2 Hand weapon when soloing?

[Mekrath]

<DIV>Level 25 SK here... I have been soloing with a 1H Crushing and a shield.. and I read on here that 2h is better for soloing.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I tried it out, and found fights didn't really go any quicker (maybe a little) but I was ending up MUCH lower on health than with my 1h and shield, and being killed by things I had no problem with when I had a shiel equipped.. what might I be doing wrong? </DIV>

[TalinorColdwind]

<P>it is all determined on equipment, I find it better since cu to go 1hs and shield I use to be 2handed slash till cu and after I went to 1hander due to our stances we get now and our mit and avoidance changed after cu.</P> <P>before cu my avoidance and mit barley changed when I used a 1hander and shield vs 2hander after cu it changes dramaticly. I find I can still deal out enough damage with a 1hander if you look for the right dps output and you have a high str. My str right now is 151 at 40 with only a adept 1 for my self buff.</P>

[Margen]

<P>Also when you get your offensive stance, think its 32 but not sure you will notice a difference using your two handed attacks etc.</P> <P>Blackoath</P>

[Diern]

<P>I use a 2hander exclusively in offensive stance when solo, unless im fighting a very hard solo name. You get an extra attack CA with a twohander, I just seem to kill alot faster.</P> <P>Really I dont think it matters much now, pre combat update 2hander definately now its not so clear cut.</P>

[Gnome mercy]

Meh, in my opinion i use shield and 1h weapons for only 1 reason, extra stun! unyielding advance has saved me [Removed for Content] many times, even tho its not much damage its the stun, it lasts for 2.5 seconds... and it knocksdown and it blurs vision, great skill for lower levels, mazaingly befor eis tarted playing i wanted 2 handers but i love my kite shield and 1hs alot better, i just finished Ghoulbane, the weakened version but its really nice 1 hander level 32 required, atm using Shadowblade of Zeal, its weak, but it gets the job done, Also, get your pet adept I, makes a huge difference hehe at app 1 he hit for like maybe 30-40 common, at adept 1 he gets easy 60-70 commons, its nice extra dps i can solo the +3 mobs in Fallen gate... Great dps kinda sucks he uses an essence, but i got almost 200 of them so i got plenty to waste

[jeta]

Lately I've been using t6 1hs and kite shield with the offensive stance, and this combo seems to be working the best for me soloing. Still pumping out a lot of dmg due to offense stance, and getting hit MUCH less with the t6 shield.

[DUNN]

<DIV> <DIV>What is a 1hs ? Never used such a thing LOL</DIV></DIV>

[kr8ztwin]

my only issue with offensive stance and 1-h is that your avoidance drops so much its comperable to just using a 2-h.  I prefer to just keep my eq mitigation as high as possible and go with the 2-h. 

[rabid.pooh]

<P>While solo'n spectres in SS I had used a one handed slasher, 43.2 DR (or about there), and my iron wood shiled.  When I had finished the fight I was in the green, and had about 10% mana left.  I then fought the same level spectre with my 2handed Argent Bastardsword 72.4 DR, and finished the fight in the green with 40% mana left.</P> <P>I am comparing a normal sword to a fabled so.. something has to be put into account for that.</P> <P>When soloing I tend to use my 2hander, I find the DPS lacks with the one hand and sheild.  And with all the taps, it honestly doesn't matter, most of the time I'm in offensive stance (exept when fighting ^^^ based in disease, then it's defensive).</P> <P>Pre combat changes I would easily notice the deffensive advantage with a shield.  Now I don't really see it.  I do see more damage without it tho.</P> <P>- Toesmash</P> <P>level 55 SK/ 57 Armorer</P> <P> </P>

[Diern]

<DIV>Considering all the different opinions about this I going to say it really doesnt matter which you use, personally I sticking with 2 hander while solo in offensive stance, Im in no danger of dying and I seem to kill faster. Shield and one hander reserved for group play when tanking .......</DIV>

[EnraptureE]

