2009-05-10, 09:31 PM
[color="#cc8899"]Some things I've noticed about popular vs nonpopular weapons
Spear vs PA -
Most spears are 1 speed faster than their PA equivalent, many come with acc built in. Until the release of Arcglaives, Spears had the only normal speed high level equip. Many spear DKs try to justify this by saying Crusher is slower (I personally don't think that's the reason, as PAs would have a higher natural attack to compensate). Again, the Arcglaive helps, but its DEX requirement limits its usefulness to mostly low/normal DEX (some dexless can use, but few).
Sword vs Axe/BW -
Most swords are 1-2 speeds faster than their swing-weapon counterpart. Glowing whip has built in speed and is way above the average attack for a weapon of its level. Stonetooth and lunchbox are both strong and fast. Crushed skull helps a bit to narrow the gap on the 1h BW side, but the extra acc and high base attack still doesn't match up to the faster and more stable sword. Axes, on the other hand, get shafted for nice gear.
For daggers, the popularity switched based on ATT shields, not the other way around, so not going to mention them here.
Wands/staves have little difference, so won't be mentioned. [/COLOR]
Spear vs PA -
Most spears are 1 speed faster than their PA equivalent, many come with acc built in. Until the release of Arcglaives, Spears had the only normal speed high level equip. Many spear DKs try to justify this by saying Crusher is slower (I personally don't think that's the reason, as PAs would have a higher natural attack to compensate). Again, the Arcglaive helps, but its DEX requirement limits its usefulness to mostly low/normal DEX (some dexless can use, but few).
Sword vs Axe/BW -
Most swords are 1-2 speeds faster than their swing-weapon counterpart. Glowing whip has built in speed and is way above the average attack for a weapon of its level. Stonetooth and lunchbox are both strong and fast. Crushed skull helps a bit to narrow the gap on the 1h BW side, but the extra acc and high base attack still doesn't match up to the faster and more stable sword. Axes, on the other hand, get shafted for nice gear.
For daggers, the popularity switched based on ATT shields, not the other way around, so not going to mention them here.
Wands/staves have little difference, so won't be mentioned. [/COLOR]