Throwing

Version 0.31: This article may not be up to date for the latest stable release of Crawl.

The Throwing skill denotes how accurate and powerful your character is with thrown weapons.

Aptitudes

At	Ba	Co	DE	Dg	Ds	Dj	Dr	Fe	Fo	Gr	Gh	Gn	Hu	Ko	Mf	Mi	MD	Mu	Na	Op	On	Sp	Te	Tr	Vp	VS
-1	0	-1	0	-1	-1	-2	-1	N/A	0	-1	-1	8	0	1	0	0	-2	-2	-1	0	0	0	0	-1	-2	-1

Useful Info

Throwing weapons benefit more from skill than other weapons. Like Unarmed Combat, throwing weapons deal (weapon base damage) + (Throwing skill) base damage due to skill (as opposed to the usual +2% bonus for regular weapon skills.) For example, 10 Throwing would double the base damage of a javelin (10+10), but the equivalent skill would only increase other weapons by 20%. Note that stones get half the usual bonus.

Unlike proper Ranged Weapons, Throwing is not affected by armour encumbrance.

Weapons

The following weapons use the Throwing skill:

• Stones
• Darts
• Boomerangs
• Javelins
• Large rocks
• Throwing nets

Anything not listed above can still be thrown, but it is usually useless to do so, as it will do no damage.

Strategy

Throwing is closer to Evocations than a traditional weapon skill. Since ammunition is so limited, you cannot use Throwing weapons for every fight. However, it can be a very powerful support tool.

Javelins are a key part of any Throwing specialist's arsenal. Javelins penetrate through enemies: they can hit enemies in the backlines, and/or hit multiple enemies at 100% damage. At high skill, javelins can deal massive damage to multiple enemies at once, at full LOS range.

Throwing implements are more common in Shoals than Swamp. If the former branch is in your game, you may want to focus a little more on Throwing.

Tips & Tricks

• Even at 0 skill, throwing something is better than waiting for an enemy to approach. If available, you can throw stones, boomerangs, or poisoned darts at distant targets.
• Javelins can get the silver brand, which is highly effective against chaotic enemies (including malmutaters, the Royal Jelly, and orbs of fire).
• Large species (Trolls and Oni) are able to throw large rocks, which are both plentiful and high damage (20 base damage). They have a much greater reason to train Throwing than the regular-size species.
• Throwing nets, poison darts, and curare darts are all useful tools, though they do not benefit much from the actual Throwing skill. More skill will increase their accuracy and throw speed, but not the actual effect. It can still be wise to put a few points into Throwing for the extra bit of accuracy.
• Even mage characters will often benefit from throwing in the early dungeon. When attacking sleeping monsters, a hit is almost guaranteed even without any skill in throwing. Therefore, dealing the first ranged hit with a throwing (or ranged) weapon instead of a spell is a useful way to conserve mana.

History

• In 0.30, boomerangs, javelins, and large rocks deal +33% damage when they mulch.
• Prior to 0.29, Throwing crosstrained with Slings (skill). Also, Hunters and Arcane Marksmen could start with throwables.
• In 0.28, monsters now carry fewer throwing weapons, and throwing weapons became slightly less common on the floor.
• In 0.24, blowguns were removed, tomahawks were replaced with boomerangs, and needles were replaced with new darts. Javelins now always penetrate.
• In 0.18, throwing speed was changed to work like weapons do, making it somewhat slower. The effect of poisoned needles was tied to the Throwing skill.
• In 0.17, many species got their Throwing aptitude decreased. Heavy armour stopped penalizing the throwing speed.
• In 0.15, ranged combat was changed to work more like melee combat, making throwing more viable option. Also, darts were removed.
• In 0.14, tomahawks were added. Spears, daggers, clubs, and hand axes stopped functioning as throwing weapons.
• In 0.8, Evaporate stopped using the Throwing skill.
• In 0.6, blowguns started using the Throwing skill instead of the Darts skill.
• In 0.3, javelins and throwing nets were added.