i know that there is a penalty for trying to use, say, a C grade weapon on a character under 40 (less accuracy)... but if i were to use a B grade weapon on the same under-40 character, would the penalty (less accuracy) be the same amount as trying to use the C grade or would there be an even greater penalty? thanks for your help
I don't know if the penalty is "more" but I've tried a C grade staff with a lvl 10 mage and the attacks pretty much always failed. It just isn't worth it.
A friend wanted to get a lvl 1 up to lvl 10 in a hurry. We equiped him with a yaksa mace and had a prophet buffer buff him. Worked like a charm. :) Don't know if he had any use of the SA on the weapon though.
I'm pretty sure the penalty is the same nomatter how much the grade of the weapon you're using is above you're current grade.
However because mage's dmg is mainly based on skills and spells fail constantly, it's not worth applying this tecnique with a mage weapon & nuking.
However it can be very affective 1-20 when any character, no matter what class it is, is using a melee weapon, preferably B grade or above to outweigh the penalties. You can do it with a C-grade weapon, but a D grade weapon for example is definetly not worth it.
There also used to be an increase change of droppping your weapon when using one out of grade, but because it should not be possible to drop your weapon now unless you are red and have above pk's this shouldn't be a problem.
I'd also advise you to get a buffer if you can, especially one with guidance and to not get duals or fists, because it is very costly as it is. A 1-handed blunt would be best.
Would it be worth it for an archer to Equip a higher level weapon? Say a +3 BOP, when the archer is level 30 or so?
NO!
You can get by with a Melee weapon, but not a bow. It might work if you have Cheap Shot on the bow, otherwise don't do it. Ofcourse you'll need to have a Prophet and an SE standing by with Guidance and Rechange, it is definently not worth it.