The Fencing damage bonus won't help you if you're dead..... i'd use it if you play Striker since they die quickly anyways, but this is T1 lockdown.

This character is a perma-T1 character, and I've been doing some testing on various T1 equipment:

-I completely agree with Nicoya-Kitty that Circuit Breaker Armor is the best for T1 Lockdown, due to it having Elemental defense while not having negative resists on statuses(while it MIGHT be possible that the display is in error and the armor in fact gives -Fire and -Freeze, so far my testing has indicated that this is not the case).

-However, seeing as how the ONLY elemental damage comes from Hot Edge/Static Edge in T1 Lockdown(no other T1 weapons have any other damage types besides normal), I would say that Spiral Scale Helm, even without Elemental defense, is an adequate option compared with the Circuit/Ember/Frost Breaker helms.

I argue this because Hot Edge/Static Edge do split normal/elemental damage and are not particularly damaging to begin with, and the TWO negative resists(albeit minor) on all of the 'Breaker' type helms might mean that a resist-neutral helm such as Spiral Scale is actually more effective, since Fire, Freeze, and Shock can all be used as statuses in T1 Lockdown:

Hot Edge / Firecracker (Fire)
Frost Gun(charge) / Cold Snap (Freeze)
Static Edge / Zapper(charge) / Static Flash (Shock)

-However if you are completely min-maxing, getting a 'Breaker' type helm with multiple UV's to cover the status weaknesses is probably the A-1 option.

-As to Swords, I have tested almost all of the T1 swords and have found some interesting findings(Advanced Training Room numbers at Level 01 heat in brackets):

-Bolted Blade(12, 12, 16) does slightly more damage per swing than Hot Edge/Static Edge(12, 12, 11) on neutral enemies, and the third swing on Hot Edge/Static Edge actually does less damage than the first two swings but has a decent chance to inflict status.

-Big Beast Basher/Super Slime Slasher(10, 10, 13) does less damage than Bolted Blade(and actually does nearly identical damage to monsters they're supposedly 'good' at, based on my tests running Snarby runs ad nauseum). However the third hit on Big Beast Basher has an ever so slightly longer lunge forward, for some odd reason(I miss the third swing with Bolted Blade versus Wolvers 4/10 times, but never miss with BBB; though this could be user error or lag on testing day).

-Heavy Hatchet(16, 20) normal swings do not cause Stun. Only the charge attack has a chance to inflict stun. The two normal swings of Heavy Hatchet do about the same damage as the three swings of Bolted Blade, of course with slower swing speed but increased range and swing arc.

-Thwack Hammer(17, 21*) can cause a Stun on its second hit.
*note: I do not know yet if the bonus damage to constructs on Thwack Hammer affects damage on the Shufflebots in the ATH(tested, read below)

AUTHOR EDIT: I tested Thwack Hammer and Heavy Hatchet in a D1 arena.

Thwack Hammer does 14, 18, charge hit 25-26 on non-Constructs and 17, 21, charge hit 30 on Constructs.
Heavy Hatchet does 16, 20, charge hit 28 on all. Note that Heavy Hatchet charge attack spawns a few small rocks that may slightly increase the attack radius, whereas Thwack Hammer does not.

CONCLUSION:
a) Heavy Hatchet outdamages Thwack Hammer on non-Constructs and hence T1 Lockdown, so it's a tossup whether you want the higher damage or the stun chance on second hit.
b) Shufflebots in the ATH are affected by Damage to Constructs modifiers.

I would say that for T1 Lockdown, if you anticipate very few people are using Elemental defense, go with the Edge weapons for slightly increased damage and chance of status on third hit. Otherwise, the choice is up to your playstyle. I prefer Bolted Blade for simplicity and the fact that the running animation does not give me seizures(own an Edge weapon for long enough, and you may understand why).

As to Guns, I have tested all versions except for Pummel Gun. Nothing much to report here that is not covered on the Wiki(normal shots from Super Stun Gun, Zapper, and Frost Gun do not cause status; only the charge attacks do. Also, all three guns do identical damage, and function identically to the Proto Gun except for increased damage.) I would say here that unless you are getting great mileage out of a specific charge attack, choose the gun that looks best, unless you are going for the Pummel Gun.

AUTHOR EDIT: Tested Pummel Gun. Bullet speed is much faster than the Proto variants, and the damage is slightly higher per shot, but at the cost of a one-shot clip and a slight knockback while firing. You might still want to use the Pummel for the speed of the projectile, but I'd probably stick with my Super Stun Gun.

I haven't tested any Bombs myself yet, but all three options(Firecracker, Cold Snap, Static Flash) seem to be quite effective as far as T1 weaponry is concerned(the blast radius seems to be comparable with 2* haze bombs, but with blast damage and knockback, and of course the chance to inflict status). Of course, Static Flash is P2P only.

AUTHOR NOTE: If you are not concerned with T1 Lockdown or keeping your character in T1, skip ALL of these gear options. NONE of them are practical in any way for purposes of PvE, as these weapons are ALL completely outclassed by 2* options and will slow your progression to T2. Only consider these gear options if you:

a) want to play T1 Lockdown on the rare occasions that it actually starts
b) want to mess around on an alt character and stay in T1 for purposes of playing with new players and/or friends who are new at the game
c) random novelty and/or eccentricity
d) trolling(but Proto set is better for this)

I would post some T1 Lockdown-specific tips as far as playstyle, but the sad fact is I've never actually been able to get to play T1 Lockdown as it's never started when I've had the time to sign up for it.

In any case, I hope these points are helpful.

(various edits to confirm numbers, fix spelling etc)

1. do defenses matter? It doesn't appear that types of defenses help in T2 or T3.

2. What about a vitasuit? It's one star AND it gives an extra health bonus.

3. Is the majority of players in T1 lockdown pros who don't like T3 due to unbalanced weapons?

Thank you!

Oh yeah. I forgot it was 0*. Well, I guess I'll just go breaker.

How about the Fencing Jacket? Derp.