Flail of Ages?

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i was wondering, why does everyone like the flail of the ages so much. it kinda sucks, the abilities it has are pathetic so whats all the confufle?

[ August 21, 2004, 07:50: Message edited by: Beren ]

 

Because its one of the strongest weapons you can get, and you can get it early. It has elemental damages + all the great effects Beren mentioned. I have used it trough entire SoA and ToB. Minsc did, that is.

 

other then slow ability it is a piece of junk though.....why not just get the crom fayer of the silver sword? they are some of the two best weapons in the game. and if your waiting to get something sooner why not just go get the staff of the magi right away?

 

Not everyone can use the Staff of the Magi (IIRC it's use is restricted to mages [don't quote me on that])... besides, you have to fight the Rune to get the Staff, so unless you're very skilled or lucky (or cheesy), you won't be getting it right off the bat. And I don't see where you're coming from with the "FotA is crap" business. It's a +3 flail with three extra elemental damage AND has a 33% chance to slow your target. Name me another weapon that can do all that. Sure, Crom Faeyr and the Vorpal sword are great, but you can't get them until chapter 6, when the game is nearly over. The FotA you can get in chapter 2, facing minimal resistance along the way. Crom Faeyr requires you to kill the Shadow Dragon, do the Planar Sphere quest, fight four or five Demon Knights in the Underdark, clear out Firkraag's dungeon AND the Illithid nest in the sewers. (not that I'm complaining.. Crom Faeyr should to be that hard to get, if not harder) The Vorpal sword, while it's not hard to get, cannot be forged until chapter 6, so it sees limited use unless you go on to ToB (or if you rush to the Asylum ASAP).


So my point is: the Flail of the Ages is a great item that you can get early in the game, and fairly easily too. It's one of, if not the single best flail in SoA (ToB too with certain additions during the expansion). I think you see the FotA as "a piece of junk" because you're comparing it to some of THE BEST items in the game, and you fail to consider that if people want to use flails, they have every right to do so, and the FotA happens to be just about the best choice in that category.

 

Comparing it to the vorpal sword is not fair to the vorpal sword. That little silvery blade sucks. The only foes it instakills are those who die with one or two cops anyway. Sure there is a chance it would waste a dragon or the like but it is tiny.

 

You can't quite compare an item you can get at the beginning of chapter 2 with items that you get only in chapter 6, can you?

Crom and Silver Sword are simply not available until almost the end of the game (and I never liked the Silver Sword anyway). Staff of the Magi is extremely hard to get early on, unless you abuse cheesy tactics, and can only be used by a mage. Flail of Ages can be used by almost every class in the game (except mages), is a +3 weapon, and probably the only one you'll have for a long time (it was the case in one of my games anyway), is very helpful against trolls (because of the fire/acid damage), and the Slow effect is amazingly helpful all the way through the game.

And besides, there is only one Crom. If you have a party of six, some dual-wielding, you fill one weapon slot with Crom. What will you give to the other characters?

I never gave Flail proficiencies to my warriors, but Viconia + Flail of Ages + belt/gloves of strength is an amazingly powerful combination, especially since she can self-buff quite a bit (DUHM anyone?)

 

well not everone can use the FotA either. why not gust get the sling of evard or the staff of rynn they are +4 and +5. as for the elemental damage it is kinda wimpy. aand besides some people dont know how to essemble it so they cant get it early on.

 

Another reason to love the flail: the elemental damages go through stoneskin. It's nice not to have to breach everyone.

And you are too quickly dismissing the power of slow. Slowed creatures have a penalty of 4 to hit and to be hit, so they get roughed up badly with little or no risk to yourself.

 

It gets my vote as THE most powerful weaon in the game, especially when you factor in that taking a hike to the DeArnise Keep can be done early, and is great for that axe and longbow you can get too.

 

Had an undead hunter armed with that and the blade of roses or the lighting hammer thing (i like hammers) and he absolutely ponned everything!!!

I always pick up the flail, even if no-one in the party can use it at the time it'll come in handy eventually.

