Why do I suck so bad at 2h?

[Clockworkkiller]

IMO, Being effective at manual blocking should be a requirement  in order to play

[Phew]

IMO, Being effective at manual blocking should be a requirement  in order to play

Except it's not. There are plenty of very good melee players that only block as a last resort; they rely on backpedalling/kicking/hiltslashing during your attack/nudge/armor crutching/etc to avoid ever having to block. I'm not talking duels; I'm talking battle/siege. The very best players find ways to stay on the offensive while rarely having to block.

[Clockworkkiller]

Except it's not. There are plenty of very good melee players that only block as a last resort; they rely on backpedalling/kicking/hiltslashing during your attack/nudge/armor crutching/etc to avoid ever having to block. I'm not talking duels; I'm talking battle/siege. The very best players find ways to stay on the offensive while rarely having to block.

Yeah, they rely on cheap exploits and bullshit tactics

Such skill, so pro

[Bjord]

I'm lvl 34 and with several years worth of experience with 1h/shield (never having played 2h). I'm pretty poor at weapon blocking; whenever I go to block an overhead, I accidentally move the camera and obstruct my view of the enemy and die, so I use a shield so I don't have to deal with this (also ranged are annoying).

I spent 2 hours on the duel server with a Skip The Fun 2h character (21/18 or something) with a +3 Longsword, and I was routinely beating people that I can't beat with my main (mostly agi polearmers, kick spammers, etc). And this was only bothering to block sideswings and thrusts (and just trying to dodge overheads), and I don't even know how to execute hiltslashes or any other "advanced" 2h techniques. I just ran around erratically swinging and stabbing a lot; the huge 2h animation sweetspots took care of the rest.

The moral of the story is that if you can't be effective with a +3 Longsword, then you are probably over-thinking it; just move around randomly and swing. I have honestly never seen anyone that uses a +3 Longsword/HBS perform poorly.

The people you were routinely beaten by can't be very good if, as you say, you beat them effortlessly and merely thanks to a weapon rather than your own skill. Nice way of declaring yourself skilless, though.

[Herkkutatti666]

you suck because 2h is shit compared to 1h or pole 

Respec to pole and use awlpike or long axe with instant stab and overhead like we all did 

(click to show/hide)

imb4 panos going ape shit

[Ronin]

I'm lvl 34 and with several years worth of experience with 1h/shield (never having played 2h). I'm pretty poor at weapon blocking; whenever I go to block an overhead, I accidentally move the camera and obstruct my view of the enemy and die, so I use a shield so I don't have to deal with this (also ranged are annoying).

I spent 2 hours on the duel server with a Skip The Fun 2h character (21/18 or something) with a +3 Longsword, and I was routinely beating people that I can't beat with my main (mostly agi polearmers, kick spammers, etc). And this was only bothering to block sideswings and thrusts (and just trying to dodge overheads), and I don't even know how to execute hiltslashes or any other "advanced" 2h techniques. I just ran around erratically swinging and stabbing a lot; the huge 2h animation sweetspots took care of the rest.

The moral of the story is that if you can't be effective with a +3 Longsword, then you are probably over-thinking it; just move around randomly and swing. I have honestly never seen anyone that uses a +3 Longsword/HBS perform poorly.

I think panos would like to know this.

[Phew]

The people you were routinely beaten by can't be very good if, as you say, you beat them effortlessly and merely thanks to a weapon rather than your own skill. Nice way of declaring yourself skilless, though.

My main uses a Broad Short Sword; 86 cm reach. Very potent in a real fight, but in duels, agility polearmers and kick spammers wreck me, and there isn't much I can do to counter. 2h neutralizes the advantages of those 2 classes with reach, so it's an even playing field again. Certainly you understand that certain classes hold innate advantages over others than often outweigh skill differential? 

On siege for instance, I'll be the first to admit that 1h/shield offers greater efficacy than 2h, but I was amazed how much easier duels were with 2h despite my lack of 2h experience and overall poor blocking ability.

I'm no duel pro (not even close), but at least half of the top 25 NA duelists (and your own eurohero GTX) could probably attest that I'm no pushover, despite the fact that I duel with a decidedly non-deal loadout for duel situations (short sword+shield, balanced build).

[Elindor]

I'm lvl 34 and with several years worth of experience with 1h/shield (never having played 2h). I'm pretty poor at weapon blocking; whenever I go to block an overhead, I accidentally move the camera and obstruct my view of the enemy and die, so I use a shield so I don't have to deal with this (also ranged are annoying).

I spent 2 hours on the duel server with a Skip The Fun 2h character (21/18 or something) with a +3 Longsword, and I was routinely beating people that I can't beat with my main (mostly agi polearmers, kick spammers, etc). And this was only bothering to block sideswings and thrusts (and just trying to dodge overheads), and I don't even know how to execute hiltslashes or any other "advanced" 2h techniques. I just ran around erratically swinging and stabbing a lot; the huge 2h animation sweetspots took care of the rest.

The moral of the story is that if you can't be effective with a +3 Longsword, then you are probably over-thinking it; just move around randomly and swing. I have honestly never seen anyone that uses a +3 Longsword/HBS perform poorly.

