Theres no point in using a two handed weapon. They are slow, clumsy, and the extra damage is negligible, especially at higher levels when skills are augmented with enchantments. One handed weapons allow the use of a shield, which is much more effective for blocking. Shields also benefit from some pretty essential perks for a melee build. I guess its all personal preferance, but i honestly cant see ANY advantages to using 2 handed weapons. I can get 3-4 strikes in with a one hander before npcs can swing their 2 handers even one time.

That's the problem. That's your opinion. I use 1h dual wielding but I don't sit here and say without a doubt dual wield is best and 2h doesn't come close. Two handers offer a different approach to combat. I think its fun.


I can kill a dual wield npc with 2 strikes or 1 power attack with a 2 hander before they hit me. Guess dual wield is bad...psyche.

^^ this, its all about timing and movement with 2h

Comparing a two handed weapon to destruction? Getting desperate I see. Attack speed is what for a 2h greatsword? 1s? Can easily do 300-500 damage without berserk or potions. Yeah. Ancient dragons have 3k health. Soooo what...a two hander kills them in...wait for it....6-10sec by just swinging. Much of the early game, enemies are defeated just as easily. I'll be waiting for you tell me about dps and mobility again....(yes two handers can move and swing at the same time)

You're rambling with a bunch of rhetoric and I'm getting desperate? Okey dokey good sir!

In any case, I find it rather funny that the point about efficiency flew over your head.

Using USEP base values as references:

One handed Daedric Sword damage per hit: 14
One handed sword attacks per second: 1.1
One handed Daedric Sword DPS: 15.4


Two handed Daedric Sword damage per hit: 24
Two handed sword attacks per second: 0.9
Two handed Daedric Sword DPS: 21.6

I could be wrong, but that's a 40% increase. Pretty significant.

According, again, to USEP, dual attacks are 50% slower than single

Dual wielding Daedric Swords damage per hit: 14 x 2 (28)
Dual wielding swords attacks per second: 0.55
Dual wielding Daedric Swords DPS: 15.4

That's the same as one handed. Let's add in dual flurry (dual attacks are 35% faster):

Dual wielding Daedric Swords damage per hit: 14 x 2 (28)
Dual wielding swords attacks pers second 0.55 + 0.1925 = 0.7425
Dual wielding Daedric Swords DPS: 20.79

Much better. Still below two handed in speed, but the DPS difference isn't much and would easily be overcome by any enchantments. I'm also pretty sure that dual wielding has an advantage in power attack damage, but until someone can give me solid numbers on how long a dual power attack and two handed power attack takes I'm not going to even attempt number crunching it.

So for now I'm going to say that with regular attacks dual and two handed are roughly equal in "DPS." Dual comes ahead against single targets when using power attacks while two handed can hit multiple enemies at once with power attacks. Keep in mind that unless you're using enchanting you probably won't be able to do too many power attacks at a time, unless you don't mind pausing the fight to chug stamina potions every swing. Two handed also has the added utility of being able to block whenever it's strategically smart.


There. Those are some actual numbers to add to the discussion. I suggest that people chill with all of the insults and unnecessary passive aggression and, if they want to have an actual discussion about the supposed mathematical superiority of one style over the other, start providing some actual numbers rather than "feeling" and heresay.

Your error is in bold.

If you've actually gone through the whole thread, which I doubt you have, you'd see that numbers have been provided. Whether or not they were properly received is yet to be seen. That's not on me though.

I'm not digging through this whole crap storm to find them. Feel free to post them again if you'd like to have an actual discussion.

Why would I want to have a discussion with someone who isn't even willing to put the time in while responding to a thread that's about to be closed due to post limit? Sorry, no deal. I'm not repeating myself to an ignorant newcomer. At least not in the detail in which you demand.

Anyways, I'm not going to do the math, jack already did it for me. He said 2h weapons do 15% more damage once alch, enchanting, etc were taken into effect. Before then it did something like 40% more. He stated he played 2h and it wasn't his style, he also stated he felt compelled to play 2h for rp purposes and that 2h then didn't work for him. He then goes onto to say 1h is FAR superior.

I'm only going from experience and not math because there aren't any long boss fights. Most of the actual fighting is over in under a minute. For me, it's under 10 sec.

Here's what I got:

1. 2h does more damage
2. 2h wasn't for him though.
3. He felt he needed to play 2h for rp but couldnt so he got mad

In any case, I find it rather funny that you're willing to jump into a middle of a discussion ignorant to what has been said and then make some brash claims about how numbers haven't been presented. Fun stuff.

That's a childish interpretation of what's been said, but if we're going that route, let me make my own childish interpretation.

You're a dual-wielder who feels the need to say that it isn't as powerful as it is in fear of it getting nerfed. You most likely play on a console because on a PC, this wouldn't be an issue. You don't really have much experience with much of the skills and a lot of what you say is based on assumptions, guessing, and fictitious imagination. You're mad because your mathematics svcks. Herp derp.

You mean the numbers that you were asked to explain how you got them and never did? And that were based around having maxed out crafting skills, so your numbers really didn't even say "dual > two handed" but that "dual + crafting > two handed + crafting," which means they have absolutely no context for someone who doesn't already have everything maxed out at which point everything dies practically instantly anyway?

