1-handed + Shield or 2-handed? : V

» Mon Jun 11, 2012 4:48 am

Which is more fun to play? My next character will be a pure warrior, and I was imagining a simple beserker orc or nord character, since my thief and mage were more about finesse. Could get boring, but hopefully interesting enough to get through the Companion quests.

» Mon Jun 11, 2012 6:42 am

There are a number of reasons I prefer sword and board but I'll give you two reasons that apply more to game mechanics than playstyle:
First, a shield is another equipped item and that means another two enchant slots.
Second, blocking with shields opens up several interesting perk choices like powerbash and deflect arrows. Just two things to consider beyond simple weapon preference.

» Mon Jun 11, 2012 7:34 am

All depends on what you find fun.

I like the 2 handed sword, cos thats fun to me, but there isn`t any finesse. You charge and bring down all your power on the enemy and try to kill him in one go. If you miss, you fly past him and he gets a shot at you. You can try to defend, but not much.

With a shield and sword it`s a little more tactical. You hit him, then defend his reply with your shield, rinse repeat.

Self explanatory really. You decide.

» Sun Jun 10, 2012 8:10 pm

Currently i have a pure warrior. Im doing 2h 1h and shield and heavy armor with enchanting. This character is a nord with dragonplate armor and im having a blast. Ive tried prolly 10'or 12 other characters before hand and couldnt play very long with those guys. But this one is amazing for me. When i get bored i switch to duel or sword and board. I only use potions so i may boost my alchemy or may just keep buying them and perk uP my speech.

» Mon Jun 11, 2012 12:15 am

Can you bash with a 2 handed-weapon like you can with a shield?

» Sun Jun 10, 2012 10:47 pm

Can you bash with a 2 handed-weapon like you can with a shield?

No.

I prefer sword and shield myself, just because I hate 100% commitment to power, and prefer to have defense to fall back on.

That said, I really really don't like the fact that shields are invincible. I much prefer shields with HP, like Mount & Blade.

» Sun Jun 10, 2012 7:49 pm

Well I haven`t been able to.

» Sun Jun 10, 2012 6:36 pm

well Try both?

thats what i am doing,I am going to use two handed weapons until i have 100 skill in it. Then i am going to use shield+one handed weapon.
I prefer Shields and one handed weapons but i do love two handed weapons too!

» Sun Jun 10, 2012 10:37 pm

But you can block with a 2-handed weapon?

» Sun Jun 10, 2012 7:59 pm

I prefer 1-Handed weapon with no shield personally, you can still block, bash and even power-bash with the perk.

» Mon Jun 11, 2012 6:58 am

But you can block with a 2-handed weapon?

Yes, absolutely. As others stated, I don't think you can bash, though. Bashing is great. If you interrupt a power attack with a bash it staggers your opponent. Likewise with interrupting a draugr as it's about to shout.

» Mon Jun 11, 2012 7:35 am

But you can block with a 2-handed weapon?

Yes you can block, you can also bash with a weapon as well although it's not as effective as a shield. I tend to prefer a 2-hand weapon when playing a Nord.

» Mon Jun 11, 2012 6:38 am

@Enclave That would be odd if you could bash with a 1-handed weapon but not with a 2-handed one?

» Mon Jun 11, 2012 6:53 am

@Enclave That would be odd if you could bash with a 1-handed weapon but not with a 2-handed one?

Exactly what I was thinking. I've never picked up a two-handed blade before so I couldn't confirm but it seems unlikely that you couldn't bash.

» Mon Jun 11, 2012 1:10 am

Yes, absolutely. As others stated, I don't think you can bash, though. Bashing is great. If you interrupt a power attack with a bash it staggers your opponent. Likewise with interrupting a draugr as it's about to shout.

Yes you can block and bash with 2h....actually bashing with 2h does more damage than with shield

» Mon Jun 11, 2012 5:50 am

You can block, bash, and kill stuff better with a two handed weapon.

I have played two characters now that use two handed weapons and I love it. It is incredibly fun. It is all about timing attacks to avoid damage (backwards power attack a charging foe and stagger it, for example).

And most of all, you get REALLY good at killing stuff!

I have yet to play sword and shield, but I am having loads of fun with two handed and I thoroughly recommend it.

Edit: Dragons. I have a mod increasing their difficulty but even without it can be difficult dealing with dragon breath.

» Sun Jun 10, 2012 6:14 pm

I prefer 1-Handed weapon with no shield personally, you can still block, bash and even power-bash with the perk.

I wholeheartedly support this product and/or candidate.

I'll never understand why people reject the "just-a-one-handed-weapon-and-nothing-else" school of combat out of hand.

Embrace your inner Inigo Montoyas!

» Mon Jun 11, 2012 4:33 am

I am thinking that a 2-handed weapon is more risky than 1-handed+shield, so hopefully it will remain interesting longer.

» Sun Jun 10, 2012 10:55 pm

I prefer sword+shield, as one-handed weapons are much faster, and I like using shields. With shields, the elemental resistance perk is nice against mages, dragons, and etc., and bashing seems to be more effective, or at least enemies seem to stay staggered longer.

If you prefer killing things in a hurry, then you may like two-handed weapons.

I switched to two-handed weapons after maxing out my one-handed skill and the slower attack speed was noticeable, and it was harder to get attacks in on enemies with shields, even after bashing.

» Sun Jun 10, 2012 8:24 pm

My main character uses two-handed.

» Mon Jun 11, 2012 8:17 am

I tried both shield + 1-handed and two-handed. And in my opinion the first variant is much more effective.

» Mon Jun 11, 2012 7:42 am

I've played both and prefer 1h+shield. No particular reason, just seems more fun to me.

» Mon Jun 11, 2012 9:37 am

i usually use 2x 1 handed swords...
but i always bring my shield with me, so i can swap to 1h+shield if i need it

» Mon Jun 11, 2012 8:10 am

Yeah, my thief dual-wielded axes once his 1-handed perks and sneak were good enough. One hit kills all the time with that one. Looking for a different play style. He started using shield when he was not so good at sneaking, but once sneaking got OK, he switched to dual-wielding axes ansd stopped using shields. Axes, because he'd get a lot of staggers for those he couldn't get down in one hit (unlike daggers and swords). He couldn't tolerate getting smacked around very much, and staggers would help with survivability.

» Mon Jun 11, 2012 10:12 am

Sword and shield is better than a twohander in terms of gameplay because you can switch one hand to magic (such as healing) while still having either a shield or a sword available. Twohanded is fun and feels good, but it's really annoying you can't use regular magic without re-equipping and re-unsheathing your twohander.