View source for Avatar of Jarlsberg/Strategy

==Mr. Store Items==
===Very useful (HC)===
*'''[[Jarlsberg's pan]]:''' Pretty much required for competitive play. Gives you 2 extra Mysticality stats per combat. Converts <strike>filthy, germ-ridden</strike> otherwise-useless food and booze into [[Cosmic Calorie]]s that can make potions. Greatly increases your survivability by adding 30 DR to the first hit you take each fight. Increases your conjuration yields like [[Early Riser]] (and stacks with it). It also has the same spell damage multiplier as an [[astral statuette]], and gives 8-10 MP regeneration.
*'''[[Tome of Clip Art]]:''' [[Summon Clip Art]]'s [[unbearable light]]s are the best source of [[Yellow ray strategy|disintegration ("yellow rays")]] in the path. Clip Art also provides [[shining halo|shining]], [[frosty halo|frosty]], and [[time halo]]s for +stats, +items, and turngen, respectively; additional banishes on top of the cheese staff via [[crystal skull]]s; and potions like [[cold-filtered water]] to help with challenges like fighting your shadow.
**The [[shining halo]] is not a useful summon if you have [[Jarlsberg's pan]], as the pan gives more mainstat per fight, without requiring the sacrifice of two important equipment slots (weapon and off-hand).
**The [[box of hammers]] can be a viable day 1 summon to bootstrap your run with stats.
**{{plural|Potion of the litterbox}} can give a bit of extra +item in a pinch.
*'''[[Your Mystical Bookshelf|Librams]]:''' Now we're talking. Thanks to Jarlsberg's huge MP pool and MP regeneration ([[Jarlsberg's pan]], [[Jarlsberg's hat]], chefstaves, [[Food Coma]]), librams are of great interest in this path.
**'''[[Summon Party Favor]]:''' As always, [[divine champagne popper]]s are useful for mini-banishing and free runaways.  [[Divine cracker]]s can be used for stubborn worm glands, or to shave a few turns in the hedge maze.  Remember that the chance for an uncommon favor is halved each time you receive one.
**'''[[Summon BRICKOs]]:''' Lots of summons means lots of BRICKO fights, but remember that you're limited to 3 eye bricks per day. Plays well with [[resolution: be smarter|resolutions]] and [[O'RLY manual]]s.
**'''[[Summon Resolutions]]:''' The main attractions here are [[resolution: be smarter|"smarter"]] and [[resolution: be happier|"happier"]].  The offstat resolutions don't hurt either -- your offstats help you equip better survival gear, boost your HP pool, and reduce damage taken.  Your odds for a "smarter" resolution aren't great, but you'll always be able to use more.
**'''[[Summon Candy Heart]]:''' Though these are less useful now that mainstat requirements for zones have been removed, [[yellow candy heart]]s' +20% initiative is handy, and [[lavender candy heart]]s' +10% items is always nice to have.
**The other two tomes are less useful; [[Summon Love Songs]] requires intense usage to maximize buff potential, and the only relevant result of [[Summon Dice]] is the 2d10 stat gain.
*'''[[Garden]] items'''
**'''[[A Bone Garden]]''' provides [[skeleton skis]], whose init bonus makes a ton of difference when combined with [[Never Late for Dinner]]. The [[skeletal skiff]] shaves at least 9 turns from your run (realistically 12), and [[Skeletal Buddy]] gives bonus stats once you're done with those two items.
**'''[[A Peppermint Patch]]''' gives more active benefits than skeletons -- [[peppermint twist]]s give +40% of valuable initiative, [[peppermint crook]]s help with the Filthworms, and [[peppermint parasol]]s provide free runaways in a path that otherwise has few (in HC, anyway).
**'''[[A Pumpkin Patch]]''' is arguably the least useful garden, as the [[pumpkin bomb]]'s yellow ray function is outshined (pun intended) by unbearable lights. [[Pumpkin juice]] does provide +20% items, however, and if you don't have [[Summon Clip Art]], yellow rays are still quite valuable.
*'''[[Clan VIP Lounge key]]'''
**'''[[An Olympic-Sized Swimming Pool]]''' is one of the main VIP attractions in this path, because [[Chocolatesphere]] and the ballroom song together are only -20% combat; [[Silent Running]] gets you to -25%.
**'''[[A Pool Table]]''' is also of use, particularly for its +50% initiative buff (that also comes with a handy +10% items).
**'''[[A Looking Glass]]''''s buffs can give you +25 max MP for early-game conjuration, +50 max HP for survivability, and [[Tea party strategy|several other useful effects]].
**The '''[[April Shower]]''' can make a [[double-ice cap]] or [[double-ice britches]] for Avatars who are taking hits, and otherwise provides a stat boost via [[Thaumodynamic]].
**'''[[A Relaxing Hot Tub]]''''s healing may be of interest to Avatars at several points during a run.

