Endgame THF Weapons

[SylvanPhoenix]

I was wondering what the preferred endgame weapons are for a THF Barb. I've seen these three mentioned: Baz-Morath, Tail of Suulomades, and Reflection of Blackrazor. What else do folks carry? I'd love to see some easier to farm options than too.

Finally, on sentience, do you only pick one weapon that you invest in? Thanks!

[Logicman69]

I was wondering what the preferred endgame weapons are for a THF Barb. I've seen these three mentioned: Baz-Morath, Tail of Suulomades, and Reflection of Blackrazor. What else do folks carry? I'd love to see some easier to farm options than too.

Finally, on sentience, do you only pick one weapon that you invest in? Thanks!

It depends on the build. All 3 are excellent choices. I am sure someone will come up with some math supporting one over the other. Out of the 3 though, Blackrazor is the easier farm and is still excellent without the upgrade. For a non-raid option, you could try the Syrannian weapons from Sharn (though probably the same farm time as getting blackrazer, once you factor in all the ingredients).

I used Baz on my THF DPS and it was an excellent choice.

[WarDestroyer]

You definitely want to use a raid weapon, because for THF their base damage is at least 10 higher than non-raid options. Then it comes down to crit profile, with greataxe being the best for autocrit focused builds and falchion being generally the best otherwise, specially for FB barbarians; greatsword is behind falchion unless you're a paladin.

That said, you want either Baz, Torn or Hellstroke for greataxe, and Suulomades' tail for falchion. Meanwhile you can just swing a Morninglord's.

[SylvanPhoenix]

Great, thanks for the advice. I do want to end up with a raid weapon but I had enough parts to make a Syranian weapon and will pick up a Morninglord one when I start doing legendary RL.

[Doomflayer]

Don't forget the Magmatic Cleaver, dripping with magma is a good amount of damage even in an R10. It can be called a bit broken as even in R10 it seems to do 500+ fire damage.

[PrinceOfAsphodel]

I was wondering what the preferred endgame weapons are for a THF Barb. I've seen these three mentioned: Baz-Morath, Tail of Suulomades, and Reflection of Blackrazor. What else do folks carry? I'd love to see some easier to farm options than too.

Finally, on sentience, do you only pick one weapon that you invest in? Thanks!

Tail of Suulomades for sure. The only other contenders are the Epic Sword of Shadow and the Magmatic Cleaver, though dripping with magma is getting (rightfully) nerfed with tjis update, I believe, so that will probably drop it to Baz Morath's level, which is good but not at the level of Tail. Also, an important caveat about ESoS is that it is the best THF weapon in the game right now but it only beats Tail of Suulomades if you have as many damage bonuses as are available, which 90-99% of us won't.

Reflection of Blackrazor is not a contender. I guess I should also mention great axes shine best when you're using adrenaline charges, especially combined with attacks that have massive boosts to crit range, or even autocrit like that attack from the half orc tree. Without these synergies, great axes fall farther behind falchions in the dps race.

[boredGamer]

Tail of Suulomades for sure. The only other contenders are the Epic Sword of Shadow and the Magmatic Cleaver, though dripping with magma is getting (rightfully) nerfed with tjis update, I believe, so that will probably drop it to Baz Morath's level, which is good but not at the level of Tail. Also, an important caveat about ESoS is that it is the best THF weapon in the game right now but it only beats Tail of Suulomades if you have as many damage bonuses as are available, which 90-99% of us won't.

Reflection of Blackrazor is not a contender. I guess I should also mention great axes shine best when you're using adrenaline charges, especially combined with attacks that have massive boosts to crit range, or even autocrit like that attack from the half orc tree. Without these synergies, great axes fall farther behind falchions in the dps race.

I get that you're thinking about end game, but the other obviously nice thing about esos is it's available at 20, so you can load it all up with sentient and use it for levelling and fairly well at end game. So if you're starting with something, for me I start(ed) with that.

[PrinceOfAsphodel]

I get that you're thinking about end game, but the other obviously nice thing about esos is it's available at 20, so you can load it all up with sentient and use it for levelling and fairly well at end game. So if you're starting with something, for me I start(ed) with that.

