[quote:3i4pp571]1. Creating different sprite for each weapon (Oh my.., 20 swords - 20 different objects, it's killing me );
2. Creating different animations in one sprite (omg, huge amount of it!!!);
3. Changing sprite of weapon via in-game preload (O.M.G. If i had to choose between 3 or 5 swords it will be painfull. Image Manipulator all-the-way when choosing like "what I prefer more - maces or swords?" And App could crash easily in that case);
That pretty much sums up all the ways to go about it.
Here's a test of method 1, if that helps:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/5426011/examples2/multiArmor.cap
made in 0.99.96