===Slightly useful (HC)===

*'''Other [[Your Mystical Bookshelf|Tomes]]:''' While not as consistent or effective as Clip Art, some other tomes have uses in AoJ. In particular, two casts of [[Summon Rad Libs]] can provide [[papier-mâché toothpicks]] (40 turns of [[Eyes Wide Propped|+25% items]]), and [[Summon Stickers]] can yield huge item boosts from [[unicorn sticker]]s. Most items crafted from [[sugar sheet]]s are of limited use, however, and the best result from [[Summon Snowcones]] is a 1/5 chance for a [[blue snowcone]].
*'''Correspondents'''
**'''[[GameInformPowerDailyPro subscription card]]s''' provide [[dungeoneering kit]]s for free, whose scrolls of [[Puddingskin]] and [[Protection from Bad Stuff]] can be very helpful for survivability and elemental tests without [[Oilsphere]], respectively. The dungeons themselves take a lot of turns, but the [[Raiments of the Final Boss]] are exceptionally useful if you're not concerned with your turncount.
**'''[[My Own Pen Pal kit]]''' is outshined by the dungeoneering kit, unfortunately, as [[Jarlsberg's hat]] and [[Chefstaff|chefstaffs]] outperform the [[Van der Graaf helmet]] and [[electric crutch]]. The [[shock belt]] may be useful to Avatars who are taking hits and did not craft a [[double-ice cap]], however.
***The shock belt virtually guarantees success against [[Shadow opponent|your shadow]] using only garters/poultices (it prevents the shadow from attacking you, one or more times, giving you extra rounds).  If you have both correspondents, it may be worth switching to the Pen Pal just before your final day, to pick up the shock belt for the shadow and the level 12/13 bosses.
*'''[[Camp Scout backpack]] (HC):''' None of the food or booze is usable, but the [[CSA fire-starting kit]] provides HP and MP regen, [[Camp Scout pup tent]]s are a full heal once per day, and the [[CSA bravery badge]] helps shore up your HP and moxie when needed.
*The '''[[Sorcerers of the Shore Grimoire]]''''s snack voucher can help you kill tough bosses with the [[Pisces in the Skyces|+150% spell damage]] buff from [[tobiko marble soda]].
*[[McPhee's Grimoire of Hilarious Object Summoning]] can sometimes give the [[Amulet of Yendor]] which will increase damage output of Jarlsberg spells, since it increases MP cost. ([[Black body spray]] has the same effect, but is only available in the late game.  Yes, they stack.)  Increasing spell damage is most helpful in low-skill runs, when you do not have [[Blend]] or [[Slice]].

===Very useful (SC)===
*[[Juju Mojo Mask]]: Stats.  MP regeneration.  Stats.  Extra spell damage.  Permits [[tower killing]] (with a few other skills/items).  And oh yeah, it gives you a lot of stats.
*[[Can of Rain-Doh]]: One pull gets you [[Rain-Doh black box|5 putty uses per day]] (or a 6th putty use if you are also pulling a [[Spooky Putty sheet]]); [[Rain-Doh red wings|red wings]] for initiative (you ''always'' want more initiative); and extra in-combat [[Rain-Doh blue balls|stunning + damage]] and [[Rain-Doh indigo cup|healing]].  The [[Rain-Doh green lantern|green lantern]] can also raise your MP pool for early-game conjuration.
*[[Greatest American Pants]]: Gives you free runaways, and lets you boost [[Super Vision|+item]] or [[Super Structure|elemental resistance + damage absorption]] a few times a day.  The [[Super Skill]] activation is also used in the most common [[tower killing]] strategy.

