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[Lucumo]

Two handler for life and to the dismay of all soldiers and monsters

Exactly, can't disagree with that.

 

[Screaming Meat]

But there is something amazingly elegant about a simple, beautiful, two-handed katana slice.

You're aaaaaaalright.

 

[Whaleman]

I prefer sword and pistol personally but since that isn't an option sword and board. I like the flexibility sword and board brings with its defense and offense.

 

[DiabolicalBagel]

Why not both? Heavenly Strength <3, now I don't need to make a decision.

 

[Moon_frogger]

In dark souls I use the shield situationally. It's so easy to swap stances that I would never limit myself to just sword and board or 2 hand.

 

[SavoyPrime]

I was a sword and board guy in my earlier years. But then learned the way of two-handed swords and never looked back.

 

[Lightning Count]

Two handed, enjoying the look on the enemy's face when their shield shatters is priceless.

 

[thelastcrusader]

Sword and shield imo. Short swords look a lot nicer than 2 handers and shields always look badass and allow more variety.

 

[DaciaJC]

That's not a long sword, it's a great sword.

Obviously sword and shield. It served the greatest empire in history just fine, for hundreds of years. The Romans slaughtered many-a-great sword wielding Celt.

Which period are you referring to? I don't recall Gauls or Britons possessing greatswords.

 

[bigbaldwolf86]

I just like good looking swords so whichever class in that game has the better ones.

 

[Squalor]

One sword, one hand.

The free hand comes in handy.

 

[PRjumpman124]

Dual keyblades.

Spoiler

two handed sword

 

[Shredderi]

Two handler for life and to the dismay of all soldiers and monsters

Exactly. Easiest question ever.

 

[Greddleok]

Which period are you referring to? I don't recall Gauls or Britons possessing greatswords.

You're 100% right of course, the period I was referring to were movies. A painted warrior with a giant sword is much more aesthetically pleasing than one carrying a spear/javelin.

 

[Antiwhippy]

While you dorks are deciding I would have fried you with my fire magic already.

 

[deriks]

Does Jedis uses shields? No. So two-handed it is

 

[Heartfyre]

Generally sword-and-board. I like to block two-handed strikes and then follow up with a staggering blow while Mr. Two Hands is still winding up his next attack.

 

[Admiral Snackbar]

 

[NHarmonic.]

None, Dual wielding is the way to go.

 

[Derpot]

You can also have both with Ludwig's Holy Blade !

 

[Shmeagatory94]

Sword an shield just feels better. Being able to block an attack and just destroy your opponent with a few quick slashes. Thats how I always roll in Dark Souls.

 

[cm osi]

Does Jedis uses shields? No. So two-handed it is

never asked yourself why jedi keep dying? because noone ever tought about a lightshield

 

[Killer Queen]

Greatsword AND shield, at least in dark souls.

 

[ash_ag]

never asked yourself why jedi keep dying? because noone ever tought about a lightshield

That's what Soresu is for.

 

[Bulbasaur]

Two one handed swords.

 

[Puru]

Sword&Shield in general.

Greatswords have a huge tendencie to be as large than the one used by the main character of claymore which i honestly find off putting (i like them more when they are thin), and in MMO i find that there's a lack of choice in general for good looking 2 handers. Katanas is generally a safe bet if i want to use a two hander type of characters.

I'll add that there's a serious lack of love for axes.

 

[King Gilga]

Shields are for babies. Real men go dual wield or 2h, real real men dual wield two 2 handers.

 

[{insert code here}]

Sword + Shield with the Two-hander strapped across the back.

 

[Bankastuba]

I tend to go Long Sword and tank my way through because I cannot be bothered to guard.

Well yea, when your game does not punish you for not guarding, 2handers and their stronger attacks are the obvious choice.

In short, it depends on the game.

 

[Cornbread78]

Well yea, when your game does not punish you for not guarding, 2handers and their stronger attacks are the obvious choice.

In short, it depends on the game.

Yeah, I wouldn't do it in a Soul's game, but it works in most others.

 

[King Gilga]

Yeah, I wouldn't do it in a Soul's game, but it works in most others.

It works in souls games as well.

 

[Cornbread78]

It works in souls games as well.

Well, my experience with Soul's was deadly and defeating even when I used a shield. I couldn't imagine trying without one..

 

[The_Hitcher89]

Sword and Shield

1) Makes me feel sturdier but less powerful, which is the setup I want from a Souls game
2) I'm fucking atrocious at dodging, so the more I can block, the better

 

[Pyramid head]

I felt like Dark Souls kept giving me variants of Artorias' Great Sword for a reason. Why waste my left hand on a shield when I could be holding two great swords and look like an absolute badass?

 

[Artdayne]

Two handed easily.

Also Dual Shield.

Yes! That game does two handed weapons well from the looks of it. I also like yielding weapons like a katana in Dark Souls.

 

[ClutchAnderson]

Two handed sword always! Ever since I was a kid I thought mowing through people with a gigantic sword was the coolest.

Gatsu4Lyfe.

 

[NormalFish]

SnS is the best MonHun weapon of all time.

Spoiler

I much prefer 2 handed swords in most games.

 

[Ayato Kanzaki]

It really depend of the game, but if there is one generally applicable rule, it's that Sword and Board classes are good against physical opponents, but poor against magical classes, while GreatSwords users are good against both. GS also imply more dps, which mean faster farming, so better gear.

