Reply With QuoteOh man, great idea dood. This should stop alot of useless posts/threads about what to use/whats better!
PM me if you need any help :)
go axes
Going In Deep: Swords VS Auxiliary Weapons (V1.5)
Hi there. I'm FrenchConnexUK, a.k.a. Mike. I have a very generic name, I know, it came from-- wait, you don't care. You want to know the difference between a Sword and an Axe or Blunt Weapon when it comes to Maplestory. I commend you for being one of the few people who looked at the older, existing threads before making an "omg swrod or ax???????//" thread.
Table of Contents
[1.0] --> Introduction to Warriors .................................................. .. <1ntr0>
[2.0] --> The Weaponry .................................................. ............... <w3p0nz>
[2.1] --> The Sword .................................................. .................... <sw0rd>
[2.2] --> The Axe .................................................. ....................... <4x3s>
[2.3] --> The Blunt Weapon .................................................. .......... <m4c3s>
[2.4] --> Math .................................................. ............................ <wtfsch00l>
[3.0] --> So Which Is Really Better? ................................................. <wh0z1337>
[3.0] --> Speed .................................................. .......................... <5p33d>
[3.0] --> Damage .................................................. ........................ <d4m4g3>
[3.0] --> So Who's Really the Best? .................................................. <14m1337>
[4.0] --> Credits .................................................. ........................ <ilovuguise>
<<<[1.0] Introduction to Warriors >>> [1ntr0]
What is a warrior? Why are you reading this? Is this all to complicated? Warriors are weird like that.
A lot of classes are very straightforward. Mages only have to worry about capping their LUK, until they reach very high levels. Bowmen; same situation. They cap their STR and away they go. Warriors are different because they're a complex class. You can play them a simple way and be normal, or you can play them and know what you're doing and be able to do stuff like this:
Spoiler!
Spoiler!
See what I'm getting at? Those smexy beasts in the pictures knows what they're doing.
A Warrior by definition is; either
a) A person engaged or experienced in warfare; synonym; Soldier.
b) A person who shows or has shown great vigor, courage, or aggressiveness, as in athletics or politics (lolwut).
In MapleStory terms, a Warrior is a character with high HP, but low MP, generally slow, no movement skills, but is able to dish out high amounts of damage from close ranges. There are three types of warriors, all that are able to deal massive damage in different ways. The Fighter line ends up with the highest DPS (damage per second) among the three classes, with equivalent gear of course, and deals high damage through the use of a skill called Combo Attack. The Page line, meanwhile, has the lowest single-target DPS of the three, but can deal insanely high amounts of damage early in 3rd job through the use of elemental charges. The Spearman line is the most used of the three; before 4th job, they had the highest DPS of the three warriors, now they are second behind Heros (4th Job Fighter), and very close to Paladins (4th Job Page). Spearmen use a skill called Berserk in 4th Job to deal a lot more damage, and use a skill known as Hyper Body (HB) to boost their HP and MP and those stats on their party members by 60%.
That's what a Warrior is. Still awake?
<<<[2.0] The Weaponry >>> [w3p0nz]
Warriors use 5 types of weapons; Swords, Axes, Blunt Weapons (Maces), Spears and Polearms. The purpose of this guide is to look at the differences between Swords and Auxiliary Weapons (Axes and Maces), so we will ignore Spears and Polearms for now.
[2.1] --> The Sword [sw0rd]
This is a Sword Crusader.
His name is WarEnsembIe. He's pretty cool lookin', with his sword, rite? Wait, what's a sword?
A Sword is a double-edged piece of metal (usually) that has a pointed tip. In MapleStory, the sword is the most stable damage dealer. MapleStory has a set slash:stab ratio. There are 5 animations; three slashing, two stabbing. Swords recieve 100% of their regular damage when doing any of the 5 animations; therefore, they have an average of 100% damage per hit. This means that no matter which animation you see, if you are using regular attack, you will always see a number that is within your damage range, taking into account the weapon defense of the monster.
Swords come in two varieties, like Axes and Maces do. There are 1-Handed Swords, and 2-Handed Swords. Both of them share the same properties; in 2nd Job, Pages and Fighters both get a skill called "Sword Booster". When used, the attacking speed (coming up next) will be raised by two levels, but only if a Sword is equipped; either 1-handed or 2-handed.
1-handed swords are, in general, faster than their 2-handed counterparts; the attacking speed of a 1-handed sword is, in general, 1 level faster than the same level sword that is 2-handed. There are some exceptions; the level 100 1-handed sword, Sparta, is 3 levels faster than the level 100 2-handed sword, Beheader, but the level 35 1-handed sword Cutlus is the same speed as the level 35 2-handed sword Lionheart.
