Difference between revisions of "Unarmed Combat"

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The '''Unarmed Combat''' ('''UC''') skill determines the effectiveness of all attacks made with your character's fists, [[claws]], [[Octopode|tentacles]], and other forelimbs. It increases the damage, [[accuracy]], and [[attack speed|speed]] of your unarmed attacks. It does not boost [[auxiliary attack]]s, except for the off-hand punch done without a shield.
  
The '''Unarmed Combat''' skill determines the effectiveness of all attacks made with your character's fists (or tentacles in the case of [[octopode]]s), increasing the damage, [[to-hit|accuracy]], and [[attack speed|speed]] of your unarmed attacks. Although there are many non-punch [[auxiliary attack]]s you can make with the rest of your body, these are not affected by the UC skill whatsoever. Training this skill is only advisable if you intend to engage in melee while unarmed or while leaving your off-hand empty.
+
Your fists do not normally benefit from weapon [[brand]]s and definitely don't have [[artefact]] properties. However, training Unarmed Combat gives a special bonus to base damage, and can benefit from [[talisman]] forms.
  
For many [[species]], fighting without a weapon is not a very appealing prospect. Leaving your weapon and/or [[shield]] slot open means that you cannot take advantage of weapon [[brand]]s, miss out on the defensive value of a shield, and have two fewer slots for wielding [[artifact]]s that may provide useful resistances or other bonuses. However, unarmed combat allows for some of the fastest attacks in the game, deals competitive damage to weapon wielders at high skill levels, and allows you to take advantage of the many [[Transmutations]] spells which grant you powerful unarmed capabilities. Also, some species have natural [[aptitude]]s or innate [[mutation]]s that make unarmed combat a much more tempting choice.
+
{{skill aptitudes}}
  
==Attack Delay==
+
==Useful Info==
Unarmed combat specialists are capable of making some of the fastest attacks in the game, on par with the speed of most [[short blades]] wielders. Couple this with the fact that UC attacks have a much higher base damage than any short blade, and you can see why they're capable of doing very significant amounts of damage very quickly. However, it requires much more Unarmed Combat skill to reach maximum attack speed than it does for a weapon fighter to reach their maximum, and unarmed combat is penalized for wearing heavy armour or carrying too much equipment. Bear in mind that this only applies to main-hand punches; auxiliary offhand punches occur along with your main hand attacks.
+
By default, Unarmed Combat has a base damage of 3, [[to-hit|accuracy]] of +6, [[attack delay|base delay]] of 1.0 decaAut, and a [[mindelay]] of 0.5 decaAut (reached at 27 skill). UC itself functions like any other [[melee weapon]], though your fists cannot be [[enchant]]ed or [[brand]]ed normally.
  
===Bonuses From Skill===
+
However, each level of Unarmed Combat skill gives different benefits than other weapon skills:
Weapon fighters gain a 1 point reduction to their attack delay for every 2 levels they have in their appropriate weapon skill, allowing them to reach maximum weapon speed by the mid-game in most cases. Unarmed Combat uses a different formula, however; your attack delay is reduced by 1 for roughly every 5.4 skill levels, reaching a delay of 5 at UC skill 27. Fortunately, unarmed combat is also much faster than fighting with most weapons by default, so they still enjoy fairly quick attacks throughout the game.
 
  
===Armor and Shield Penalties===
+
* '''Damage:''' Each level of UC adds +1 to base damage, which is then multiplied by [[strength]] and [[Fighting]]. This is instead of the usual +2% per level boost.
Wearing a shield or armour with any EV penalty may increase your UC attack delay. Every time you throw a punch, the following die roll is made for your armor:
 
  
{{crawlquote|1d10 + 2d(Adjusted armour penalty) - 10}}
+
* '''Attack speed:''' Unarmed starts at 1.0 delay, and reaches its mindelay of 0.5 at 27 skill. Therefore, every 5.4 levels of UC reduces attack delay by 0.1 decaAut; each level of UC reduces delay by ~0.0185 decaAut. For comparison, it takes 2 levels of a weapon skill to reduce delay by 0.1 decaAut.
 +
: As with weapons, your attack delay will be rounded to an integer [[aut]] (i.e. rounding to 0.1 decaAut) in a weighted fashion.
  
