I am certain that everyone unanimously agrees that this is the absolute worst item in the game right now. The piercing is situational at best, but the fact it makes you slowed with no way to get around it makes this item virtually unusable.
Obviously, something needs to be done about this item, but there are multiple solutions to this.
- Remove the slow, nerf piercing
This is probably the easiest, basic solution. It would make the item usable, but I'm not sure how useful it would be with lower piercing.
- Change how piercing works
The piercing only really makes this item useful against Blobs, higher level Wraiths, and not much else. Against everything else, it just makes things harder for you. Maybe allow piercing to go into the negatives? Or just give it more damage?
- Let First Strike negate the slow
A possible solution. Would make Rogues really good with it, and they're already a strong class. Kinda useful for Assassins too, I guess. Problem is for every other class, unless you find a GETINDARE or Tikki Tooki, it's just gonna be as crappy as it is now.
- Allow it to be "sheathed"
This is an idea I had. If the RBS could be toggled on an off, you wouldn't have to suffer the slowing effect for the entire dungeon. You could take it out for those certain monsters with physical resistance, and for the rest you could choose not to use it. Now you won't be threatened by those popcorn monsters.
These are just some ideas I have, but right now RBS is just a waste of a Blacksmith slot.