Agreed. Good point.

[Alled78]

I was wondering what the preferred endgame weapons are for a THF Barb. I've seen these three mentioned: Baz-Morath, Tail of Suulomades, and Reflection of Blackrazor. What else do folks carry? I'd love to see some easier to farm options than too.

Finally, on sentience, do you only pick one weapon that you invest in? Thanks!

Any lvl 30+ raid weapon is good. Chooooose what you prefer now... Until next expansion...

[Erekose]

Don't forget the Magmatic Cleaver, dripping with magma is a good amount of damage even in an R10. It can be called a bit broken as even in R10 it seems to do 500+ fire damage.

Can skip Magmatic Cleaver once you get Red Dragon armor which puts dripping with magma effect on any weapon you hold, so it is either Baz for Half orc or Tail for Elf.

Also, Baz has +.5 (W) over Magmatic cleaver putting the cleaver behind Baz once you get your Red Dragon armor.

[Erekose]

Tail of Suulomades for sure. The only other contenders are the Epic Sword of Shadow and the Magmatic Cleaver, though dripping with magma is getting (rightfully) nerfed with tjis update, I believe, so that will probably drop it to Baz Morath's level, which is good but not at the level of Tail. Also, an important caveat about ESoS is that it is the best THF weapon in the game right now but it only beats Tail of Suulomades if you have as many damage bonuses as are available, which 90-99% of us won't.

Reflection of Blackrazor is not a contender. I guess I should also mention great axes shine best when you're using adrenaline charges, especially combined with attacks that have massive boosts to crit range, or even autocrit like that attack from the half orc tree. Without these synergies, great axes fall farther behind falchions in the dps race.

Reflecting on these comments I want to make some points about DPS versus damage.

The DPS Calculus

A lot of people derive DPS on the basis that they are essentially attacking a training dummy with infinite hit points, no DR, the dummy doesn’t move, auto attack is on and there are no other prevailing game situations that may impede doing constant damage, such as needing to move out of a circle that will one shot you, moving between each mini cluster of mobs, waiting to resurrect a fellow player, player ability, quest knowledge, skills on timer etc etc etc etc. Therefore, commentary that relies upon a simplistic damage calculus model fails to contextualize real situations that damage is dealt and does not afford a realistic representation or simulation of the gaming environment.

Base Damage ratings

Base damage ratings on weapons are an arbitrary representation of the weapons combined base damage, crit multipliers and crit range. It serves only as a guide for potential damage. Generally speaking greater crit ranges afford higher DPS and greater crit multipliers afford higher damage. I will explain what I mean by this later when I use an example within a Lvl 34 r10 dungeon.

Extended crit profiles

On face value it is difficult to argue with those who hypothesize that weapons with a greater crit profile do more DPS. The numbers do suggest a greater potential for dealing out damage. However, consideration still needs to be made in regards to the overall benefit of extended crit range weapons with lower crit multipliers versus lower crit profiles with higher crit multipliers. Remember, the game is not an endless beat down on a training dummy with infinite hit points.

Through my own testing in reaper 10 on a barbarian Half orc I have tested the Baz, Magma and tail and concluded that the Baz is a more effective weapon in reaper 10 for my particular build with the goals and priorities that I set myself as a melee. However, with other builds, ones that may rely on increased weapon attack speed the tail may be a better choice.

In R10: Removing threats fast improves your chances of survival thus enabling you to sustain DPS and damage

The ability to quickly eliminate threats that can kill you fast is important. Because when you die, your DPS and damage drops to zero. I found the Baz quite effective at Adrenaline one shotting red crowned champions and low level reapers on r10. This is very important for the survivability of you and the party in general. Red crowns and low level reapers can wreak havoc if left unchecked. therefore, they are a priority (playstyle).

Now, the same cannot be said for the Tail, as it has a lower crit multiplier and may not hit as hard as the Baz when trying to affect a one shot on a red crown champ or low level reaper on r10. This in turn increases the chance that the red crown will retaliate one shotting you instead, or dotting you badly. These type of realistic simulations should be considered and a contextualized appreciation of the use of any weapon be incorporated into your choice. Don’t just rely on base damage ratings or arbitrary DPS calculus.