Other speed notes are:
--> Berzerker (level 90 2h sword), Slow (8), the slowest sword in the game.
--> Beheader (level 100 2h sword), Slow (7), the second slowest sword in the game.
--> Red Katana (level 70 1h sword), Fast (4), fastest common 1h sword in the game.
--> Stonetooth Sword (level 100 2h sword), Fast (5), previously the "most godly" end-game sword for a warrior.
--> Night Raven's Wing (level 90 2h sword), Fast (5), the new "godliest" 2h sword in the game.
--> Japanese Map (level 50 2h sword), Fast (4), rare low-level weapon, but very useful.
--> Lunchbox (level 120 1h sword), Fast (4), event level 120 sword, godly by all standards.
A note on the Japanese Map, provided by Morgana.
There are 4 weapon "sizes" if you will, which determine the range of a weapon. A "long" sword will be able to reach monsters farther away than a "medium" or "short" sword. In addition, the 1h sword sizes are even smaller than the 2h ones; the largest 1h sword size is 20 pixels smaller than the smallest 2h sword size. Japanese Map has the smallest 2h sword size.
And some more, from a guide on Basilmarket, which Morgana showed me;
[2.2] --> The Axe [4x3s]Originally Posted by Basil
An Axe is a long piece of metal or wood with a double or single-edges sharp metal head on the end. In MapleStory, the axe is one of the less stable damage dealers. This is because of MapleStory's set slash:stab ratio. When an Axe is swung, it does more damage, and when it is stabbed, it does less damage. The damage difference is different depending on 1handed weapons (~2% less for Axes per hit) and 2handed weapons (~8% less for Axes per hit). On a side note, Axes have two more base attack when compared to a sword of equivalent level. For example, Sparta (level 60 2handed sword) has 80 average base attack whereas The Shining (level 60 2h axe) has 82 average base attack. This extra two attack, however, is not enough to make up the damage lost to stabs, so yes, Axes do less damage than swords. If you want to see the math behind this, open the following spoiler, if not, then... skip it. :P
Spoiler!
As a side note, I don't know why in the blue blazes any self-respecting warrior would want to stab with an axe, but... Nexon made it so that that can happen. -_-"
Anyway, more on Axes. I talked about speed in the Sword part, so here's how it goes for Axes. They... are slow. Not much of a way around that. The average speed for an axe is Normal (6). This is the same as Swords, isn't it? Well, not exactly. For swords, there are only two weapons that go above this cap, and many of them even go under this to Fast (5) and Fast (4) speeds, such as Red Katana, Stonetooth Sword and Night Raven's Wing. However, a lot of Axes go slower than Normal (6), and there is no 2h axe that is faster than Normal (6). The Slow (7) axes are Sabretooth (level 40), The Rising (level 50), Chrono (level 70), Tavar (level 100) and Dragon Battle Axe (level 110).
For 1handed Axes, the situation is a slight bit better; every useable, common, non-event axe is either Fast (5) or Normal (6). Most of the lower level Axes are Fast (5), whereas a lot of the higher level ones are Normal (6), such as Vifennis (level 90), Tomahawk (level 100) and Dragon Axe (level 110).
Axe Warrior end-game weapons come in a few different shapes and sizes. The ones that go 1-handed generally end with either a Tomahawk or a Dragon Axe, more usually Tomahawk because they are more easily available and thus easier/cheaper to scroll. 2-handed Axe Warriors generally end with Colonian Axes, due to the faster attack speed compared to Tavar and Dragon Battle Axe.
However, with the addition of Temple of Time, Axe Warriors finally get an arguably good end-game weapon. The level 120 Reverse Tabarzin holds a Normal (6) speed, which is equivalent to that of a Colonian Axe and better than both Tavar and Dragon Battle Axe, so any 2-handed Axe Hero that's worth his weight is now trying to get a hold of one. The 1-handed Reverse axe, Reverse Bardiche, is slightly shafted, being the same speed as its 2-handed brother, just 1-handed. However, those Axe Heroes that have ungodly amounts of money for uber attack shields have this option open as well.
The fun doesn't stop there! In 4th job, Heroes (warriors that use either Swords or Axes) get a skill called Brandish, which becomes their primary attacking skill at level 123, when it outdamages both Slash Blast and Power Strike. However, Brandish has a set animation, similar to how Dragon Crusher is always a stab and Dragon Fury is always a slash for Dragon Knights. Brandish stabs once and slashes once, meaning that an axe user will always do less damage than a sword user. Here's the math behind this, in a spoiler;
Spoiler!
