EQ Traders Corner
   


GU45 Crafted Weapon Preview

Game Update 45 will see sweeping changes to all crafted melee weapons in terms of stats, progression, imbues and recipes. These changes will include handcrafted and mastercrafted weapons that are made by weaponsmiths or woodworkers. Again, this is for melee weapons only, so will not include bows or ammo. (For a preview of the other crafting-related portions of GU45, check out this GU45 crafting preview.)

Standard Disclaimer: Be aware that anything contained in this preview can change drastically, since the items and recipes are still in the testing phase.

With the above warning firmly in mind, I am not including hard stats and weapon delays right now. While I know some things were tweaked (including fuel requirements) internally late last week, as of this writing those changes have not made it to the Test server yet, and I'd rather not waste time creating charts that I'd just have to re-do in another day or three.

Also, due to the large number of weapons now available, images will be scattered very liberally throughout this writeup, and won't always have anything to do with the specific section of text they are near. I wanted to be sure to show off the various new looks in all their lovely glory. (Weapons will use the same models throughout the tiers, but will sometimes vary in shading and "shine" based on the tier/rarity.) Please note that the "club" appearance displayed on this page is what is currently on Test, but I have word that it will be changing. I do not yet have a new screenshot of it.

What's This About Progression?

I lost count of how many times I had to tell someone "I'm sorry, that type is only available in tiers 5 through 8, you're out of luck in tier 4". Worse, were the times when I was trying to explain how something was a piercing weapon in one tier, and a slashing weapon in another tier, and so on. Let's face it, the concept of "logical" progression for weapons had some illogical inconsistencies in it, as evidenced by the red marks on this soon-obsoleted crafted weapon progression chart.

Sound the gongs, bang the drums, toss that concept of progression out the window! Buh-bye! Starting with GU45, weapon types are available in all tiers. They start in tier 1, they continue through tier 8 as the same weapon type, with the same classes being able to use them, and the same stat lineup throughout.

