barb: falchion vs. greatsword vs. Greataxe

[darkkjean]

hello there!
first of all, i m new with Barba. i m playing more than a year just with casters (cleric /bard /pallysorc).
and i was checking alot threads here, and even videos on youtube.
and i was wondering. wich weapon is the best one.
lets see:
suppousing i have improved critical on those weapons:

Great Axe 1d12 crit 19-20x4
Great sword 2d6 crit 17-20x2
Falchion 2d4 crit 15-20x2

So, falchion and greataxe wans't suppose to be the best choices?

since falchion give me 30% of crit ratio, lets wonder that my dmg its around 50. so, if i do 10 hits (supposin all hit, 3 crits (30%) = 350dmg(7 his) + 300 (3 crits) = 750 right?

Lets see greataxe: 10% dmg 60. = 540(9 hits) + 240(crit) = 780.

and the great sword is the worst one. so, why ppl uses others weapons than GA? cos theres better unique names?
pls, if i thinking wrong enlightme. and remember im just estimating.

ty hugs!

[le_goat]

Great axe should be 19-20x3

[DaSawks]

I use Great Swords only because I am a LOTB FS. Great Axe and Falchion are not an option. Sometimes it is the build that dictates what gear is used. Great Axe's are also very expensive in the AH.

[jwdaniels]

Greataxe is only X3, not X4. Also , this thread has been done before and it basically comes down to this, in a nutshell:

Greataxe is best for auto-crit situations, Falchion is best for non auto-crit, non crit-immune situations. Greataxe is worst when Falchion is best, and vice versa. Greatsword is pretty much always the second-best alternative, so it's a good general weapon; never the best, never the worst.

[Illiain]

Just remember when U9 comes out, we'll loose autocrit situations. So greataxe will be best for 100% fort and falchion will be best for everything else.

[krisz93]

Auto crits will be gone as of U9, expect an increase in falchion users.
Check out epic Xuum, it has a threat range of 15-20/3x with Imp.Crit. Elven Enhancements also provide +4 to damage and +2 to hit, which is better than Horc PA

[DyninScott]

If you are talking about normal weapons and dont take into consideration any epics or named loot, I'm guessing since you just started. First off you don't have to pick one weapon with a barb you can use any martial weapon, if you do decide to take improved crit at lvl 9 it works for all three of those weapons because they are all slashing. my advice would be to use a falcion for lower levels because it crits more often and even though it only does x2 most of the time x3 with a greataxe can be overkill to normal creatures so while the numbers come out the same they accually aren't the same if you consider the times you do more damage than they have hit points. As for the greatsword it does less damage than both of them. But really it's use what you like to see because the damage difference is minimal and it's more important to have fun, mauls are also fun.

[DyninScott]

I thought elven enchantments were for scimitar not falcion. And don't worry about epics if you are just starting.

[Bolo_Grubb]

If you are talking about normal weapons and dont take into consideration any epics or named loot, I'm guessing since you just started. First off you don't have to pick one weapon with a barb you can use any martial weapon, if you do decide to take improved crit at lvl 9 it works for all three of those weapons because they are all slashing. my advice would be to use a falcion for lower levels because it crits more often and even though it only does x2 most of the time x3 with a greataxe can be overkill to normal creatures so while the numbers come out the same they accually aren't the same if you consider the times you do more damage than they have hit points. As for the greatsword it does less damage than both of them. But really it's use what you like to see because the damage difference is minimal and it's more important to have fun, mauls are also fun.

+1
Play what you like, like what you play

I use Mauls (and sometimes even greatclubs) on my barbarian just because I find it to be fun.

[Illiain]

I thought elven enchantments were for scimitar not falcion. And don't worry about epics if you are just starting.

Elves get +2 hit/+2 damage with scimitars, and +2 hit/+4 damage with falchion.

[PopeJual]

At lower levels, Barbarian = 1 hit, 1 kill, even if you don't get a critical hit.

At higher levels, the critical hits start to matter.

Until you craft a Greensteel Falchion, Greatsword or Greataxe, though, the weapon's prefix and suffix are going to matter more than the weapon type.

A +1 Holy Greatsword of Pure Good will do more damage to evil enemies (i.e. most of what you fight) than a +4 Falchion even in circumstances where the Falchion "should" be the better weapon.

[Kinerd]

my advice would be to use a falcion for lower levels because it crits more often and even though it only does x2 most of the time x3 with a greataxe can be overkill to normal creatures so while the numbers come out the same they accually aren't the same if you consider the times you do more damage than they have hit points.

This analysis is well-reasoned but works for greatsword vs. greataxe, which work out to be even. Falchions work out to be ahead of greataxes.