Battleaxe

Version 0.18: This article may not be up to date for the latest stable release of Crawl.

Name	Battleaxe
Skill	Axes
Damage	15
Accuracy	-4
Base delay (%)	17 (170%)
Min delay	7 at skill 20
Hands	2H
Size	Large
Ranged?	No

A large war axe with a formidable double-sided head. "On Carian coins, indeed of quite late date, the labrys, set up on its long, pillar-like handle, with two dependent fillets, has much the appearance of a cult image. -Sir Arthur John Evans, "Mycenean tree and pillar cult and its Mediterranean relations," _Journal of Hellenic Studies_ XXI, p. 109. 1901.

This weapon falls into the 'Axes' category. It is a two handed weapon, and it is best used by the strong.

Battleaxes are large and powerful two-handed weapons; though not as overwhelming as an executioner's axe, they are much easier to find, require far less skill to wield effectively, and still deal respectable damage. As weapons with slow attack speed and high base damage, they do particularly well with brands such as freezing, speed, or holy wrath. If your character has experience to spare and good skill aptitudes, you may want to eventually upgrade to an executioner's axe, but this is by no means necessary, and costs a lot of experience that could be invested elsewhere.

Battleaxes are usually first encountered in the hands of orc warriors; exploration of the Orcish Mines will likely turn up a decent one. The unique berserker Rupert occasionally generates with one as well. Like all axes, this weapon allows the player to cleave.

	Image
Mundane
Magical
Artifact

	Unrandart Battleaxes
Wrath of Trog

History

Prior to 0.12, battleaxes had 17 base damage and no cleaving.