Weapons
Contents
Introduction
Generally, lighter and smaller weapons are faster, but heavier and larger weapons do much more damage. Heavier weapons hit harder but slower, so it is up to each player to decide whether to use large or small weapons; larger races tend to use larger weapons, the biggest ones even use greatswords one-handed. However, balance is usually the key here.
It is usually a good idea to use one weapon for offense and a shield for defense, or two offensive weapons if you think you can take a few hard hits and still fight effectively - or if you happen to be a ranger.
Every wieldable weapon has several properties which affects to several different things in combat. This help file covers the most common attributes of weapons.
Weapon types
Weapons are divided into three main types, which are also divided into several sub types. In general, bludgeoning weapons are easy to use even by a low skilled warrior, and they deliever a nice amount of damage when hit is scored. Slashing weapons are harder to use but nothing beats them if they are wielded by a skilled warrior. Piercing weapons are somewhere between those two. All weapon types can cause bleeding wounds, but their types vary depending on the weapon type.
Maintype also defines what kind of hit styles can be used with the weapon and the current combat style. To get more information about these see combat.
Page weapon types shows you the type and size of all the weapons available for the players on Icesus. The longer the weapon is, the more damage it does, but also the slower it is.
- bludgeoning weapons: hammers, maces, flails, staves, (shields)
- slashing weapons: swords, axes, whips
- piercing weapons: spears, polearms
Slashing weapons
Swords
Swords are excellent weapons for both offense and defense. They are fairly easy to use, and are quite readily available. Every possible type of sword can be obtained, sooner or later. Very good in skilled hands.
Axes
Axes are a bit harder to use than swords, and are not as suitable for parrying. However, they deal a good amount of damage. Not many good ones exist, but the best ones are very good. Good choice for the more experienced players.
Bludgeoning weapons
Hammers
The most easily used weapons on Icesus are hammers, especially mauls. They are fairly common and cheap to buy, excluding the absolutely best ones. Excellent for low-level players, as well as for the more experienced ones.
Flails
Flails are hard to use and even harder to find a good one, bad at defense.
Maces
Good one-handed weapon for a beginning character, but not many magical ones exist, so you might wish to switch to mauls later on.
Shields
Although mainly used for defense, they can also be used to bash enemies. Fairly low damage, but you can use shield rush with them. Fairly common, though the best ones are not always available.
Staves
Very good for a defensive fighter, great for parrying. They don't offer much offensive power, and are fairly common, even the best ones are sold quite often.
Piercing weapons
Spears
The only worthwhile piercing weapons, excluding small swords. Common and cheap, but the best ones are very expensive and hard to get. Excellent for centaurs who are naturally proficient in the use of spears.
Swords
A few swords, such as daggers and shortswords are piercing weapons. Low damage, very fast, nice weapons for a weakling or a beginner. Very common, even the best ones are available from time to time.
Other Weapons
The rest of the weapons you either cannot easily find, or they are not intended to be used in real combat - if you wish, you can test them, but I don't think it's worth your time. Make your choice and stick with it, or reinc if you feel like a change. See the following help-files for more information: 'help eqdamage', 'help weapon types', 'help materials'.
Equipment Damage
One of the newer additions to the system is eqdamage. If you are hit hard, regardless of the source of the damage, your equipment can get damaged. Only spells and area-effects can damage non-hit-slot equipment. Marking a piece of equipment for you greatly reduces the chances of eqdamage. Naturally, the better quality and material, the less likely the equipment is to get damaged - so a set of fine steel full plate armours should last years before getting damaged so much that it is no longer usable. Also, magical glow reduces the chances of eqdamage, so magical weapons are even less likely to be damaged than conventional ones. Also, the type of the damage matters a great deal, fire burns bone and wood very nicely, but has little effect on mithril. Acid, on the other hand, damages almost everything quite easily. Check out 'help eqdamage' for further details. At the moment it is not possible to repair the damage, but that might change in the future.
Skills
To use a weapon efficiently in combat, you have to have basic skills of physical combat. These include attack, maintype-skill and subtype-skill. For example, to use a shortsword efficiently you have to have all three skills: attack, piercing weapons and swords.
Of course every weapon is wieldable and usable w/o any of those skills, but at least attack and maintype-skill are required to make some use out of it.
Useful Skills
In addition to the usual melee, weapongroup and weapontype skills, you might wish to train 'compare weapons'. While it is not very accurate, it is still the only way to compare two weapons directly, without spending a few days testing their performance.
Weapon materials
There are many materials out there from what weapons can be done. The material and the quality with the weapon type define how easy or hard the weapon is to use and what kind of damage it does when hit is scored. It is always a good idea to invest into a weapon which is made of good material and quality.
Useful Commands
Some of the more useful commands related to weapons and armours are:
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
| slots | In addition to showing your armour, it also lists the weapons you are using, as well as the skills required for their effective use. |
| eq | Tells you what equipment you are wearing, including the weapons you are wielding. |
| eq check | Lists the condition of your equipment, including weapons. |
Final Words
Naturally, magically enchanted weapons can greatly differ from they mundane counterparts. They also have a better chance of resisting damage, so acquiring magical weapons should be one of the main goals of every player. Not only do they look good, they can really make a difference in combat, especially against monsters who are naturally resistant to physical damage.
