Magic Weapons (3.5)

[RavKal]

So there's a load of different types of enchantments for weapons, and some are bound to be better than others.

For example, I'd rather have a Brilliant Energy weapon than a Vorpal weapon because it's benefit is used more often.

My question to you consists of 2 parts: 1) What are the best weapon enchantments in your opinion? and 2) What are your favorite enchantments?

Please provide an explanation for why you picked them, too!

EDIT: I prefer brilliant energy because I'm typically a weak wizard, so getting through armor bonus is helpful.

[Dr_Horrible]

1) Awesome ones: Wounding, Seeking, Splitting, Parrying

2) Mediocre: +1d6 damage of a type.

3) Crappy: Brilliant Energy

4) If you don't use your weapon for attacking: Warning, Defending, Spellstrike, Parrying, Eager.

[Remmirath]

Well, I'd rather have vorpal than brilliant energy, because vorpal will work on more things, and brilliant energy will have no effect whatsoever on the undead.

Generally speaking, though, speed. You can't really go wrong with an extra attack. If you don't have improved critical, keen and impact are good (or if you have house rules letting them stack, ever better). If you're a ranger, bane is also pretty good - assuming your favourite enemy is common. Things like fiery blast and icy blast are good, too. Can't have too much damage.

Still - I'd probably go with speed or vorpal, depending. Preferably both.

[Gorbash]

Generally speaking, though, speed

You do realize that weapon costs 32 000 gold? And that Haste is only a 3rd level spell?

In a normal campaign (ie party is good, enemies are mostly evil), Holy is just silly how good it is. 2d6 of untyped dmg and bypasses DR of most of demons is really good.

Bane is good and cheap if you know what you're up against.
Magebane also.

Collision is always good.

[Remmirath]

You do realize that weapon costs 32 000 gold? And that Haste is only a 3rd level spell?

Yeah, but if you've got plenty of gold to spare (I was assuming you did), it's easier to just have it all the time rather than rely on your mage to actually cast it on you. Ever. Much less every fight. Maybe if I'd ever actually managed to be in a party where the mage would do that, I wouldn't like it so much, but in my experience most mages just throw fireballs and buff only themselves.
I mean, the mage could cast Bull's Strength on you all the time, but most people would rather have bracers of strength, right?

Holy is quite good, too, I agree.

[streakster]

Vampiric is nice. Bonus damage, plus healing. I'll take it.

Morphing+Sizing+Aptitude = Wield every weapon ever. Fun.

Prismatic Burst -perhaps not optimal, but I'll be darned if swinging two Prismatic burst kukris isn't a wonderful time.

And Changeling, of course. I love changeling from the bottom of my heart.

EDIT: I love these a lot, so more!

Spell Storing - made good use of it as a Jade Phoenix Mage - "First, I shall hit you. This will set you on fire. Then the sword will set you on fire, and finally, I shall use my quickened spell. To set you on fire. Oh, and by the way? The crystal on my sword? Next turn, it will set you on fire."

Crystal of Return - not an enhancement, per se, but quite effective and cheap. Free feat in the bargain? Sign me up!

Masterslaying + Fleshgrinding + Crystal of Return Stab them, back away, and laugh like mad.

Smoking - 3.0, and a bit obscure, but awesome both for fun and effectiveness. Concealment? Free stinking cloud on anyone who grapples me? For a +1?! I had a hellbred DFA with a smoking scythe. That was good times.

[Gorbash]

Yeah, but if you've got plenty of gold to spare

Then it would be better to by something useful. Not to mention that weapon enchantments cost rises exponentially, meaning that every other you want to put is going to be way more expensive.

but in my experience most mages just throw fireballs and buff only themselves.

Bad mages! BAD!

I mean, the mage could cast Bull's Strength on you all the time, but most people would rather have bracers of strength, right?

Yes, but Haste affects everyone in the party and gives other benefits aside from that one attack.

[Dr_Horrible]

Yeah, but if you've got plenty of gold to spare (I was assuming you did), it's easier to just have it all the time rather than rely on your mage to actually cast it on you. Ever. Much less every fight. Maybe if I'd ever actually managed to be in a party where the mage would do that, I wouldn't like it so much, but in my experience most mages just throw fireballs and buff only themselves.
I mean, the mage could cast Bull's Strength on you all the time, but most people would rather have bracers of strength, right?

If you want haste (and you do) you actually want boots of speed. A Speed Weapon costs more money, and gives you an extra attack on full attacks. Speed boots give you an extra attack, extra speed (but you'll never use that) +AC +Ref Saves and +attack. And it gives it to you for more then you'll need in a day. Heck, buy a second set of boots, it's still cheaper then adding Speed to a weapon that has anything else on it.

[BRC]

Well, I'd rather have vorpal than brilliant energy, because vorpal will work on more things, and brilliant energy will have no effect whatsoever on the undead.

Brilliant Energy dosn't work on Undead or Constructs. Vorpal dosn't work on Undead, Constructs, Oozes, Plants, or anything else that isn't really bothered by beheading. Plus, Vorpal only shows up 5% of the time, Brilliant Energy is useful any time you attack somthing with an armor bonus to AC.

