Best weapon while Swashbuckling?

[Talafar]

I have a 2nd Life Halfling Bard 5/Rogue 4 with Sorcerer Past Life. What is the best weapon, in your opinion, to use while swashbuckling?

I currently use a Shortsword with a Buckler or a Returning Throwing Dagger with a Buckler. I have Martial Weapon Proficiency from the Weapon Training on the Warchanter Enhancement.

All my weapons are cannith crafted.

I hear Hand Axe is good?

I am looking to max my DPS while swashbuckling.

I have been playing DDO for 12 years so I have reached the point I like to try different things. My Bard/Rogue is a combo of Swashbuckler/Warchanter with splashes of Falconry and Assassin tossed on top.

[cru121]

Your particular split right now does not have potential for any crit expansion beyond the usual swashbuckling (18-20x3, or 15-20x3 with improved crit). So it doesn't really matter.

The only exception is sickles; Swords to Plowshares feat would give you a +1 stacking bonus to critical threat. Note that you can also pick up the feat from one of the rogue enhancement trees (IIRC assassin second core).

[unbongwah]

I hear Hand Axe is good?

Handaxe (or light pick) is good because the crit range bonus from Swashbuckling will stack with the crit multiplier bonus from either Strike with No Thought (Kensei core) or Focused Wrath (tier-5 Frenzied Berserker). Obviously that means adding either fighter or barbarian to your current build. Handaxe will also benefit from Headman's Chop (Dreadnought).

Less optimal, but a similar option is kukris / rapiers: the crit multiplier bonus from Swashbuckling stacks with the +2 crit range bonus from Critical Rage (Ravager).

Alternatively you can build around daggers + Vistani Knife Fighter: the critical threat range is not as good as handaxes but you get extra Doublestrike, Melee Power, and attack speed (from capstone).

A third option is to take advantage of the Swords to Plowshares feat, which adds +1 crit range to sickles and kamas which stacks with Swashbuckling bonuses.

You may have noticed I didn't mention short swords. That's because there are no unique DPS bonuses for them, unless you count PDK's Cormyrian Knight Training which is used on e.g. the Icebreaker.

All of that's presuming you want to stick to melee, of course. If you want a simple thrower build, the usual advice is to go with rogue 11 / ranger 6 / bard 3: tier-5 DWS + Dashing Scoundrel + Vistani bonuses. Although it's the sort of build which starts low in heroics and builds up power in epics.

[ValariusK]

Hand axe goes 30%/3x with vanilla swashing.
If you do 5 levels (or more likely 6) of barb with FB you can increase that to 30%/5x. That's a pretty righteous crit profile. If you can get a hand axe with improved crit profile its even better.
Rapier is 30%/3x with vanilla swashing. With 6 levels of barb and ravager t5s, you can do 40%/3x. With ballizarde that could be 40%/4x. You can do similar with kukris, although I don't know a good kukri equivalent of ballizarde.
Sickles and kamas are both 30%/3x vanilla swashing. Swords/plowshares can up that to 35%/3x. With a sickle or kama with improved profile (devourer's reaping, forester's brush hook) these profiles can get really good.

[Tilomere]

Your particular split right now does not have potential for any crit expansion beyond the usual swashbuckling (18-20x3, or 15-20x3 with improved crit). So it doesn't really matter.

I'd go with Kama, since it also takes swords to plowshares to add +1 range, and you can use forrester's brush hook at 15 which is easy to get.

Would also have gone 3 bard, 5 ranger (DoD) to add strike through triple damage to your swashing. Couple fighter levels for feats.

Would give you a 12-20x5 metalline aligned profile attacking multiple targets at 15 with hook.