If you can get the chance I would definitely spend time testing all the major raids weapons, Baz, Tail and Magmatic and compare the results and ask yourself when testing, did they one shot major threats (damage), does the weapon transition adequately for back side melee on Doom reapers and end bosses (DPS).

The last point I want to make is that you need to bring more than just DPS or damage, Crowd control is everyone's responsibility. A well timed Dire charge stunning mobs will not only mitigate damage but also be a damage multiplier for the whole party. A trip on a trash mob chasing a caster is a valuable contribution increasing the caster ability to survive.

Sorry for the longish post I hope this adds some value to your future build choices and weapon selections.

[M0rfeo]

Reflecting on these comments I want to make some points about DPS versus damage.

The DPS Calculus

A lot of people derive DPS on the basis that they are essentially attacking a training dummy with infinite hit points, no DR, the dummy doesn’t move, auto attack is on and there are no other prevailing game situations that may impede doing constant damage, such as needing to move out of a circle that will one shot you, moving between each mini cluster of mobs, waiting to resurrect a fellow player, player ability, quest knowledge, skills on timer etc etc etc etc. Therefore, commentary that relies upon a simplistic damage calculus model fails to contextualize real situations that damage is dealt and does not afford a realistic representation or simulation of the gaming environment.

Base Damage ratings

Base damage ratings on weapons are an arbitrary representation of the weapons combined base damage, crit multipliers and crit range. It serves only as a guide for potential damage. Generally speaking greater crit ranges afford higher DPS and greater crit multipliers afford higher damage. I will explain what I mean by this later when I use an example within a Lvl 34 r10 dungeon.

Extended crit profiles

On face value it is difficult to argue with those who hypothesize that weapons with a greater crit profile do more DPS. The numbers do suggest a greater potential for dealing out damage. However, consideration still needs to be made in regards to the overall benefit of extended crit range weapons with lower crit multipliers versus lower crit profiles with higher crit multipliers. Remember, the game is not an endless beat down on a training dummy with infinite hit points.

Through my own testing in reaper 10 on a barbarian Half orc I have tested the Baz, Magma and tail and concluded that the Baz is a more effective weapon in reaper 10 for my particular build with the goals and priorities that I set myself as a melee. However, with other builds, ones that may rely on increased weapon attack speed the tail may be a better choice.

In R10: Removing threats fast improves your chances of survival thus enabling you to sustain DPS and damage

The ability to quickly eliminate threats that can kill you fast is important. Because when you die, your DPS and damage drops to zero. I found the Baz quite effective at Adrenaline one shotting red crowned champions and low level reapers on r10. This is very important for the survivability of you and the party in general. Red crowns and low level reapers can wreak havoc if left unchecked. therefore, they are a priority (playstyle).

Now, the same cannot be said for the Tail, as it has a lower crit multiplier and may not hit as hard as the Baz when trying to affect a one shot on a red crown champ or low level reaper on r10. This in turn increases the chance that the red crown will retaliate one shotting you instead, or dotting you badly. These type of realistic simulations should be considered and a contextualized appreciation of the use of any weapon be incorporated into your choice. Don’t just rely on base damage ratings or arbitrary DPS calculus.

If you can get the chance I would definitely spend time testing all the major raids weapons, Baz, Tail and Magmatic and compare the results and ask yourself when testing, did they one shot major threats (damage), does the weapon transition adequately for back side melee on Doom reapers and end bosses (DPS).

The last point I want to make is that you need to bring more than just DPS or damage, Crowd control is everyone's responsibility. A well timed Dire charge stunning mobs will not only mitigate damage but also be a damage multiplier for the whole party. A trip on a trash mob chasing a caster is a valuable contribution increasing the caster ability to survive.

Sorry for the longish post I hope this adds some value to your future build choices and weapon selections.

Nice post! Thank you!
Last time I was at level 30 I was lucky and I get both Magmatic and Tail. Now I am very undecided on what to use. I like so much Tail but Magmatic gives me Armor-Piercing +21% that I don't have on my equip, so I think it is very important on high skulls.
For the moment, after testing Tail, I'm testing Magmatic and it seems a little more effective. Am I wrong?