Weapons guide: families, tiers and condition
The Driftwell coughs up lost objects from every age, so the rack holds flint clubs next to muskets, anchors and a garden gnome.
How weapons work
A fighter can own up to 4 weapons. In a duel, an unarmed fighter with sheathed weapons draws one at random. Held weapons sit in the fighter's taped fist; shields go in the off-hand. Thrown weapons make a single ranged hit and are then lost.
You will find the full catalogue, with stats and a filter, on the weapon list.
The nine families
| Family | In short |
|---|---|
| Fist | Fast, with combos; strapped on, so they cannot be lost |
| Blade | Balanced cuts and thrusts; some parry |
| Blunt | Heavy hits and counters |
| Polearm | Accurate, with counters and reach |
| Flexible | Chains and whips that disarm |
| Heavy | Huge damage, slow, less evasion |
| Thrown | One strong ranged hit, then gone |
| Shield | Block first, hit second; strapped on |
| Improvised | Chairs, cones and gnomes: critical hits and comedy |
Eras
Weapons come from Prehistoric, Ancient, Classical, Medieval, Feudal, Renaissance, Industrial, Improvised and Academy times. The era is flavour, but it tells you what the Driftwell has been coughing up lately.
Tiers
Each weapon has a fixed tier. Higher tiers are stronger and much rarer in level-up offers.
| Tier | Power bonus | Chance in a level-up offer |
|---|---|---|
| Common | +0% | 68% |
| Rare | +8% | 22% |
| Epic | +16% | 7.6% |
| Legendary | +25% | 2.7% |
On screen, the tier shows as a small mark under the weapon icon in the battle bar, and Epic and Legendary weapons get a small twinkle aura while held. Shapes and colours are distinct, so the tier can be read without relying on colour.
Condition
Your fighter's copy of a weapon also has a condition: Battle-worn (50% of copies, about 8% weaker), Worn (35%, normal) or Mint (15%, about 8% stronger). The condition is derived from the fighter and the weapon, so it never changes and is never re-rolled. Rivals have conditions too.
Losing grip
Weapons can be knocked away by a skilled opponent or slip from your own hand when they are clumsy; read attacks and defence. Heavy and improvised weapons slip the most. Skills like Taped Grip make a weapon much harder to lose.
Level-up odds
At level-up, a weapon offer is drawn with weights: by tier, about 68% Common, 22% Rare, 7.6% Epic and 2.7% Legendary. You can never be offered a weapon you already own. See progression.