When should you forge weapons?

[Knai]

Originally Posted by Finalgenesis

Do keep in mind that for shadow brand, if antimagic (Or army of lead / Ulm equivalent) is a staple on the opposing side it won't be all that effective since the damage is MR resistible, otherwise their large AoE gives it great killing power against average or weaker MR troops.

Stone sword should ideally be wield by stone beings, like a GoRed gargoyle, otherwise you're liable to turning yourself into stone (big AoE that can hit yourself) if you fail an unlucky MR check, barring that you want really high MR and just pray Murphy don't rape you.

Yeah, that is the downside. Still, multiple square AoE is glorious, and the best chaff killing method this side of a fire shield (which might need to be a Banefire shield in some cases) or blood vengeance. Or whatever it is the Seraph has going for it on top of its fire shield.

As for the second point, I agree entirely, outside of terminology issues. Gargoyles do a pretty good job, and are often the best bet. The obvious exception is certain national spells - If you are playing MA Agartha, don't use a Gargoyle. The Marble Oracle is where its at.

Coming back to the fire shield: There is an item called the Charcoal Shield. Anyone with one gets a fire shield attached to them. Not only does it add quite a bit to survivability, it cuts down chaff incredibly quickly. A fun combination (if not incredibly useful in multiplayer) involves a commander with terrible defense, Charcoal Shield, and Blood Vengeance. It stands there, and everything dies when they get near it. Bonus points for using a blind, mute mage with this strategy.