Cebrious Arcane-hybrid
Wanderer
A Guide to Weaponry
A Guide to Weaponry
By: Cebrious Arcane
I roll with two weapons as a dexer, all the time, I almost exclusively PK, though I have dueled a few times, and play mostly solo, just for clarification on my perspective. For two weapons I find it's best to have one that is two-handed and one that is one-handed, but that combination is not essential. Below I've detailed the weapon catagories with an over view and a few comments on some of the various combinations each weapon catagory has to offer.
Maces:
The diversity of macing is what makes it so great. For two-handed weapons the two best choices are a Warhammer and a Quarter Staff. The Warhammer has Crushing Hits and the Q-Staff is a mage's second (first is detailed below) worst nightmare because it's fast, does good damage, and reduces stamina. For one-handed weapons there are War Axes, probably the ideal one-handed macing weapon but it is very under rated, fast, good damage, and one-handed. There are also War Maces though, which are a little slower with a bit of a jump in damage.
:: Q-Staff with a War Mace is a nice combination, the speed of the Q-staff with the damage of the War Mace when you need it, i.e. when you need one free hand for potions.
:: Warhammer with a War Axe is similar, but better. The Warhammer does phenomenal damage but is noticeably slow, but the speed of the War Axe is good for getting up close and personal with a mage after a nice Crushing Hit.
:: Warhammer with a Q-Staff is devastating. Ridiculous damage matched with ridiculous speed, but no free hand for emergency potions, making it a better option when you've got some friends watching your health bar.
Swords:
Swords have the greatest diversity, but the majority of swordsmanship weapons are rightfully neglected. For one handed weapons there are two real options, the Katana, or the Broadsword. The Katana is very fast, it deals moderate damage, and is commonly used as a good overall sword. The Broadsword is slower but the damage increase compensates nicely. Two handed weapons are where the options really come into being. With the Lumberjacking Skill a good axe can annihilate opponents. Concussion blow is a mage's worst enemy, half mana is devastating in combat with any opponent of adequate melee skilled. Couple that with very nice damage and a moderately fast swing rate and you've got quite a formitable weapon in hand. The standard Axe is a nice choice, the speed makes up for less damage. Executioner Axe is good as well, only slightly slower in speed and noticeably better in damage, same as the Double Axe and it looks cool. With no Lumberjacking Skill, Halberds are a great choice. Great damage, they're too heavy to steal if you're disarmed, they're slow, but you want the two-handed weapon for damage more than speed anyway. One-handed swords can also be poisoned which is very beneficial.
:: Broadsword with a standard Axe is good. Good damage and speed with one or two hands, a nice balance between damage and speed, while allowing the option for potions or delivering the Concussion Blow.
:: Katana with Executioners Axe is a surprisingly mix. The damage from the axe is always good and springing out a Katana after the Concussion Blow is delivered usually means a mage saying "OOoOo".
:: Katana with Halberd is a more extreme version of the above. No Lumberjacking bonus but more damage at a slower pace. Add the swiftness of a Katana as backup and you can be very formidable in most situations.
Fencing:
Fencing is great overall. There are three choices for one-handed weaponry and three for two-handed, but the skill is far from neglected. Fencers have the added luxury of being able to use newbified Daggers with proficient skill, always having a back-up weapon is a nice plus. The Dagger is nice, you can poison it, like the other one handed fencing weapons, and they are rarely looted if you happen to have one that's not newbified or are a PK. The Kryss looks cool, and is similar to the Katana for Fencing. War Fork is great too, and I would liken it to the Broadsword for Swordsmanship. The Pitchfork is not under-estimated. It is fast, and can deliver a Paralyzing Strike, but the damage is ridiculously miniscule. The Short Spear and standard Spear are both solid weapons. The Paralyzing Strike is a phenomenal ability; the Short Spear is faster while doing less damage, while the Spear is slower and does more damage.
:: Dagger and Pitchfork are...well...funny at least. Perhaps you'd gain the advantage because they're laughing IRL as you storm at them with a Pitchfork and a Dagger and teeth bared.
:: War Fork and Short Spear are a great combination. You can poison the War Fork, it does good damage and is anything but slow. Short Spear is fast, damages nicely, and deals the Paralyzing Strike.
:: Kryss and Spear is a less balanced, but very efficient method. The Kryss is much faster than the Spear and the Spear deals very nice damage with the paralyzation to boot. Start with a Spear, get the Paralyzing Strike, and maybe another hit or two before they're moving again, chase'm down and finish the job with the fast swinging Kryss.
Archery:
Archery is great when accented by one of the other weapon classes or Magery. Though it is not too slow, the damage does not compensate for the slowness, but that's okay because the range is more than worth it. Heavy Crossbows deal the most damage and are very slow. The standard Bow is much faster but does less damage and the Crossbow is a nice medium between the two.
:: Bow and Katana is speed and range. A good combination overall, you have the ability to deal damage at a distance and have the speed to get the final swings in when it counts.
:: Crossbow and Quarter Staff is a nice blend of speed and damage. The Crossbow is not as slow as the Heavy Crossbow and deals more damage than the bow while the Q-staff is fast for those close situations and takes down stamina which is good in case they try to run.
:: Heavy Crossbow and Warhammer, damage, damage, and more damage. A good Heavy Crossbow hit followed by a luckily timed Crushing Blow and that is that folks. You will definitely have them running if not dead, but the delay to swing may be a factor and this also limits your speed significantly. A worthy gamble, but more well suited for group combat.
Feedback is welcome, as well as results from your own testing.
