J
[JD]
Guest
So here I am looking through all the whirlwind weapons to determine which the “best” for my needs is.
Forgive any typos, there was a lot of information to put in this thread - I'll edit mistakes as they're found. I’m not going to discuss Gargoyle weapons as this is for Human/elves.
“Best” to me means lots of DPS (Damage Per Second), taking into consideration what is required to swing at cap, having stamina to spare so it doesn’t drop in speed if you get hit, and enough room for the necessary weapon mods.
For purposes of this discussion I’m going to use the Stratics calculator. I know some of you like to use those SSI charts; I’m just more familiar with the Stratics weapon calculator, which can be found below. If you haven't played with it, I highly suggest you check it out before deciding on a weapon line:
http://uo.stratics.com/content/arms-armor/arms.php
I’m going to be using the following values for the calculator:
120 Strength, because it is a reasonable amount of strength to attain.
150 Dex/STA, because again, it is a reasonable amount of STA to attain with an imbued suit, powerscroll, and/or pots.
30 SSI, although there are weapons that require more and I will discuss them as well.
100 Tactics/Anat/DI
20 (JOAT) Lumberjacking, although I will also discuss GM lumberjacking.
Fencing:
Kama – 28.8 DPS
Swinging at cap, it will do only 28.8 DPS and is a 2-hander so you cannot chug pots without disarming. The only real bonus of this weapon is that because its base weapon speed (2s) is so fast you probably don’t need to concentrate much on stamina/SSI in your suit and will be able to add other interesting mods to your weapon or suit.
Swords:
Radiant Scimitar – 37.5 DPS
Doing quite a bit more damage than the Kama, a great bonus is that it’s 1-handed. It’s also quite fast and wouldn’t require a huge investment in SSI or STA. This makes it a top choice among many for their whirlwind weapon.
Double Axe – 39 (46.8 CAP) (50.4 CAP+GM LJ) DPS
The double axe cannot swing at cap with only 30 SSI and 150 STA. However at 35 SSI and 150 STA, it accelerates to cap and jumps in damage output to 46.8 DPS, which is significantly better than the Radiant Scimmy! It also receives some DPS benefit from JOAT or trained lumberjacking; at GM Lumberjack it does a very nice 50.4 DPS, almost TWICE what a Kama will do.
Large Battle Axe – 34.57 (48.4 CAP) (52 CAP+GM Lumber) DPS
The Large Battle Axe requires 55 SSI and 180 STA just to swing at cap. It obtains a damage bonus from lumberjacking. At JOAT LJ it’ll do 48.4 damage, and at GM lumberjack it’ll do 52 DPS! Considering the huge investment in SSI, STA, and skill points, I would think it would be able to do better than 52 DPS. Even The Ornate will cap out at 59 DPS – although it doesn’t have whirlwind. I feel this one is for show-boaters, someone who HAS to have the biggest. Although to me, you invest so much to get only marginal DPS gain.
Halberd – 29.78 (44.67 Not-Cap) DPS
Even accelerating it to 180 STA and 60 SSI won’t allow it to swing at cap to outdo the Double Axe. It caps out at 44.67 DPS. It doesn’t get a lumberjacking bonus either. In my opinion the Halberd is just a poor weapon choice, DPS-wise. The “Blaze” artifact is nice however as it can be POF’d after it is used (and damaged) by slimes. It just doesn’t pump out the damage of other weapons, unfortunately. A sad fate for a former favorite weapon of many in “the good old days” of Ultima Online…
Macing:
Black Staff – 42 DPS
The Black staff is a hidden gem in the world of whirlwind weapons. It’s base speed is only 2.75, which means it doesn’t require much to accelerate it to cap speed, meaning you don’t have to make huge SSI or STA investments. At the same time, it also does a whopping 42 DPS. It doesn’t do as much as the Axes above, but it’s “nearly there”, for practically no specialization. This weapon is a favorite of mine for this reason. A downside was that it could only be purchased from NPC vendors or found as loot on monsters, which limited it to 450 weight for imbuing purposes. However a recent patch claimed that it’s now craftable by Carpenters.
War Hammer – 36.29 (50.8 CAP) DPS
The War Hammer is macing’s heavy-hitting whirlwind weapon. It’s .25 slower than the Double Axe, but when accelerated to cap with 180 STA and 55 SSI, it does a whopping 50.8 DPS. If you want the highest whirlwind DPS, but won't have room for lumberjacking on your skill template, the War Hammer is your obvious choice.
Favorites:
My favorite picks in this order are:
1. Black Staff, for 2-handers – high DPS without large investment
2. *Double Axe, for a very heavy hitting 2-hander, without gigantic investment
2. *Radiant Scimmy, for a 1-hander (depends how often you use pots)
3. War Hammer, for heaviest hitting 2-hander which doesn’t require Lumberjack
4. Large Battle Axe, for heaviest hitting 2h ww weap overall
5. Kama comes in last, the DPS are horrible and it is a 2-hander
*To me, these are interchangeable as #2 best Whirlwind weapon, depending entirely on if you need to instantly use potions, or if you want to do more damage to begin with so you don't have to chug pots. So far I have not needed to use pots much, however I haven't pushed myself as far as some of you have.
