Best weapons for dual wielding

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what is your favorite weapon combo ?

right now my solo barb is wielding crom faeyr and celestial fury, but they will soon prove to be obsolete for the TOB boss fights, i'm looking forward to him dual wielding runehammer +5 and hindo's doom +4, i think the bonus they provide is just what you want

do you think of a better combination ?

 

Shortswords. Or daggers. But probably the former.

As for dualing a hammer and a katana/waki ... I don't know. It seems ... wrong, just like dualing Crom and C'Fury is ... wrong. Who needs that?

 

yeah i know wielding a blade with a blunt weapon feels wrong, maybe i'll replace runehammer by spectral brand or another curved sword

as for dual wielding short swords, i'll leave that to rogues

the good thing with the barb is that the fact he cant specialize makes him proeficient in a lot of different weapon types

 

I agree with Ragusa. I'm big on role-playing with these kinds of games (RPG...what?) so I try to be as realistic as possible. And there's just no way a fighter could be effective with a warhammer and a katana in each hand. Besides, it just looks stupid.

So I try to combine weapons that are a more natural fit. Axes with Hammers, Longswords with Shortswords, Shortswords with Daggers, Longswords with Daggers, Clubs with Maces, Katanas with Scimitars/Wakizashis, Flails with Maces. Flails with Hammers is one of the more awkward combos, but it works.

That's if you combine weapon types. Pairing 2 of the same type always works fine.

It's also important to bear in mind that no matter what the off-hand weapon is, you'll only get 1 attack per round with it (the way BG2 dual-wielding works), so it's often a good idea to select as your off-hand weapon something that provides a non-damage benefit. The most popular benefit being Crom Fayr for its strength bonus (the weapon damage on its own is unremarkable).

 

well i dont really need the strength bonus crom faeyr provides anymore, as my barb is now at str 21 (given in hell), and since rage mode gives +4 in str you do the math....

hey but neither of you answered the real question: which is the deadliest weapon combo (specific weapons) ?

 

Oh. I thought the real question was favorite, not deadliest. Deadliest is probably Flail of Ages (it gets nice upgrades in ToB) and Crom Feyr. But since you don't need Crom...

I guess that depends on your playing style. There are plenty of deadly one-handers in BG2. Anthing plus Belm will get you an extra attack. Kundane is better, since it's an extra attack plus a 0 speed factor. Anything plus Crom (as discussed) will get you +25 strength. The Equalizer's bonuses to hit and damage (I just recently found out) apply to all weapons, so it's a great off-hander.

So think of the off-hand weapon as the accent to your main-hand weapon, which will be doing the majority of your fighting. The Axe of the Unyielding is outstanding when upgraded. Same with the Flail of Ages (one of the best in the game overall, and is a mad man when upgraded in ToB). There's also Foebane (bastard), Angurvadal (longsword), Spectral Brand (scimitar) and Storm Star (mace) that make kick-ass main-handers. Celestial Fury is great for SoA, but as it's only +3 can't pass muster in ToB, making katanas (regretfully) a bad long-term investment.

As your character is a barbarian (excellent choice, btw), I recommend axes, flails and hammers. Some excellent throwing axes so you have a ranged option. You will also have a ton of variety, as there are a lot of flails and axes in the game.

EDIT: And among those, specific combos would be Axe of Unyelding (main hand) with Crom Feyr (because +25 is better than +21, and you aren't always raging). Still, since you don't want to make your rage obsolete, I recommend Flail of Ages in the off-hand, especially for the bonuses. That's end-game, however. For early game, both the Stonefire (+3, +2 fire) and Frostreaver (+3, +1 cold, +1 acid) are cheap and available very early on. As is the original Flail of Ages. Just for the extra attack, early game I would stick Belm or Kundane in the off-hand (a single point in their respective proficiency, just to avoid the attack hit, will suffice).

 

thanks for your answer, Death Rabbit

damn i didn't put any point in flails nor did i care to assemble the flail of ages, and i didn't know about Belm either, thats regrettable as it would have made a neat off-hand weapon, but now i'm in TOB its too late

right now i'm looting watcher's keep, and i'm a bit sorry to say that crom still is my main weapon, with celestial fury as off-hand blade

its too bad the upgrades can only be made very late in the game (like hindo's hand being in abazigal's lair....)

as for stonefire and frostreaver they were great in the begining now they're completely obsolete except for the few trolls remaining in the keep

 

If I were you, I would switch Crom and Celestial Fury immediately. There's absolutely no reason to have Celestial in the off-hand, with it's chance to stun. At this point you likely have 5 attacks per round, so only one of those attacks has a chance to stun. With Crom in the off-hand you get its benefit regardless, and having 4 of 5 attacks with a chance to stun (plus the lightening chance) is much, much better than the small amount of extra base damage you're doing with Crom in the main hand.

