Magic Weapons

[spirokeat]

I've been wondering what people's views are on the kind of weapons that they will construct for use with their Commanders....I posted once before about how nervy I get sending commanders into combat and with a few well posted comments from peeps here I 'kinda' overcame that one and started using my guys as combatants....So ! next issue obviously moves to what people equip them with....heres my problem.

I play death blood almost exclusively so I always have the ability to produce wraith blades at around the point I start summoning commanders that I would consider giving such weapons to...Am I overestimating or being paranoid for the requirement for lifedrain weapons ?

I look at all the very cool weapons I 'could' make and simply dont....Is there a place for other weapons once you have the ability to produce a lifedrain one ?

Obviously Im talking about combat commanders rather than stay at the back ranged ones.

And at the end of my construction trail is of course artefacts...Which of these do people use as weapons ? Obviously you can force lifedrain onto a commander with bone armour but some of the uniques have great themes to them but I just seem to persuade myself they are not worth risking.

Spiro

[PvK]

I think different people and nations have different tastes. When I'm Ulm, I tend to make a lot of toys and field a lot of thug fighters with them. They aren't SC's, but thugs which help turn the tide of early and mid-game battles.

I look at Wraith Swords and the like as weapons for SC's to use against living hordes. They are not so good against unliving targets, other very skilled/equipped fighters, nor for use by non-SC's, because they tend not to be as good at anything but providing a way to drain life force. So yeah, I have used other weapons much more often than I have used life drain weapons.

PvK

[SelfishGene]

I use items to keep mediocre commanders alive rather than have them cause damage directly. Almost any summoned commander is a more capable fighter than 90% of the human leaders.

[spirokeat]

I see the wraithblade and bloodthorn mentioned as 'the' LD weapons to use for SC...but not so much the Hellblade which on the face of it looks pretty good. Its got pretty solid damage as well as LD, admitedly you go beserk...but I'm never so sure how bad that would be.

Sprio

[Taqwus]

Even some of the cheaper weapons can be quite useful. Flaming swords tend to be armor-piercing, and at least one Version gives 50% fire resistance, for instance. Elf bane can be dangerous to magical foes. A Duskdagger is armor-negating, useful on a high-strength / high-morale commander (short weapon, so you can expect to be repelled, and it doesn't do much damage by itself); lightning attacks are also armor-negating. Against the vulnerable, even a Snake Bladder stick can be nasty. Bane blades are a decent toy for an assassin if you think you can get a hit, but not necessarily an outright kill, since it can cause Decay.

Among heavier stuff, Gate Cleaver is pure damage (damage 29, plus strength, armor-negating) and good for sieges. It's a nice anti-tank weapon, and unlike a Phoenix Rod cannot be blocked with any elemental immunity.

Mage Bane causes a guaranteed KO (100 fatigue per hit), plus a large MR bonus; Sun Slayer is an Area DEATH weapon; the Stone Sword is also lethal in an area (petrification). Summit is another pure-damage weapon, but is 1-hd, leaving room for a shield. Tempest is a nasty electrified 2-hd sword that automatically casts Storm, and can also be used to cast Thunderstrike. The Unquenched Sword is very thematic for an Archdevil or a King of Elemental Fire.

[PvK]

Hell Sword is good if you expect berserk and equip an appropriate fighter accordingly.

PvK

[Vynd]

The Hell Sword is OK, but its two-handed. I'd rather make one-handed Blood Thorns and use the other hand slot for a shield or another weapon.

I think that LD weapons are perfect for SCs that you expect will be fighting lots of regular troops, less so for SCs that are likely to be fighting other SCs or similarly hard to hit beasties. Against them you might be better off with something that gives a nice boost to your attack skill or defense skill, since the LD weapons aren't so great in that regard and they don't do you much good if you can't hit your target.

There are definitely some nifty artifact weapons available, if you get that far. The Mage Blade, for instance, is a great counter to enemy SCs with life drain.