So as you can see, an Axe user loses almost 60% damage EACH BRANDISH. This basically ruins any Axe Crusader who gets to fourth job; one would need godly funding to match the damage of a Sword Hero with equivalent stats, and if said Axe Hero was a Sword Hero, he'd be doing a load more damage.
[2.3] --> The Mace [m4c3s]
A Blunt Weapon user:
The Amazing Daos! HE is quite ownage. He's holding what's known as a Blunt Weapon, or Mace;
A Mace is a weapon that has a shaft similar to that of an axe, but is ended with a hard, blunt object, sometimes with spikes on it. Maces are more commonly known as Blunt Weapons in MapleStory, and they follow the same damage calculation as Axes. Again, they do get the same 2 more average bass attack over swords. And again, because of the 3:2 slash:stab ratio in MapleStory, Blunt Weapons are, on average, still weaker than swords. Refer to the Math section if you want to know the difference between the two, the average difference, and the math behind it. Code is <wtfsch00l>
Blunt Weapon specific stuffs... 4th Job.
In 4th Job, Paladins (warriors who use either Blunt Weapons or Swords) get an attacking skill known as Blast, which replaces Power Strike as their primary attacking skill. This skill is immensely powerful, dealing 550% damage, 30% more than Brandish on one monster! However, some people are fooled by it. The animation that Blast makes is ALWAYS a stab. People say "oh noes, doesn't that mean that I'll always only be hitting low if I use Blunt Weapons? f4f4f4" well, that should be how it is, and I'm surprised that it's not, because of the way Nexon screwed over Axe Heroes. But Paladins are lucky; Blast, while it always SHOWS a stab, still goes by the 3:2 slash:stab ratio "behind the scenes". You won't see it, but 60% of the time, your Blast was a slash.
Speed-wise, Blunt Weapons are worse than Axes. Almost every 2handed Blunt Weapon in the game is Slow (7), the exceptions are Wooden Mallet, the level 10 2h mace, which is Normal (6), The Morningstar (level 80 2h mace, also Normal (6)), and Mithril Maul (level 30 2h mace, Normal (6) too). Naturally, most two-handed Blunt Weapon users scroll their Morningstars at level 80 and use them as an end game weapon to take advantage of the slightly-better speed.
1handed Blunt Weapons are actually better than Axes however. Every Blunt weapon before level 30 is Fast (5) or better, and the only Warrior weapons with Faster speeds are 1handed Blunt Weapons! Pig Illustrated and Fusion Mace are all Faster (3) (level 20 and 25 respectively), and Hammer and Red Brick (both level 15) are both Fast (4) weapons. After level 30, every 1h Blunt Weapon is Normal (6), except for the Tube weapons, which are all Fast (5).
For end-game weapons, most 1-handed users use the Crushed Skull. It comes with a whopping 115 base average attack and a +12 accuracy bonus, and is a Normal (6) speed. It outclasses the newer Reverse Allargando, the level 120 Temple of Time 1-handed Blunt Weapon, however a very well-made one may be preferred if the attack is high enough and the accuracy is not needed. 2-handed users generally finish with Morningstars due to the faster attack speed, however some 2-handed users may decide to use Dragon Flame, the level 110 2h Mace, which, although slower than Morningstar by one level of speed, is 107 average base attack, which is 18 higher than the 89 average of Morningstar. In addition, with the arrival of the Reverse Bellocce, the level 120 2-handed Blunt Weapon, there is another high-level option for patient/rich Blunt Weapon Paladins to try out, coming with an average of 112 base attack clean, which would outclass the faster Morningstar through sheer attack advantage.
<<<[2.4] Math >>> [wtfsch00l]
Thathurtss has brought it to my attention that the damage differences between Swords and Auxiliaries are different between 1h and 2h weapons, which I did not know. So this section is being made solely as workspace for me to work out (and show my work to you readers) the actual differences between the two.
Notes: I will be using 1000 for STR, 20 for DEX, and 100 for Weapon Attack, just as random values I pulled out to make calculations easier. The difference should not depends on any of these values because there are no exponents present, meaning that the relation is linear (will always be the same).
Also note that the word "Auxes" or "Auxiliaries" refers to any Mace (Blunt Weapon) or Axe.
