According to my tables, the following weapons are totally outclassed by weapons with similar combat stats by virtue of that other weapon having something extra:
- Club (outclassed by Light Hammer, however it exists as a placeholder stat-block for a generic object to bash people, so it still has a purpose)
- Mace (outclassed by the Quarterstaff)
- Flail (outclassed by the Warhammer)
- Dart (outclassed by Dagger)
- Trident (outclassed by Spear)
- Morningstar (outclassed by Rapier)
- War Pick (outclassed by Rapier)
Those are the only trap options, everything else has a trade-off of some kind that makes them desirable for a particular playstyle, but not the others.
5e has done great strides in "grouping" weapons. You have obvious pole-arms, sword+board, great, finesse, and dual wield weapons. This is a good thing, it allows someone to pick up a warhammer or a longsword and function about the same.
The problems are:
- There are less weapons to pick from than before, this gives a smaller starting pool which increases the frequency of finding similar weapons.
- Penalties for using an inappropriate weapon are severe, you will never see a rogue use a greataxe, even in a moment of desperation they are probably better off punching.
- The bonuses for trade-offs are highly situational, a versatile weapon is only good for people who normally use one-handed weapons, and even then only if they don't need their off-hand for a shield or a spell, or to hold some item. Rare to say the least.
- Double-duty weapons, like daggers which can be used melee or thrown, are ignored in favor of picking up two more specialized weapons. At low levels this is cheap enough to work, and at high levels you are using one form of combat or the other.
- Attunement is a double edged sword, nobody is going to keep something they aren't using most of the time.
Even if you disallow feats and magic item creation, the weapons will remain the same.
However! It is important to note: Monk weapons are explicitly not the problem after they reach 1d8 base damage (at level 11). From that moment on they can pick up whatever weapon they want to do the same damage, and any magic weapon you give them will only make them stronger.
Just ignore Zardnaar DMs, he's gone crazy!
