Weapon Choice

[talon_sky]

Hello ^_^ I'm new to Fiesta and I'm starting out on Epith server as a Cleric. I was wondering if I could get the opinions of my fellow clerics....which weapon is overall better, the mace or the hammer?

I realize both have their strengths and weaknesses, of which these I am aware:

Mace:
+Better Accuracy
-Lower Damage

Hammer:
+High Damage
-Terrible Accuracy

But is there more to their differences then this? And if the hammer's accuracy is so low, would a few points in my Dex stat help make it hit more often?

[TwinBlade887]

The difference between the two weapons' aim isn't a lot. You could easily make up for it with a T1 aim scroll. You could also just find a +DEX hammer to use to decrease that difference by a bit too. Hammers will always be better than maces for damage, unless the mace is enhanced.

[talon_sky]

Does the hammer have any other bonuses over the mace besides damage capacity?

[TwinBlade887]

Yes, actually. The hammer also has a better crit rate.

[Bob_Biscuit]

However, the mace does attack faster. If you have a decent number of points into free stat strength, or you are fighting an elite/boss/chief mob, the mace will be a better choice. However, if you plan to be more of a support-type cleric or have the majority of your points in END, the hammer is a better choice for you. I, personally, have 51 points into free stat STR, that's an extra 61 defense-ignoring damage with every hit -I choose to attack faster (it's a little less than a third of my damage, so I want to make the most of it), and if I come across an elite mob, that is literally half my damage -base weapon power doesn't mean much when the enemy's defense is insane, attack speed does.

[akebono]

why do people say to start using mace at lvl 40? is there a certain kind of bonus for using it at 40? because the damage gap between lvl 40 mace and hammer is kind of big..

[Bob_Biscuit]

People say that because although the base damage difference continues to grow, the defense of monsters does too. Since you do not deal significantly less with a mace compared to a hammer against elites and other high-defense mobs and the cleric's natural attack is so low, speed becomes greater than damage, moreso if, like me, you have points in free stat STR. Other classes don't run into this, having more than enough attack skills to cut the difference between their weapons' speeds as well as much higher damage outputs.

[blanketpenetrate]

I think that really, the hammer is the better option. I've tried using the hammer and mace with my pure str cleric, with the idea that more attacks is better since clerics rely more on generic attacks than skills, since we have no offensive ones as has been said. But in the end, the difference in base damage seems to be large enough that the hammer still puts out more.

The only time I'd use the mace is against stuff with huge defense, because of the magical def-bypassing proproties of str. Like with my fighter, I always use the 1 hand sword over the axe against mobs in tomb of helga, since they're defense is huge enough that most all the damage I do is coming directly from str points, so faster attack rate is better in that situation since the axe won't do much more damage at all. This is the only situation where I'd see a mace as the better option.

But I don't think anyone wants to invest in a nice +9 mace for 1 single situation that really doesn't occur often, so hammer ftw.

[ahtai]

Also some how (May not true) the dropping with stat added, Mace seem more than Hammer. I can't find any hammer at higher level keep getting Mace (a couple).

[Thasmudyan]

Honestly, there isn't much difference between the weapons, from an overall DPS standpoint. For most clerics, the hammer has a slight advantage due to the fact that you can make up the aim difference with aim scrolls. The hammer also gains more benefit from being +9'd.

Full STR clerics do gain a slight advantage from the mace, at least at higher levels. It's most noticeable against bosses, but it helps against other high defense mobs like orcs and such in the 6x abyss. Also, if you're a skill spammer when attacking, Bleed cools down in 10 sec vs 15 sec for Trip.

If you're mainly a support cleric, it doesn't matter what your weapon is. Choose whatever you have that has better END/DEX/SPR stats.

[talon_sky]

Thanks all ^_^ I think I'll go with the hammer and if I don't like it, switch to the mace.

As to my other question, then. Will some free stat points in Dexterity help with the hammer's horrendous accuracy?

[Bob_Biscuit]

Do not put points into DEX! END and STR are the absolute best choices for a cleric, with SPR being only wanted for the critical. No other stat helps us nearly as much -STR because we have naturally low damage and END for the block rate, which comes in handy when you pull aggro with your shiny heals. You can make up the accuracy by finding a green hammer with DEX, the prefix "Wind" or "Raging Wind" (and possibly "Storm") which naturally have higher aim than NPC weapons, or by using a power scroll.

[SweetLavender]

if you are going to be a support cleric, I'd choose the mace

If you wanna go solo cleric, choose hammer

That's my view on it ^^

[blanketpenetrate]

Bleed cools down in 10 sec vs 15 sec for Trip.

DID NOT KNOW THAT.

I'm so gonna use a mace now.

[talon_sky]

Do not put points into DEX! END and STR are the absolute best choices for a cleric, with SPR being only wanted for the critical. No other stat helps us nearly as much -STR because we have naturally low damage and END for the block rate, which comes in handy when you pull aggro with your shiny heals. You can make up the accuracy by finding a green hammer with DEX, the prefix "Wind" or "Raging Wind" (and possibly "Storm") which naturally have higher aim than NPC weapons, or by using a power scroll.

Lol, okay, it was just a thought ;p I'll stick to END and STR.


if you are going to be a support cleric, I'd choose the mace

If you wanna go solo cleric, choose hammer

That's my view on it ^^

I'll be soloing most of the time, as my computer has jealousy issues and doesn't like to see other players. Lol. But I plan on helping friends, too, condition being I make some friends in the first place ^_-

[Bob_Biscuit]

Sorry if I was rude or anything, I'd just rather not see you waste your points, even if you do get ten stat reset scrolls from a level 25 quest (reach level 30 to get the reward). It's better to learn how to do things right the first time, if it is possible, and save your mistakes for when you have enough experience to correct them. (<-Applies to both life and game)

[talon_sky]

Sorry if I was rude or anything, I'd just rather not see you waste your points, even if you do get ten stat reset scrolls from a level 25 quest (reach level 30 to get the reward). It's better to learn how to do things right the first time, if it is possible, and save your mistakes for when you have enough experience to correct them. (<-Applies to both life and game)

No, I understood your response as constructive advice ^_^ And between you and me, I'd rather do it right the first time, or figure out how to make what I've got work ;p

[Krusnik02]

I've used a hammer on an STR cleric and a END cleric. Needless to say I noticed that the hammer is much more important to use on my level 44 END cleric than on the STR one. As an END cleric, you usually get a DPS for a boss, elites you can take as long as you want on because they're weak, and Bash makes up most of the damage dealt.

[PePsI]

if you are going to be a support cleric, I'd choose the mace

If you wanna go solo cleric, choose hammer

That's my view on it ^^

I beg to differ~
<-- Mace STR/25SPR Cleric...

I would like to think a hammer works better for END/SPR cleric... In other words support clerics... Like Krusnik mentioned, because of their low base damage, the high crit and extra dmg is more significant for them to match up in dmg...

Mace on the other hand... helps soloing STR clerics to fight faster, therefore dealing more overall dmg... Needless to say... The higher accuracy is definitely a plus~ ^^

Not flaming or anything.. just sharing my view too ^^