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. Static 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 allies, as they are not naturally immune to the electricity (except for those immune to all friendly fire, such as Hepliaklqana ancestor). 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.