And as someone who has never got crom-fayer or the vorpal sword, why waste so much time and effort getting them when you can have a +3 weapon that can hurt pretty much anything and has a chance to slow for less than half the effort?

 

Main bonus for me is the elemental damage, i cannot count the times that gets through to a mage, when other attacks dont. Meaning it stops their casting, thereby saving your behind.

 

Also, as there are not too many enemies immune to blunt damage, being a flail it is generally more versatile than a +3 slashing or piercing weapon.

 

I'm really confused here. I can't believe someone is dissing the FotA. In addition to all the other good qualities people have listed, I also would like to add that while it is only a +3 weapon to hit, there are exactly, what maybe 2 enemies in SoA that require more than a +3 to hit? The demi-lich is the only thing that springs to mind that is immune to the damage it does. Maybe an adamantine golem? So unless you're talking about fighting the demi-lich, I don't see how the FotA is useless.

I don't understand why you feel some people "don't know how to assemble it" and therefore "can't get it early on". I mean, it's a pretty big forge there in the keep. I figured it out right from my first play through of the game.

Finally some other comments - the Sling of Everard cannot be compared to FotA. With the exception of giving you a slightly better chance to hit, it doesn't do nearly the amount of damage that FotA does. (And of course the caveat of a creature being able to be hit by +3 weapons still applies). The Staff of Rynn is certainly a worthwhile weapon, but again, FotA will outdamage even that weapon, if the creature in question doesn't have immunity to elemental damage.

So basically, I'm still here scratching my head. Why no love for FotA?

 

Ah, Splunge is spot on. The flail is tremendous for taking out clay golems. Crom Faeyr and Rod of Smiting are great too, but the flail is easiest to get.

 

@Aldeth

Actually the Flair of Ages can and will hit Adamantine golems, because they require +3 weapons to be hit, and the Flail is just that. I think they can shrug off the elemental damage, but I'm pretty sure it still slows them down, and that is absolutely wonderful against them in the earlier parts of the game, when they can still pound you to dust.

And yes, I believe you're right, Kangaxx the Demilich is the only monster immune to it (not that the Sling of Everard works against him anyway).

And to answer Belgarth's comments, Everard's is +2 only, and thus doesn't work on quite a few monsters (Adamatine golems spring to mind, I'm sure there are others). And the Staff of Rynn is a TOB weapon, and this is the SOA forum... so we're talking only about weapons available in SOA. Don't cheat

EDIT: I quickly skimmed through Dan Simpson's FAQ. I just remembered that Iron Golems also require +3 weapons to hit, and thus the Flail also works against them. If you rush to the Keep, it'll also be the only weapon you have that works against the Iron Golem on the second floor.

 

I must be the only person who never had the FoA equipped for any significant time during any of my times through the game. Or at least in an insignificant minority.

The reason is that all the warrior-type characters I make pretty much only tend to use either two-handed swords or bastard swords. The only people who use blunt weapons in my party are the clerics (which makes clay golems annoying), and they usually use quarterstaves or maces. Not sure why.

Flails really don't have the "coolness" that swords have. There's no cutting, parrying or riposting - just swinging a big metal ball around your head. The Flail tends to just get put into a Bag of Holding for most of the game, only to emerge if a clay golem comes along.

 

Everard is a +5 weapon - I'm positive on that. Now it does create magical bullets, which may very well be +2 bullets, but the weapon itself if +5.

The Staff of Rynn is available in the Adventurer's Mart. How is that ToB?

 

Just got to ask, Belgarth, are you trolling here?

If this is a joke, I, along with everybody else in this thread, fell for it.

If it is, good one dude!

 

@Aldeth
Woops... It seems I got my staves mixed up... Sorry about this one.

Yes, the Sling of Everard is a +5 weapon. I'm pretty sure that it only hits as a +2 though. Remember, with missile weapons what counts for the purpose of "effectiveness" is the missile itself, and Everard shoots +2 bullets. A +5 bow shooting normal arrows will not hit anything that is immune to less than +1 weapons. Likewise, a normal bow shooting +3 arrows will hit things immune to less than +3 weapons.