I've had the *Light* Sword* a few times now. It just doesn't seem to have the kick of the same sword in Wiz 7. Has anyone else noticed this? I usually switch back to Fang or Ivory Blade (or Muramasa). The damage inflicted remains towards the middle of its range, it just doesn't seem to max as easily. This could be my imagination, I have been known to see stats that weren't there, so to speak.

Well I don't remember that stats of the Wiz8 light sword and I'm too lazy to look for them. But here are the stats for the Wiz7 *Light Sword*

Weapon
Weight: 3.5
Value:250000
Damage:5-40
Range: Short
To Hit: +6
One handed
Primary Weapon
Attack Modes: Swing, Thrust, Melee (doesn't apply to Wiz8)

Usable by all Races
Usable by all Sexes
Usable by Fighter, Priest, Thief, Ranger, Bard, Valkyrie, Bishop, Lord, Samurai, Monk.
Special Properties: Resist Cold, Fire 90%

[ 10-13-2005, 01:39 AM: Message edited by: SecretMaster ]

In wiz7, there were much less 'uber' weapons. No early Bloodlust. No guaranteed Fang at midgame. I think you could get Marumasa Blade from the Gorrors, around game end.

In addition, IIRC *light* *sword* was one of the few weapons that allowed the 'Melee' attack mode. Worse to-hit, sucked up much stamina, but did double damage.

yah, the "melee" option was like being able to select "berserk", but for any class.

That would definitely explain why you'd see more damage with it in Wiz 7 than Wiz 8 (with the exception of a berserking fighter) since it has the same damage stats in Wiz 8. On the other hand, the Wiz 8 version gets both a +7 init and a 10% kill, which don't appear on the Wiz 7 stats mentioned by SecretMaster.

In W-7 it's actually +6 hit/+6 init/Kill 10%

[ 10-13-2005, 05:45 PM: Message edited by: Scatter ]

Hmm, I think that does explain most of it. That is, W7 LS had the melee ability and in the comparison to W8 ubers. I remember going for it in W7 to get the ultimate weapon, so was somehat disappointed it no longer is. The one in my party using it is a lev 21 faerie sam (the rogue does far more damage) who has very good sword and close combat skills. She doesn't have melee option AFAIK. It still seems she gets close to the max damage only about 1/3 the swings. Since everything else is up (str, dex, spd), maybe more "sense" will help. Could they have designed it that way, or does increasing sense mainly help with a faster rate of increasing your combat skills and more IKs? I can give you a stat snapshot of the party if that will help.

Edit - corrected 2 typos

[ 10-13-2005, 06:13 PM: Message edited by: Ziggurat ]

SEN has no effect on damage; only on "attack rating" (to-hit), and initiative.
In my playing around with making my own weapons, it seems that within certain limits a higher minimum damage can be much better than a higher max; 15-30 is much better than 5-40.

As others have already said I think the main difference is that the LS is one of the few uber-weapons in Wiz7. Wiz8 has many more that are guarunteed (Fang, Ivory Blade, Bloodlust) and a lot of the other big weapons are easier to get.

You usually don't have a great arsenal of weapons byt the time you get the LS in Wiz7. I think I had the Sword of Four Winds, the Blade Cuissinart and a Crusader's Axe when I picked it up last time and the other weapons I had were pretty average.

On a related note (warning, possible thread hijack in progress!) does anyone ever consider taking any of the other treasures in the Sky City instead of the LS? I just don't see the point of the other ones.

xfactor

If you got a Diamond Ring in W-6, you can recharge it and use it on all the doors.
But you're right, the other displays are not very exciting.