Lehudib's Crystal Spear

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Revision as of 19:05, 6 March 2023 by Hordes (talk | contribs) (LCS max damage only possible with 200 spell power, less realistic in a "normal" game, so no point calcing average damage there. Also make strategy section)
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Version 0.29: This article may not be up to date for the latest stable release of Crawl.

For the obsolete unrandom artefact, see Lehudib's crystal spear (unrand).

Lehudib's crystal spear.png Lehudib's Crystal Spear
Level 8
School1 Conjuration
School2 Earth
Source(s) Book of Armaments
Book of the Moon
Casting noise 8
Spell noise 8
Power Cap 200
Range 3
Flags Dir or target, Needs tracer
Hurls a lethally sharp shard of crystal.
Spell Details
Damage Formula 10d(2.3+Power/10)
Max Damage 10d23
Max Power 200
Range 3
Targeting Beam
To-hit 10+Power/15
Special N/A

Lehudib's Crystal Spear (or LCS) is a level 8 Conjurations/Earth Magic spell that launches a massively powerful, irresistible projectile at a single target. Like an upgraded version of Iron Shot, it can do a maximum of 230 irresistible damage.

Strategy

This spell may be powerful, but it faces competition with Iron Shot itself. As a dual-school level 8 spell, LCS is particularly difficult to cast. But Iron Shot is already a perfectly fine option for taking out enemies. Iron Shot also has range 1 tile longer. So while LCS may be stronger, it might not be worth the skill investment. If you have both the skill and the spell levels to spare, there isn't much reason not to use LCS.

Like Iron Shot, LCS has a high MP cost, very short range, can be blocked or evaded, and is a miserable option when taking on multiple foes at once. In a large battle, save it for taking out the hardiest foes very quickly (orbs of fire, Pandemonium lords, fiends, hell sentinels, etc.), then switch to a lesser spell to clear out the rest.

Tips & Tricks

  • Borgnjor's Vile Clutch combos well with Lehudib's Crystal Spear -- pinning enemies in place reduces their evasion, allowing you to set up a lethal one-two punch.

Monster Version

Certain fearsome monsters can also cast Lehudib's Crystal Spear, often with the ability to one- or two-shot unprepared or fragile adventurers. Even the weakest casters can inflict up to 69 damage with it, while the most powerful (ancient liches) can deal up to 144. It is entirely possible for a monster to cast this multiple times in a row, so make these enemies a very high priority in combat.

The monster version of this spell functions identically to the player version, except with a much more variable damage output:

monster_spell_damge = 3d(16 + power / 10)
  where power = 12 * monster_hit_dice

The following enemies cast Lehudib's Crystal Spear:

The following enemies may be able to cast Lehudib's Crystal Spear, depending on their spell set:

The following enemy "casts" crystal spear via Conjure Living Spells:

History