Favorite weapons in Pathfinder

[Squirrel_Dude]

What are your favorite weapons in Pathfinder (natural or otherwise), that can be wielded by a player. To keep things simple, as well as add some depth to the conversation, don't answer with more than 3 weapons from the same weapon group. Note, this isn't necessarily the best, though I am putting some of these weapons on this list because I think they are great choices.

Light Weapons
- Gladius: 1d6 damage, 19-20/x2 critical, Performance trait, effects that apply to shortswords apply to it. Martial weapon. In short, simply better than the shortsword.
- Starknife: AKA, the one reason to regret playing a cleric of Desna.

One Handed Weapons
- Terbutje: Cause braining enemies with shark teeth is awesome
- Morningstar: IMHO best simple melee weapon in the game.

Two-Handed Weapons
- Nodachi: 1d10 damage, 18-20/x2 critical. Brace trait as a bonus, and it's a martial weapon. I gone crit fishin'
- Monk's Spade: Not much is good here, but I find it interesting in that it is the only weapon that can do every type of damage.

Ranged Weapons
- Fire Lance: The best at being the worst. 10 ft. range. 1-4 misfire chance that doesn't decrease with proficiency. Requires a javelin (1d6, 30 ft. range) as ammunition. Does 1d6 damage and doesn't hit touch AC.
- Pilum: The bane of all shield users.
- Throwing shield: It's a ranged weapon that does damage and has the trip quality. Sweet


So yeah, what are weapons you commonly find your character's using, either for their effectiveness or just because you like the weapon.

[Eldariel]

- Guisarme: 'cause reach + tripping = all you need. Has the superior 2d4 damage over 1d8 too, for consistency and average.
- Greatsword: 'cause swords. If I want damage, it's the easy choice. It or Falchion, really.
- Composite Longbow: Gee, I'm boring aren't I? Well, 'cause it works. Every character with the proficiency I play carries Longbow, Guisarme and Greatsword. Then a mace as a backup but that's rarely necessary.
- Lance: 'cause sometimes you want to nuke someone for 3d8+4.5*Str on level 2.

Honorary mention to Longspear as a reach simple weapon with good damage.

[Bhaakon]

Fauchard: Reach, trip, and 18-20 crit range. Generally exotic weapons aren't worth it, but Pathfinder has loads of feats and it's hard to pump crit range.

[Stome]

Lucerne Hammer is one I would add to the list. 1d12, Brace, Reach, sunder bonus and B or P damage. Pretty nice for a martial. Though I like Fauchard more for any build that EWP is to costly Lucerne is my go to weapon.

[stack]

Earthbreaker. Cheaper than a greatsword (handy for level 1), 2d6 damage, blunt is handy for certain enemies and its COOL.

[Xerxus]

Falcata is pretty awesome if your abilities don't depend on crit range.

Rhoka sword is cool if you get EWP for free (kensai magus etc).

The dwarven Dorn-Dergar is awesome for a Stalwart Defender. And it's included in the weapon familiarity. In fact, all the dwarven weapons are cool. Using the Urgrosh in one hand, alternating between spear and axe depending on DR and bracing, headbutting people with the dwarven boulder helmet, cleaving through crowds with the dwarven double waraxe etc etc.

The elven curve blade is cool but essentially the same as a slightly upgraded falchion. Better for flavor though.

The one weapon that I love but likely won't be using in a fight ever is the morningstar. Either I choose a race with better autoproficiencies, I use a class with martial proficiency or I just don't fight with melee weapons. One day the morningstar will be redeemed. Maybe a human cleric could use it?

[Zubrowka74]

Aldori Duelling Blade : finessable 1H / 2H sword ? Yes please! A human version of the elven blade. You could sidestep the need to burn a feat by taking the ARF for Half-Elf, Ancestral Weapon.

[Eldonauran]

Kusarigama: Exotic Monk Weapon from Ultimate Combat. Monk weapon, trip weapon, reach weapon, double weapon and grapple weapon. Piercing and Bludgeoning damage. This weapon is awesome.

[Khosan]

Flying Talon. It's like a light one-handed version of the Spiked Chain. It trips, it disarms and it has a 10' range.

[Squirrel_Dude]

Fauchard: Reach, trip, and 18-20 crit range. Generally exotic weapons aren't worth it, but Pathfinder has loads of feats and it's hard to pump crit range.I actually recently did a little fun in building a level 1 character, and built a fighter. When I stumbled on the Fauchard I quickly picked it up.

If it had the brace quality it would be perfect.

