Weapon choice

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Crawl presents the player and character with a potentially bewildering array of weapon choices. However, when all the dust clears and the parade of short swords, demon whips and clubs has passed by, weapons have exactly four properties:

• Damage: How much damage, on average, the weapon does per strike
• Accuracy: How likely the weapon is to actually hit
• Speed: How long the player must wait before he/she can strike again with the weapon
• Handedness: Does the weapon require one, two, or one and a half hands to use.

A player simply wants to pick the weapon that has a combination that deals the most damage in the shortest amount of time, to the largest set of monsters, on average.

Properties

Each of these properties is briefly described below:

Damage

The approximate formula for a weapon's damage is as follows:

   Damage = 1d(base damage × strength bonus) × skill bonus + (to-damage enchantment + slaying)

The base damage is that described on the weapon itself. Strength bonus is generally fairly close to one, except for some very strong races. Slaying comes from rings of slaying and any artefacts with the property "It affects your damage-dealing abilities." The to-damage enchantment is the second enchantment on the weapon. The skill bonus factor is randomized, but at maxed Fighting and Weapon skills, will be around 2 on average. Effects of weapon brands on damage will be discussed in the brands section, below.

Speed

A weapon's speed, or more accurately its attack delay, is as follows:

   Delay = base delay − weapon skill/2

The base delay one sees when examining the weapon is given as a percentage; divide this number by 10 to get the delay in game turns (an "average" attack, for example that of an unhasted rat or titan, is 10 game turns; moving one space, while normal speed, takes 10 game turns). The minimum delay is the base delay divided by two, rounded down, with a maximum of 7. Additionally, sabres are special-cased to have a minimum delay of 5, to be consistent with other short blades. A speed brand divides this value by two, rounding up. Weapon delay can also be decreased by the Haste effect; however, it will always be at least 2.

Accuracy

Accuracy is one of the more complex attributes of a weapon, being affected by the base type, weapon skill, and dexterity. It is important to choose accurate weapons in the early game; at that point, however, the best way to do so is by choosing an accurate weapon type. Later on, it will happen that if a weapon is inaccurate, then it will also be too slow to use, most probably, since the majority of accuracy comes from weapon skill. Thus, accuracy becomes a secondary consideration - reasonable accuracy comes with sane weapon delay.

Handedness

Weapons have four possible "handedness"es:

• Single-handed: No extra penalty for using these weapons with a shield
• Hand-and-a-half/1.5 handed: These weapons are those which "can be wielded with one hand, but more effectively with two." They suffer to-hit, speed, and damage penalties for being used with a shield with insufficient skill. This will be discussed below.
• Double-handed: In addition to the hand-and-a-half penalties, these weapons also have their base damage cut in half if used with a shield. The only ones in the game are lajatangs and quarterstaves (but strangely not enhancer staves).
• Two-handed: These weapons cannot be wielded with a shield.

Note that the handedness of a weapon varies with the character: Spriggans will find a long sword two-handed, whereas Humans will find it one-handed, and Halflings will find it 1.5 handed. The penalties for using a shield with a 1.5 handed weapon are 1d(shield penalty) to delay, accuracy, and damage. Shield penalty starts at 1 for bucklers, 3 for shields and 5 for large shields. It is reduced depending on your Shields skill and size: most races get a reduction of one for every 5 skill; for Halflings and Kobolds this is 7, for Spriggans 9, and for Ogres, Trolls, Nagas and Centaurs it is 3.

Cross-training

One aspect of weapon choice is that training in most weapons makes it easier to learn certain other weapons. Specifically, cross-training requires half as much experience as it otherwise would, which is equivalent to adding +4 to your species' aptitude for the skill. You can only cross-train the lower of the two skills until it is equal with the higher skill. The relationships (which are all symmetrical) are as follows:

• Maces & Flails with Axes, Axes with Polearms, Staves with Maces & Flails, Staves with Polearms.
• Short Blades with Long Blades.
• Among ranged weapon skills, Throwing (which covers blowguns) cross-trains with Slings.

