Poisoned Throwing Daggers. My favorite all-series run was with a pure Shadowdancer and I scooped up every last set of these babies I could find in Athkatla. Useful against a wide array of enemies especially when you hide for most of combat.
Back before Poison Weapon was nerfed (back when it dealt 12 extra damage over 1 round per hit with no save and could be applied multiple times per round), I did a BG2 playthrough using an Assassin/Mage. Poisoned Throwing Daggers (and other poison missiles) were great because their poison damage stacked with the poison damage from Poison Weapon.
Probably hopeless to hope for a poison weapon improvement in the next patch, but hope dies last!
BG1: katana+1.Does 11 damage under kai (same as a long sword +3), thus making it a good weapon for Kensai alone. Of course the long term goal is CF.
BG2: ardulia’s fall/Jerrod’s mace. These are for Minsc before he learns another weapon type. Dual-wielding does more damage than 2 handed any day. The slow effect is also very strong, especially combined with GM.
Pixie prick. It serves well as a back up weapon for dagger throwers. It is like a weaker version of CF but still a powerful one itself, if the focus is on the control effect not the damage.
Yes, its a great early weapon along with Short Sword of Mask +4. Both the earliest +4 weapons you can get, along with Daystar and Burning Earth, which are situationally +4 weapons.
One thing that frustrates me about Usono is the no Druids requirement. Would be a great fighter/druid weapon, otherwise.
Yes, its a great early weapon along with Short Sword of Mask +4. Both the earliest +4 weapons you can get, along with Daystar and Burning Earth, which are situationally +4 weapons.
One thing that frustrates me about Usono is the no Druids requirement. Would be a great fighter/druid weapon, otherwise.
@Prax is your concern specifically about this weapon or restrictions generally? Both druids and clerics have major restrictions on weapons they can use and Usuno's Blade is not usable as a result of those rather than anything specific to the weapon itself. Would you prefer it if the weapon was a scimitar so that it could be used by druids?
Yes, its a great early weapon along with Short Sword of Mask +4. Both the earliest +4 weapons you can get, along with Daystar and Burning Earth, which are situationally +4 weapons.
you forgot to mention the staff of ryn +4, the sword only paladins can use and the sling of everard that are +5.
It's like the Flail of Ages but for two-handers. Like the FoA it destroys spellcasters!
like foa it has elemental damage that pass trough stoneskin, also other weapons have it, but is true that those 2 have many of them. i am not sure if it gives a better chance to disrupt spells.
what foa has more than dragon's breath is that you can have it in chap 2, has a chance to slow the enemy, can be upgraded up to +5. i personally find that, if someone uses it having good apr, the most important characteristic on foa is the slow effect that has a percentage of success, but can not be saved. a foe slowed by it has halved apr and doubled casting time, and as there is no save, hit him enough times and you are sure that it happens. the slow effect stacks with itself.
a weapon that you can have at the beginning of soa and is still one of the best weapons at the end of tob is really valuable.
that told i agree that dragon's breath is a very good weapon.
The Answerer +4 is amazing. It's top tier, but I rarely see it mentioned so I'm putting it here. It's a long sword obtained late game, used by the captain of the Tethyr kingdom who ambushes us at the oasis.
I also like Hindo's destiny +4, which protects against death and is the only +4 katana as far as I know.
Flail of Ages is only god tier at +5 IMO, the lesser versions are on par with or outshined by top tier weapons like Celestial Fury or Carsomyr, which you can both get as early in the game. The Flail of Ages +5 is really late game, even more so than the Answerer, but it's by far the single best weapon in the game. It has its own tier IMO. Though the 100% dispel effect on Carsomyr is just game breaking, against certain types of opponents.
flail of ages +4 has a slowing effect that works on a percentage chance, but without saving throws, while celestial fury's stun can be saved and if in soa is really effective in tob is not so useful as more enemies are immune to it or have really good saving throws. also there are less enemies with resistance against crushing damage then slashing damage. i don't feel that cf outshines foa, after a gww with foa almost every enemy moves and cast in slow motion as the slow stack with itself.
carsomyr is super strong, but can be used only by pally and toons with uai.
