Mace Weapon Guide
Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2015 2:13 pm
Figuring out which weapon to equip for the various classes can sometimes be a difficult task. You are typically going for a fast weapon (Katana), or the hardest hitter (Halberd, etc). Chances are you are carrying both for cycling.
I went into the weapon damage guide to see what I can tell. Primarily I was looking for the fastest and hardest hitting weapons to have comparable weapons for katana/halberd combo for cylcing. Some mace weapons were left off simply because they were not advantageous in any respect, so there didn’t seem to be any reason to include them.
Weapon hit dice
Hammer Pick 3 – larger damage range increasing likelihood of multiple high roll hits. Good for PVP and armored foes
Black Staff (2-H) 5
Quarterstaff (2-H) 5
War Axe 6
War Hammer (2-H) 7 – nominal for PVP and armored foes as damage is very consistent
The hammer pick wins by a mile. It is the “luckiest” weapon out there for mace, as getting multiple high hits depends on luck.
Damage average and spike damage @ 75th percentile
War Hammer (2-H) 22 \25.1 – useful in PVP. Hardest hitter when you can’t stay in constant contact with foe or can’t contact him every 1.5 seconds (quarterstaff)
Black Staff (2-H) 20.5\ 23.7
Hammer Pick 19.5\ 23.5 – highest range variability of 4 points due to hit dice above, but war hammer hits considerably harder at both 50th and 75th percentiles.
Quarterstaff (2-H) 18\ 20.7
War Axe 18 \20.4
GM versus Vanq –
War Hammer (2-H) 21\ 26
Black Staff (2-H) 19 \24
Hammer Pick 19 \24
Quarterstaff (2-H) 17 \22
War Axe 17\ 22
Maces all have a 5 point variance. A speedy Vanq weapon makes the most difference, not the weapon itself when maximizing additional damage. You can apply the additional damage more frequently. This fact will tip the scales toward the fast weapons.
100 dex weapon speed
Hammer Pick 2.50 – 67% slower
War Hammer (2-H) 2.25 – 50% slower
Black Staff (2-H) 2.00 – 33% slower
War Axe 1.75 – 16% slower than Qstaff but gain reparability, pot drink with no disarm, and parrying.
Quarterstaff (2-H) 1.50 – preferred PVM magic weapon, and mage interrupter
DOT at 100 dex with full contact versus contact every 2.5 seconds (mage hit avoidance)
Hammer Pick - 234/234
War Hammer (2-H) 272/264
Black Staff (2-H) 287/246
War Axe 1.75 – 288/216
Quarterstaff (2-H) 345/216
The quarterstaff at 345 when in constant contact wins, but drops to 216 when unable to constantly engage. That represents a 40% drop in DOT. The war axe suffers a similar fate as all speed weapons do in this situation. The war hammer significantly outperforms the rest when contestant contact isn’t kept. It outperforms the quarterstaff in damage done by 20% when trying to pin down a slippery mage.
Essentially the quarterstaff is the katana of the macing weapons. It has a high hit rate, so is a great interrupter in PVP, with the war hammer playing the role of halberd, which I never would have guessed. The other thing to note is the war axe is close in the speed department and allows you to drink Pots without disarming. It has the same average damage and nearly the same spike damage. War axes can be repaired so you get more mileage out of its magical properties. If you never plan to die, a magic war axe is a suitable replacement as its longer life should significantly exceed that of the quarterstaff. If you have 100 points invested in parrying, then the war axe is the clear choice.
The hammer pick while the best in the hit dice department, is just too slow. You can’t use it as an interrupter. It’s only viable use is as a heavy hitter you can cycle in, and the war hammer is better suited to that purpose. Its one main advantage (successive high hits) has little value when the hits come so far apart a greater heal can hit in between.
The war hammer, much like the halberd is a situational PVP weapon, and again I didn’t see this coming. I expected the black staff or the hammer pick to earn that honor. The spike damage between the quarterstaff (20) and the war hammer (25) isn’t nearly as large as the katana (18) & halberd (34) spike damage, so do NOT use it like you would a halberd. The halberd represents a nearly 100% increase in damage which means it is really well suited for frequent cycling. The war hammer is only a 25% increase so frequent cycling doesn’t provide nearly the value of a halberd. If you carry one, you will do a lot less cycling than you typically do with swords weapons. It does serve a couple purposes as noted above, and while not perfect it does have a role. Its damage is more consistent than any weapon out there (hit dice above), but it’s the best hard hitter we have access too.