[monty]

Brilliant Energy dosn't work on Undead or Constructs. Vorpal dosn't work on Undead, Constructs, Oozes, Plants, or anything else that isn't really bothered by beheading. Plus, Vorpal only shows up 5% of the time, Brilliant Energy is useful any time you attack somthing with an armor bonus to AC.

But when Brilliant Energy doesn't work, the entire weapon doesn't work. When Vorpal doesn't work, at least you can still attack normally. To be honest, though, neither one is worth the price.

[Starbuck_II]

But when Brilliant Energy doesn't work, the entire weapon doesn't work. When Vorpal doesn't work, at least you can still attack normally. To be honest, though, neither one is worth the price.

What about a scroll of Brillant Energy? Is that worth the price?

[Gorbash]

The problem is, those items are way to expensive and way too easily sundered by ANYTHING with Improved Sunder (you just need to hit the weapon which has AC around 15 and deal ~30 dmg, not a big deal at those lvls), Rust Rays and similar stuff. One action and there goes your 72 000 (minimum) sword. And you should never put all of your eggs in one basket, as smart people say.

Again the problem is easily solvable by a friendly Wizard who'll cast Brilliant Blade/Aura.

@Starbuck
Brilliant Blade scroll costs 1650 gold. Too much to be used regularly.

[Sstoopidtallkid]

If BE were able to be surpressed/resumed as a Swift(or even Standard) action, then it would be much better. At high levels it turns AC-optimized foes into easy targets, and most opponents into PA FOR FULL!!! easy meat. Until then, the 50K min is pretty expensive, especially since thet money could go towards a +1 Holy Vampiric Arcanist Bane Axe.

Also, Arcanist Bane, if your DM doesn't allow MIC, is about the best enhancement ever. About half the opponents you face will be vulnerable.

Edit:Sundering sucks. If a PC is doing it, they're wasting money they could take from the opponent's corpse. If it's an NPC, then it's the DM taking a large fraction of a player's power from the class that needs it the most. And since by this point, the Greatsword probably has Hardness 18 and 100 HP, the enemy doing so is dead anyways. Yeah, he can destroy it, but because he spent a turn focusing on the item rather than the players, he's probably just failed a Save-or-Die. And then they'll pay for a Rez, so they can kill him again, because really, what a **** move.

[Gorbash]

Also, Arcanist Bane, if your DM doesn't allow MIC, is about the best enhancement ever. About half the opponents you face will be vulnerable.

I may be reading the MIC wrong, but don't you mean Magebane? And it's not really half... It's just more than the average Bane.

[Ryuuk]

This topic might be relevant. Its a list of most every weapon ability in 3.5 along with a quick rating.

[Sstoopidtallkid]

I may be reading the MIC wrong, but don't you mean Magebane? And it's not really half... It's just more than the average Bane.

The original version applied to anything with Arcane SLAs, too. Yeah...how many races get those, just because WotC wanted to give them something cool?

[Gorbash]

A lot. But the current version works only against spellcasters and warlocks, making it a lot less useful, since the main problem is to get into a situation to hit them, not to actually deal damage...

[Sstoopidtallkid]

A lot. But the current version works only against spellcasters and warlocks, making it a lot less useful, since the main problem is to get into a situation to hit them, not to actually deal damage...

Note the 'no access to MIC' clause. CArc version is great, the balanced one is...well...balanced.

[Garian]

Keen, for sure.
Balanced weapons rock for fighting types.
My high level characters always have a Eager weapon on them.
Mostly for the +2 initiative.

Does anyone know if Impact from Arms and Equipment guide and keen stack?
I looks like Impact would stack with improved crit, but not keen.

[Gorbash]

Does anyone know if Impact from Arms and Equipment guide and keen stack?

That's 3.0, and thus not covered by rules of 3.5. And in 3.5 keen/impact/improved crit never stack.

[Mephit]

Improved Critical: This effect doesn’t stack with any other effect that expands the threat range of a weapon.

So probably not.

[Chronos]

A lot. But the current version works only against spellcasters and warlocks, making it a lot less useful...

Is it "spellcasters and warlocks", or "spellcasters and characters with SLAs derived from class levels"? Because the latter includes, for instance, paladins and monks, in addition to warlocks.

[Eldrys]

Psiconetic(SP) burst from Expanded Psionics Handbook, extra damage on normal attacks and a lot more damage on criticals.

[Gorbash]

Is it "spellcasters and warlocks", or "spellcasters and characters with SLAs derived from class levels"? Because the latter includes, for instance, paladins and monks, in addition to warlocks.

It's against 'any creature that can cast arcane spells or use invocations'.

[Roderick_BR]

(...)For example, I'd rather have a Brilliant Energy weapon than a Vorpal weapon because it's benefit is used more often.(...)

Remember that it ignores only "artificial" armor. Natural armor is still the creature's body, so it briliant doesn't ignore natural armor anymore than it would ignore the rest of the creature. Useful if you fight too many character with classes and armors, though.

(...)In a normal campaign (ie party is good, enemies are mostly evil), Holy is just silly how good it is. 2d6 of untyped dmg and bypasses DR of most of demons is really good.(...)

I think it's not untyped damage, it's holy damage. But since there's no resistance against alignment damage, and others alignment damage enhancements for weapons already stacks to Holy (Holy Surge, Holy Burst), it's still one of the best enhancements you can get.
Impact/Keen is good if you want a better critical range, and not spend a feat on it.