True.. I don't really care about the price. If it cost 30k Gold, I could still go a long time with my 260k bank account.
And btw.. Katana is NOT OP. Ninjas use it purely for style reason, and we build our characters around it. (And discuss efficiency and optimize our builds in our secret ninja-forums, as well as discussing other secret matters.)
I would seriously take a bastard sword over the katana if I didn't care about style, not talking about heavy bastard or longsword. Hell a german, or almost any of the high end swords would be the preferred sword if I would choose for efficiency over style. (Like 90% of cRPG players do.)
I think people rage over katanas, because of the Ninjas that build themselves around it, that we sneak around and have a different backstabbing playstyle, that we have different builds, that we develop different "style of fighting" because of the short range. Not to mention that we are overall above average players, skill-wise.
Give a katana to a noob with a fail-build, and he would be much deader than a shielder or a heavy polearm spammer noob with a fail build.
Yes it is the fastest 2hander by 2 points, add to that low strength AGI builds + low armor, you have a speedfreak made of paper. The offensive power is great, but you have to choose your battles carefully, evade projectiles, block or evade almost every hit etc.. It enables us to be places we shouldn't be, faster than we should be, run away from all other infantry, catch all archers, and do some cool moves. Our build enables us to have a good chance in almost all 1vs1 situations except with horse archers.
1 mistake and we are dead however, but that's what we live by and accept. It teaches us to play smarter. Pushes us to become better.
Reason we do it is because it's fun for us. More fun than being a tank in the inhumanly intense clusterfucks, a slow ass shielder, a relaxed archer in the distance or last but not least, the prime backstabbers in cRPG: Cavalry.
Anyway.. look at katana players. 90% of them suck, and die quickly. Then give it to a good player like Khorin or Phyrex or 22nd Bear, and they can pick apart half the enemy team, like they would with any sword, or any weapon.
Like oberyn with his lance on a horse, or lance without a horse, or Tai Feng in peasant outfit and military fork.