Here are a few basic tips to help you get started:
  • Choose a good class. Wizards, Tourists, Healers, and Archeologists are fun to play, but are highly dependent on a deep knowledge of the game and a meticulous strategy. Knights and Monks are powerful and have some nice starting perks, but have many quirks and limitations that require constant attention and will likely hold a new player back. Samurai, Valkyries, and Barbarians are nice starting classes that are likely to give you the most bang for your buck if you are new to NetHack. They are powerful and resilient from the very beginning of the game, and only get better as you explore and progress. The first character I ever ascended was a Healer, following a strange combination of high risk metastrategies, which took me years of playing and planning. Much of that time could have probably been shaven off if I'd stuck with a more powerful, less situational character. If in doubt, choose Dwarven Valkyrie.
  • Travel light. Don't allow yourself to become Burdened or worse. When you are weighed down, nearly every aspect of your character's output is penalized in some way. Don't bother with heavy objects that you don't need, and consider making a stash with things that aren't immediately useful for you. You can always come back for them later.
  • Try everything and take notes. Eat every corpse you come upon. Read every scroll and quaff every potion that you find. Try on all of the strange gear and clothing that you stumble upon. Kick sinks. Quaff fountains. Kick a locked door down an #force a locked chest open. Wipe your face off. Switch to your alternate weapon slot and equip another weapon and type #twoweapon. #pray to your god. #rub that lamp you found. Drop all of your belongings on an altar. [a]pply all of those tools that you're lugging around. Try to #engrave messages on the floor with your wands. A lot of these things will likely get you killed, but you'll learn something almost every time, and knowledge is the most powerful tool you have in this game.
  • nethackwiki.com