Larian Studios Forums Beyond Divinity (English) Help/Tips/Tricks 1 handed, 2 handed, 1 handed with Shield

Everytime my DK equips a sword the shield dims, even if I have points in Melee with Shield.

How do I know if a weapon is one or two handed if the description doesn't say? I have points in one handed melee slashing. But I don't know if I'm using a one handed Claymore.

BTW, which is better to learn, one handed or two?

Shields dim with bows too, but I expect that. A bow takes two hands.

just use 2 handers. short swords are single. almost everything else is double. IIRC. just use it and see if its sing le or double!

The way to find out is to equip it and see if it blacks out the shield slot. Silly, but the description doesn't say.

Never forget that the skill for 1 handed weapons doesn't work if you have a shield equipped and the skill for one handed weapons plus shield ONLY works with the shield equipped. So go for one or the other but not both (but IMO 2 handed weapons are far better - they do more damage and you don't have a shield reducing your speed, initiative and accuracy).

I went one-handed, no shield. There seems to be lots of 1H and 2H weapons, but if I had it to do over I might have gone 2H since those weapons do more damage per whack (but are slower I think). So maybe it is not that much of a difference--it is damage/time that matters.

Also,with the random loot generator, there is no way to know what type of weapons you are going to find. Of course, you *can* decide which to buy (heh).

I guess you can change melee styles if you wish by unlearning the skill you don't want or just adding a new one....have no idea how expensive unlearning is though...

I never found a single shield in the game that was worth taking the enormous damage reduction in order to keep, so 2H-swords are always better, IMO.

Historically speaking, a Claymore is/was a type of 2H sword, BTW - but it would have been nice if the descriptions on a lot of weapons made the distinctions clearer, I agree <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I find 2-H is the best way to go. My current Damage with a 2-H sword is 258-384 and most monsters go down in 1 - 2 hits.

The only advantage to 1-H with SHield is that you have an extra item that could have charm slots. But the lower damage is not worth it IMHO.

one thing i'd point out in defense of the 1hand + shield however (grim did this too). with the sharpen skill, your singlehanded will easily be doing over 200pts damage, you'll have a higher armor class, and 3 to 4 charm slots. if you're using gold charms, that's a boatload of extra power!
keep in mind i say this as a bow using character. melee weapons simply don't hold a candle to the power of a bow. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> (my opinion of course!)

in my opinion the extra damage from 2 handed weapons is worthless if you use a shiled with a the shield block skill at lvl8 even if you hav 1 evasion you dont get hurt at all ....the shield blocks every melee attack

Yep shield blocking is powerful, but as mentioned before there seem to be no decent shields out there. been looking alot for a shield that was just remotely decent with no success. But the skill shield blocking is up there with sharpen weapon as one of the most powerful skills. For a melee caracter it is far better to put as much as possible into shield blocking rather than the meager gains you can get from putting them into weapon damage for instance. My humble opinion ofcourse.
Ohh and one hand with no shield is a totally meaningless skill (can be used until you can get to the first battlefield ofcourse). Either you should go 2 hand or 1 hand with shield.

Doh! I just discovered that I had put my skill points into 1H and was *using* a 2H Claymore of Succubus or something like that. A mind is a terrible thing to lose...heh...I did notice that the 1H swords seem to all show in inventory in a horizontal position while the 2H are vertical. Watching the shield slot also works, but this way you do not have to equip a weapon to determine its type.

I think by the time I finish BD, I may understand how it works...maybe then I should play it again...LOL...

Just curious about the Shield Blocking skill. Does anyone notice any difference in damage taken from casters or just melee enemies?

Also what effect does the high blocking skill have when your character is stunned? I am thinking about areas such as Act IV Battlefield dungeons, which are mostly stunning Clerics (who stun you then try to beat you to death) and casting Mages.

he he even when you are stunned the shield still block attacks so it is a mighty handy feat to have

Thanks Sauron, very interesting indeed <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

btw: Lots of good shields are found in the Act IV Battlefield dungeons.