Weapon

From Guild Wars Wiki

A weapon is a piece of equipment that can be equipped in a character's primary weapon or off-hand inventory slots. Weapons are visible in your character's hands when the player is outside of a town or outpost (for example in an explorable area or mission).

In Guild Wars, shields and focus items are considered weapons, although they are technically not armaments.

Contents 1 Weapon types 2 Melee weapon comparison 3 Ranged weapon comparison 4 Weapon DPS comparison 5 Linked attribute 6 See also

[edit] Weapon types

Weapon type	One-handed	Two-handed
Martial weapons
Melee	Axe Sword	Daggers Hammer Scythe
Ranged	Spear	Bow
Spellcasting weapons
Ranged	Wand	Staff
Off-hand items
Off-hand	Focus item Shield

[edit] Melee weapon comparison

Profession	Weapon	Hands	Damage range	Attack interval	Standard damage type	Other properties
Warrior	Axe	One	6-28	1.33 seconds	Slashing1
	Hammer	Two	19-35	1.75 seconds	Blunt1
	Sword	One	15-22	1.33 seconds	Slashing2
Assassin	Daggers	Two	7-17	1.33 seconds3	Piercing or Slashing4	2% double strike chance per rank of Dagger Mastery
Dervish	Scythe	Two	9-41	1.50 seconds	Slashing	Hits up to 2 additional foes adjacent to target

¹ Some axes and hammers do piercing damage.

² The Jitte deals blunt damage.

³ Excluding double strikes.

⁴ Daggers of Purity deal blunt damage.

[edit] Ranged weapon comparison

Profession	Weapon	Hands	Damage range1	Attack interval (seconds)	Range2	Flight time3 (seconds)	Arc size	Standard damage type	Other properties
Martial weapons
Ranger	Flatbow	Two	15-28	2.0	1.35	0.88	High	Piercing
	Hornbow	Two	15-28	2.7	1.20	0.59	Medium	Piercing	10% armor penetration
	Longbow	Two	15-28	2.4	1.35	0.59	Medium	Piercing
	Recurve Bow	Two	15-28	2.4	1.20	0.40	Low	Piercing
	Shortbow	Two	15-28	2.0	1.00	0.59	Medium	Piercing
Paragon	Spear	One	14-27	1.5	1.00	0.60	Medium4	Piercing
Spellcasting weapons
Monk Necromancer Mesmer Elementalist Ritualist	Staff	Two	11-22	1.75	1.20	0.56	Medium4	by attribute	+5...10 energy, 10...20% HSR, Extremely low critical hit rate
	Wand	One	11-22	1.75	1.20	0.56	Medium4	by attribute	Extremely low critical hit rate

¹Projectile weapons inflict more damage when fired at lower foes and less damage when fired at higher foes.

²Range is approximate, and is measured in aggro circle / danger zone radii.

³Flight time is at shortbow range.

⁴Is slightly higher than the other medium arcs.

[edit] Weapon DPS comparison

All values assume a level 20 attacker with an uncustomized white weapon, no IAS or damage buffs, an armor rating 60 target, and that axe, sword and dagger attack intervals are exactly 1 1/3 seconds. All values are rounded to the nearest hundredth.

Weapon type	Non-critical DPS Mean @Rank 12	Non-critical DPS Mean @Rank 16	Critical DPS Mean @Rank 12	Critical DPS Mean @Rank 16
Axe	12.75	14.66	29.70	34.15
Bow, Flat or Short	10.75	12.36	19.80	22.77
Bow, Horn 1	8.84	10.16	16.27	18.71
Bow, Long or Recurve	8.96	10.30	16.50	18.97
Daggers	11.34	13.87	22.72	27.79
Hammer	15.43	17.74	28.28	32.53
Scythe 2 [verification requested]	14.29	16.43	33.13	38.10
Spear	13.67	15.72	25.46	29.27
Staff / Wand 3	9.43	9.43	17.78	17.78
Sword	13.88	15.96	23.33	26.83

1. Armor penetration produces better relative damage against heavily armored targets, see Hornbow for a more in-depth analysis.
2. Per target.
3. Staves and wands have an extremely low base critical hit rate; their damage scales with attacker level, not weapon attribute.

[edit] Linked attribute

Main article: Requirement

Most weapons have an attribute requirement for their damage. If the character's rank does not meet the requirement, then the damage will be reduced substantially, depending on how the weapon was acquired:

• For unique weapons or those acquired through quests, from collectors, or from crafters: damage is reduced to that of equivalent starter weapons.
  • Example: Droknar's Sword will deal 2-3 damage if the wielder's Swordsmanship is less than 9.
  • Example: focus items (including those created using the /bonus command) will add only +3 energy.
• For weapons dropped by monsters, found in chests or acquired through the /bonus command: damage is reduced by half.
  • Example: A found max damage (6-28) Axe will deal 3-14 base damage unless the requirement is met.
  • Example: Focus items providing +7 to +12 energy will add only +6 if the requirement is not met. Focus items providing +3 to +6 energy (if they have a requirement) will add only +3 if the requirement is not met.
  • Example: A shield with 16 armor rating will only give 8 armor rating if the requirement is not met.

• Note: Any other weapon mods will still have their stated effect. For example, weapons of Fortitude will give the same health boost regardless of any requirements. This also applies to inherent weapon mods unless specifically noted.

[edit] See also

• Category:Weapons
• Inherent modifier
• Inscription
• List of weapon upgrades
• Perfect (maxed weapons)
• PvP reward (weapon skins for PvP characters)
• Upgrade component
• Weaponsmith