Which is best?

[Edward Edgemenace]

When all weapons are mastered, I found staff/wither to be the universal weapon. (I'm too impatient for flaming skull's longer charge-up time.) As basic, (formerly unlimited+fully mastered) it is cutlass/sweep for the same reason. In Tormenta cave: pistol. Ranking in Governor's garden: pistol/cutlass. Doll gets used only in desperation, like on the colossus flag, when the officers are level 37.

For basic-only pirates (not formerly unlimited,) options are very limited. Cutlass has no power, pistol has no range and no power, doll has no power. Using cutlass sweep can get you into a heap of trouble quickly, if not careful. Doll works a little better for basic-only pirates, but is so weak, every enemy takes a hundred hits to defeat.