Hidden gems huh? I think that I would exclude most things in ToB, many are amazing but come so late as to be almost laughable. Answerer is probably amazing in LoB mode but I have never played that. Also all daggers without boomerang effect. I have played every single one of them exclusively and they are just all subpar comparatively.
Impaler is one of the highest damage dealing weapons in the game.
Namarra is so stupidly easy to get and has two huge pluses, Silence and base backstab.
Heartseaker is killer for Assassins, not for the weapon but for the ability, land most backstabs after UAI and chunk a huge portion of ToB enemies.
Two weapons I never hear anyone talk about, Ras and Staff of Fire. I solo and those two are amazing. Ras is essentially a mini Mordy and SoF is one of the fighter type adventurers best companions.
The most popular weapons are popular for a reason, they are the best. I have used every non-evil exclusionary weapon and some of them with UAI, Soul Reaver was the best that I tried, the standard popular weapons are just better.
@_Nightfall_
yep, the weapons that are mostly used and popular are the best ones.
still this topic has sense and there are weapons that are underrated and really useful, even if not powerful as the most popular.
probably most of the underrated weapons are useful for static or with charge effects. a weapon that can cast a domination with no save, or cast a strong summon like an elemental, or protect giving free action or let's say a protection from level draining does not have to be used all the time, but can make the life much more easier, for parties and even more for soloers.
weapons that deal increased damage or have some sort of vorpal effect on some kind of enemies are often better then other all purpose ones when dealing with those enemies.
and some weapons are just very good but somehow not so popular, weapons like the staff of rynn, a +4 weapon you can find right out of the starting dungeon that will have a even better replacement as soon as you go to wk, that uses the same proficiency of weapons that are vorpal for elementals and golems and, for mages and rogues with uai, of a weapon that dispel on hit and give invisibility at will should deserve much more consideration. is possibly the best weapon for F/M, F/T, both multi and dual, FMT and plain thieves to start the game with. for the dual this is particularly important as they have to focus on gm for a single type of weapon. impaler and soul reaver are other examples of really good weapons, for what they do, not for added effects or against particular enemies that deserve more popularity then they usually receive.
I use Staff of Rynn in almost every playthrough. I fail to see that it's not popular since, as you say, its high enchantment and easy access make it a very solid, early and cheap choice from the get-go. I am curious on what you base your opinion on? I'm not arguing your opinion, I just want to understand your thinking @gorgonzola
i can only guess what is popular or not by the little information i get reading forums and watching videos.
i see that staff very seldom on yt videos and very seldom i see it named when someone asks about proficiencies and charname or party builds on the forums.
just as i have the impression, more then opinion, that in the early years of the game celestial fury was one of the most popular weapons, but nowadays far less people spend proficiency points on katana cause of it. in the latter case the fact that is "only" +3 and there is not a really powerful replacement for end game is probably the cause. (i personally prefer to kick buts in soa with cf and use hindo's doom for the few tob enemies that need more than +3 then have an uber weapon that i can use only for few battles late game).
i am well aware that my opinion/impression can be completely wrong, but i have no way to really know what weapons the other players like and use.
I think Xan would be highly impressive dualwielding his Moonblade and the Black Blade of Disaster. If you want to be really mean, you can install him as a Fighter/Mage and put his Moonblade into his left hand, so the extra attack will count for the BBoD.
^ I actually wanted to do exactly that in my next playthrough (whenever that might be.)
F/M Xan with the Moonblade in his off-hand (IIRC, in the F/M version of the mod it upgrades to a +4 weapon that grants Vocalize and +1 ApR) and BBoD. Powerful and badass.
Okay, I get that. There is one weapon I use all of the time that I rarely hear about, the Staff Mace. I don’t know why it doesn’t seem popular. Same damage as Staff of Rynn and can be dual wielded or with a shield.