[Chained Birds]

Spiked Gauntlet: All of my Martial classes wear these to ensure they're always threatening and able to hit a few DRs, or attack in Grapple in case of emergency.

Ripsaw Glaive: More of a visual thing than a power thing. It is essentially a Chainsaw Glaive that needs to be wound up every attack to deal an abysmal 2 extra damage. Though I really like it for what it probably looks like and would reward a +2 bonus on intimidate checks made on the same turn you wind the weapon up. :smallamused:

[Lurking drunk]

The Dagger.
Yeah its 1d4 dmg but 19-20 crit, 2 dmg types, can be thrown 10ft, has other functions than combat (skinning, cutting ropes, stabbing commoners...), hidden well and most important, its really cheap, 2GP a piece. A must as back up weapon, if not main one.

Oh, its also stylish and badass for rogues and assassins :)

[FocusWolf413]

The Dagger.
Yeah its 1d4 dmg but 19-20 crit, 2 dmg types, can be thrown 10ft, has other functions than combat (skinning, cutting ropes, stabbing commoners...), hidden well and most important, its really cheap, 2GP a piece. A must as back up weapon, if not main one.

Oh, its also stylish and badass for rogues and assassins :)

On that note, the kukri.

For melee builds, it's strictly superior to the dagger. That increased crit range can get downright scary with the right build. It's small, it's light, it's brutal, and I'm a sucker for kukris.

[Arutema]

Simple:
* Dagger: Finesse it, throw it, dual-wield, or just use a single one and slashing grace. Even if you prefer a big honking greatsword, you'll appreciate a dagger if you're grappled of swallowed.
* Quarterstaff: The double and monk qualities, as well as very good splatbook feat and trait support.

Martial:
* Greataxe: The d12 is such an under appreciated die.
* Lucern Hammer: Everything I just said, plus reach.

Exotic:
* Musket: The d12 again, now with 40' range increment.
* Chainsaw: You're not going to see one outside of Iron Gods, but who doesn't want a weapon with 3d6 base damage that crits like a rapier

[Prime32]

The seven-branched sword looks interesting. An exotic two-handed 1d10/x3 slashing weapon with the disarm and monk properties (meaning anyone with 1 level of unchained monk is proficient with them), and it lets you make trip attempts that leave enemies flat-footed for 1 round instead of knocking them prone. I'm not sure how useful it is, given all the barriers to tripping in PF, but it's interesting.

The chakram is a ranged weapon which can be used to make melee attacks, and it's in the Light Blades, Heavy Blades and Thrown fighter weapon groups, which can be useful for PoW builds. The crystal chakram is also worth looking into if it fits in the same groups.

The Flame Fountain Firework (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/equipment---final/weapons/alchemical-weapons#TOC-Flame-Fountain-Firework) is basically a nonmagical scroll of flame blade.

Tangleburn Bags (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/equipment---final/weapons/alchemical-weapons#TOC-Tangleburn-Bag) loaded in a Flask Thrower (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/equipment---final/weapons/weapon-descriptions/flask-thrower) are possibly the best weapon for an Underground Chemist (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/rogue/archetypes/paizo---rogue-archetypes/underground-chemist) rogue.

[BWR]

Tetsubo.
I'm a Crab fanboy.

[Hruken]

Dwarven maulaxe. Bludgeoning and slashing in one compact package, and can be thrown. Makes a good backup weapon for dwarves with martial weapon proficiency.

[Elder_Basilisk]

Recently, these have been my favorites:

ranged weapons: Composite longbow. It's just better. Honorable mention to javalin and dagger as thrown weapons.

Primary Melee weapons:
2 handed, reach: Lucern Hammer. D12. Relying on crits is for people who like swingy combats. Big damage on each hit with multiple damage types is what I'm in the market for. Honorable mention: Longspear. Simple weapon proficiency for the win.
2 handed: Greatsword. Simple, iconic, and lots of damage
1 handed: longsword. Traditional, iconic, and in pathfinder can be used in a grapple.

Backup weapons:
club: Free is a good price
dagger: light, inexpensive to make from special materials with weight based pricing (such as mithral). Use it to stab your enemies, cut your way out of the belly of a T-rex, make an emergency ranged attack (this versatility is why it's much better than a kukri if you aren't using it as a primary weapon; 18-20 crit is nice but the ability to throw a backup weapon is better), to cut a rope, lift a gate latch, or slice your meat.