===Slightly useful (SC)===
*[[Boris's Helm (askew)]] gives +25% initiative, +15 [[Monster Level|ML]], 70 more [[Damage Absorption|DA]], and (usually) more MP regeneration than [[Jarlsberg's hat]].
*[[Plastic vampire fangs]]: Can be used once per day for a huge stat-gain adventure.  May also be worn in combat, to help with survivability or healing.  Boosts your max HP and MP pools, which can be useful for early-game conjuration or for redeeming [[A-Boo clue]]s.
*[[Loathing Legion knife]]: Can be worn for [[Loathing Legion necktie|+4 stats per fight]] or [[Loathing Legion rollerblades|+50% initiative]] or [[Loathing Legion pizza stone|elemental resistance]].  If you're under [[The Blender]], lets you untinker the [[bridge]], thereby skipping the untinkerer's screwdriver quest.
*[[Operation Patriot Shield]]: Only pull this if you don't have access to [[Jarlsberg's pan]].  Gives stats (but not as many as the pan), and lets you [[Throw Shield|guarantee a critical hit]] with one spell per fight.  It also gives spell damage, MP regeneration, and a respectable amount of [[Damage Reduction]].  (If you don't have the pan, this actually moves up from "slight useful" to "very useful".)

==Moon Sign==
This challenge path is a bit more flexible with its choice of moon sign:
*'''[[The Wallaby]] (Knoll):''' Most paths gain the most benefits from a Knoll sign, and Jarlsberg is only a little different. While you won't use the mushroom field, free meatsmithing, or have as much use for the free meatcar, a 0-turn [[frilly skirt]] is still useful for [[The Infiltrationist]] and a [[meat maid]], the [[detuned radio]] is available from the get-go, and you can complete the [[Untinker Quest]] in zero turns as well. The path's actual bonus, +20% spell damage, is marginal, but more useful than the +5 turns/day skills if you are comfortably making your target daycount.
*'''[[The Blender]] (Gnomads):''' Especially useful for Normal (softcore) players, who can purchase a bus pass right away and equip the [[astral shirt]], a [[hairshirt]], or a [[Grimacite guayabera]]. This path also lets you skip the South of the Border items (saving a valuable clover), unlocks an additional +10% items from [[Powers of Observatiogn]], and can help you eke out a little more initiative and ML via [[marzipan skull]]s ([[Hombre Muerto Caminando]]) and [[handsomeness potion]]s ([[Mysteriously Handsome]]). Blender's +5 turns per day is also useful for hitting daycount targets.
*'''[[The Opossum]] (Canadia):''' This sign may appeal to Hardcore players (who can't pull [[smut orc keepsake box|keepsake boxes]]) for the [[logging axe]] to speed up the level 9 quest a bit, and +5 turns per day from Opossum's effect is nothing to sneeze at. Otherwise, though, the path provides nothing of value; [[Jewelrymaking]]'s yields are eclipsed by your chefstaffs.
*Also worth mentioning is [[The Marmot]], due to the exceptional usefulness of clovers in this path, but the lost Mysticality stat gains are difficult to recuperate.

==Astral Consumables==
Jarlsberg won't eat or drink anything he didn't make, even if they're astral. However, {{plural|astral energy drink}} are exempt from this rule, and therefore your only option.

