Two handed weapon profeciency

[probe53]

obviously 2 hand swords apply.

im assuming spears and haleberds too?

but what about bastard swords ? they say it can be wielded single or 2 handed. if you dont carry a shield, does it also count as 2 handed weapons?

is there any 2 handed weapons i did not catch/mention above?

[Rhûn]

obviously 2 hand swords apply.

im assuming spears and haleberds too?

but what about bastard swords ? they say it can be wielded single or 2 handed. if you dont carry a shield, does it also count as 2 handed weapons?

is there any 2 handed weapons i did not catch/mention above?

Bastard swords don't count as two-handed. I think bastard swords should be merged with either 2h or longswords, there just isn't enough of them to make it worthwhile spending proficiencies in that category.

Halberds and spear both count. Quarterstaffs too (some surprisingly good ones for your fighter/mage or fighter/druid).

If you don't carry a shield, it's still counted as a single-handed weapon, hence the Single Weapon proficiency (+ = -1 to AC when wielding a single-handed weapon and no shield and critical rolls on 19, ++ = -2 to AC)

[probe53]

im curious then, for a starting character, is it better to max out a weapon profiency along with the matching style proficiency or max out all or most of the weapon styles so you can have access to many different weapons?

[Curdis]

For power gaming: Max out only the skills necessary for a single weapon. For example. As many stars for Two Handed Sword and then as many stars as possible for Two Handed Weapon. The non-proficency penalties (even for specialist fighters) make putting stars in the 'styles' less advantagous than putting one star into a particular weapon.

For role playing..it's your call - Curdis !

[Kipi]

I wouldn't advise either, but instead something from the middle. If you access to many different type of weapons, you are more able to find weapon to suit the current situation. I usually end up maxing 2-3 different weapons, like sword, mace and someting else, depenging on the character I'm playing...

[Jedi_Sauraus]

Definitly get *** in two weapon fighting since it's alot better (powergaming) than going with a two handed weapon good options for weapons are flails, hammers, and axes. keep in mind that you only need 3* not 5* for weapon proficiency at *** you get the extra half attack. the last ** barely do anything

[Thrar]

Almost right.
You need specialization, that's **, to get 3/2 attacks instead of 1. At grand mastery, *****, you get another full attack with the true grandmastery patch/mod installed, to 5/2 (should be only 2 total, but I think that was never fixed). If you don't have that mod, the masteries (starting at ***) don't give you much in return for your investment, only another +1/+1 and -1 (i think) initiative.
Using a non-fighter warrior, I'd decide on one type of weapon; two-handed or one handed. I'd never go with single weapon style with a warrior, so if one handed, decide if you want a shield or dual wield. Weapon/Shield doesn't have much to offer for putting prof points, so in that case I'd put everything in weapons. For dual-wielding, since you get 4 points in the beginning (level 1), I'd use those as ** in one weapon and ** in dual wield, then either branch out to a different weapon or get that third * (not so important).
For two-handed, I'd put ** in one weapon, and ** in 2h-style first, then other weapons. Alternatively, ** in one melee weapon and ** in one ranged weapon.

[kmonster]

Only the first two poits in the weapon you use are really important. The first allows extra half attacks at level 7 and 13 and the second gives another extra half attack and +1 thac0/ +2 damage.

The other bonusses you get are nearly useless compared to this.

If it's your first time through the game better stay flexible, you don't know which weapons you'll find and it can be frustrating walking around with a crappy weapon. Once you've found a +3 or +4 version you like you can spend more points in it.
There are monsters which require +4 weapons and mosters which require blunt weapons in the game. You won't find many sorts of +4 weapons.

[Jedi_Sauraus]

I thought the extra half attack was at *** if it's at ** then the people above me are correct no sense getting the third *

also thx for clarifying what 1 star does I was always wondering about that.
if it let's you have the extra 1/2 attack at level 7 and 13 then it's useless for all mages, clerics, ect only fighter types get those extra attacks

[Thrar]

Unfortunately that's not quite right about the first point, either. I'm playing BG1 at the moment and don't have a fighter above 7 to test it, but I'm pretty sure you get those extra attacks regardless of weapon. However, what I am sure of, is that you get a 4 point penalty to THAC0 when using a weapon you're not proficient in.
So unless you're fighting something with really bad AC and/or have a very good base THAC0, don't use weapons you don't know how to use!

[kmonster]

I'm absolutely sure that you need to be proficient to get the extra half attacks. I didn't test it in BG1 but I tested it both in BG2 and IWD.

The penalty you get for not being proficient is class-dependent, -4 for mages/sorcs, -2 for warriors and -3 for the rest IIRC.
Just read the manual.

[Jedi_Sauraus]

I just read the discription in game carefully, yep the extra 1/2 attack is at ** I always thought it was at 3 . They really should colour code or have a dashed line between all proficiency levels

[Ulfgar Prigor]

Does anybody know whether the two-handed proficiency feat grant the requisite bonuses to attacks with two-handed ranged weapons (i.e. shortbows and longbows)?

[Curdis]

Welcome to Game Banshee Ulfgar Prigor!

'Does the two-handed proficiency feat grant the requisite bonuses to attacks with two-handed ranged weapons (i.e. shortbows and longbows)?'

No, melee weapons only. - Curdis !