confusing. It IS useful, and very probably helpful to pickpocket almost every single monster you meet, bar some dangerous foes. 90% of the monsters one slays through a game are not dangerous, and should be pickpocketed. Too lazy to pickpocket? You deserve to die. Unless your alignment is making you lay off the stealing, that is. First aid is another example, using it at coward is almost always smart. Too lazy? Die. (I would put a smiley here, but I never use them) 62. If this has been covered already, apologies. But it is very good to know so BOHICA: If you are hurt more than 2/3 of your hit points and need escape, be sure to go into coward mode. You will gain faster movement and most likely be faster than your pursuers! (THIS one is from the manual. But I know, big manual) [Edited 1 time, last edit on 1/11/2008 at 07:08 (GMT -5) by Molach] |
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Darren Grey Registered user Last page view: 4240 days, 2 hours, 34 minutes and 28 seconds ago. |
Pickpocketing isn't a chaotic act if you do it against hostile monsters. Can get rather boring to keep doing, but getting something like bracers of war or preserver can be nice, not to mention loads of stat potions. One reason I put off playing archers is that pick pocketing doesn't really suit them much... 62 has been mentioned already, in similar words. It's a fairly hidden one in the manual, and when first playing the game the action point system can be hard to fathom. Waldenbrook, the dwarven shopkeeper, mumbles: "I'd offer 9 gold pieces for yer dwarven child corpse." |
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noob Registered user Last page view: 5929 days, 5 hours, 46 minutes and 44 seconds ago. |
Actually don't bother much about it - whenever you do not attack you should be on coward anyway. [Edited 1 time, last edit on 1/11/2008 at 08:19 (GMT -5) by noob] |
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Molach Registered user Lord of DurisMud Last page view: 5142 days, 8 hours, 28 minutes and 51 seconds ago. |
It IS still good to know nr. 62, even if you are in coward anyway - imagine trying to run from a pack of hill orcs in the wilderness. They always keep up. You cannot escape! So you make a valiant stand and go down in a blaze of glory. Or gory. ..or you remember this trick. When you have been sufficiently hurt, you are suddenly able to move fast enough to escape, and live to kill another day. I have an update to nr 22.(about bookcasting) "[...]but it will cost triple the PP" CHANGE to "but it will cost five times the PP and triple the normal casting time." ("Unless you have the right talent for it...") Has anyone thought of 63. Death is final, game over, the end of the line, the end of the road, the light in the tunnel. So don't die. |
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Darren Grey Registered user Last page view: 4240 days, 2 hours, 34 minutes and 28 seconds ago. |
Hah, I like 63. Book casting costs triple PP. It's easy to go and test this with a new wizard (which I just did to be sure, though it's something I've observed numerous times in the past). But yeah, it does also take triple the time (without the right talents). Waldenbrook, the dwarven shopkeeper, mumbles: "I'd offer 9 gold pieces for yer dwarven child corpse." |
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rmcin329 Registered user Last page view: 5216 days, 15 hours, 20 minutes and 13 seconds ago. |
I know of talents to learn better from books and to decrease the cost of casting out of them, but not to decrease the required time. Good and great book caster(yes you have to get good book caster to get great book caster) will reduce it to only 50% more PP and triple the time. |
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