==Astral Gear==
* Avatars of Jarlsberg can't use their weapons to attack, so anything that improves [[Weapon Damage]] is largely useless. [[astral pet sweater]] also has no use, since you can only use companions.
* [[astral statuette]] improves your damage output considerably and provides extra adventures per day. Highly recommended if you don't have a [[Jarlsberg's pan]].
* [[astral ring]] is an all-around strong item, providing three important stats for AoJ. Recommended if you have trouble maintaining MP.
* [[astral bracer]] reduces your MP usage per adventure, '''but''' it reduces your damage output due to how AoJ spells' damage cap scales with MP used. While not good for low-MP spells, it can be more useful for high-MP spells, in cases where you don't need to deal as much damage. However, this utility is largely overshadowed by the [[astral statuette]].
* If you have trouble maintaining HP, an [[astral shield]] may help with this issue. While your magical prowess is diminished, it gives extra HP, HP regen and damage reduction, making you near-invincible early game.
* [[astral belt]] is probably the best choice for speed, once you have the skill points to handle combat with it.
* [[astral mask]] is never a bad choice.  You can always use more item drops.
* [[astral shirt]] cannot be worn unless you ascend under a Gnome sign and buy [[Torso Awaregness]] in run.  If you're doing this in softcore, you'd be better off pulling a [[cane-mail shirt]] (or similar) instead.  Access to the Beach in hardcore will probably come too late for the shirt to give much benefit, so in both cases, the astral shirt is a fairly poor choice.

==Skills==
The following is an analysis of all of the skills available in Avatar of Jarlsberg. Some skills will be more desirable after you bank skill points.

===Intrinsic===
* [[Curdle]]: Your most basic spell. Other than being the primary source of damage on first few levels, costing no MP and opening up half the basic boozes, there's not much to say.

===The Path of Breakfast===
* [[Boil]]: A great early-game spell for AoJ. It's the first skill in the tree, so you can pick it up immediately after [[Curdle]] starts becoming weak. It is normally capped at 50 points of damage, so it may weaken without boosting your bonus spell damage multiplier. It is {{element|hot|}}-aligned, which means another spell may be required for the Friars.
* [[The Most Important Meal]]: An important skill for increasing adventure gains, providing 3-21 adventures per day. Once your food options open up as you bank skill points, you can use it more effectively to maximize adventure gains. It also gives a large amount of substats, as much as 60 to 100+ Mysticality substats. Essential for speeding up runs.
* [[Conjure Eggs]]: Eggs do a bit of everything. They're a easy to fill building block in 4, 5, and 7 fullness foods. [[Staff of the Healthy Breakfast]] is also great for maintaining HP early game. 
* [[Egg Man]]: +50% item drops. (+75% with [[Working Lunch]]). Probably the most useful of all the familiars. It is also Jarlsberg's biggest item drop booster.
* [[Conjure Dough]]: Allows you to summon dough, as well as the [[Staff of the Staff of Life]], which gives good HP and MP regen, max HP and spell damage, as well as a Jiggle effect that restores your HP to full. Since Avatars of Jarlsberg lack a healing skill, this chefstaff is a strong, but limited source of healing.
* [[Early Riser]]: You can conjure 1 extra food item per cast. Its effectiveness increases as you gain Stomach/Liver capacity and need more consumables to fill them.
* [[Fry]]: Once your 5-MP spell doesn't deal enough damage, Fry is an excellent mid-to-late game spell to use, dealing high elemental damage for a reasonable cost. It is also {{Element|sleaze|}}-aligned which makes it perfect for dealing with hippies in the level 12 quest.
* [[Coffeesphere]]: Increases +Combat%. Lets your complete the Lighthouse sub-quest at a reasonable time, but other than optimizing speedruns, it's not essential.

===The Path of Lunch===
* [[Conjure Vegetables]]: The most useful aspect of Vegetables is that you can use it to make {{plural|Das Sauerlager}}. While it's only "decent" booze, it's superior to "crappy" {{plural|mediocre lager}}.
* [[Radish Horse]]: Increases combat initiative. Probably the weakest of the 4 familiars, but may be useful in aiding survival.
* [[Chop]]: For 5 MP it's non-elemental. It is an uncapped spell, and it may be useful in place of [[Boil]] or [[Freeze]] if you're dealing with an elementally-aligned enemy. It is also required in a 4 fullness, 5 fullness, and 6 fullness food, and is needed to make {{plural|Vodka Dog}}.
* [[Conjure Cheese]]: Cheese is required in 2 of the 3 7 fullness foods. It's primary draw is the [[Staff of the Standalone Cheese]], which allows players to banish 5 monsters per day.
* [[Slice]]: A high-level physical damage spell, a non-elemental counterpart to [[Fry]]. It also weakens monsters as a bonus. It's also required for two of the three 7-fullness foods.
* [[Working Lunch]]: Boosts companion effects by 50%, equivalent to +25% item drops with the Egg Man or +10 ML with the Cream Puff.
* [[Lunch Like a King]]: +5 Stomach Capacity. Extra stomach capacity is always a good thing, but investing points to obtain this skill won't give much returns unless you can make good foods. Hard to use effectively with low skill points, but is a powerful skill to have once your food options open up.
* [[Oilsphere (skill)|Oilsphere]]: Gives serious (+3 levels) resistance to all elements. Decent in passing various elemental tasks, a bit more is still required to make it to the [[Icy Peak]] without an outfit handy.

