I have a character in mind but im not sure what I want the main attack to be yet. I want heavy armor. Have never once since morrowind used light armor, just can't do it. I want restoration and archery. I really love the look of the two handed sword but having a one handed sword and a heal spell in the other is really nice too. But if I go with two handed I can block and one handed I can't I dont know what to do. Any opinions?

i personally prefer 2h man..it's so sick when you decap with a 2h axe haha..but the 2h axe perk svckS..so go 2h swords imo..the crits are insane

Yeah man, iNsANeEe cRItZzZ are what ES is all about.

I can always recommend 2 h.

I would normally go with one handed.

considering the (quite obvious) sarcasm of your post, I guess you think that ES is all about..dat phatty bl33d damag3? lol? that phatty bl33d damag3 that does so little damage that it's the biggest waste of 3 perks in the entire game?

You've got lots more combo options with 1-hand. Shields, other weapon, torch, magic etc.

God knows what you're going on about. I'm sorry I made you feel insecure.

I got more of an impression he was referring to the open world and "be who you want, do what you want" motto, but yeah, he was probably referring to phatty bl33d damag3.

one handed. magic in the other. keep a healing spell up when you're fighting. works for me

what a witty post made by an anonymous user on the internet, I bet that felt good

I can see that I've struck a nerve here so I will be the bigger man.

Two handed, especially the Ebony Greatsword. You don't need a shield when the enemy is dead before he hits you!

if you go 2handed you are forced to lvl enchanting a lot for magic resistance, though.


but most go smithing-enchanting-alchemy anyways

Depends on the length.

I really like two handed, personally. Which is odd, because both of my current characters use one handed and magic. Still, my next character will be a Smithing-Enchanter-Two Handed-Heavy Armour dude.
It'll be nice not to be such a glass cannon all the time .

Out of those two go with 2h. It svcks being unable to block. 1h and magic will consist of mindless swinging and some healing when you take damage.

I'd rather avoid enchanting and go for the passives in Alteration.

I used to use one-handed, but two-handed is definitely the best choice.

Due to the garbage interface for spells requiring a free hand unlike the previous games, 1h makes more sense if you use magic at all. I preferred oblivion where you had your equipped weapon and also an equipped spell.

If you're going pure warrior only, 2h could be good.

I would mostly recommend 1h if you cast spells too, but recently tried it with 2h (mostly tried to lvl with Flesh spells, while fighting with a sword), and it was fun. The inconvenience of it kind of had the side of effect of making fights more intense.

You can't block with one-handed, but that's why you can heal.

The whole point with 1h is that you can switch between a spell, shield or second weapon during fights. Choosing 2h so you can block doesn't make much sense.

I can recommend both.

1h: I don't recommend dual-wielding. The only thing special about it is the cute little spin attack it does.
I do recommend a Sword-and-board tank play-style with every single block talent activated. This, along with the defense cap and a bunch of magic resist makes a pretty tough character.

2h: I recommend it more. You can still block with it, and in the case of magic resistance, you either play a Breton, grab the passive talent in Alteration, enchant it to your gear, or all of them.
Once you hit five hundred eighty-something defense you are capped at 80% damage resistance and the only way you can further boost your defenses is to stack some more health and get magic resistance.
Not to mention the cleave that it does.

One hand is what I prefer.