When is it worth it?

Cross-training is always worthwhile if you discover a far better weapon of a type for which you already have the skill to allow cross-training the new weapon. This is especially so under the new skill system, where you need not even wield the new weapon while your skill is low.

Combining these: Small or Large Weapons?

The number that any player wants to maximize is the weapons damage divided by its delay. So choosing a weapon would seem to be a matter of picking the weapon for which this number is largest. However, one should consider whether to use a fast (min delay 3-5), medium speed (min delay 6), or slow (min delay 7) weapon before choosing a weapon:

Fast weapons: Benefiting more

Short blades, whips, and demon whips/scourges are the only weapons that normally fall into this category. However, any weapon can have a min delay of 4 or less if it has a speed brand. These are not normally generated on anything other than short blades and staves, but do occur on artefact weapons of other types from time to time. The chief advantage of faster weapons is that they benefit more from slaying bonuses and enchantment: this extra damage is simply applied more times within a given turn. Additionally, several weapon brands apply an amount of extra damage that is not affected by the weapon itself: these flat brands are far more beneficial on small weapons. Unfortunately all such brands can be resisted.

The downside to smaller weapons is that they have poor performance against high-AC targets, many of which appear in the later game. The monster's AC reduction is simply applied more often. Brands can help with this to some degree, as their damage will bypass AC, but a small, fast weapon is always going to suffer somewhat against armoured monsters. This can be overcome reasonably well with slaying, high EV and the like, but it remains a disadvantage.

Strong Weapons: Punching through

The best definition of a "strong but slow" weapon is one with a min delay of 7, the max. Within this category, one should obviously strive for the strongest weapon one has skill for. The best are executioner's axes, bardiches, triple swords, and if you can wield them, giant spiked clubs. Lajatangs are also a worthy choice if you're a staff user, although considerably less powerful than the others. These weapons benefit the most from brands such as freezing, flaming, and in particular holy wrath, whose extra damage is proportional to the weapon's base damage. Their high damage is excellent for punching through monsters' armour, and in some cases can even one- or two-shot monsters when well-enchanted and at max skill.

While their higher minimum delay is somewhat of a downside, it is not a huge one. However, these weapons have two considerable downsides. The first is that the worthwhile ones all require huge skill investments, in the range of 18-26, making them more difficult to use for hybrid characters. Lajatangs are something of an exception, but they also do less damage. Secondly, not having a shield is a sacrifice - how much of one depends on your style and character type, but it is always a sacrifice. It leads to one advantage, however, in that you don't have to put XP into the Shields skill. There is a single one-handed delay 7 weapon of note: eveningstars. However, most players are likely better off with a demon whip, though an eveningstar is certainly an adequate weapon.

Demon Tridents and Demon Blades: A Middle Ground

For those who like a compromise, the only min-delay 6 weapons that are not just a stepping stones to a better weapon are demon tridents and demon blades. With a damage output of 13, both are respectable weapons, and both can be used effectively with a shield, given enough training. Demon tridents and blades are reasonably common in the later game; until you find one, you can use an ordinary trident (same delay but damage of 10); they are easily found on orcs, and make a perfectly adequate mid-game weapon, or a scimitar (damage 11, min delay 7, also easily found on orcs). A further advantage to demon tridents is that spears are strong starting weapons, the best balance of speed and damage available in the early game.