2-handed~
Maximum Slash Dmg -> [(STR * 4.8 + DEX) * Weapon Attack] / 100
Maximum Stab Dmg -> [(STR * 3.4 + DEX) * Weapon Attack] / 100
Maximum Sword Dmg -> [(STR * 4.6 + DEX) * Weapon Attack] / 100
1-handed~
Maximum Slash Dmg -> [(STR * 4.4 + DEX) * Weapon Attack] / 100
Maximum Stab Dmg -> [(STR * 3.2 + DEX) * Weapon Attack] / 100
Maximum Sword Dmg -> [(STR * 4.0 + DEX) * Weapon attack] / 100
2-Handed Calculations
Max Slash DMG:
= (1000 * 4.8 + 20) * 100 / 100
= (4800 + 20) * 1
= 4820
Max Stab DMG:
= (1000 * 3.4 + 20) * 100 / 100
= (3400 + 20) * 1
= 3420
Max Sword DMG:
= (1000 * 4.6 + 20) * 100 / 100
= (4600 + 20) * 1
= 4620
% difference slashes = Max Slash / Max Sword * 100%
% difference stabs = Max Stab / Max Sword * 1005
= 4820 / 4620 * 100%
= 1.04329 * 100%
= 104.329%
= Approx. 104%
= 3420 / 4620 * 100%
= 0.740259 * 100%
= 74.0259%
= Approx. 74%
Therefore, the difference between Swords and Auxes slash-wise is 104% and stab-wise is 74%.
1-Handed Calculations
= [(1000 * 4.4 + 20) * 100] / 100
= [(4400 + 20) * 100] / 100
= [442000] / 100
= 4420
= [(1000 * 3.2 + 20) * 100] / 100
= [(3220) * 100] / 100
= [(322000)] / 100
= 3220
= [(1000 * 4.0 + 20) * 100] / 100
= [4020 * 100] / 100
= 402000 / 100
= 4020
% difference slashes = Max Slash / Max Sword * 100%
% difference stabs = Max Stab / Max Sword * 100%
= 4420 / 4020 * 100%
= 1.099502 * 100%
= 109.9502%
= approx 110%
= 3220 / 4020 * 100%
= 0.800995 * 100%
= 80.0995%
= Approx. 80%
Therefore the difference between 1h Auxes and Swords slash wise is 110% and stab-wise is 80%.
The Average Damage difference between Auxes and Swords can be shown through this:
AvgDmg = [StabDmg * 2 + SlashDmg * 3] / 5
For Swords of both 1h and 2h varieties, it will be 100%.
For 1h Auxes:
= [80% * 2 + 110% * 3] / 5
= [160% + 330%] / 5
= [490%] / 5
= 490% / 5
= 98%
For 2h Auxes:
= [74% * 2 + 104% * 3] / 5
= [148% + 312%] / 5
= [460%] /5
= 460% / 5
= 92%
Average Difference between Swords and Auxes:
1handed:
= 100% - AvgDmgAuxes
= 100% - 98%
= 2%
2handed:
= 100% - AvgDmgAuxes
= 100% - 92%
= 8%
Therefore, overall, the damage difference between a Sword and an Auxiliary weapon is 8% higher for 2handed weapons in favor of Swords, and 2% higher for 1handed weapons in favor of Swords as well.
<<<[3.0] So Which Is Really Better? >>> [wh0z1337]
So, you still really need to know which is the best, don't you. Here are the main defining points that differ these three weapons.
[3.1] --> Speed [5p33d]
You probably understood this from the weapon bios. There is no Axe that can match the speed of a Night Raven's Wing, Red Katana, Lunchbox or even Rigbol. It just doesn't exist, by end-game standards. Axes lose out on a lot of speed when compared to Sword users. And Speed is really, really important. According to Morgana, a 101 attack Soul Rohen (Normal 6), is out-DPS'd (damage per second) by an 84 attack Japanese Map (Fast 4). Two levels in speed gets you the equivalent in almost 20 attack without losing damage over time.
Blunt Weapons, in comparison, also cannot compete with Swords in a 2handed view, but they have many useable 1h weapons, including the tube weapons (Silver Tube, Duck Tube) which all carry a Fast (5) speed, and Crushed Skull.
Overall, Swords win in Speed.
[3.2] --> Damage [d4m4g3]
Swords, as stated before, have the most stable damage. They're always doing the same damage, no matter what, stab, slash, doesn't matter. Axes and Blunt Weapons have to content with 26% less damage stabbing and only get 4% more damage while slashing, making them overall weaker.
Furthermore, in 4th Job, Paladin's using Blast slash with their weapons 60% of the time, as opposed to Brandish'ing Heroes who only get slashes half the time (50%) due to the set animations of Brandish.
