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v0.34:Attack types
| This article is about an older version of DF. |
All physical weapons have an attack type. There are two attack types: blunt and edged. Edged can be further broken down based on the shape of the blade into "slashing" attacks and "piercing" attacks.
Some weapons have more than one attack: a short sword has a slashing cut, a piercing stab, and a blunt pommel strike.
Blunt weapons
Blunt weapons inflict damage via raw force. Examples of blunt weapons include war hammers, maces, melee attacks with crossbows, and even whips.
Blunt weapons generally have poor penetration but are good for bruising and breaking internal bones and tissues, even through armor. Blunt weapons tend to be more effective when they have greater weight, which is influenced both by weapon size and material density. This can lead to disappointment when using blunt weapons made from awesome materials. Blunt weapons are most effective against humanoid opponents that can be incapacitated with internal injuries and pain.
Edged weapons
Edged weapons use a sharpened edge or point to inflict damage in a concentrated area. They are further divided by use: slashing weapons are designed for cutting, while piercing weapons are designed for stabbing.
Slashing weapons
Slashing weapons have a long, sharp blade that is designed for cutting and severing limbs. Examples of slashing weapons include short swords, battle axes, and even scourges.
Slashing weapons do significant amounts of tissue damage and may sever limbs or heads, especially of smaller, weaker creatures. Against large creatures they cut gashes in the surface tissue, causing bleeding and pain but generally not doing a lot of organ damage, unless the strike is to the head, of course. Armor of equivalent or better material tends to negate much of the slashing damage, and convert the rest into blunt damage instead.
Piercing weapons
Piercing weapons focus large forces on a single sharpened point, allowing deep penetration on even the largest of creatures. Piercing weapons include spears, daggers, bolts & arrows, and stabbing short sword attacks.
Piercing weapons are perhaps the most effective at killing large creatures due to their ability to hit vital organs. It doesn't take an extremely lucky strike with a spear to puncture a lung or other organ, although hits to the limbs will be largely ineffective because piercing weapons aren't designed to break bones or cause deep lacerations. It's possible (although unlikely) to kill even a megabeast in one hit with a spear or pike (unless the megabeast in question is made of fun substances). Piercing weapons are also reasonably effective against equivalent and slightly better armor.
| Ranged and ammunition | |
|---|---|
| Blunt | |
| Edged (slashing) | |
| Edged (piercing) | |
| See also: Attack types | |