There are 4 weapon categories in Hexen II

Category 1: Free WEAPONS

Exactly what that sounds like. Attack for free, no ammo required. And in Hexen II, these are absolutely indispensable. Especially since we are playing on the hardest difficulty, where mana resources are quite scarce. There is not enough mana in the game to kill everything using other weapons, - furthermore, a lot of times other weapons will be inefficient or more dangerous in their simplistic point-and-shoot usage.

Unlike what you might remember from the first Hexen game - free weapons, (and melee weapons in general) - are used in a completely different way. Here, they are only used in specific situations. And such situations arise when you successfully trap an enemy in a way that he (or it) - cannot reach you, while you can most certainly reach and destroy him. And if you know how to do it, - then this is going to happen every two minutes. About half of the enemies you encounter in the entire game - you should be killing exactly in this way. 

Most enemies in Hexen II actively chase you, when they spot you. And with most of them - this allows you to lead them to specific spots in the level. Namely - lead, then ambush and attack enemies while hiding behind a corner, or a door, or other similar cover; effectively using such cover like a tower-shield. Also, with the bigger creatures - leading them toward places which they cannot pass, and then attacking scott-free.  The  corner- ambush is a tactic perfect for using the free weapons, especially the close-quarter kind. And you should use it as much as you can, until the end of the game - or die repeatedly and then rage-quit with tail between legs...

Trapping enemies (and then killing them) is about 40-50% of the combat in the game, as deciding to duke it out spell-to-spell, - is far not always advisable, (mildly put) even if you have the ammo and the guns. Certain enemies cannot be trapped, - or can get out of your trap, - so you're going to either re-trap, if possible - or adjust your tactics accordingly.

Attacking with your "free weapon" while trapping -  is the most prevalent tactic in  the game, - and has to be mastered. 

 Category 3: Green Mana Weapons (use green mana)

Green Mana weapons are ranged for all characters, and fortunately
they don't downgrade. They do, however, vary significantly in terms
of power -, a factor which may soon after you find these weapons - render some of them completely obsolete.

And of course, there is the usefulness factor, - which is comprised of the
enemy's potential ability to evade the weapon's fire, speed, power, magic properties and the damage-per-mana ratio. We will evaluate this factor for each weapon on the relative scale from 0 to 10.

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Now, let's delve into the characters' weapons in detail.

THE HAMMER (Crusader) - the most powerful free weapon,
which does not mean it is the best; but let's face it: it is the 2nd best.
Take all those "corner ambushes" with strength and confidence,
as the Hammer will not let you down with its range and power. It is as close to Paladin's Vorpal Sword as you get.  Rating: 5

THE GAUNTLETS (Paladin) - Gauntlets are weaker, and have shorter range than the Crusader's Hammer, yet they are slightly faster. And since we will be using those mostly for attacking from cover and corner-ambushing, they should get the job done. Just watch it when fending off Black Spiders. Rating: 3

KATAR (Assassin) - weaker indeed in the melee category, but will get you by, when applied properly. Its low damage may make it for some enemies possible to escape your setup and counter-attack. Rating: 2

Sickle (Necromancer) - pretty much the same as the Katar, only slightly slower and weaker; yet soon enough can be imbued with special abilities, as you unlock "Soul Harvest". Once this ability has been acquired - it will prove highly beneficial to lay your foes low with this one, and not only in terms of mana conservation. Rating: 4

BLOODFIRE (Demoness) - a free RANGED weapon! In the world of Hexen II - this is almost like cheating! Hands down, a free ranged weapon, even with limited power and a short range is still so versatile, that you will pretty much use it all the time. It is fast, accurate and it gives you space to maneuver. Nothing in the Demoness' arsenal even comes close. Rating: 10

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Blue Mana Weapons

ICE STAFF (Crusader) - this is Hexen II version of the Frost Shards.
Reasonably powered and with a fast fire rate, this weapon will be very effective throughout the first episode, but as the game goes on - with each new episode the potency of the Ice Staff will plummet, making it next-to -useless in the Egyptian Hub and completely useless in the Roman one. This is, unfortunately, a down-scaling weapon. Later in the game getting stuck with blue mana will mean a certain death. Advanced enemies will be able to endure volleys and volleys of attacks from the staff without ever thinking to go down, and by this time you would be much better off using the Lightbringer.
On the bright side, the powered-up mode of the Staff is very destructive
and it retains it's power no matter how far you are in the game. Rating: 2

CROSSBOW (Assassin) - a very reasonable weapon for the first episode, yet it scales down to the extreme, and already by the 2nd hub  - the Assassin will struggle and pay a very high mana price in hopeless attempts to kill anything at all.  Rating: 2
 

VORPAL SWORD (Paladin) - definitely the best melee weapon, and while its powerful strikes are rather costly, but it is within reason. The weapon is permanent (meaning it does not scale down with the progress of the game), - so it does preserve it's potency. Yet being a melee weapon means that you will often have to do some tricky attack sorties : hit-n-run tactics with split second timing, cause trading blows on highest difficulty in Hexen2 is a definite no-no...so practice timing enemies every chance. 

