Protection: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 20:15, 16 May 2026

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

Weapon: It grants its wielder temporary protection when it strikes (+7 to AC).

Shield: It protects its wearer from harm (+3 to AC).

The protection brand/ego does the following:

On weapons, whenever an enemy is hit, the wielder gains +7 AC for 3-4 turns.^[1] Further attacks will increase the duration, to a max. of 5 turns at a time.
On shields, grants a permanent +3 AC bonus.

Desirability

As a weapon brand, protection's extra AC can be useful in the early/mid game. However, since the AC boost never increases, it's likely worth replacing later on.

Shields of protection are objectively stronger than plain shields. A resistance may be more desirable, but since shield egos are rare, a shield of protection might be the best option available for a long time.

History

Prior to 0.19, weapons of protection provided a passive bonus (+5 AC) instead of a temporary +7 AC on hit.
Prior to 0.6, ranged weapons would generate with the protection brand instead of evasion.

References

↑ player.cc:8402 (0.30.1)

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] yer.cc:8402 (0.30.1)

[1]

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-{{version025}}
+{{version030}}
 {{flavour|Weapon: It grants its wielder temporary protection when it strikes (+7 to AC).<br>
 Shield: It protects its wearer from harm (+3 to AC).}}
-Unlike most [[brand]]s, weapons of '''protection''' do not offer the wielder any additional damage output. Instead, the wielder gains a +7 bonus to [[AC]] for a short period after hitting with the weapon, significantly improving your ability to mitigate injury. [[Shields]] of protection offer a constant +3 bonus.
+The '''protection''' [[brand]]/[[ego]] does the following:
+*On [[weapon]]s, whenever an enemy is hit, the wielder gains +7 AC for 3-4 turns.<ref>{{source ref|0.30.1|player.cc|8402}}</ref> Further attacks will increase the duration, to a max. of 5 turns at a time.
+*On [[shield]]s, grants a permanent +3 AC bonus.
 ==Desirability==
-The damage output sacrificed by choosing a defensive brand is significant, but - especially in the early game when characters often have little defence - 7 points of AC can contribute greatly to survivability.
+As a weapon brand, protection's extra AC can be useful in the early/mid game. However, since the AC boost never increases, it's likely worth replacing later on.
+Shields of protection are objectively stronger than plain shields. A resistance may be more desirable, but since shield [[ego]]s are rare, a shield of protection might be the best option available for a long time.
 ==History==
 *Prior to [[0.19]], weapons of protection provided a passive bonus (+5 AC) instead of a temporary +7 AC on hit.
 *Prior to [[0.6]], ranged weapons would generate with the protection brand instead of [[Evasion (brand)|evasion]].
+==References==
+<references/>
 {{brands}}
 [[Category:Brands]]
 [[Category:Egos]]