What are your character stats right now? Give me your attributes, proficiencies, level and current equipment.

 

alright here it goes:

stats:
lvl 40
STR 21
DEX 18
CON 20

AC -10 (average)
228 HP

proficiencies:
bastard sword ++
katana ++
axe ++
long sword ++
single weapon ++
dual wielding ++
sword and shield +

equipment
crimson chain +5
gauntlets of extraordinary specialization (dont have them yet, but its in the keep)
helm of the rock
amulet of seldarim
cloak of displacement
boots of speed
belt of inertial barrier
ring of gaxx
ring of earth control (for ac bonus)

and as for main hand weapons:
yamato, usuno, celestial

off hand:
crom
Saving Grace (-4 AC) looking forward to get shield of the order

voila.... i think all this works pretty good

 

Didn't realize you already had the longsword proficiency. In that case, here are the combos I would recommend for you at this point in the game (main hand / off hand):

The Answerer +4 / The Equalizer (main benefit: each hit lowers enemy defense, and the equalizer will ensure that you hit with every swing)

Axe of the Unyielding +5 / Kundane or Belm (main benefit: that extra attack per round is another chance for you get AoU's 10% to instantly kill the foe in 1 hit)

Axe of Unyielding / Crom Feyr (stated above)

You've got the best body armor available to you, so you're good there. You'll get the component you need to upgrade the Axe of Unyielding at Yaga Shura's place, too.

 

i dont have the answerer and didnt assemble the equalizer parts

i dont have short sword proficiency so i didnt care to get kundane, and i missed out on belm

so i'll go for the axe of unyielding / crom combination, although i would have prefered to make him wield curved blades, its looks cooler

anyway thanks for your help

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hey, terrible bug in watcher's keep: i lost all of my gold !!

 

Heh, I don't think it is a bug. I think one of your spellcasters was unlucky in one of the wild magic rooms and a resultant wild surge ate up your gold. Just a thought. I chuckle each time it happens:the cost of the fun wild magic.

By the by, DeathRabbit has given excellent advice about your question. I was a fan of dual wielding as well (blame the Drizzt fan-boy in me ) in my old games, and have shamelessly used some obscene combos such as Crom Faeyr+5 and Sanchuudoku+4 (an extremely powerful and cheesy but fun to use katana added by the tactics mod) and very much enjoyed it. But in my current game I tried single weapon style and I am positively surprised by the extra number of critical hits it gives, it really shows and I like to deal much more criticals more frequently.

 

i dont have spellcasters, i'm soloing with a barbarian !! how could this have happened ?

why would you deal more critical blows ? i never read anything about that in the rules (not that i ever read the rules )

 

I thought it was 2-hand style that increased your Crit chance?

 

gosh i've just killed Y'tossi and i found out that my barbarian cannot use gauntlets of extraordinary expertise !!

all this for naught

EDIT: faced demogorgon.... it was a slaughter, for my character unfortunately, i doubt he'll be able to face amelissan

 

Single-weapon style does 3 things: increases your thac0 (I'm pretty sure), adds 2 AC (to compensate for the lack of shield) and increases your critical chance the same way extra proficiency in 2-handed weapon style does for 2-handers. In terms of added benefits, it's definitely the best weapon style to invest in, but most people don't because few want to limit their character to fighting with only 1 hand. This is an excellent style for Kensai, and damn-near essential for backstabbing Thieves (who aren't already dual-wielding, of course).

Sword and shield style is generally regarded as the worst.

 

i think its ugly and unclassy but i dont know if its the worst.... think about it, some shields give you -5 AC, thats huge

 

But you don't need to invest points in "sword and shield style" to get that +5 AC benefit, which is what I was saying. You don't need any proficiency or style to use a shield at all. All the style gives you is added AC vs. missile weapons, which are pretty rare in BG2. It's a waste of precious proficiency points that would be better spent on a weapon or one of the other 3 (better) styles.

 

hey axe of unyielding is boss, just too bad its beheading ability doesnt work on dragons.... i had a hard time with draconis, but the beast now lays dead

yet i'm wondering if runehammer isnt better

 

I agree with that ability not working on dragons. Dragons aren't meant to be killed so easily, especially not one as powerful as Draconis.

And, well, he lays dead, so you didn't need such a cheesy kill tactic anyway.