This is something that I've touched upon in my Timed Blocks Tip, but I've been playing a character that uses Maces recently (sadly I can't fit One-Handed into the character) but I wanted to see what Maces can really do once you start perking up. I'm also going to be mentioning a few perks that work really well with each of the perks individually.
The idea behind Maces in Ordinator is that they start turning into a really powerful weapon by focusing on Armour Reduction and Critical Hits, but also just generally fitting them in with a more Cleric-like character. There are a few effects that enhance allies, others that do bonus damage to undead but also just generally working to create some truly devastating combos late game.
Devastating Blow
The first perk in the 'Mace line' of perks and what it does is reduce the enemy's armour by 50/75/100 for 15 seconds. It doesn't seem to stack but it really doesn't need to. That reduction isn't anything all that major, most enemies don't have high AR because they decided to focus more on insanely high HP ranges but it's still an effect that would allow you to get a little bit more out of each following hit. Surprisingly I think this one works rather well with Shouts, especially if your investing in Speech because there are perks like Thu'um of War which staggers enemies and further reduces their AR whenever you Shout.
Smite is the second perk in the tree, and this is where it starts getting really interesting. It's a Power Attack ability that can only be triggered once every 30 seconds on an enemy (but you can trigger it on different enemies during that time) and what it does is deliver a critical hit that does three/six times damage to an enemy. On top of that it recieves a boost when attacking undead by changing it to four/eight times damage. This really works quite well with Block in my opinion, there are a fair few perks there that increase Power Attack damage or damage when you can pull off a Timed Block like the Poke the Dragon perk which gives you a 25% boost to Critical Strike damage whenever you manage to get off a Timed Block against an enemy.
Rise Kinsmen
The third perk and one of the more interesting in my opinion because it doesn't directly benefit you. What this does is increase the damage of any nearby ally by 20% for 15 seconds whenever you use a forwards power attack. What makes it even cooler is that this one stacks meaning it isn't impossible to get off a bonus of 60% at all times. Personally I think this works best with Light Armour which boasts some pretty good movement speed and Stamina Regeneration at times. For example, Fight or Flight lets you regenerate 5% of your Stamina if your hit by an unblocked attack while Survival Instinct will improve your movement speed by 10% for the same time under the same circumstances.
Toll the Bell is a perk that I really enjoy the sound of (not just because of the name but because it seems so broken and badass that I fell in love with it the minute I read about it). This perk increases the power of your Sideways Power Attack by 1% per point of Stamina that you have when using it, at the cost of costing all of your Stamina. So just imagine the sheer power that can be relatively easily achieved with this. A few quick examples are enchanting your equipment, playing as an Imperial (with Imperious) and boost your Stamina by 100 points with The Human Spirit (at level 10 you can choose one stat to increase by 100 and another to decreaase by 50) and just absolutely shred things. Of course this is also boosted by other One-Handed perks like One-Handed Mastery, Smite, or Rogue's Parry
Meteor Storm
The second last 'Mace Perk' and what it does is fairly similar to Rise Kinsmen in that it gets better the more you use it in a battle and stacks. Essentially, Standing Power Attacks with a mace increase the damage and stamina cost of Standing Power Attacks for 20 seconds, and this can stack rather easily for around four or five times meaning by the end you could easily be doing 60/75% more damage with your final attack in the chain. Of course it is rather taxing so the same rules as Rise Kinsmen apply (with Light Armour being useful) but also a Drain Stamina enchantment would be incredibly powerful here.
Skull Crack is simple but powerful. All it does is allow you to disrupt a spell whenever you hit an enemy with a mace. Honestly this just works well with everything but Alteration's Distort Shape springs to mind because it allows you to turn Ethereal whenever you use a Flesh spell as long as you aren't wearing armour. Any Cleric-y character could really benefit from this combination, but really anything that lets you get close to your enemy is useful here.
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Thanks for reading this tip. I'd recommend checking out my Timed Block, Crusader's Fire and Warrior's Flame tips if you'd like to learn a little bit about some perks or abilites that I think would work rather well with some of the Mace perks that I've mentioned here. Together the four would actually make a pretty effective Cleric or Crusader type character, with plenty of diversity in close combat that would essentially allow you to create a near invincible character (at least as long as Archers aren't involved). Other then that, the Ordinator Tag at the top is always a good place to go if your looking for ideas on how to make Ordinator a little more fun, or would just like to know more about how perks work together.
