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[elpizo]

my macedwarf had a silver mace and no he exanched it for a iron mace, i was just wondering wich material is the best for a mace

[NecroRebel]

Silver is the best known material for non-artifact blunt weapons, including maces.

Dwarves don't exchange equipment for better equipment, but rather for more expensive equipment. It's assumed, by the game, that more expensive equipment is better, but in the case of blunt weapons this isn't always the case, as silver is slightly better than other materials.

[elpizo]

ok then i guess i will force him to take the mace, also, is any foreign weapons like morning stars count as a mace? these goblins gave me some nice flails and stuff after i killed them

[Valguris]

Go to your raws folder and find text file with weapons. Then find morningstar or any other weapon you are interested in and see which skill it is assigned to.

I can't do it myself right now, sorry.

EDIT: Also, I've heard that it's not always true that silver is the best material for blunt weapons. Calculations do take into account density (in which silver is leading), but also some other factors. Steel seems to be about as effective as silver. Currently looking for a thread I found this information in.

EDIT2: I can't find the one I was thinking about, but this one is even better:
http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=53571.0

EDIT3: Lord Darkstar was faster. But no, I was thinking about something else.

[Lord Darkstar]

Are you looking for this?

Weapon and armor research by zagibu:
http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=53571.0

[Bouchart]

Silver or steel should work fine.

Quality level and macedwarf skill are probably as important if not more so.

[Lord Darkstar]

Weapon quality isn't a factor since the material system was refined. At least, that's what I've read on the forum.

[NecroRebel]

Weapon quality isn't a factor since the material system was refined. At least, that's what I've read on the forum.

It's a factor, but less of one, from what I've come to understand. In 40d and before, quality acted as a strict multiplier to the items' strength; a masterwork steel item was twice as effective as a no-quality steel item, straight up, no question. From what I understand, in 31.x, higher-quality edged weapons are sharper than low-quality, but the material's MAX_EDGE value means more, and blunt weapons are affected less.

However, weapon and armor quality also acts as an amplifier to the user's skill, which affects how often they get solid hits and, by extension, how often they deal damage. If normal quality levels are treated as a value of 0 to 5 (0=no-quality, 5=masterwork), then the user's effective skill is equal to (their normal skill level)x(1+.2x(item quality))+(item quality). So, a masterwork weapon doubles the user's normal skill and adds 5, so a Proficient axedwarf with a masterwork axe fights like a Legendary+0 axedwarf.



The skill amplification effect was part of why crossbows were so broken in 40d, as both the bolts and crossbows amplified skill. With MW bows and bolts, you'd get effective skill = ((normal skill)x2+5)x2+5 = (normal skill)x4+15, so even no-skill marksmen shot like legends.

[janglur]

In my experience, with mods, it goes as follows:

Special Metals < Feathertree < Bone < Most Wood < Copper/tin < Glumprong < Iron/bronze/steel < Silver < Gold < Platinum < Slade

Anything iron/bronze/steel will work, but maces are not for armored opponents at all, no matter how good.

[elpizo]

so against armor it's hammers or what? personnaly my favorite weapon is adamantine swords, i love seing the limbs flying everywhere on the battlefield (am i weird or what?)

just looked at the link and it got me wondering, can enemys actually wear adamantine armor?

[janglur]

Against armor, in my experience:

Maces > Swords > Spears > Axes > Hammers* > Scourges > Whips

Hammers ignore armor somewhat, and cause bruises through it, but that may not often kill or even cripple the target, especially if it's a megabeast or such.  Axes however hack off limbs, and can easily kill.

Scourges and Whips are like dwarven lightsabers and almost always pierce armor, but only do damage to one specific area, usually straight to the bone.  This can cripple some critters (like goblins) very fast, but again, slow to kill.

Axes, IMHO, are the best.


Also, quality DOES have an effect, but not on damage.  The higher the quality, the bigger the to-hit bonus is.  A dabbling dwarf with an artifact hits almost as well as a legendary.  A legendary with a masterpiece almost never, ever missed- but may be blocked or parried.
A legendary + artifact, i've never seen hit and fail to do some damage.

[alphawolf29]

Maces < Swords < Spears < Axes < Hammers* < Scourges < Whips



This is greater than > this

This is less than < this


< and > are not arrows = /

[ricree]

Edit:  Ah, alphawolf ninja'd me.

Against armor, in my experience:

Maces > Swords > Spears > Axes > Hammers* > Scourges > Whips

Did you mean

Maces < Swords < Spears < Axes < Hammers < Scourges < Whips

[RiderofDark]

Dwarves can't make scourges or whips, and might have forgotten to put a note about that.

[zwei]

IIRC, dwarves equip weapons based on their prices, so they forgo cheap iron for expensive steel.

Masterwork silver is best for blunt weapons, but it is less expensive than others so dwarves will drop it in favor of other materials.

You can either give dwarves explicit orders to wield specific item, or you can decorate hell out of your silver hammers/maces to make them more valuable than steel.

---

Also, try to avoid decorating your copper/iron/bronze stuff and well as low-quality steel because few master decorations can mean that dwarf will think that his no quality copper axe is better than masterwork adamantine axe.