Its easier to run katana's best attack chain since it has better recharge speed. I am not sure if GC's equivalent on BS (I think name is Slash) hits two times too.
You can use shields with BS but not with katana (something I still wonder why katana is the quick hit set yet its two handed and BS is burst damage set yet its one-handed)
Since GC hits two times (and its two quick hit nonetheless) it may fire procs two times (not tested by me yet but I sometimes get results suggested that this works) It fire reactive interface two times though since its easier to observe.
Pretty much it depends what you want to play. High slow burst damage than its BS, low quick burst damage katana. Also if you want to use shileds BS is ur only choice among these two.
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No, it doesn't. Gambler's Cut is a good attack, Slash sucks. |
Originally Posted by Kangstor
Its easier to run katana's best attack chain since it has better recharge speed. I am not sure if GC's equivalent on BS (I think name is Slash) hits two times too.
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| You can use shields with BS but not with katana (something I still wonder why katana is the quick hit set yet its two handed and BS is burst damage set yet its one-handed) |
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| Since GC hits two times (and its two quick hit nonetheless) it may fire procs two times (not tested by me yet but I sometimes get results suggested that this works) It fire reactive interface two times though since its easier to observe. |
The only real benefit to it being 2 hits is it lets you see when an Achille's Heel proc goes off, because it procs on the first hit and the second hit will be 20% higher than normal. (Ablating Strike in Dual Blades and Slash in Claws are the same way)
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| Pretty much it depends what you want to play. High slow burst damage than its BS, low quick burst damage katana. Also if you want to use shileds BS is ur only choice among these two. |
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Originally Posted by Dechs Kaison See, it's gems like these that make me check Claws' post history every once in a while to make sure I haven't missed anything good lately. |
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I don't know why, but that sentence just made me crack up.|
Originally Posted by ClawsandEffect
It really sounds like you just messed that dude's world up when you hit him.
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To the point, though, if you're not a min - maxer, just choose whichever set you like the look and feel of more.
If you are interested in some late game / hardcore playing, I still think either option is viable. Broadsword would get the benefit of using shields while Katana gets the benefit of having an outstanding attack chain.
To offer a counterpoint to C&E, broadsword is among that coveted cadre of sets that has the oldest animations in the game. It does go crunch, but does it do it with elan? Katana, on the other hand, has slightly more recent animations and more of them look good. It's unfortunate that sting of the wasp sucks because it looks great, and the last two attacks are hard to top. One look at whirling sword next to the lotus drops, though, is what should seal the deal.
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Who needs elan when you have Hack and Disembowel? Katana animations are nifty, but none of them give me the 'I just cleaved the other guy in two' impression broadsword does.|
Originally Posted by PleaseRecycle
To offer a counterpoint to C&E, broadsword is among that coveted cadre of sets that has the oldest animations in the game. It does go crunch, but does it do it with elan?
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Hmm. Maybe I should try my BS/SD over on Exalted as a broot...
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Interesting, Slash is bad? Is that "I should skip it on my BS scrapper" bad, or just "this set would be marginally nicer if this power were tweaked" bad?
So it sounds like Kat's slightly better DPS, but both are viable, and the big difference in practice is the compatibility with shield. Got it.
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It's "Avoid the power like the plague or NPCs will point and laugh at you" bad. |
Originally Posted by seebs
Interesting, Slash is bad? Is that "I should skip it on my BS scrapper" bad, or just "this set would be marginally nicer if this power were tweaked" bad?
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Worth noting: Slice, available at level 2, deals the same amount of damage as Slash, and it hits 5 targets to Slash's one. And it only costs a little more endurance, so you can use it on single targets in a pinch. I take Hack at level one, and Slice at level 2. I haven't taken Slash on a BS character in years. It's not a horrible attack if you look at it in a vacuum, but when you compare it to the rest of the attacks in the set it's the stinker. There's no compelling reason to ever take it when Slice is available one level later.
The reason Gambler's Cut is better than SotW is simply because it's so fast (less than a second of animation time if I recall correctly). It doesn't actually deal that much damage on it's own, but it's a great place to put a couple procs. It's sheer speed also means it fits into the gaps in a low recharge katana attack chain wonderfully.
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Originally Posted by Dechs Kaison See, it's gems like these that make me check Claws' post history every once in a while to make sure I haven't missed anything good lately. |
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One other thing to note -|
Originally Posted by ClawsandEffect
It's "Avoid the power like the plague or NPCs will point and laugh at you" bad.
