Tempered Broadsword
| Tempered Broadsword | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Weapon |
| Type | Sword |
| Level | 7 |
| Damage | 29-44 |
| Crit Chance | 2% |
| Stats | Speed (−3); Defense (+3); Weight (+3) |
| Location | Floor 90 of The Mines (remixed); The Mines (Floors 81-99); Skull Cavern; Quarry Mine |
The Tempered Broadsword is the armoured answer to the bottom third of the Mines, and it has to be found rather than bought. Crates, barrels and the special drops of the floors in the eighties and nineties produce it, and so do the Skull Cavern and the Quarry Mine. It hits for 29 to 44, the hardest swing of any sword that turns up at that depth, and it stacks three points of defence and three points of knockback on top. Three points of swing speed pay for all of that, which makes it the opposite weapon to the Steel Falchion found on the same floors. Shadow Brutes and Squid Kids hit hard enough that trading blows behind three points of defence is a genuine strategy, and this is the blade built for it.
Location
Breaking containers on the deep Mines floors is the usual way one appears, and the monsters there drop it as a special find. Both routes are luck, so the sword tends to arrive unannounced in the middle of a dive.
The Skull Cavern offers the same chance under worse conditions. Its floors are randomised and its monsters are far stronger, which is a hard place to be hunting for the sword that was supposed to make it survivable. Many players meet the broadsword there long after a Galaxy Sword has made it redundant.
The Quarry Mine is the calmer option. It is one long level that stays exactly as it was left, so its crates can be worked through in one visit, and slimes and Haunted Skulls are the worst it holds.
A save started with remixed mine rewards can place the broadsword in the floor 90 chest, which is the one route that does not depend on breaking anything.
Stats
The damage band is the sword's case for itself. A good swing of 44 is close to the Obsidian Edge from the floor 90 chest, and the floor of 29 is higher than most mid-game swords ever reach. Few monsters above the Skull Cavern survive two connections.
Defence is the stat that changes how the sword plays. Three points reduce every hit the farmer absorbs, and against the Shadow Shamans and Lava Crabs of the deep Mines that is the difference between retreating for food and standing still. Combined with Firewalker or Dark Boots from the Guild's shelf, a farm can walk into a room instead of circling it.
Knockback is the quiet third bonus. Three extra points throw a monster well clear, which buys back some of the time the slow swing costs, because whatever was hit is no longer in range to answer.
The speed penalty is the honest drawback. Swings land noticeably further apart than on a plain sword, and a monster that survives one gets a free attack in. That is why this blade suits patient, defensive play and frustrates anyone who likes to sprint through a floor. The fast alternative is the Steel Falchion, which hits for a similar 28 to 46 with four points of speed, and the two swords neatly divide the deep Mines between them.
Critical hits stay at the common two percent, so the broadsword lands averages rather than spikes.
Notes
Blocking is the sword's natural partner. The guard absorbs an incoming hit and knocks flying monsters away, and on a weapon this slow the stance fills the gap between swings rather than interrupting a rhythm.
At the Forge the obvious gem is Emerald, which buys back the speed the sword trades away. Three forges are allowed, so three Emeralds turn it into something that hits like a broadsword and swings like an ordinary blade. Topaz instead piles defence onto its strongest column, which suits a farmer who wants to stand in the middle of a Skull Cavern floor and let it come.
Vampiric is the enchantment that fits best, since a slow weapon takes more hits in the course of a fight and health returned on every kill steadies that out. Crusader is the alternative for anyone who spends time among Mummies and Skeletons, because it adds half again against them and keeps Mummies from standing back up.
The sword sells for 350g, which is a poor return on a weapon this useful, so it is normally kept until something galactic replaces it.
All Swords
Every entry in this group, with its key details.
| Name | Image | Type | Level | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bone Sword | 
|
Sword | 5 | 20-30 |
| Claymore | 
|
Sword | 5 | 20-32 |
| Cutlass | 
|
Sword | 3 | 9-17 |
| Dark Sword | 
|
Sword | 9 | 30-45 |
| Dragontooth Cutlass | 
|
Sword | 13 | 75-90 |
| Dwarf Sword | 
|
Sword | 13 | 65-75 |
| Forest Sword | 
|
Sword | 3 | 8-18 |
| Galaxy Sword | 
|
Sword | 13 | 60-80 |
| Haley's Iron | 
|
Sword | 6 | 30-45 |
| Holy Blade | 
|
Sword | 7 | 20-27 |
| Infinity Blade | 
|
Sword | 17 | 80-100 |
| Insect Head | 
|
Sword | 6 | 20-30 |
| Iron Edge | 
|
Sword | 3 | 12-25 |
| Lava Katana | 
|
Sword | 10 | 55-64 |
| Leah's Whittler | 
|
Sword | 6 | 30-45 |
| Meowmere | 
|
Sword | 4 | 20-20 |
| Neptune's Glaive | 
|
Sword | 5 | 18-35 |
| Obsidian Edge | 
|
Sword | 6 | 30-45 |
| Ossified Blade | 
|
Sword | 6 | 26-42 |
| Pirate's Sword | 
|
Sword | 2 | 8-14 |
| Rapier | 
|
Sword | 4 | 15-25 |
| Rusty Sword | 
|
Sword | 1 | 2-5 |
| Silver Saber | 
|
Sword | 2 | 8-15 |
| Steel Falchion | 
|
Sword | 8 | 28-46 |
| Steel Smallsword | 
|
Sword | 1 | 4-8 |
| Tempered Broadsword | 
|
Sword | 7 | 29-44 |
| Templar's Blade | 
|
Sword | 5 | 22-29 |
| Wooden Blade | 
|
Sword | 1 | 3-7 |
| Yeti Tooth | 
|
Sword | 7 | 26-42 |