Along with no poisoning the major weakness of Macing as pointed out above is our hard hitter isn’t close to the other hard hitters out there decreasing the value of cycling considerably. You will have to rely primarily on the speed weapons. The situational use you would typically employ a hard hitter (field PVP) might be better suited to the use of an offensively charged wand or gnarled staff of fireball/lightning. Your macing skill will be active and the steady damage from the wands would likely yield a better result. You also gain a ranged attack and the ability to interrupt on the run.
While the gnarled staff (10-30 dam per hit) isn’t included in the assessment above it does “enough” damage to let it sit in your hand for an offensive hit or two. The wands (2-6 dam per hit) really don’t do enough damage to use it to strike an opponent. This makes the gnarled staff a better option, unless you have parrying or need to drink/throw a pot. If you need to heal and are using a wand, you’ll likely want to run away. If you are using a gnarled staff to heal, you don’t need to run as it does enough damage to still engage the opponent while in hand.
The quarterstaff all things considered is probably the best overall weapon. Its main downfall is an inability to be repaired. That means once you start using it, its performance will steadily drop. It’s not a big deal if you have deep pockets, but you don’t want to take a used quarterstaff into a tournament. You’ll want it brand new one for each critical use.
To sum up:
If you carry a shield – War Axe
If you are a pot whore – War Axe and quarterstaff (when not drinking/throwing)
When in confined quarters – quarterstaff or war axe depending on two previous criteria above.
Carry vanq’s – war axe due to durability replenishment. Rich people or people who want only the best should go quarterstaff here.
Field PVP – Quarterstaff or war axe based on criteria above plus war hammer or charged offensive wand/gnarled staff.
When fighting a dexxer – quarterstaff or war axe – the DOT & additional stamina drain & armor destruction seem to outweigh the heavy hitter damage against high armor. You’ll want to extend the fight. With no real hard hitter and no ability to poison your weapon, your opponent likely has an advantage at the beginning of the fight. While most people “carry” poison weapons, most don’t have the ability to poison it themselves. The goal here is to extend the fight and stay alive. As time goes on his poison will run out. Your continual stamina sapping and armor damaging abilities will swing the fight in your favor before long. Just stay alive long enough and eventually you will win the battle.
I did the work above with the express purpose of figuring out what weapons work best in what situations. I decided to write my findings and opinions down in the hopes it might help someone else. Your opinions can certainly vary from mine. Good luck!
I went into the weapon damage guide to see what I can tell. Primarily I was looking for the fastest and hardest hitting weapons to have comparable weapons for katana/halberd combo for cylcing. Some mace weapons were left off simply because they were not advantageous in any respect, so there didn’t seem to be any reason to include them.
Weapon hit dice
Hammer Pick 3 – larger damage range increasing likelihood of multiple high roll hits. Good for PVP and armored foes
Black Staff (2-H) 5
Quarterstaff (2-H) 5
War Axe 6
War Hammer (2-H) 7 – nominal for PVP and armored foes as damage is very consistent
The hammer pick wins by a mile. It is the “luckiest” weapon out there for mace, as getting multiple high hits depends on luck.
Damage average and spike damage @ 75th percentile
War Hammer (2-H) 22 \25.1 – useful in PVP. Hardest hitter when you can’t stay in constant contact with foe or can’t contact him every 1.5 seconds (quarterstaff)
Black Staff (2-H) 20.5\ 23.7
Hammer Pick 19.5\ 23.5 – highest range variability of 4 points due to hit dice above, but war hammer hits considerably harder at both 50th and 75th percentiles.
Quarterstaff (2-H) 18\ 20.7
War Axe 18 \20.4
GM versus Vanq –
War Hammer (2-H) 21\ 26
Black Staff (2-H) 19 \24
Hammer Pick 19 \24
Quarterstaff (2-H) 17 \22
War Axe 17\ 22
Maces all have a 5 point variance. A speedy Vanq weapon makes the most difference, not the weapon itself when maximizing additional damage. You can apply the additional damage more frequently. This fact will tip the scales toward the fast weapons.
100 dex weapon speed
Hammer Pick 2.50 – 67% slower
War Hammer (2-H) 2.25 – 50% slower
Black Staff (2-H) 2.00 – 33% slower
War Axe 1.75 – 16% slower than Qstaff but gain reparability, pot drink with no disarm, and parrying.
