Hi,
Which of the perks Hack and Slash, Bone Breaker, Bladesman would you chose (at first, maybe later more then one)? And why regarding the fact they are different: armor ignore, bleeding, critical.
I am to make this decision for a stealthy character, dual wielder...so I'd say Hack and Slash (bleeding) is out for such build if you are looking for instant kill from stealth...or isn't?

I went with swords. But that's just because...I like swords. Always liked them over Maces/Axes.

Bladesmen for me, I just like using swords more.

I duel-wield a sword and axe, so I took both.

That entire perk tree is out if you're looking for dual stealth. Daggers don't benefit.

OT: I took mace. I'm starting to use swords more though, but that's actually for balance. I'm on Master and destroying everything in my path, so I picked up this steel sword off a guard to stop using so many charges on my mace. Then I upgraded it and have stuck with it since.

One other question...bleeding from Hack and Slash has 100% chance? I don't see a percentage on wiki, I don't have the game here as I'm at work.

I chose Hack and SLash for my 2-hand battleaxe and i'm still not sure thtat it does anything for 2H because things die in 1 or 2 hits. I guess vs dragons, trolls, and giants its good. but yes If your swing connects with an axe then they start to bleed. And to answer your question, Maces do the most damage but are slower, Axes second to that, and Swords do the least ammount but they are faster. From what i've seen there are more options for nice swords than anything. But It's also about reach, Swords will have more reach than an axe (with 1h).

After that it's personal perference. idk why but wielding maces appeals to me. unless i make an native american sytle warrior of which i would choose axes. Sword finishers are cool as [censored] tho.

Swords counts for daggers too, right?

Mace 75% Armor Penetration > Axe Bleed > Sword Crit - Math was done in another thread, due to how long fights last you will gain a slight advantage with Mace Armor penetration. Axe had the 2nd highest damage although your target may not live long enough to gain the full damage affect. Sword Crit was to random to equal the other two, as you can't get it any higher. It has also been determined that it doesn't matter which you pick, just play how you wan't none of them are way more powerful than the next. The question is, which one looks the best to you.

Daggers do benefit from the perks running up the middle of the One-Handed tree (I know they get the +x% damage ones and I assume they should get the power attack and dual-wield-related ones, but haven't tested). It's just the axe/mace/sword ones that they don't get.



It specifically says "swords", not "blades". A dagger is not a sword, so most people seem to be assuming that it does not. An easy way to test would be to get that perk, then fight, say, half a dozen battles using daggers only. If you don't get any "critical hit!" notices in the upper left of your screen, then, no, it doesn't work with daggers.


To the OP:

For sneak attacks, the best thing in the world is daggers with the x15 sneak attack perk from the Sneak tree. Failing that, I suppose that maces would be your best option from within One-Handed, since they have the highest base damage, their "ignore armor" perk prevents that damage from being reduced, and a sneak attack is all about doing as much damage in the first strike as you can. It doesn't matter if maces are slower to get in their second shot because the enemy should already be down after the first one.

Basicly:
-Swords are best for long fights with light slashes (not power attacks). This is because critical hits are random and power attacks expose you to counterattack. So powerattacking is kinda risky. You don't need alot of stamina for this and its best for poisoners.
- Axes favor longer fights too but the damage is guaranteed. How exactly is the bleeding damage is calculated I don't know.
- Maces are have the most devastating power attacks with instant and guaranteed damage. Favored by berserkers.

Because the weapon speed and lenght differences, opponents with varying armor ratings, and different play styles I doubt is possible to calculate which one is the best in absolute terms.
It depends so much on your play style and opponents you are facing.