‎Best Magic Weapon Special Abilities‎ ?

[Slithery D]

Rogar Valertis wrote:

-Heart-Piercing (Vorpal but you can use it with that bow..

I can't find a Pathfinder source for this.

[Imbicatus]

Slithery D wrote:

Rogar Valertis wrote:

-Heart-Piercing (Vorpal but you can use it with that bow..

I can't find a Pathfinder source for this.

It's from Weapon Master's Handbook. Still too new to be online.

[Rogar Valertis]

Zaetar wrote:

Alright, last update. Optimizing without losing flavour.

Polearms : Fortuitous

2-Handed Axe : Cruel
2-Handed Sword : Holy

1-Handed Sword: Holy
1-Handed Axe : Impact -> Make this a dwarven waraxe or bastard sword, 2d8 is basically the same as 3d6 which is how a greatsword or greataxe improve after impact, you lose the half again str bonus to dmg but gain the ability to use a shield with it

Shields : Arrow Catching

Longbow : Adaptive

Backup: Ghost-touch, Spell Storing.

Thank you people! Feel free to keep discussing about the abilities!

[Zaetar]

Rogar Valertis wrote:

Zaetar wrote:

1-Handed Axe : Impact -> Make this a dwarven waraxe or bastard sword, 2d8 is basically the same as 3d6 which is how a greatsword or greataxe improve after impact, you lose the half again str bonus to dmg but gain the ability to use a shield with it

Exotic Weapon though, guess it's worth a potential 60% increase in damage?

[lemeres]

Matthew Downie wrote:

Fourshadow wrote:

For instance, the longsword does 1d8. With this, it now does 2d6 to EVERY TARGET.

That's +2.5 damage on average - if that's all I'm using it for I'd rather have +2 to hit and +2 to damage from a regular enhancement bonus.

Yeah...size increases are only really worth it when you plan to put ALOT OF THEM.

So a large sized bastard sword with impact, and you are also enlarged. That should get it to the point that the scaling is enough to justify it.

But I will admit that impact has some value with regular weapons if you are starting to get to the point that you are looking at a +7 effective enhancement bonus. Prior to that...meh.

[Imbicatus]

Impact is also great if you are playing a Goliath Druid. Start with a Large, Impact Bastard Sword, then wildshape to a Huge Giant.

[lemeres]

Imbicatus wrote:

Impact is also great if you are playing a Goliath Druid. Start with a Large, Impact Bastard Sword, then wildshape to a Huge Giant.

Yeah- general point is that impact is only really useful if you have enough size increases already that you have to go looking for tables and possibly extrapolating from way beyond the tables.

On its own, impact is rather poor as a size increase, since that is all it does. Enlarge person and the giant body spell that gets added into goliath's wild shape have the added advantage of boosts to strength and increase your reach- both of which are fine effect in and of themselves. So getting a size increase to your weapons is just a bonus.

[Zaetar]

Imbicatus wrote:

Impact is also great if you are playing a Goliath Druid. Start with a Large, Impact Bastard Sword, then wildshape to a Huge Giant.

Jotunkin Barbarian increases in size while raging, equipment is affected and weapons deal more damage according to its new size. Impact would actually work well i think. It specifies that special abilities are not affected but Impact depends on the size of the weapon.

If the DM allows Monkey Grip or Lighten Weapon, then the damage would be massive.

[Rogar Valertis]

Zaetar wrote:

Rogar Valertis wrote:

Zaetar wrote:

1-Handed Axe : Impact -> Make this a dwarven waraxe or bastard sword, 2d8 is basically the same as 3d6 which is how a greatsword or greataxe improve after impact, you lose the half again str bonus to dmg but gain the ability to use a shield with it

Exotic Weapon though, guess it's worth a potential 60% increase in damage?

It's not exotic if you are a dwarf or use the right comboes...

[Athaleon]

Fourshadow wrote:

Matthew Downie wrote:

Fourshadow wrote:

For instance, the longsword does 1d8. With this, it now does 2d6 to EVERY TARGET.

That's +2.5 damage on average - if that's all I'm using it for I'd rather have +2 to hit and +2 to damage from a regular enhancement bonus.

Eh, I'm not an optimizer. I'm a role-player so pardon me if math doesn't enter into every decision I make for my character.

The magically-enhanced weapon hits harder. Where is any flavor lost or even changed?

[DoubleBubble]

Zaetar wrote:

DoubleBubble wrote:

For crossbow, I always go for Phase Lock, Anchoring with either Distance or seeking. Very helpful when you have to fight something massive but have no way to do range attack to you. Distance works well with crossbow because the range doubled means it's harder for your opponent to hit you with range attacks. They likely have to take range penalties once or twice and can't do anything about it because of Phase Lock and Anchoring.

That would be nice... but phase locking only disables magical movement and anchoring cant be added to a ranged weapon. I could go for distance though...

And for some reason, every time i try to make a ranged PC with either bow or xbow I end up going for some sort of hiding/sniping build.
Is this normal?

Hmm. Strange, I found Anchoring on the Ranged weapon abilities list in Ultimate Equipment.

[Zaetar]

DoubleBubble wrote:

Zaetar wrote:

DoubleBubble wrote:

For crossbow, I always go for Phase Lock, Anchoring with either Distance or seeking. Very helpful when you have to fight something massive but have no way to do range attack to you. Distance works well with crossbow because the range doubled means it's harder for your opponent to hit you with range attacks. They likely have to take range penalties once or twice and can't do anything about it because of Phase Lock and Anchoring.

