Save for bows and rods, it is easy to think that other than aesthetic and thematic appeal, there doesn’t seem to be much difference from one weapon to another in Path of Exile. That, of course, can’t be farther from the truth. Thus, we’re showing you that’s not the case, while at the same time help you choose which weapon to getusing PoE Currency.
All About Specialty
While the game encourages freedom, it also gives classes advantages. It should go without saying that even though the game lets you wield any weapon, provided that you have the attributes for it, the game still nudges each class to a particular set of weapons. It is then up to you whether you will stick to the weapons that give the class an advantage or go for another set of weapons.
Another thing to take note of is that almost all classes have two weapons that they specialize in, and a few other weapons that they are effective in. There are three classes that are the exception to this: the Scion, which has no weapon preference, the Witch, who can only specialize in the wand, and the Duelist, which specializes in four – swords and axes, both one-handed and two-handed, and can effectively use the rest except for the wand. It might seem like an unfair advantage, but that is how the class is designed to be. Likewise, for the Witch, the wand is the weapon that suits her best, and the builds that use the other weapons she can use effectively are few and far in between.
Aside from the class’s affinity to certain weapons, another thing to consider are the weapon’s bonuses. Each weapon type gives a certain set of bonuses. For example, the sword has increased accuracy, while thrusting swords have increased critical strikes.
They may not seem like much, but these small bonuses can make or break a build. For example, if you want a Dexterity-based melee build that is focused on life leech, you might want to go for the claw instead of the thrusting sword or the dagger, as the claw gives bonuses to life leech. Unless you have an Exalted Orb and luck out into getting a better life leech mod.
The Weapon or The Gem
Also, depending on the PoE build you are making, it’s either the skill gem that will determine what weapon you’ll use, or it’s vice versa. The former is the case for many strength-based skills. For example, Bladestorm requires either a sword or an axe. Meanwhile, Heavy Strike also requires a sword or an axe but also works with a mace, scepter, or staff. As for Glacial Hammer, it requires a mace, scepter, or staff.
Having said that, it helps to have a weapon that will allow you to access all the skills of your choice. For example, if you want to have a PoE build with both Bladestorm and Leap Slam, you need a weapon that lets you use both skills.
The opposite of this would be bow builds. Players choose bow builds simply because of the range it offers and not anything else, so it only follows suit that it is the skills that will be adjusting to the weapon. Thankfully, there is a wide variety of bow skills in the game, so players that want to be a Deadeye would have no problem choosing which skills to go for. In fact, they might have even more options compared to some melee builds.
One of the biggest take-away of everything that’s been mentioned is that the Path of Exile build takes precedence over the weapons. However, there are exceptions to that rule. Among them, the biggest would be the fact that certain PoE builds rely completely on Unique weapon’s mods. And in certain cases, these weapons are better used by certain PoE builds regardless of the class the weapon is associated to. Instead, the main draw is the Unique weapon’s modifiers and not the build’s skill or the Ascendancy’s passive skillls.
A good example of this is the Ngamahu Flame Cyclone build, which only works with the namesake weapon on hand. Another is the Replica Iron Commander builds for both Templar and Chieftain. Despite being a bow, which is better suited for the Ranger and Deadeye classes, those two Ascendancy classes benefit from its modifiers much better than the traditional choice ever would.
Weaponry plays a huge role in any RPG, and Path of Exile is no exception. With that, we hope that these tips would guide you in choosing a weapon, and ultimately making a PoE build.