===The Path of Dinner===
* [[Bake]]: Deals damage over time. Largely a weak combat spell, since you should be focused on one-shotting monsters.
* [[Food Coma]]: Gives 10 free rests, and rests fully restore MP. Great for maintaining MP, as well as healing slightly. With resting now removing [[Beaten Up]], it's also good for weaker players who find themselves getting Beaten Up a few times.
* [[Conjure Potato]]: 4 of the 7 good quality drinks require you to be able to conjure potatoes. 
* [[Hippotatomous]]: Gives +3 substats, like a Volleyball-type familiar. A great companion to have throughout the game, and is more useful the earlier you get it. As an added bonus, it also blocks attacks occasionally.
* [[Conjure Meat Product]]: Conjures meat, which you can use to craft the [[Staff of the All-Steak]], which has a Jiggle effect that greatly increases item drops. Very useful if you're trying to get an important item to drop ASAP.
* [[Never Late for Dinner]]: Gives 10 adventures per day, as well as +50% Combat Initiative. The bonus initiative almost guarantees you the first move, saving you HP and allowing you to handle large ML boosts. A good skill overall.
* [[Grill]]: The most expensive combat spell. While its steep MP cost can be a pain to maintain, it is good in situations where you need to deal a lot of damage, particularly against the bosses.
* [[Gristlesphere]]: Increases ML. Gives as much ML as the [[Cream Puff]] without [[Working Lunch]], but does not take up a companion slot. Largely a skill used for speed runs.

===The Path of Dessert===
* [[Conjure Fruit]]: Fruits have minimal uses in foods (the only noteworthy food you can craft from it being the [[Omega Sundae]]), but they are used to make [[adequate rum]], a component for half the higher-level boozes.
* [[Best Served Cold (skill)|Best Served Cold]]: Gives +100% Spell Damage. A very strong damage booster, allowing you to take out even the toughest of monsters, plus you can get it early in the tree. It's almost essential to have against the final boss.
* [[Freeze]]: The {{element|cold|}}-aligned counterpart to [[Boil]], although it's a tier 2 skill in the path. It's slightly more useful than Boil as a combat skill since you can use it for the Friars and the lack of cold-aligned monsters in general.  Freeze also does double damage to both sides of the Hippy/Frat war, making it virtually unstoppable when combined with [[Best Served Cold (skill)|Best Served Cold]]
* [[Nightcap]]: Gives an additional 5 Liver capacity. While a strong skill to have, filling up on good boozes combined with [[Liver of Steel]] will be difficult without a surplus of ingredients and a high number of skill points.
* [[Conjure Cream]]: Conjures cream, which is a component for [[Disappointed Russian]] and [[Omega Sundae]], as well as the [[Consummate sour cream]], one of two 1-fullness foods. It's also used for crafting the [[Staff of the Cream of the Cream]], which has a jiggle effect similar to [[Transcendent Olfaction]].
* [[Blend]]: Stuns monsters for a few rounds. Combined with a high-MP spell, it makes boss fights trivial.
* [[Cream Puff]]: A companion that gives 20 ML. While it takes up a Companion slot, if you can handle the ML, it can speed up runs considerably, especially with [[Working Lunch]].
* [[Chocolatesphere]]: Boosts -Combat%. While -Combat is great overall, make sure you can create good foods/drinks before you pick this up.

