Weapons Confusion

[Gumdoc]

<p>Ok, I tried to find an answer for this in other threads but no luck:</p><p>I can't seem to figure out the weapons "rating" system. Here's my dilemma: I'm a level 15 Pally and I bought a cheap level 10 weapon on the Broker that has a 10.0 rating and does 6-19 damage. Now, when I look at other weapons in my level range in the Broker, some have higher ratings, like 12-13...but the base damage is less, something like 5-12. I see that these weapons have various buffs on them like strength or agility or health. What I can't figure out is whether I go for the higher base damage or the higher rating. Sure, having more health and wisdom is nice, but how does that make the weapon do more damage and give it a higher rating?</p><p>So, bottom line: more base damage, or higher rating? </p><p>Thanks for any light you can shine on this.</p><p>Gumdoc</p>

[Kellin]

<p>One thing to check for on the weapon is to see if it is a dual weild, one hander, or two hander.  Dual weild will have the lowest rating, because it's assumed you'll be using two weapons.  Paladins cannot dual weild, so there's no reason for you to bother with anything marked as such.</p><p>One handers will have lower stats than a two hander, but again, they vary depending on the quality and level of the weapon. </p><p>Paladins (and other plate tank types) generally need to carry at least two weapon setups - one for tanking, the other for dps or soloing.  Tanking mostly requires a 1-hander and a shield, for higher mitigation.  DPS setup would be a hard-hitting two-hander.</p><p>Damage rating is usually a much better indicator of how well a weapon will perform.  It's a formula based on min/max hit and delay.  A weapon with a base hit of 5 can outdamage a weapon with a base hit of 8 if it's got a faster delay.  </p><p>(though I freely admit I'm not into the number crunching end of weapon stats, so I'm sure someone will give a better explanation)</p>

[Zergosch]

infact i dont see why i should carry a slow 2h, as i done some testing and did so less more dmg then swinging my 1h axe (which is above normal weapon sure). as paladin you not the high dd class anyhow... well, i do use the weapon which i like <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> (axe as dwarf) ^^ nice command is /weaponstat which shows your actual stats of the weapons you wear depand on your stats.

[Karlen]

A good 2H weapon will generally do more damage than a good 1H weapon plus shield.  The shield may help you survive longer, but usually not enough longer to warrant the damage decrease, especially when soloing.  Of course, when in a group, a shield becomes a much better idea. In most cases, you can compare weapons to each other by their damage rating.  This number combines the delay (speed) and damage into a number which is comparable (generally speaking it is the damage per second that the weapon will do). The exception is if you have AAs that increase your chance of getting melee critical hits.  With a high crit chance, you will want to ignore the damage rating and focus on looking for the weapon with the largest damage range. Of course, damage is only one (albeit an important one) aspect of the weapon.  You may choose to use a lower damage weapon that has stat or resist boosts to make up for it.  That is something that only you can decide.