Dark Age of Camelot features realistic weapons based on the same types of weapons used by real warriors of that period of history. While gaining experience, fighting characters will be expected to use a progression of weapon, starting with the smaller, easier weapons and progressing through to the more complex and difficult to master ones.

Weapon Archetypes. From left to right:
Slashing: Hand Axe, Dagger, Short Sword, Broadsword, Long Sword, Bastard Sword, Scimitar.
Thrusting: Dirk, Stiletto, Rapier, Spear, Trident
Crushing: Hammer, War Hammer, Mace, Flanged Mace, Spiked Mace
Two Handed: Two-Handed Sword, Great Hammer, War Pick, War Axe, Battle Axe, Great Axe

Shields. From left to right: Kite, Buckler, Tower, Full

In general, warrior-type characters will be able to learn a wide variety of weapon types. Hybrid classes will be able to learn fewer, and mage classes only one.

More Information:
Weapon Damage
Grades of Weapons
Durability
Weapon Materials
Twinking
Usage Restrictions

Weapon Damage

In general, weapons of the same intended level will do the same amount of damage over time. There is an inherant weakness to the slower weapons which is that each miss represents more potential damage, so the faster the weapon the more damage it will do in the long run. Hence the faster weapons are considered more valuable to those living in the world of Camelot.

Grades of Weapons

Artifact: These never wear out. They are the creme de la creme of desirable objects, and every one of them will have a story to go along with it (and will generate more involving its owner). The total count of artifacts of all kinds will be measured in dozens per server. These are objects the like of which it takes a Merlin to turn out. You are no Merlin.

Quest: You'll perform a quest to get them. They are more effective in combat, last longer (but not forever), have stronger magical effects, and look cooler than ordinary player-crafted items.

"Boss Mob": You'll kill a "Zone Boss" type critter to get them. However, this critter will not spawn in the same place every time, and may have guards that spawn along with him (no setting up a rotating spawn so you can fight him and his guards separately). They don't perform quite as well as Quest items (but a little better than player-crafted), and they last only a little longer than player-crafted. They may have moderate magical effects associated with them, as well as special appearances.

Player Crafted: Mundane, everyday items, you'll make them, sell them, buy them, and use them up. It will be possible to apply magical effects to them, but there will be unavoidable failure rates, and the better you make them, the more they will cost.

Found: What the vast majority of mobs will use. Poor in durability, so-so in combat performance, absolutely no special properties at all. Their biggest function will be to give the NPC's something to fight with, and provide a source of raw material for player crafted items.

Durability

The timescale for wear and tear will be measured in 10's of hardcore adventuring hours. This will be done by giving every combat-related item a "Durability" rating and each time you repair/sharpen that item, you'll take away some of that durability (how much will usually depend on your skill at sharpening/repairing). The lower the durability rating, the sooner it will need to be repaired/resharpened again. Eventually, of course, you'll have an item that although still useful, is more work to keep up than it is worth. But you won't find yourself armorless in mid-battle, pummeling that dragon with your bare hands because all your equipment went *Poof*.

Weapon Materials

There will be higher-level materials that are simply too much for player smiths to handle (you're no Merlin) and will be found only in Artifacts and high level Quest items. There may also be rare Mithril-equivalent materials with special properties such as Illinar (True Ice) and Dyr Wood that players can work with and craft.

Twinking

What winds up happening when this is combined with wear-and-tear is that drastic twinking is a very bad idea since the cost per point of damage dealt goes through the roof, and unlike other worlds, money isn't easy to come by in Camelot and repairs can be expensive.

The only exception to this is that there will probably be a break point below which you cannot wield magical equipment, and specific items may have requirements of a certain Guild (NPC Guild) or Realm rank.

Usage Restrictions

Level restrictions are pretty much the same thing. You can give a 1st level newbie a Mithril Sword of Buttkicking, but he'll get zero benefit over what he could get from a more mundane weapon, but he'll just be wearing out a very expensive sword.

The only exception to this is that there will probably be a break point below which you cannot wield magical equipment, and specific items may have requirements of a certain Guild (NPC Guild) or Realm rank.