Worth noting: Slice, available at level 2, deals the same amount of damage as Slash, and it hits 5 targets to Slash's one. And it only costs a little more endurance, so you can use it on single targets in a pinch. I take Hack at level one, and Slice at level 2. I haven't taken Slash on a BS character in years. It's not a horrible attack if you look at it in a vacuum, but when you compare it to the rest of the attacks in the set it's the stinker. There's no compelling reason to ever take it when Slice is available one level later. The reason Gambler's Cut is better than SotW is simply because it's so fast (less than a second of animation time if I recall correctly). It doesn't actually deal that much damage on it's own, but it's a great place to put a couple procs. It's sheer speed also means it fits into the gaps in a low recharge katana attack chain wonderfully. |
In my opinion, take and slot (with SOs or common IOs) any attacks you need while leveling. Heck, I take almost every attack in any set I play while I'm leveling until I can get some decent recharge going.
Just respec out of them later.
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Heh, looks like my BS/WP scrapper is gonna be respeccing. |
Originally Posted by ClawsandEffect
It's "Avoid the power like the plague or NPCs will point and laugh at you" bad.
Worth noting: Slice, available at level 2, deals the same amount of damage as Slash, and it hits 5 targets to Slash's one. And it only costs a little more endurance, so you can use it on single targets in a pinch. I take Hack at level one, and Slice at level 2. I haven't taken Slash on a BS character in years. It's not a horrible attack if you look at it in a vacuum, but when you compare it to the rest of the attacks in the set it's the stinker. There's no compelling reason to ever take it when Slice is available one level later. The reason Gambler's Cut is better than SotW is simply because it's so fast (less than a second of animation time if I recall correctly). It doesn't actually deal that much damage on it's own, but it's a great place to put a couple procs. It's sheer speed also means it fits into the gaps in a low recharge katana attack chain wonderfully. |
I didn't really pay close attention, I just followed my usual pattern of "take the slower but higher damage power because it'll be useful once you have a ton of recharge".
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Slash is the quicker but lower damage one so you actually did correct thing and no respec is needed :P And gamblers cut only become good after IO's introduced and people start to get enough recharge to run top attack chain otherwise sting of the wasp was recommended first pick at level 1 before IO.
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Originally Posted by seebs
Heh, looks like my BS/WP scrapper is gonna be respeccing.
I didn't really pay close attention, I just followed my usual pattern of "take the slower but higher damage power because it'll be useful once you have a ton of recharge". |
Waiit. Maybe I did grab the wrong one.
Goes looks!
Nope, I have Hack and Slice, and not Slash. So I guess I'm okay.
I too have been debating which of these two sets I am going to go with for a new character...
However, my choice is going to be based on feel and looks... and I still can't seem to decide.
I'm going to prattle on about this now, from this stance... so, feel free to ignore if it is of no interest:
Honestly, I thought I wanted Katana all the way.
I liked the two-handed approach and the animations.
I felt like Broad Sword was simple, boring and a bit unfitting.
However, the new Barbarian Sword is so appealing to me... but it is only available for Broad Sword...
So... besides posting requests, sending PMs and sending out secret agents to get that sword for Katana...
I decided to make both versions of the character and test them out a bit.
And I was very surprised at how much I did like the look, feel and sound of Broad Sword (As Claws very aptly describes it below).
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This seriously has me considering Broad Sword...|
Originally Posted by ClawsandEffect
...Personally, I like the CRUNCH!!! sound that Broadsword has to it. It really sounds like you just messed that dude's world up when you hit him.
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As, when I went back to the Katana version... that sound and that feeling was missing!
However... I have to put one more visual/feel LIKE about Katana in here...
I LOVE that Brawl includes a pommel smash animation!! I never noticed that before!!
Gah... Decisions, decisions...
Curse you, developers... for making everything so good!!
@Zethustra
"Now at midnight all the agents and the superhuman crew come out
and round up everyone that knows more than they do"-Dylan
and round up everyone that knows more than they do"-Dylan
This is something I debate all the time, owing to my fixation with both Scrappers and melee weapons.
Broadsword has a few things going for it. It does hit harder, power for power, if we ignore DPA. There is an admittedly satisfying feeling of strength behind each swing. Broadsword also has a broader (*ducks*) selection of weapon models, some of which are downright gorgeous. It also works with Shield.
Unfortunately, BS has relatively lower recharge and longer animations. Unless the math has changed since the last time I checked, Katana tends to perform significantly better on paper (particularly because of Gambler's Cut, which has something like a 0.57 animation speed). The animations are also relatively ugly and ponderous, illusion of strength notwithstanding.
