| The Eternal Keeper |
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Please, please, Paizo, let all weapons in the CRB be balanced and have their own role and purpose!
in old Pathfinder, certain weapons were so much better than others, such as spears, crossbows and maces being very weak by virtue of being classified as simple weapons. With the new proficiency system, and specific weapon qualities, there is no longer a need for those classifications and you can make all weapons interesting and useful, even if it is somewhat situational.
For example,
Spears and other polearms have reach as a major advantage yes, but that could also act as a disadvantage if the enemy gets to close, provoking a penalty to attacks (Which could be alleviated via feats perhaps). Would also be great for people standing behind the tank, allowing them to snipe at the enemy from safety
Maces and warhammers were designed to be armour piercing weapons to defeat the increasingly heavy armour of the medieval period, so maybe let them ignore varying degrees of AC granted by armour. As blunt trauma was generally less lethal than a deep cut or stab, they could still have slightly lower damage
Swords were versatile, excellent on both attack and defence, and swifter than many other melee weapons. So maybe they could have the Agile quality that we've seen that reduces the penalty for multiple attacks, or maybe allow for Dex to hit as a default.
Axes meanwhile sacrificed defence for raw attack power so they ought to deal more damage per hit than a sword, but leave the user more vulnerable.
The big benefit of daggers are already pretty obvious. They are probably the best weapons when you want something sneaky, and when grappling (Maybe give them armour piercing much like the maces when that happens, as they were often used to target the weak spots in a knights armour). This of course at the cost of damage potential, making them excellent backup weapons.
Bows could be fast and deadly in the hand of a strong and skilled wielder, but that's the key, a strong wielder. Thus I ask you to make composite bows the default, letting the user add both Dex and Str to their damage.
Crossbows meanwhile, due to relying on mechanical power and not muscle strength and as such should have high basic damage dice, especially compared to bows, but at the cost of having to spend actions on reloading.
These are my wishes at least.