Phew, I wish you'd stop this crusade...

1 - 2h generally is what people use to duel with in many situations because 2h has good animations, and a balance of speed, reach, and damage.  You are correct that in a duel situation a 2h is probably better than your 1h/shield, whereas you are also right that in siege the opposite can be true due to small spaces. 

2 - I somehow don't believe you that the people you were beating are people you usually do not beat, since you do rather well in siege.  Who were these people?  I agree that a change of weapon class could help if 1h/shield has a weakness vs these players in their builds, but I am not fond of the idea that you seem to feel any idiot can pick up a 2h sword and do well. 

I for one, have seen many players with LS/HBS do poorly, but you remember the ones that do well, not the ones who do not...that is something everyone in any balance discussion should remember.

"moving around randomly and swinging" with a longsword may help you take out a couple unknowing opponents or noobs, but I assure you that it will not result in success against anyone decent.

[Phew]

Phew, I wish you'd stop this crusade...

1 - 2h generally is what people use to duel with in many situations because 2h has good animations, and a balance of speed, reach, and damage.  You are correct that in a duel situation a 2h is probably better than your 1h/shield, whereas you are also right that in siege the opposite can be true due to small spaces. 

2 - I somehow don't believe you that the people you were beating are people you usually do not beat, since you do rather well in siege.  Who were these people?  I agree that a change of weapon class could help if 1h/shield has a weakness vs these players in their builds, but I am not fond of the idea that you seem to feel any idiot can pick up a 2h sword and do well. 

I for one, have seen many players with LS/HBS do poorly, but you remember the ones that do well, not the ones who do not...that is something everyone in any balance discussion should remember.

"moving around randomly and swinging" with a longsword may help you take out a couple unknowing opponents or noobs, but I assure you that it will not result in success against anyone decent.

No Crusade; the 3 melee weapon animations are as balanced as they've ever been, and I can't think of any changes that I'd advocate for any particular weapon animation. Stabs in general are screwed up (the whole "stab past enemy, drag the shaft/hilt into them for full damage" thing is equally dumb for all weapon types), but that's more of an issue with the Warband engine than anything that could actually be fixed in this game.

I don't think it's absurd to state that a longsword is a better dueling weapon than a 1h short sword, which is all I claimed. Longsword/HBS probably gives you more options in a given situation than any other weapon, so maybe the OP is just overwhelmed by all of the options available to him. For instance, it's easy to be effective with a Great Maul, because you only have to focus on one thing (overhead overhead overhead). Similarly, if I ever stray too far from stab stab stab with my BSS, I'm usually punished with glances and being repeatedly kicked.

If the OP really can't learn to be effective in melee with 2h, then I'd grudgingly suggest going lancer or xbow, either of which has a much less steep learning curve than melee.

[Wayate]

.

[Phew]

For the OP, I'd suggest and agi based 1h Axe/Shield (One Handed Battle Axe) build. Decent reach, shitload of damage and shieldkiller. You can't really go wrong with this and you'll learn timing and hopefully master 2h after a bit of training.

I've spent a lot of time with this loadout, and you die a lot to kicks from 2h players. Your preferred prey is definitely hoplites, since they are less of a kick threat (because of slow run speed+attack speed), and I believe the kick animation is different (less potent) when a shield is equipped.

1h swords (especially ones with a stab) are much more versatile, since you can stay out of kick range. I always advocate Italian Sword to people as a starting point for 1h/shield; it's the "Longsword of 1h". Then you can trade reach for speed or damage or whatever as your playstyle evolves.

[Wayate]

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[Viriathus]

OP, you suck because you dont live in Germany

EDIT: I noticed how most of the "good" players think how great they are, but what they havent realised is that having a 60 ping against a 12 ping makes ALL THE DIFFERENCE.

[woody]

I know this will provoke howls but 2H is no longer the uber class.

I find fighting polearms a nightmare now, and the improved 1h stab has made them much more dangerous. With my alt I now do much better as poler than 2H, despite having played 2h far more.

Plus you would not believe how much time the "average" player has now played for.

[Phew]

I know this will provoke howls but 2H is no longer the uber class.

I find fighting polearms a nightmare now, and the improved 1h stab has made them much more dangerous. With my alt I now do much better as poler than 2H, despite having played 2h far more.

Plus you would not believe how much time the "average" player has now played for.

The ceiling is equally high for all 3 melee weapon types now; a skilled player with a war spear, longsword, or italian sword (the respective "baseline" weapons for each type) are all equally terrifying. And you are right, the player base has so much experience now, that everyone you fight will exploit some "B.S." mechanic, be it lolstabs, kicks, hiltslash, knockdown, whatever. The days of slaughtering hordes of peasants are long gone; even the "peasants" are pro duelists trying to troll you.

That said, if you are a novice, I still believe that the fastest route from "terrible" to "OK" will occur with a 2h sword (probably Miaodao) . Spears might be a close second, but it's harder for a novice to learn to exploit the stab mechanics (for all weapon types) than just focusing on blocking+sideswinging with 2h's forgiving sideswing animations.