Weapons Load Out Question

[Tiro]

Hi all,
So my dwarf ranger is lvl 8 now and I have a decent selection of DAxes for him but I am unsure what to use. I have a +3 Shock Burst of PG
+5 D Axes
+3 Thundering of PG

Not sure if thundering is even worth it at lvl 8-10, but I could use some suggestions on the better kinds of effects used on a normal basis. (I am a cleric normally and this is my first melee toon)

Also for vorpal and paralizers, is it recommended to use two of each for full chances or will main hand only do?

Thanks again for the help all.

[Therigar]

+3 burst of PG v +5 bland....

PG is generating average of 3.5 damage per hit, that is more than the 2 points per hit damage difference you get from +5 over +3 weapon.

Obviously the +3 weapon does more damage, the burst effect is a bonus on criticals.

Note, however, that not all burst effects are equal. So shocking might be more valuable than thundering. Check the actual damage values.

Dual wield vorpals, etc if you can get them -- assuming you are in quests where such weapons are really even necessary. Often you'll find you are killing stuff thru damage before ever rolling your crit, so if mobs are dying fast why bother?

Always go for the highest possible + bonus on the weapon, go for burst over plain damage and go for greater bane if you can find it.

[Sir_Noob]

+3 burst of PG v +5 bland....

PG is generating average of 3.5 damage per hit, that is more than the 2 points per hit damage difference you get from +5 over +3 weapon.

Obviously the +3 weapon does more damage, the burst effect is a bonus on criticals.

This all depends upon if you are having difficulty hitting at times, if you are then the + 5 shines as you will be hitting more often thus actually doing damage more often.

[Syllph]

This all depends upon if you are having difficulty hitting at times, if you are then the + 5 shines as you will be hitting more often thus actually doing damage more often.

Agreed a +1 Holy Greater XXX Bane weapon that makes you miss frequently does less damage than a +5 normal weapon that allows you to hit will accuracy.

So, with the +3 Shock weapon if you're having no trouble hitting then stick with it, otherwise the +5 looks like the win.

[Duke-H-]

Agreed a +1 Holy Greater XXX Bane weapon that makes you miss frequently does less damage than a +5 normal weapon that allows you to hit will accuracy.

A +1 greater bane weapon has +5 to hit on the enemies in question due to greater bane adding +4 to hit.

[Mercureal]

There are 2 basic forms of extra weapon damage, elemental based and alignment based. Elemental damage gives you 1d6 of the elemental type (acid, fire etc.).

Alignment comes in two categories: one category gives you 1d6 of extra damage against all enemies who are not of that alignment; the other gives you 2d6 damage against the opposite alignment. The alignment axes involved are good/evil and lawful/chaotic; the 1d6 category has pure good, true law and true chaos, and the 2d6 category is holy (2d6 againt evil), anarchic (2d6 against lawful) and axiomatic (2d6 against chaotic).

Most of the above types of damage come in what is called the pre-fix, but pure good comes in suffix; so, you can get any of the above types of extra damage combined with pure good on a weapon (e.g. flaming greataxe of pure good, anarchic longbow of pure good, etc.). However, you can't find them combined with each other.

Of these types, the most generally useful are the holy and pure good effects, as the majority of game enemies are evil. Chaotic and lawful type damage have some use, but it's more limited.

All of the elemental types, and all of the 2d6 alignment types also come in "burst" versions, which means you get extra damage when you roll a critical hit; this is quite valuable, and will even work on enemies that can't be hit be critically hit (like undead). Thundering is a version of this, except that you don't get any benefit from normal hits. You can get weapons that do much more damage, so you should look to replace your thundering weapon when you can.

Now for special effect weapons, like paralyzing and vorpal. I found that up until level 14 or so, wielding only 1 paralyzing weapons was enough and I put a good damaging weapon in the other hand to kill as quickly as possible. Paralyzer decline significantly in value after level 14 or 15 (though not useless until level 18 or so). Vorpals are best used in pairs, since they only work on a roll of 20. However, vorpals don't start to have value until you're running quests in the Vale of Twilight, or even later (levels 15 and up). At lower and mid-levels you'll kill things quicker, on average, by straight damage.

[Tiro]

Thanks for the help guys! So I will be going with +3 Shock Burst of PG in main (no issues with missing) and the +5plain in off until I start buying better or Banes.