In-Game Weapons

Hi again,

Today I'm gonna write a little about the in-game weapons on RPGs. Some poeple do choose their character over the weapon, and some people might not know de difference between them. I know that every game has a different specification for their weapons, but some things hardly change.

Lets go to them:

1) MELEE WEAPONS: Weapons designed for closed combat. Need to be near the enemy in order to attack him.

1.1) The 1-Handed Weapons:

Used by: Warriors, Daggers.

These are the most common weapons you can find in any game. And their main characteristic is to let an open hand. To what? The shield of course xD.

They come in basicaly 3 different types: The Sword, the Axe, and the Mace.

A) The Sword: A light weapon. Doesn't require a lot of strenght to use and has low damage compared to the other types. The classic companion of a fighter. Swords have better attack speed then maces and axes.

  -The Dagger: Lighter and smaller then the sword. Deal less damage, but has greater attack speed. Often used in pairs by Daggers classes.

B) The Mace: An intermediary weapon in terms of requiriments, damage and speed. Has more damage then the sword, but less speed. A good weapon for tankers because it often causes stun on enemys. They might have a variation in form, beeing called HAMMERS instead, but still are basicaly the same weapon.

Healers might use this weapon in some rpgs like Ragnarok, but its still a warrior's weapon.

C) The Axe: Greater damage, but lower speed. This weapon has the highest requiriment of them, but the damage is far greater too. Very good to strenght based warriors, since they won't compromise their build in order to use them.

1.2) The 2-Handed Weapons:

Used by: Warriors.

Focused in damage, the users of this kind of weapon, give up on the shield to acquire stronger damage. good for strenght based characters.

There are 5 types of them: The Sword, the Axe, the Mace, the Polearms, and the Gauntlets. I won't explain the three first types cause they have the same specification listed above, the only difference is the higher damage.

D) The Polearm: The most common polearm is the Spear. But they could appear as Helberds, Ploe-Axes, Partisans. More of a tactical weapon in my opinio, may attack from a little outlying poistion, giving a small, but important advantage.

E) The Gauntlet: Gloves with spines or claws. They have low requirement for strenght and good attack speed. Might be used by monks as well.

1.3) The Shield:

Used by: Warriors, Healers, Magicians.

Shields protect its users. Some games allow healers and magicians use them. They increase the phisical defense and block rate (and surviving rate ^^). A good choice if you rather stay alive then kill the enemy first.

2) RANGED WEAPONS: Weapons used to attack from a distance.

2.1) Physical-Attack Weapons:

Used by: Archers, Gunners

There are 3 kind of ranged weapons: Bows and Arrows, Crossbows and Bolts and Slings and Stones. Generally there is little difference between those 3.

A) The Bow and Arrow: The classical choice for an archer. Usualy they have fast attack speed and average damage.

B) The Crossbow and Bolt: Lowest attack speed, but higher damage. Not a popular choice amongst rangers because it has higher requiriments.

C) The Sling and Stone: An intermediary weapon. Not as common as the other 2 listed above.

*Some Fantasy RPG has Guns as a weapon, but its very rare, so I won't list it here.

2.2)Magical Weapons:

Used by: Magician, Healers.

These weapons don't inflict damage directly, I'd say, but some have limited charges in it and fires a certain spell without consuming the users mana. There are basicaly 2 of them.

A) The Wand: A one-handed weapon, allowing its user to hold a shield (depending on the game). They have low requiriiments but low damage too and in my experience, those are most likely to have charges in it.

B) The Staff: More damage and more requiriments to use. The character uses both hand to manipulate this weapon, wich makes him unable to hold a shield. Probly the bonuses on this kind of weapon his higher then the bonuses on the wands.

*There are other magic weapons in some RPGs like magic swords, orbs, and other stuff, but they are very specific to the game, so i won't comment on them either.

There you go boys and girls, hope to help clearing some doubts about the difference of the in-game weapons. I wich to thank my fiance for giving me the idea for this article since she is one that couldn't understant most of these differences.