Are Superior Weapons "worth it"?
- Thread starter Herschel
- Start date
I do have a couple of posts on that thread actually, but got no real reply. I kind of got the "well, there wasn't a guidebook so I made one up and it's good enough because I don't feel like puting all that much effort in to it" feeling.
Heck, the Seeker handbook was never finished to include the stuff when PH3 was released.
Heck, the Seeker handbook was never finished to include the stuff when PH3 was released.
Last edited:
Estlor
Explorer
Saying whether Superior Weapon Proficiency is "worth it" really depends on what you're trying to accomplish with it. So here's a multi-part answer to the question. The general answer is, as with any feat, if you don't have room for it in your build, don't sweat not having it.
Increasing Damage: Yes and no. If all you gain is an increase in damage die size, it is probably no better than Weapon Focus in heroic tier. As others have stated, it becomes increasingly more worth it as you go up in level and the number of 2[W], 3[W] and 4[W] powers available to you increase. If you get both an increased damage die and brutal 1 (or better), than yes, SWP will always be better than WF. Now, statistically speaking, the math probably works out that SWP always wins against WF, but I think that denies the opportunity cost of guaranteed damage versus potential damage. For example, with a Longsword + WF, I'm never going to roll a 1. I might roll a 10 with a Bastard Sword, but I have an equally likely chance of rolling a 1.
Unless you're an Avenger or have a paragon path ability to expand your crit range, high crit doesn't really benefit you consistently until epic. But when it does come into play, it absolutely owns all other options. That's part of why the Fullblade is so good for an Avenger; your likelihood of rolling an 18-20 goes way up when you roll twice and keep the best.
Increased Accuracy: This is always worth it, IMHO. But if you only have room for this or an Expertise feat in heroic, take the Expertise feat because of the other benefit you get.
Increased Range: Depends on the range of the initial weapon. Longbow to Greatbow? No way. The longbow's range is already an effective Ranged: Entire Encounter so adding on doesn't help unless your DM really likes flying creatures with equally long range. Likewise Trident to Tratnyr isn't very useful either because chances are you're using it for Deft Hurler Style and multi-marking so short range of 3 is plenty already. Crossbow to Superior Crossbow is definitely worth it because you also get an accuracy increase baked in.
Weapon Group Effects: This is usually worth it because you're usually doing it to pair it up with something else. Like taking a Gouge instead of an Executioner's Axe because you want to be able to use Spear Expertise.
Increasing Damage: Yes and no. If all you gain is an increase in damage die size, it is probably no better than Weapon Focus in heroic tier. As others have stated, it becomes increasingly more worth it as you go up in level and the number of 2[W], 3[W] and 4[W] powers available to you increase. If you get both an increased damage die and brutal 1 (or better), than yes, SWP will always be better than WF. Now, statistically speaking, the math probably works out that SWP always wins against WF, but I think that denies the opportunity cost of guaranteed damage versus potential damage. For example, with a Longsword + WF, I'm never going to roll a 1. I might roll a 10 with a Bastard Sword, but I have an equally likely chance of rolling a 1.
Unless you're an Avenger or have a paragon path ability to expand your crit range, high crit doesn't really benefit you consistently until epic. But when it does come into play, it absolutely owns all other options. That's part of why the Fullblade is so good for an Avenger; your likelihood of rolling an 18-20 goes way up when you roll twice and keep the best.
Increased Accuracy: This is always worth it, IMHO. But if you only have room for this or an Expertise feat in heroic, take the Expertise feat because of the other benefit you get.
Increased Range: Depends on the range of the initial weapon. Longbow to Greatbow? No way. The longbow's range is already an effective Ranged: Entire Encounter so adding on doesn't help unless your DM really likes flying creatures with equally long range. Likewise Trident to Tratnyr isn't very useful either because chances are you're using it for Deft Hurler Style and multi-marking so short range of 3 is plenty already. Crossbow to Superior Crossbow is definitely worth it because you also get an accuracy increase baked in.
Weapon Group Effects: This is usually worth it because you're usually doing it to pair it up with something else. Like taking a Gouge instead of an Executioner's Axe because you want to be able to use Spear Expertise.