Weapon Schools: Advantages and Disadvantages

Short Blades

Highest aptitudes: +3 (Kobolds, Halflings)

Advantages

• Easy to find good ones early on
• Fastest weapons in the game, quick blades fastest by a lot
• Lots of races have good or better aptitudes
• All one-handed
• Crosstrains to long blades
• Very good for stabbing, especially daggers

Disadvantages

• Poor against armoured targets
• Benefit little from proportional brands
• Quick blades, by far the best, are quite rare even later on

Long blades

Highest aptitudes: +2 (High Elves, Minotaurs)

Advantages

• Good balance of damage and speed
• Can go one- or two-handed, contains good weapons for both
• Fairly common in the mid- and late-game; demon blades are easily found
• Can crosstrain from short blades, which many players will have from the early game
• TSO can upgrade the damage output of all of them, though demon blades are best
• Races strong with them are usually good for hybrid builds
• Decent for stabbing

Disadvantages

• Fairly rare before D:10 or so
• All cut off hydra heads
• Only Fighters and Gladiators can start with them

Maces and Flails

Highest aptitudes: +3 (Ogres)

Advantages

• Can either go the fast or slow route, through demon whips, giant spiked clubs, eveningstars and the like
• Very easy to find
• Whips are a good starting weapon
• None cut off hydra heads
• Also used for rods, although they're as bad as clubs
• For large races, giant spiked club has highest base damage in the game

Disadvantages

• Most races good with them are bad with magic, and vice versa
• Can't butcher with them; this makes vampiric and distortion brands iffy, and cursed weapons much more of a problem.

Best choices

• Demon whips and Sacred scourges have a superb min delay and good damage output and are considered one of the best one handed weapons in the game.
• Eveningstars are also very good weapons but are very rare. They will outdamage demon whips against heavily armoured opponents.
• Spiked flails are the best commonly found one handed weapons in this category.

Axes

Highest aptitudes: +2 (Minotaurs, Hill Orcs)

Advantages

• Executioner's axes are the highest-damage weapon most players can wield
• Battleaxes are quite good two-handed weapons and are very common

Disadvantages

• Most races good with them are also bad with magic, and vice versa
• Single handed axes aren't worth using in the long run, all are fairly bad, forcing a two-handed build
• Executioner's axes are rare, only found through Okawaru/Trog, acquirement, some uniques, and very rarely on the floor/in shops

Best choices

• Hand axes are not bad starting weapons for classes that start weaponless. They can also be thrown.
• Forget about shields and go for the biggest, baddest axe that you can find.

Polearms

Highest aptitudes: +4 (Merfolk)

Advantages

• Merfolk have the highest weapon aptitude in the game with these weapons
• Spears and tridents are excellent weapons early on
• Demon tridents and bardiches are common later on
• Can go one-handed or two-handed
• Crosstrains to both Maces & Flails and Axes
• All polearms have inherent reaching.

Disadvantages

• Nothing good for small races, since they become two-handed or unwieldable
• Few races are particularly good with them (other than Merfolk, it's just Minotaurs, Tengu and Hill Orcs with a positive aptitude)

Best choices

• Tridents are an excellent starting weapon and the most broadly useful of the common polearms.
• Halberds, scythes and glaives are all usually inferior due to their high delay.
• Demon tridents (and Trishulas) are the best polearms due to their combination of low min delay and damage output.
• Bardiches are extremely slow, but have enough damage output to make up for it. If you find a nice branded or randart one, consider it as a keeper.

Staves

Highest aptitudes: +2 (Minotaurs)

Advantages

• Quarterstaves are probably the best early-game weapon, very accurate
• Can have the speed brand
• Can be used for enhancer staves
• Crosstrains to two separate skills, Polearms and M&F

Disadvantages

• Only minotaurs and tengu have positive aptitudes, and then only elves, humans, draconians, and octopodes have +0 aptitudes. All others are negative.
• Only two choices in normal weapons: lajatangs and quarterstaves.
• If you're not wielding an enhancer staff, it is not worth wearing a shield, as lajatangs and quarterstaves are both double-handed and will deal halved damage with a shield equipped.
• In order to get use out of an enhancer staff you also have to train Evocations and a spell skill.

Best choices

• A staff of earth with good Evocations and Earth Magic deals high non-resistible damage and is one of the most powerful weapons in the game.
• A lajatang is a respectable weapon that requires comparatively little skill investment. Additionally, it is by far the strongest non-artefact weapon that can have a speed brand.
• Quarterstaves are good accurate starting weapons.