That would be nice... but phase locking only disables magical movement and anchoring cant be added to a ranged weapon. I could go for distance though...

And for some reason, every time i try to make a ranged PC with either bow or xbow I end up going for some sort of hiding/sniping build.
Is this normal?

Hmm. Strange, I found Anchoring on the Ranged weapon abilities list in Ultimate Equipment.

It can be added to Throwing weapons. Maybe thats why it was in that list?

[GM Rednal]

For what it's worth (i.e. lots of my gold... XD), I'm very happy with having added Holy attributes to both ends of a character's Quarterstaff. Broadly speaking, I think damage increases tend to be most useful if you make a lot of attacks... as they should be, if you're investing so much of your wealth into them. o_O Double Weapons get expensive.

(It's true that Holy isn't ALWAYS useful, but evil foes are common in the majority of adventures, and non-evil foes are often more willing to negotiate, especially if you have interests in common. The easiest battles are the ones you don't have to fight...)

[Aelryinth]

Are you ignoring specific Weapons?

Because a Sun Sword is one of the very best all around weapons you can possibly take.

It's effectively a short sword that does d10 dmg and can be used two handed. NO EWP required. It just looks like a bastard sword.

+2, +4 against Evil Foes, AND Double Damage vs undead and negative energy plane stuff.

Plus the 'sun' effect 1/day.

It's the price of a +5 sword, so if your DM lets you further improve it, you're golden!

You can 'build' a Sun Sword as follows:

+1 Bastard Sword
= Shortsword for proficiency and wielding, 'sun' effect 1/day = +1 effect, add in the 'good' level penalty.
+2/+2 vs Evil = a +1 Effect (basically, equal to Holy)
+2 Enhancement
Double damage vs Undead/Negative elementals is basically a Bane effect (+1)
= a +5 Weapon.

==Aelryinth

[Zaetar]

Aelryinth wrote:

Are you ignoring specific Weapons?

Well, sort of. Specific items depend on the DM's whim, the campaign, etc. more than on the player's need. So even if I want certain unique magic item it doesnt mean i will certainly get it.

I could aim for one, sure, but if im planning an item build then something safe would be better, as in normal items with special abilities that can be found in magic shops or created by a player.

[Fourshadow]

Aelryinth wrote:

Are you ignoring specific Weapons?

Because a Sun Sword is one of the very best all around weapons you can possibly take.

It's effectively a short sword that does d10 dmg and can be used two handed. NO EWP required. It just looks like a bastard sword.

+2, +4 against Evil Foes, AND Double Damage vs undead and negative energy plane stuff.

Plus the 'sun' effect 1/day.

It's the price of a +5 sword, so if your DM lets you further improve it, you're golden!

You can 'build' a Sun Sword as follows:

+1 Bastard Sword
= Shortsword for proficiency and wielding, 'sun' effect 1/day = +1 effect, add in the 'good' level penalty.
+2/+2 vs Evil = a +1 Effect (basically, equal to Holy)
+2 Enhancement
Double damage vs Undead/Negative elementals is basically a Bane effect (+1)
= a +5 Weapon.

==Aelryinth

Oh! And if you add Impact, it now does 2d8 rather than 1d10! Just had to add that...

[Aelryinth]

eggzactly. For Vital Strikes and sizing upwards, it's the best one handed weapon you can possibly use.

But +2 for Impact is probably too much. If I were to improve it further, it'd be increasing the base enchantment to +5. The last +2 is up in the air, but Impact would not be the first thing I'd take. More like Guardian + Ghost Touch, for a combo of up to +7 on saves and always being able to hit my enemies, since I'm going to be REAVING undead at this point.

==Aelryinth

[Rerednaw]

I really like the classics, Mace of Disruption, Frost Brand, Sun Blade, Life-Stealing, etc. Though between the Pathfinder versions, Sun Blade is still good, others not as much.

[johnnythexxxiv]

I've seen a lot of Furious for Barbarians, but Courageous could be better if you have other sources of morale bonuses besides your rage and gives a larger bonus than Furious does if you have both of them on the same +4 or higher weapon. Definitely worth considering for late game bonuses.

[Java Man]

johnnythexxxiv wrote:

I've seen a lot of Furious for Barbarians, but Courageous could be better if you have other sources of morale bonuses besides your rage and gives a larger bonus than Furious does if you have both of them on the same +4 or higher weapon. Definitely worth considering for late game bonuses.

Sorry to be the bearer of ill tidings, but an FAQ awhile ago killed courageous. The boost to morale bonuses is only morale bonuses vs fear.

[C4M3R0N]

Radiant can be good on a shield too. Its a flat cost. So it stacks with everything. And the 1 hour a day daylight can be helpful. Especially when you're up against things with light sensitivity or light blindness. (Drow are the big enemy in our current campaign. So it's comes up a lot for us)

[Zenogu]

The power seeker inside me cringes at that FAQ, but it does stop some shenanigans that really don't fit in the game.

Namely, everyone and their mom trying to get access to Heroism/Greater (Boots of the Battle Herald). Enjoying the party bard that much more. Or a Cavalier's Banner. Or Raging even harder.