Freezing: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 22:55, 28 November 2023

Version 0.30: This article may not be up to date for the latest stable release of Crawl.

It freezes victims, dealing an additional one-quarter of any damage that pierces defenders' armour. It may also slow down cold-blooded creatures.

The freezing brand does the following:

Adds an average of roughly +25% cold damage (0% - 50%) to attacks, applied after AC and all damage factors (including slaying).^[1]
Slows down cold-blooded monsters that are not resistant to cold.

Sources

Along with finding freezing weapons as random loot, or using a scroll of brand weapon, freezing can be found on a few monsters:

Wights frequently carry weapons of freezing.
Frost giants usually generate with freezing battleaxes.
Fannar always comes with a staff of cold or a quarterstaff of freezing

Strategy

Freezing is one of a couple percentage-based brands that's good enough to beat a 3-rune game. It's especially good against cold-blooded creatures, including the reptiles in the Lair and draconians in Zot. Unlike flaming, freezing works against orbs of fire, so its somewhat better for Zot:5.

As freezing applies its percentage boost after AC reduction, it is no better or worse when considering strength, weapon type, slaying, or AC. An executioner's axe of freezing receives the same +25% boost to final damage as a quick blade of freezing. It's just that a quick blade's base damage is weak, so a brand like electrocution or pain will be stronger for it.

History

Prior to 0.15, unbranded weapons could be temporarily given this brand with the level 2 spell Freezing Aura. This temporary brand could be made permanent by reading a scroll of vorpalise weapon.

References

↑ attack.cc:1585 (0.30.1)
Specifically, if you dealt damage, freezing adds (1d<damage_dealt>/2) + 0.5 cold damage, rounded down. Therefore, freezing's boost is slightly bigger than 25%. This is more noticeable on weak attacks, e.g. if you dealt 1 damage, you'd always get +1 freezing damage (for an average of +100%).

Brands
Melee weapons	General	Antimagic • Chaos • Distortion • Draining • Electrocution • Flaming • Freezing • Heavy • Holy wrath • Pain • Protection • Reaching • Spectral • Speed • Vampiric • Venom
	Weapon type	Devious • Valour • Concussion • Sundering • Entangling • Rebuke
	Artefact	Curare • Deathbane • Dragon slaying • Reaping • Silver
Launchers		Antimagic • Chaos • Draining • Electrocution • Flaming • Freezing • Heavy • Holy wrath • Penetration • Speed
Throwing weapons		Atropa • Curare • Datura • Disjunction • Poisoned • Silver

[1] ttack.cc:1585 (0.30.1)
Specifically, if you dealt damage, freezing adds (1d<damage_dealt>/2) + 0.5 cold damage, rounded down. Therefore, freezing's boost is slightly bigger than 25%. This is more noticeable on weak attacks, e.g. if you dealt 1 damage, you'd always get +1 freezing damage (for an average of +100%).

[1]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{version012}}
+{{version030}}
-The '''freezing''' [[brand]] causes a [[weapon]] to freeze its target, inflicting additional [[cold]] damage. Although less effective against creatures with cold resistance, it can devastate anything vulnerable to cold. Due to the fact that few enemies outside of the [[Ice Cave]] and [[Cocytus]] are fully immune to cold damage, freezing is considered the most universally useful weapon brand. A weapon with this brand will glow with a cold, blue light when wielded, [[identify]]ing it.
+{{flavour|It freezes victims, dealing an additional one-quarter of any damage that pierces defenders' armour. It may also slow down cold-blooded creatures.}}
+The '''freezing''' [[brand]] does the following:
+*Adds an average of roughly +25% [[cold]] damage (0% - 50%) to attacks, applied after [[AC]] and all damage factors (including [[slaying]]).<ref>{{source ref|0.30.1|attack.cc|1585}}<br>Specifically, if you dealt damage, freezing adds <code>(1d<damage_dealt>/2) + 0.5</code> cold damage, rounded down. Therefore, freezing's boost is slightly bigger than 25%. This is more noticeable on weak attacks, e.g. if you dealt 1 damage, you'd always get +1 freezing damage (for an average of +100%).</ref>
+*[[Slow]]s down [[cold-blooded]] monsters that are not resistant to cold.
-As an added effect, this brand is extremely useful when fighting [[:Category:Cold-blooded|cold-blooded]] monsters, as there is a chance with each hit that they will be temporarily [[slow]]ed (so long as they are not resistant to cold). This makes freezing weapons extremely useful for dealing with the [[list of draconians|draconian]] hordes encountered in [[the Realm of Zot]].
+===Sources===
+Along with finding freezing weapons as random loot, or using a [[scroll of brand weapon]], freezing can be found on a few monsters:
+*[[Wight]]s frequently carry weapons of freezing.
+*[[Frost giant]]s usually generate with freezing [[battleaxe]]s.
+*[[Fannar]] always comes with a [[staff of cold]] or a [[quarterstaff]] of freezing
-This brand works best on heavy, high-damage weapons, since the extra cold damage dealt is determined by the amount of normal weapon damage you manage to get past an enemy's [[AC]].
+==Strategy==
+Freezing is one of a couple percentage-based brands that's good enough to beat a 3-rune game. It's especially good against cold-blooded creatures, including the reptiles in [[the Lair]] and draconians in [[Zot]]. Unlike [[flaming]], freezing works against [[orbs of fire]], so its somewhat better for Zot:5.
-===Sources===
+As freezing applies its percentage boost after AC reduction, it is no better or worse when considering strength, weapon type, slaying, or AC. An [[executioner's axe]] of freezing receives the same +25% boost to final damage as a [[quick blade]] of freezing. It's just that a quick blade's base damage is weak, so a brand like [[electrocution]] or [[pain (brand)|pain]] will be stronger for it.
-Along with simply finding freezing weapons as randomly generated loot, there are a few sources guaranteed to generate them. [[Frost giant]]s always carry freezing [[battleaxe]]s, and any unbranded weapon can be temporarily given this brand with the level 2 spell [[Freezing Aura]]. This temporary brand can be made permanent by reading a [[scroll of vorpalise weapon]].
-==Damage==
+==History==
-*Normal: +0% to +50% cold damage (25% on average)
+*Prior to [[0.15]], unbranded weapons could be temporarily given this brand with the level 2 spell [[Freezing Aura]]. This temporary brand could be made permanent by reading a [[scroll of vorpalise weapon]].
-*rC+: +0% to +25%
-*rC++: +0% to +10%
-*rC+++: No additional damage
-*rC-: +0% to +75%
-The amount of damage dealt by any given attack is reflected by the punctuation at the end of message:
+==References==
-*1-2 "You freeze ... ."
+<references/>
-*3-6 "You freeze ... !"
-*7+ "You freeze ... !!"
 {{brands}}
 [[Category:Brands]]