So now that I'm trying to get back into combat as a pureblade, I'm trying to decide which weapon should be my primary for combat and I realized that it may be better to simply ask around and see what other people think.

I know that claymores are probably a poor choice for pvp, because wounding is more important than damage. No problem there. Bastard swords probably lack equally in all areas, and are also a poor choice.

That leaves greatswords and katanas.
I'm attracted to the katana for the speed. I haven't done any real testing, but it seems to me that katanas should be significantly faster than greatswords. This leaves more chances to raze, throw in necromancy abilities, diagnose and so forth when needed.
Greatswords, on the other hand, offer significantly higher precision (my current greatsword has a precision of 497, but I'll reforge for perfect if I decide to go with it). This means more wounding per hit, which means faster accumulation of critical afflictions.

The question becomes: are katanas fast enough to compensate for the lower precision? Will i get in enough extra hits that I'm still able to build wounds well?

On a side note: I have to admit that I'm also attracted to the katana because I train with it in real life, and I'm simply in love with the weapon. I can't turn that off in my head, so I'm willing to admit that may be swaying my thinking unfairly.

Finally: when I do decide on a weapon, what kind of stats should I be looking for? Perfect speed/precision is a given, but what about the other stats? What are the generally accepted minimums? I'm currently in the process of forging my katana for perfect speed, and am looking for at least 350 precision from it... but I'm starting to wonder if it's even possible. I've literally been forging now for 11 hours straight without getting it. That is absurd.

To make a long story very short, forging takes forever. In order to get really high on two stats requires a hefty time investment aka DAYS forging.

Anytime you go for perfect you will be at it for a long, long, LONG time. Don't be surprised when you put the stuff in the forge and it doesn't come out perfect the first, second, fiftieth, one hundreth, or two hundreth time. If you want perfect, you will have to really earn it. Be aware of that.

Just a heads up, I've dropped over 200 game hours into forging a weapon before. On average, I'd say every weapon comes out to about 30 hours of forging. That's counting the one that randomly turns up in 3 hours and the one that doesn't show up for 80.

I forged for 8 RL days straight over two weeks just trying to get a 70/x/280 hammer, no joy. Forging blows. If you're going for a weapon general consensus at the moment is use a 280 speed katana for bashing and fighting as precision and damage don't mean anywhere near as much as they used to. It's all strength and speed now.

Yeah, I've basically switched over to just hammers for both, having a high speed and decent precision. I just don't have the time to forge for a year.

Well, I disagree with the above assessment for blademasters and pureblades, as you don't have a stun to really capitalize on it.

I've never understood why forging had to suck so much. I understand that because of the importance of the skill, it shouldn't be an easy process... but you know what? I'd like to go back to playing the game. Spending a few hours on a really good weapon would be reasonable, spending more than 48 hours in the game, standing in front of a forge while your system auto forges for you to get a usable weapon is absolutely absurd.

I've always thought that your skill in forging should help determine the stats that you get. A transed forger should get a good weapon significantly faster than an inept forger. Makes me feel like the creators have intentionally made forging absurd to force you to buy a $140 artifact to make it viable as a trade skill.

Also: yes, I know that this frustration has been voiced before, but I don't care. It still sucks.

Regardless: So Katana wins out, has to have perfect speed, and precision/damage don't matter at all? Should I just take the first katana with perfect speed I get, regardless of the other stats?

Good point. What would you recommend then?

Runed or not runed?

I gave it some thought myself and I was thinking good enough prec to outpace a single application and put the rest into speed.
Maybe 66/as much as you can/250?

Not runed, sadly. I just can't afford runes.

I'd look for 400+/250+

@Chade: Are you still forging without a mallet?

All right, thanks.

I take it that you also think Katana is the best choice, right?

Only weapon that will have possible stats like that yes.

Obviously. What I mean to say is: would it be better to use a greatsword with appropriate stats than a katana with 400+/250+? I ask because I'm honestly not certain what role precision plays in determining wounding, other than it somehow effects it.

anyone happen to have a formula?

Desitrus' point is that it is just impossible to have those stats (the speed) on any of the other weapons.

While precision doesn't make a GIGANTIC difference it does make SOME difference. However, you will be hard pressed to make a greatsword with more than 190 speed, with precision going to 510sh. I made a freakish item for Geb (Damage: 154 Precision: 508 Speed: 195) once upon a time, but I've never been able to make another. I doubt it would hold up against a 400+/250+ under current circumstances though. It's sort of like you want to have at least a certain speed, then start trading that speed back to precision, if that makes sense.

Yeah, that makes sense. Thanks for the information.

One more question for you: for bashing, does damage play much of a role? I have a 300 damage claymore that I've been using for bashing, but I'm wondering if I should just use the katana instead.