Ultima Online Mace Fighting - every mace and hammer, the armour damage, and the numbers nobody publishes

What the skill actually does

Mace Fighting decides whether you hit and whether you are hit — it is the attacker’s and the defender’s Combat Ability term in the hit chance formula [!], where Hit Chance Increase and Defense Chance Increase each cap at 45% [!] and the minimum hit chance is 2% [!] — and it gates each weapon’s two special moves.

It contributes nothing to damage. That comes from Tactics (÷ 1.6, plus 6.25% at 100), Anatomy (÷ 2, plus 5% at 100) and Strength (× 0.3, plus 5% at 100), summed with item Damage Increase into Final Damage = Base Damage + ( Base Damage × Final Damage Bonus% ). Item Damage Increase caps at 100% and the total bonus at 300%.

Lumberjacking does nothing for a mace fighter. Its ÷ 5 bonus applies to axes and hatchets, which are Swordsmanship weapons — and the War Axe below is a Mace Fighting weapon despite the name. It still counts towards the special-move mana discount, which is a different thing.

[!] The Tactics line is not settled. uo.com publishes Tactics ÷ 1.6 (81.25% at 120); an unpublished figure of skill level + 50% [!] (170% at 120 [!]) does not match it. uo.com’s is the documented one; the Tactics page shows both.

Armour damage, the signature bonus nobody has quantified

This is the reason to hold a mace. uo.com: mace weapons have “a ‘bonus’ special ability that includes a greater chance of dealing damage to an opponent’s armor with each strike”. A stronger, unpublished claim [!] is that they always damage armour on a successful hit, and wear its durability at accelerated rates.

[!] Those two statements do not say the same thing — uo.com says “a greater chance”, the unpublished claim says always — and neither gives a number: no chance, no durability amount per hit, and nothing reconciling the two claims.

[!] Whether the armour damage also applies to an opponent’s shield is not published either way.

Stamina damage, and why it slows their swings

Mace weapons also deal a small amount of extra damage to the target’s stamina [!]. That is not cosmetic, because stamina sets swing speed. The swing delay formula [!] is Floor( ( Weapon Speed − Floor( Stamina ÷ 30 ) ) × ( 100.0 ÷ ( 100 + Swing Speed Increase ) ) ) ÷ 4, floored at 1.25 seconds [!], and uo.com says the same in words: “every 30 points of stamina lost will slow your swing speed by .25 seconds”. Drain their stamina and you have slowed their attacks and their running at once.

[!] The amount of stamina damage is not published, and uo.com does not mention the effect at all.

Poisoning does nothing on a mace

Poisoning cannot be used with Mace Fighting [!]. uo.com never contradicts it — no mace weapon on its Special Moves page carries Infectious Strike, which is how poison is delivered through a special.

On a template this is a hard fact, not a preference: Poisoning points on a mace fighter buy nothing but the special-move mana discount.

One-handed maces

A one-handed mace leaves the other hand free for a shield, which is the whole argument for carrying one — see Parry for what that shield is actually worth.

Weapon	Damage [!]	Speed [!]	Primary (70)	Secondary (90)	Crafted by
Barbed Whip	13–17	3.25s	Concussion Blow	Whirlwind Attack	Tinkering
Club	10–14	2.5s	Crushing Blow	Dismount	Carpentry
Diamond Mace	13–17	3.25s	Concussion Blow	Crushing Blow	Blacksmithy
Escrima	10–12	2s	Feint	Nerve Strike	Carpentry
Gargish Otsuchi	10–12	2s	Feint	Nerve Strike	Carpentry
Hammer Pick	15–17	3.75s	Armor Ignore	Mortal Strike	Blacksmithy
Mace	11–15	2.75s	Concussion Blow	Disarm	Blacksmithy
Maul	14–18	3.5s	Double Strike	Concussion Blow	Blacksmithy
Scepter	14–18	3.5s	Crushing Blow	Mortal Strike	Blacksmithy
Sledge Hammer	13–17	3.25s	Crushing Blow	Shadowstrike	Tinkering
Smith's Hammer	13–17	3.25s	Crushing Blow	Shadowstrike	Tinkering
Wand	11–15	2.75s	Dismount	Disarm	Uncraftable
War Axe	13–17	3.25s	Armor Ignore	Bleed Attack	Blacksmithy
War Mace	15–19	3.75s	Crushing Blow	Mortal Strike	Blacksmithy
Wild Staff	10–13	2.25s	Block	Force of Nature	Carpentry

[!] The damage and speed figures in this table are unpublished, marked [!] in the column headings. uo.com publishes no damage or speed table for mace weapons anywhere; its Special Moves page lists the same weapons and the same two moves each, and nothing else.

