Turbine Games Q&A/Combat/Q-17

Original Link (now dead) - http://www.turbinegames.com/qa/view_questions.html?id=961

Can you help me make heads or tails of weapon speeds?

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Asked:	2000.11.01
Name:	Circeus
Question Title:	Can you help me make heads or tails of weapon speeds?
Category:	Combat
Question:	Weapons have varying speeds. It is fairly obvious that a lower speed for a weapon means a weapon is faster -- a speed 30 sword swings faster than a speed 60 sword. However is the speed 30 sword 2 times faster than the speed 60 sword, or is there some other way to compare the two speeds? When comparing other like weapons of varying speeds does this comparison differ from the comparison for swords? (or axe? or dagger? or staff? etc.) For example how does a speed 30 spear compare to a speed 60 spear? Is it 2 times faster? Is there some other way to compare the two speeds? Now to complicate matters, how do speeds compare between weapon types? Is a speed 30 sword the same as a speed 30 spear? Or does weapon speed mean different things for different weapons? Can we get some comparisons? What exactly is weapon speed? I've always been under the assumption that it was the time for the power bar to fill up while attacking, whereas the characters quickness determines the time to swing/stab/jab/etc. How much does weapon type animation play into this? Is this all something that could be charted out for us? Thanks!

Answered:	2000.11.02
Name:	Dell
Answer:	Weapon speed only affects how quickly the animation plays out, not how fast your bar fills up. Therefore, weapons with longer animations will always be slower, thus showing the difference between bow and crossbow.