There are um, shallow spots? Not sure that fits but there are places in the game for many weapons that there are just no good options, the most glaring imo is bastard sword. It is one of those things when you are going for grand mastery that you have to meticulously plan for, so much for rp. Two weapon style and grand mastery are 7-8 pips, that is a lot when the first good bastard swords are after Spellhold or break rp and do the first level of WK. I also think that because CF is a very powerful weapon early in SoA and the max potential in katana is so high they gave one worthy weapon and just ditched any effort after. Club is also a bummer after Trademeet until... well the end basically. If it is not derailing the thread too much I would love to know how the veterans cope with the shallow spots for the different weapon types.
the staff mace does the same damage of the staff of rynn? i never noticed it.
and i use it often as my fmt charnames and some dual ones put their pips on staves, the fmt usually also in 2h sword for carsomir when he gets uai, 2h weapon, to double the chance of crit on backstab, and a ranged one. so i always carry the staff mace to use if i want a shield for ac or other protections.
good to know it.
Same max damage but 1 less base and a slower speed factor. The only time those two are a concern are for backstabbing and if backstabs with a staff are needed then the Staff of Striking has no equal before Staff of the Ram. Really, Staff of Striking’s base damage is the max damage possible for any staff before SotR.
yep, i also carry it for the most important backstabs, even if before ram i often use rynn to backstab as s o striking has charges and i love to backstab so i do it often.
staves for some classes are a fantastic weapon, rynn very early then ram, staff mace to dw or use with shield, s o striking to stab, the 4 staves that are vorpal towards elementals and golems and sotm, invisibility at will and dispel on hit. only a returning staff that can be used ranged, maybe with a +1 apr like the daggers, is missing...
I think Xan would be highly impressive dualwielding his Moonblade and the Black Blade of Disaster.
Speaking of this—IIRC Xan's Moonblade uses the dagger proficiency as it would be unusable by a Mage otherwise, but for a F/M it would make sense for it to use the long sword proficiency (thus gaining the racial +1 THAC0 bonus and benefiting from BBoD's grand mastery to boot.) Any idea whether installing Xan as a F/M makes that change?
I was referring specifically to the Xan for BGII mod, which gives the option to install Xan as a F/M but I don’t know whether it also changes the Moonblade to use the long sword proficiency in that case.
The classical paladin-only weapons aside, I love Celestial Fury. When I played fighter kits and didn't have access to Foebane etc, I always kept it even in ToB. (dual wielding).
It's a +3 weapon you can get early if you don't mind a tough fight, and its ability to stun your oppenent can save your life. Also the damage is not bad. But to be honest, the main reason is that I love katanas, and it looks really cool. As a paladin I don't use it, also because of its unfitting back story, but as a berserker it was my all time favourite.
Well, you know a non-top tier weapon thread is somewhat derailed when it mentions Celestial Fury, so I'll attempt to get it back on track.
My absolute fav weapon of this sort is Arbane's Sword of Agility. I tend towards dual wielding protagonists with my top pick being Stalker and the bonus slots afforded in two-weapon fighting, but I'll take short sword profs on Swashbuckler/Fighter duals and bladesinger type Fighter/Mage multis. After acquiring this weapon in the first pseudo-random encounter, it stays in my offhand until ToB, when Watcher's Keep hardware makes most honest weaponry obsolete.
Being immune to every paralyzing attack from the oodles of stinking undead throughout the whole of SOA pays the price of admission and then some, but you also get a nifty little mini-haste which is especially nice after backstabbing then getting swarmed.
Later on those prof points in short swords can be used with Kundane in the offhand for an extra attack from whatever murderous mainland weapon you choose, but I never even bother with that anymore, I'm happy enough to be protected from all those holds.