Your penalty is reduced by Armour skill, and the penalty for [[shields]] is handled by its own formula (see the shields page for details).  If the result of this roll comes out positive, the attack's delay is increased by the result of the roll. While the penalties for wearing a [[buckler]] or [[leather armour]] are fairly minimal, any of the heavier armours might slow your attacks. However, this is generally not a major consideration in terms of which armour you want to wear. Having appropriate Armour skill will reduce the penalty for even very heavy armors to small delay increases. Other considerations like wanting to cast higher level spells, species [[size]] category (larger is better), and EV-favored races are more of a factor in determining how heavy of an armour you should wear. In terms of shields, having the required amount of skill (i.e., 5 for bucklers and 15 for shields for normal species) will completely remove the usual attack delay from shields. There is a separate attack delay for shields which applies only to unarmed combat, a 50% chance of a 1 aut increase, which cannot be removed through any means, but this is not that severe of a delay.
+
* Increases [[#Offhand punch|offhand punch]] damage and its chance to activate.
  
===Other Factors===
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The [[to-hit]] boost is the same as other weapon skills (+0.5 to-hit per level).
Characters in [[bat form]] receive a special bonus to unarmed combat, making attacks in 60% of the normal time (though at a significant penalty to damage). Other effects that can influence attack speed (such as [[Haste]], [[Slow]], [[Statue Form]], etc.) apply as normal, with a hardcoded limit at 3 which you cannot exceed.
 
  
===Final Calculation===
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===Offhand punch===
Finally, your attack delay can never be a fraction of an aut. If your calculated speed falls between two whole numbers, the game will round up or down based on the remainder (7.2 would have a 20% chance of being rounded to 8 and an 80% chance of being 7).
+
Offhand punches are an [[auxiliary attack]]. Most species are unable to use the offhand punch unless their offhand is empty, which means not wearing a [[shield]] or wielding a [[handedness|two-handed weapon]]. In addition, you can't make these punches in [[Flux Form]] or [[Serpent Form]]. [[Octopode]]s get tentacle slaps instead of offhand punches, and may slap even when their offhand is occupied.
  
{| border="1" cellspacing="0" align="center"
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If offhand punches/slaps are available, then increasing Unarmed skill increases the chance of an attack. At 0 skill, you have a 5% chance per attack to throw a punch, at 27 skill, you have a 50% chance. It scales linearly, meaning you are 1.67% more likely to proc a punch per skill level.
! UC !! Avg delay !! UC !! Avg delay !! UC !! Avg delay
+
 
|-
+
Offhand punch damage equals:<ref>{{source ref|0.30.0|melee-attack.cc|1019}}</ref>
| 0 || 10.0 || 10 || 8.1 || 20 || 6.3
+
  5 + (UC / 2)
|-
+
+ 1d3 × [[Claws]] rank
| 1 ||  9.8 || 11 || 8.0 || 21 || 6.1
+
  + 6 under [[Blade Form]]
|-
+
 
| 2 || 9.6 || 12 || 7.8 || 22 || 5.9
+
==Damage Modifiers==
|-
+
Unarmed Combat's base damage is modified by most [[transformations]], as well as the [[Claws]] mutation. In addition, many transformations have other special effects.
| 3 || 9.5 || 13 || 7.6 || 23 || 5.7
+
 
|-
+
'''General Modifiers'''
| 4 ||  9.2 || 14 || 7.4 || 24 || 5.6
+
{| class="prettytable" style="border:none; text-align: center; margin:0; padding:0;"
|-
+
! Condition || Damage || Special
| 5 ||  9.1 || 15 || 7.2 || 25 || 5.4
 
 
|-
 
|-
| 6 || 8.9 || 16 || 7.0 || 26 || 5.2
+
| Base damage || 3 || N/A
|-
 
| 7 ||  8.7 || 17 || 6.8 || 27 || 5.0
 
|-
 
| 8 ||  8.5 || 18 || 6.7 ||    ||
 
|-
 
| 9 ||  8.3 || 19 || 6.5 ||    ||
 
 
|-
 
|-
 +
| [[Claws]] || +2 × level || Wearing [[gloves]] negates this<br>[[Ghoul]]: Claws 1, [[Troll]]: Claws 3
 +
|-
 +
| [[Felid]] || 5 || Works well for [[stab]]bing
 
|}
 
|}
  
==Base Damage==
 
The base damage of your primary unarmed combat attack is determined through the following factors:
 
