Why would anyone choose DW over a shield? Am I missing Something?
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I'm hoping someone can enlighten me.
The only apparent bonus to dual wielding is the 10% increased attack speed which equates to roughly 3 passive nodes. This comes at the cost of a ridiculously high amount of armour/eva/es, depending on your build, as well as life and resists. Shields also start with a higher innate block chance. All of these bonuses equate to at least 10 passive nodes. Am I missing something? Are the DW nodes perhaps higher in power level such that their cumulative effect outweights the benefits of going sword n board? Any insight is appreciated, thanks all. IGN Weebletz, Mirana_Callidus Last edited by Timmy101#2409 on Mar 22, 2013, 6:39:31 PM
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" 10% MORE attack speed, meaning it's multiplicative to all of your ias nodes. Also, it works great with cleave and dual strike, but they're the only skills that are worth using with DW. With everything else, 1h + shield is better. |
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" I see. But it still seems like unless those skills are the centerpieces of your build, the benefits of a shield far outweigh the ias bonus. IGN Weebletz, Mirana_Callidus
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DW can get high levels of Block as well. But it comes down to: Do you use Cleave? Do you want more damage or survivability?
Dual Wield RedBeaks on a Low Life build always seemed like an interesting choice... EA IGN: We_Have_Monk_at_Home
*Burnt out and waiting for either PoE1 League or new PoE2 Classes.* |
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There are good passives that apply specifically to dual wielding, so you can make it quite effective both offensively and defensively. That being said, there just isnt enough of a reason to dual wield, partially because melee sucks, partially because there arent enough skills that benefit dual wield, and partially because there arent any keystones that make dual wield appealing.
I've been curious for a while now about a dual wield build that makes use of 2 essentia sanguis claws. In theory you can achieve a 75% block chance with them. IGN: Iolar Last edited by BRavich#4397 on Mar 22, 2013, 7:43:21 PM
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Yes, I had a similar observation about a month ago. Since then, they've added Cyclone and changed the Duelist tree around, giving him a good IAS node and buffing the Dervish (DW Block) node. The Dervish group now gives 14% DW Block. But they also buffed the Shield Mastery node to a higher percent, and you can use Cyclone and that IAS node with a shield too. So those changes didn't really make a dent in the imbalance.
" Yeah. 15% from base, 41% total from passives, then 20% from dual-wielding Essentia Sanguis claws would be 76%. It would work with Ungil's Gauche too, but those are lower level. Last edited by StarlightGamer#6805 on Mar 22, 2013, 7:58:57 PM
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Yes, 1h + Shield adds more survivability.
Those that chose to Dual wield are usually going for a lil higher damage-build and wants to crit more(Twin Terrors Dual Wield Crit) while still having decent survivability, since you can still reach 43 % block with Dual Wield which is decent. I myself chose Full Evasion and Dual Wielding Blades. It was mostly a theme i wanted to do from the start of release of PoE and it has worked out quite well for me, i am lvl 81 atm and still having fun :) If you care less about Attack Speed, Dual Wield Crit and the Dual Wield damage-nodes, go 1h shield by all means, higher survivability due to added Arm/Eva/Life/resists etc. The Essentia Sanguis-idea posted above is a great idea for a Dual-Wielder! Alexis *smiles* =@[.]@= boggled =~[.]^= naughty wink Last edited by Kwonryu#3444 on Mar 22, 2013, 9:43:34 PM
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I miscounted, there's only 39% in passives, not 41%, so that'll make it 74% with 2 ES claws.
Edit: Okay what? 12 2% nodes, a 4%, a 3%, and a 10%. 41%. " It might work, but I certainly wouldn't make it. There's 5% worth of blocking nodes I wouldn't take. 3% coming from Weapon Artistry in the Ranger starting area. It takes too many points to get to it. 2% coming from the second node above Arrow Dodging. So 69% blocking with the two unique claws and all the blocking nodes. Edit: Yeah, this build is crap because I didn't look at the uniques while making it. Last edited by StarlightGamer#6805 on Mar 23, 2013, 9:38:35 AM
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That's pretty weird. Most people in my circle ask, "why ever use a shield, when you can dual wield, or 2hand wield?"
The attack speed multiplier from dual wielding and dual wield passives are multiplicative, so the attack speed bonus is really, really high. The damage output from dual wield is absolutely insane. Dual wield cleave is really good also. Those are the only two skills you really need with dual wield. Shields are not that great, because you can max out resists without them, and the extra evasion/armor isn't that helpful anymore (diminishing returns). The 80ish hp from a good shield isn't worth losing half of your damage. Would you rather double your DPS, or increase your HP from 3000 to 3200? IGN: Royal_Princess, Princess_of_Wraeclast, Vaal_Princess, Diamond_Princess Last edited by ac429#4687 on Mar 22, 2013, 11:08:32 PM
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" I mean if you're using cleave its a no brainer. If not why WOULD you duel wield? |
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