Thoughts/comments?
Forgive any typos, there was a lot of information to put in this thread - I'll edit mistakes as they're found. I’m not going to discuss Gargoyle weapons as this is for Human/elves.
“Best” to me means lots of DPS (Damage Per Second), taking into consideration what is required to swing at cap, having stamina to spare so it doesn’t drop in speed if you get hit, and enough room for the necessary weapon mods.
For purposes of this discussion I’m going to use the Stratics calculator. I know some of you like to use those SSI charts; I’m just more familiar with the Stratics weapon calculator, which can be found below. If you haven't played with it, I highly suggest you check it out before deciding on a weapon line:
http://uo.stratics.com/content/arms-armor/arms.php
I’m going to be using the following values for the calculator:
120 Strength, because it is a reasonable amount of strength to attain.
150 Dex/STA, because again, it is a reasonable amount of STA to attain with an imbued suit, powerscroll, and/or pots.
30 SSI, although there are weapons that require more and I will discuss them as well.
100 Tactics/Anat/DI
20 (JOAT) Lumberjacking, although I will also discuss GM lumberjacking.
Fencing:
Kama – 28.8 DPS
Swinging at cap, it will do only 28.8 DPS and is a 2-hander so you cannot chug pots without disarming. The only real bonus of this weapon is that because its base weapon speed (2s) is so fast you probably don’t need to concentrate much on stamina/SSI in your suit and will be able to add other interesting mods to your weapon or suit.
Swords:
Radiant Scimitar – 37.5 DPS
Doing quite a bit more damage than the Kama, a great bonus is that it’s 1-handed. It’s also quite fast and wouldn’t require a huge investment in SSI or STA. This makes it a top choice among many for their whirlwind weapon.
Double Axe – 39 (46.8 CAP) (50.4 CAP+GM LJ) DPS
The double axe cannot swing at cap with only 30 SSI and 150 STA. However at 35 SSI and 150 STA, it accelerates to cap and jumps in damage output to 46.8 DPS, which is significantly better than the Radiant Scimmy! It also receives some DPS benefit from JOAT or trained lumberjacking; at GM Lumberjack it does a very nice 50.4 DPS, almost TWICE what a Kama will do.
Large Battle Axe – 34.57 (48.4 CAP) (52 CAP+GM Lumber) DPS
The Large Battle Axe requires 55 SSI and 180 STA just to swing at cap. It obtains a damage bonus from lumberjacking. At JOAT LJ it’ll do 48.4 damage, and at GM lumberjack it’ll do 52 DPS! Considering the huge investment in SSI, STA, and skill points, I would think it would be able to do better than 52 DPS. Even The Ornate will cap out at 59 DPS – although it doesn’t have whirlwind. I feel this one is for show-boaters, someone who HAS to have the biggest. Although to me, you invest so much to get only marginal DPS gain.
Halberd – 29.78 (44.67 Not-Cap) DPS
Even accelerating it to 180 STA and 60 SSI won’t allow it to swing at cap to outdo the Double Axe. It caps out at 44.67 DPS. It doesn’t get a lumberjacking bonus either. In my opinion the Halberd is just a poor weapon choice, DPS-wise. The “Blaze” artifact is nice however as it can be POF’d after it is used (and damaged) by slimes. It just doesn’t pump out the damage of other weapons, unfortunately. A sad fate for a former favorite weapon of many in “the good old days” of Ultima Online…
Macing:
Black Staff – 42 DPS
The Black staff is a hidden gem in the world of whirlwind weapons. It’s base speed is only 2.75, which means it doesn’t require much to accelerate it to cap speed, meaning you don’t have to make huge SSI or STA investments. At the same time, it also does a whopping 42 DPS. It doesn’t do as much as the Axes above, but it’s “nearly there”, for practically no specialization. This weapon is a favorite of mine for this reason. A downside was that it could only be purchased from NPC vendors or found as loot on monsters, which limited it to 450 weight for imbuing purposes. However a recent patch claimed that it’s now craftable by Carpenters.
War Hammer – 36.29 (50.8 CAP) DPS
The War Hammer is macing’s heavy-hitting whirlwind weapon. It’s .25 slower than the Double Axe, but when accelerated to cap with 180 STA and 55 SSI, it does a whopping 50.8 DPS. If you want the highest whirlwind DPS, but won't have room for lumberjacking on your skill template, the War Hammer is your obvious choice.
Favorites:
My favorite picks in this order are:
1. Black Staff, for 2-handers – high DPS without large investment
2. *Double Axe, for a very heavy hitting 2-hander, without gigantic investment
2. *Radiant Scimmy, for a 1-hander (depends how often you use pots)
3. War Hammer, for heaviest hitting 2-hander which doesn’t require Lumberjack
4. Large Battle Axe, for heaviest hitting 2h ww weap overall
5. Kama comes in last, the DPS are horrible and it is a 2-hander
*To me, these are interchangeable as #2 best Whirlwind weapon, depending entirely on if you need to instantly use potions, or if you want to do more damage to begin with so you don't have to chug pots. So far I have not needed to use pots much, however I haven't pushed myself as far as some of you have.
Thoughts/comments?
.
