wizard polearm skill question

[SteveYo]

Long-time vanlla nethack player here.
I've been playing an extinctionist wizard. The character is long-since level 30 (4700 HP), but I still have at least one skill slot (attempting to enhance shows three choices offered).

I want to become skilled or a least basic in polearm (currently unskilled). So I'm wielding a halberd, and have scored many more than the requisite 20 hits, but the game is not showing the polearm skill as enhance-able.

I even used drain life to increase the number of open skill slots, but polearm is still not enhance-able.

What am I missing?

[Michael Meyer]

Post by SteveYo
I want to become skilled or a least basic in polearm (currently
unskilled). So I'm wielding a halberd, and have scored many more than
the requisite 20 hits, but the game is not showing the polearm skill
as enhance-able.

Are you using the polearm in the intended way (wielding it, then
'a'pplying it and selecting a spot to hit) or are you just wielding it
and moving into a monster, like you would to attack with most weapons?
The latter doesn't train the skill I think, only if you are actually
applying it and going through the special polearm attack sequence.

By the way, I see five subtly different copies of your post on rgrn,
it's like a spot the differences puzzle. I just picked one to reply to
more or less at random.

- Michael

[SteveYo]

Post by Michael Meyer

Post by SteveYo
I want to become skilled or a least basic in polearm (currently
unskilled). So I'm wielding a halberd, and have scored many more than
the requisite 20 hits, but the game is not showing the polearm skill
as enhance-able.

Are you using the polearm in the intended way (wielding it, then
'a'pplying it and selecting a spot to hit) or are you just wielding it
and moving into a monster, like you would to attack with most weapons?
The latter doesn't train the skill I think, only if you are actually
applying it and going through the special polearm attack sequence.
By the way, I see five subtly different copies of your post on rgrn,
it's like a spot the differences puzzle. I just picked one to reply to
more or less at random.
- Michael

Yes! That was it, thank you. I knew I was missing something!

[Janis Papanagnou]

Post by SteveYo
I want to become skilled or a least basic in polearm (currently
unskilled). So I'm wielding a halberd, and have scored many more than
the requisite 20 hits, but the game is not showing the polearm skill
as enhance-able.

Has your polearm proficiency status meanwhile changed?

Janis