Bastard sword!!!.....*SpOiLeRs*

[Rataxes]

Blade of Searing, 1-handed weapon with an average damage of 9 that pierces Stoneskin. Not many weapons in SoA can top that to be honest. Besides Crom Faeyr and FoA there aren't any 1-handed weapons that totally outdoes it. Celestial Fury might be one, but it deals less damage and is less reliable at spell-disrupting. Stonefire, Frostreaver and Blackblood are on par, but it's one of the 10 overall best weapons in SoA. Don't overlook it just because there are no flashy special effects, the +1 Fire damage is good enough you can be sure.

[Alson]

Are you really trying to compare Searing to Fury? Sheesh...

Yeah, I know, +1 Fire damage cuts through Stoneskin.
Yeah, I know Stun allows a save.

But seriously... if you played with them both, you should really know that Fury trumps it so much it's not even funny. Fury might even trumps Ages... it's debatable.

Even the Firetooth Dagger trumps Searing, and it's not THAT hot.

[Rataxes]

I'm saying the Blade of Searing does better in a few aspects. It's factually more damaging and better at spell-disrupting than the Celestial Fury. CF is certainly the better weapon, but it does not totally outperform the Blade of Searing, and it is not the better choice in certain situations.

Firetooth is a great weapon, certainly one, if not the best ranged weapon in the game. Would certainly rank among my own Top 10.

Nothing can touch the unholy trio of Flail of Ages, Celestial Fury and Crom Faeyr, but think about what you've got besides those, I certainly cannot think of 7 other one-handed weapons that are universally more powerful than the Blade of Searing.

The point is, just because the it doesn't rank with the ubercheesiness of FoA or Celestial Fury, doesn't mean it's not a good, or even a very good weapon. A decent weapon is IMHO underappreciation for a weapon that pierces stoneskins and has damage capabilities that only a handful of weapons can beat or rival.

[ 04-09-2003, 03:07 PM: Message edited by: Rataxes ]

[AuraMancer]

Excuse me fot the stupid relpy, but Johr the bleeder is a bastardsword right? r is it 2h?

[Flaming Fist Enforcer]

It's a bastard sword, as Alson already said.

[Arquendil Lorigollo]

Isn't Spectral Brand a bastard sword?
Because if it is, Spectral is one of the best swords in the game and can be upgraded to +5 (I think) in TOB.
Then, of course, there are Jhor and the Blade of Searing.
But IMHO, Spectral Brand is the best, if it's a bastard sword, extremely good if it's anything else.

[Zarr]

Spectral Brand isn't a bastard sword it's a scimitar.

[Klutz]

If you like both Long Sword and Bastard Sword, or prefer Bastard Swords but only want to use good ones, why choose?

A plain old Fighter gets 10 proficiency slots before finishing SOA (19th level), six of whom you assign immediately. That's enough to specialize in four weapons plus two slots for your favorite style. Just for illustration purposes:

On creation (lvl 7):
** Long Sword
* Hammer
* Short Bow
** Two Weapon Style

Lvl 9: add * Bastard Sword
Lvl 12: add * to Bastard Sword (** total)
Lvl 15: add * to Short Bow (** total)
Lvl 18: add * to Hammer (** total)

Pick one to stay at just a single proficiency if you must have *** in Two Weapon Style... say Hammer.

With this proficiency set, from day 1 you can always dual wield effectively, always have at least proficiency in a blunt weapon and ranged weapon, and always be specialized in an edged weapon. By level 12 you have specialized in Bastard Sword, which you should probably hit before or while in Chapter 5, which is when you find the two good bastard swords in SOA. You round out your ranged and blunt skills at levels 15 and 18. Same works for a Paladin, except they only get 9 slots (only make it to level 17 under SOA XP cap) so you can only end up specialized in 3 weapons and a style. (Ranger effectively gets 11 by level 17 if you utilize his bonus ** in Two Weapon Style.) You can do even better with a dual-classed Fighter if you plan your proficiencies carefully. And of course if this is your tank you may not want to bother with a ranged weapon at all, saving even more proficiency points.

[D*Ranged]

I ALWAYS use long swords.

I can't see any flashy bastard swords there in SoA, but like someone pointed out, there are some AWESOME Bastard Swords in ToB...

I wished for weapon diversity but, oh well, you can't just please everyone... [img]smile.gif[/img]