One handed weapon use.

Something that would interest me is the use of one handed weapons with nothing in the off hand (or ring/trinket). In most games this only disadvantages players. I think it should open up more abilities or give some sort of advantage for spell casting. It should not be as powerful as a dedicated staff user but should have its advantages over a two handed weapon or sword and shield user. This would also make interesting combos if a player is allowed to carry two weapon loadouts. Does anyone have thoughts on this?

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RockHound

I would think that using both hands on a single handed weapon would allow you to wield it much faster and more accurately.... provided it's handle was adequately long enough to allow the use of both hands in some fashion.... if not then your off-hand would pretty much be for balance.... I'd at least want to have a set of Brass knuckles in that offhand..... which would be dual wielding I guess

JoePenz

rohkai wrote: »

I would think that using both hands on a single handed weapon would allow you to wield it much faster and more accurately.... provided it's handle was adequately long enough to allow the use of both hands in some fashion.... if not then your off-hand would pretty much be for balance.... I'd at least want to have a set of Brass knuckles in that offhand..... which would be dual wielding I guess

My thought process behind it is that it would allow you to cast spells faster or more powerful. Or spells that require a free hand to be used. Not for melee purposes.

RockHound

I can see that, but when I think of "the paper doll" that is typical in most MMOs there's a value per equipment slot. If leaving one slot totally empty you'd be gimping yourself.... Maybe allowing one additional ring to be equipped for stat increases or bonuses; as well as, increasing the speed of physical attacks, and speed of recovery to all stats.... then it might be actually worth it for mele 'n magic builds...

Dygz

Gimped due to an open slot on the paper doll is really just in the minds of some players - or should be.
Everyone equipping weapons in the offhand slot just to get a boost to stats, is indicative of poor RPG design.

T Elf

Wouldn't a spell book or a focus item serve the same purpose in the off-hand spot?

JoePenz

elf wrote: »

Wouldn't a spell book or a focus item serve the same purpose in the off-hand spot?

Yes! Something similar to that.

Caelron

It depends on the application.

If you're thinking practical use for melee, then using a 1-handed weapon with 2 hands should boost the power of the attack (1.5x Strength modifier in D&D doing this instead of 1x).

The weapon speed depends on the style, too. Quite frequently, using a sword meant for 1 handed use severely limits the speed and technique when using with two hands.

For casters, it depends if you're using the sword as a focus, and if casting magic requires one or two hands for the proper hand gestures. Or maybe casting doesn't require free hands, just concentration.

I'm also in the school of thought that a weapon shouldn't apply it's stats or bonuses unless you're holding it. A.k.a. using it. Just having it "equipped" shouldn't do anything unless there's a hand on it as a focus or something.

Wandering Mist

If we are attempting to mimic real life, then I imagine wielding a single 1-handed weapon would give you greater movement speed in combat. The lighter weapon combined with the free hand would make dodge rolling faster and safer than if you were holding a 2-hander or a sword+shield.

It would create an interesting dynamic in mirror matchups. If you take a 2-handed weapon you gain increased offensive power. If you take a sword+shield you gain increased defensive power, and if you take just a single 1-handed weapon you gain greater mobility.

Dayuhan

I can see using a one-handed weapon setup to free the other hand to carry a non-weapon object (e.g. a lantern) or to allow quick use of a single use item (e.g. drink potion, or to throw a single-user object.

Dygz

Spell focus should probably really only be off-hand for arcane weapons and be similar to a dagger.
Spellbook should be equivalent to a one-handed weapon - shouldn't be able to focus on reading spells from a book while fighting with sword or staff.

Also, seems like there should be specific abilities that include the off-hand weapon - similar to Shield Bash.
Which might actually be possible due to weapons having weapon abilities.

Noaani

JoePenz wrote: »

elf wrote: »

Wouldn't a spell book or a focus item serve the same purpose in the off-hand spot?

Yes! Something similar to that.

I thought every game had something like this.

Every MMO I've ever played did.

Krim L

A single one handed weapon with nothing in the offhand is the exact type of build I want to use if it winds up being viable in the MMORPG. This has always been my ideal setup in games, and more often than not it is either not possible, or simply not viable. So if they somehow make that work, I'd love it!

If this is not the case, I'll probably settle for something small and unobtrusive in the offhand such as a dagger or spell focus.

Sarevok

When it comes to putting a value on an off-hand they could just leave it off and make off-hand more of a utility slot instead of requiring a shield, tome or other weapon to be equipped to raise your gear score or item level. The off hand could just be an item needed to unlock certain skills or spells and the items could come with bonuses to those skills. Obviously, while wielding a two-handed weapon this slot dithers out or you can click a box to activate maybe a passive bonus available for all classes such as increased main hand damage, increased attack speed or reduced cooldowns for skills used with the main hand.

Damokles

*sigh* All these one-handed sword plebeians. None of them realize the true power of the polearm *shakes head sadly*

Sarevok

damokles wrote: »

*sigh* All these one-handed sword plebeians. None of them realize the true power of the polearm *shakes head sadly*

I hope there will be different versions of a halberd or pole axe. Lucerne was my favorite in DAoC.

Nagash

damokles wrote: »

*sigh* All these one-handed sword plebeians. None of them realize the true power of the polearm *shakes head sadly*

why have one sword when you can have a thousand pages

Atama

sarevok wrote: »

damokles wrote: »

*sigh* All these one-handed sword plebeians. None of them realize the true power of the polearm *shakes head sadly*

I hope there will be different versions of a halberd or pole axe. Lucerne was my favorite in DAoC.

Hell yeah. My armsman rocked a lucerne hammer in DAoC.

Damokles

nagash wrote: »

damokles wrote: »

*sigh* All these one-handed sword plebeians. None of them realize the true power of the polearm *shakes head sadly*

why have one sword when you can have a thousand pages

Papercuts dont do enough damage in my opinion

Nagash

damokles wrote: »

nagash wrote: »

damokles wrote: »

*sigh* All these one-handed sword plebeians. None of them realize the true power of the polearm *shakes head sadly*

why have one sword when you can have a thousand pages

Papercuts dont do enough damage in my opinion

I would have to disagree papercuts hurt like hell

CROW3

dygz wrote: »

Gimped due to an open slot on the paper doll is really just in the minds of some players - or should be.
Everyone equipping weapons in the offhand slot just to get a boost to stats, is indicative of poor RPG design.

Agreed. I've trained for years with one and two-handed swords. A single, one-handed weapon can do plenty of damage without the need for a second hand. In many cases attempting to wield a one-handed weapon with two hands might be more detrimental for survival let alone effectiveness. A rapier is a perfect example.

I'd like the calculus in the background to take reality into account.

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