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<title>Attack Methods in Unangband - Advantages and Disadvantages</title>
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<table style="text-align: left; width: 100%;" border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2">
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<td>Attack type</td>
<td>Advantages</td>
<td>Disadvantages</td>
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<td>Melee</td>
<td>Doesn't use up any resources<br>
High damage output<br>
Uses less than a full turn of energy if less than full blows required to kill a monster</td>
<td>Requires you be adjacent to monsters to attack<br>
Light weapons are less effective on first attack and against huge monsters<br>
Weapon damage is reduced by monster armour class, by up to 75%<br>
Evasive monsters can evade<br>
Can miss</td>
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<td>Attacking with blunt weapon<br>
(in addition to melee / throwing comments)</td>
<td>Does stunning damage for criticals<br>
Sufficiently stunned monsters will not alert their comrades when you attack (?)<br>
Can instead be set in traps</td>
<td>Ghosts and semi-substantial monsters are resistant or immune<br>
A lot of monsters ignore the stun effect<br>
</td>
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<td>Attacking with sword<br>
(in addition to melee / throwing comments)</td>
<td>Does cutting damage for criticals<br>
Sufficiently cut monsters will not alert their comrades when you attack (?)<br>
Cut monsters can bleed to death independently of you doing further damage<br>
Can coat these weapons with potions, flasks or mushrooms for additional damage and a variety of effects<br>
Can instead be set in traps</td>
<td>Rocky or metallic monsters are resistant or immune<br>
A lot of monsters ignore the cutting effect</td>
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<td>Attacking with polearm<br>
(in addition to melee / throwing / shooting comments)</td>
<td>Does additonal damage for criticals<br>
Can coat these weapons with potions, flasks or mushrooms for additional damage and a variety of effects<br>
Can instead be set in traps</td>
<td>Rocky or metallic monsters are resistant or immune</td>
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<td>Throwing - from hands</td>
<td>Can use at range<br>
You can hit multiple targets with a single throw, including having the weapon return to your hands<br>
Weapon damage is not reduced by monster armour class<br>
If you miss a target, you can sometimes hit the target behind them instead<br>
Uses less than a full turn of energy if number of targets less than
number of hurls, counting returning to your hands as one target</td>
<td>Thrown weapon can be damaged or break<br>
If you miss or fumble, you end up with no wielded weapon<br>
Heavier weapons have shorter range<br>
You cannot wield a stack of ammunition<br>
Evasive monsters can evade<br>
Can miss<br>
Requires line of fire to the target</td>
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<td>Throwing - from quiver, backpack or floor</td>
<td>Can use at range<br>
Weapon damage is not reduced by monster armour class<br>
If you miss a target, you can sometimes hit the target behind them instead<br>
Can store up to 10 different throwing weapons in the quiver<br>
Ammunition will be dropped by monsters that use it<br>
Can instead be set in traps<br>
Each throw uses less than a full turn of energy with multiple hurls</td>
<td>Thrown weapon can be damaged or break<br>
Stacks of ammunition can be very heavy<br>
You go through ammunition quickly<br>
Ammunition is vulnerable to destruction from elemental attacks<br>
Evasive monsters can evade<br>
Can miss<br>
Are more likely to miss or be blocked by monsters with shields<br>
Requires line of fire to the target</td>
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<td>Throwing - potions / flasks</td>
<td>Magical bags can hold a large stack of ammunition<br>
A wide variety of effects<br>
Can hit multiple targets in area of effect<br>
If you miss a target, you can sometimes hit the target behind them instead<br>
Explodes if blocked by a monster's shield<br>
Damage is not reduced by monster armour class<br>
Potions and flasks stack easily<br>
Can instead be set in traps or used to coat weapons<br>
A limited range of potions and flasks will be dropped by monsters that use them, and by certain traps<br>
Can instead be set in traps<br>