[Seward]

Cestus. It's a 19-20 crit range weapon that's always on with two damage types. Strictly superior to a spiked gauntlet for anybody who doesn't pick locks or do slight of hand. For 20gp more, it's a silver cestus.

Cold Iron Shortspear. The best 2gp you can spend at level 1 - beats a damage type, can be thrown like a javelin for almost as much range, works underwater, can be used 2-handed if you are strong, can be used as a swashbuckler weapon etc.

Club. You can throw it or bash skeletons with it and you can have as many as you can carry. Plus shillelagh oil turns it into a +1 greatsword. If you just can't stand to do without the d8 damage die, a stone warhammer or heavy mace costs only 3gp.

Terjbute - for 5gp you've got a slashing weapon as good as a longsword, as long as you don't roll a 1. If you only get simple weapons, just get a dagger - you can save a gp if you make it obsidian. Don't forget to pick up a sap if you're proficient, it's the best 1gp anybody without improved unarmed strike will ever spend, as long as you don't murder-hobo everything.

Using the above, you should be able to get every damage type and special material with respectable damage for under 35gp, most of which is the cost of silver on the cestus. This includes several weapons you can throw - fill out extra gp with javelins or chakrams. If you are super cheap, you can get obsidian heads on your javelins and squeeze in an extra one.

Javelins. The poor man's composite longbow str XXx. Chakram is better for the martial weapon proficiency folks.

Cold Iron Arrows with Silver Weapon Blanch. For 12gp you've got 20 arrows whenever Fey, Lycanthropes and most low level evil outsiders show up. If you're too cheap for a composite strength longbow, get a sling and do the same thing (5.2gp gets you 10 cold-iron-silver sling bullets). Cough up 5gp for a spring loaded wrist sheath to get that sling into your hand with a swift, allowing a move to load it so you can attack the same round you decide to start chucking your sling bullets. Nobody likes a person who spends the whole round fiddling with weapons and doesn't attack.


For your 5 strength(Halfling) or 7 strength (other folks) Dervish Dancers out there, check out an obsidian scimitar. Lightweight, inexpensive and enchants up just as good as steel. If you like armor spikes but 50gp is too big a lift at level 1, consider obsidian armor spikes. 25gp and 3/4 the weight - it'll go nicely on your studded leather or hide armor.

Finally, Longspear's the cheapest polearm and the only real choice without martial weapon proficiency, but there are a fair number in the 10gp range, so they're usually worth a look if you are a martial sort of character. I prefer 2d4 to 1d10 every time.

Yeah, Composite Longbow, Greatsword, Greataxe (the cheapest d12), Earth Breaker. When you have a bit more gold to toss around those are all good weapons. I rather like the Trident too for some builds (you can throw it, it's a rare one-handed brace weapon, swashbucklers can use it etc). If you like your combat maneuvers, a flail is a good, solid weapon. Lance for cavalry, of course.

For the well dressed non-melee character, I find a mithril spiked gauntlet is ideal - it's fairly stylish, very lightweight, doesn't interfere in any way with your hand and will allow a flank if you wave it in the general direction of a nearby enemy. For such a character a cestus is gauche. If you are an armored melee character with your mithril breastplate and want your cold iron armor spikes to not look ugly, consider gold-plating them. This also works if you just want to add a couple spiked gauntlets to the ensemble, one mithril, one cold iron.

Generally once you start buying masterwork weapons, most weapon distinctions matter little. A few classes care about crits and get the 18-20 weapons, most others just fish for the biggest dice they can get early, but most damage in the end is done via feats, your damage attribute (usually strength) and class abilities, which start to dwarf the weapons by level 6 or so. A raging barbarian with a club is nearly as dangerous as the same guy with a +1 greatsword.

[Tondrin]

Scorpion whip


Though I've never gotten the chance to use it on the character I want (Magus)

I'm a sucker for chain swords.

[Faily]

Elven Curveblade and Halberd.

Halberd is always my favorite.

[TheNivMizzet]

Ballista. Because rocking up to a dungeon with one of these in a cart is one way to make a bunch of goblins and orcs stop trying to throw rocks.

[Lycanthrope13]

I love the brace property. I tend to use either halberd or trident and shield. The light hammer doesn't get enough love either. Small enough for utility use, and it can be thrown. I love it for disrupting spellcasting. Let's see you maintain concentration when a 2 lb chunk of iron hits you in the teeth.

[Florian]

I like it simple with no special frills.

Dagger, Kukri, Wakizashi, Longsword, Katana, Greatsword, Nodachi, Composite Longbow. Stuff you can also find in an AP or via random loot tables.