Sure Blade

[dolphin]

I saw somewhere (on here, I think) that Sure Blade was going to be removed either from the Enchanter class book, or from the game entirely, primarily because it wasn't very good at its job, improving weapon usability, because it just increased the accuracy of the already very accurate short blades.

If it is going to be removed, then I suggest that it should be renamed Deftness, and give a probabilistic damage increase. In other words, at low power, it should give a moderate chance of 0,+1 per swing, and at very high power it should give perhaps a reliable +4,+4, with a moderate chance of a +4,+5 (roughly between a frost weapon and a speed weapon). Very high power should be pretty unreachable, like max power for Firestorm.

[TGW]

For the record, Sure Blade is far from useless both early and late in the game. If anything, the spell is closer to being overpowered than underpowered.

[MrMisterMonkey]

I actually did some tests in wizard mode, fighting a snake with roughly starting equipment and skills, and fighting an orb of fire with a +9 quickblade and typical endgame skills (this is a sensible thing to do with might). In each case I was able to hit about 50% more often (e.g. from 55% to 80%) when under the effect of Sure Blade. So please don't dump this spell on the assumption that it is useless! Statements like "short blades never miss" are not based on reality. Of course, against low EV monsters, the spell does not gain you much.

[danr]

What is the actual effect of sure blade? I think it's like +10 to hit?

It would definitely make the biggest difference against the highest-EV monsters in that case.

[OneTrueFelid]

elliptic did some source-diving one day and discovered (read: confirmed) that short blades are not magically more accurate than other weapon classes.

[danr]

I assumed people just meant that they tended to have higher accuracy bonuses (eg. dagger is +6 to hit) but there's a real tendency to overestimate the importance of that number because it is added to a base 15 to-hit plus other hidden to-hit bonuses from dex and skills.

The only "special" treatment short blades get (apart from sure blade) is a lower min delay (5, and 3 for quick blades) and better stabbing bonuses.