Will 2-Handed Axes/Swords/Hammers be more useful this time?

[Drytchnath]

Topic title says it all. One thing I didnt like was that the vast majority of 2-handed weapons (barring polearms) were usually far inferior to their 1-handed counterparts.

I do like the 2-handed fiery maul they showed in the gameplay vid. Hopefully the bigger swords and axes will have the satisfying quality of totally demolishing monsters in a swing or two.

[qOcOp]

I would think so, in d2 1 handed+shield was best. i believe they will try their best to balance things this time:coffee:

[Drytchnath]

Lets hope they take the extra time to tweak weapon dps. Imho, 2-handed (vanilla)weapons should always out-damage 1-handed (also vanilla) weapons. The trade off, of course, is less defensive ability due to the lack of a shield.

[Apocalypse]

i may be way off here but i remember a time when 2 handed weapons where the best items for a barb, polearms to be exact

[Drytchnath]

i may be way off here but i remember a time when 2 handed weapons where the best items for a barb, polearms to be exact

They were the best in D2 classic. But 2-handed swords, axes and clubs were still less than desirable. Polearms were best due to their range, making them ideal WW weapons.

[grogthecaveman]

There is a Assassin skill in d2 right now that does what they need to do in d3 for 2-handers and dual-weilders

Weapon block and weapon defense.

You can block an incoming blow with a weapon, probably not as well as with a shield, but you can do it. Maybe it would be too complex to give weapons defense and block values, but a polearm should have a decent chance to block.

[Peli]

Actually polearms are horrible defensive weapons; they're too slow and unwieldy. The best defensive weapon is probably a staff or short sword. I like the idea of giving weapons a weapon block rating, especially if there is are skills like overpower and riposte from WOW which are basically reactive skills.

[Drytchnath]

Actually polearms are horrible defensive weapons; they're too slow and unwieldy. The best defensive weapon is probably a staff or short sword. I like the idea of giving weapons a weapon block rating, especially if there is are skills like overpower and riposte from WOW which are basically reactive skills.

Giving staves a inherent block % might actually make people use them in melee! Doubtful that it will happen though.

[MysteryNotes]

Hopefully they'll add a slightly different look to the weapons this time.
In Diablo 2, all the swords looked pretty much the same when wielded.

[redrach]

I think the developers are aware of this, since they've introduced a new barb skill:
Two-Handed Weapon Specialization - Increases physical damage dealt with two-handed weapons by X%
Also, a problem with 2h weapons was that the slow attack speed meant that even if you could kill any enemy in a single blow, there was a significant delay before you could kill another, during which you could be repeatedly interrupted because of the lack of a shield.
But D3 now has this nifty skill -
Cleave -The Barbarian swings at multiple targets, dealing 130% of weapon damage at up to 2 targets.
All that ED%, spread over multiple targets... :grin:

[konfeta]

Plus, that Shockwave skill. It deals a % multiplier of your damage, naturally it works best with a 2 hander.

[Friedrich Halbarenz]

I really hope that two handers become viable as well. I for one would love the idea of playing a Barb swinging around a massive, 5 foot long zweihander decapitating several bad guys at once :yes:

[Jaxxkelly]

I'm also interested in the combination of a (slowish) 2 handed skill combined with for example a multistrike rune. Would that speed it up?

[KappaGiBi]

.....
But D3 now has this nifty skill -

All that ED%, spread over multiple targets... :grin:

Then again, D2 has whirlwind (as does D3 but that's not the point), which does exactly that.

[konfeta]

Well, I think that Dual Wielding will be slightly better at wiping out smaller mobs of tougher enemies, while 2 Handers will handle swarms better.

[redrach]

Then again, D2 has whirlwind (as does D3 but that's not the point), which does exactly that.
True, but Whirlwind relied too much on weapon attack speed to spread the damage, so clunky 2h weapons were out of the question. Cleave spreads it nicely with a single hit. It's actually like Dragon Tail... if DTail damage were to depend on your weapon instead of your boots.

[teh_Thrasher]

i really liked the feel i got from the hammer in the WWI video. it just swung very nicely and hit with such power (the physix was very attractive too of course ;) ) and it didnt seem like the whirlwind in d3 was based off weapon speed. so it may make 2h weapons more viable.
ill probably be going 2h weapons :D big dmg is ftw =] plus enraging charge = <3 haha