There will be times when you can't trap and corner-ambush an enemy, so hit-and-run tactics are your go-to move. This is going to happen with certain Knight Archers. Cover,  pop for a quick hit - and back to cover. With practice you can also do a timed stop-n-go zigzag between Archer's shots to close the distance, when there is no suitable cover close by. Just keep in mind, that the Archers can time you as well.... Learn exactly when to begin your dashes as they draw the bow. One dash per shot. Don't try to go all the way in one dash - since your goal is to make the Archer re-aim, reset his attack mode every time, - and ultimately hit him as he lowers the bow.  He will reset his attacks if you pause between dashes. Rating: 6.

   Category 2: Blue Mana Weapons (use blue mana)


Blue Mana weapons diverge greatly in their characteristics. These can be melee or ranged, strong or weak, down-scaling or permanent, expensive and cheap - and of course useful or useless. This depends on the player class.

Some weapons lose their potency dramatically, - becoming virtually useless in an instant, as the game progresses beyond the 1st episode. We shall categorize those as "down-scaling weapons".

Certain weapons score kills for just a few mana points, while others have to waste dozens of them. We shall categorize the latter as "expensive weapons".

And of course, there is the usefulness factor, - which is comprised of the enemy's potential ability to evade the weapon's fire, speed, power, magic properties and the damage-per-mana ratio. We will evaluate this factor for each weapon on the relative scale from 0 to 10. Scarab Staff is a 10, since it excels at all categories, while Acid Rune or Raven Staff get 0 and 2 respectively, since they fail miserably in combat.

 

Category 4: Ultimate Weapons (use both mana colors)

Unlike Hexen-1, here those tools are relatively weak, and they eat a lot of mana; yet at times, after making the calculations (and you will and should be making those for the hardest difficulty) - it will still be more reasonable to use those weapons above all others.

The Ultimate Weapons also vary significantly in strength, enemy's chances to evade and damage-per-mana. With that said, half characters are heavily dependent on the Ultimate Weapons, because for them, - other means of waging war become increasingly weak (and much more wasteful) as the game progresses. I am not sure if the devs designed it to be so or not, but this sort of balance is worlds apart from what we have in Hexen-1.

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MAGIC MISSILE (Necromancer) - a permanent 2nd weapon and a reliable one to use throughout the game. Its projectiles are powerful
and can travel a great range. This is the weapon to carry around. Not only that, but as the Necromancer rises in levels, - the spell becomes more powerful. Cool, huh?!
The powered-up mode of the Missile is quite devastating: firing several
missiles at once, each bringing significantly more destruction to the
enemies, ultimately shattering most of them to bloody bits. Rating: 8
 

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DOUBLE-BLADED AXE (Paladin) - The Axe is not in any way stronger than the Vorpal Sword, - while its shots are half the cost. However, it is more expensive in terms of damage-per-mana, so it requires consideration when should you use it. The Axe launches forward a blade-like projectile that can ricochet of walls and other solid surfaces. And those ricochet hits are the weapon's main strength. Choosing a right place to fight with this weapon - will enable you to score double-damage (and sometimes even triple damage ) hits.  And this is the way this weapon should be used.
 

Fighting close to walls, and especially on the stairs will take advantage of the ricochet effect. Otherwise, - aim not at the creatures, but at the floor in front of them, to have some kind of damage boost and prevent enemies from sidestepping your attacks. Using the Axe merely because it has projectiles (foregoing double-damage hits) - is the most wasteful and inefficient approach.
Powered up mode produces a larger, wider and more damaging projectile
which also happens to have a piercing effect . Can be used on rare occasions, as it is far not as powerful as it sounds, when facing higher-tier enemies. Rating: 6

METEOR STAFF (Crusader) - this, my friends, is THE Rocket Launcher. Plain and simple. And it will work not unlike any other FPS rocket-launcher, and just as great as it did in Quake-1 (and 2). This is the best green-mana-weapon in the game, and at times you will indeed have to decide whether to go with it or to take the Lightbringer.
Powered up mode adds greater splash damage. Rating: 9
 

FIRE RUNE (Demoness) - the lamest knock-off possible of the Hexen-1 Cleric's Firestorm. And it is both extremely weak and ridiculously expensive mana-wise. This applies to all Demoness' weaponry, but as for the Fire Rune, - unfortunately you WILL have to use it, because by any means necessary you have to get to the Tempest Staff. Yes, you will use both of her mana-based weapons with little effect and shed bloody tears as you do. You will be put in a number of very dangerous situations while at it, and yet as it was written in Hexen "you cannot let anything keep you from your fate, even if you might come to wish that it would".

