BEST ONE HANDED WEAPON TYPE?!?!

[WH1PP3D CR3AM]

When selecting and explaining please decide using certain factors.

Use these factors

DAMAGE PER SECOND
DAMAGE PER HIT
SWING SPEED
STANIMA USAGE
LOOKS
WEAPON TYPE
FORWARDS POWER ATTACK
SMITHING PERKS

Dont use these factors

SIDE AND BACKWARDS POWER ATTACKS
+20% DAMAGE PERKS
DUAL WIELDING, JUST USE IN THE RIGHT HAND

 

[Lady Redpool the Unlifer]

Swords, hands down. DPS is better, swing speed is better, they all look amazing(even daedric, which I detest), and while I cant really back it up based on my own experiences, swords usually weigh less so in theory they use less stamina. I mean have you seen Chillrend? If not I apologise for the mini kinda spoiler.

 

[Nighthiker77]

Looks I'd say Mehrunes Razor, sky forge steel sword, ebony war axe, and ebony mace.
The bound sword and drainheart sword look cool too, and they are both ultralight at zero and 3 # for stamina efficiency.

As far as type, I prefer swords for reach and speed, and dagger for silence. I use Windshear though so I'm spoiled on stagger effect.

If you are on PC, the LOTR weapons mod sword Narsil is the best looking sword I've seen, and it has damage similar to ebony, so it's good without being like a cheat.

 

[WH1PP3D CR3AM]

Looks I'd say Mehrunes Razor, sky forge steel sword, ebony war axe, and ebony mace.
The bound sword and drainheart sword look cool too, and they are both ultralight at zero and 3 # for stamina efficiency.

As far as type, I prefer swords for reach and speed, and dagger for silence. I use Windshear though so I'm spoiled on stagger effect.

If you are on PC, the LOTR weapons mod sword Narsil is the best looking sword I've seen, and it has damage similar to ebony, so it's good without being like a cheat.

Skyforge steel is only kind of good at low levels

 

[Lady Redpool the Unlifer]

Skyforge steel is only kind of good at low levels

On a min/max character skyforge steel is a godsend because you only need one perk to make it amazing, same goes for blades swords and scimitars.

 

[Psiberzerker]

Skyforge steel is only kind of good at low levels

It's a great start, and:

On a min/max character skyforge steel is a godsend because you only need one perk to make it amazing, same goes for blades swords and scimitars.

One of the things you can do is keep leveling Smithing up to 100 (With, or without other crafting to enhance it) but just have the Steel Smithing so you have higher quality than unimproved Daedric without spending 5 more perks to get there. Oh, and the Wolf Armor is at least as badass.

Here's your pros, and cons:

Daggers: Fast, which is great with enchantments, because you can keep stacking up Cast on Strike effects. Also works with Assassin's blade to get the most damage you can get out of a single strike (All else being equal.) Don't respond to all Fortify 1Handed Damage effect, for instance the Nightingale Gloves.

Swords: Best reach (I believe the Blades' are the longest, not counting Miraak's, and the Ebony Blade.) Generally the best DPS, or back and forth with daggers depending on how you derive it (With perks, Smithing, and Enchanting, it gets complicated.) More Swords are pre-enchanted than any other weapon in the game, and some of the best uniques are Swords. Paired with a dagger in the left hand, they have the same striking speed, and about the max DPS with Dual Wield.

Handaxes: Actually about the middle of the road, their Base Damage is usually equal to their wieght, and they don't have much reach. The most useful Specialization perks IMO, the bleeding damage doesn't always count, but when it does, you can stack it with other DoT to kill them significantly faster.

Maces are slow, heavy, and hard hitting. They also stagger reliably, so you sometimes get a free shot in while they recover, especially with a Power Attack. Actually better for intermittant strikes with a combo than stan and slug damage races, because it's not a DPS fighting style, so when you do hit them, you want to hit them HARD. This goes for Hack&Bash shieldfighters, or Spellsword fast skirmishers.

Stamina is a direct factor of the rated weight of the weapon it'self, so look it up. the lightest is the Drainheart Sword, or Ghostblade, followed by daggers in order of materials (Ebony is heavier than Iron, apparently.) A Daedric Mace is heaviest of the unenchanted ones, but another factor of weapon type is Stagger. It's not a Weight factor, the Drainspell is as reliable as any Sword (Except weirdos like the Ebony Blade/of Woe.) Just like the loading screen says, Daggers don't stagger reliably, while maces usually do unless it's a giant, or something resistant. (You have to Power Attack, though.) 2 Handed versions are even heavier, with even more stagger, and even slower striking. This is pretty much how the weapons are set up, and understanding this makes your choice a lot easier to figure out.

