Other than the paramerion or however you spell it, 1h was only introduced with alternative weapons. In fact, the most damaging 1h got nerfed. The new/rebalanced weapons are nice, but it wasn't enough to make me switch from my weapon of choice, it just provides me more options to use. The shields are nice too, but they only really help against ranged or if you can't block well. Even so, those who can't block well probably don't know how to attack well, either.