==Skill Progression==
The most intriguing aspect of Avatar of Jarlsberg (for many of us) is the complexity of the skill trees.  However, this complexity can be overwhelming at first, and the best choice is not always clear.  A skill that ''looks'' really useful may turn out to be a poor choice if it does not lead to better food, as this cripples your turn generation.

Strategies that focus on a ''synergy'' of skills for producing good food as quickly as possible tend to produce dramatically faster runs than strategies that merely focus on "quality of life" skills.  While this is true in all runs, the difference is really astonishing in Jarlsberg, because you can't just pull or farm better food by spending a few turns.  Poor skill selection will trap you into a situation where you ''cannot'' improve your turn generation at all, adding several days to the run.

So, it is helpful to identify your overall skill goals, and plan a progression that will get you to those goals in a timely fashion.  There are several ''good'' skill goals you can aim for (and many more bad choices, unfortunately).  Some of them are interchangeable, and some of them have overlapping skill prerequisites that make them work well together.

===Skill Progression Goals===
*[[The Most Important Meal]]: Gives 3x the stats, and (3x Fullness) extra turns, from the first food consumed each day.  This means +18 or +21 turns per day, and possibly over 100 extra Mysticality stats, depending on the food.
*[[Never Late For Dinner]]: Gives +10 turns per day, and gives +50% initiative, making it a critical survival skill.
*[[sublime stew]]: The easiest awesome-or-better food you can make.  This should be the staple of your diet for the first several runs.  This requires 6 skills: [[Conjure Vegetables]], [[Boil]], [[Bake]], [[Conjure Potato]], [[Conjure Meat Product]] and [[Grill]].  Grill is the most powerful direct damage spell in the entire tree, and Meat Product is a prerequisite for [[Never Late For Dinner]] as well, so this goal plays well with others.
*[[Chocolatesphere (skill)|Chocolatesphere]]: A powerful combat rate modifier skill, which will easily save 100 or more turns over the course of a run.  Getting here requires going through [[Conjure Fruit]], [[Freeze]], [[Conjure Cream]] and [[Cream Puff]], so you get the +ML companion "for free" along the way.  Conjure Cream is also a prerequisite for:
*[[Blend]]: A powerful combat stunning skill, as well as a skill needed to make {{plural|Chunky Mary}}, the best booze available in the path.
*[[Ultimate Breakfast Sandwich]]: One of the EPIC foods.  This requires 11 skills, 5 of which are the same skills required for [[sublime stew]] (all but [[Grill]]).  This is a reachable late-game goal in some runs that begin with sublime stew.
*[[Omega Sundae]]: Another EPIC food.  This requires 11 skills, but very different ones than [[Ultimate Breakfast Sandwich]].  Since [[Blend]] is one of the skills needed here, this synergizes well with runs that are aiming for Blend and/or [[Chocolatesphere (skill)|Chocolatesphere]].  The downside of Omega Sundae is that if you want to eat 2 of them, you need 4 Cream -- which means you also need either [[Early Riser]] or [[Jarlsberg's pan]].
*[[Egg Man]]: +50% items.  Enough said.  Well, almost: you also get [[Conjure Eggs|Eggs]] along the way, which gets you a [[Staff of the Healthy Breakfast|+10% item chefstaff]].  Synergizes well with [[Ultimate Breakfast Sandwich]] or [[Omega Sundae]], as you only need to spend 1 extra point.
*[[Lunch Like a King]]: +5 stomach lets you eat 2 awesome or EPIC foods instead of just 1.  This is a very powerful turn generation skill.

==Chefstaves==
Avatars of Jarlsberg can wield chefstaves like a Pastamancer or Sauceror (albeit without any prerequisites). While they tend to be weaker in the best standard chefstaves in terms of pure spell damage boost, they come with other helpful effects and come with powerful Jiggle effects that can speed up a run considerably.

Chefstaves are grouped in two tiers, the no-requirement tier and the 50 Mysticality tier.