Crimson Dart +3: It's freely obtained in WK level 1, sets any character's APR to 3 and does 4-6 damage per hit no matter what proficiencies they have, for an average expected damage per round of 15 damage, or more than twice what you'd expect out of a non fighter... It's usable by everybody except clerics (yay for good Druid weapons!) It hits Iron Golems from a safe distance when they are stuck behind doors. The Crimson Dart is awesome. It made me re-examine darts when I started a solo Sorc in BG1 tutu, where Blind + spamming darts with 3 APR is way better than slings and you don't need good STR like with a Quarterstaff
Azuredge: we all know it makes undead go boom, sure, and it's really good at it (one of the best ways to deal with Devil Shades in WK, you don't have to risk melee with IMoD). It's also a +3 enchanted weapon, meaning it is a good ranged option (and higher damage than most to boot) on things like Iron/Adamantite golems, demons, or just spellcasters... you can GM + I. haste for a lot of attacks to punch through stoneskins quickly and ignore Fireshields/let your summons take the heat while you do the damage from safety. A great paladin or Wizard Slayer weapon, or any UAI character.
Tansheron's Bow: A +3 infinite ammo short bow buyable in Trademeet after saving the town from the Shadow Druids. At least 2 APR, +3 thaco no matter who wields it (nice for Fighter/Thieves or Mage/Thieves) and it can still fire any arrow you want. It kills Golems from safety. There might be a theme here
Namarra+2 and Illbratha + 1: these swords are easily obtainable (go into a room and kill a dude) and grant usage of a party friendly Silence 15' radius/Mirror Image respectively. They make excellent weapons to keep in quickslots just to have the abilities available. Namarra also is a decent main weapon as it hits as hard as a longsword +4.
Equalizer +3: Wielded in the off-hand, its alignment based-boni apply to the mainhand, and the immunities are nice. Toss it on any character no matter if they have proficiency or not, it can only ever attack once anyway in the offhand.
Staff of Rynn +4/Staff mace +2: sold at the adventurer's mart immediately, a +4 quarter staff/+2 club that uses quarterstaff proficiency. They give a nice boost to high STR mages (such as solo characters) or Cleric/Thieves early on that need to actually hit something. A Kensai is crazy with the staff too, can carry him all the way to Staff of the Ram.
Staff of <air,fire,earth> control: summons elementals. Summons that come from item abilities tend to cast very quickly and are invaluable as fodder, especially in WK anti-magic zones or boss fights.
All the named slings: nice weapons, but especially the +5 infinite bullet one, the one that makes +4 bullets, and the Sling of Seeking. Sometimes you can't let your squishy guys get close but they can still add some damage this way as they are pretty good at hitting with all the stacked Thaco boni (weapon, ammo, dex bonus, any proficiency, etc).
Kundane +2: it behaves exactly as Belm, but I think it gets overlooked a lot more as its a Short Sword, and it's in a more difficult area (Planar Prison)
Ring of Energy: fires a 2D6 Aganazzer's Scorcher-like flame, usable by anybody, easily recharged by selling it then buying/stealing it back
Blade of Roses +3/Stonefire +3/ Frostreaver +3: all early and easily obtained +3 weapons that are nonetheless really good for nearly all of SoA. The first 2 are bought at Bernard in the Copper Coronet, you get Frostreaver for free at De'Arnise Keep in the chapel (golem room). The axes add extra elemental damage that kills trolls and disrupts casters even through Stoneskins, while the sword add +2 CHA for shopping (Ring of Human Influence + this sword and 20 Rep = the price cap) and before it was fixed, hit as a Bastard Sword for damage (2d4+3) with longsword proficiency
Arbane +2: Likely known already in passing as you get it for free when attacked by Suna Seni's party in area transitions and it's nice sale price. It also allows for Free Action on command which is nice for Fighter/Mages or Mage/Thieves wanting to use Web in close combat.
Flame Tongue: Longsword that hits as a +4, get it as early in the Druid grove.
Boomerang Dagger +2: Not sure how many actually even know about it; I didn't for years until I finally did the Gong quest for shits and giggles. It's an infinite throwing dagger carried by Captain Dennis at the inn in the Bridge District. 2 attacks, 2d4+2 damage on any character, perfect for mages or mage/thieves like Jan or Imoen.
