Rarity of top-end weapons

[Hurkyl]

I'm curious, in a normal game, how often can one expect to find the top weapons in various categories, like a double sword or an evening star?

For the moment, I'm most interested in bardiches and triple crossbows; my current TSO character is trying to decide whether it's worth blessing an arbalest or buying a demon trident to bless, or if he should wait until he finds a triple crossbow or bardiche.

[Berder]

There seems to be like a 50% chance of finding the top weapon you want in a given game (except short blades). Bardiches seem somewhat more common than the other top weapons. Bear in mind the extreme skill investment to use one of them! If you haven't found a good weapon by lair branches, usually it makes sense to use your enchant scrolls on second best.

[and into]

I don't know the relative rarity of most top-tier weapons, aside from the obvious (GSC is really common). Things like vaults and which branches you get probably influence it quite a bit though, I'd imagine. Shoals is likely to generate a demon trident. Great maces are fairly common in Snake IIRC (though you'll get one in Orc fairly often).

In general you should not hoard enchant weapon scrolls.

[Siegurt]

Object generation statistics here

[Bloax]

Great maces are fairly common in Snake IIRC

They're all over the place in Vaults too.

Double swords are very rare outside of pandemonium (if some demonspawn still spawn with them) and acquirement, as are triple swords except I'm not even sure if anything other than Rupert/Sojobo even generate with them.

[Magipi]

Great maces are fairly common in Snake IIRC

They're all over the place in Vaults too.

Snake? Vaults? You'll find at least a dozen great maces in Orc, unless you are really unlucky, in which case you'll find only 10.

[crate]

ogres have great maces too

[dornbeast]

You'll find at least a dozen great maces in Orc, unless you are really unlucky, in which case you'll find only 10.

No, if you're really unlucky, you'll die in Orc.

[Rumbleguts]

If you're running a character and trying to get a top tier weapon as soon as you can, you can dependably get a quick blade or lajatang through acquirement. You'll have to have already seen the other short blades or quarterstaff and have decent skill in the weapon skill. I suspect that it helps the odds since there are so few weapons in these categories and they only have one (1) top weapon.
Each time I have used acquirement with 10 short blade skill (and no other weapon skills) and asked for a weapon, I've gotten a quick blade. Don't know what the real exact odds are. It's a nice way to get an otherwise very rare weapon, sometimes pretty early in the game.

[damiac]

Acquirement is probably the most reliable (hah!) way to get a top end weapon. That or follow oka/trog, they'll usually get around to giving you a weapon of that type sooner or later.

[tasonir]

I find my favorite weapon in 100% of games.

[Rumbleguts]

Acquirement is probably the most reliable (hah!) way to get a top end weapon.

Yeah, it doesn't work so well for most weapon categories. I have used acquirement for long blades a decent amount, and it loves to give me great swords instead of triples.

[elwin]

If I have an axes character, I usually settle for a battleaxe. Executioner's axes are few.

[damiac]

Well, it works a lot better than nothing. Yeah, it's certainly no guarantee.

To be fair, a great sword is a fine weapon to get all 15 runes with. In fact, some might argue you're better off using the great sword instead of a triple, and spend the extra XP you would have had to spend on long blades skill to round out your character more.

I'd rather use a triple sword myself, but don't feel like you have to have the best weapon in the category to kill stuff, even the named pan lords will die to the second best weapons.

[Sandman25]

I find my favorite weapon in 100% of won games.

FTFY

[and into]

(The joke is that tasonir really likes unarmed combat.)

[Sandman25]

I've cleared Lair/Orc/D1-14 and found 0 great maces so it is not that reliable unfortunately.

[XuaXua]

I've cleared Lair/Orc/D1-14 and found 0 great maces so it is not that reliable unfortunately.

Adequate maces.

[and into]

Great maces are fairly common in Snake IIRC

They're all over the place in Vaults too.

Snake? Vaults? You'll find at least a dozen great maces in Orc, unless you are really unlucky, in which case you'll find only 10.

Great Maces spawn as weapons in Orc less often now compared to a while ago (can't remember when exactly but I recall discussion of the change on this forum). You still have a good shot at getting one in Orc, or possibly before that (most likely from an ogre in that case, as crate said) but it is not guaranteed, as it (practically) was before the change. I also said in my first post that you may still get a great mace in Orc.

Anyway, dire flails, great swords, glaives, and battleaxes are very dependable finds in my experience but I expect that is not what the OP meant by "top tier weapons." However, all those weapons are certainly "good enough" and will, at the very least, serve you well until you find a better one. Weapon acquirement is strong if you do not yet have a great weapon and want one.

[Lasty]

I'd rather use a great sword than a triple sword on most characters, and dire flails are remarkably good too. The "top tier" weapons are powerful, but they usually cost way more xp than they're worth for non-troglodytes. Great maces are perhaps the exception, at a cheap 20 levels.