Holy Avenger question

[deadmoney]

Hello all. Just got the Holy Avenger in SoU. My question is what are its actual properties? It just says Holy Avenger. Furthermore, can it be upgraded in HotU? Thanks a lot and I'll look forward to hearing from you.

[Zink Whistlefly]

From the Wiki:

The Holy Avenger (HA) weapon property include the following bonuses: +5 enchantment bonus (+5 to Attack Bonus and Damage) 1d6 divine damage vs. Evil +16 SR 25% chance of Dispel Magic on hit Only a paladin can gain the benefit of this property on a weapon. If the character has no Paladin levels this counts as a +2 enchantment. Notes A UMD score of 25+ will allow you to use the full benefits of the Holy Avenger as if you were a paladin. The dispel used by this weapon is more powerful than any dispel in the game and could be better described as "eat magic" rather than dispel. It can even dispel effects that no other dispel in the game can dispel such as petrification and fear auras from dragons. The holy avenger can completely strip a PC of all of their buffs with just one lucky hit. The 4th level paladin spell holy sword temporarily grants a weapon the holy avenger property The dispel effect will not trigger if you are not landing any physical points of damage on the opponent. For example, if someone had Epic Warding up and you are unable to damage them with any points of physical damage the dispel effect will never trigger. Characters who are not paladins and don't have sufficient UMD still benefit from the dispel OnHit.

As for it being upgraded, I have no doubts that it can be done. The base weapon enchantment will certainly increase, and as that passes the "Holy Avenger" +5 enchantment, it should override it. You should also be able to apply an elemental damage boost which should stack with the bonus 1D6 divine damage (only weapons which have damage boosts vs all creatures cannot have the 2D6 elemental damage applied).

[deadmoney]

Have any advice as to the order I need to upgrade the Holy Avenger? I know in the past when I've tried with Enserric you just can't get everything. I made it +10 and then did acid damage and then one or two of the other things before it stopped working. Just curious if anyone had any thoughts as to the "correct" order to get the most upgrades possible. Thanks a lot. (PS. Man, that Holy Avenger makes the game so much easier!)

[Witchdoctor]

You can get around the limit on upgrades in HOTU, if you don't mind using an exploit. Usually HOTU will only let you do so many magical upgrades to any one weapon before stating it is too expensive to upgrade further. If you reach that limit, you can still upgrade a different weapon if you switch out the max upgraded weapon and put another in your hand slot. By chance or some random thought I don't recall, I figured out that if I left the inventory screen open and asked to have the 2nd weapon upgraded, the weapon smith would say okay and then you would have to make dialogue selections before he proceeded to do the upgrade. Before you make your upgrade choice, switch out the second (non-upgraded) weapon and replace it with the maximally upgraded weapon. Make you upgrade choice and the weapon smith will then go ahead with the upgrade. Your only limit on upgrades now is the amount of GP you have to pay the weapon smith, or not duplicating a specific upgrade property.

I don't know if this exploit was fixed in the latest version of the patched game. If you don't like exploits or it was fixed in the latest patch, then the order of upgrades depends on your style of play. I like permanent haste, enhancement to +10 and elemental damage. Pick acid damage since resistance is rare. Continuous regeneration is another favorite, but unfortunately if an item, such as Enserric, already has vampiric regeneration, you can't duplicate the regeneration.

BTW, you will have an opportunity to add an additional property of strength drain on hit to a weapon of your choice in one of the areas of the underdark. This is still available if the weapon has already been maximally upgraded by the weapon smith.

[deadmoney]

OK, last (maybe) question on this topic. What would the assembled gurus choose to upgrade if I choose between the Holy Avenger and Enserric? I see pros and cons for both so I was wondering what some of you would choose. I have been really blown away by the Holy Avenger and the dispel magic on hit is pretty unique. Anyway, would love to hear some opinions. Thanks a lot.

[Target]

How about dual wielding both

That would cause big damage!!