I like the whip as it is nice and cheap, steady and overall decent for Pking
Also leaves special attack space for those D claws or gs specials when you need them.
However if you can get hold of CR then i would say take that instead
The whip has been around for ages and still is killer, I remember when the whip was the basic necessity to have, but now there are so much more stuff in the game.
Even though all of these other weapons, such as godswords, and claws have come out, they still have persevered as one of the best melee weapons. The spec change was a blow to them, but they still are good.