spear of the botono

[Baldu]

Can both the hex enhancer and the -6 hp on that thing be removed?

The -6hp is definitely not interesting and makes the weapon a bad idea to use on a few species during the couple floors it is usable, and the hex enhancer is a terrible idea to use except for (mass)confusion because of delays in weapon switching.

[and into]

Hexes are quite good even without stabbing, weapon switching takes only a very short time anyway, and the Hex enhancer is the most interesting thing on the weapon. A lot of fixedarts are being designed (or re-designed) to give powerful unique effects, but with unique drawbacks. The malus to HP is not interesting intrinsically, but it is not meant to be; it exists to make using the spear a non-trivial decision. If it fails in this, some other drawback should be proposed. Removing the drawback and the powerful unique effect just turns it into a good randart for its base type, but since it is base type spear it simply won't be used for most characters except in early and mid-game.

[Baldu]

I hear what you're saying, but i've actually tried to use it on a character with hexes, and didnt find it helpful for hibernation/invisibility (the choice is either to always need an extra turn for weapon switching or sometimes an extra turn for landing hybernation) and found it only very slightly useful for confusion (i ended up dumping the spear because 2 casts of mass confusion always had better effect then 1 cast + weapon switching). I'm also currently using it on a hybrid that doesnt use hexes and at polearms skill 10 it seems to do similar damage as my +3+4 trident with no brand, and while the reaping is a fun little gimmick, i'll dump it in favor of the first trident with good brand or better polearm.

Basically, i've tried to use it for it's 2 gimmicks, hexes and reaping, and hexes doesnt need the help, while reaping is fun for a bit but is not so good, so this proposal was to help it get some use since I can't see anyone using it for any reason past d12 as it is. Keeping the hex on it i guess is ok since i cant even remember any other source of hex enhancer (because it's not useful at all really, hexes are amazingly good as it is) besides the archmagi robe, but the -6hp is just frustrating on an item that is really not so good at all.

[BlackSheep]

Yeah, your assessment of spell enhancers sucks. Getting hexes to land is heavily dependent on spell power, and a straight 50% boost to that power is huge. A low level hex like hibernation will max out early and won't benefit from the spear. Invisibility isn't really spell power dependent, and so the spear is at best a waste or at worst a one-way ticket to glowing. All the others: confusion, slow, fear, enslavement, discord are all very strong effects for disabling enemies which by the way join your side when you kill them. And you get all this for the low price of -6 HP, which should eventually be less than 6% of your max HP.

[mikee]

Has anyone ever used a staff of enchantment to cast hexes (or to cast anything, really)? Why might this be the case?

[Baldu]

Well, I guess I'll just retract the proposal to remove the -6hp from the spear then if I'm the only one who sees it that way. I'm surprised since past xl20 it's not very relevant and before xl10 it's quite frustrating, but it looks like I'm undervaluing the hex enhancer part even if I didn't have problems landing confusions and enslavements without it (disclaimer: i've never used discord).

For my current hybrid guy i just dumped the spear for a +5 glaive of freezing (polearms skill ~16) since it makes me feel massively safer from killing bads in half the time units and trying to last hit with the spear for zombies was super unfun.

[and into]

For my current hybrid guy i just dumped the spear for a +5 glaive of freezing (polearms skill ~16) since it makes me feel massively safer from killing bads in half the time units and trying to last hit with the spear for zombies was super unfun.

Yeah, don't just use reaping thing for last hit, that will be tedious as hell. At that point just get some necromancy skill if you really want the minions.

Mikee: I have used the staff of Enchantments before for hexing, but not very often. Wouldn't ever really use it for charms, doesn't seem to make much sense. I have more often used it for the sizable MR boost. Good switch on a spellcaster for when you run into Louise or when a Wizard or Ogre Mage has a bead on you. But in that role any randart with +MR does just as well.

Off topic, but quick proposal:

The Staff of Enchantments has chance to give random hex, from a list of hexes, to an enemy hit with it, chance and power based on evocations plus your hexes OR charms school (whichever higher?). Could be made especially powerful if it checked HD rather than MR, like confusing touch. Could be balanced by randomness or alternately needing relatively high investment to get it to stick. Possible hexes: Confusion, Sleep, Enslavement, Slow, Blind (yay another use for a new effect). Probably not paralysis (too strong) or petrify (could be annoying, plus it is technically transmutation.) Good/bad idea? (Note: I suggest hexes or charms can be used because it isn't giving you an effect that hexes can't replicate. A staff of fire gives a solid melee attack with sufficient investment, this would just be another way to get hexes to stick. On someone already using hexes, it is nice to conserve MP. But making it also work potentially from charms would open up some interesting possibilities, as everyone trains charms already. If too powerful can just be hexes though.)

[Tiber]

trying to last hit with the spear for zombies was super unfun.

Then you'll be happy to know it hasn't worked that way for exactly 2 years.

From http://crawl.develz.org/trunk/changes.txt
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ef8f590 | Adam Borowski | 2011-09-13 04:24:54 +0200

Rewrite the melee reaping brand.
The killing blow doesn't matter anymore, this fixes the main problem we had
with the brand, and the reason missiles of reaping have been removed: no
more sniping. If you use multiple ways to deal damage, the chance depends
on percentage of damage done with reaping.

[XuaXua]

Can the spear give you the ability to figure skate?