  
{| class="prettytable" style="border:none; margin:0; padding:0;"
+
'''[[Talisman]] Forms:'''
! Condition || Damage || Special
+
{| class="prettytable" style="border:none; text-align: center; margin:0; padding:0;"
 +
! Form || Min Dmg || Max Dmg || Min Skill || Max Skill || Dmg/level || Special
 
|-
 
|-
| [[Porcupine Form]] || 3 || -
+
|No Form
 +
|colspan="2"| 3
 +
|colspan="2"|N/A
 +
|N/A
 +
|N/A
 
|-
 
|-
| [[Pig Form]] || 3 || -
+
|[[Beast Form|Beast]]
 +
|colspan="2"| 3
 +
|0||7
 +
|N/A
 +
|Extra [[slay]]ing to all melee combat
 
|-
 
|-
| [[Bat Form]] || 1 || 60% Attack Delay
+
|[[Flux Form|Flux]]
 +
|colspan="2"| 3
 +
|6||13
 +
|N/A
 +
|×66% melee damage; contaminating melee
 
|-
 
|-
| [[Vampire]] Bat Form || 2 || 60% Attack delay
+
|[[Blade talisman|Blade]]
 +
|14||18
 +
|10||19
 +
|0.88
 +
|Extra offhand punch damage
 
|-
 
|-
| [[Spider Form]] || 5 || [[Venom]]
+
|[[Maw Form|Maw]]
 +
|colspan="2"| 5
 +
|10||19
 +
|N/A
 +
|Maw [[auxiliary attack]]
 
|-
 
|-
| [[Wisp Form]] || 5 || -
+
|[[Serpent Form|Serpent]]
 +
|colspan="2"| 10
 +
|10||19
 +
|N/A
 +
|Constriction
 
|-
 
|-
| [[Ice Form]] || 12 || [[Freezing]]
+
|[[Dragon Form|Dragon]]
 +
|24||33
 +
|16||25
 +
|1
 +
|<nowiki>+10 strength</nowiki>; 2 [[auxiliary attacks]]
 
|-
 
|-
| [[Fungus Form]] || 12 || [[Confusing Touch]]
+
|[[Statue Form|Statue]]
 +
|colspan="2"|12
 +
|10||19
 +
|N/A
 +
|×150% melee damage; all actions ×150% slower
 
|-
 
|-
| [[Tree Form]] || 12 || -
+
|[[Storm Form|Storm]]
 +
|24||30
 +
|23||27
 +
|1.5
 +
|[[Electrocution]] brand; [[cleaving]]
 
|-
 
|-
| [[Blade Hands]] || 12 + (STR + DEX) / 4 || -
+
|[[Death Form|Death]]
 +
|colspan="2"|9
 +
|23||27
 +
|N/A
 +
|Melee inflicts [[drain]], [[slow]], [[weak]]
 +
|}
 +
*"Min dmg" and "Max dmg" refer to damage at the form's designated minimum and maximum [[Shapeshifting]] skill, respectively. If you are below minimum, the damage can decrease.
 +
 
 +
 
 +
'''[[Bad Form|Other Forms]]'''
 +
{| class="prettytable" style="border:none; text-align: center; margin:0; padding:0;"
 +
! Form || Damage || Special
 
|-
 
|-
| [[Statue Form]] || 9 + STR / 2 || 150% attack delay
+
| [[Bat Form]] || 1 || N/A
|-
+
|-  
| [[Dragon Form]] || 12 + (2/3) STR || Heavy [[bleeding]]
+
| [[Fungus Form]] || 12 || [[Confusion]]
|-
 
| [[Lich Form]] || 5 || [[Draining (brand)|Draining]]
 
|-
 
| [[Troll]] || 9 || Heavy bleeding
 
 
|-
 
|-
| [[Ghoul]], [[Felid]] || 5 || Light bleeding
+
| [[Pig Form]] || 1 || For damage, skill has 1/5 impact
 
|-
 
|-
| [[Claws]] [[mutation]] || +2 × Claws ranks || Wearing [[gloves]] negates this
+
| [[Tree Form]] || 12 || N/A
 
|-
 
|-
| Other || 3 || -
+
| [[Wisp Form]] || 5 || Uses (XL/2) for dmg instead of UC skill
 
|}
 
|}
  
Your base damage is then increased by your unarmed combat skill level (divided by 5 when in Bat Form). This base damage is then further modified by your [[strength]], [[dexterity]], [[Fighting]] skill, and other factors. A value is randomly selected between 1 and the final calculated damage, and the target's AC is applied against it.
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==Strategy==
 +
Unarmed Combat has three main advantages. You don't need to find a weapon, meaning dungeon RNG can't screw you over. Unarmed Combat scales better with skill, so skill 27 unarmed is one of the strongest things in the game. And unarmed can be boosted further with various [[talisman]] forms. The downsides are, as mentioned, the inability to enchant or brand fists, and the poor stats at low skill.
  
