Rogue Main Hand Weapon: Slow Speed Good?

In talking to other Rogues - accomplished, level 70 Rogues - one fact always seems to surface. Your main hand weapon (i.e. sword) should be slow.

Why? The slower the weapon, the higher it’s top-end damage. This is used for calculating the damage of abilities such as Sinister Strike. A slower speed also translates Attack Power (i.e. AP, Str, and Agi) into more raw damage through the use of special abilities.

To me, then, the choice between the Footman’s Longsword and the Shadowrend Longblade seemed simple. Oddly enough, I ran Ramparts with 2 other Rogues… and they passed the drop (Shadowrend Longblade) to me.

Why?

Why Is Speed Important?

As alluded to before, speed is important because it affects the top end damage of a weapon and it alters the damage output of special abilities like Sinister Strike.

To give you an example, let’s look at my Rogue. He currently has roughly 800 AP. Hey, he’s only level 61.

With the slower weapon equipped (Speed 2.6), his top end damage is 327. With the quicker weapon equipped (Speed 2.1), his top end damage is 265. That’s an increase of 62 damage, or somewhere in the neighborhood of 20%. Yowza!

What does this effect? It alters the damage output of any ability that is based on “Weapon Damage.” Sinister Strike deals Weapon Damage plus a certain amount - so higher top end damage equals more damage output. This would also affect Backstab and Ambush if I wasn’t a Combat Swords Rogue.

So… Why Might the Quicker Weapon Be Better?

One of the Rogues argued thusly. Hit Rating is important to a Sword Rogue. You need to be able to hit in order for Sword Spec and Combat Potency to proc. Therefore, Hit Rating trumps all.

Indeed, the Footman’s Longsword offers 11 Hit Rating. However, I think that the 20% increase to damage caused by Sinister Strike far outweighs the minor contribution that the sword would make to my Hit Rating needs.

Sure, I need Hit Rating. However, while leveling I’m likely to be far short of the cap. Increasing my hit chance by a bit would help my DPS, but drastically increasing the DPS of my Sinster Strike would definitely help matters out.

Ramparts Sword Ftw!

Regardless of the other Rogue’s opinion, I grabbed the Ramparts sword. I think the Shadowrend Longblade is perfect for a Swords Rogue.

Sure, it has no hit rating, but it has a nice high weapon speed - leading to high end weapon damage. This in turn helps boost my abilities and increase my overall DPS. For the next few levels, I would argue that this is the best sword in the game.

However, I still love the Footman’s Longsword. It’s easily available through rep, and I’m using one for my off-hand. It’s not an ideal quick speed, but it is relatively quicker than a slow main hand. It’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make - since there aren’t a whole lot of slow off-hand swords in the early 60’s.

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