GU45 And Beyond - Weapon Types

Without further ado, here's a meaty little chart for you:
Name Type Stats Classes
club* 1H crushing STR, STA, AGI, hp, power fighters, priests
cudgel* 1H crushing STR, STA, INT, hp, power fighters, priests
fighting baton* 1H crushing STR, STA, hp, power fighters, mages, priests
knotted club* 1H crushing STA, INT hp, power fighters, priests
quarter staff* 1H crushing AGI, INT, hp, power fighters, mages, priests
wand* 1H crushing WIS, INT, hp, power fighters, priests, mages
battle hammer 1H crushing STR, STA, AGI, hp, power fighters, priests
flail 1H crushing STR, STA, WIS, hp, power fighters, priests
fist wraps 1H crushing STR, STA, AGI, hp, power bruiser, monk
gavel 1H crushing STR, WIS, INT, hp power fighters, priests
knuckles 1H crushing STR, STA, hp, power bruiser, monk
mace 1H crushing STR, WIS, hp, power fighters, priests
morning star 1H crushing STR, STA, hp, power fighers, priests
sceptre 1H crushing STR, WIS, hp, power fighters, priests
scourge 1H crushing STR, STA, INT, hp, power fighters, priests
war hammer 1H crushing STR, STA, WIS, hp, power fighters, priests
bo staff* 2H crushing STR, AGI, hp, power fighters, mages, priests
greatstaff* 2H crushing STR, STA, hp, power fighters, mages, priests
sorcerer's staff* 2H crushing STA, INT, hp, power fighters, mages, priests
great flail 2H crushing STR, STA, AGI, hp, power fighters, priests
maul 2H crushing STR, INT, hp, power fighters, priests
sledgehammer 2H crushing STR, STA, INT, hp, power fighters, priests
spiked hammer 2H crushing STR, STA, WIS, hp, power fighters, priests
war mace!! 2H crushing STR, STA, INT, hp, power fighters, priests
war maul 2H crushing STR, STA, WIS, hp, power fighters, priests
claws 1H piercing STR, STA, AGI, hp, power bruiser, monk
dagger 1H piercing AGI, INT, hp, power mages, scouts, BER, GRD
dirk 1H piercing STR, INT, hp, power mages, scouts, BER, GRD
great spear 1H piercing STR, STA, WIS, hp, power scouts, BER, DEF, GRD, MYS, PAL, SHD
javelin 1H piercing STR, STA, hp, power scouts, BER, DEF, GRD, MYS, PAL, SHD
kris 1H piercing WIS, INT, hp, power mages, scouts, BER, GRD
parrying blade 1H piercing STR, STA, INT, hp, power mages, scouts, BER, GRD
rapier 1H piercing STR, STA, AGI, hp, power scouts, BER, GRD
ritual dagger 1H piercing STA, INT, hp, power mages, scouts, BER, GRD
sai 1H piercing STR, STA, AGI, hp, power mages, scouts, BER, GRD
short spear 1H piercing STR, STA, hp, power scouts, BER, DEF, GRD, MYS, PAL, SHD
stiletto 1H piercing STR, INT, hp, power mages, scouts, BER, GRD
sabre 1H piercing STR, STA, INT, hp, power scouts, BER, GRD
tribal spear 1H piercing STR, WIS, INT, hp, power scouts, BER, DEF, GRD, MYS, PAL, SHD
lance 2H piercing STR, STA, AGI, hp, power BER, DEF, GRD, MYS, PAL, SHD
pike* 2H piercing STR, INT, hp, power BER, DEF, GRD, MYS, PAL, SHD
voulge 2H piercing STR, STA, hp, power BER, DEF, GRD, MYS, PAL, SHD
assault axe 1H slashing STR, STA, hp, power scouts, BER, GRD, PAL, SHD
crescent axe 1H slashing STR, STA, hp, power scouts, BER, GRD, PAL, SHD
falchion 1H slashing STR, INT, hp, power scouts, BER, FUR, GRD, PAL, SHD, WRD
flamberge 1H slashing STR, INT, hp, power scouts, BER, FUR, GRD, PAL, SHD, WRD
hand axe 1H slashing STR, STA, INT, hp, power scouts, BER, GRD, PAL, SHD
karabella 1H slashing STR, WIS, hp, power scouts, BER, FUR, GRD, PAL, SHD, WRD
katar 1H slashing STR, STA, hp, power bruiser, monk
long sword 1H slashing STR, STA, AGI, hp, power scouts, BER, FUR, GRD, PAL, SHD, WRD
scimitar 1H slashing STR, STA, WIS, hp, power scouts, BER, FUR, GRD, PAL, SHD, WRD
shamshir 1H slashing STR, WIS, INT, hp, power scouts, BER, FUR, GRD, PAL, SHD, WRD
short sword 1H slashing STR, STA, AGI, hp, power scouts, BER, FUR, GRD, PAL, SHD, WRD
spatha 1H slashing STR, STA, INT, hp, power scouts, BER, FUR, GRD, PAL, SHD, WRD
whip 1H slashing WIS, INT, hp, power scouts, BER, FUR, GRD, PAL, SHD, WRD
claymore 2H slashing STR, INT, hp, power BER, GRD, PAL, SHD
double-headed axe 2H slashing STR, STA, hp, power BER, GRD, PAL, SHD
great sword 2H slashing STR, STA, WIS, hp, power BER, GRD, PAL, SHD
katana 2H slashing STR, STA, AGI, hp, power BER, GRD, PAL, SHD
tulwar 2H slashing STR, STA, INT, hp, power BER, GRD, PAL, SHD

*=woodworker-made weapons
!!=stats changing from STR/STA/WIS to STR/STA/INT with next hotfix

Also note the stats listed above on the "knotted club" and the "fighting baton" are not what is on Test as of May 6. The information contained in this chart is what they will be changing to, as per Domino.

Variety is the Spice of Life

In situations above where you see more than one weapon of the same type with the exact same stat and class listings, the weapons will have the same overall ratios, but will have different damage and delay ratings. This allows more choice for those who prefer faster or slower weapons to do some juggling, while still keeping a certain stat lineup. The options may not cover everything but the kitchen sink, but there is definitely a lot more variety, and a lot more consistency, than we used to have.

More "Oomph" Please!

As mentioned before, I'm not going to give you exact stats for the various weapons, or the damage/delay numbers. There's just too much that can change between now and when GU45 goes live. However, I'm going to go out on a limb, here, while repeating the warning about the possibility that these numbers will change, and give you the basic damage ratings for handcrafted and mastercrafted one-handed and two-handed weapons in every tier, so you can compare them to current weapons.