 

[Starbuck2907]

Dual wield swords.
Then sword and shield.
Then longsword.

 

[Morrigan Stark]

Not a SINGLE game that I know of has ever did Buckler and Sword justice.

It's almost always a "defense" focused class and usually the shields are treated as "small = shitty starter/newbie shield, large shields = the best."

About as far removed from reality as they can get.

There's a reason bucklers were used throughout history more than even larger shields like your Kite shields, tower shields, etc.

It's one of the most versatile tools for melee combat, on top of this there were so many different ways to use it and make them, from having things like a spike on the boss, or serrated edges around the boss, to even a "latch" to help catch swords and other things with the buckler. It was not only a defensive tool but could also be greatly used offensively as well, hitting people with it, catching weapons, cutting, etc.

On top of this bucklers, unlike shields, were generally not strapped to your arm but simply held in your hand, you could easily let go of it if need be, whereas with larger shields you could get it caught/hung up or someone could use it to throw you off balance (since it was stuck to your arm).

In Souls games, bucklers and small shields can be used for parrying (as in creating openings for critical hits, not blocking), and tower shields have more defense but are so heavy they reduce mobility. Kite shields are in-between, they can parry but not as easily as bucklers, and they are lighter than tower shields and can block but not as well or reliably. In Demon's Souls, the Spiked Shield is a ridiculous powerful weapon in PvP (though that's because of its wonky hitbox haha).

I think Dark Souls III will go further in differentiating the types of shields, from what little I hear (trying to go in blind). I heard that kite shields won't be able to parry anymore, which makes me sad, but hopefully the new ability they gain will make up for it.

Also two handers don't get fair treatment in most games either, not only the good but the bad. Name me a game with half swording?

It appears For Honor will feature half-swording, from what I've seen in trailer.

I think it's rarely shown because unless you really know much about sword fighting, it looks counter-intuitive. Another poster said "it looks silly" and they're not wrong. It is not silly and was a historically used technique, but for a layman it's more of a "wut" reaction.

How many games do you see that let you fight with swords vs plate armor (about every rpg ever made) and it works? There's a reason that plate existed, people didn't wear it just for fashion. It pretty much nullified arrows and swords were all but useless against plate unless you knew how to use them, which is where half-swording came in, gripping above the hilt and use the sword more like a spear, focusing on getting it into an unprotected or weak area (like the visor slit, arm pit, groin, etc) where you could slide it in. Usually this was helped by trips/throws and all manner of fighting to get your enemy off balance.

(At the risk of being repetitive ^^) In Dark Souls, blunt weapons like maces and piercing weapons fare better against armoured enemies than slashing weapons, especially in Dark Souls II. Now I'm not saying "Souls games are super realistic!" as they are still fantasy video games but I do like this kind of attention to detail. ^^

Sword and Shield generally. In Dark Souls I prefer to two hand a scimitar though.

Which is weird because scimitars are clearly a one-handed weapon. In Demon's Souls, the kilij, a dex weapon, is far, far more powerful when 2-handed (it has stunlock in PvP and a far superior moveset than 1-handed), but it doesn't actually make sense; the real kilij, as in, the Turkish sabre, has a tiny-ass grip that even my tiny girly hands would find too small to use two-handed.

I'd like it if Souls games were even a wee bit more realistic in weapon handling. They're definitely the best in terms of moveset right now, balancing fun gameplay and weighty movement, but IMO, you shouldn't be able to two-hand certain weapons. Or you'd need a modified version of the normally one-handed sword, such as this Indian sword with an extra tip on the pommel or an optional two-handed grip.

You're aaaaaaalright. [gif]

lol
Nice nuki waza, Mr. Mifune!

Spoiler

/kendo nerd

 

[McBryBry]

2 handed.

2 handed!

2 HANDED!!!

 

[SpaceBridge]

Wait; most of you use dual blades or two handed sword for MH4U?

 

[jroc74]

Usually go sword and shield. Not just for protection but usually quicker movement/attack speed.

I pretty much never use the larger, slower weapons. Whatever is quickest I'll go with usually.

So between those two choices it's sword/shield for me.

This right here is me. Like whenever I make a boxer in a boxing game I put more skill points, level up speed more than power. Or like in a golf game I will take accuracy over power. I choose a better handling car vs. a faster car.

But I get the folks saying depends on the game. If I can dodge good in the game I might use 2 a handed sword.

 

[Zekes!]

I don't like shields so I'd even use just one 1-handed sword solo

 

[Krabboss]

Sword and Shield, at least in Monster Hunter.

Elsewhere, whatever has the most DPS because it doesn't really matter.

 

[Data West]

Shields look dope.
2 handers look dope.

Dual wielding looks lame

 

[The Reloader]

Shield with a change to do 0% block.

 

[SuomiDude]

In Dungeons & Dragons games I prefer sword & shield, mainly because I tend to play as Paladin or a good class Fighter or similar. And those games usually have holy avengers and other strong weapons as a single-handed sword, so getting all those bonuses and a good AC from shield is a must.

 

[Kamina]

Why "shortsword" and shield ?
You can have one-handed longswords and shields too.

Longswords can usually be used one or twohanded so you have a hybrid of both worlds

 

[Astery]

Gunlance

ok ok, it depends on the game. If Short Sword and Shield has enough reach I'll go with that normally.