===Tier 1 Chefstaves===
*[[Staff of the Healthy Breakfast]] (Egg): The most useful chefstaff of the tier overall. The Max HP bonus can help survive a blow from stronger monsters, and provides an always-useful item drop bonus. The Jiggle effect heals you while stunning monsters, effectively turning it into a 10-15 HP Regen per (combat) adventure. Very useful considering AoJ lacks a healing spell.
*[[Staff of Fruit Salad]] (Fruit): Gives a +10 Moxie boosts, which can come in handy early-game if you can use it to reach the [[Safe Adventuring]] threshold. The Jiggle effect is outclassed by [[Boil]] or [[Freeze]] in damage.
*[[Staff of the Light Lunch]] (Vegetable): Provides a small [[Combat Initiative]], which you could take advantage of early game. With a little luck, it could potentially save more HP than the Staff of the Healthy Breakfast. Its Jiggle effect is outdone by [[Freeze]] in damage.
*[[Staff of the Hearty Dinner]] (Potato): Provides a small [[Damage Reduction]], and the Jiggle effect weakens and stuns monsters. While not a bad effect, it's typically outdone by the Staff of the Healthy Breakfast.

===Tier 2 Chefstaves===
*[[Staff of the Staff of Life]] (Dough): Provides massive convenience in a run, and a great staff to have overall. It comes with a nice boost of Max HP and provides HP Regen, and with some Initiative you won't be desperate for healing any more. In addition, its Jiggle effect fully restore all HP and stuns monsters, which makes the Level 12 and 13 bosses very doable without [[Blend]]. While maintaining HP becomes a non-issue with this staff, it does not provide anything that actually speeds up a run.
*[[Staff of the Standalone Cheese]] (Cheese): Provides a Combat Initiative boost which is while decent, it's not the main draw of the staff. Its main draw is its Jiggle effect, which [[banishing|banishes]] monsters. Banishment can speed up certain portions of a run greatly, but remember you can only banish 5 monsters per day. They stay banished until rollover, so banishing early can save you a Jiggle for tomorrow.
*[[Staff of the All-Steak]] (Meat Product): Provides a decent Damage Reduction bonus, and has Jiggle effect that greatly boosts item drops. Very useful if you're looking for an important item to drop. For reference, you will most likely finish [[The Poop Deck]] with the Jiggle effect on your first try.
*[[Staff of the Cream of the Cream]] (Cream): Provides a large Moxie boosts, which can be used for Safe Adventuring on tougher areas. It also has a Jiggle effect similar to [[Transcendent Olfaction]]. Staff of the Standalone Cheese is limited by its 5/day cap, so this staff can be used in its stead.

==Companions==

==General Tips/Tricks==
'''Combat'''
*Jarlsberg truly embodies the traditional "glass cannon" wizard. Your HP and Moxie are low, and [[Jarlsberg's hat]] (which you want equipped as often as possible in Hardcore) provides little DA. As you advance through Avatar of Jarlsberg skill points, you'll be fighting in one of two ways:
**''Taking a hit'' and then killing the monster with either Blend and small spells, a single big spell for a one-shot kill, or a [[double-ice cap]] stun to give more breathing room. [[Jarlsberg's pan]] and its 30 DR on the first monster hit of a fight helps a lot with this strategy, as will HP boosters such as [[Thick-Skinned (effect)|Thick-Skinned]] from the tea party and [[Puddingskin]] from the [[dungeoneering kit]]. The [[Hippotatomous]] companion's blocking may save you from taking a hit at all. At low levels, the Moxie from [[Staff of Fruit Salad]] and DR on [[Staff of the Hearty Dinner]] will reduce damage, and [[Staff of the Healthy Breakfast]] will increase your HP. At higher levels, the cream, dough, and meat staffs will provide better versions of the same bonuses, respectively.
**''Getting the jump'' and killing the monster right away with Blend or a single nuke. Knowing monsters' initiative values and [[Combat_Initiative#How_Initiative_Works|how +ML affects initiative]] is helpful for this method of play. You don't need to worry about your HP or DA/DR -- just your initiative. The [[Radish Horse]] helps here. [[Never Late for Dinner]] is critical to this strategy; [[Staff of the Light Lunch]] and especially [[Staff of the Standalone Cheese]] are very helpful; and [[skeleton skis]], [[infernal insoles]], and the [[makeshift skirt]] will all contribute as well.
*Know your [[Elements]]. Exploiting elemental weaknesses will save you MP and possibly turns of Beaten Up.