Monsters that resist magic always affected<br>
Each throw uses less than a full turn of energy with multiple hurls</td>
<td>Monsters can be resistant or immune to specific effects<br>
Potions/flasks will always be destroyed when thrown<br>
Must break against a target to explode<br>
Evasive monsters can evade<br>
Can miss<br>
Potions/flasks are vulnerable to destruction from a variety of elemental attacks<br>
Potions/flasks destroyed under the player can damage you<br>
Requires line of fire to the target or an adacent grid<br>
Damage drops away from the centre of effect</td>
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<td>Throwing - spores</td>
<td>A wide variety of effects<br>
Affects a radius 1 area<br>
If you miss a target, you can sometimes hit the target behind them instead<br>
Explodes if blocked by a monster's shield<br>
Damage is not reduced by monster armour class<br>
Spores stack easily<br>
Spores will be dropped by dead mushroom patches<br>
Can instead be set in traps<br>
Monsters that resist magic always affected<br>
Each throw uses less than a full turn of energy with multiple hurls</td>
<td>Monsters can be resistant or immune to specific effects<br>
Spores will always be destroyed when thrown<br>
Spores are only dropped from dead mushroom patches<br>
Must break against a target to explode<br>
Evasive monsters can evade<br>
Can miss<br>
Requires line of fire to the target or an adjacent grid<br>
Damage drops away from the centre of effect</td>
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<td>Shooting</td>
<td>Can use at long range<br>
Weapon damage is not reduced by monster armour class<br>
If you miss a target, you can sometimes hit the target behind them instead<br>
Can store up to 10 different types of ammunition in the quiver<br>
Damage is not reduced by monster armour class<br>
Ammunition will be dropped by monsters that use it<br>
Can instead be set in traps, but requires a missile launcher for the trap as well<br>
Each shot uses less than a full turn of energy with multiple shots</td>
<td>Ammunition can break<br>
Stacks of ammunition can be heavy<br>
You go through ammunition quickly<br>
Ammunition is vulnerable to destruction from elemental attacks<br>
Evasive monsters can evade<br>
Can miss<br>
Are more likely to miss or be blocked by monsters with shields<br>
Requires line of fire to the target, but can sometimes bypass a closer target</td>
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<td>Shooting - with sling<br>
</td>
<td>Can use any thrown weapons as sling ammunition<br>
Does stunning damage for criticals<br>
Can collect ammunition from terrain in the dungeon</td>
<td>Ghosts and semi-substantial monsters are resistant or immune to sling shot<br>
A lot of monsters ignore the stun effect of sling shot<br>
Stacks of ammunition can be very heavy<br>
Shots are less likely to break</td>
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<td>Shooting - with bow</td>
<td>Does additonal damage for criticals<br>
Can coat ammunition with potions, flasks or mushrooms for additional damage and a variety of effects<br>
</td>
<td>Rocky or metallic monsters are resistant or immune<br>
Stacks of ammunition can be heavy</td>
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<td>Shooting - with crossbow</td>
<td>Does additonal damage for criticals<br>
Can coat ammunition with potions, flasks or mushrooms for additional damage and a variety of effects</td>
<td>Rocky or metallic monsters are resistant or immune<br>
Stacks of ammuntion can be very heavy</td>
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<td>Shooting - with gun (?)</td>
<td>Does stunning damage for criticals</td>
<td>Ghosts and semi-substantial monsters are resistant or immune to sling shot<br>
A lot of monsters ignore the stun effect of sling shot<br>
Stacks of ammunition can be very heavy<br>
Shots are less likely to break<br>
Requires flasks of gunpowder to recharge<br>
Stacks of ammunition can be very heavy<br>
Shots are less likely to break</td>
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<td>Shooting - with wandbow</td>
<td>Can use any wand as ammunition<br>
A wide variety of effects<br>
Does not require magic device skill to use<br>
Magical bags can hold a large number of wands</td>
<td>Monsters can be resistant or immune to specific effects<br>
Charges on wands run out through use</td>
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<td>Coating - potions / flasks</td>