Offhand punches are significantly less powerful, using the following calculation:
+
The skill scaling of Unarmed Combat should be put into perspective. At 16 skill:
 +
*Unarmed Combat deals 19 base damage, and attacks at 0.7 delay.
 +
*A [[morningstar]] deals 17 damage (after M&F skill), and attacks at 0.7 delay. However, a morningstar can be [[enchant]]ed and [[brand]]ed. A +0 morningstar with just about any brand will surpass UC at this skill level.
  
{| class="prettytable" style="border:none; margin:0; padding:0;"
+
At high enough skill, Unarmed Combat is around the level of the strongest two-handed weapons (before considering forms). But that's a huge chunk of the game where you are weaker, equal to, or just slightly better than a weapon wielder.
! Condition || Damage || Special
 
|-
 
| Offhand Punch || 5 + (UC / 3) +(1d3 × Claws ranks) '''or''' +(6 if Blade Hands) || Wearing any shield negates this
 
|}
 
  
Octopodes get tentacle slaps instead of offhand punches, and may still make tentacle slaps while wearing a shield, making it generally best for unarmed octopodes to use a shield.
+
Many forms have high base damage, so you don't need to train ''that'' much Unarmed Combat skill to effectively use them. For example, [[Dragon Form]] has 24 + UC base damage, assuming 16 [[Shapeshifting]] skill. Even at 5 UC skill, that's enough to pulverize your enemies. Of course, you should still train at least some skill, to boost accuracy and speed of your attacks.
  
 
==History==
 
==History==
In earlier versions of ''Crawl'', Unarmed Combat improved the performance of your non-punch auxiliary attacks, giving all melee fighters a reason to train it.
+
*Prior to [[0.31]], Unarmed Combat only had a base accuracy of +2. However, having [[Claws]] or being in most [[transformation]]s provided a hidden extra bonus to accuracy.
 +
*Prior to [[0.20]], certain forms ([[Blade Hands]], [[Statue Form]], [[Dragon Form]]) scaled their unarmed damage with [[strength]].
 +
*Prior to [[0.17]], unarmed combat attack delay was penalized by [[body armour]]. Also, trolls' claws could inflict the now-removed [[bleeding]] status.
 +
*Prior to [[0.11]], Unarmed Combat gave a chance to perform kick and headbutt [[auxiliary attack]]s, if you didn't already have [[Hooves]] / [[Horns]] to do so. The off-hand punch was slightly weaker (<code>5 + UC/3</code>).
 +
*Prior to [[0.7]], Unarmed Combat improved the performance of your non-punch auxiliary attacks, giving all melee fighters a reason to train it.
  
==Unarmed Combat Aptitudes==
+
==References==
From [[Dungeon Crawl]] [[Stone Soup]] in-game documentation:
+
<references/>
 +
 
 +
{{Skills}}
  
{{#invoke:Apt|skill_table|Unarmed Combat}}
 
 
[[Category:Skills]]
 
[[Category:Skills]]
 
{{Skills}}
 

Latest revision as of 05:51, 15 March 2024

Version 0.31: This article is up to date for the latest stable release of Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup.

The Unarmed Combat (UC) skill determines the effectiveness of all attacks made with your character's fists, claws, tentacles, and other forelimbs. It increases the damage, accuracy, and speed of your unarmed attacks. It does not boost auxiliary attacks, except for the off-hand punch done without a shield.

Your fists do not normally benefit from weapon brands and definitely don't have artefact properties. However, training Unarmed Combat gives a special bonus to base damage, and can benefit from talisman forms.

Aptitudes

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

Useful Info

By default, Unarmed Combat has a base damage of 3, accuracy of +6, base delay of 1.0 decaAut, and a mindelay of 0.5 decaAut (reached at 27 skill). UC itself functions like any other melee weapon, though your fists cannot be enchanted or branded normally.

However, each level of Unarmed Combat skill gives different benefits than other weapon skills:

  • Damage: Each level of UC adds +1 to base damage, which is then multiplied by strength and Fighting. This is instead of the usual +2% per level boost.
  • Attack speed: Unarmed starts at 1.0 delay, and reaches its mindelay of 0.5 at 27 skill. Therefore, every 5.4 levels of UC reduces attack delay by 0.1 decaAut; each level of UC reduces delay by ~0.0185 decaAut. For comparison, it takes 2 levels of a weapon skill to reduce delay by 0.1 decaAut.
As with weapons, your attack delay will be rounded to an integer aut (i.e. rounding to 0.1 decaAut) in a weighted fashion.

The to-hit boost is the same as other weapon skills (+0.5 to-hit per level).

