The bracers of war are widely considered one of the best artifacts available. They are the only artifact bracers in the game, and categorically better than any of the non-artifact bracers, with benefits to any class. Their unidentified form, "shining silver bracers", and representation as a yellow ~ symbol are unique and widely known to experienced players. Note that due to a bug, in ADOM versions prior to 1.2.0 they only boosted the PC's critical rate when wielded in either hand — so wearing them as they should be worn did not grant this bonus.[1]