Heavy - Revision history

Hordes: /* Strategy */

2026-01-17T18:44:59Z

‎Strategy

Hordes at 18:42, 17 January 2026

2026-01-17T18:42:06Z

Hordes: consistency with speed brand

2023-11-29T01:31:59Z

consistency with speed brand

Hordes: +refs, note on rounding rules

2023-11-28T23:14:30Z

+refs, note on rounding rules

Hordes at 16:55, 28 October 2023

2023-10-28T16:55:58Z

Hordes: /* Risks of >1.0 attack delay */

2023-09-21T01:46:33Z

‎Risks of >1.0 attack delay

Hordes: /* Risks of >1.0 attack delay */

2023-09-21T01:43:14Z

‎Risks of >1.0 attack delay

Hordes: re-focus the example on DE annihilators - 34*2 damage isn't as evocative

2023-09-21T01:26:51Z

re-focus the example on DE annihilators - 34*2 damage isn't as evocative

Hordes: new format

2023-09-02T22:19:48Z

new format

Hordes: fix wording

2023-08-22T08:09:42Z

fix wording

@@ Line 10: / Line 10: @@
 ==Strategy==
-Heavy offers a slightly weaker damage boost than [[flaming]] or [[freezing]], but has the benefit of being irresistible. In an average situation, heavy is competitive with those brands. It has a clear superiority against high AC or many resistances. Conversely, it is clearly worse for [[slaying]]-reliant weapons, like [[quick blade]]s. Heavy is also poor for species with strong aux attacks, such as [[Tengu]] or [[Vine Stalker]].
+Heavy offers a slightly weaker damage boost than [[flaming]] or [[freezing]], but has the benefit of being irresistible. In an average situation, heavy is competitive with those brands. It has a clear superiority against monsters with high AC or many resistances. Conversely, it is clearly worse for [[slaying]]-reliant weapons, like [[quick blade]]s. Heavy is also poor for species with strong aux attacks, such as [[Tengu]] or [[Vine Stalker]].
 In addition, heavy weapons are less impacted by shield/armour encumbrance. For example, lets say armour increases attack delay by +0.1 decaAut:

@@ Line 3: / Line 3: @@
 The '''heavy''' [[brand]] does the following:
-*Adds +80% base damage, but take 50% longer to swing.<ref>{{source ref|0.30.1|fight.cc|1356}}</ref><ref>{{source ref|0.30.1|fight.cc|992}}</ref>  This results in an average of +20% physical damage.
+*Adds +80% base damage, but take 50% longer to swing.<ref>{{source ref|0.30.1|fight.cc|1356}}</ref><ref>{{source ref|0.30.1|fight.cc|992}}</ref>  This results in an average of +20% physical base damage.
 **The penalty to [[attack speed]] is applied after skill, but before the effects of [[shield]] and [[armour encumbrance]].
 **Both base damage and delay are rounded in a weighted manner. For example, a weapon with 16.2 base damage would have a 20% chance to act as 17 base damage, and an 80% chance to act as 16 base damage.
-Compared to brands like [[flaming]] and [[freezing]], heavy weapons are reduced less by [[AC]], but receive less benefit from [[slaying]] and will activate less [[auxiliary attack]]s.
+Compared to brands like [[flaming]] and [[freezing]], heavy weapons are penalized less by [[AC]], but receive less benefit from [[slaying]] and will activate less [[auxiliary attack]]s.
 ==Strategy==
-Heavy offers a slightly weaker damage boost than [[flaming]] or [[freezing]], but has the benefit of being irresistible. In an average situation, heavy is competitive with those brands. It has a clear superiority against high AC. Conversely, it is clearly worse for [[slaying]]-reliant weapons, like [[quick blade]]s. Heavy is also poor for species with strong aux attacks, such as [[Tengu]] or [[Vine Stalker]].
+Heavy offers a slightly weaker damage boost than [[flaming]] or [[freezing]], but has the benefit of being irresistible. In an average situation, heavy is competitive with those brands. It has a clear superiority against high AC or many resistances. Conversely, it is clearly worse for [[slaying]]-reliant weapons, like [[quick blade]]s. Heavy is also poor for species with strong aux attacks, such as [[Tengu]] or [[Vine Stalker]].
 In addition, heavy weapons are less impacted by shield/armour encumbrance. For example, lets say armour increases attack delay by +0.1 decaAut:

