What to consider to use a two-handed weapon?

Question

I use one-handed weapon since ever, but what I have to consider to use a two-handed? My skills? Hunting style? Creatures?

Answer 1

You should balance two things.

1. The attack difference of a 1 handed weapon and a 2 handed weapon
2. The defensive stat of the shield

These days the main role of the shield is to give elemental and physical percentage protection. For example, a ornate shield can be imbued with 15% of fire protection and it'll give a 5% of physical protection. When you're facing 8 monsters (boxing) this protection can be very helpful if the monsters deal more damage than you can heal. It is also very useful when killing bosses as they have very strong spells. Also there are some shields that give offensive stats (shield of corruption, ectoplasm shield).

You see an ornate shield (Def:36, protection physical +5%).

Imbuements: (Powerful Dragon Hide 16:52h).

However the extra attack from a 2-handed weapon will benefit your life and mana leach. You'll kill faster and improve your exp rate. I would say that the extra attack give you more damage than the extra skill you can get from shield of corruption or ectoplasm shield in most of the cases.

To sum up. Prefer 2-handed weapons if defense is not a problem and you want to maximize your exp/h while hunting. If you want to have a more shield hunt or need extra protection to survive prefer a shield with % defenses.

Comments

Thanks! So I should choose 2 handed when I don't suffer much damage, right?

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Yes. Always focus on gaining more exp when possible.
Level also increase your damage along with better equipment and more life.

Answer 2

I have a quick and simple rule of thumb:

1) Monsters deals mostly magical damage OR very weak to physical OR I will not suffer excessive physical damage by secondary sources as other monsters around or environment stuff? Two-handed.

2) Monster deals a lot of physical damage OR too many mobs not necessarily strong but closing a box around me constantly OR one-handed is granting a really good bonus (+3 def or a something nice) that really pays off less attack? One-handed.