I am picky. Very picky. I OCD about character optimization sometimes.
The debate in here is frustrating for me. Nobody's brought any Science! into it. So without further ado..
The basic premise of the argument for hammers is that they do more damage. Sort of a ludicrous argument taken without proper explanation. But I digress.
First off, the contestants.
vs.
Note that both weapons have identical critical rates, are unupgraded, and that the hammer has a STR bonus the mace does not. My character is 25 SPR/x STR, and I have up-to-date weapon masteries (so any findings will be accurate.)
Generally, what I'd do at this point is measure how long each weapon takes to kill a specific type of monster, and infer from that which one is more powerful. However, I have a hypothesis about this situation that may change things quite a bit: I believe the weapon speeds are lying to us.
So, here's the plan. I put on the weapon, find a monster that doesn't stun, and record a video at sixty frames per second measuring how long it takes to kill. No self-healing, only stones and potions, and normal attacks only. Then I repeat the process with the other weapon and analyze the recorded video to determine the actual weapon speeds.
(It took me a long while to kill a Goblin without critting once with each weapon, lol.)
Also, there are five times to consider for each weapon that relate to the attack animations.
MACE
Idle to first hit - 46 frames - .76 sec
First to second - 65 frames - 1.08 sec
Second to third - 61 frames - 1.016 sec
Third to fourth - 54 frames - .9 sec
Fourth to first - 73 frames - 1.21 sec
Total - 299 frames - 4.983 sec
Average - 60 frames - 1.0 sec/hit
HAMMER
Idle to first hit - 44 frames
First to second - 83 frames
Second to third - 77 frames
Third to fourth - 58 frames
Fourth to first - 95 frames
Total - 357 frames - 5.95 sec
Average - 71 frames - 1.2 sec/hit
As for the rest of the video:
Mace damage: ~127
Time taken: 955 frames (15.91 sec)
Hits: 16
Hammer damage: ~158
Time taken: 979 frames (16.31 sec)
Hits: 14
Assuming perfect accuracy and no crits, the mace will kill faster.
Counterweights:
Maces have more chances to crit, though they have a lower percentage
Hammers do more damage per hit, so whether or not you crit on a skill or a regular attack matters much more
Mace damage is spread out more, and therefore is a slightly higher average damage over time, especially on targets you're not perfectly accurate against (as you'll lose less damage to missing)
Conclusion:
- Each weapon actually attacks on average .1 sec faster than described
- If all you care about is raw damage potential, use a mace.
- If you need big numbers on crits (say, for PVP) use a hammer.