@@ Line 4: / Line 4: @@
 The '''heavy''' [[brand]] does the following:
 *Adds +80% base damage, but take 50% longer to swing.<ref>{{source ref|0.30.1|fight.cc|1356}}</ref><ref>{{source ref|0.30.1|fight.cc|992}}</ref>  This results in an average of +20% physical damage.
 **Both base damage and delay are rounded in a weighted manner. For example, a weapon with 16.2 base damage would have a 20% chance to act as 17 base damage, and an 80% chance to act as 16 base damage.
 Compared to brands like [[flaming]] and [[freezing]], heavy weapons are reduced less by [[AC]], but receive less benefit from [[slaying]] and will activate less [[auxiliary attack]]s.

@@ Line 3: / Line 3: @@
 The '''heavy''' [[brand]] does the following:
-*Adds +80% base damage, but take 50% longer to swing. This results in an average of +20% physical damage.
+*Adds +80% base damage, but take 50% longer to swing.<ref>{{source ref|0.30.1|fight.cc|1356}}</ref><ref>{{source ref|0.30.1|fight.cc|992}}</ref>  This results in an average of +20% physical damage.
-:The penalty to [[attack speed]] is applied after skill, but before the effects of [[shield]] and [[armour encumbrance]].
+**Both base damage and delay are rounded in a weighted manner. For example, a weapon with 16.2 base damage would have a 20% chance to act as 17 base damage, and an 80% chance to act as 16 base damage.
 Compared to brands like [[flaming]] and [[freezing]], heavy weapons are reduced less by [[AC]], but receive less benefit from [[slaying]] and will activate less [[auxiliary attack]]s.
@@ Line 36: / Line 37: @@
 ==History==
 *In [[0.30]], this weapon brand was introduced. It replaced the [[vorpal]] brand.
 {{brands}}
 [[Category:Brands]]

@@ Line 23: / Line 23: @@
 *Maximum damage isn't necessary. A high roll, say 80*2 damage, still really hurts.
 *Most dangerous situations in ''Crawl'' involve multiple enemies. Add a single other [[list of deep elves|deep elf]] to the picture, and max damage increases further. When you consider a pack of enemies, it skyrockets.
-*Because "damage you can possibly take in one turn" is doubled, it can force you to use consumables much earlier.
+*Because "damage you can possibly take in one turn" is doubled, it can force you to use consumables much earlier. For example, a [[komodo dragon]] deals 34*2 damage before [[GDR]]. Therefore, making a melee attack becomes dangerous at ~60 HP rather than ~30 HP. (Remember that [[wand]]s, [[Throwing]], etc. aren't slowed by your weapon.)
 This isn't exclusive to deep elf annihilators - it applies to just about any 10-speed enemy. Suddenly, fighting two [[naga sharpshooter]]s becomes a big issue; each sharpshooter can do 45 damage before [[GDR]], which turns to 150+ damage if the stars align.

@@ Line 21: / Line 21: @@
 For example, a [[deep elf annihilator]]'s crystal spear can deal up to 102 damage. Doubled, that's 204 damage - more than the max HP of many characters. The chance of this actually happening is miniscule (0.003% to maxroll one spear, 5% to double-turn, further reduced by [[AC]]/[[EV]]/[[SH]]...). But it can still be an issue:
 *Maximum damage isn't necessary. A high roll, say 80*2 damage, still really hurts.
 *Most dangerous situations in ''Crawl'' involve multiple enemies. Add a single other [[list of deep elves|deep elf]] to the picture, and max damage increases further. When you consider a pack of enemies, it skyrockets.
 *Because "damage you can possibly take in one turn" is doubled, it can force you to use consumables much earlier.
 :E.g. a [[komodo dragon]] deals 34*2 damage, before [[guaranteed damage reduction]]. To avoid the chance of being killed, you'll need to use something at ~60 HP rather than ~30 HP. (Remember that [[wand]]s, [[Throwing]], etc. aren't slowed by your weapon.)
-This issue isn't exclusive to deep elf annihilators - it applies to just about any 10-speed enemy. Suddenly, fighting two [[naga sharpshooter]]s becomes a big issue; each sharpshooter can do 45 damage, which turns to 150+ damage if the stars align. It forces
+This isn't exclusive to deep elf annihilators - it applies to just about any 10-speed enemy. Suddenly, fighting two [[naga sharpshooter]]s becomes a big issue; each sharpshooter can do 45 damage before [[GDR]], which turns to 150+ damage if the stars align.
 Weapons that have a minimum delay below 0.7, like [[demon blade]]s, [[demon trident]]s, and all [[Short Blades]], can reach a post-heavy mindelay below 1.0. Though watch out for [[shield]]s, which can bring the delay back up. Also, for weapons that don't reach 1.0 delay (e.g. [[hand crossbow]] + any [[shield]]), this point is obviously moot.

