As a fighter, i think its extremely necessary to keep all three types of weapons. I'm going to pull in a few numbers i ran on Outspark Forums a while ago to see if it helps you.
I ran the calcs again, trying to take into account strength as well in a very exaggerated fashion:At Level 36:
138 Base Str, which is straight from my level 36 warrior.
IF we assume this is a full STR warrior (not a smart move, but for the sake of calcs): +36 Str = 174 Str * 1.2dmg = 208.8
Bri. Sword 45-78 (61.5 avg) + 208.8STR = 270.3/1.1sec = 245.7 DPS
Crusader 108-154 (131 avg) + 208.8STR = 339.8/1.3sec = 261.4 DPS
Hide Axe 170-235 (202.5 avg) + 208.8 STR = 411.3/1.5sec = 274.2 DPS
The AIM disparity is still about 10-15, which is not big. I disregarded the crits, as i figured the 1% difference in base makes only a small change, making the axe look a tiny bit better and 1HS a bit worse. These numbers should generally hold true for the 30s range of levels.
Denns has a point: these numbers look much, much closer. With some reasonable damage buffs (vitality, + STR items), its possible for 2HS to outdamage the Axe in the 3x level range, though i would say its not common (keep in mind that fighters are rarely full STR). At 4x, if the ratios stay the same for damage, the 2HS will begin to overtake the axe in terms of raw swinging DPS.
However, there are several things to consider: Skills have 0 lagtime. Which means in terms of PvP, where most of the attacks are a burst of skills, Axes hold a much greater advantage. In addition, SPR warrior builds will better utilize the axe due to the higher base damage used in the critical multiplier. From this, i can try to draw several conclusions:
- the Sword/Shield fighter is the better tanker hands down, this discussion is mostly between 2HS vs. Axe. Note, though, that the power hit is slightly more powerful than Slice and Dice.
- the Axe seems to dish out more damage in the 20-40 range of levels.
- the 2HS will do more damage over time 40+ due to quicker attack speed, and increased influence of Str.
- Str builds favor faster attack speeds, because it diminishes the impact of a weapon's base damage.
- Axes are capable of dealing out far more damage in a short burst of time vs. the 2HS, due to the usage of skill bursts.
So my recommendations:
- If you want to primarily function as a tank, use a shield. Period.
- For a typical 1:1 STR:END fighter, switching to a 2HS in the 30s or 40s will deal out more damage.
- For a 1:1 END:SPR fighter, the axe will be better through the 30s and 40s due to less STR influence and greater crit utilization.
- For PvP, axes will be better period. Damage over time is less significant compared to how much damage you can deal in a very condensed amount of time.
These findings actually sort of change my mind on how to work things when i hit the 40 range. I may heavily consider changing to a 2HS, holding an axe for PvP.
Something important to keep in mind, though, is that this game only loosely holds you to one type of weapon. Masteries in themselves are actually relatively weak in effect, and you should feel free to switch weapons to suit your condition. I believe that even every DPS fighter should pack a sword/shield of the appropriate level range to tank should the situation call for it. Likewise, it would seem wise now to pack a decent axe for PvP, and utilize a 2HS for grinding. This is moot, of course, if your 2HS is +6 and your axe is +1, or vice versa.
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