Mauler's Arm: not so great as a weapon, but it the 18 STR enchanment is very handy for low STR clerics like Aerie and Viconia or you own custom characters, when you want them to put on some plate or use a large shield, and lets them carry more than a few stack of bullets in their packs! It also acts as the starting point for spells that boost abilities like DUHM, so it's sorta like a mini-Crom Faeyr.
Blackblood +3: the best club in the game until CLub of Detonation, but you can get it super early in Trademeet after the druid grove. Not many things resist Acid damage either. It's way better than the Gnasher (the splinter effect of the Gnasher does NOT ignore Stoneskins, though it does "hit" them and depletes them faster).
Ras, the dancing Blade +2: simple longsword +2 that gives you access to a Mordenkainen's sword summon for a short time -- the thing is nearly unkillable (only Death effects and arcane damage can do anything to it) making it an excellent boss tank for a short time.
Crimson Dart +3: It's freely obtained in WK level 1, sets any character's APR to 3 and does 4-6 damage per hit no matter what proficiencies they have, for an average expected damage per round of 15 damage, or more than twice what you'd expect out of a non fighter...
i expect much more then that from my not fighters, from a late game aerie ranged i get 52 dmg/round with -12 thac0,
but i am not fair telling that, aerie has a buffing potential that only viconia also has among the not fighters, as they are cleric.
there are 3 reasons why i don't find the crimson dart so amazing compared to a sling, the first is thac0, as with the sling the thac0 bonus from launcher and bullet stack, and not fighters usually have sub optimal thac0, for me better to have less apr but more chance to hit.
the second is the str bonus, for you is an advantage to don't have to boost the str of a toon, i always do it, the mage spell grant a 18.50 str for a long time, hours not rounds, and this is 3 more damage every time a hit connect. with the hands of takkok the bonus is +6, with the less powerful of the belts +7.
the last reason is haste, with a sling a simple haste or an oil of speed double the apr of a sling for a not fighter, with dart and 3 apr you need an improved haste to double the output, with haste or the oil you get only the 33% more.
i had never been able to get from the dart the same output that i get equipping my not fighters with a sling, maybe is superior for the minor battles where to buff is not needed, but are battles that the front liners can easily win alone, few dmg more or less from a not fighter ranged is not even noticeable. if the battle is worth i buff my not fighters and get more then 15 dmg/round.
Comments
Probably hopeless to hope for a poison weapon improvement in the next patch, but hope dies last!
BG2: ardulia’s fall/Jerrod’s mace. These are for Minsc before he learns another weapon type. Dual-wielding does more damage than 2 handed any day. The slow effect is also very strong, especially combined with GM.
Pixie prick. It serves well as a back up weapon for dagger throwers. It is like a weaker version of CF but still a powerful one itself, if the focus is on the control effect not the damage.
Yes, its a great early weapon along with Short Sword of Mask +4. Both the earliest +4 weapons you can get, along with Daystar and Burning Earth, which are situationally +4 weapons.
One thing that frustrates me about Usono is the no Druids requirement. Would be a great fighter/druid weapon, otherwise.
It's like the Flail of Ages but for two-handers. Like the FoA it destroys spellcasters!
@Prax is your concern specifically about this weapon or restrictions generally? Both druids and clerics have major restrictions on weapons they can use and Usuno's Blade is not usable as a result of those rather than anything specific to the weapon itself. Would you prefer it if the weapon was a scimitar so that it could be used by druids?
like foa it has elemental damage that pass trough stoneskin, also other weapons have it, but is true that those 2 have many of them. i am not sure if it gives a better chance to disrupt spells.
what foa has more than dragon's breath is that you can have it in chap 2, has a chance to slow the enemy, can be upgraded up to +5. i personally find that, if someone uses it having good apr, the most important characteristic on foa is the slow effect that has a percentage of success, but can not be saved. a foe slowed by it has halved apr and doubled casting time, and as there is no save, hit him enough times and you are sure that it happens. the slow effect stacks with itself.
a weapon that you can have at the beginning of soa and is still one of the best weapons at the end of tob is really valuable.
that told i agree that dragon's breath is a very good weapon.