Two-handed maces

Weapon	Damage [!]	Speed [!]	Primary (70)	Secondary (90)	Crafted by
Black Staff	13–16	2.75s	Whirlwind Attack	Paralyzing Blow	Carpentry
Bo Staff	16–19	3.5s	Feint	Nerve Strike	Carpentry
Gnarled Staff	15–17	3.25s	Concussion Blow	Force of Nature	Carpentry
Nunchaku	12–15	2.5s	Block	Double Strike	Tinkering
Quarter Staff	11–14	2.25s	Double Strike	Concussion Blow	Carpentry
Shepherd's Crook	13–16	2.75s	Crushing Blow	Disarm	Carpentry
Tessen	10–12	2s	Feint	Block	Blacksmithy
Tetsubo	12–15	2.5s	Frenzied Whirlwind	Crushing Blow	Carpentry
War Hammer	17–20	3.75s	Whirlwind Attack	Crushing Blow	Blacksmithy

[!] uo.com’s Special Moves page lists two more mace weapons that the tables above do not carry: the Disc Mace (Armor Ignore) and the Serpentstone Staff (Crushing Blow). No speed or damage figure is published for either, so none is given here.

The Shepherd’s Crook is worth noticing twice: it is a two-handed mace weapon with Crushing Blow and Disarm, and it is also the tool the Herding skill uses.

The two special moves, and what they cost

Every mace carries two. The thresholds are 70 and 90 Mace Fighting, with 30 and 60 Tactics alongside them, and they must be real skill points, not bonus from items.

[!] Which of the two is called “primary” is published two different ways by uo.com, on two of its own pages. The Special Moves page says the first move is the one at 70 and the second needs 90. The Melee Fighting page says the opposite: “70 weapon skill and relevant support skill for the ‘secondary’ move and 90 weapon skill and support skill for the ‘primary’ move”. The numbers are not in dispute anywhere — 70 with 30 Tactics, 90 with 60 Tactics. Only the labels are, and both readings are shown rather than one being picked.

Mana runs 15 to 35 and comes down with your combined total across Mace Fighting, Swordsmanship, Fencing, Archery, Throwing, Parry, Lumberjacking, Stealth, Poisoning, Bushido and Ninjitsu: −5 at 200–299, −10 at 300 or more. Tactics is not in that pool. Using a special within 3 seconds of the last one costs double, and a special that is parried costs the attacker nothing at all unless it is a Bushido or Ninjitsu move.

Move	Mana	What uo.com says it does
Whirlwind Attack	15	Strikes at every nearby target in one swing. The cheapest special move published.
Block	20	“Raises your defenses for 6 seconds.” Needs Bushido or Ninjitsu.
Concussion Blow	20	10–15 scaling direct damage, based on weapon speed.
Crushing Blow	20	“Increases the caster’s damage by 50%.”
Disarm	20	Strips the opponent’s weapon for 5 seconds.
Dual Wield	20	25% base proc. Needs Ninjitsu.
Frenzied Whirlwind	20	20–50 per attack within two tiles. Needs Bushido or Ninjitsu.
Shadow Strike	20	Extra damage and invisibility. Also needs 80 Stealth.
Dismount	25	15–25 damage and unseats the rider.
Armor Ignore	30	Bypasses all of the target’s armour resistance, for one shot.
Bleed Attack	30	15–31 damage over 10 seconds.
Double Strike	30	Two swings, at a 10% penalty.
Feint	30	Cuts the attacker’s damage by 20–50%. Needs Bushido or Ninjitsu.
Mortal Strike	30	The victim cannot heal — 8 seconds on a player, 14 on an NPC.
Nerve Strike	30	Direct damage and paralysis. Bushido only, real skill only.
Paralyzing Blow	30	Held in place — 3 seconds on a player, 6 on an NPC.
Force of Nature	35	15–35 delayed direct damage, with a 50–100% increase based on Strength.

The Crushing - the Mace Fighting mastery

Mace Fighting’s mastery is titled The Crushing. The entry requirement is above 90 [!] real skill — skill points from items do not count — and a primer must be read for each of the three tiers; primers drop from all champion spawns, Scalis and Charybdis, and are shard bound.

• Stagger (active, 20 mana) — a “staggering move on their opponent causing a swing speed increase debuff and massive damage”, scaled on mastery level — the same axis of attack as the skill’s own stamina drain.
• Toughness (active toggle, 20 mana plus 20 upkeep) — “increased hit points based on the mace fighter’s tactics and mace fighting skill”, burning mana while it is on.
• Warrior’s Gifts (passive, shared with the other weapon skills) — level 1 +5 Hit Chance Increase; level 2 +5 HCI and +5 Defense Chance Increase; level 3 +5 HCI, +5 DCI, +5 Strength Bonus and +5% Damage Bonus.