Damage Ratings by Type and Tier

1-handed
(handcrafted)

 1-handed
(mastercrafted)		 2-handed
(handcrafted)		 2-handed
(mastercrafted)
tier 1 2.9 5.2 3.8 6.8
tier 2 8.6 12.5 11.3 16.5
tier 3 15.0 20.9 19.7 27.5
tier 4 21.9 29.8 28.7 39.1
tier 5 29.7 40.2 38.9 52.7
tier 6 38.3 51.2 50.3 67.3
tier 7 46.9 62.3 61.6 81.8
tier 8 56.7 75.4 74.5 99.0

New Ingredients Needed**

Now, since this is a crafting site, let's take a look at the crafting side of things - the recipes. Resource amounts and types have been changed and cut, and the changes are pretty noticeable at the higher tiers. While the original preview mentions an increased fuel requirement, the last word received was that fuel amounts will stay consistent with the pre-GU45 fuel amounts. (i.e., Fuel requirements will not change between what you have now, and what will be in place for the same tier/rarity after GU45.)
wooden metal hide
tier 1 2 elm, 1 lead, 1 rawhide 2 tin, 1 rawhide, 1 malachite 2 rawhide, 1 tin, 1 malachite
tier 2 2 maple, 1 electrum, 1 tanned 2 iron, 1 tanned, 1 turquoise 2 tanned, 1 iron, 1 turquoise
tier 3 2 ash, 1 gold, 1 boiled 2 carbonite, 1 boiled, 1 agate 2 boiled, 1 carbonite, 1 agate
tier 4 3 briarwood, 1 velium, 1 etched 3 feyiron, 1 etched, 1 opaline 2 etched, 2 feyiron, 1 opaline
tier 5 3 teak, 1 diamondine, 1 strengthened 3 fulginate, 1 strengthened, 1 bloodstone 2 strengthened, 2 fulginate, 1 bloodstone
tier 6 3 sandalwood, 1 beryllium, 1 stonehide 3 indium, 1 stonehide, 1 nacre 2 stonehide, 2 indium, 1 nacre
tier 7 4 rosewood, 2 azurite, 1 horned 4 adamantine, 2 horned, 1 topaz 3 horned, 3 adamantine, 1 topaz
tier 8 4 redwood, 2 deklium, 1 bristled 4 ferrite, 2 bristled, 1 kunzite 3 bristled, 3 ferrite, 1 kunzite

**The above ingredients are for the handcrafted versions of the recipes. For the mastercrafted, replace one of the primary (wood, metal, hide) with the rare version of the resource in order to obtain the ingredients needed for the rare version. (i.e., for a T8 rare whip, it would be 1 hidebound, 2 bristled, 3 ferrite, 1 kunzite.)

Do You Imbue?

Starting in tier 2, and continuing through all the tiers, you will have two imbue options. The "blessed", which is good for casters and priests, and the "imbued", which is more suitable for melee and tanks. Each and every single weapon, therefore, will have three recipes: one recipe to make the basic weapon, one recipe to turn that basic weapon into the blessed version and one recipe to turn the basic weapon into an imbued version.

As my one concession to the "I'm not going to post weapon stats", here's a shot of a tier 8 mastercrafted whip, showing the two imbue options:

What Else Will This Mean to Crafters?

There are a few other things to note that bear repeating. These are totally NEW ITEMS. No matter how similar they are in name to ones you already have in your recipe book, they are not the same. Any melee weapon made before GU45 stays as-is. No changes. None, nada. You simply won't be able to make any more with that name and those stats once GU45 hits. This also means that if you have a non-imbued weapon that you made before GU45, and you want it imbued, you need to imbue it BEFORE GU45 hits. You cannot imbue a pre-GU45 weapon with a post-GU45 imbue.

On the positive side, however, that means that each and every one of the weapons above will be fresh, brand-spanking-new discoveries. There are lots of chances not only for server/world firsts on various items, but, for those who aren't level-capped, lots of chances for fresh pristine xp bonuses. Mmmmm, yummy. My weaponsmith, the laggard of my crafting alt army, may actually make it through Tier 6 one of these days soon! ;D

Edit: GU45 was pushed to live servers on May 13, 2008

As always, many thanks to Kaisha for the stellar job with the images for this preview!

Created: 2008-05-06 05:46:45          
Last Modified By: Niami Denmother          
Last Modified on: 2008-05-16 12:10:54          

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