GameBanshee Forums

One thing that i still havn't decided on is wether it's better to have a single handed weapon with more defence from a shield or a 2 handed weapon that does a whole load of damage but reduces your defence as you can't have a shield. I've always used single with a shield as i usualy get sigons steel.

What do you guys think?

You should never use shields for defence (unless its Exile). If you use a shield, it should be because you want Block. Whether two-handed or weapon-shield is better depends on your main attack, though most would recommend (especially if you PvP) weapon-shield is almost always better. If you PvM, it does matter since PvM is so easy anyway.

Actualy i favor one-handed blades since they are considerabely faster. A shield also adds nice block and defence.

Simple Solution...

...go Barbarian. Get the best of both worlds. Use a 2H Weapon AND a Shield. (or as what my Brother does, go around using two 2H weapons, like 2 Claymores for example, and scream "BRAAGAAHH!!" everytime you jump into a Horde of angry looking Fetishes, double striking all he sees before moving onto - or rather, jumping into, heh heh heh - the next horde of angry looking Fetishes)

Jump Attack - Double Strike Combo + a little Whirlstrike.

Although if you're using a claymore in only one hand it reduces the damage significantly. Just as an example of one claymore I remember seeing in Act 2 (so it won't be strong) did 8-17 in two hands but only 1-7 in one hand.

I prefer one-handed weapons because they're a lot faster. And Diablo II is really the only game I really care about attack speed since you're usually fighting hordes of monsters all at once. Plus, if you play a barbarian like me, you can use two of them at once. I especially like getting two axes (I'm an axe kind of guy) that both add different types of damage. For instance, I use one double axe (6-12, not the best damage) that adds 1-8 lightning damage while the other adds 4-14 poison damage over 3 seconds. Although I can't double swing I can add both types of damage in quick succession, so it still owns anyway.

Barbarian With 2 massive swords and whirlstrike. Got through the enitre 3rd act using only that. AMAZING!

It depends on the build really, personally I prefer to use sword and shield because of the significant amount of punishment a shield allows. Two handed weapons do mean a huge increase in damage, it's just unfortunate that most two handed weapons are slow.