This is something that I've touched upon in my Timed Blocks Tip, but I've been playing a character that uses Maces recently (sadly I can't fit One-Handed into the character) but I wanted to see what Maces can really do once you start perking up. I'm also going to be mentioning a few perks that work really well with each of the perks individually.
The idea behind Maces in Ordinator is that they start turning into a really powerful weapon by focusing on Armour Reduction and Critical Hits, but also just generally fitting them in with a more Cleric-like character. There are a few effects that enhance allies, others that do bonus damage to undead but also just generally working to create some truly devastating combos late game.
Devastating Blow
The first perk in the 'Mace line' of perks and what it does is reduce the enemy's armour by 50/75/100 for 15 seconds. It doesn't seem to stack but it really doesn't need to. That reduction isn't anything all that major, most enemies don't have high AR because they decided to focus more on insanely high HP ranges but it's still an effect that would allow you to get a little bit more out of each following hit. Surprisingly I think this one works rather well with Shouts, especially if your investing in Speech because there are perks like Thu'um of War which staggers enemies and further reduces their AR whenever you Shout.
Smite is the second perk in the tree, and this is where it starts getting really interesting. It's a Power Attack ability that can only be triggered once every 30 seconds on an enemy (but you can trigger it on different enemies during that time) and what it does is deliver a critical hit that does three/six times damage to an enemy. On top of that it recieves a boost when attacking undead by changing it to four/eight times damage. This really works quite well with Block in my opinion, there are a fair few perks there that increase Power Attack damage or damage when you can pull off a Timed Block like the Poke the Dragon perk which gives you a 25% boost to Critical Strike damage whenever you manage to get off a Timed Block against an enemy.
Rise Kinsmen
The third perk and one of the more interesting in my opinion because it doesn't directly benefit you. What this does is increase the damage of any nearby ally by 20% for 15 seconds whenever you use a forwards power attack. What makes it even cooler is that this one stacks meaning it isn't impossible to get off a bonus of 60% at all times. Personally I think this works best with Light Armour which boasts some pretty good movement speed and Stamina Regeneration at times. For example, Fight or Flight lets you regenerate 5% of your Stamina if your hit by an unblocked attack while Survival Instinct will improve your movement speed by 10% for the same time under the same circumstances.
Toll the Bell is a perk that I really enjoy the sound of (not just because of the name but because it seems so broken and badass that I fell in love with it the minute I read about it). This perk increases the power of your Sideways Power Attack by 1% per point of Stamina that you have when using it, at the cost of costing all of your Stamina. So just imagine the sheer power that can be relatively easily achieved with this. A few quick examples are enchanting your equipment, playing as an Imperial (with Imperious) and boost your Stamina by 100 points with The Human Spirit (at level 10 you can choose one stat to increase by 100 and another to decreaase by 50) and just absolutely shred things. Of course this is also boosted by other One-Handed perks like One-Handed Mastery, Smite, or Rogue's Parry
Meteor Storm
The second last 'Mace Perk' and what it does is fairly similar to Rise Kinsmen in that it gets better the more you use it in a battle and stacks. Essentially, Standing Power Attacks with a mace increase the damage and stamina cost of Standing Power Attacks for 20 seconds, and this can stack rather easily for around four or five times meaning by the end you could easily be doing 60/75% more damage with your final attack in the chain. Of course it is rather taxing so the same rules as Rise Kinsmen apply (with Light Armour being useful) but also a Drain Stamina enchantment would be incredibly powerful here.
Skull Crack is simple but powerful. All it does is allow you to disrupt a spell whenever you hit an enemy with a mace. Honestly this just works well with everything but Alteration's Distort Shape springs to mind because it allows you to turn Ethereal whenever you use a Flesh spell as long as you aren't wearing armour. Any Cleric-y character could really benefit from this combination, but really anything that lets you get close to your enemy is useful here.
---------------------------
Thanks for reading this tip. I'd recommend checking out my Timed Block, Crusader's Fire and Warrior's Flame tips if you'd like to learn a little bit about some perks or abilites that I think would work rather well with some of the Mace perks that I've mentioned here. Together the four would actually make a pretty effective Cleric or Crusader type character, with plenty of diversity in close combat that would essentially allow you to create a near invincible character (at least as long as Archers aren't involved). Other then that, the Ordinator Tag at the top is always a good place to go if your looking for ideas on how to make Ordinator a little more fun, or would just like to know more about how perks work together.