Katana, on the other hand, has a certain understated elegance, an economy of movement I find appealing. Gambler's Cut is powerful right out of the box, and a faster recharge and faster animations contribute to a much smoother experience. On paper, it's also more damaging.
However, Katana really does not ramp up until between L34 and 37. Power choice is pretty abysmal until Soaring Dragon at 26, which requires at least 3-4 slots to start looking good. It only comes into its own once Golden Dragonfly is properly slotted, and by then you've left half the game behind you.
Katana is a late bloomer, and I often spend most of my early and middle levels over-dependent on Gambler's Cut (potent but lacking in big numbers) and Flashing Steel (likewise). I usually skip Sting of the Wasp because it's absent from my final build, but its presence would certainly alleviate the problem of Katana feeling anemic all the way until 26, and then suddenly becoming awesome in two successively larger leaps.
Also, Lightsaber and Legacy Model aside, its weapon selection sucks (unless you grind out the Rulaaruu sword).
Just my 0.02. Not a terribly experienced player, so take it as you will.
lightsaber? which one is that?
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Vanguard. The model which makes me secretly yearn for an Energy Damage component for every strike.
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Originally Posted by BeornAgain
lightsaber? which one is that?
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On the other hand, I love the rusty katana. I used that on my old kat/elec because gosh, wouldn't it be tough to keep your sword shiny if you were always ionizing everything? I don't know how the person who thought of adding it thought of adding it but I'm glad he or she did.
I just assumed katana has more cones and BS has more single target. Thats why BS and SD can go together. I wouldn't mind busting out cones with K/SD if i could 
I actually am leveling a Katana / Willpower scrapper, and I find Katana to be pretty painless while leveling up...That could also be because I have the first 4 attacks 5 slotted...
I am treating my leveling build completely differently than any end game builds I may attempt.
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It's the combo, Kat/Will has been called 'born gods' by many because they're easy to level from the start, especially when Stamina wasn't an inherent so you stopped having end issues quite early and defense+regen too.
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Originally Posted by JLane
I actually am leveling a Katana / Willpower scrapper, and I find Katana to be pretty painless while leveling up...That could also be because I have the first 4 attacks 5 slotted...
I am treating my leveling build completely differently than any end game builds I may attempt. |
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They have the exact same attacks in the exact same order. Only difference is Kat is faster and BS is more damage per hit. But the Devs didn't balance spike vs sustained evenly so over time Kat deals more damage. That, and I think someone worked out that it only takes 26% bonus damage for Kat to deal the same damage per hit as BS (slight variations per attack.|
Originally Posted by Pureshadow2
I just assumed katana has more cones and BS has more single target. Thats why BS and SD can go together. I wouldn't mind busting out cones with K/SD if i could
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But both have the one wide cone, one narrow cone and one circle pbaoe. One +def power, one knockup, and the two initial single target attacks.
"Hmm, I guess I'm not as omniscient as I thought" -Gavin Runeblade.
I can be found, outside of paragon city here.
Thank you everyone at Paragon and on Virtue. When the lights go out in November, you'll find me on Razor Bunny.
I agree that Katana is better, but not enough to overcome ascetics.
BS also pairs with shield with is a notable advantage, as shield gets a lot easier to level up with if you have parry(though most builds seem to skip out on parry/divine avalanche at high levels, prefering to just outright softcap defenses instead of relying on something so unreliable.)
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Well I don't know about BS's top attack chain but having parry in it will drop its DPS so if you can get softcap without parry than its all better. Still untill you get softcap parry is a good power for leveling.|
Originally Posted by TheOOB
I agree that Katana is better, but not enough to overcome ascetics.
BS also pairs with shield with is a notable advantage, as shield gets a lot easier to level up with if you have parry(though most builds seem to skip out on parry/divine avalanche at high levels, prefering to just outright softcap defenses instead of relying on something so unreliable.) |
For katana its a little different DA does not drop DPS that much compared to parry since all attacks have fast recharge. I have a kat/SR and I remember at the 30's I took DA to help to level my character (this was before IO sets and faultline was still a hazard zone) and it worked quiet well.
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Nah, ascetics aren't that tough. Diogenes was all talk. A katana would've made quick work of him and his stupid lamp.
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Originally Posted by TheOOB
I agree that Katana is better, but not enough to overcome ascetics.
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The correct answer is War Mace. That is all. 
A whole lot of similarities between these sets. A few Kat attacks have lower activation, recharge, and/or damage. Parry/Divine Avalanche seems the same either way. Is there a big mechanical difference once you're into the 30s+, or is this really just a matter of looks?