Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - General Which is the better Sword? (A Discussion)

So I have been debating in my head which is the better sword.



On the one hand the Everburn Blade has more top end damage, but the sword of Justice offers a free cast of shield of faith. The first could mean the difference between a kill and the enemy being alive to attack you again, but the other offers giving a higher AC which could mean the difference between being struck or not... SO maybe it comes down to what you lack more offense or defense? IDK, but I thought it might make for an interesting discussion.

Depends ...
What do you do with your Bonus Action?

If you are not using it often (read as every turn ... as if you are Berserker Barbarian for example) ... i strongly recomend Sword of Justice, since all you need to do is dip the weapon in fire (or poison) and you get even 1 point stronger damage outcome.
+1 also gives you a 5% (if i count corectly) better hit chance.

On the other hand, if you ARE Berserker Barbarian, Everburning blade might be a little better ...
You dont use the AC boost yourself, since once you enter Rage (or Fury in this case) you shall loose concentration anyway ... and Frenzied Strike is certainly better usage of Bonus Action than diping.

Sussur Greatsword is much better than both tho, in my honest opinion.

I would say that Sword of Justice's advantage is less the Shield of Faith, as that can be easily replaced, but +1 to damage and attack rolls. So if you struggle hitting enemies, +1 should contribute to your chances to hit. Everburn may do more demage.

Considering I tend to be more likely then not to hit enemies I would go with Everburn.I think you will get more milage over potential extra 3 points of fire damange then +1 making a difference between hit and miss.

Honestly, I think they're both awesome, but The Sword of Justice is a Tyrite weapon and should only be wielded by a Tyrite Cleric with Greatsword Proficiency (through Feat Pick at Level 4) or Paladin of Tyr. At the very least, it should be limited to being able to be used by someone who is affiliated with good, like a Cleric of Paladin of Selune, etc. Certainly, if you are a murder hobo going around killing people in the grove, you shouldn't be able to use it.

Likewise, Everburn is a sword of a Demon Commander. Probably shouldn't be able to use it unless you're an evil murder hobo.

I don't know if I agree with you so much on who SHOULD be able to wield the weapons... I agree thematically the Sword of Justice works really well for a cleric of Tyr (which I happen to be playing atm and have give great sword mastery to along with 3 other weapon types), but as far as Only good Character's being able to wield one and only Evil characters being able to wield the other... Eh, that really doesn't work for me, particularly in this game.

1) it is a rarity that a weapon is alignment locked... not saying it doesn't happen I have played a couple D&D campaigns where an alignment locked weapon was introduced, but all in all they are kind of rare and (in my experience) more often than not those weapons are intelligent or some sort of demon or deity speaks through them.

2) All the character's except for the player character are Morally Grey (you can be the purest angel of mercy or the a demonic murder hobo and anything in between) the "Evil" aligned characters kinda walk that line between neutral and evil and the "good" characters walk the line between neutral and good imho (and that is fine, I like flawed characters that don't fit neatly in to an alignment box, makes them more "human")

3) and this is my Biggest argument against this in BG3... BG3 seems to lack an alignment system... or at least a visible one.

I agree that alignment locking is not the usual for D&D. You don't really want to do that too much because you want players to be able to use the weapons they find.

However, you don't specifically call out that a weapon belongs to a particular god and then not restrict certain people from using it. For example, you would not let Shadowheart use a weapon blessed by Selune because she is a cleric of Shar, Selune's mortal enemy.

I could see Everburn not being alignment locked. Maybe Zalk acquired it from somewhere and it isn't a devil sword. However, The Sword of Justice should be locked so that certain types of people aren't able to use a weapon that is specifically Tyr's - King of Good Gods. Someone like Astarion should likely not be able to use it even if they had the proficiency.

This is part of the reason I want the alignment system implemented. It just doesn't make sense to allow someone of a good alignment to be using something from an evil alignment or vice versa.

You have a fair point about the Sword of Justice only being used by a good aligned character, but I would also add that if you are going to alignment restrict it then not only should it have the abilities it has for good aligned people but a special buff SPECIFICALLY for followers of Tyr...

That said I too would like to see an alignment system in BG3, I'd like to see them adopt the PF:WotR system where you largely start off as neutral and your decisions determine your alignment (with obvious exceptions for Paladins and Clerics who's starting alignment would be effected by the deity they follow)

but that brings up another point... IF Larian did institute an alignment system they would have to some how come up with a story backed reason that oath breaker can still use the sword (like Zariel corrupted it or something, but then they'd have to make an additional quest for you to cleanse it)

Yet there IS a Selunite amulet in the game that Shadowheart can use and the only thing stopping you is RP. Also, no one said the swords in question are sentient or have any alignment of their own. Just because a paladin slays 1,000 demons with a sword doesn't make it "good". Simply being associated with a deity doesn't confer alignment. Alignment has virtually nothing to do with 5e from a mechanical standpoint.

ironically, the paladin who wields the sword is an oathbreaker that serves under a devil's command, yet he could still use that sword.

Okay, maybe completely locking out someone from using it isn't necessary, but there should be some sort of effect.

I'm thinking LOTR. Frodo can use the One Ring against Sauron's minions... But there is a cost. There is corruption that takes place.

The Sword of Justice is blessed and given Tyr's power. It may not have intelligence, but it's Tyr's power on the blade. It should have some sort of effect on people.

I mean, if my Cleric of Selune were to use a Dark Justiciar magic armor blessed by Shar, I'd expect some sort of corruption or influence or something to show that Shar was messing with her.

And you wouldn't like to entertain the idea that Shar may allow your Selune cleric to use that armor with no nasty side effects to show your cleric how kind and deserving to be worshipped she may be?

For me the biggest problem is that the Everburn Blade hasn't the scabbard mentioned in the description, like sadly all other weapons. So I would never use it again because it looks silly to run around with such a burning blade.

The sword itself may be swinged by an Oatbreaker as his memento from old days but whats with Tyr´s Protection on the weapon.

Pretty much comes down to a few things.

Would you rather have +1D4 fire damage on each hit. Ontop of that, the everburn blade glows and casts a small 'torch' effect around you which can mean you are seen while sneaking.

Or rather +1 to hit and damage and 1 spell cast per day.

How usefull they are in the long run is hard to say. Theyre about on par with eachother id say. Do note though that fire is the most heavily resisted elemt in the game alongside poison, so over the length of a campaign id say the sword of justice has a slight edge. But the difference is minimal tbh.

I would rather have the plus to hit and damage.

There is this 2d12 great-club that can be taken from the Minataur if you rez it with Glut (NPC).

[img]https://preview.redd.it/kmgfl890q0o...aefd44790f259b3e3723bf89209704c9f58ac076[/img]

I prefer using reach heavy weapons for use with the Pole-arm Master feat (currently provided in a mod, but is a basic handbook staple). Gives a bonus action attack and a reaction attack to anything that comes within range (10" for me...and so cool when it kills an enemy on "their turn")

I further prefer the pike for its stabbing animation (Got hooked on this with "Tall Grass", my Barbarian weapon in Pillars of Eternity 1).

So go with what is immersive for you.