[!] Neither Stagger’s damage nor the size or duration of its swing speed debuff is published, only “massive damage” and “based on mastery level”; Toughness’s hit point increase has no published number either.

[!] How often you may switch masteries is not settled. uo.com says there is a “10 minute cooldown between switching masteries”; an unpublished figure of 15 minutes [!] differs.

In PvP

• Armour destruction. Every hit wears their armour durability at accelerated rates [!] — a cumulative advantage across a long fight that no other weapon skill has.
• Stamina drain into slower swings. Small stamina damage per hit, compounding with Floor( Stamina ÷ 30 ) in the swing delay. Stagger stacks a swing speed debuff on top.
• Disarm (Mace, Shepherd’s Crook and Wand secondaries, 20 mana) removes their weapon for 5 seconds.
• Mortal Strike (Hammer Pick, Scepter and War Mace secondaries, 30 mana) blocks healing for 8 seconds on a player — the single most valuable eight seconds in the skill.
• Paralyzing Blow (Black Staff secondary, 30 mana) holds a player 3 seconds; Dismount (Wand primary, Club secondary, 25 mana) unseats them for 15–25 damage. Toughness adds hit points for mana upkeep.
• The cost: no poison game at all, and the two hardest-hitting maces (War Hammer 17–20, War Mace 15–19) are the slowest at 3.75s. You trade swing rate for per-hit damage.

One PvP-specific trap from uo.com: “while players are in combat with other players equipping +skill items will have a 15-second delay to increasing skill”.

In PvM

Start here: the armour damage is of almost no benefit against monsters. What carries a mace fighter through PvM is the move list.

• Crushing Blow (War Mace, Scepter, Shepherd’s Crook, Sledge Hammer, Smith’s Hammer, Diamond Mace) — +50% damage for 20 mana, the cornerstone of the skill in PvM.
• Armor Ignore (Hammer Pick and War Axe primaries, 30 mana) bypasses the target’s armour resistance entirely for one shot.
• Whirlwind Attack (Black Staff and War Hammer primaries, Barbed Whip secondary) is 15 mana, the cheapest special published; Frenzied Whirlwind (Tetsubo primary, 20 mana) does 20–50 per attack within two tiles.
• Force of Nature (Gnarled Staff and Wild Staff secondaries, 35 mana) deals 15–35 delayed direct damage with a 50–100% increase based on Strength — and Strength is Mace Fighting’s own primary stat.
• Both control moves last longer on monsters: Mortal Strike 14 seconds, Paralyzing Blow 6 seconds.

Focus regenerates the stamina that sets your swing speed and the mana that funds all of it; Healing keeps you standing.

Three things people get wrong

• The War Axe is a Mace Fighting weapon, not a Swordsmanship one, despite every other axe in the game going the other way. uo.com’s Special Moves page lists it under maces.
• Magic wands are Mace Fighting weapons. 11–15 damage, 2.75s, Dismount and Disarm, and uncraftable — a mage holding a wand is holding a mace.
• Poisoning is dead weight here. It cannot be used with mace fighting at all.

Caps, and how to get there

Mace Fighting is on the Power Scroll list, so it runs to 105 / 110 / 115 / 120 with a Wondrous, Exalted, Mythical or Legendary scroll; they are not cumulative, only the highest tier counts. Every point counts against the 720 total cap. Primary stat Strength, secondary Dexterity.

The published route: 0–30 from an NPC Warrior Guildmaster, then uo.com’s progression — New Haven trainers and the accelerated gain quests to 50; 50–70 on Tokuno orcs and deathwatch beetles or Solen hive workers; 70–90 on New Haven Mine earth elementals, Covetous level one harpies or Solen Infiltrators near Wind; 90–120 on Shame level 1, Homare Jima Tsuki Wolves, Bushido Dojo ronin (beware the Elite Ninja), the Fan Dancer Dojo, the Arctic Ogre Lord, and Shame level 2 mud elementals. The Guaranteed Gain System backstops it with a mandatory 0.1, and a Scroll of Alacrity gives 0.2 to 0.5 per check for 15 minutes.

Where these come from

uo.com Melee Fighting · uo.com Melee Damage Increase · uo.com Special Moves · uo.com Skill Masteries · uo.com Skills, Stats & Attributes · uo.com Skill Gain Systems · uo.com Focus. Everything here is from uo.com or the game itself; anything uo.com does not publish is marked [!] as unpublished where it appears.