Inven Global

With the introduction of daggers to Lineage Classic in the Pirate Island update, interest in weapon choice is rising once again. However, high-priced weapons enchanted to +9 or above are not easily accessible to everyone. In reality, what most players use are affordable, budget-friendly weapons.

In this article, we compared the average DPS of five +6 one-handed swords—Katana, Damascus Sword, Silver Sword, Mail Breaker, and Rapier—against the newly introduced +6 Steel Dagger. If you are debating which weapon to equip, refer to the figures below.

All comparison targets are based on +6 enchantment. The additional +6 bonus damage from enchantment is a fixed value, while base damage rolls randomly between 1 and the maximum, so values were converted to averages for comparison.

Katana has high base damage at 10 for small targets and 12 for large targets. Damascus Sword deals 10 small / 11 large damage and features non-damaging properties. Silver Sword boasts high damage against large targets at 12 and is made of silver. Mail Breaker has low damage at 4/5, but offsets this with +10 Melee Hit and Oriharukon material. Rapier, made of Oriharukon, delivers the highest small damage at 11. Steel Dagger features 6/5 damage, with fast attack speed as its key strength.

Since players hunting without transformations are rare nowadays, the average total damage dealt over the same duration was calculated based on hit counts under Stage 2 Haste combined with a Sharna Transformation Scroll. The hit count of Mail Breaker was applied to the five one-handed swords, while Steel Dagger used its own hit count.

Against small targets, Rapier took the lead at 265.2, followed by Katana and Damascus Sword at 254.2. Against large targets, Katana and Silver Sword, both with 12 large base damage, tied for 1st place at 276.3.

Despite its fast attack speed, Steel Dagger placed only 5th against small targets. Using a Sharna Transformation Scroll narrows the attack speed gap with one-handed swords, causing it to fall behind even Silver Sword against small targets. Against large targets, it trailed behind Katana, Damascus Sword, and Silver Sword. This indicates that at equal +6 enchantment, the advantage in attack speed alone is insufficient to overcome differences in base damage.

Rapier, Silver Sword, and Mail Breaker trigger a random bonus damage roll between 1 and 20 per hit when attacking undead due to their material properties. Converted to an average, this adds approximately 10.5 damage per hit, nearly doubling average damage per hit at +6 enchantment.

The results are completely different from normal targets. Rapier took 1st place against small undead at 497.3, while Silver Sword took top honors against large undead at 508.3. Mail Breaker, which ranked lowest against normal targets, deals approximately 1.6 times more damage than Katana against undead.

Conversely, Katana, Damascus Sword, and Steel Dagger—which lack material bonus damage—cannot catch up to the three material weapons against undead. This is why material property must take priority over base damage when frequently farming in undead-dense hunting grounds.

Since flat bonus damage obtained from buffs, food, and other sources is added to every hit, Steel Dagger—with its faster attack speed—can theoretically narrow the gap with high base-damage weapons as flat bonus damage increases. So, how much flat bonus damage does Steel Dagger need to catch up to Katana or Damascus Sword?

The results are daunting. Under Stage 2 Haste with a Sharna Transformation Scroll, the attack speed gap with one-handed swords narrows to approximately 8%. Consequently, matching Katana and Damascus Sword against small targets requires around +15 flat bonus damage, and against large targets, it requires about +28 to +34—making a reversal virtually impossible. Only against small targets with Silver Sword is the required bonus close at approximately +3.

Steel Dagger shows higher DPS against large targets compared to Rapier, and against both small and large targets compared to Mail Breaker. However, those two weapons are primarily used for hunting undead. When including bonus damage against undead, Rapier reaches 497.3 / 442.0 and Mail Breaker reaches 419.9 / 431.0, vastly outperforming Steel Dagger's 227.1 / 215.1. That is why Steel Dagger cannot be considered superior based solely on normal target figures.

The figures presented so far are expected values assuming every attack hits. In actual hunting, however, missed attacks are more common than expected due to level gaps between characters and monsters. This is why Mail Breaker—which ranked lowest in normal target DPS—cannot be easily dismissed.

In fact, in actual field tests previously conducted on the Inven Lineage Classic board, Mail Breaker recorded the highest efficiency. When a Level 34 Knight equipped a +6 Mail Breaker, Rapier, and Saulabi Longsword in Land of the Abandoned and hunted for six 10-minute sessions per weapon to average the results, Mail Breaker achieved higher average EXP efficiency than Rapier, which theoretically boasted the highest firepower. In an environment with frequent misses, +6 enchantment alone was insufficient to bridge the hit accuracy deficit caused by level gaps, and Mail Breaker's +10 Melee Hit proved to be the decisive factor.

Granted, character levels have risen considerably compared to back then. However, the level of primary hunting grounds has increased as well, meaning hit accuracy remains just as vital today. Consequently, unless a player has advanced beyond Death Level, Mail Breaker continues to be evaluated as the top-performing budget weapon.

In addition, while Damascus Sword has seen its non-damaging merit diminish compared to the past, it still retains niche utility. On the other hand, Steel Dagger lacks such special utility features, meaning it must be chosen strictly on DPS—and in terms of DPS, it offers little advantage over competing weapons.

Although slightly outside the scope of comparing budget gear, raising the baseline to +9 enchantment—which has become far more accessible—does not alter the outcome. When comparing +9 weapons, the DPS gap between Steel Dagger and Katana narrows from approx. 10.7% to approx. 6.8% against small targets, and from approx. 22.1% to approx. 16.3% against large targets. However, Steel Dagger still requires approximately +12 flat bonus damage against small targets and +25 to +31 against large targets to catch up to Katana and Damascus Sword.

Ultimately, the best budget weapon depends on character level and target monsters. If your hit rate is lacking relative to the level of your hunting ground, Mail Breaker is the most reliable choice. In particular, Land of the Abandoned—an ATS hunting zone for levels 30 through 50—is entirely composed of small undead monsters, and the recently added Shadow Temple ATS zone is also fully undead with a 50/50 split between small and large monsters. For mid-level players actively leveling up, there is no better choice than Mail Breaker.

Once you reach Level 52 and feel your hit rate is sufficient, Rapier is a great pick for small-monster-dense areas, Katana or Silver Sword for large-monster areas, and Rapier and Silver Sword with material bonus damage for undead-dense areas. Damascus Sword is also worth considering if you want to minimize weapon maintenance. While Steel Dagger offers value for experiencing the fast attack speed of daggers, its merit as a +6 budget weapon is limited. Budget players unable to make heavy investments should hold out with their current one-handed sword until they can target high-end weapons with proven firepower, such as Crystal Dagger or Oriharukon Dagger.