2H Sword vs. 1H Sword/ShieldFollow

well im a lvl 19 warrior who uses sheild and sword.. ilike it and i think in the later game it will be really helpful in like pvp and what not cause i already block 9% of the attacks and by lvl 60 itl be around like 20 % and that is nice when ur getten show with arrows and what not.

I tend to prefer 2H vs anything else unless I'm main tanking a boss or a strong hitting critter, take Verdan the Everliving for example, then I switch to sword and board. The damage output just outweighs the other two options, and for me unless I want some rage really fast, I hardly ever go dual wield.

Just my 2 cents...

I'm only lvl 13, I just wanna share what I experienced,

I use a 1hand axe/shield combo because I was tired of geting killed easily when I was crowded by mobs.

(I use axes because I'm an orc)

I experimented that using a 2 handed weapon versus a mob of your level is like gambling: you can win or lose 50/50. And if you get aggroed by another mob, then your dead.

I'm getting the thread off-topic, but whatever...

I finally found a decent use for Mocking Blow. Even though it is a rare situation, it's a good move to use with a paladin against multiple mobs (ex. the paladin class quest in Westfall vs. waves of Defias). If the paladin gets swarmed, duck in and use Mocking Blow so he can get a good heal off, then go back to being DD or whatever you were doing.

Just a thought.

Currently, as a lv 34, I have pretty much ditch the 1 handed approach and stuck with 2 handers. Let me explain before I'm called a rogue wannabe.

1) 2 handers generate more rage, bar none. With that rage, I have more freedom to use abilities to hold hate and use abilities to stay alive during PvP.

2) 2 hander + Sunder Armor + a regular old hit = more threat. With my current rank in sunder armor, I can hit for 180 to 200 on a regular basis once I apply my sunders. Sunder is so wonderful for all warriors in all situations and builds on the threat as well.

3) As you get higher, enemies will become harder and harder to even dent. Not only does the 2 hander get through that def but it gives the enemy a good hurting.

4) More uses can be found with a 2 hander then the sword and shield combo. Granted, you can stay alive but you are not doing the required damage to even survive the fight. Plus the only abilities that benefits from the shield are in defensive stance. For that, I normally just carry around a shield, make a macro, wait for the proper use of my shield, use it then switch back to my 2 hander.

Now, I am aware that I lose out on defense which is why you should always patch up all 4 of your pieces of armor and use defense potions whenever you go to an instance. That should give you the needed defense you need for such situations.

howdy all,

i currently have a 39 orc warrior and i try to keep all of my melee weapon skills up: 1H ax, 2H ax, 1H sword, 2H sword, polearm...

when a nice weapon drops or a blue weapon appears in the auction house, i have way more options.

i keep my STR roughly around 150 - 160 right now, and here are some examples of DPS readings during combat against same-level mobs (using cosmosui)

a 35 dps Polearm averages [60 to 80 live dps]
a 29 dps 1H sword with a shield [40 to 55 live dps]
same 29 dps sword with a 25 dps axe [50 to 65 live dps]

ive been experimenting with dps a looong time now, and it appears to me that LEVEL is much like a damage-absorber

for example, lets say a lvl 39 mob absorbs 20 damage per hit...

with the polearm, if i hit for 180, after absorbtion, the damage would be [160 dmg]

with the mainhand 1H, if i hit for 100, after level absorb, the damage would be [80 dmg], and an offhand hit for 50 would end up as [30 dmg] ... the total dmg from the two weapons would be affected far more by level absorbtion. so not only does a 2H weapon do slightly more dmg from STR bonuses, but also ends up with a sort of "armor-piercing" side effect, albeit slower attack rate.

*ALSO* if you have been training up your CLEAVE ability, it does your weapon damage amount + a bonus, to 2 targets, so with the 2H weapons, you are gonna get more dmg on cleaves for same rage cost.

i also have a 1150ac shield, so when i group in an instance zone and we are fighting Elites that are my level or higher, i use the shield, and i dont worry about being DPS myself - thats what the other classes are for. otherwise i tend to solo with 2H.

Edited, Tue Jan 4 11:21:48 2005 by Lutherman

no idea where to find aliance weapon master for swords sorry

my 2 cents for this topic is pretty much the same. when I am solo the 2 hander does more damage and generates more rage. best offence is a good defence. I always keep my weapon skills up as well and find I am more effective with 2h. I've experimented in groups with defensive stance and a shield and i've found that the sooner you kill whatever attacks you the better

However, Im sure at later levels an additional 1000 to my AC will come in handy and some of the shield skills are very handy depending on monst/situation

Don't be a one trick pony

Edited, Wed Jan 5 08:53:18 2005 by Kazumodan

Gannon here from Eonar. I would suggest that you, being on the side of alliance and around paladins that are designed for defense and tanking, should keep with whatever High damage DPS. 2 hander you can. If your not going to be tanking, help your paladin friend out by killing that mob quicker. Criticaling with a good 2hander draws very high aggro, along with a much higher increase in damage between the regular swing to critical swing. As a warrior you face that duality of defense and offense, eploit the offensive side, with the right talents your dps. and critial's can go up.

Suggestion from a 35 tauren warrior that around your level tried out defensive stance with sword and shield and changed. Though i survived battles with "slightly" less damage at times, killing a mob off faster in a group situation proved more valuable to me. As well as for farming, I would rather let my life regen walking to the next mob, having killed my prior opponent off faster.