SCs: Frost/Fire Brand vs Sword of Swiftness?
Which one is better? The consensus on the forums seems to be that the Frost / Fire Brand is the best general purpose low level thug and SC weapon. I've been wondering how it compares to the Sword of Swiftness though. Here are some of my rambling observations so far.
1. The Sword of Swiftness adds +2 defense, which might be useful reducing the chance of getting hit, and thus getting afflictions. It also offers two swings, combined with Quicken Self, I think this totaled 4 attacks per turn, I'm not sure though, because it's hard to track in the replays. It sure looked like 4 per turn though. The high defense build did seem really handy vs melee only armies of 50 or so though. Not sure how effective it would be vs higher skilled attackers and arrows though.
2. However, combined with a moderate encumbrance, will making 4 attacks per turn tire you out more than 2 with a Frost or Fire Brand? Maybe the Frost or Fire Brands are more efficient if you get to attack an entire square with one swing. My SC had been decked out with a bunch of reinvigoration items though, which seemed to keep fatigue under control. I think it had 10 reinvigoration and 7 encumbrance.
3. Is 7 encumbrance a bit much for a non-undead spellcasting SC? I'd been tooling around with EA Atlantis's Kings of the Deep, which have nice stats, but are pretty expensive at 500 gold each. Then again maybe I should just have him cast spells since he is a mage. With only 10 reinvigoration though, I'm not sure which spells I can keep spamming effectively though. Blade Wind would be nice, but it causes too much fatigue. Even Earth Bless doesn't seem to help much.
Maybe the Brands are better because of their lower overall cost and perhaps their lower fatigue as well. Anyhow, I will end my ramblings here. Ideas from more experienced minds are welcome.
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