Seriously though, whatever it takes, all the items and artifacts will have to carry you through the fierce land of the Werejaguars - to the coveted Tempest Staff. Then, and only then - the tables will turn.

The powered up mode of the Fire Rune does send some pretty flames flying, but this attack can and will be dodged by some enemies, while the price you pay in resources will be much greater than its worth. Besides, you won't have nor too many Tomes of Power lying around, neither the mana cubes enough to support this firing mode permanently. Rating: 1

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The Ultimate Weapons

LIGHTBRINGER (Crusader) - a reasonably powered weapon, if only a tad resource-hungry. Generates a direct constant ray of light, which burns enemies (Hexen-2 laser gun). It has some strategic use, since the beam can be reflected off solid surfaces, redirecting it accordingly. Like a crude version of the curved shots in "Wanted". Experimenting with such trajectories can be very costly, and on highest difficulties mana-based experiments can be more detrimental to you, than the other way around. It also loses some power when you hit your targets not directly. Still, as the game progresses, you will be more and more gravitating towards Lightbringer than any other mana-based weapon.

Powered up version generates more light rays, but is way too costly to
be used effectively. Rating: 6

Powered up, the Purifier fires something akin to a rocket, which is also supposed to track its target. Emphasis is on the "supposed to".... Plus, both the cost and damage output also make it completely irrelevant in battle. Rating: 3

RAVEN STAFF (Necromancer) - this weapon is a complete and utter disappointment in the realm of Hexen II. It is some kind of parody which stands between Hexen-1 Bloodscourge and Wraithverge. Except that if two of the above were downright devastating, the Raven Staff, alas, is anything but.
Using the primary fire will take you numerous shots just to kill a basic
enemy, (and the said shots will often miss, be dodged or go right through the enemy with little to no effect) -  which means you can say bye-bye to all of your mana, if you try to attack with that. This is the only true downfall in the Necromancer's arsenal, and sadly, - it is one weapon that you will never be using throughout the entire game.
Vastly superior damage-per-mana stats can be achieved with either of the Necromancer's spells, so the presence of the oddball Raven Staff is a mysterious case of an underdeveloped waste.

Powered-up mode unleashes an attack similar to Wraithverge, only with ravens instead of ghosts. And once again, it is both more costly and way
less powerful than its Hexen-1 ancestor. Rating: 0

TEMPEST STAFF (Demoness) - finally, we are talking some serious firepower! This weapon is quite an ammo hog, make no mistake; but it is invaluable for the Demoness, and you WILL be using it a lot. Because it is the only mana-based weapon that you will be using after getting your hands on it!
The staff fires electrical energy spheres, which are devastating to all enemies. Even the strongest foes won't stay standing for long after a couple of shots. These couple of shots, however, will be very costly, mind you. (still tons and tons cheaper and more effective than both of her useless runes). And since your other go-to-weapon will be mana-free, so you'll have to balance it out: when to use it, and when to save it. Basically, when facing the more dangerous enemies - that's when you use it. Which will be a lot. Rating: 8

SCARAB STAFF (Assassin) - this weapon is ridiculously...POWERFUL!
Nothing, absolutely nothing in Hexen II and Portal of Praevus can even dream to come close to the havoc that this weapon can wreak, and its cost-effectiveness.
Think about it like a modifiable mini-rocket launcher. The primary fire,
which is extremely powerful and ludicrously cheap, fires single projectiles
(let's call them mini-rockets), and those take only ONE mana point per shot. With 2 such shots you dismember a Knight Archer! This is insanely powerful and super economical at the same time.
Assassin's Crossbow becomes useless already in the 2nd episode, but once the Scarab Staff is yours - the game boils down to alternating between it and the Katar. Who would want to tinker with the grenades, when you can destroy anything almost for free and on the double!

Now, the mini-rockets the Staff fires - can also be charged by holding down the trigger before release, and this does even more damage. Costs more too, but not nearly enough to pose any threat to your mana resources. You can, will and should use this firing mode as needed.

The powered up mode is also quite neat, and you can use it sparingly,
mostly for theatrics: as your target is wrapped in chains and then
ripped to shreds. The devs clearly watched the Hellriser movies one
too many times. (not that it is a bad thing)
This firing mode is costly, and doesn't deal well with multiple enemies.
Still, cool to watch every now and then. Besides, there are also singular enemies which are, perhaps, best dealt with in such a way. Rating: 10+