I also like Hindo's destiny +4, which protects against death and is the only +4 katana as far as I know.
Flail of Ages is only god tier at +5 IMO, the lesser versions are on par with or outshined by top tier weapons like Celestial Fury or Carsomyr, which you can both get as early in the game. The Flail of Ages +5 is really late game, even more so than the Answerer, but it's by far the single best weapon in the game. It has its own tier IMO. Though the 100% dispel effect on Carsomyr is just game breaking, against certain types of opponents.
carsomyr is super strong, but can be used only by pally and toons with uai.
Impaler is one of the highest damage dealing weapons in the game.
Namarra is so stupidly easy to get and has two huge pluses, Silence and base backstab.
Heartseaker is killer for Assassins, not for the weapon but for the ability, land most backstabs after UAI and chunk a huge portion of ToB enemies.
Two weapons I never hear anyone talk about, Ras and Staff of Fire. I solo and those two are amazing. Ras is essentially a mini Mordy and SoF is one of the fighter type adventurers best companions.
The most popular weapons are popular for a reason, they are the best. I have used every non-evil exclusionary weapon and some of them with UAI, Soul Reaver was the best that I tried, the standard popular weapons are just better.
yep, the weapons that are mostly used and popular are the best ones.
still this topic has sense and there are weapons that are underrated and really useful, even if not powerful as the most popular.
probably most of the underrated weapons are useful for static or with charge effects. a weapon that can cast a domination with no save, or cast a strong summon like an elemental, or protect giving free action or let's say a protection from level draining does not have to be used all the time, but can make the life much more easier, for parties and even more for soloers.
weapons that deal increased damage or have some sort of vorpal effect on some kind of enemies are often better then other all purpose ones when dealing with those enemies.
and some weapons are just very good but somehow not so popular, weapons like the staff of rynn, a +4 weapon you can find right out of the starting dungeon that will have a even better replacement as soon as you go to wk, that uses the same proficiency of weapons that are vorpal for elementals and golems and, for mages and rogues with uai, of a weapon that dispel on hit and give invisibility at will should deserve much more consideration. is possibly the best weapon for F/M, F/T, both multi and dual, FMT and plain thieves to start the game with. for the dual this is particularly important as they have to focus on gm for a single type of weapon. impaler and soul reaver are other examples of really good weapons, for what they do, not for added effects or against particular enemies that deserve more popularity then they usually receive.
i see that staff very seldom on yt videos and very seldom i see it named when someone asks about proficiencies and charname or party builds on the forums.
just as i have the impression, more then opinion, that in the early years of the game celestial fury was one of the most popular weapons, but nowadays far less people spend proficiency points on katana cause of it. in the latter case the fact that is "only" +3 and there is not a really powerful replacement for end game is probably the cause. (i personally prefer to kick buts in soa with cf and use hindo's doom for the few tob enemies that need more than +3 then have an uber weapon that i can use only for few battles late game).
i am well aware that my opinion/impression can be completely wrong, but i have no way to really know what weapons the other players like and use.
I'm a bit vain.
Screenshot or it didn't happen.
(Xan for BGII should look pretty badass too with his Moonblade and another flaming sword like Angurvadal or The Burning Earth.)
F/M Xan with the Moonblade in his off-hand (IIRC, in the F/M version of the mod it upgrades to a +4 weapon that grants Vocalize and +1 ApR) and BBoD. Powerful and badass.