<P>I would say 97% of the time I'm offensive stance.  I really only change to defensive if healing is not that great & its against mobs that are kinda nasty.  The differences between the 2 are the real big change into the dmg you output.  Go with 2H, I get a wis debuff attack, which is good when I want to land stuff more coupled with the disease debuff of our AE taunt.  I don't know if people do this like me, but I like to do the first HO with both & I'm then rdy for despoiling, siphon, lifetaps etc.. with less chance of resists right off the get go.</P> <P>The biggest reason for me, to use a shield is to stun castors, which is about the only time I use this solo.  Or, if I'm main tank, to generate more agro / stun.  We all know we can & need to use what we got to keep that up, when your group is comprised of rangers & wizards lol</P> <P>I also probably have higher dps in general with 2H cause its fabled & 1H is not.  The shield is SBS, so decent enough.</P>

[Peace]

I use 1h and shield myself.  Yeah you get an extra CA with 2h, but you kind of do with 1h / shield, too - your Shield Bash.  I find this to be extremely useful for countering the long cast time of my reactive lifetap.  90% of the time if I use my bash and THEN cast my reactive, I don't get interrupted (although I still fizzle sometimes LOL).  Ithink it has more to do with personal preference and play style than anything else.  Try both ways and see what works best for you. <div></div>

[Axxon]

I have been using the Shiny Brass Halberd as my primary 2H and yes, I do use it to solo most of the time.  The stats it gives are on par with a 1H and a shield, and the damage is much better.  I will be sad when that weapon's time has passed for me.

[Somniloquy]

I keep a 2H for the rare times im in a grp and not MT.  For solo the shield is a must, not just for the stats and block but also for the stuns.

[JoarAddam]

<P>I find that 2handers give a more significant damage output, but it just may be the weapon I'm using.</P> <P>Royal Great Flail... hits in the 800's after buff/debuffs + 250-300 on 5% procs.</P> <P>For a one hander I use anvilpaw's tomahawk or ebon battle hammer (because I have been putting cobalt into armor, which is a better place to have it IMO.)</P>

[VengeanceX]

<P>Well, call me crazy but for soloing I do something that hasn't been suggested so far, I use no stance at all.  No penalty to offense or defense that way :smileywink:.  You can easily switch stances on and off during combat if you need to (switching to offense just for a big harm touch springs to mind).</P> <P>Most of my damage is done from my spells so I tend to use whatever weapon I feel like at the time.  One handers with a shield is safer but two handers get the job done faster.  It all really comes down to the quality of your weapons.  If the damage rating on your two hander is not much higher than your one hander, you might as well use your one hander and shield until use get a better two hander.</P> <P>In groups I am much more traditional.  One hander and shield with defensive stance for tanking and two hander with offensive stance if I am not.</P>

[Kinve]

I usually solo with 1hs, and a shield but sweitch on occasion to blunts.  When I'm dpsing or killing large or multiple mobs of low level, i'll switch to a 2HS.  the reason is that you can get it at a much higher base DPS and by using it you can use 1 more of you AOE attacks and at a higher level you get a 2hs debuff for -21 wis against your opponent which can help.

[Diern]

  <DIV><BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> use 1h and shield myself.  Yeah you get an extra CA with 2h, but you kind of do with 1h / shield, too - your Shield Bash<BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE>This is true, but it doesnt do very much damage at all, and the stun generally isnt needed I have found while solo. (casters excluded) <BR></DIV>

[Loter]

<FONT face=Verdana color=#e9e6ff size=2>I solo most of the time as I tend to play at really odd hours. I use an imbued 2-hander and my offensive stance. If it's a tough mob I just use both the pet and the pact. If possible I pull it with my fright doll and just stun it when it tries casting.<BR><BR>My philosophy is that it's all about not getting hit so much. Best way to make that happen is to bring your foe down as quick as possible. This must also be quite humiliating for your foe, and I so love humiliating my enemies. After all... I'm not a pally.</FONT>

[KULV]

Fighters are a pretty gear dependant class mek. If your armor isnt so hot at lvl 25, then 2hs might not be for you yet. I solo alot and at 60 with pox sword and an imbued cobalt spear, i kill quickly. I still need to use a shield on tough named though. My armor is full cobalt though. Which allows me to mitigate dmg better and with my taps and stances adpet 3ed, stuff drops pretty quick for me. I seem to use more power with 2hs but i think its a good trade off since the fights dont last as long. 1 drink cures that problem.