<td>A wide variety of effects<br>
Damage is not reduced by monster armour class<br>
Monsters that resist magic always affected</td>
<td>Monsters can be resistant or immune to specific effects<br>
Coating runs out periodically<br>
Cannot coat powerful ego items or artifacts<br>
Have a chance of hitting yourself with coated weapon (?)</td>
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<td>Coating - mushrooms</td>
<td>A wide variety of effects<br>
Damage is not reduced by monster armour class<br>
Monsters that resist magic always affected</td>
<td>Monsters can be resistant or immune to specific effects<br>
Ineffective against non-living targets<br>
Coating runs out through use<br>
Cannot coat powerful ego items or artifacts<br>
Have a chance of hitting yourself with coated weapon (?)</td>
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<td>Rods</td>
<td>A wide variety of effects<br>
Rods stack easily when charged<br>
Effects include both directed attacks and utility powers<br>
Can instead be set in traps<br>
A stack of fast charging rods can be used every turn if the stack size exceeds the charge time</td>
<td>Requires magical device skill to use<br>
Chance of failure when used<br>
Stacks can be heavy<br>
Monsters can be resistant or immune to specific effects<br>
Requires many inventory slots for charging rods<br>
Requires at least one inventory slot for each type of effect<br>
Rod requires recharging after use<br>
Electrical attacks discharge rods<br>
Often has no effect on monsters that resist magic</td>
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<td>Wands</td>
<td>A wide variety of effects<br>
Magical bags can hold a large number of wands<br>
Wands stack easily when they have similar charges<br>
Stacks are light<br>
Can instead be set in traps</td>
<td>Effects are primarily elemental damage attacks<br>
Requires magical device skill to use<br>
Chance of failure when used<br>
Monsters can be resistant or immune to specific effects<br>
Requires many equipment slots for wands of different charges, if the appropriate magical bag has not been found<br>
Requires at least one inventory slot for each type of effect, if the appropriate magical bag has not been found<br>
A limited number of charges before requiring recharge<br>
Electrical attacks discharge wands<br>
Effects only include directed attacks<br>
Often has no effect on monsters that resist magic</td>
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<td>Staffs</td>
<td>Can be wielded as a blunt weapon<br>
A wide variety of effects<br>
Effects include both undirected attacks and utility powers<br>
Can instead be set in traps</td>
<td>Requires magical device skill to use<br>
Chance of failure when used<br>
Monsters can be resistant or immune to specific effects<br>
Requires many equipment slots for staffs of different charges<br>
Requires at least one inventory slot for each type of effect<br>
A limited number of charges before requiring recharge<br>
Staffs do not stack very easily<br>
Cannot target specific enemies with effects<br>
Often has no effect on monsters that resist magic</td>
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<td>Rings</td>
<td>A wide variety of effects<br>
Up to 5 rings of one type can be worn on a hand<br>
Rings are immune to destruction from elemental attacks<br>
Stacks are very light<br>
Can instead be set in traps</td>
<td>Effects are primarily elemental damage attacks<br>
Requires magical device skill to use<br>
Chance of failure when used<br>
Monsters can be resistant or immune to specific effects<br>
Only two different types of rings can be worn at any one time<br>
Rings requires recharging after use<br>
Rings must be worn to be used<br>
Often has no effect on monsters that resist magic</td>
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<td>Scrolls</td>
<td>A wide variety of effects<br>
Effects include both undirected attacks and utility powers<br>
Stacks are light<br>
Requires no skill to use<br>
No chance of failure<br>
Can instead be set in traps</td>
<td>Monsters can be resistant or immune to specific effects<br>
Requires one inventory slot for each type of effect, if the appropriate magical bag has not been found<br>
Scrolls are vulnerable to destruction from a wide variety of elemental attacks<br>
Often has no effect on monsters that resist magic</td>
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<td>Dragon armour</td>
