Demon blade

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Version 0.31: This article may not be up to date for the latest stable release of Crawl.
Name Demon blade
Skill Long Blades
Damage 13
Accuracy -1
Base delay (%) 13 (130%)
Min delay 6 at skill 14
Hands 1H
Size Medium
Ranged? No
A terrible weapon, forged in the fires of Hell.

"Quemadmodum gladius neminem occidit: occidentis telum est."
"A sword by itself does not slay; it is merely the weapon used by the slayer."

-Lucius Annaeus Seneca, _Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium_, Letter XXXVII:
Some arguments in favor of the simple life, l. 30. ca. 65. A.D.
trans. Richard Mott Gummere, 1917.

This weapon falls into the Long Blades category. It is a one handed weapon.

Demon blades are one of the best one-handed Long Blades you can find. Although double swords deal more damage, demon blades are slightly faster, with roughly the same damage/turn.

Worshippers of good gods cannot attack with them without suffering penance. However, worshippers the Shining One can convert a demon blade into a eudemon blade, with better stats and the holy wrath brand. You can reverse the process with Kikubaaqudgha's or Lugonu's blessing.

Strategy

Demon weapons are often found on the hell knights in the Depths and the Vestibule of Hell, often with good enchantment levels and brands.

Compared to double sword

On most species, double swords are mostly equivalent to demon blades. If both weapons are at minimum delay, a +0 demon blade is 1% stronger than a +0 double sword against a 0 AC opponent. As the demon blade attacks faster, it is penalized more by AC, though it benefits more from slaying and auxiliary attacks.

Overall, the differences are too small to make an impact. A +9 demon blade is enough to win you the game, as is a +9 double sword. Generally, the sword you get first should be the sword that you use. (The sword you get first can benefit first from scrolls of enchant weapon).

For small species (Kobold and Spriggan), the demon blade will usually come out ahead, because it does not use the shield slot.

Demon blade Eudemon blade
Demon blade.png Blessed blade.png
Image
Mundane Demon blade.png
Magical Demon blade2.png
Artifact Demon blade3.png
Unrandarts
"Leech" Demon blade leech.png

History

  • In 0.28, Long Blades lost riposte. Damage was increased back to pre-riposte levels.
  • In 0.19, Long Blades gained riposte. Demon blades were reduced by 1 base damage to compensate.
  • Prior to 0.14, demon blades dealt slightly more damage than normal in the hands of demonspawn characters.
Weapons
Axes BattleaxeBroad axeExecutioner's axeHand axeWar axe
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Long Blades Demon bladeDouble swordEudemon bladeFalchionGreat swordLong swordScimitarTriple sword
Polearms BardicheDemon tridentGlaiveHalberd (Scythe) • SpearTridentTrishula
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Short Blades DaggerQuick bladeRapierShort sword
Staves LajatangMagical staffQuarterstaff
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