@@ Line 20: / Line 20: @@
 Heavy can be a good brand on average, but it can be ''very'' risky, as it can prevent you from reaching ≤ 1.0 attack delay. Most weapons have a [[minimum delay]] of 0.7; heavy turns that into a 1.05 [[decaAut]] delay. This represents a 5% chance of a regular speed enemy getting a double-turn of attacks.
-For example, a [[deep elf annihilator]]'s can deal up to 102 damage. Doubled, that's 204 damage - more than the max HP of many characters. The chance of this actually happening is miniscule (0.003% to maxroll one spear, 5% to double-turn, further reduced by [[AC]]/[[EV]]/[[SH]]). But...
+For example, a [[deep elf annihilator]]'s crystal spear can deal up to 102 damage. Doubled, that's 204 damage - more than the max HP of many characters. The chance of this actually happening is miniscule (0.003% to maxroll one spear, 5% to double-turn, further reduced by [[AC]]/[[EV]]/[[SH]]...). But it can still be an issue:
-*Maximum damage isn't necessary: a high roll, say 80*2 damage, still really hurts.
+*Maximum damage isn't necessary. A high roll, say 80*2 damage, still really hurts.
-*Most dangerous situations in ''Crawl'' involve multiple enemies. Add a single other [[list of deep elves|deep elf]] to the picture, and max damage increases further. When you consider a pack of enemies, things can go sour really quickly.
+*Most dangerous situations in ''Crawl'' involve multiple enemies. Add a single other [[list of deep elves|deep elf]] to the picture, and max damage increases further. When you consider a pack of enemies, it skyrockets.
-*This problem isn't exclusive to deep elf annihilators. Because "damage you can possibly take in one turn" is doubled, it can force you to use consumables much earlier. E.g. a [[komodo dragon]] deals 34*2 damage, before [[guaranteed damage reduction]]. To avoid the chance of being killed, you'll need to use something at ~60 HP rather than ~30 HP. (Remember that [[wand]]s, [[Throwing]], etc. aren't slowed by your weapon.)
+*Because "damage you can possibly take in one turn" is doubled, it can force you to use consumables much earlier.
-Weapons that have a minimum delay below 0.7, like [[demon blade]]s, [[demon trident]]s, and all [[Short Blades]], can reach a post-heavy mindelay below 1.0. Though watch out for [[shield]]s, which can bring the delay back up. Also, for weapons that don't reach 1.0 delay (e.g. [[hand crossbow]] + any [[shield]]), this point is obviously moot.
+This issue isn't exclusive to deep elf annihilators - it applies to just about any 10-speed enemy. Suddenly, fighting two [[naga sharpshooter]]s becomes a big issue; each sharpshooter can do 45 damage, which turns to 150+ damage if the stars align. It forces
 ==Tips & Tricks==

