Which has better stats?
Which is easier to get the ingredients for?
Which would you rather give a Thrall?
Which would you rather give to 50 Thralls?
If the damage of the Poitain Sword and Acheronian Longsword were reduced by only 5 points, what would your answers to the above questions be?
And please do actually take a moment to answer those questions, as I want to know your opinions and the reasons behind them, but for me? I see no reason to ever make Star Metal weapons (or spend my real world money on this game) ever again.
Edit (for clarity)
These are the current in-game stats, of the current in-game weapons.
This is the choice every player needs to make, every time they want to make a stack of dragonpowder to go and harvest some Star Metal.
Of the options on offer above I would go either poitian or acheronian depending on what else I need a chemical base for and my current availability of star metal purely because neither requires the leather. But my actual preference in game is flawless epic Aquilonian or Argosean weapons, varying from swords to war hammers.
In regards to dragon powder I use demon fire, volatile glands are easy to get from exploding imps in the start area.
Aquilonian and Argosean weapons have the exact same cost requirements, I only chose Poitain because it’s my favorite, so the one I’m most likely to use, but substitute the one you want and it’s the exact same question.
Tbh, I totally forgot about demonfire orbs, I just file them under “trash I don’t bother to loot off corpses” XD
I go for exploding arrows because you only need one to break the shell, it’s really cost/weight effective. If orbs weighed like half of what they do I might use them.
but as for getting the resources, hardened steel is basically the easiest thing in the world to get (black Ice is super easy to get, and you already need it for everything late game anyway)
Alchemical base is so common I have crates overflowing with the stuff (just get 1 gold and 1 silver rocknose, and you’ll never run out)
The material practically grows on trees if you’re making Acheronian gear.
Tbh I’ve never tried acheronian, always went straight from hardened steel to star metal, partly because I got in the habit of hoarding alchemical base for the epic armours and map room. It’s also because I tend to get star metal every time I do a black ice run (if I remember the orbs) but I get where you’re coming from, cosmetic DLC items should be applicable to a larger variety of weapons, which is where I got the idea of “paint” similar to the fodder for animals.
Short Handle
Star Metal Bar
Thick Leather
Hardened Steel Bar
Alchemical Base