My thoughts were:

Dual wield costs 2AP per attack, while 1h costs 1AP. In the end you will swing your weapon(s) an equal number of times. There are three differences that seem to benefit 1h and one benefit for dual wield.

1h:
1. Every point in 1h offers +4% DMG and +2% accuracy. Dual wield offers +3% DMG and +1% crit chance. The damage increase is higher for 1h and accuracy is nice. Dual wield offers a lower DMG bonus and crit chance won't matter as much with backstab. *Not sure if these bonuses stay the same beyond a few levels*

2. Having one weapon means you get to swing your primary weapon, which should be the strongest, four times. Dual wield will give you two swings for your primary weapon and two for your secondary, which is likely weaker.

3. If you are left with only 1AP left in a turn you can still attack with a 1h weapon.

Dual wield:
1. Having a second weapon equipped gives you additional passive bonuses from magic items.


I could be overlooking or unaware of something. This is just my initial understanding. Any other benefits for dual wielding?