A:EftP - pole weapon vs double sword

[kensuguro]

I still can't figure out whether a pole weapon+cleave is better or double sword (non cleaving) is better. I remember seeing swords with cleave but it seems like all higher end swords don't do cleave. I do see that in general, a high hitrate double sword does more damage than a high end pole weapon. Anyway, is there a clear verdict on which does more damage with cleave/hitrate considered?

[The Reverend]

The broadswords all have a 10% cleave chance. I think that might include Demonslayer and the Spectral Falchion (one of the best swords in the game due to its huge blademaster bonus). At least, this list seems to imply that it does include those two:

 

http://www.spiderwebforums.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=252979#Post252979

 

I can't remember if the halberd cleave chance is the same as broadswords or slightly higher. In any case, I don't think it's high enough to make up for the greater damage that you get from dual wielding, especially if you are dual wielding a pair of the really nice blades in the game. I haven't played much with pole weapons, though, so I don't have a lot of experience to speak from here.

[RaustBlackDragon]

Originally Posted By: The Rev

The broadswords all have a 10% cleave chance. I think that might include Demonslayer and the Spectral Falchion (one of the best swords in the game due to its huge blademaster bonus). At least, this list seems to imply that it does include those two:

No, demonslayer does not have that cleave chance, or the +5% to hit

[Death Knight]

Well, If you want to use polearms and still get 'somewhat' close to the damage of dualwielding, you can raise your points into bow weapons and gymnastics. Along with putting points into poles, every lvl in gymnastics is a 5% chance of getting 2 action points. With 5 points thats a 25% chance, with 10 a 50% chance.

 

It still wont be as good as having dualwielding, but if you are next to an enemy at most of the time, whats the difference. Im going to try this build with poles and hardiness and quick action and after that with whats left, go with blademaster.

[The Reverend]

There was a series of posts about this a while ago - it looks like the chances of getting 2 extra AP from gymnastics are not as high as the tooltips imply. The posts started with this one, I believe:

 

http://www.spiderwebforums.com/forum/ubb..._Ave#Post253587

 

However, the chances of getting 1 or more extra AP (which can be combined with a single AP boosting item to get two attacks) are pretty decent.

 

To get your gymnastics up to 10, though, you have to invest 10 points in bows AND 10 points in gymnastics (you can lower that a bit by spending money at trainers). So you end up wasting quite a few skill points, unless you are running an archer.

 

For non-archers, if I have money to spare I generally will buy two levels of archery from Hrror after doing all the Kyass quests (to bring the prices down to average), then spend two skill points on gymnastics, and then buy two more points of gymnastics from Hrror, bringing it to 4.

[kensuguro]

well, sounds like dual wielding pretty much dominates. I'm going to have 1 guy dual wield, was just wondering if it was worth it to make the other guy a pole weapons guy. But since there are a bunch of nice swords later game, it's enough to have 2 dual wielders with 2 enchanted swords each. Actually there's enough enchanted swords for everyone to have a cool sword.

 

The enchanted pole weapons and bows just don't seem to make enough of a difference to make them effective esp when compared to swords.

[Lilith]

There are definitely enough good swords in the game that you can have two dual wielders and still have to make some tough decisions about what weapons to use.

[Sunface]

Not adding much, but in my limited experience (party is around level 30 on first playthrough) the pole weapons just aren't as good as dual-wielding swords.

[malthaussen]

I'm experimenting in one group with dual-wielding Steel Broadswords and one of the high-end magic swords. That way you get cleave, +5 to hit, and some decent damage. Steel Broadswords do as much damage as the high-end blades.

 

AFAIK, only Demonslayer and the Venomous Sword among the high-end blades cannot be wielded in the off hand.

 

-- Mal

[Alberich]

I just finished the game on Torment. My two-sword man was a lot better than my pole man. In fact, once I found a certain item,

 

Click to reveal..

a sword that added 8 points to blademaster, late in the game,

 

I actually "reinvented" my pole man (15 pole weapons, 10 blademaster, 0 swords) as a two-sword man - and he was still doing more damage with two swords than with the strongest pole weapon, even though he didn't have ambidextrous or two-sword mastery. (And if I'd built him for two swords from the beginning, he would've been that much more awesome.)

 

The clues in the game mention a very powerful pole weapon --

Click to reveal..

a pike called Giantslayer

- but I never found it, myself, whereas, as the other commenters have said, there are lots of quality swords.

[Earth]

that last weapon is in drake's pit west from Fort Remote.

[Alberich]

From browing around this forum, I see that I did find that weapon - but under another name and without the properties I was looking for. (I wasted a bunch of time looking for it, when it was in hand all along. Which is what I get for wanting to play the game through without getting hints from the forums first.)

[malthaussen]

In AEFtP it is called "Smite" and loses its bonus against Giants. So it is just another pole weapon, although the +1 AP is nice. Combined with Mercuric armor, you get 10 AP per turn, which should be good for two attacks. I think there was another thread about this weapon somewhere.

 

I just noticed the Waveblade has the +10 cleave, and +8 to hit. Might make a good sword for a dual-wielding mage, since it does a bit less damage than the good swords.

 

-- Mal

[Earth]

venomous blade with oozing/flaming/frozen blade is good for dualwielder.

[ArchMage81]

Ok i just found this topic.

My question is : whats the penalty for wielding 2 weapons? how many points (maximum)should i put to it?

[Jerakeen]

If I remember correctly, there is a 20% penalty to hit. I think a slight damage penalty as well. This is only a big deal early in the game. Assuming you pump Strength, you'll have no trouble hitting anything later on. You don't actually have to put any points into DW to be good at it.

 

The bonus is only 2% to hit and damage for each point, which is not nothing, but you might prefer to use those points elsewhere.

[stranger]

Dual Wielding was the last skill I added points in for my fighter, with 4 points at level 30. If I had made it to level 35 then it would have been 6 points.

I probably could have chosen Luck instead.

[Tcheedchee]

I'd also say dual-wielding does the better damage than pole.

My current party is doing quite well having a pole-wielding priest acting as powerful tank and challenger, wielding 'Smite' and a very dexterous somewhat rather strangely skilled hedge wizard (who I seem to have skilled more like a rogue) wielding 'Demonslayer' and 'Discipline Blade'. They are both only mediocre magical users, but they are teamed up with a priest specialized on blessings and a real mage with a lot of elementary skill, both with energy blessing and by now with all spells available.

It's true that the pole-wielding priest doesn't do half the damage my dualwielding Char. does. The strategy they use is, that the pole-wielding challenger-tank-priest draws the attacks of the mobsters on himself, while the backstabbing dual-wielder chops up the more dangerous foes as soon as possible. Meanwhile the priest and the mage are blessing, cursing and healing heavily, sometimes dealing out area-damage on the crowds of enemies bound by the tank...

I am not quite sure, if it is the high dexterity I was able to give to them starting at around the middle of the game, or the items with increased chance to evade attacks (mage 6%, others 10-11%), but all of them get missed a lot by enemy attacks, too. That's a real treat.

They are practically invincible on normal. Akronath was a piece of cake.

 

Anyway, concerning melee weapons the dual wielding really does the most damage (combined with adrenaline rush).