There are um, shallow spots? Not sure that fits but there are places in the game for many weapons that there are just no good options, the most glaring imo is bastard sword. It is one of those things when you are going for grand mastery that you have to meticulously plan for, so much for rp. Two weapon style and grand mastery are 7-8 pips, that is a lot when the first good bastard swords are after Spellhold or break rp and do the first level of WK. I also think that because CF is a very powerful weapon early in SoA and the max potential in katana is so high they gave one worthy weapon and just ditched any effort after. Club is also a bummer after Trademeet until... well the end basically. If it is not derailing the thread too much I would love to know how the veterans cope with the shallow spots for the different weapon types.
and i use it often as my fmt charnames and some dual ones put their pips on staves, the fmt usually also in 2h sword for carsomir when he gets uai, 2h weapon, to double the chance of crit on backstab, and a ranged one. so i always carry the staff mace to use if i want a shield for ac or other protections.
good to know it.
staves for some classes are a fantastic weapon, rynn very early then ram, staff mace to dw or use with shield, s o striking to stab, the 4 staves that are vorpal towards elementals and golems and sotm, invisibility at will and dispel on hit. only a returning staff that can be used ranged, maybe with a +1 apr like the daggers, is missing...
Speaking of this—IIRC Xan's Moonblade uses the dagger proficiency as it would be unusable by a Mage otherwise, but for a F/M it would make sense for it to use the long sword proficiency (thus gaining the racial +1 THAC0 bonus and benefiting from BBoD's grand mastery to boot.) Any idea whether installing Xan as a F/M makes that change?
It's a +3 weapon you can get early if you don't mind a tough fight, and its ability to stun your oppenent can save your life. Also the damage is not bad. But to be honest, the main reason is that I love katanas, and it looks really cool. As a paladin I don't use it, also because of its unfitting back story, but as a berserker it was my all time favourite.
My absolute fav weapon of this sort is Arbane's Sword of Agility. I tend towards dual wielding protagonists with my top pick being Stalker and the bonus slots afforded in two-weapon fighting, but I'll take short sword profs on Swashbuckler/Fighter duals and bladesinger type Fighter/Mage multis. After acquiring this weapon in the first pseudo-random encounter, it stays in my offhand until ToB, when Watcher's Keep hardware makes most honest weaponry obsolete.
Being immune to every paralyzing attack from the oodles of stinking undead throughout the whole of SOA pays the price of admission and then some, but you also get a nifty little mini-haste which is especially nice after backstabbing then getting swarmed.
Later on those prof points in short swords can be used with Kundane in the offhand for an extra attack from whatever murderous mainland weapon you choose, but I never even bother with that anymore, I'm happy enough to be protected from all those holds.
Azuredge: we all know it makes undead go boom, sure, and it's really good at it (one of the best ways to deal with Devil Shades in WK, you don't have to risk melee with IMoD). It's also a +3 enchanted weapon, meaning it is a good ranged option (and higher damage than most to boot) on things like Iron/Adamantite golems, demons, or just spellcasters... you can GM + I. haste for a lot of attacks to punch through stoneskins quickly and ignore Fireshields/let your summons take the heat while you do the damage from safety. A great paladin or Wizard Slayer weapon, or any UAI character.
Tansheron's Bow: A +3 infinite ammo short bow buyable in Trademeet after saving the town from the Shadow Druids. At least 2 APR, +3 thaco no matter who wields it (nice for Fighter/Thieves or Mage/Thieves) and it can still fire any arrow you want. It kills Golems from safety. There might be a theme here
Namarra+2 and Illbratha + 1: these swords are easily obtainable (go into a room and kill a dude) and grant usage of a party friendly Silence 15' radius/Mirror Image respectively. They make excellent weapons to keep in quickslots just to have the abilities available. Namarra also is a decent main weapon as it hits as hard as a longsword +4.
Equalizer +3: Wielded in the off-hand, its alignment based-boni apply to the mainhand, and the immunities are nice. Toss it on any character no matter if they have proficiency or not, it can only ever attack once anyway in the offhand.
Staff of Rynn +4/Staff mace +2: sold at the adventurer's mart immediately, a +4 quarter staff/+2 club that uses quarterstaff proficiency. They give a nice boost to high STR mages (such as solo characters) or Cleric/Thieves early on that need to actually hit something. A Kensai is crazy with the staff too, can carry him all the way to Staff of the Ram.
