Every time I look up which is the best 1H strength sword, the search comes back with the black ice longsword, or Telith’s; but those are bunk, very inferior swords that do not hold a canldle when compared to Balias, with 67 damage. I don’t get it, I mean, the swords they list are for mid-game, or something akin those lines.
Please, seriously, I need someone with EXTENSIVE knowledge concerning 1H STR swords to give me a hand here; nothing I find on the web is concise. The Predatory blade doesn’t count lol, I hate the one-button frenzy and you have no reach; I dislike its gameplay even tho it is one of the highest DPS in the game; hence Balias.
This doesn’t make any sense. I have always used Balias for over 5k hours in my 1h runs (I am partial to longswords), in multiple runs, just wanted to see if there was something stronger; but the web seems as confused as I am, all I am trying to do is confirm the sword is the strongest.
The epic version of Freya’s sword, that you learn to craft after completing her quest is the best forged and repairable sword. There are two legendary one handed swords that are about even but cannot be repaired. Sword of Champions and Gator Bite.
Thank you for the input nonetheless. All the swords I mentioned are strength =] I shall correct the title to avoid this type of confusion; my apologies.
imho, El’s Drinker is the best 1h if you don’t count Predatory Sword, because of the bleed. BUT Predatory Blade IS the best one by far, even if you are limited to left mouse button.
The Bane of Khosatral Khel I think needs a mention, because it has the +15% buff, but it uses up the flask buff slot. So it is not an additional buff.
But personally, I would go 1h agility swords. Problem is, the only dropped 1h agility sword in the Exiled Lands is the Sword of Champions, which is very good, but only has 900 durability.
I use Freya’s sword, crafted with a blade smith.
As far as I remember, you wrote that other people scare you, and that’s why you play alone or something like that.
What I’m getting at is that 1-h is primarily a PvP weapon with excellent synergy with a shield (it will allow you to cut through the so-called agility meta without much effort). 1-h str swords have mediocre damage and barely noticeable armor penetration. But they have the best power attack with a forward lunge, which is very convenient for PvP and only for PvP. Because in PvE, against mobs, you are too often “missing” the targeted mob with that very lunge (first or second of them) when you need to max out your damage.
For PvE, 1-h axes and maces are much more convenient. For PvP, they are also not bad, but there you need a little skill to accurately determine the location of your opponent (player) by eye. But in PvE, axes and maces don’t even need that. You just “pour” easily targeted damage into a mob with any combo, light or heavy.
Besides, I’m just tired of all this whining about the superiority of agility builds. The last time an agile character managed to kill me, I was just stuck in the textures and couldn’t move. Every other time I see a player attacking me with a katana/daggers/claws, I rejoice. Because that’s food for me. That it is sooо confidently heading toward its own death and does not even realize it.
And yes. Speaking of short swords. My last PvP was against a person with a short sword. They could barely scratch me. Then I just ran at them with my shield up, and most of their attacks just “bonk” off my shield, then my counterattack, then they jump to the side and waste their stamina. In the end, exhaustion, one heavy combo with a 1-h axe, and they’re dead. One of the easiest PvPs I’ve ever had. Short swords, meh.
Thank you. However, this is a matter of look and feel, not efficiency. You are of course correct, but in PvE I do not have to worry about metas or the such; it’s easy enough with whatever weapon you choose; a luxury you definitely do not have in PvP, where enemies WILL kill the eff out of you, or viceversa.
In deed, people scare me, that is why I play alone. I am an invalid, stuck in a bed for life, plus an acute, chronic pain patient. I say this not to elicit pity; my point is I don’t have any soul essence left to deal with the human race, heh.
Well, I’m still sorry to hear that. Although your reluctance to play with others now is, of course, much more understandable.
As for effectiveness and, let’s say, the RP element, I don’t think there is any secret 1-h str sword that surpasses all others. In terms of damage, Predatory Blade is the only one noticeably higher. But that’s all. Because 1-h swords have that clumsy light attack that is a sweeping swing (?), Predatory Blade is so-so (in my opinion). Although it is very good for mounted combat. Especially in PvE, by the way. Mounted and with a sword, you have a much higher damage radius, allowing you to hit half a dozen enemies at once. So to speak, a cavalry style. For this, the Predatory Blade is simply a gem.
