Great mace: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 05:21, 9 March 2024

Version 0.31: This article may not be up to date for the latest stable release of Crawl.

Name	Great mace
Skill	Maces & Flails
Damage	17
Accuracy	-4
Base delay (%)	17 (170%)
Min delay	7 at skill 20
Hands	2H
Size	Medium
Ranged?	No

An enormous metal war club, of great cumbrousness.

"There will arise one named Feridoun, who shall inherit thy throne and reverse thy fortunes, and strike thee down with a cow-headed mace."

-Firdausi, _Shahnameh_. ca. 1000 A.D.

trans. Helen Zimmern, 1883.

This weapon falls into the Maces & Flails category. It is a two handed weapon.

The great mace is the largest and heaviest weapon in the Maces & Flails category that most species can wield.

Strategy

Great maces are a fairly common weapon, often carried by ettins, orc knights, and vault guards. They are closer to a battleaxe or glaive (in both rarity and strength) than they are to an executioner's axe or bardiche.

Compared to the other 'top-tier' two-handed weapons, great maces lack any special properties, but are more common and reach mindelay at a lower level. Trolls and Oni who plan to wield two-handers will want a giant spiked club, but other species can find this a respectable endgame weapon.

However, eveningstars are typically better. Compared to great maces, eveningstars only deal -12% base damage, but only use one hand, allowing use of a shield. Since shields generally block much more than 12% of attacks, this tradeoff is usually worth it. Eveningstars are considerably rarer, though.

	Image
Mundane
Magical/Artifact
Artifact
	Unrandarts
"Undeadhunter"
Mace of Variability
Firestarter
Dark maul

History

Prior to 0.14, they had 18 base damage, and were much more common.

Weapons
Axes	Battleaxe • Broad axe • Executioner's axe • Hand axe • War axe
Maces & Flails	Club • Demon whip • Dire flail • Eveningstar • Flail • Giant club • Giant spiked club • Great mace • Mace (Hammer) • Morningstar • Sacred scourge • Whip
Long Blades	Demon blade • Double sword • Eudemon blade • Falchion • Great sword • Long sword • Scimitar • Triple sword
Polearms	Bardiche • Demon trident • Glaive • Halberd (Scythe) • Partisan • Spear • Trident • Trishula
Ranged Weapons	Arbalest • Hand cannon • Longbow • Orcbow • Shortbow • Sling • Triple crossbow
Short Blades	Dagger • Quick blade • Rapier • Short sword
Staves	Lajatang • Magical staff • Quarterstaff
Throwing	Boomerang • Dart • Javelin • Large rock • Stone • Throwing net

@@ Line 27: / Line 27: @@
 The '''great mace''' is the largest and heaviest weapon in the Maces & Flails category that most [[species]] can wield.
-While it deals less damage than a [[triple sword]], can't reach like a [[bardiche]], and won't [[cleave]] like an [[executioner's axe]], it can still deal heavy damage, and reaches [[minimum delay]] at a lower skill level.
 ==Strategy==
-[[Ogre]]s and [[Troll]]s who plan to wield two-handed weapons will want a [[giant spiked club]], but this remains a good endgame weapon for more average-sized Maces & Flails users.
+Great maces are a fairly common weapon, often carried by [[ettin]]s, [[orc knight]]s, and [[vault guard]]s. They are closer to a [[battleaxe]] or [[glaive]] (in both rarity and strength) than they are to an executioner's axe or bardiche.
-Great maces are a fairly common weapon, often carried by [[ettin]]s, [[orc knight]]s, and [[vault guard]]s. They are closer to a [[battleaxe]] or [[glaive]] (in both rarity and strength) than they are to an [[executioner's axe]] or [[bardiche]].
+Compared to the other 'top-tier' two-handed weapons, great maces lack any special properties, but are more common and reach mindelay at a lower level. [[Troll]]s and [[Oni]] who plan to wield two-handers will want a [[giant spiked club]], but other species can find this a respectable endgame weapon.
-Many players will prefer an [[eveningstar]]. The damage difference between a great mace and eveningstar isn't big (2 base damage, 88%), but the latter can be held with a [[shield]]. However, they are considerably rarer.
+However, [[eveningstar]]s are typically better. Compared to great maces, eveningstars only deal -12% base damage, but only use one hand, allowing use of a [[shield]]. Since shields generally block ''much'' more than 12% of attacks, this tradeoff is usually worth it. Eveningstars are considerably rarer, though.
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