Yes, forgive me for not considering them particularly relevant. Again, we could actually have a productive discussion about this if you want.

It's not childish, it's exactly what you said, I can quote it for you, but I won't.

Getting "nerfed" in a single player game? Yeah that's got me shaking bad. You gotta get out of this mmo mentality of nerfing and dps...

You can block really well with 2 handers. it's one of my main skills for two characters I have that use 2 handed.

I vastly prefer 2 handers in this game. I also vastly prefer my current character's setup and if I make another character he/she will be similar in this way due to the way this game works. I'll explain.

I [censored] hate the [censored] over reliance on the favorites menu and the lame as [censored] fact that we only have 2 hotkeys on console. [censored] hate it. ***Had to get that out of my system, sorry.

Now ... I love my mage but I can't stand pausing every 0.5 - 2 seconds to choose new spells and I don't want to limit my mage to using only 2 spells. My one hander using theif has a similar drawback because he uses some magic, one handers, a bow and alchemy, so I have potions I want to hotkey too. Both of these styles cauxse me to pause all the time, the mage moreso.

With my most recent character I made a concious decison to make a character that would spend the least time possible in the favorites menu. My setup:
on 1. LEFT HAND - Two Handed Sword, on 2. RIGHT HAND - Bow, on the unoffical third hotkey (you just press left again, or right again to get to it) - Heal in the left hand and an alteration skin spell in the right. That's all he uses. I almost never have to pause and it's a LOT more fun.

The setup I list above does not work with a one hander because the game leaves a spell in your hand when you switch back to your one hander and then you have to go into the favorites menu to remove it so you can block. So annoying.

If I had 8 hotkeys, like Oblivion/Fallout 3/NV I could make a mage character and just strictly limit myself to 8 spells and still have a good time, maybe delving into the favorites menu from time to time.

Keep in mind I advocate for 8 hotkeys AND keep the favorites menu. Not a complete reversion to the old style. I just want:
1. 8 Hotkeys on the D-Pad (Hold any direction to bring up the favorites menu)
2. Each hotkey settable to LEFT HAND, RIGHT HAND, or DUAL WIELD
--------------
TLDR: I like 2 handers more primarily due to mechanics and the way the hotkey system works. They are also cool, the animations are pretty good, and they are strong (maybe too strong lol).

I did explain how I got them and then another member further elaborated on the subject. But again, you're not really interested in a meaningful discussion but rather a quicky if anything. I've been saying for quite some time that all that I'm discussing has to do with the HIGH END of the scale. It's no secret to anyone who's bothered to read my posts.

We can't have a productive discussion when you're ignorant to many things, especially the contents of this thread, and this thread is on it's way out. O.o...

You gave your childish interpretation of things, I gave mine in a similar manner. You have no real understanding of much of what I say, and that's clearly evident in your attempts at interpreting what I've stated which is quite evidently a chidlish and misinformed interpretation of what I've said.

This acutally sums it up for me. I can't say it any better than that really.

I better go enjoy dual wield while I can, before it get's nerfed....LOL

People would be more willing to read the whole thread to find the few post out of 8 pages if it wasn't full of dike waving.


It's pretty obvious that you have no interest in actually providing relevant information to people and are instead just trying to prove yourself "right" by limiting the discussion to the exact circumstances that you personally feel are relevant. If you would actually lay out your numbers like I've asked you we could provide useful information that would help everyone figure out which style is most benefitial to how they play the game, but you've apparently got no interesting in that.

Honestly, I'd suggest you stop playing Skyrim and make sure you pass your grade school English class.

So it's a crime to want to discuss the high end of the scale when it comes to weaponry? Really now? This means that I want to prove myself "right"? Really?

If you think this thread is full of dike waving, why did you join it? Would you like to do some dike waving of your own?

I joined the thread because I figured it would be nice if someone actually layed out some numbers instead of arguing on and on over the same 3 points.

Nothing wrong with wanting to discuss the absolute high end when it comes to styles, but it's obvious everyone's not discussing the same aspects yet are still trying to argue which is superior. Other people in this thread clearly aren't discussing this from the view of a character with crating completely maxed out, but you dismiss them as "unecessarily limiting themselves" instead of attempting to figure out which would work best for their playstyle.

As for proving yourself right, the fact that you still refuse to lay out these numbers of yours so they could be arranged in a way to be useful for everyone in all aspects of the game and continue to throw out the one liners to everyone who replies to you speaks for itself.

Sword and board all the way. I just find it the most enjoyable, I don't care about dps.

Numbers have already been laid out. So I must repeat myself with every single post I do? Must I repeatedly attach mathematical data to every single post I do? Mathematical data that has already been stated? Must I continually repeat myself because people are unwilling to read a thread in which they reply? They need not reply to me so if they do (And apparently they do), then it's on them to know what they're talking about. I'm not a free education. Sorry dude.

PS. If you bothered to actually look at all my posts in this thread (Which you haven't), you'll see that they're far from one liners in their entirety. They actually contain much length, often times the favor not returned.