a tried a short sword + 2. thats pretty good.

The best sword in the game is the Sword of Argus. It is given by the genie so that you can collect three of them if you want. If you try to enchant the sword then you will see that it gains in damage inflicted quickly (IIRC, the sword is a "+4" weapon but I am not sure).

The best 2nd weapon sword is Wakizashi+2. It's a katana so that rangers cannot equip it.

Problem is the better swords and weapons in the game can't be blessed for higher damage, so as Radek says the Sword of Argus is the best sword, as it has good base stats and can be blessed right up.

I've just spent several hours looting and reloading the two Cet chests which seem to have the best items in the game, hoping that something fantastic will pop up sooner or later, but apart from the Tonomari Katana (sp?) which I already had and which can be blessed to very slightly above the Sword of Argus but without the +hit I am not finding anything great.

There is an imbalance in this game, maybe it rushed to completion. Two of the 3 Elite roles are effectively worthless in terms of the game, and the few good weapons and armor cannot be blessed so pale compared to a blessed item.

I also find an imbalance in buffing. I now have a Solo Zenmaster who has the Tonomari and Wakizashi fully blessed for damage, and hits around 40-ish each, but add a Frenzy and Bloodlust and he coubles the damage, which seems far too high an uplift for a couple of modest buffs.

Also many of the attributes seem to have zero effect, I have Crit at 14 yet rarely crit. Prowess seems a waste of time, and Athletics definitely IS not used in the game IMO.

I'm not knocking the game! Just in my lengthy experience on and off since it came out so many of the stats seem to be frills without really any effect on gameplay and performance of the chars, and I cannot forgive them for making the 2 Elite roles useless in terms of a single game, and there is zero replay value with game completed chars as they are just too powerful. I just played a Solo and from Ishad N'ha onwars he was effectively invulnerable, could even walk up to the plants and chop them up, so replaying just is a waste of time.

W&W was definitely rushed to production, unfortunately. Otherwise some of these things would undoubtedly have been addressed.

One more suggestion if you want to see your zenmaster's damage go way up: have him hide in shadows. You will easily see two to four times more damage.

Yes, it is rather boring taking an invulnerable tank through the game. That's why I've done a few boutique games -- solo warrior, den of thieves, and so on. You might try a cursed party -- only allowed to use cursed items -- or a naked party -- no equipment at all -- or another boutique-type game.

Hopefully a lot of these shortcomings are addressed in Dungeon Lords... :D

It is obvious that the zenmaster and the valkyrie roles were made available at the end of the game for the purpose of giving a the player a bonus (and the reason for playing the game again with the new roles. So I do not think that can be attributed to rushing the game to the market.

1. Weapons and armor. You are right Mr Creosote but there are a few exceptions:
- Plate of the Realm and Helm of the Realm can be both blessed and enchanted. They already have only three enchantments.
- Kimono of the Dragon can be both blessed and enchanted.
- The Sword of Argus can be both blessed and enchanted. Along with "to hit" bonus, it has also the deathstrike ability.

2. As far as the roles are concerned, I agree. Valkyrie is a completely useless role, Zenmaster comes to late. Reset Adventures will turn the Zenmaster to a killing machine and the game to a hack'n'slash stupidity. Even bringing a fresh character to Brimloch Roon and giving him the tomes will not help because Zenmaster will gain in pover too quickly. Nevertheless, everyone will become a Zenmaster [img]graemlins/hehe.gif[/img]
The only worthy elite role is Assassin.

3. Athletics. You are wrong. It affects considerably:
- Your ability to swim underwater.
- Falling damage.
- Your climbing ability.
Having a good Athletics is always a good idea.

Provess really speeds you up, namely with 2 weapons. With high provess, you will strike visibly faster.

4. Abilities: They affect your resistances and your overall speed. They also affect "hit" and "parry" stats but the effect becomes invisible during the game.