Why don't I see more people using war mace?

So lately I've been using my lvl 35 war mace/will power character and I am very impressed with the damage he deals. I can easily solo +0/8 with just SOs. Crowd control, whirling mace, and shatter just tear up mobs.
So my question is.. why don't i see more people using it? It seems like one of the most powerful melee primaries I've seen so far.

Because it's not Titan Weapons or Super Strength, I guess.

Amazing Scrapper primary, though.

I have played a WM/Fire brute for a while now and I used to have a WM/SD scrapper and they were both amazing. The Range on the aoe and 180 degree cone are also winners. I think it's just that ss has Rage and TW is marketed as better AOE damage. You don't have it wrong though. Out of the 3 original Medieval Weapons (BA/BS/WM) WM is the best.

Because some folks remember back when it was an underperforming primary and don't realize how much better it got when Castle tweaked it a few years ago.

I love the sound f/x for mace.

Maybe its just me but I'v grouped with a lot of WM/SD Scrappers lately. And the deal the **** out of the damage.

Where is your pretty?!

it used to suck but now it's great...just not as great at whatever the FOTM is, I guess.

I'm really, really enjoying my mace/stone though.

I love my WM/Shield brute, and on some level I actually had alot more fun with him than I currently am with Titan Weapons. The only gripe I have with it is the lack of Vanguard/Cimeroran mace options.

Though I heard scrappers gets more out of WM than brutes right now. I haven't tested it myself but the thought of getting crits with crowd control or clobber makes me green with envy.

It performs well mechanically I just find it kind of boring stylistically. All of its' animations are recycled from Broadsword/Axe animations, and I already played those.

Hey, now, I picked War Mace because it looks cool!
...when my Brure uses Brawl only with his left hand, and holds the mace menacingly with his right. Or waggles it about for Taunting.

/amidoinitrite?

Also, thematically, swords and to a degree axes tend to be more popular than maces (think how many movies or books you've seen/read with unique or named swords, or swordsmanship as a major element, or etc. Now think how many did the same for maces). A player who doesn't yet know the differences between the sets (or who does, but doesn't particularly prefer one mechanically) is more likely to choose Broadsword, Dual Blades, or Titan Weapons (edit: or Katana, if they have more Eastern influences) for a medieval-weapon-wielding character. Or, if they approach it from the concept side first, they're more likely to come up with a concept that wields a sword before they choose power sets at all.

That's not to say War Mace isn't awesome, in a number of ways. But swords are more popular in general, for various reasons.

I guess 'cause the animations are really old, and we don't get a whole lot of nice options for weapon models. Broadwsword, Battle Axe, and War Mace could really use alt animations that set the three apart.

Re: Why don't I see more people using war mace?

I dunno... Urbain DuBois, my Shovel/Manhole Cover Brute, looks sooooo badass

I don't play it any more for the same reason I skip most sets I don't play: can't stand the sound FX.

And, in the case of WM, they are pretty boring animations, too.

First character I ever made in this game, way back near the end if I3, was a WM/Stone tank. He's still lvl 15. Never did like the sounds.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Techbot Alpha ...I have the patience of a coffee-fueled flea...

I like WM, but I don't have one because I already have numerous of the armor types I'd use it with. However, a main factor is my Bane

Hi folks.

So I see a lot of people referring to the WM / SD build in "Scrapper" form, but I haven't actually seen very much as a "Brute."

I have a Brute WM / SD and he just got to level 7. (lol, I know, I know... please stop rolling your eyes. lol)

I just resubbed from over 3 years of hiatus and would really like to know if this is a viable build or if I should just stop wasting my time and build something else.

I really appreciate all the suggestions folks, tyvm!

- CC

War Mace Brutes killed my favorite AT for me a year ago.

After rolling my WM/Shield Brute for 30+ levels I went to roll up a Blaster, old hat for me by then...

Needless to say, War Mace ruined an entire AT for me, such was the power of the set! I just couldn't fathom making so many sacrifices on Blasters anymore when I could have just as much, if not more, damage and still be standing after a mob.

Needless to say, I have a Love it/Hate it relationship with WM at this point.

HMFIC- WM is about the same on brutes and scrappers, and Shield is undoubtedly better on scrappers. So WM/SD is better on scrappers. There is nothing wrong with a WM/SD brute, but you'd have to look very hard and pick very specific scenarios to find performance reasons to play it instead of a WM/SD scrapper.

If you want the "why" in a nutshell:
- Shield has a very potent aggro aura, removing one of the reasons for going brute rather than scrapper, aggro.
- Shield typically doesn't hit the scrapper HP cap even once IOed out with accolades, so the higher brute HP cap isn't meaningful save for outside buffs (which are relatively rare anyway).
- Shield has a damage boosting aura, which works roughly twice better on scrappers; scrappers get slightly better damage mods, and their damage not being reliant on Fury they get much more out of any damage buff (due to their base damage being much higher).
- Shield doesn't hit the scrapper resistance cap, although it can come close while using the T9, so brute higher resistance caps don't play too much of a role... Solo.

This latest point is one area where the scrapper SD vs brute SD comparison isn't so clear cut, as resistance buffs are relatively common, and with i.e. Barrier and/or Cardiac a brute can easily go above 75% S/L at times.

On every other aspect, the scrapper gets all the benefits of the brute while also having much more damage not dependent on chasing the fury bar.

If you're only level 7 I'd strongly suggest a reroll to the scrapper version, unless you prefer brutes (again, the brute version is just fine; the scrapper is just better).

WM criticals are also some really dang impressive orange numbers.

I took my WM/SD scrapper out last night for some BAFs and an ITF. He's really competitive with higher-end dps toons, chaining Clobber-Shatter-Jawbreaker (I think, might be Pulverize). And he's got great AOE between Crowd Control, Shatter (hits 3+ mobs usually), and Whirling Mace plus shield charge. Crits on Clobber are silly good.

Honestly people just don't really know about WM since it was buffed. It's not flashy.

There are two reasons I never play War Mace.

First, my only weapon-wielding concept at the moment is Axe Wielding Psycho, who for obvious reasons would not take the War Mace primary.

Second, I saw the best every concept for a War Mace user, costume set up to look like a baseball player with the baseball bat mace, character name "Overpaid Crybaby." This was back during the last major league player strike, of course. I just gave up on ever making a concept for a War Mace user that could match that one.