Weapon recommendations to avoid stat screw

[Lightbearer]

I know that the devs are working on allowing us to use weapons to see their movesets without having the required stats, but in the meantime here are some recommendations if you want to know solid weapons that won't mess up your build.

Early game

The maul axe (starting weapon) and sword (4 Dex, 2 Res) are solid weapons that can take you through the first 2 bosses. The latter can be purchased from the first trader in Lithic. The trader also sells the Claw weapon (3 Str, 3 Dex), which is also solid if you prefer that moveset.

Mid-game and beyond

I've used almost every weapon and in my view the Yr Glaive (6 Str, 6 Dex) continues to be the best weapon in the game. It has low investment requirements, great speed, a solid moveset, and it's special allows you to initiate combat with tougher enemies if they're at a distance.

The Yr Glaive is located in a hidden area after the first boss. When you first enter the desert you'll come to a save point called "Tearfalls". There is a hidden wall to the left. Drop down and explore the area. You have to defeat a Yr Spear Warrior (hunt point enemy) to pick it up. Check out the "Yr Den" map under "Guides" for its exact location.

I tried out the Nail Scythe (8 Dex, 5 Res) for a long time, but I continue to go back to the Yr Glaive. Currently, I've been using the Raw Blade (16 Dex), which is nice for its special and dealing with fast enemies. That said, If I could reset my stats, I would raise my STR and DEX evenly to maximize the power of the glaive.

Why not use strength weapons?

In my view the damage from "Slow" and "Very Slow" weapons is just not good enough. I totally get wanting a build where timing is key for a high pay-off, but the DPS just isn't high enough to justify their use. The strength weapons are also stamina (force) hogs and limit your ability to dodge or use hit-and-run tactics. This is coupled with a significant number of enemies that move quickly. You can try it out to see for yourself with weapons like the Bellow Mace (2 Str).

I haven't used any resonant weapons (i.e., lamps), but from what I've read they can be very damaging, it's just not my playstyle. I can see speedrunners using them in the future to melt bosses if used properly.

Hope that helps. Curious to hear if there are other weapons that people are really liking w/o insane stat investments.

[Obrimus]

I agree on the Str weps. the strength 2h weapons are atrociously bad in this game, they havent bothered balancing at ALL, 1 single hit from my 2h costs 40% of my stamina bar and does 60ish dmg, meanwhile my 1h weapon i found early costs about 10% of my stamina bar and does 30ish dmg, the 1 handed weapons hit faster, does more damage for the total stamina cost, are safer since you can dodge/pull easier and theres even enemies that fall over after certain amount of attacks, guess whats better then? 1h Weapons. They are absolutely god awful.

[Lightbearer]

I totally agree, and it's a bummer because some of the movesets are interesting. They're just too slow and the damage isn't good enough. I think they literally need to double the attack power on some of these things to get the DPS equal-ish to the Dex or Quality (Glaive) weapons. Oddly, I'm also disappointed in the "Very Fast" weapons when they're really not that much faster than the "Average" ones. I think this is an area the devs can tweak in the future.

I also think that unless you are going to be a resonant build or REALLY like the Nail Scythe (5 Res requirement), I would completely avoid this stat if I I ever play the game again.

[Obrimus]

If im gonna be honest, i dont think even doubling the damage of the slower weapons would bring them on par with the medium/faster ones. They both need to double the damage and maybe even half the stamina cost. I'm currently doing a playthrough with the Pillar Slab (Very slow wep), and i can barely even attack some enemies. The ''range'' advantage of the 2h is completely negated by the incredibly slow attack speed, even if i start charging when the enemy is racing towards me he will hit me before i get my swing off.

What i've had to resort to with most enemies is i literally just run up to them and stand there, waiting for them to hit me, so i can counter them THEN i can safely attack with my 50% stamina bar swings that does the same dmg as 2 hits with a dex wep.

Please listen to OP if anyone has seen this thread debating what to start with, going str is literally going hard (and frustrating) mode when you dont need to.

[Misery1ndex]

Yeah Str weapons for sure quite suck. if you dont invest a ton of points into force, you'll deplete your force in like 2 swings. i have like 10 into force but it doesnt really help very much with the force issue, 2 per skill is quite weak considering all these weapons i can use, use up a ton of it for mediocre damage. Feels like i should just upgrade my twin fangs, only weapon i got that doesnt consume tons of force. Can do some average damage and still have force left over to dodge

[Lightbearer]

I've found a sweet spot at 101 Force, (Force 9 with max traits via Leaper) and it gives me enough for 3 swings and 1-2 dashes with the Yr Glaive, which is exactly what I need to do a full damage combo and get away.

[Misery1ndex]

Originally posted by jdmccoy7:

I've found a sweet spot at 101 Force, (Force 9 with max traits via Leaper) and it gives me enough for 3 swings and 1-2 dashes with the Yr Glaive, which is exactly what I need to do a full damage combo and get away.

Nice, im at 78 force, and i guess i havent absorbed enough leapers. Im off to get that trait because 78 force just isnt cutting it for any weapons

What zone had the leapers in it? I cant even remember. fml this game needs FAST TRAVEL

[WorldWarWeasel]

Glad to see it's not just me that finds the strength weapons SEVERELY lacking. I'm almost always a great sword guy, so imagine how stoked I was when I found the slab sword? It friggen blows chunks. It sucks that I've invested so many points into strength now cuz all the weapons for that category are grossly outmatched by the dex ones it seems. Hopefully the devs can buff them someday, but for now don't even think about being a muscle boi.

[DarkTroZo]

I'm using the crab claw sword. One of the less stamina intensive weapons, fast swings (even if it says average) and lots of damage. While I love to switch weapons in these kinds of games, I'm finding the stamina costs prohibitive for most other weapons.

[Lightbearer]

The Crab Claw is a solid weapon. I'd still advise you to graduate to the glaive, but I had to invest in force pretty consistently (stats and traits), but it totally paid off in my mid- and late-game build. Everything just died.

[Misery1ndex]

after reaching the 100 force mark, the yr glaive becomes quite good in terms of stamina usage. now i can safely attack more without having my stam fully depleted.

[MULKMULKMULK]

The lamps with 20+ resonance are the best dps in the game. You can pop the 100% more damage before explosion and they practically 1 shot every boss at 30 stacks. Considering that the lamps have high range and fast attack speed it's easy to get 10-30 hits to kill everything

[Lightbearer]

Yeah, I had a feeling that with the stacking feature of the lamps in later game builds you could just decimate bosses pretty quickly. I'll have to give it a try on a future playthrough...or maybe just using Cheat Engine, lol.

[Homeless.]

I'm using Unformed Slab, 2 handed sword and having great success with it, moveset is good and it's now super slow like that first mace you find in game

[Special Thanks, You]

Hilarious because I'm going full into the Concrete Fists and it's been going great (before that was using the unformed slab and it also worked). While I obviously haven't been using any dex and resonance weapon because of their level requirement, I've been having a blast with the fists. Only boss to give me trouble so far is the Desert Wanderer.

[Lightbearer]

I'm super curious what you two (above) would think if you could try out the Dex / Quality weapons since you've spent so much time with the Str weapons. The devs said that they are going to make it so you can use a weapon's moveset even if you lack the stat requirements (I'm assuming it'll do 1 damage or so).