Difference between revisions of "Dark maul"

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(upd. to 0.29, no changes, saw it in tournament)
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==Desirability==
 
==Desirability==
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A single swing from the '''dark maul'''<ref>{{source ref|0.26.1|art-data.txt|1176}}</ref> will crush through virtually any monster's armour for heavy damage, but even at maximum [[Maces & Flails]] skill, it will still take you 16 or 17 [[aut]]s to attack (two and a half times the delay of the slowest normal weapons).
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A single swing from the '''dark maul'''<ref>{{source ref|0.29.0|art-data.txt|1303}}</ref> will crush through virtually any monster's armour for heavy damage, but even at maximum [[Maces & Flails]] skill, it will still take you 16 or 17 [[aut]]s to attack - 2.5x the mindelay of the slowest normal weapons. On the plus side, it also has 2.5x the base damage of even [[giant club]]s.
  
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Is this trade-off actually worth it? At low M&F skill levels, probably not. Each of your successful attacks will likely eradicate whatever you struck, but will also effectively leave you [[paralysis|paralyzed]] for two turns, and even with the +10 enchantment bonus, you might still miss often enough to leave yourself in dangerous situations. At higher M&F skill levels, this issue becomes less pronounced. Better accuracy and reduced attack delay means you'll be leaving fewer enemies alive long enough to swing at you, and those that do will have less time to capitalize on it.
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Is this trade-off actually worth it? High M&F skill is practically necessary. It'll help tune the attack delay to a tolerable level, but accuracy is also an issue - even with a +10 enchantment, you'll miss often enough where it becomes a problem. Compared to a well-enchanted [[demon whip]], the dark maul scales better with skill/strength and checks AC much less, but takes the offhand and always risks an enemy double turn. Basically, have high strength and skill to make full use of the maul, and always watch for the 1-2 turn [[paralysis]] caused by each swing's massive delay.
  
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This weapon is gruesomely effective in most situations, but truly shines against enemies with significant [[AC]] scores. A character with a [[quick blade]] may be able to deliver ten attacks in the time it takes an untrained character to swing the dark maul once, but if your opponent has powerful defenses, the maul will make the bigger impact. As such, it helps to know when to use the maul and when to put it away for something less overkill-prone. Try to avoid using the dark maul when facing multiple opponents at once, and if your character has found several good sources of [[slaying]], you may want to ignore it entirely; slaying's value is very dependent on your attack speed. Finally, if at all possible, keep yourself [[haste]]d (or under the effect of Finesse for you [[Okawaru]] worshipers) when you find yourself swinging the maul at serious opponents.
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[[Okawaru]] is an amazing god for the dark maul. Finesse can ''halve'' the delay of any weapon, making the maul a lot less risky to use, in addition to Heroism boosting skill levels. [[Manifold Assault]] can make the delay much more managable, as you're swinging from a distance. Despite its immense weight and delay, [[formicid]]s can actually wield this weapon with one hand, since it is technically a modified [[great mace]]. Whether or not it is desirable for them to do so, what with their limited escape options, is a different question.
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Despite its immense weight and delay, [[formicid]]s can actually wield this weapon with one hand, since it is technically a modified [[great mace]]. Whether or not it is desirable for them to do so, what with their limited escape options, is a different question.
 
  
 
==History==
 
==History==

Revision as of 22:01, 11 September 2022

Version 0.29: This article may not be up to date for the latest stable release of Crawl.
A large, iron-shod maul specialised for dealing massively powerful blows. Such power comes at a price: the maul's head is so heavy it takes a great length of time to lift it up for another swing.

“This caliber should be appropriate.”
-prince Dajmiech, “Kajko and Kokosz: The Battle with Dajmiech”, Janusz Christa

Dark maul.png the +10 dark maul

+10 maul (modified great mace: 52 base damage, -2 base accuracy, 30 base delay)
Vorpal brand

Desirability

A single swing from the dark maul[1] will crush through virtually any monster's armour for heavy damage, but even at maximum Maces & Flails skill, it will still take you 16 or 17 auts to attack - 2.5x the mindelay of the slowest normal weapons. On the plus side, it also has 2.5x the base damage of even giant clubs.

Is this trade-off actually worth it? High M&F skill is practically necessary. It'll help tune the attack delay to a tolerable level, but accuracy is also an issue - even with a +10 enchantment, you'll miss often enough where it becomes a problem. Compared to a well-enchanted demon whip, the dark maul scales better with skill/strength and checks AC much less, but takes the offhand and always risks an enemy double turn. Basically, have high strength and skill to make full use of the maul, and always watch for the 1-2 turn paralysis caused by each swing's massive delay.

Okawaru is an amazing god for the dark maul. Finesse can halve the delay of any weapon, making the maul a lot less risky to use, in addition to Heroism boosting skill levels. Manifold Assault can make the delay much more managable, as you're swinging from a distance. Despite its immense weight and delay, formicids can actually wield this weapon with one hand, since it is technically a modified great mace. Whether or not it is desirable for them to do so, what with their limited escape options, is a different question.

History

  • Prior to 0.16, the dark maul had only 44 base damage and a meager +6 enchantment level.
  • The dark maul was added in 0.14.

References

  1. ↑ art-data.txt:1303 (0.29.0)
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