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

[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]

Originally Posted by 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

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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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...