Thanks for reading.
A Guide to Weaponry
By: Cebrious Arcane
I roll with two weapons as a dexer, all the time, I almost exclusively PK, though I have dueled a few times, and play mostly solo, just for clarification on my perspective. For two weapons I find it's best to have one that is two-handed and one that is one-handed, but that combination is not essential. Below I've detailed the weapon catagories with an over view and a few comments on some of the various combinations each weapon catagory has to offer.
Maces:
The diversity of macing is what makes it so great. For two-handed weapons the two best choices are a Warhammer and a Quarter Staff. The Warhammer has Crushing Hits and the Q-Staff is a mage's second (first is detailed below) worst nightmare because it's fast, does good damage, and reduces stamina. For one-handed weapons there are War Axes, probably the ideal one-handed macing weapon but it is very under rated, fast, good damage, and one-handed. There are also War Maces though, which are a little slower with a bit of a jump in damage.
:: Q-Staff with a War Mace is a nice combination, the speed of the Q-staff with the damage of the War Mace when you need it, i.e. when you need one free hand for potions.
:: Warhammer with a War Axe is similar, but better. The Warhammer does phenomenal damage but is noticeably slow, but the speed of the War Axe is good for getting up close and personal with a mage after a nice Crushing Hit.
:: Warhammer with a Q-Staff is devastating. Ridiculous damage matched with ridiculous speed, but no free hand for emergency potions, making it a better option when you've got some friends watching your health bar.
Swords:
Swords have the greatest diversity, but the majority of swordsmanship weapons are rightfully neglected. For one handed weapons there are two real options, the Katana, or the Broadsword. The Katana is very fast, it deals moderate damage, and is commonly used as a good overall sword. The Broadsword is slower but the damage increase compensates nicely. Two handed weapons are where the options really come into being. With the Lumberjacking Skill a good axe can annihilate opponents. Concussion blow is a mage's worst enemy, half mana is devastating in combat with any opponent of adequate melee skilled. Couple that with very nice damage and a moderately fast swing rate and you've got quite a formitable weapon in hand. The standard Axe is a nice choice, the speed makes up for less damage. Executioner Axe is good as well, only slightly slower in speed and noticeably better in damage, same as the Double Axe and it looks cool. With no Lumberjacking Skill, Halberds are a great choice. Great damage, they're too heavy to steal if you're disarmed, they're slow, but you want the two-handed weapon for damage more than speed anyway. One-handed swords can also be poisoned which is very beneficial.
:: Broadsword with a standard Axe is good. Good damage and speed with one or two hands, a nice balance between damage and speed, while allowing the option for potions or delivering the Concussion Blow.
:: Katana with Executioners Axe is a surprisingly mix. The damage from the axe is always good and springing out a Katana after the Concussion Blow is delivered usually means a mage saying "OOoOo".
:: Katana with Halberd is a more extreme version of the above. No Lumberjacking bonus but more damage at a slower pace. Add the swiftness of a Katana as backup and you can be very formidable in most situations.
Fencing:
Fencing is great overall. There are three choices for one-handed weaponry and three for two-handed, but the skill is far from neglected. Fencers have the added luxury of being able to use newbified Daggers with proficient skill, always having a back-up weapon is a nice plus. The Dagger is nice, you can poison it, like the other one handed fencing weapons, and they are rarely looted if you happen to have one that's not newbified or are a PK. The Kryss looks cool, and is similar to the Katana for Fencing. War Fork is great too, and I would liken it to the Broadsword for Swordsmanship. The Pitchfork is not under-estimated. It is fast, and can deliver a Paralyzing Strike, but the damage is ridiculously miniscule. The Short Spear and standard Spear are both solid weapons. The Paralyzing Strike is a phenomenal ability; the Short Spear is faster while doing less damage, while the Spear is slower and does more damage.
:: Dagger and Pitchfork are...well...funny at least. Perhaps you'd gain the advantage because they're laughing IRL as you storm at them with a Pitchfork and a Dagger and teeth bared.
:: War Fork and Short Spear are a great combination. You can poison the War Fork, it does good damage and is anything but slow. Short Spear is fast, damages nicely, and deals the Paralyzing Strike.
:: Kryss and Spear is a less balanced, but very efficient method. The Kryss is much faster than the Spear and the Spear deals very nice damage with the paralyzation to boot. Start with a Spear, get the Paralyzing Strike, and maybe another hit or two before they're moving again, chase'm down and finish the job with the fast swinging Kryss.
Archery:
Archery is great when accented by one of the other weapon classes or Magery. Though it is not too slow, the damage does not compensate for the slowness, but that's okay because the range is more than worth it. Heavy Crossbows deal the most damage and are very slow. The standard Bow is much faster but does less damage and the Crossbow is a nice medium between the two.
:: Bow and Katana is speed and range. A good combination overall, you have the ability to deal damage at a distance and have the speed to get the final swings in when it counts.
:: Crossbow and Quarter Staff is a nice blend of speed and damage. The Crossbow is not as slow as the Heavy Crossbow and deals more damage than the bow while the Q-staff is fast for those close situations and takes down stamina which is good in case they try to run.
:: Heavy Crossbow and Warhammer, damage, damage, and more damage. A good Heavy Crossbow hit followed by a luckily timed Crushing Blow and that is that folks. You will definitely have them running if not dead, but the delay to swing may be a factor and this also limits your speed significantly. A worthy gamble, but more well suited for group combat.
Feedback is welcome, as well as results from your own testing.
Thanks for reading.