First off, note that this thread is about the normal one-handed weapons (not polearms, everyone knows how powerful polearms are in the hands of Rhodok players).
I think most players will agree that the best non-polearm onehanders for Rhodok players are the Fighting Pick and the Club with Spikes - the default weapon and the second cheapest weapon available. Unfortunately, this isn't only due to the low price point (which I wouldn't mind, I could understand why people prefer sticking to cheap weapons), but simply because the more expensive and supposedly better alternatives, the Military Pick and Morningstar (one of the best weapons in Native), are pretty much worthless in Warband.
The Military Pick has only two more points to damage compared to the fighting pick (which is two tiers below it), but it's even 4 points slower and costs 142 denar just to get, making it pretty much a useless purchase (even moreso if compared to the Club with Spikes, which is also more versatile being an insanely fast one-and-a-half-weapon and the added ability to knock down with swings).
It's even worse with the Morningstar, which costs over 200 denar, provides another 2 extra points of piercing damage compared to the Military Pick... (which is pretty fair, at least compared to the first 2 extra points of damage the Military pick provides, which cost 150 denari)
...with the huge downside that it's the poor, neglected cripple among weapons. A speed rating of just 75 (!) makes this weapon so useless that it isn't even funny - for every other purpose than ambushing an extremely heavily armored infantry unit from behind or in groups (and even then, there's better weapons for these scenarios).
If your shield breaks with this weapon on a manual server you can pretty much resign too since its almost too slow to even block most strikes from faster weapons in time, let alone ever hitting back. What's the point of a weapon that can pierce through armor if you never get to hit something?
In terms of the Military Pick, the reduced speed compared to the Fighting Pick really needs to go if its supposed to be an alternative to the cheaper two weapons, or - a more interesting alternative in my opinion - it should be replaced by a one-handed Military Hammer with pretty much the same stats but blunt damage, then it'd have the added benefit of being able to knock enemies down and would be well balanced compared to both the cheaper two weapons as well as a possibly fixed morning star.
I've read some interesting suggestions concerning the morningstar, like making it a one-and-a-half-weapon with a much higher speed rating, which, after some thinking about it, sounds pretty fair to me, making it look like the the Military Pick/Hammer is the logical upgrade for Fighting Pick fans, while the 1.5handed Morningstar is an upgraded Club with Spikes (both literally and metaphorical). Otherwise either increasing its range further (so you can actually hit people with good footwork when they miss their strikes) or simply making its speed value less ridiculous could help to, but it's certain something needs to be done with these weapons, as they hardly ever get to see any play.
If you have any other suggestions, feel free to share them!
tl;dr: Read the title
I think most players will agree that the best non-polearm onehanders for Rhodok players are the Fighting Pick and the Club with Spikes - the default weapon and the second cheapest weapon available. Unfortunately, this isn't only due to the low price point (which I wouldn't mind, I could understand why people prefer sticking to cheap weapons), but simply because the more expensive and supposedly better alternatives, the Military Pick and Morningstar (one of the best weapons in Native), are pretty much worthless in Warband.
The Military Pick has only two more points to damage compared to the fighting pick (which is two tiers below it), but it's even 4 points slower and costs 142 denar just to get, making it pretty much a useless purchase (even moreso if compared to the Club with Spikes, which is also more versatile being an insanely fast one-and-a-half-weapon and the added ability to knock down with swings).
It's even worse with the Morningstar, which costs over 200 denar, provides another 2 extra points of piercing damage compared to the Military Pick... (which is pretty fair, at least compared to the first 2 extra points of damage the Military pick provides, which cost 150 denari)
...with the huge downside that it's the poor, neglected cripple among weapons. A speed rating of just 75 (!) makes this weapon so useless that it isn't even funny - for every other purpose than ambushing an extremely heavily armored infantry unit from behind or in groups (and even then, there's better weapons for these scenarios).
If your shield breaks with this weapon on a manual server you can pretty much resign too since its almost too slow to even block most strikes from faster weapons in time, let alone ever hitting back. What's the point of a weapon that can pierce through armor if you never get to hit something?
In terms of the Military Pick, the reduced speed compared to the Fighting Pick really needs to go if its supposed to be an alternative to the cheaper two weapons, or - a more interesting alternative in my opinion - it should be replaced by a one-handed Military Hammer with pretty much the same stats but blunt damage, then it'd have the added benefit of being able to knock enemies down and would be well balanced compared to both the cheaper two weapons as well as a possibly fixed morning star.
I've read some interesting suggestions concerning the morningstar, like making it a one-and-a-half-weapon with a much higher speed rating, which, after some thinking about it, sounds pretty fair to me, making it look like the the Military Pick/Hammer is the logical upgrade for Fighting Pick fans, while the 1.5handed Morningstar is an upgraded Club with Spikes (both literally and metaphorical). Otherwise either increasing its range further (so you can actually hit people with good footwork when they miss their strikes) or simply making its speed value less ridiculous could help to, but it's certain something needs to be done with these weapons, as they hardly ever get to see any play.
If you have any other suggestions, feel free to share them!
tl;dr: Read the title