<td>A variety of effects<br>
Activate for multiple effects simultaneously<br>
Can choose amongst several different effects when activated<br>
Effects are amongst the most damaging in the game<br>
Can instead be set in traps<br>
</td>
<td>Effects are primarily elemental damage attacks<br>
Some types of dragon breaths blind the user when used<br>
Requires magical device skill to use<br>
Chance of failure when used<br>
Monsters can be resistant or immune to specific effects<br>
Only one suit of dragon armour can be worn at any one time<br>
Dragon armour requires recharging after use<br>
Dragon armour must be worn to be used<br>
Stacks are very heavy<br>
Often has no effect on monsters that resist magic</td>
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<td>Artifacts</td>
<td>A wide variety of effects<br>
Can activate for multiple effects simultaneously<br>
Can be inscribed with =A to activate the artifact against a target when attacking it<br>
If a weapon, can instead be set in traps to strike a blow only<br>
Which equipment slot required varies<br>
Up to 10 artifacts can be worn<br>
Monsters that resist magic always affected</td>
<td>Requires magical device skill to use, except when used attacking with inscription<br>
Chance of failure when used, except when used attacking with inscription<br>
Monsters can be resistant or immune to specific effects<br>
Artifact requires recharging after use<br>
Artifact must be wielded or worn to be used<br>
Only one artifact of each type exists</td>
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<td>Food / mushrooms</td>
<td>Requires that the monster eat the food to take effect<br>
Can instead be set in traps<br>
Mushrooms can be used to coat weapons instead<br>
Mushrooms have a variety of effects<br>
Mushrooms will be dropped by dead mushroom patches<br>
Monsters that resist magic always affected</td>
<td>Normal food does no damage<br>
Mushroom effects are normally low damage, and only detrimental to monster stats<br>
Monsters are resistant to specific effects<br>
Ineffective against non-living targets</td>
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<td>Bolt / missile spells (including effects from the above items)</td>
<td>Multiple bolt spells do very high damage at high levels<br>
Unlimited range<br>
Never misses<br>
A wide variety of effects</td>
<td>Monsters can be resistant or immune to specific effects<br>
Requires mana, charges or activation depending on source<br>
Requires line of fire to the target<br>
Evasive monsters can evade<br>
Sometimes has no effect on monsters that resist magic, depending on the source</td>
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<td>Area / storm / orb spells</td>
<td>Do very high damage at high levels<br>
Damage consistant across the whole radius of effect<br>
Only requires line of sight to the target or a nearby grid<br>
Unlimited range<br>
Evasive monsters cannot evade these<br>
Never misses<br>
Can hit multiple targets in area of effect</td>
<td>Effects are primarily elemental damage attacks<br>
Monsters can be resistant or immune to specific effects<br>
Requires mana, charges or activation depending on source<br>
Can be expensive mana-wise or occur only on harder to find items<br>
Sometimes has no effect on monsters that resist magic, depending on the source<br>
Evasive monsters can evade<br>
Can destroy objects on the ground</td>
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<td>Ball spells</td>
<td>Only requires line of sight to the target, can target nearby grids for less damage<br>
Unlimited range<br>
Evasive monsters cannot evade these<br>
Never misses<br>
Can hit multiple targets in area of effect</td>
<td>Effects are primarily elemental damage attacks<br>
Monsters can be resistant or immune to specific effects<br>
Requires mana, charges or activation depending on source<br>
Damage drops away from the centre of effect<br>
Sometimes has no effect on monsters that resist magic, depending on the source<br>
Requires mana, charges or activation depending on source<br>
Can destroy objects on the ground</td>
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<td>Beam / hand spells</td>
<td>A wide variety of effects<br>
Only requires line of sight to the target<br>
Never misses<br>
Damage consistant across the whole line of effect<br>
Can hit multiple targets in area of effect<br>
Very efficient damage to mana ratio, if many targets caught in the effect</td>
