Throwing

Throwing is the Gargoyle racial weapon skill — the only ranged combat skill available to Gargoyle characters and the only weapon class in the game where the projectile returns to the wielder after each hit, consuming no ammunition. Introduced with the Stygian Abyss expansion alongside the Gargoyle race in 2009, Throwing combines an Archery-style ranged opener with a one-handed equipment profile that the bow class never offered.

Race lock

Throwing is Gargoyle-only. Human and Elf characters cannot raise the skill. Conversely, Gargoyles cannot use Archery — the two skills are racially mirrored. This is one of only two racial-restricted skills in the game (Throwing for Gargoyles, the Lesser Hiryu Bushido mount substitute notwithstanding).

A Gargoyle template that wants ranged combat must pick Throwing. A Human or Elf template that wants ranged combat must pick Archery. There is no cross-race training option for either skill, even via Soulstone — Soulstones reject the racial transfer.

Mechanics

Throwing is a combat skill. It rolls for hit chance against the target's defensive skill in the standard contested-roll model, scales damage off Tactics + Anatomy + Strength, and gates special-move thresholds at 70 (primary) / 90 (secondary) with the standard 30/60 Tactics requirement.

Two mechanics distinguish Throwing from Archery:

One-handed weapon, shield off-hand

All three Throwing weapons (Boomerang, Cyclone, Soul Glaive) are one-handed. The off-hand is free — the Gargoyle thrower can equip a shield, a buckler, or any one-handed off-hand item without the Balanced property contortions that an Archer needs.

Equipping a shield while throwing carries a defense and hit-chance penalty unless mitigated by Parrying skill points. With zero Parrying, the shield-equip penalty is severe; with GM Parrying, the penalty is largely offset and the thrower gets defensive blocks on incoming swings without sacrificing range. This is why Throwing builds nearly always take Parrying — it is the only way to get usable shield protection on a ranged combatant in UO.

Distance-band damage and accuracy

Each throwing weapon has a base range and a maximum range. The actual cast distance modifies both Hit Chance and damage:

The maximum range is modified by the thrower's Strength stat — higher Strength extends the maximum reach. This creates a "sweet spot" zone where the weapon strikes at full damage and full accuracy; pushing the cast to maximum range trades up to half the damage for the extra reach, while throwing into a target inside base range loses 12% of swings to the close-range penalty.

A thrower at GM Throwing with 100 Dexterity ignores the close-range hit-chance penalty entirely. This is the reason Gargoyle warriors keep Dex above 100 even in tank builds — it means they can transition from melee range to ranged on the same fight without reposition penalty.

Weapons

All three are crafted by Tinkering — the only Tinker-craftable weapons that are competitive at the high-end PvM tier. Throwing weapons accept normal Imbuing, Reforging, and runic-tool rolls.

The roster is intentionally small. The class trades roster breadth (Swordsmanship has 33 weapons, Throwing has 3) for the racial speed-and-utility profile.

Mystic Arc — the Boomerang signature

The Boomerang's primary, Mystic Arc, fires the weapon in a curving arc that strikes up to three targets in line of sight. It is one of the very few AoE specials in the game that does not require the Bushido Whirlwind formula — every hit deals base weapon damage to each of the three. With a poison runic Boomerang, a single Mystic Arc can apply Lethal Poison to a tightly grouped trio.

Mystic Arc is also the only Throwing-class AoE; Cyclone and Soul Glaive are single-target specials.

Infused Throw

The Cyclone's secondary, Infused Throw, is a Throwing-only spell-channeling special: the Gargoyle channels a Mystic spell as the throw connects, delivering the spell's effect (Hailstorm, Bombard, Eagle Strike, etc.) on top of the base weapon damage. It is the only weapon special in the game that integrates a casting-skill with a ranged hit, and it requires Mysticism + Focus on the same character.

Skill Mastery — The Precise

Reaching 90 real Throwing and reading any-tier Mastery Primer activates the Called Shot / Elemental Fury mastery line.

Title: The Precise. Called Shot - Legs is the canonical PvP slow-down trick; Elemental Fury is the boss damage burst.

Training

The acid-slug pit inside the Underworld is the canonical safe training ground — the slugs are non-aggressive at range, easy to ledge, and flow at a steady spawn rate.

The Underworld pit is the most popular training spot because the slug AI cannot pathfind to a ledged thrower, the spawn refresh is steady, and the slugs drop a small loot bonus.

Build context

• Pure Gargoyle Thrower. 120 Throwing, 120 Tactics, 120 Anatomy, 120 Parrying, 120 Bushido. Cyclone for Moving-Shot kiting; Soul Glaive for Mortal Strike finishing. Standard PvP and PvM throwing template.
• Mystic Thrower. 120 Throwing + 120 Mysticism + 120 Focus + 100 Imbuing. Cyclone with Infused Throw delivering Hailstorm; the only weapon build that integrates a magic school's burst with weapon DPS.
• Stealth Gargoyle. Hiding + Stealth + Throwing + Mortal Strike (Soul Glaive secondary). The Gargoyle equivalent of a Stealth Archer; opens from concealment with Mortal, then re-hides.
• Sampire-Gargoyle. Necromancy + Bushido + Throwing — the Vampire Form leech still works on a Throwing weapon. Loses the Sword + Lumberjacking axe stack but trades for ranged opening.

Strategy notes

• Soul Glaive Mortal is the highest-damage Throwing finisher. 18–22 base + Mortal Strike secondary, but the 4-second base swing is sluggish — pair with Bushido Lightning Strike for a guaranteed-hit opener before committing the Mortal.
• Cyclone is the workhorse. 3-second swing + Moving Shot primary + Infused Throw secondary makes it the most versatile of the three weapons. Standard PvM pick.
• Boomerang is for crowd control. The 2s swing combined with Mystic Arc AoE gives the highest sustained DPS against grouped enemies. PvM clearing tool.
• Maximum range is Strength-bound. A 100-Strength Gargoyle has 8 tiles max range with a Cyclone; a 150-Strength build pushes that to 10. Don't dump Strength on a Throwing dexer.
• Shield Bash + Parrying combines well with Throwing because the off-hand is free for a shield. The Parrying skill mastery's Shield Bash works while a Throwing weapon is equipped — the only ranged + shield-bash combination in the game.

See also

Tactics, Anatomy, Parrying, Mysticism, Focus, Special Moves, Power Scrolls, Archery, Gargoyle, Stygian Abyss, Boomerang, Cyclone, Soul Glaive, Mystic Arc, Infused Throw, Mortal Strike, Armor Ignore, Bushido, Sampire, Underworld, Ter Mur, Royal City.