Hey all,

I'm starting a new character today. I haven't played in a little over two months or so (I've had the game since release but always seem to get bored) and I figured I would make an Orc melee character to try and get reacquainted with TES. I have yet to beat any faction quests outside the College of Winterhold, and I haven't beat the main quest or civil war quests either. Needless to say, I've been slacking a bit lol. Now, the question I'm running into is whether or not I want to go sword and board, or use a two-handed Axe. I'm just looking for some imput as to what everyone prefers and why. I haven't really played a lot with the melee, so a little bit of guidence would be nice.

And for the record, I'll most likely be playing on Expert, and wear Heavy Armor.

Thanks!

I prefer a sword and shield. Or an axe and shield. Though dual-wield is pretty cool, too.

The problem with 2H is that you can't mix and match things with it easily. Makes it a lot harder to level up for me.

I have an Orc warrior and I've tried 1H with sheild and 2H. My opinion is that the 2H is way more fun. Right now I'm using a Dwarven Hammer enchanted with fire damage, and although slow, it really deals the damage. The killcam animations are great, too. I am wearing heavy armor also, if that matters.

I've played a two hander till level 20 then rerolled sword and board. I enjoy sword and board a lot more. I think it is because it feels a lil more like a battle when blocking with my shield and countering with my blade etc. With my twohander I was more likely to just swing away and outstrike everything.

Could be me, cause you can block with 2h as well, but one hander/shield feels more natural to me.

I think dual-wielding axes would be pretty cool with a Orc Berserker character. Plus two-handed weapons swing WAY too slowly for my tastes.

I prefer Sword and Board. I just love bashing my enemies with my shield. Also the Daedric shield is to cool to give up imo.

One-handed. Two-handed weapons are way too slow and clunky for me.

For dealing damage by the bucketful, I'd go with 2H weapons.

For faster strikes/finesse I'd go with 1H weapons.

My personal preference is to dual wield daggers and Sneak attack just about everything that moves...

At lower levelone handed are better. The damage at higher levels is so close to two handed weapons, and so much faster. I like to level both though,so im not limited to one type of weapon.

my Orc switches from two handed, to bows or unarmed. wears heavy armor and destroys most enemies in a couple of blows. She's only lv 29 right now but by far my fav one to play. You can block with two handed which builts blocking lv so you can switch to a shield

well, after the 3rd run through of the game i have gone with an imperial valiant warrior with 2h weapons and wow. if you dedicate time with it then it turns out to be amazingly fun i.e. i have enchanted 3-4 peices of armour that im wearing to imrpove 2h by 13% and this has all added up amazingly! im now swinging 67 damage with each swing with a STEEL greatsword! haha

Stats wise, I find sword and board to be most useful, but nothing feels more badass than smashing in a dragon's skull with a warhammer as big as a child.

I like one-handed too. Sometimes I like going slow paced fights with blocking and slashing. It's safer than two-handed because of additional armor and faster swing and recovery so you are less vulnerable. Sometimes I like to dual wield and enjoy the super fast attack speed of dual flurry.

never used 2 handed weapon. I might try it but they are to bulky for my liking. I use dual wield or sword and shield

Depends on which character I play with. It is alot of fun to bash with a shield, and also use 2H greatswords and battle axes, just because the kill cams are freaking sweet.
But if I had to pick one, it would be dual wielding swords/axes. So 1H gets my vote

Dual wield some maces bro, that would be crazy for an Orc and when you can get the perk that maces ignore 25%, then 50% and i think theres a 75% of armour but im at 50% currently. im a Breton so i tire fast but with an Orc and leveling some fatigue he could power attack like crazy i bet... and i do pretty good right now as a Breton with them and i spend some time with Magic too so im not even dedicated to just melee. i like to fire blast (i think) a room with a couple bad guys in it until i drain my magic then pull out the maces and go to town.

Thanks guys! I think I might just go 2H axe for now, with enchants to increase damage. If i get bored with speed or lack of battle strategy, I may switch.

I'm thinking about making a heavy hitter mace - Enchant my Armor with 'Increase 1H damage %' while also smithing my own weapon and improving it. Partner that with berserker rage and Elemental Fury, and I think I could have some fun


AHH there's just too many things I could do! hahaha

btw, I'm trying to get away from dual-wielding. I just don't like the concept of not being able to block at all. It kind of scares me haha.

IMHO two handed weapons, even the 2H swords which are supposed to be "faster but less damage" than the 2H Axes/Hammers is a bit too slow when the action gets hot. I suppose if you spend enough perks in two handed the bonuses will come in handy, and with enough enchanting and smithing training and perks you can get one-hit kills.

1H is a bit more versatile since you can go with a shield or dual wield as needed:

The block skill has a perk that slows things down when a melee power attack is coming your way, which should prompt you to sidestep, back up or shield bash and makes melee a bit more interesting and strategic. Actually the slowdown effect works with 2H weapon blocks as well, but the shield ultimately works better for absorbing damage if you do get hit.

The dual wield perks make you into in to an absolute killing beast with the dual power attacks. Also, not sure if this is a bug or a feature, but if you put a dagger in your off hand (left) and a sword/axe/mace in your right, your dual power attack is at dagger speed. If you switch your weapons out the other way (Sword/Axe/Mace left, Dagger right) the attack is at sword/axe/mace speed, so if you want to fully exploit this "feature" you want to go dagger left mace right to max your damage/speed attack potential.

My only problem with dual wielding maces, is that I always end up picking up all the loot I can get my hands, and that tends to get me into a weight problem.
I can dual wield a pair of scimitars and it's only 20 pounds (estimate of the top of my head, if I am wrong, forgive me) where as dual maces, are 36 (glass) to 40+ (Deadric/Ebony) pounds. That is valuable loot space.
I have plenty of time in with maces and warhammers and my only real gripe is that they don't have skyforge versions of these weapons (WTF!) I don't get that. And yes, I have used maces with all three perks in to ignore 75% armor, and while yes, I do use them, they mostly end up sitting in the chest.

It's a feature.

My character is running around with a giant axe strapped to his back. It was a real pain to do at first, since I kept getting killed all the time. Now that I'm over level 40, and have a pretty good weapon and smithing skill, the fights are much easier. I do agree that it makes mixing and matching is a bit of a pain, but for a two handed warrior, I don't think it can be beat.

The payoff with a big 2hand weapon is that when you hit someone, you really beat the crap out of them. But if you go for that power swing and miss, a capable opponent can really punish you for it.

Imo if you're playing on Expert or up you will need the armour a shield provides. I find you can get more damage in by interrupting a power attack with a shield bash and hacking them with a 1h sword, than bashing them with any 2h weapon and following through with that.

My last game I went 1H and Shield and had a fantastic time with it. I never knew Block could be so much fun. Bam, bam, bam and the bandit is staggered then 1 or 2 hits with the sword and it's done. I've watched Argis the Bulwark doing that so I guess I learned from him. I usually play a Mage so the change was fun.