Arc Blade

Version 0.29: This article may not be up to date for the latest stable release of Crawl.

A blade somehow crafted from pure electricity. It arcs wildly between the wielder and their foes as it strikes. It occasionally unleashes powerful arcs of lightning upon striking a foe. These may arc to other adjacent creatures (including the wielder, but dealing reduced damage to them) before grounding out.

the +8 arc blade

+8 rapier
33.3% chance: Casts Static Discharge at 99 + 2d(100)/2 spellpower. (Average 150 power, above the usual cap)
rElec

Desirability

The arc blade deals a little more damage than a +9 demon blade of electrocution, making it a strong weapon in its own right. Discharges will arc out to another adjacent monsters, which is particularly effective against crowds, and doubly effective against crowds stuck in a hallway.

However, Static Discharge deals no damage against electric-resistant or immune targets. Against them, the arc blade is no better than a +8 rapier. Carrying an alternate weapon is advised, as rElec is fairly common later on.

The arc blade has an anti-synergy with most allies, as they are not exempt from the discharges. The game will prompt you whenever an ally could be hit.

History

• Prior to 0.23, the arc blade would cast Static Discharge multiple times, and the spell would always hit the melee target, but at much lower spellpower, 75 + 2d(75)/2. The weapon's enchantment was +4.
• Prior to 0.16, it was a cutlass.
• Prior to 0.15, it was a +3, +5 weapon.
• The arc blade was introduced in 0.14.