Best weapon style

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Ahh....why is everyone ignoring all the effects you get from shields.......

like they are only good for missiles........

 

I tend to prefer how my character looks, rather than how good their weapon is. Added to that I usually go for a fighter type, or a barbarian and I think a Two-handed sword and Plate armour looks awesome, so I'd have to go for the two handed.

 

Nice summary from Chris Williams.

I think that Sword + Shield is the best style. There are lots of shields with some nice effects. Just keep a selection of them in a bag of holding, and choose the right one for the job. By the way, the bonus vs. missile weapons is always the last of my considerations.

Finally, I do like Spears, in which case Two-handed style is obviously most appropriate. However, that is just whimsy, and personal taste, rather than necessarily what is "best".

 

I'm not saying that shields are useless (although, IMO, it's more important to hurt the enemy than get hit less often), I'm simply saying that Sword and Shield Style, whose only bonus is an AC improvement against missile weapons, is a waste of proficiency slots.

There are a few enemies that fire arrows. Under these circumstances, closing quickly with them (and equipping the Reflection Shield if you have it) is the best solution.

 

Actually, I always thought of Two Weapon Style as being the ultimate powergamer style - 1 or 2 extra attacks (depending on the off-hand weapon), lots of damage - obliterate your enemies before they can touch you.

And I agree with Chris' comments on Sword and Shield Style - there's nothing wrong with shields, but the Style sucks.

 

Though not my favorite, I disagree, and I'll step in to defend sword and shield style by repeating what I said in a similar (damn near identical, actually) thread a little while back.

from here

 

Y'know, I should have remembered your other post, D.R., since it wasn't too long ago, and I agreed with your analysis. My comments above had only melee fighting in mind.

 

Start off with sword and shield but eveentually I go for Two Weapon Style, much more interesting imo

 

"reply to chris williams"
Well, everyone got their taste, and you might keep yours, just dont look at me when your character have been turned to stone by an beholder

 

Ah, you're talking about Balduran's Shield, aka Shield Of Edam. Although it is an item that I could use, it's not one that I do, because it's ridiculously unbalanced. Beholders are supposed to be challenging opponents, right up there with illithids. The Shield Of Edam makes them rather less challenging than green slime. Also, look at a later post. Shields themselves are not useless (there are some great ones, especially the Shield Of Harmony), just the weapon style. Yes, a -9 AC bonus against missile weapons (Fortress Shield, 1 point in Sword And Shield style) looks as though it should be really good. The trouble is very few opponents attack you with missiles and those that do don't give you a lot of trouble anyway.

 

yep, i understand you know

though it would be kinda ridicoulus to only look at the missile defence thing, would be like looking upon celestial fury's damage and ignore its effects....

bleh, lets end this discussion, as said, everyone got their tastes, and it changes as the 4 seasons.

in the end shields are just like any other items, handy in some circumstances and not-so-handy ,to put it that way, in other circumstances.

 

For the early portions of the game, sword and shield skill comes in very handy, particularly if you are not a fighter and/or have no CON bonuses. Later in the game, other styles are better -- for a big warrior type, two handed weapons rock, as does dual wielding. I really don't like single weapon style, as a shield or weapon in that slot can give all sorts of benefits. It works for monks, as they have no other option!

If I were playing a multi or dualled warrior, I'd probably go with dual wielding later on. For a pure warrior, I'd go with two handed weapons. For any other class (except mage) I'd stick with a shield (especially if as a rogue I have Use Any Item -- given the relatively low HP, something like the fortress shield is nice for them), and mages, well, staves are your best bet there!

 

The weapon styles that I use the most are usually two-handed weapon style and two-weapon style. I find that way I maximize the damage I dish out, and usually have some sort of buff or property of an item that helps protect me from the damage I'll probably take from the higher AC that I have when compared to what I would have if I use a sword-and-shield or single-weapon style.

 

OK, I got sucked in. I wasn't going to reply, but I can't resist.

For me, I will be speaking mostly of my melee characters, although I do agree with Death Rabbit's assessment for spellcasters.

I never take sword and shiled style. However, just because I don't doesn't mean I never use the shield. There are several worth-while shields to use in the game, and any character can pick them up (provided class and strength meet the requirements) and receive the AC bonus from them, along with any other effects the shield gives you. That having been said, I don't think a +2 or +4 bonus against missile weapons is worth the expense of spending precious proficiency points on it. I'd almost always prefer to develop another weapon than put points into sword and shield style.

I don't have much to say about two-handed weapon style. Many of the 2-handed weapons in the game are very powerful, and so obviously, if you decide to have a character use one of them, it would be silly not to develop this proficiency.

For single weapon style, if you have a bard or thief, why not? It gives double the critical hits, a bonus of 2 to armor class, and since you can't use a shiled anyway (except bucklers - and small shields for bards), why not do this?

The sticking point for me is whether to use two weapons or a weapon and a shield (even though I won't spend points in sword and shield style). While there are many, many good weapons, this should not be the only consideration. What you have to consider is what that second weapon actually does for you, because you're only going to be swinging it once per round. So, in order to use two weapons, the benefit has to exceed the benefit of using a shield. Most weapons don't do this, however there are notable exceptions. For examply, Belm, even if you put the weapon that attacks multiple times per round in your offhand, the extra attack is added to the main hand. So if you have a really good main hand weapon, it's worth equipping Blem in your offhand for the extra attack with your main hand. Ditto for other weapons giving you an extra attack.

Another example of a weapon that is great for your offhand is Crom Faeyr. It increases your strength to 25, so even if you don't have any proficiency in war hammers, it's worth putting into your offhand for the bonus to damage on your main hand - it doesn't matter if you actually hit with it all that often.

Lastly, any type of weapon that improves abilities, gives extra spells, or gives resistances to something or another, is also worth putting in your offhand.

However, I disagree if you just put a regular +3 or whatever weapon in your offhand for one extra attack per round, if it does nothing else.

 

Dualing is the best style.

Dual katana is unbelievable. IIRC a katana does 1D10 damage, the same as a 2-Handed Sowrd or Halberd.

Although tbh, once you are well into the game, there is an abundant choice of quality weapons of all categories, so it starts to not matter as much.

 

It depends on the character. For my main character (always a rogue) I normally use one weapon style, sometimes two-weapon.
It's the party that counts. There should be different weapons and weapon styles to cover all the weapons available. For warriors two-handed style kicks ass, clerics use one weapon with shield, rangers dual-wield..

 

I dislike dual wielding. I found it handy in Neverwinter Nights because you could get improved dual-wielding that gave your off-hand another attack. However in ToB no such feat exists.

I'm more of a two-handed weapon or sword and shield guy. Single weapon is good for thief/mages for extra AC. Only time I've ever wanted to dual-wield is with Da'kons (sorry about spelling aragh) Zerth Blade in the off-hand for a fighter/mage for the AC bonus and spells.

There are 4 very good shields in this game that I use for AC benefit alone (Fortress, Sentinel, Darksteel and Order) however you probably won't have 4 shield barers in the party (Keldorn with Carsomyr, Sarevok, Imoen, Nalia, Jan, Valygar, Edwin to name a few characters that can't or probably won't use shields) so you'll enjoy massive AC benefits for those party members who want it.

Two-handed weapons have very nice critical rolls if you put the prof. points into it, making the most powerful weapons in the game have the largest potential damage outside of a backstab for a melee weapon. Best defence is a good offence leaving all enemies splayed out on the floor... walls... cieling and even dripping out of your ear, if only there were great-axes in this game. I want to see Korgan elbow deep in a fire-giant belly holding a two-handed axe.