Staff of <air,fire,earth> control: summons elementals. Summons that come from item abilities tend to cast very quickly and are invaluable as fodder, especially in WK anti-magic zones or boss fights.
All the named slings: nice weapons, but especially the +5 infinite bullet one, the one that makes +4 bullets, and the Sling of Seeking. Sometimes you can't let your squishy guys get close but they can still add some damage this way as they are pretty good at hitting with all the stacked Thaco boni (weapon, ammo, dex bonus, any proficiency, etc).
Kundane +2: it behaves exactly as Belm, but I think it gets overlooked a lot more as its a Short Sword, and it's in a more difficult area (Planar Prison)
Ring of Energy: fires a 2D6 Aganazzer's Scorcher-like flame, usable by anybody, easily recharged by selling it then buying/stealing it back
Blade of Roses +3/Stonefire +3/ Frostreaver +3: all early and easily obtained +3 weapons that are nonetheless really good for nearly all of SoA. The first 2 are bought at Bernard in the Copper Coronet, you get Frostreaver for free at De'Arnise Keep in the chapel (golem room). The axes add extra elemental damage that kills trolls and disrupts casters even through Stoneskins, while the sword add +2 CHA for shopping (Ring of Human Influence + this sword and 20 Rep = the price cap) and before it was fixed, hit as a Bastard Sword for damage (2d4+3) with longsword proficiency
Arbane +2: Likely known already in passing as you get it for free when attacked by Suna Seni's party in area transitions and it's nice sale price. It also allows for Free Action on command which is nice for Fighter/Mages or Mage/Thieves wanting to use Web in close combat.
Flame Tongue: Longsword that hits as a +4, get it as early in the Druid grove.
Boomerang Dagger +2: Not sure how many actually even know about it; I didn't for years until I finally did the Gong quest for shits and giggles. It's an infinite throwing dagger carried by Captain Dennis at the inn in the Bridge District. 2 attacks, 2d4+2 damage on any character, perfect for mages or mage/thieves like Jan or Imoen.
Mauler's Arm: not so great as a weapon, but it the 18 STR enchanment is very handy for low STR clerics like Aerie and Viconia or you own custom characters, when you want them to put on some plate or use a large shield, and lets them carry more than a few stack of bullets in their packs! It also acts as the starting point for spells that boost abilities like DUHM, so it's sorta like a mini-Crom Faeyr.
Blackblood +3: the best club in the game until CLub of Detonation, but you can get it super early in Trademeet after the druid grove. Not many things resist Acid damage either. It's way better than the Gnasher (the splinter effect of the Gnasher does NOT ignore Stoneskins, though it does "hit" them and depletes them faster).
Ras, the dancing Blade +2: simple longsword +2 that gives you access to a Mordenkainen's sword summon for a short time -- the thing is nearly unkillable (only Death effects and arcane damage can do anything to it) making it an excellent boss tank for a short time.
but i am not fair telling that, aerie has a buffing potential that only viconia also has among the not fighters, as they are cleric.
there are 3 reasons why i don't find the crimson dart so amazing compared to a sling, the first is thac0, as with the sling the thac0 bonus from launcher and bullet stack, and not fighters usually have sub optimal thac0, for me better to have less apr but more chance to hit.
the second is the str bonus, for you is an advantage to don't have to boost the str of a toon, i always do it, the mage spell grant a 18.50 str for a long time, hours not rounds, and this is 3 more damage every time a hit connect. with the hands of takkok the bonus is +6, with the less powerful of the belts +7.
the last reason is haste, with a sling a simple haste or an oil of speed double the apr of a sling for a not fighter, with dart and 3 apr you need an improved haste to double the output, with haste or the oil you get only the 33% more.
i had never been able to get from the dart the same output that i get equipping my not fighters with a sling, maybe is superior for the minor battles where to buff is not needed, but are battles that the front liners can easily win alone, few dmg more or less from a not fighter ranged is not even noticeable. if the battle is worth i buff my not fighters and get more then 15 dmg/round.
for the rest of your post i 100% agree.