What do you prefer, One or Two-Handed weapons?

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In my first full run I went One-Handed and was surprised to find One-Handers stop getting more powerful at 130 strength with the Orc Slayer at 130 power, when Two-Handers go all the way to 170 with 200 power, a significant boost!

So in my second run I went Two-Handed and for the longest time I found Two-Handed to be really hard to use without getting hit a lot. I've gotten a lot better with them and now even against faster opponents (Field Raiders, Snappers, etc.) I rarely ever get hit.

I was clearing Xardas' Old Tower and found a Master Sword and since my Dexterity had just broken 60 I could use it. Even though my critical hit chance was significantly lower I decided to try it out to compare the difference directly. I don't know if having the skill at Master level makes you faster but there wasn't as much of a difference as I thought there would be.

On the other hand there was a difference. Even after having used Two-Handers for the entire game thus far I still sometimes went too fast and messed up my combo, cutting it short and frequently getting me hit. With One-Handers it's really easy to get it right.

Ultimately I've concluded that One-Handers are better defensively since the time in-between actions is shorter so you can block, attack or move quicker than you would with a Two-Hander, and I find that I frequently get an extra hit.

With Two-Handers there are really only two specific things I noticed that I like over One-Handers. 1: Ultimately your weapons will do quite a bit more per hit (assuming you're a very strength-focused character, if you aren't then I'd pass up Two-Handers). 2: Enemies tend to circle-strafe JUST outside One-Handed weapon range, meaning I get to score free hits on them when I'm using a Two-Hander.

I do like both, but overall I think I prefer One-Handers. I prefer taking having to land a few more blows but being able to avoid hits more easily.

EDIT: The Claw of Beliar makes the argument a little less pertinent but I still like to think about it. (Plus, end-tier Two-Handers are good enough that you may want to use them even with the Claw. Also mages can't use a melee Claw.)

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I also noticed that when I fight enemies who use One-Handers that because they attack faster my blocks actually catch more of their attacks. When I fight a Two-Hander if I block once but they follow up the second attack just barely follows my block.

As a paladin, I always played with one-handed because i always liked the speed of one-handed weapons. But as a mage i prefer a two-handed weapon because i saw a screenshot of a fire mage with a two-handed sword on his back and have ever since always played as a two handed mage, at least in the Gothic series. :-)

Interesting answer!

Purely because of gameplay reasons I intend to always go One-Handed as a mage and as a Paladin I'll leave it up to how I feel at the time.

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Another thing, I feel like when I'm doing purely forward strikes in a combo that the 3rd and 4th strike are needlessly slow regardless of weapon type. Whenever I'm facing an enemy that reacts pretty quickly and I thoughtlessly add a 3rd forward strike instead of stepping back or executing a side-swing it gets me hit.

EDIT: Another-nother thing! For both weapon styles there's a hidden 5th strike in a purely forward combo that isn't animated but still makes an impact sound and deals damage.

One handed is smart as a mage since there are dexterity based swords available early with a very good rating but, keep in mind that, for role playing, mages use staffs which are two-handed weapons. When mage, I often (about 50%) use two-handers - the only times that I do.

Interestingly enough, the best one-handed weapons can be bought in Khorinis from Martin. He has a Master Sword (or something like that) that deals 120 Damage and only requires 60 Dexterity. The bonus also being +10 to one-handed. You may have already known that but I'm just guessing that you thought the Orc Slayer is the best due to 130 Damage.

I personally used this sword through the entire game from Chapter 1 when I got enough money and dexterity points. Pretty sure you can easily get this weapon at level 7.

I love seeing weapon discussion in Gothic.