ESOS vs Sanctity vs Morninglord's Falchion

[Arlathen]

Between the three weapons, and in the context of a Pure level 20 Paladin with KotC Capstone, what are YOUR thoughts on the best THF weapon available now with Sentience available and other RL gear?

After failing to get the ESOS Shard yet again after what must be my 150th+ run of EE VON5/6 over all the lives of my dedicated Paladin character, I'm almost ready to give up on this iconic weapon, despite its undeniable power in the hands of a crit-specialised Paladin with Exalted Smites and all the other damage mod gubbins that make it so gravy.

So, penny for your thoughts...

[Arkat]

I like Sanctity an awful lot.

[Krelar]

Epic sword of shadows is nice for epic reincarnating, I don't really see it as an end game weapon anymore. Other choices just have so much more damage that even the extra crit multiplier/range can't keep up. (Theoretically it will be better if you can get your base damage high enough, I have not managed that on a paladin so far and I haven't run the numbers to see if it's even really feasible.)


I don't have a sanctity so I can't say how that compares to the falchion. The higher base damage and extra 9d6 light damage proc might be enough to pull it ahead depending on your base damage.

[Arlathen]

<<WARNING>> The following was threw together in a spreadsheet where I'm suffering a hangover, so its likely all wrong

I plugged some basic numbers into a spreadsheet this morning, and my calcs basically show:

Upto Damage Mod 200
1st: Sanctity
2nd: Morninglord Falchion
3rd: ESOS

Upto 240 Damage Mod
1st: Morninglord Falchion
2nd: Sanctity
3rd: ESOS

Upto 260 Damage Mod :
1st: Morninglord Falchion
2nd: ESOS
3rd: Sanctity

Over 260 Damage Mod:
1st: ESOS
2nd: Morninglord Falchion
3rd: Sanctity

The difference in damage per swing is significant at lower damage mods, where the significant base damage and damage adds on the ML and Sanctity weapons contribute alot more.

Average Damage Per Swing

Damage Mod	50	75	100	125	150	175	200	210	220	225	240	250	260	300
ESOS	188	238	288	338	388	438	488	508	528	538	568	588	608	688
Morninglord Falchion	262	303	344	386	427	468	509	526	542	551	575	592	608	674
Sanctity	293	329	365	402	438	474	510	525	539	547	568	583	597	655

This was worked out assuming:

• Lvl 20 Paladin with a cast Holy Sword - ESOS is 14-20/x4, ML Falchion is 14-20/x3, Sanctity is 16-20/x3
• Seeker Mod of +20
• Morninglord Falchion: Only Holy & Fiery Damage mods work against target
• Sanctity: Holy, Axiomatic and Coruscating Mods work against target
• This is no way takes into account Divine Sacrifice or Exalted Smite, both of which contribute more Average damage to the better Crit Range/Crit Mod weapons.

So, I think I'm in agreement. Get a free Morninglord Falchion from the Vistani vendor to begin with, and then aim to get a Sanctity. If you can get an ESOS for ETRs all the better

EDIT
I completely forgot to apply the +1 bonus from Holy Sword or the Guild ship .25[w] bonus to either the Morninglord Falchion or Sanctity, so the cross over numbers will be at even slightly higher Damage Mods.