Second Weapon Abilities!

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Okay I realise this will be quite obvious to many but I wondered so thougt I would ask.

I do not seem to be getting the full use of my second weapons when fighting. I had Flail of ages in 2nd hand in a gam but was getting none of the extra damage or slow chance (it seems).

So...

What DO you get?
I suppose you get 'equipped abilities', such as immunity to confusion or whatever.

What about special attacks (like acid damage or stun chance), extra attack (like Scarlet N-T or Belm), extra damage against evil etc etc.

Please advice oh wise sages!

 

The Flail of Ages is most decidedly a main hand weapon, not an off hand weapon. Furthermore, Extra damage and slow effect are not equipped abilities, they're on hit abilities. And with only one attack per round for the off hand regardless of hasting or anything else, you'll get it very rarely.

To put it simply, main hand weapons are those that do something great when they hit, like extra damage, inflicting status ailments, or affecting the stats fo you (ex. HP draining) or your opponent (ex. penalties to THAC0). Off hand weapons are those that give you advantages simply by holding them, like stat boosts (Crom Faeyr, Angurvadal), extra attacks (Belm, Kundane, Scarlet Ninja-To), even extra defense (Defender of Easthaven, Drizzt's Defender), or something even more important like extra spells (Dak'kon's Zerth Blade). Now, some things have both, like the Free Action + Slow + extra damage provided by the Flail of the Ages +5. These are still main hand weapons, as off hand weapons are characterized by having no other benefits aside from what they give you while held.

For example, the Crom Faeyr's only advantage is that it gives you 25 STR. This functions equally well in the main hand or the off hand, and there's nothing else to convince you to keep it in the main hand. The only way I'd use it in the main hand is if I were wielding it with a shield. But the Flail of Ages...it's hard to pass up the super-high enchantment and the extra damage, as well as the Slow ability. And as previously noted, they don't work quite so well if they only get one shot a round at hitting something. Sure, the Free Action works exactly as well in either hand, but the other stuff doesn't. And with one thing being exactly equal and the other one leaning toward the main hand...you can see which way the scale tips.

 

Cheers Fel, pretty much where my thoughts were going but I knew others had better knowledge than me...so thought I would check.

One other thing though.

Say I have a Fighter with 5*'s in Katana - wielding CelFury, would it be just as useful having a 2nd weapon that you have 1* in (apart from a few plus' to hit) or a Katana?

Strikes me that CelFury in 1 and CrFre Hammer in 2 (1*) is MUCH better than for instance x2 CelFurries. No loss of attacks, better eqipped abilities etc

Agree?

 

Yup. Mostly because Celestial Fury has no equip bonuses worth it. And even if it did, you've already got one in the main hand to provide them.

Talking about another katana, it really depends how good an off hand weapon it is. But it'd have to be pretty good to outweigh 25 STR. Unless, of course, you're in a party and someone else can make better use of that beautiful hammer; or even just that their other pick for off hand weapon wouldn't be as good if it CF usefulness would be equal.

 

My favorite modless combo is CF in one hand and Belm in the other. Sure there's no 25 strength bonus (although with a good belt and rage my barbarian can hit 25) but that extra attack more than makes up for it. It almost makes whirlwind attacks obsolete when you add improved haste to the equation (which is good because using Belm causes GWW to drop to 6 attacks per round).

 

If you like extra attacks that much use Belm and Kundane. Especially for a Swashbuckler or a Blade.

I always keep weapons that possess some special abilities to equip my meatshield's other slots (the ability to cast a minor spell can be handy in a pinch, Daystar comes to mind for instance).

 

Second favorite here. I usually have a flanker wielding that while my primary tank wades in with Axe of the Unyielding and Crom Faeyr.

 

My favorite is FoA+Defender of Easthaven.

1. FoA starts out great, and just gets better as the game continues.
2. They are both available very early in SoA
3. They use the same proficiency

 

I have to agree with Fel. Not only for flat out butt-kicking for goodness, but just for the look it's hard to beat out AotU and Crom.

However, it should be pointed out that just about any good main hand weapon will be made better by placing either Crom, Belm, or Kundane in the offhand.

I also agree with Caradhras that it's always useful to keep weapons with use per day abilities in you additional weapon slots, even if you have no proficiency points in the use of that weapon. Daystar is probably the best example just because the abilities are so useful and can have a mass effect in many areas, but anything that has a special ability to use x times per day is usually worth holding onto.