Heavy Thrown skill
General information
Lacking some of the versatility of light thrown, heavy thrown makes up for this by being significantly more powerful. While not as powerful as bows and crossbows, thrown weapons do not need to be aimed. This is both a blessing (as it lowers roundtime between attacks) and a curse (as the option of receiving a large bonus to attack power and accuracy by aiming is not available).
Thrown weapons are unusual in that they do not use standard ranged weapon calculations. Rather, they use melee calculations. This sets them apart from standard ranged weapons but also causes some problems, making them more susceptible to shield and armor than standard ranged weapons.
However, heavy thrown is still an extremely powerful weapon class, able to dish out worthy damage, often with very low roundtimes between attacks.
Lodging vs. Non-Lodging
Like other ranged weapons, Heavy Thrown weapons capable of doing Piercing damage (e.g. spears, javelins) may lodge in the target, becoming unavailable until the target is slain. In some cases, weapons lodged in a creature may be permanently lost if the creature de-spawns or exist the room before it can be killed.
To avoid this problem, you may elect to use Heavy Thrown weapons that do no piercing damage (e.g. throwing hammers or mallets), which will not lodge unless HURL is used.
You can also make use of the new LOB attack, which will never lodge the weapon, regardless of the piercing capability of the weapon used.
While non-piercing weapons will not lodge on normal attacks, piercing-type weapons tend to do more damage overall (given similar quality), so there is a trade-off to consider.
Changes to Heavy Thrown in 3.0 and 3.1
New maneuvers are available, making Heavy Thrown weapons more versatile:
- HURL: Incredibly damaging maneuver for thrown weapons with a guaranteed chance to lodge for all types of weapons (even blunts).
- LOB: Lightly damaging, fast attack for thrown weapons that has 0% chance to lodge with all types of weapons.
Guild-specific abilities
- Paladins who cast the spell Bond Armaments will see their thrown heapons (both Heavy and Light Thrown) return to their hands (pulsing every 5-6 seconds) automatically after throwing. Thus, piercing weapons can be used without fear of lodging:
< Moving in gracefully, you throw a haralun hhr'ata (throwing hammer) at a gap-toothed scavenger goblin. A gap-toothed scavenger goblin attempts to dodge, taking the full blow.
The hhr'ata (throwing hammer) lands a heavy strike to the goblin's chest.
The hhr'ata (throwing hammer) falls to the ground!
[You're solidly balanced with opponent in better position.]
[Roundtime 3 sec.]
< Your hhr'ata (throwing hammer) leaps back into your right hand!
Other classes can mimic this ability by means of a Weapon bonding potion, but they must INVOKE the bond after each throw (imposing a short roundtime.)
Recommended weapons
- a short hunting spear (for beginners- inexpensive, lightweight, and short enough to store in a standard backpack or harness)
- any player-crafted steel (or rare metal) heavy thrown weapon (should be available from player-owned shops in Crossing Market Plaza)
- a square-faced throwing hammer made of pitted black iron (for those with a large bank account)
- a Mistwood atlatl with a diamondique grip (rare item, allows AIM to be used with spear-type Heavy Thrown weapons)
- a Grooved predator's spear with a sturdy ironwood haft (from festival; unusually high damage, suitability, and balance for a non-crafted weapon)