Offhand punch

Offhand punches are an auxiliary attack. Most species are unable to use the offhand punch unless their offhand is empty, which means not wearing a shield or wielding a two-handed weapon. In addition, you can't make these punches in Flux Form or Serpent Form. Octopodes get tentacle slaps instead of offhand punches, and may slap even when their offhand is occupied.

If offhand punches/slaps are available, then increasing Unarmed skill increases the chance of an attack. At 0 skill, you have a 5% chance per attack to throw a punch, at 27 skill, you have a 50% chance. It scales linearly, meaning you are 1.67% more likely to proc a punch per skill level.

Offhand punch damage equals:[1]

5 + (UC / 2)
+ 1d3 × Claws rank
+ 6 under Blade Form

Damage Modifiers

Unarmed Combat's base damage is modified by most transformations, as well as the Claws mutation. In addition, many transformations have other special effects.

General Modifiers

Condition Damage Special
Base damage 3 N/A
Claws +2 × level Wearing gloves negates this
Ghoul: Claws 1, Troll: Claws 3
Felid 5 Works well for stabbing


Talisman Forms:

Form Min Dmg Max Dmg Min Skill Max Skill Dmg/level Special
No Form 3 N/A N/A N/A
Beast 3 0 7 N/A Extra slaying to all melee combat
Flux 3 6 13 N/A ×66% melee damage; contaminating melee
Blade 14 18 10 19 0.88 Extra offhand punch damage
Maw 5 10 19 N/A Maw auxiliary attack
Serpent 10 10 19 N/A Constriction
Dragon 24 33 16 25 1 +10 strength; 2 auxiliary attacks
Statue 12 10 19 N/A ×150% melee damage; all actions ×150% slower
Storm 24 30 23 27 1.5 Electrocution brand; cleaving
Death 9 23 27 N/A Melee inflicts drain, slow, weak
  • "Min dmg" and "Max dmg" refer to damage at the form's designated minimum and maximum Shapeshifting skill, respectively. If you are below minimum, the damage can decrease.


Other Forms

Form Damage Special
Bat Form 1 N/A
Fungus Form 12 Confusion
Pig Form 1 For damage, skill has 1/5 impact
Tree Form 12 N/A
Wisp Form 5 Uses (XL/2) for dmg instead of UC skill

Strategy

Unarmed Combat has three main advantages. You don't need to find a weapon, meaning dungeon RNG can't screw you over. Unarmed Combat scales better with skill, so skill 27 unarmed is one of the strongest things in the game. And unarmed can be boosted further with various talisman forms. The downsides are, as mentioned, the inability to enchant or brand fists, and the poor stats at low skill.

The skill scaling of Unarmed Combat should be put into perspective. At 16 skill:

  • Unarmed Combat deals 19 base damage, and attacks at 0.7 delay.
  • A morningstar deals 17 damage (after M&F skill), and attacks at 0.7 delay. However, a morningstar can be enchanted and branded. A +0 morningstar with just about any brand will surpass UC at this skill level.

At high enough skill, Unarmed Combat is around the level of the strongest two-handed weapons (before considering forms). But that's a huge chunk of the game where you are weaker, equal to, or just slightly better than a weapon wielder.

Many forms have high base damage, so you don't need to train that much Unarmed Combat skill to effectively use them. For example, Dragon Form has 24 + UC base damage, assuming 16 Shapeshifting skill. Even at 5 UC skill, that's enough to pulverize your enemies. Of course, you should still train at least some skill, to boost accuracy and speed of your attacks.

History

  • Prior to 0.31, Unarmed Combat only had a base accuracy of +2. However, having Claws or being in most transformations provided a hidden extra bonus to accuracy.
  • Prior to 0.20, certain forms (Blade Hands, Statue Form, Dragon Form) scaled their unarmed damage with strength.
  • Prior to 0.17, unarmed combat attack delay was penalized by body armour. Also, trolls' claws could inflict the now-removed bleeding status.
  • Prior to 0.11, Unarmed Combat gave a chance to perform kick and headbutt auxiliary attacks, if you didn't already have Hooves / Horns to do so. The off-hand punch was slightly weaker (5 + UC/3).
  • Prior to 0.7, Unarmed Combat improved the performance of your non-punch auxiliary attacks, giving all melee fighters a reason to train it.

References

Skills
Weapons Short BladesLong BladesRanged Weapons

AxesMaces & FlailsPolearmsStavesUnarmed CombatThrowing

Physical FightingArmourDodgingStealthShields
Magical SpellcastingInvocationsEvocationsShapeshifting
Spell Schools AirAlchemyConjurationsEarthFireHexesIceNecromancySummoningTranslocations