I like Axes.

 

[orca45]

I use an enchanted dragonbone dagger with absorb health + Chaos and damage improved with smithing up to 1600. One swing, and they are dead. Daggers are the fastest of all weapons and properly enchanted and improved thru smithing, they are the best weapons in the game in my opinion. Just my 2 cents. .. . Now, if you do not want to use any enchanting and / or smithing on it, then I will suggest the Nittingale Blade, the Dawnbreaker or the Razor of Mehrunes Dagon.

 

[SlaveIITheGame]

Overall I'd say swords would be doing more damage faster, without as much stamina drain, but there is just something nice about smacking someone with a mace and seeing them stagger that I'm normally drawn to it, but much more stamina use per power attack, due to the weight I think?

More of a turtle behind a shield player/shield bash so the follower can get some hits in unharmed.

 

[orca45]

Overall I'd say swords would be doing more damage faster, without as much stamina drain, but there is just something nice about smacking someone with a mace and seeing them stagger that I'm normally drawn to it, but much more stamina use per power attack, due to the weight I think?

More of a turtle behind a shield player/shield bash so the follower can get some hits in unharmed.

I guess everyone has his own preferable weapon to fight. If you like to wear maces, then go for. I don’t. In combat, the fastest has always the advantage. Have you faced an enemy using a double handed sword or hammer ? Before they swing it, they are dead if you hit them with the dagger. That is the difference but as I said, everyone has his own style and I do prefer daggers or swords ( just to fight vamps in Dawnguard and up to killing Harkon / once he is dead, I go back to my dagger ) ...

 

[WH1PP3D CR3AM]

It's a great start, and:

One of the things you can do is keep leveling Smithing up to 100 (With, or without other crafting to enhance it) but just have the Steel Smithing so you have higher quality than unimproved Daedric without spending 5 more perks to get there. Oh, and the Wolf Armor is at least as badass.

Here's your pros, and cons:

Daggers: Fast, which is great with enchantments, because you can keep stacking up Cast on Strike effects. Also works with Assassin's blade to get the most damage you can get out of a single strike (All else being equal.) Don't respond to all Fortify 1Handed Damage effect, for instance the Nightingale Gloves.

Swords: Best reach (I believe the Blades' are the longest, not counting Miraak's, and the Ebony Blade.) Generally the best DPS, or back and forth with daggers depending on how you derive it (With perks, Smithing, and Enchanting, it gets complicated.) More Swords are pre-enchanted than any other weapon in the game, and some of the best uniques are Swords. Paired with a dagger in the left hand, they have the same striking speed, and about the max DPS with Dual Wield.

Handaxes: Actually about the middle of the road, their Base Damage is usually equal to their wieght, and they don't have much reach. The most useful Specialization perks IMO, the bleeding damage doesn't always count, but when it does, you can stack it with other DoT to kill them significantly faster.

Maces are slow, heavy, and hard hitting. They also stagger reliably, so you sometimes get a free shot in while they recover, especially with a Power Attack. Actually better for intermittant strikes with a combo than stan and slug damage races, because it's not a DPS fighting style, so when you do hit them, you want to hit them HARD. This goes for Hack&Bash shieldfighters, or Spellsword fast skirmishers.

Stamina is a direct factor of the rated weight of the weapon it'self, so look it up. the lightest is the Drainheart Sword, or Ghostblade, followed by daggers in order of materials (Ebony is heavier than Iron, apparently.) A Daedric Mace is heaviest of the unenchanted ones, but another factor of weapon type is Stagger. It's not a Weight factor, the Drainspell is as reliable as any Sword (Except weirdos like the Ebony Blade/of Woe.) Just like the loading screen says, Daggers don't stagger reliably, while maces usually do unless it's a giant, or something resistant. (You have to Power Attack, though.) 2 Handed versions are even heavier, with even more stagger, and even slower striking. This is pretty much how the weapons are set up, and understanding this makes your choice a lot easier to figure out.

I like Axes.

I love war axes, when i use them i use Ebony, and Daedric and Ebony War Axes have the same base damage, but with the not as far reach, its not crazy good anymore. In stumped.