A general question about weapons and their req.

I was wondering, after a discussion with a friend of mine we came to this question - does the req. of a weapon [talking about melee weapons, not staffs or wands] matters? For example - i have an axe, max dmg with req. 12 axe mastery. And i have another axe with max dmg but it req. 9 axe mastery. Let's say my attribute is 16 Axe Mastery. Would i deal more dmg with lower req, or it doesn't matter as far as i cover the weapons requirement?

I am really sorry if i posted in the wrong forum or if this topic has been discussed.

I dont know, but if someone have an answer, it will be usefull!

As long as you have the requirements it doesn't matter, you will do the max damage on the axe (without a skill).
Lower requirements are better therefore, if only because you don't have to put a huge amount of attribute points into simply doing the base damage - of course to do real damage with skills you will probably want it (the attribute - NOT the axe req.) as high as possible.

Also you need to meet the req. to get the special abilities the axe have, +30 health, lengthen deep wound on foe, sunderin 10/10 and so on. If the axe has req 12, and you have 11 in axe-mastery, you will only do damage, you wont get the special abilities. Thats why a low req. axe is better, you can put more att.points in other areas, such as tactics and strength, and still get the effect of the addons on your axe.

Do not pay any attention to this post, unless you would like to have a good laugh on my stupidity. I was apparently completly wrong, if you read the posts below. I will now go and stand in the corner of shame for a while....

Not true. Im using an +5 Energy earth wand when I heal/bond on SF runs and I'm not an ele. I also have en +18% ench axe for my 55 monk and it works fine.

The requirement of a weapon does not apply to special bonuses of the weapon such as sundering, furious, barbed, defence, etc. The requirement of an attribute to a certain level only applies what it is listed against, i.e. the damage. The other abilities of the weapon will have their own conditions to be met.

For example, the Razorstone axe has the following stats:

Slashing damage 6-28 (req. 9 Axe Mastery)
Damage +15% (while Health is above 50%)
Axe Mastery +1 (20% chance while using skills)
Double Adrenaline on hit (Chance: 10%)

If your Axe Mastery is less than 9, the damage output will be that of a basic starter axe, e.g. 3-10 (made up value for example). Having 9 Axe mastery will give the full potential damage of 6-28. More than 9 will not give you any more benefit from the axe, but will from your axe skills.

The other 3 abilities on the above axe are available, even with Axe Mastery below 9.

[ADDED]
My ranger uses "Illyana's Staff" when trapping, it has:

Energy +10
Chaos damage: 11-22 (req. 9 Domination Magic)
Halves casting time of spells (Chance: 10%)
Halves skill recharge of spells (Chance: 10%)
Health +30
Energy +5

I don't get the 11-22 Chaos damage because she is not a mesmer (she's a R/Mo). However, I do get the other abilities of the increased energy, health and halved casting (only if I use Monk spells) and recharge.

A quick search with "weapon" and "requirement" + 'search title only' will give you everything you need.

Incorrect. You will only do the full listed damage of 6-28 damage when you have your axe mastery set to 12. If you meet the requirement and it just happens to be 9, then you will only do a certain percentage of the listed damage of the weapon. When you go higher than 12 in the attribute, you do a certain percentage higher than the listed damage, but it's a much smaller jump in comparison to the attribute ranges before 12.

For those of you who are search challenged (from Ensign's Treatise)...

Weapon Damage

If you are attacking the target with a sword, axe, hammer, or bow, the amount of damage that you'll naturally deal depends on both the inherent damage of the weapon, and your level in the corresponding attribute. The relationship between your attribute level and damage is a simple exponential over a 0-12 attribute level range:

[Effective Damage] = [Weapon Damage] × 2((5 × [Attribute Level] - 60) / 40)

After 12, the returns on increasing your weapon attributes diminish sharply - each additional level is worth just 40% of what the previous levels got you. More generally, for attributes over 12 use the following equation:

[Effective Damage] = [Weapon Damage] × 2((2 × [Attribute Level] - 24) / 40)

Or, in tabular form:

Effect of Attributes on Weapon Damage Attribute
Level Percent of
Weapon Damage
0 35.6%
1 38.6%
2 42.0%
3 45.9%
4 50.0%
5 54.5%
6 59.5%
7 64.8%
8 70.7%
9 77.1%
10 84.1%
11 91.7%
12 100%
13 104%
14 107%
15 111%
16 115%


As an example, if you had a normal, customized (20% more damage) 15-22 damage Dragon Sword, and a level 9 Swordsmanship attribute, each swing with the weapon would deal:

15 × 1.20 × 2(( 5 × 9 - 60 ) / 40) = 13.88 minimum damage
22 × 1.20 × 2(( 5 × 9 - 60 ) / 40) = 20.36 maximum damage


While swinging the same sword with a level 12 attribute would deal:

15 × 1.20 × 2(( 5 × 12 - 60 ) / 40) = 18.0 minimum damage
22 × 1.20 × 2(( 5 × 12 - 60 ) / 40) = 26.4 maximum damage


While pumping up your weapon attribute continues to give outstanding, exponential returns on damage all the way to level 12, it drops off quickly after that. Attribute level 13 is less than half as effective as the previous level at raising your damage, and attribute level 14 is even worse. So while having a level 13 or 14 attribute might look good on your stat screen, it isn't doing a whole lot in game. You'd be better served lowering that attribute and investing elsewhere.

So, in short, the requirement of your weapon doesn't matter, as long as your attribute meets or exceeds that requirement. The amount that you put in the attribute, however DOES matter.

So, in short, a character weilding a req 9 sword and has his attribute level in swordsmanship at 12 will do the SAME damage as someone weilding a req 12 sword and has his attribute level at 12.

There is still the assumption that the critical is increased or something if your attribute level is higher than the requirement. I think that's what it is. I don't know for sure and do not know how to prove this theory right or wrong, so I assume it's just a rumour. However rumours are based on some sort of fact, so whoever knows how to test this, it would be very enlightening to see the results.

It's very easy to test the critical hit damage. Go to Isle of the Nameless, use the skill Wild Blow to hit the armor dummies, you will see the critical hit damage number. I think they should be the same as long as you meet the weapon requirement of both weapons. But if you meant the critical hit chance percentage, then it's much more complicated and I don't think you can test it out easily.

No the critical hit damage only increases if you increase your attribute level. What I meant was critical hit CHANCE.

Thank you all for the information presented, i appreciate it. :]

Jetdoc hit the nail on the head. Believe his post and any post that agrees.