Quarterstaff (2-H) 1.50 – preferred PVM magic weapon, and mage interrupter
DOT at 100 dex with full contact versus contact every 2.5 seconds (mage hit avoidance)
Hammer Pick - 234/234
War Hammer (2-H) 272/264
Black Staff (2-H) 287/246
War Axe 1.75 – 288/216
Quarterstaff (2-H) 345/216
The quarterstaff at 345 when in constant contact wins, but drops to 216 when unable to constantly engage. That represents a 40% drop in DOT. The war axe suffers a similar fate as all speed weapons do in this situation. The war hammer significantly outperforms the rest when contestant contact isn’t kept. It outperforms the quarterstaff in damage done by 20% when trying to pin down a slippery mage.
Essentially the quarterstaff is the katana of the macing weapons. It has a high hit rate, so is a great interrupter in PVP, with the war hammer playing the role of halberd, which I never would have guessed. The other thing to note is the war axe is close in the speed department and allows you to drink Pots without disarming. It has the same average damage and nearly the same spike damage. War axes can be repaired so you get more mileage out of its magical properties. If you never plan to die, a magic war axe is a suitable replacement as its longer life should significantly exceed that of the quarterstaff. If you have 100 points invested in parrying, then the war axe is the clear choice.
The hammer pick while the best in the hit dice department, is just too slow. You can’t use it as an interrupter. It’s only viable use is as a heavy hitter you can cycle in, and the war hammer is better suited to that purpose. Its one main advantage (successive high hits) has little value when the hits come so far apart a greater heal can hit in between.
The war hammer, much like the halberd is a situational PVP weapon, and again I didn’t see this coming. I expected the black staff or the hammer pick to earn that honor. The spike damage between the quarterstaff (20) and the war hammer (25) isn’t nearly as large as the katana (18) & halberd (34) spike damage, so do NOT use it like you would a halberd. The halberd represents a nearly 100% increase in damage which means it is really well suited for frequent cycling. The war hammer is only a 25% increase so frequent cycling doesn’t provide nearly the value of a halberd. If you carry one, you will do a lot less cycling than you typically do with swords weapons. It does serve a couple purposes as noted above, and while not perfect it does have a role. Its damage is more consistent than any weapon out there (hit dice above), but it’s the best hard hitter we have access too.
Along with no poisoning the major weakness of Macing as pointed out above is our hard hitter isn’t close to the other hard hitters out there decreasing the value of cycling considerably. You will have to rely primarily on the speed weapons. The situational use you would typically employ a hard hitter (field PVP) might be better suited to the use of an offensively charged wand or gnarled staff of fireball/lightning. Your macing skill will be active and the steady damage from the wands would likely yield a better result. You also gain a ranged attack and the ability to interrupt on the run.
While the gnarled staff (10-30 dam per hit) isn’t included in the assessment above it does “enough” damage to let it sit in your hand for an offensive hit or two. The wands (2-6 dam per hit) really don’t do enough damage to use it to strike an opponent. This makes the gnarled staff a better option, unless you have parrying or need to drink/throw a pot. If you need to heal and are using a wand, you’ll likely want to run away. If you are using a gnarled staff to heal, you don’t need to run as it does enough damage to still engage the opponent while in hand.
The quarterstaff all things considered is probably the best overall weapon. Its main downfall is an inability to be repaired. That means once you start using it, its performance will steadily drop. It’s not a big deal if you have deep pockets, but you don’t want to take a used quarterstaff into a tournament. You’ll want it brand new one for each critical use.
To sum up:
If you carry a shield – War Axe
If you are a pot whore – War Axe and quarterstaff (when not drinking/throwing)
When in confined quarters – quarterstaff or war axe depending on two previous criteria above.
Carry vanq’s – war axe due to durability replenishment. Rich people or people who want only the best should go quarterstaff here.
Field PVP – Quarterstaff or war axe based on criteria above plus war hammer or charged offensive wand/gnarled staff.
When fighting a dexxer – quarterstaff or war axe – the DOT & additional stamina drain & armor destruction seem to outweigh the heavy hitter damage against high armor. You’ll want to extend the fight. With no real hard hitter and no ability to poison your weapon, your opponent likely has an advantage at the beginning of the fight. While most people “carry” poison weapons, most don’t have the ability to poison it themselves. The goal here is to extend the fight and stay alive. As time goes on his poison will run out. Your continual stamina sapping and armor damaging abilities will swing the fight in your favor before long. Just stay alive long enough and eventually you will win the battle.
I did the work above with the express purpose of figuring out what weapons work best in what situations. I decided to write my findings and opinions down in the hopes it might help someone else. Your opinions can certainly vary from mine. Good luck!