Is Speed Useful?

[Infiniti2000]

A speed weapon is probably not worth it except in the hands of a rogue.

It is never worth it in the face of alternatives. At a minimum of 30,000gp, it is never comparable to boots of speed or even potions of haste, never mind free options like the party wizard. I'm even considering the greatly reduced usage of the other options. Getting a full attack is just so seldom that IME the boots would never even be fully used up at day's end. The comparison to the +5 or even +2 flaming et al weapons has the faulty premise that there's no other option to a +2 speed weapon.

 

[Drowbane]

Use common sense here. Maybe the cost is huge because a character can use two speed weapons(or up to four, if a thri-kreen).

Duuude!! Did you just call for "common sense" in the Rules forum?!

Party foul!

lol

 

[Dracorat]

Well, to get a permanently Hasted item, you would have to pay 120,000 GP for the enchantment at minimum caster level.

Now, a permanent haste has some other benefits, but it also has a disadvantage. Dispell magic can suppress it for a while. You cannot dispell the Speed effect on a weapon.

So basically, I'm not convinced it's a bad deal.

 

[Drowbane]

...You cannot dispell the Speed effect on a weapon...

really, why is that?

 

[Infiniti2000]

You cannot dispell the Speed effect on a weapon.

Sure, you can. In fact, you suppress the whole weapon. However, that's a very seldomly used tactic, used only for combat-altering items IME.

So basically, I'm not convinced it's a bad deal.

Compare it to the boots. Do you really need the haste effect for more than 10 times per day? Not IME.

 

[Dracorat]

I misspoke slightly. In order to dispell the item's property, it has to be specifically targetted. If its weilder is targetted, or an area dispel is cast, then it is safe.

Sorry about that.

 

[Stalker0]

It is never worth it in the face of alternatives. At a minimum of 30,000gp, it is never comparable to boots of speed or even potions of haste, never mind free options like the party wizard. I'm even considering the greatly reduced usage of the other options. Getting a full attack is just so seldom that IME the boots would never even be fully used up at day's end. The comparison to the +5 or even +2 flaming et al weapons has the faulty premise that there's no other option to a +2 speed weapon.

As far as the boots go, that's a boot slot. You might want that slot for something else, like the ability to fly? But tthat might indicate that boots of speed are too cheap. I mean, for 24,000 I can have the ability on a slotless item. That's pretty good because as you say, you rarely need more than 10 rounds of haste a day.

And potions of haste take a standard action to use, at high levels that's far more of a cost than 30,000 gp.

As for energy types instead of speed, we do have to remember that technically each energy type has to be activated on the weapon, they are not on all the time. I know many people don't use it this way, but that's technically how it works, and how it is balanced.

 

[mvincent]

really, why is that?

As mentioned, Dispel magic suppresses magic items rather than dispels them.

 

[Dracorat]

Compare it to the boots. Do you really need the haste effect for more than 10 times per day? Not IME.

I have been trying to avoid answering this one, because the answer is It depends on your party and I don't want to come across as Devil's Advocate. But since you really want my answer, here it is, plain and honest:

My parties strive to go as many battles as possible without resting because I reward that behavior. 10 rounds will be gone half way through the second battle and they could easily run 5 battles in a day. Two boots wouldn't last through the end of the fourth battle. Not to mention that they probably will want to change them out if only a round or two was left for the day.

So my parties don't use it often. They save it for when it counts. (In fact, they use it MORE often to run, than to fight). The most often worn footgear tends to be Slippers of Spider Climbing or Boots of Striding and Springing, even by fighters.

So, this is a case where your mileage may vary.

 

[mvincent]

each energy type has to be activated on the weapon, they are not on all the time.

From the 3.5 FAQ (pg. 33):
"The new descriptions for the flaming, frost, and shock
weapon special abilities say that these weapons’ energy
effects work only on command. Why was this changed in
the revision? Does that mean that their wielders must use a
standard action to activate them for each attack? Or do the
energy effects last awhile? If so, how long do they last?
What’s the chance that you burn (or freeze or shock)
yourself when holding onto an activated weapon? Can you
put away an activated weapon without damaging the
scabbard where you store it?"

"Activating an energy power requires a standard action, but
once you activate energy power, the power works until you use
another action to deactivate it."

"The energy from a flaming, frost, shock, flaming burst, icy
burst, or shocking burst weapon never harms you while you’re
wielding or carrying the activated weapon (see the power
descriptions), and it will not harm your equipment."

"There’s nothing illogical about a flaming, frost, shock
weapon (at least not within any framework that allows weapons
to generate energy in the first place), and there’s no rule against
such weapons (think of the weapon as having fiery, frosty,
shocking flames). The character creating such a weapon
decides how it can be activated. Most such weapons probably
are made so that the wielders can activate all three powers
simultaneously, or activate them one at a time, as desired."