'''Quests'''
*Because [[Chocolatesphere]] only gives -15% combat, you'll want some combination of the [[Strung-Up Quartet]], [[Silent Running]], a [[ring of conflict]], and/or [[invisibility potion]]s to get to -25%.
*Since you don't have to spend meat on skills (or kitchen equipment or a meat-smithing hammer, for that matter), buying a bus pass may be a better alternative to farming for a bitchin' meatcar if you do not have access to [[Inside Degrassi Knoll]].

'''Consumption'''
*Maximize your yield by knowing you average adventure gains. Generally, you should focus on eating an EPIC/awesome food while avoiding consummate foods. This holds especially true if you have [[The Most Important Meal]]. To demonstrate, at 10 fullness:
** Size 7 <span style="color: blueviolet;">EPIC</span> food + size 3 consummate food = (7 * 5) ''(+ (7 * 3))'' + (3 * 1.5) = 35 ''(+ 21'') + 4.5 = '''60.5 (39.5)'''
** Size 6 <span style="color: blue;">awesome</span> food + size 4 decent food = (6 * 4) ''(+ (6 * 3))'' + (4 * 2) = 24 ''(+ 18)'' + 8 = '''50 (32)'''
** Size 6 <span style="color: blue;">awesome</span> food + size 4 consummate food = (6 * 4) ''(+ (6 * 3))'' + (4 * 1.5) = 24 ''(+ 18)'' + 6 = '''48 (30)'''
** 2 size 5 <span style="color: green;">good</span> foods = 2(5 * 3) ''(+ (5 * 3))'' = 2(15) ''(+ 15)'' = '''45 (30)'''
* With [[Lunch Like a King]], 2 EPIC foods yield the highest adventure gain, but for those who may lack that option, here's a list of food combinations by expected adventure gains:
** 2 size 7 <span style="color: blueviolet;">EPIC</span> food + size 1 consummate food = 2(7 * 5) ''(+ (7 * 3))'' + (1 * 1) = 2(35) ''(+ 21)'' + 1 = '''92 (71)'''
** Size 7 <span style="color: blueviolet;">EPIC</span> food + size 6 <span style="color: blue;">awesome</span> food + size 2 consummate food = (7 * 5) ''(+ (7 * 3))'' + (6 * 4) + (2 * 1.5) = 35 ''(+ 21)'' + 24 + 3 = '''83 (62)'''
** Size 7 <span style="color: blueviolet;">EPIC</span> food + 2 size 4 decent foods = (7 * 5) ''(+ (7 * 3))'' + 2(4 * 2) = 35 ''(+ 21)'' + 2(8) = '''72 (51)'''
** 2 size 6 <span style="color: blue;">awesome</span> foods + size 3 consummate food = 2(6 * 4) ''(+ (6 * 3))'' + (3 * 1.5) = 2(24) ''(+ 18)'' + 4.5 = '''70.5 (52.5)'''
** Size 7 <span style="color: blueviolet;">EPIC</span> food + size 5 <span style="color: green;">good</span> food + size 3 consummate food = (7 * 5) ''(+ (7 * 3))'' + (5 * 3) + (3 * 1.5) = 35 ''(+ 21)'' + 15 + 4.5 = '''69.5 (54.5)'''
** Size 6 <span style="color: blue;">awesome</span> food + size 5 <span style="color: green;">good</span> food + size 4 decent food = (6 * 4) ''(+ (6 * 3))'' + (5 * 3) + (4 * 2) = 24 ''(+ 18)'' + 15 + 8 = '''65 (47)'''
** 3 size 5 <span style="color: green;">good</span> foods = 3(5 * 3) ''(+ (5 * 3))'' = 3(15) ''(+ 15)'' = '''60 (45)'''

==Quests==

[[Category:Ascension Strategy]]