LTSynergy

LTSynergy was a strategy used by many softcore speed ascenders prior to NS13 that allowed for very high stat gains at all levels. This strategy largely fell out of use after NS13 arrived, when Eye of the Stoat was changed to no longer grant a 100% hit chance when using Lunging Thrust-Smack. The original post may be found here

The basic premise is:

• Use multiple Hockey sticks of furious angry rage, and/or a Stainless steel scarf, or other items to massively boost Monster Level and, therefore, substat point gains from monsters.
• Have a full-weight Hovering Sombrero, which gives more bonus substat points for higher monster levels.
• Have Lunging Thrust-Smack (LTS) and Eye of the Stoat.
• Win combat initiative every time.
• Have equipment, passive skills and/or buffs with enough melee damage boosts that the guaranteed triple-damage LTS hit will kill the monster before it can attack you.
• Maximize Damage Absorption as much as possible; now that monsters gain 1 HP per monster level raised, there is a distinct possibility that a monster will survive the first LTS hit.

Equipment

LTSynergy was very expensive; in fact, if you were an Apathetic Lizardman or even a Normal player, it wouldn't be worth trying, as you needed to have several permanent skills from different classes in order to make it work decently. For ease of explanation, the table below uses the conventions and strictures of the old Dressing For Success page and its various "Maximizing Your..." subpages, even though the LTSynergy was not a game mechanic.

	KOL Deity	Villa	Ascender	Normal	Apathetic Lizardman
Hat	Mohawk wig	Mohawk wig	Mohawk wig	Mohawk wig	Mohawk wig
Shirt	Grimacite guayabera	hipposkin poncho	n/a	n/a	n/a
Pants	Travoltan trousers	Travoltan trousers	penguin shorts	penguin shorts	penguin shorts
Weapon	ice sickle	ice sickle	serpentine sword	serpentine sword	hippo whip
Off-Hand	ice sickle	ice sickle	snake shield	flaming talons	flaming talons
Accessory 1	hockey stick of furious angry rage	stainless steel scarf	stainless steel scarf	ring of aggravate monster	n/a
Accessory 2	hockey stick of furious angry rage	C.A.R.N.I.V.O.R.E. button	C.A.R.N.I.V.O.R.E. button	ring of aggravate monster	n/a
Accessory 3	hockey stick of furious angry rage	C.A.R.N.I.V.O.R.E. button	C.A.R.N.I.V.O.R.E. button	ring of aggravate monster	n/a
Ur-Kel's Aria of Annoyance	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
MCD access	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
The Cupcake of Wrath	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
Claws of the Otter	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Claws of the Walrus	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Sharp Weapon	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Tenacity of the Snapper	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Engorged Weapon	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Rage of the Reindeer	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Jackasses' Symphony of Destruction	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Ticking Clock	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Cletus's Canticle of Celerity	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Springy Fusilli	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Hide of the Otter	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Hide of the Walrus	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Ghostly Shell	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
Astral Shell	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
Tao of the Terrapin	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Total Extra Monster Level	132-213	97-128	82-113	27-47	10
Total Bonus Melee Damage	62	62	60	50	30
Total Bonus Initiative	110%	110%	60%	60%	20%
Total Damage Absorption	810	890	420	260	260

Notes

• The full details of this strategy are on the forum.
• The rough order of prioritization for this layout was: Monster Level, Melee Damage, Initiative, Absorption.
• The bonus monster level is variable in most cases due to the Super-Secret Canadian Mind-Control Device (user set between +0 and +11ML) and Ur-Kel's Aria of Annoyance (+2ML/level, limited here to 11 due to assumptions regarding ascending post-Sorceress). For the KOL Deity, the Grimacite guayabera varies between +0 and +50 ML, depending upon Grimace.