Weapons are your main source of damage. There are two categories of weapons; Melee weapons and Ranged weapons.
If the required strength is less than the hero's, an additional damage uniformly distributed between 0 and heroStrength-requiredStrength is applied to the attack.
That bonus only happens:
The Melee weapons are rated on a tier system which determines how powerful the weapon is. When a Scroll of Upgrade is used on a weapon, the damage goes up and the strength requirement goes down, but the tier, accuracy and delay values will remain the same.
A simple iron dagger with a well worn wooden handle.
This Dagger is tier-1 melee weapon.
Its typical average damage is 4 points per hit; and it usually requires 10 points of strength.
This is a rather accurate weapon.
A piece of iron shaped to fit around the knuckles.
This Knuckleduster is tier-1 melee weapon.
Its typical average damage is 3 points per hit; and it usually requires 10 points of strength.
This is a rather fast weapon.
This Spear is tier-2 melee weapon.
Its typical average damage is 10 points per hit; and it usually requires 12 points of strength.
This is a rather slow weapon.
The iron head of this weapon inflicts substantial damage.
This Mace is tier-3 melee weapon.
Its typical average damage is 7 points per hit; and it usually requires 14 points of strength.
This is a rather fast weapon.
The enormous steel head of this battle axe puts considerable heft behind each stroke.
This Battle axe is tier-4 melee weapon.
Its typical average damage is 11 points per hit; and it usually requires 16 points of strength.
This is a rather accurate weapon.
Few creatures can withstand the crushing blow of this towering mass of lead and steel, but only the strongest of adventurers can use it effectively.
This War hammer is tier-5 melee weapon.
Its typical average damage is 15 points per hit; and it usually requires 18 points of strength.
This is a rather accurate weapon.
Equipping weapons that are too heavy will slow the Hero/ine down, allowing enemies to strike more than once, and the Hero/ine will likely miss most of the time. However, as marsupial rats do little damage, melee-ing them can help identify a new weapon, at low risk, even if the Hero/ine may often miss.
Farming:
You can slay Skeletons; they drop all kinds of weapons. A good drop can give you a high-tier upgraded weapon, but this is rare.
If you need an enchanted weapon, you can find & slay an Animated statue. The statue will drop a pre-identified enchanted weapon.