They are pretty fun. Simple too. Just think like a murderous maniac swinging a weapon at everything they see.

Soon, when my character reaches 100 with OH, I'm going to switch to a battle axe, can't wait!

I will agree that the battle mechanics are a little lackluster. The way the two handed weapons are swung makes sense if your skill for the weapon is under level 25...
But I suppose it was too much work for Bethesda to implement some quick and soild thrusts, swings and swipes.

The one handed weapons are not wielded very well either. But its less noticeable due to their size and that the animation is over quicker.

Not really. Even if you've never ever held a sword a day in your life, you'd be able to swing a two-handed sword far quicker than anything that is portrayed in Skyrim (Especially true if you have the physique that most Skyrim characters do). Two-handed weapons being slow and heavy is just a game-play mechanic and two-handed weapons do not function like that in real life. Essentially, I don't think it makes sense regardless of your weapon skill level.


That's why I stated that I wouldn't say that melee combat is realistic in Skyrim. I don't find one-handed weapons to behave realistically either, but normally they're not praised for realism when they're not based on realism and I find them to be far more enjoyable than two-handed weapons.

Skyrim's melee combat wasn't designed around realism, I'm sure. I'd say it's more designed around combat mechanics that work to a certain degree for this particular medium. The decision for two-handed weapons to be as slow as they are was most likely a balance decision, and a bad one at that if I do say so myself.

I'm the black knight! I'm invincible!
Your a loon.

I found this to be true as well. My nightblade used dual daggers for everything but dragons. Then it was either dual ebony axes, or axe and dragonblade and sometimes a shield to switch it up.

Hmm. My other two characters rely primarily on restoration for healing, so I was trying something different here, but there is something to be said for simplicity, especially when playing a two-handed weapons wielder. One of the things I have enjoyed most about this build is the simplicity of combat. With my other two characters, combat was always a series of complex decisions, and I was always strategizing every move. For my mage, what combination of spells would best work here, given the number of foes, their location, whether they have detected me or not, terrain, friendlies in the area, etc.? For my sneaky Khajiit, it was can I take this guy down without that guy noticing? Can I sneak all the way up to the boss and take him out without anyone noticing? Should I sneak up on him from the left or the right? Where are the doorways? Maybe I should hide here int eh shadows for a while to learn everyone's routine so I don't get interupted when I am trying to slit that boss's throat.

Now that I am playing a two handed weapons wielder, the choices are much simpler. And I didn't think I would like that, which is why I haven't played one before, but actually I am finding that when my mind is relieved of the task of having to strategize combat, I enjoy the roleplaying more. I have been paying more attention to the conversations of NPC's, getting more involved in what they are doing and just generally getting more immersed in the game than when I play other types of characters that require more thinking and strategizing.

I've used archery the most so far. I can't quite figure it out, but there is something about busting out an ebony battleaxe every once in a while that is very satisfying.

I love how some people in this thread think they're some kind of Medieval knight, skilled in sword combat.

The way I see it, yes, you probably can swing a 2H sword faster, but if it connected it wouldn't even dent their armour. The swing speed depends on the amount of force you put behind it, and the harder you swing, the slower it will be.

Forget the heavy armor. Go light and with a bit of sneak ...BAMM ... one shot power attack and it's all over.

I love the feel of two handed weapons, especially hammers. Right now I'm level 30-ish with about 65 on two-handed. With a bit of resist fire I can take down a dragon with three or four power attacks. This must be how Conan feels!

I would swap Alteration with Illusion myself for a Paladin.

On topic: I really like the feel of two-handed weapons.

I personally find two-handed weapons too restrictive. I like to have one hand free.

Swinging a two-handed sword at somebody wouldn't dent their armour anyway. The reason you could swing it faster realistically, is because the whole sword (if a greatsword) would weigh between 5 and 8lbs. That's a few kilograms, it's basically nothing. The length of it would make it more cumbersome than something smaller of the same weight, but people who thing they're used slowly are just wrong, and anyone who thinks swords are a serious weapon against plate armour would be equally wrong.

Plus, slower =/= more powerful. That's a myth. If somebody performs the same technique twice, the faster time will hit harder. Go ahead, test it out.

The annoying thing about 2H weapons is how slow you move when you've got it drawn. This isn't particularly remedied by wearing Light Armor either, and since blocking with 2H weapons is of limited effectiveness, it kind of forces you to use Heavy Armor (which I personally dislike) and / or run lots of Health. Being shoehorned into creating a 'tank' character is not what I want... I'd much rather have mobility in LIght Armor and make the game risky by not giving myself over 250 health or so.

This bothers me as well, and it's made worse by the inabilty to sprint in any direction but forward.

personally, I quit playing an orc smith/2h warrior because I found the combat very boring. I used an ebony 2h before I defeated him, but I don't understand the appeal.

I`ve tried fire & sword,fire & fire,sword & sword but a 2 handed weapon is a revelation-It`s like swatting flies- for me a lot easier than the other configurations.1 power strike and many bandits crumple,and a boss was only 4 strikes,when before it was healing potion time.
(Nord.lvl 12.stamina maxed.big axe).Frosty wizards seem to be the only real tough opponents so far.

My 1st character was battle axe weilding barbarian nord...lopping heads off doesn't get old for me

I never said anything about plate armour, and my use of "dent their armour" was just a figure of speech, used to express that there wouldn't be any power behind the swings.


I'm not talking about the speed at which the blade travels, I'm talking about the speed which consecutive swings can be chained together, which is the issue at hand.

If you've ever actually swung a greatsword, then you will know that the harder you swing, the slower the frequency of your swings will be. If you actually look at the animation of the character swinging the sword, and tried to emulate swinging a real greatsword in the same manner and speed yourself, I'd be surprised if you could even get close to the swing speed in game.

Plus, Two-Handed is about putting your entire body into the swing, which requires more time and more energy, especially when recovering from the swing. One-Handed is about balance and the use of one arm, which is less energy, but faster.

I'm sure those who say swinging a two-handed weapon is just as quick as a one-handed have never swung an axe or a sledgehammer with full force.

I've been using two-handers since starting Skyrim.. even on Master you can two-shot the lesser zombie guys in the first dungeon.

I actually finished the game with my bare chested, shaved headed, light bearded barbarian six god and even though I was level 52 I only used light armor, dragon armor EXCEPT for the body armor which stayed fur (the one with no chest ) yes I was barbaric and I played it 3rd person for the first time ever in a TES

it was fun as hell

2h is all i ever needed (and some restoration), and I pounded those dragons like a boss..... with the claymore that is.... righttttt.......I'm going away now

Its not that they aren't good, but the extra benefit you get from hammers or swords seems better. With two handers you're basically wrecking the bulk of encounters in 1 to 3 hits. Extra bleed damage isn't likely to save you a swing, but a critical hit or armor negation probably will.

this

but it did not stop me from having a great sword, an axe AND a hammer

I've basically always been a Nord 2h user lol. Mixed it up a bit after a while with dual-swords in Skyrim because those used with Elemental Fury is just the most ridiculous combination in any game I've ever played. Ancient Dragons dead in less than half a minute.