So, Swords > Blunt Weapons > Axes when it comes to Damage.
[3.3] --> So Who's Really the Best? [14m1337]
Nothing can beat swords when it comes to practicality. If you're going to be a damage whore, then you will be using swords; there's no other way. They're faster, deal more stable damage, and Nexon seems to like coming out with more and more godly swords as opposed to the forgotten Axes and semi-forgotten Blunt Weapons.
I am in no way saying don't use Axes or Blunt Weapons. Both those uber damage SS's at the beginning of this guide use Auxiliary Weapons; the Panic SS is an Axe Crusader, the Lightning Charge is a Blunt Weapon Paladin. Why do these two people use these weapons if they're not as good?
I use them because they're unique. I may have been laughed at my entire maple career on that char, I may continue to deal laughable damage because of it, but I'll always like and use Axes because they're just that hot.
<<<[4.0] Credits >>> [ilovuguise]
Here is where I shall honor the people who have helped me with the writing of this guide. Cause you guys are liek, pro n stuff.
--> d3k0y, for being my inspiration and motivation to continue my Axe Crusader, and also for his screenies.
--> DaosBeoulve, for being my competition damage-wise through the 6x-8x, even though we're on different worlds (he won, btw), and also for HIS pictures.
--> KidGruesome, for being really, really nice when I really don't deserve it.
--> RaisinBran, for being an awesome guild leader. Hidden-Street ftw!
--> OmarXRanger, for being the brother I wish I had in real life, and basically being the one who kept me coming back to MS.
--> Morgana, for being "that sexy dexless Page" and for reminding me that I'll get screwed when I level to 120 and start using Brandish, and for information about speed and Japanese Maps.
--> Morningl1ght, for reminding me that Japanese Maps exist, and for his screenies too.
--> FailFTW, for correcting my failure mistake.
--> thathurt, for actually reading the guide and pointing out my many mistakes, and also for damage multiplier information.
--> Mr. Monkey, for pointing out that Axes/Maces get 2 extra attack at equivalent levels to swords.
--> You, for reading this (yay corny line!)
Version Info:
v1.5
- Added Version Info
- Updated guide to include Reverse Weapons
- Timeless not yet included due to the fact that Pink Bean has yet to be defeated
- Added information on advice from poster "Mr. Monkey"
- Fixed a few spelling mistakes
- Added end-game weapon section for Blunt Weapons, which was previously forgotten
- One picture updated.
- Update completed: March 20th 2010
Last edited by FrenchConnexUK; 20th March 2010 at 11:58 PM.
Not back. Front.
Oh man, great idea dood. This should stop alot of useless posts/threads about what to use/whats better!
PM me if you need any help :)
go axes
Version Update to 1.2; finished the weapon descriptions. Done part of the actual comparison.
I need a screenshot of you, avatar size, so I can show people what an Axe Hero looks like, d3k0y. =D
And if you could ask Daos to get one of her Paladin that'd be good too. =D
Not back. Front.
Oh, the Japanese Map is a 2-handed sword and is also fast(4). Might want to add that since it'll be more useful to lower levels. Other than that good job, answered a few of my questions i've had for a while.
His paladin, his...T_TAnd if you could ask Daos to get one of her Paladin that'd be good too. =D
What kind of shot are you looking for? Standing around? Action shot?
Spoiler!
:: Araneu : 168 Bishop :: Kiensten : 132 Paladin ::
tehehehe her.
I'll nab you one after work and ultimate tonight then :) Brandishing of course XD
Sorry Daos. x_x Araneu confused me! =( Thanks for the pictars though. =D
Thanks Morning, I forgot about Jap Map. -adds- Also forgot Lunchbox, lolwut.
And @d3k0y, what Daos gave was perfect. One pro damage shot, one avatar-y thing.
I need to find a Sword Hero/Paladin now. ;-;
Not back. Front.
Max HB raises 60% more HP and MP (1.6x your normal HP and MP), not 40%
Butts.
213 181 178 166 165 164 162 152 147 135 134 130 125 123 123 120 120 104 100 100
Hehe, i want my piccy in the guide :P
Pretty sure I'm not high enough leveled to give you a good action pic tho, so that might be abad thing o_O
Oops. Got Berserk and HB mixed up... Berserk % is 40% at max, isn't it? x_x Thank you sir.
And you may have your picture in the guide because there are no Sword Heroes on HS, Morning. :D
Oh, and seeing as I'm lagging like hell, I'm way to scared too train my Crusader like I wanted, so I made a little noob char in Broa and I shall be stalking you, d3k0y. >=)
Not back. Front.
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