Otherwise, all other 1-h swords differ from each other mainly in the tactical aspects of their various legendary effects, but nothing more.
Overall, I agree with the assessment that El’s Drinker is best, but just to throw a couple of other options into the mix -
The Wightblade has built in ‘Specter Coating’ so is especially good against undead.
The Executioner’s Blade (iirc) is supposed to deal the final 10% of an enemy’s health in one shot - not much use on average, but potentially good against bosses.
Dragonbone Sword is one I’d suggest maybe giving a try and seeing how you like it - it is lower damage than the top end options, but it does ‘Sunder’ which can make a big difference against highly armoured enemies (since mosty 1H swords have fairly poor armour penetration). Crafted by a bladesmith it might be of interest as an option.
Obviously you’ll want the best ‘kits’ on them as well - my normal recommendation would be a Master Weapon Fitting, but maybe there’s a better option for 1H Swords?
Yeah, as I said, I agree that El’s is the overall best for majority of situations. The others are far more specific to certain situations - undead don’t bleed, so Specter Coating adds a bunch of benefit in that one circumstance. Exceutioner is really situational (and that’s assuming it even works, which has not always been true through the history of the game). Dragonbone might surprise you - I did some testing a few updates back (with 2H swords, rather than 1H, so the data may work out different) and in a lot of fights it actually matched up to a lot of the top end legendaries because of the benefit of sunder taking out 50% of the enemy’s armour, so a much higher proportion of the damage was getting through. But again, that’s situational - and there’ve been a few changes since then that could also alter the balance.
If I was choosing one to use, it’d most likely be El’s Drinker as the best in the majority of situations (actually, if I was picking one it wouldn’t be a 1H sword - but that’s the good thing for us in singleplayer - we can choose our weapons based a bit more on personal taste rather than needing to care about a ‘meta’). But I also tend to carry more weapons than I need, so I might carry one of the others as a back up for those specific situations where it felt like a good option. (And if I’ve got my camels, then I might just carry all of them because I can, lol.)
Which is only Tulwar, Freyas sword and sword of champion are short sword animations not sword animations.
But yes Tulwar and agility build is my recommendation to @Boulderkin with light armor either you use shield or not, having speed (agility) , full grit and full vitality is giving you a tremendous advantage to 1h sword fights.
The good thing with 1h weapons is that they allow you the torch use which is the most efficient way to have visibility in dark spaces. Plenty of cases where night vision simply is bugged and doesn’t work giving you frustration or panic through combat which both can easily lead to your death.
Between Balias and drinker sword i see no real difference. Not even on hawk sword which shares the predatory looks. Predatory blades are giving advantages to tanky styles, that the player is there with heavy armor but not huge pool of stamina so a shield (that reflects dmg) and predatory can replace the dodgy monkey style. Predatory blades are there for small attack windows to apply a ton of dmg, but not to make you more efficient from other swords.
Unfortunately like i told you in a previous post about a month ago @Boulderkin, only mace and axe have some improvement on strength builds, the rest weapons are still look crippled in front of agile weapons.
2h sword is literally destroyed.
Ps. Who can answer why an agility sword weights 7? (balance my arse)
You are of course correct in every respect. The thing is, Stel, it is not so much a matter of efficacy as it is look and feel (Single Player). I have a Tulwar in my box of legendaries, I have never cared for agility but I have never tried agility. You said Tulwar has longsword animations, that would be a crucial requirement, heh, as I dislike the fencing thing. I will give it a shot. My build is nothing out of the ordinary: max STR, max VIT, -5 Grit, +5 survival; I’ll max out agility instead and give it a run.
One thing worries me tho, Tulwar has only 59 damage, which seems rather sub-par when compared to El’s Drinker, 67 DMG plus a bleed.
The question of which weapon is most impactful has been thoroughly answered. This one has nothing to add to the already well answered question there.
But if you do not mind, as this is about aesthetics and feels, what appearance do you prefer for your swords? Is there an illusion you tend to put on your everyday carry?