@@ Line 18: / Line 18: @@
 ===Risks of >1.0 attack delay===
-Heavy can seem like a good brand on the surface, but it can be ''very'' risky, as it can prevent you from reaching ≤ 1.0 attack delay. Most weapons have a [[minimum delay]] of 0.7. A weapon with delay of 0.7 would now have a delay of 1.05 [[decaAut]]. This represents a 5% chance of a regular speed enemy getting a double-turn of attacks.
+Heavy can be a good brand on average, but it can be ''very'' risky, as it can prevent you from reaching ≤ 1.0 attack delay. Most weapons have a [[minimum delay]] of 0.7; heavy turns that into a 1.05 [[decaAut]] delay. This represents a 5% chance of a regular speed enemy getting a double-turn of attacks.
-A [[komodo dragon]] can normally hit for up to 34 damage, so with a double-turn, it turns into 68 damage. The chance of this actually happening is tiny - the probability of {max roll, getting double turn, max roll} is extremely low, and [[AC]] / [[EV]] / [[SH]] further reduces that chance. Also, [[guaranteed damage reduction]] will lower the max damage against non-spells. Still, attacking above 1.0 delay forces you between two options:
+For example, a [[deep elf annihilator]]'s can deal up to 102 damage. Doubled, that's 204 damage - more than the max HP of many characters. The chance of this actually happening is miniscule (0.003% to maxroll one spear, 5% to double-turn, further reduced by [[AC]]/[[EV]]/[[SH]]). But...
-*Treat every time you go below ~60 HP vs. a komodo dragon with extreme caution - often forcing consumable use. (Remember that [[Throwing]], [[evocable]]s, etc. let you attack at 1.0 if so desired.)
+*Maximum damage isn't necessary: a high roll, say 80*2 damage, still really hurts.
-*Introduce a tiny, but non-zero chance of dying every time you make a swing below ~60 HP vs. a komodo dragon.
+*Most dangerous situations in ''Crawl'' involve multiple enemies. Add a single other [[list of deep elves|deep elf]] to the picture, and max damage increases further. When you consider a pack of enemies, things can go sour really quickly.
-It's important to remember that most dangerous situations in ''Crawl'' involve multiple enemies. Add a [[yak]] into the picture, and it becomes max 104 damage. When you consider an entire pack of enemies, things can go sour very quickly. Even if they don't do max damage, a few high damage attacks can end your run, or at least force you to use [[scroll]]s or [[potion]]s. Also note that this applies for almost every 10-speed enemy in the game, not just komodo dragons (for instance, [[deep elf annihilator]]s can deal up to 102*2 damage, which can one-shot most characters).
+Weapons that have a minimum delay below 0.7, like [[demon blade]]s, [[demon trident]]s, and all [[Short Blades]], can reach a post-heavy mindelay below 1.0. Though watch out for [[shield]]s, which can bring the delay back up. Also, for weapons that don't reach 1.0 delay (e.g. [[hand crossbow]] + any [[shield]]), this point is obviously moot.
 ==Tips & Tricks==
 *Slow actions can be useful in a turn count [[speedrun]]. Each attack takes 1 [[turn]], regardless of how long the swing was. If a regular weapon would take 3 turns to kill an enemy, a heavy weapon would take 2.
-:In addition, swinging an untrained heavy weapon is a better way to skip time than [[bread swinging]]. For example, swinging a [[scroll]] takes 1.5 [[decaaut]]s, but it takes 2.1 decaauts to swing a heavy [[flail]] when you have 0 [[Maces & Flails]] skill.
+:In addition, swinging an untrained heavy weapon is a better way to skip time than [[bread swinging]]. For example, swinging a [[scroll]] takes 1.5 [[decaAut]]s, but it takes 2.1 decaAuts to swing a heavy [[flail]] when you have 0 [[Maces & Flails]] skill.
 ==History==

@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 {{flavour|It deals dramatically more damage, but attacks with it are much slower.}}
-'''Heavy''' weapons have +80% base damage, but take 50% longer to swing. This results in an average of +20% physical damage. Compared to brands like [[flaming]] and [[freezing]], heavy weapons are reduced less by [[AC]], but receive less benefit from [[slaying]] and will activate less [[auxiliary attack]]s.
+The '''heavy''' [[brand]] does the following:
-The penalty to [[attack speed]] is applied after skill, but before the effects of encumbrance (both [[Shield#Penalties|shield]] and [[encumbrance rating|armour]]).
+Compared to brands like [[flaming]] and [[freezing]], heavy weapons are reduced less by [[AC]], but receive less benefit from [[slaying]] and will activate less [[auxiliary attack]]s.
 ==Strategy==