<td>Effects are primarily elemental damage attacks<br>
Monsters can be resistant or immune to specific effects<br>
Requires mana, charges or activation depending on source<br>
Limited range, very limited for hand spells<br>
Sometimes has no effect on monsters that resist magic, depending on the source<br>
Evasive monsters can evade</td>
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<td>Line of sight spells</td>
<td>A wide variety of effects<br>
Affect all monsters in line of sight<br>
Unlimited range<br>
Evasive monsters cannot evade these<br>
Damage consistent against all targets</td>
<td>Effects are primarily elemental damage attacks<br>
Monsters can be resistant or immune to specific effects<br>
Requires mana, charges or activation depending on source<br>
Can be expensive mana-wise or occur only on harder to find items<br>
Sometimes has no effect on monsters that resist magic, depending on the source<br>
Can destroy objects on the ground under a target</td>
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<td>Blast spells</td>
<td><br>
Evasive monsters cannot evade these<br>
Never misses<br>
Can hit multiple targets in area of effect</td>
<td>Effects are primarily elemental damage attacks<br>
Monsters can be resistant or immune to specific effects<br>
Centred on a grid adjacent to the player, with limited area of effect<br>
Damage drops away with distance<br>
Requires mana, charges or activation depending on source<br>
Sometimes has no effect on monsters that resist magic, depending on the source</td>
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<td>Minor bolt spells</td>
<td>Never misses</td>
<td>Effects are primarily elemental damage attacks<br>
Monsters can be resistant or immune to specific effects<br>
Requires line of fire to the target<br>
Evasive monsters can evade<br>
Limited range<br>
Requires mana, charges or activation depending on source<br>
Sometimes has no effect on monsters that resist magic, depending on the source</td>
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<td>Minor ball spells</td>
<td>Never misses<br>
Evasive monsters cannot evade this<br>
Can hit multiple targets in area of effect</td>
<td>Effects are primarily elemental damage attacks<br>
Requires line of fire to the target, or can target a nearby grid<br>
Damage drops away with distance<br>
Monsters can be resistant or immune to specific effects<br>
Requires mana, charges or activation depending on source<br>
Sometimes has no effect on monsters that resist magic, depending on the source</td>
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<td>Aura / splash spells</td>
<td>Never misses<br>
Evasive monsters cannot evade this<br>
Can hit multiple targets in area of effect</td>
<td>Effects are primarily elemental damage attacks<br>
Monsters can be resistant or immune to specific effects<br>
Centred on the player, with limited area of effect<br>
Requires mana, charges or activation depending on source<br>
Sometimes has no effect on monsters that resist magic, depending on the source</td>
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<td>Arc spells / breaths</td>
<td>Never misses<br>
Does very high damage at high levels<br>
Evasive monsters cannot evade this<br>
Can hit multiple targets in area of effect</td>
<td>Effects are primarily elemental damage attacks<br>
Monsters can be resistant or immune to specific effects<br>
Damage drops away with distance from the player<br>
Sometimes has no effect on monsters that resist magic, depending on the source</td>
</tr>
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<td>Setting traps</td>
<td>Does not require line of sight to the target<br>
Can be set to prepare the ground and channel monsters into a specific area<br>
Virtually any object can be set in a trap<br>
A trap can take effect whilst you are on the other side of the dungeon<br>
An unlimited number of traps can be set</td>
<td>Monsters can be resistant or immune to specific effects<br>
Can miss<br>
Evasive monsters can evade<br>
Intelligent monsters can disarm<br>
Traps can go off if you fail to set it correctly<br>
Requires disarming skill to set<br>
Requires a turn to prepare the trap<br>
Requires that the monster walk onto the trap<br>
Cannot affect monsters that fly or climb or pass through walls<br>
Only affects the grid the trap is in<br>
Requires mana, charges or activation depending on source, or can damage or break ammunition</td>
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