Is anyone excited about using katars for TWC? I've been experimenting with a TWC katar ambushing rogue, and I'm just not wowed with the RT or damage/crits given the high training point cost of learning katars. Seems like I would free up a ton of TPs and get the same results by using handaxe or even falchion.

What am I missing????

Confused-in-Elanthia

Remember that the katar is dishing things out 'with a difference': more damage than the other Brawling weapons (at comparable speed), or slightly less damage than the other 1HEdged (at faster speed). Its real value lies in when you do that comparison.

Your QStrike should be better/cheaper, too.

Take a page from the Bards with their flaring Sonic Weapon Song, and make sure you're using two flaring ones. The more swings you can generate, the more chances for flares.

Daggers and rapiers do Teh Suck for HP damage. (Basically, you are relying on the flares.)

Falchions and handaxes do good damage, so you can rely on the crit result.

Katars do more damage than Teh Suck, so you can expect better crits. They happen faster than falchions and handaxes, so you can expect more flares.
You happen to have a higher Training Point cost, to reap that/those benefit(s).
Whether it is worth paying, is a decision for you.

:)

Good point about warrior being able to train more in MOC than rogue!

<Daggers and rapiers do Teh Suck for HP damage. (Basically, you are relying on the flares.)>

This, if you want to use daggers/rapiers you really either need a pair with good flares or you need to be ambushing from the shadows and aiming for the eyes.


<But ... but ... but do you think those benefits of the katar are worth the requirement of training in both OHE and brawling? I could do faster daggers or rapiers with flares and use the brawling TP somewhere else.>

This really depends on your profession and what you're fighting, I think.

Warriors can more easily afford the extra TPs then rogues while still being tough enough to brush off any hits they get due to the longer RT (I know a lot of them that train in two weapon types anyway). Rogues would likely be better off putting the TPs they would have spent in brawling into something else since most of their builds tend to be tighter on TPs

Also, if you're fighting mostly lightly armored foes, katars aren't really helping much for the TPs you have to spend to use them (and they're giving you a penalty against unarmored foes compared to short swords). So unless you're focusing on critters in chain or better armor, you'd be better off going for a pair of short swords or daggers depending on whether you're going for speed or raw damage.

Starchitin

A severed gnomish hand crawls in on its fingertips and makes a rude gesture before quickly decaying and rotting into dust. A gust of wind quickly scatters the dust.

<For a Rogue, I would just spend the points on Hide + Ambush, use a dagger (for fast speed) to the eye or neck or head (depending on how much skill I have/how likely I am to hit).>

This is what I do with my Ranger and I can attest it works REALLY well. She carries a falchion for when she needs to leg something, but in the rare instance she needs to go for the legs she hasn't had to actually pull it out. The dagger is just as good at putting something on the ground even if they don't remove the leg near as often.

Starchitin

A severed gnomish hand crawls in on its fingertips and makes a rude gesture before quickly decaying and rotting into dust. A gust of wind quickly scatters the dust.

I had a TWC ambushing rogue once who used twin katars. She had to give up locksmithing entirely to be able to afford all the needed combat skills.
I totally gave up on the katars fairly quickly.

My rogue now trains in brawling only. This gives me a decent choice of options when ambushing. UAC ambush, which is somewhat level dependent, and ambushing with
a fist scythe or sai ... which is standard AS:DS combat resolution ... and going for eye/head/neck. Sai speed, accuracy and damage/crits are comparable to a dagger.
Which one I use depends on a number of factors.