B) You can benefit from the two-weapon fighting line of feats, some of which are insanely good. (Free melee basic on a crit? Yes please!)
C) You can have both with different enchantments, and choose which to attack with at any given time without needing to sheath one and draw the other, depending on what weapon you need more at the time.
It also opens you up to the dual wielding feats and certain powers.
The biggest benefit is that it allows you to play a character who dual wields- a very popular aspect of many peoples' characters. It doesn't necessarily make you superior to everyone else though.
You can use either one whenever you want. Say you have a power that works with heavy blades and one that works with light blades. You can use both powers without sheathing and drawing a new weapon. Or if you have a weapon that has one particular property (like flaming) and another one with a different property. You can choose which one you want to use for a particular attack.
It also opens you up to the dual wielding feats and certain powers.
The biggest benefit is that it allows you to play a character who dual wields- a very popular aspect of many peoples' characters. It doesn't necessarily make you superior to everyone else though.
OMG that just occurred to me, i am a little embarrassed to say. I never saw the point in a rogue dual wielding anything but light blades, but now he can have a light blade in offhand, and something bigger, like a longsword in mainhand. That way he will always have the light blade for situations with combat advantage and any other situation he will have the longsword (like opportunity attacks and powers that dont require a light blade.)
This makes me want to go back and recreate my rogue with this in mind.
OMG that just occurred to me, i am a little embarrassed to say. I never saw the point in a rogue dual wielding anything but light blades, but now he can have a light blade in offhand, and something bigger, like a longsword in mainhand. That way he will always have the light blade for situations with combat advantage and any other situation he will have the longsword (like opportunity attacks and powers that dont require a light blade.)
Uhm... Rogue attack exploits always require you to be wielding some combination of a light blade, a sling, or a crossbow. The same with sneak attack. Simply having a light blade equipped in the off-hand does not meet that requirement; you have to actually make the attack using it.
Martial Powers does offer a few feats to expand the selection though. For instance, if you are an Eladrin, then Longsword Finesse will allow a longsword to make sneak attack and use exploits requiring a light blade (sneak attack damage is reduced by one die when you do though).
Uhm... Rogue attack exploits always require you to be wielding some combination of a light blade, a sling, or a crossbow. The same with sneak attack. Simply having a light blade equipped in the off-hand does not meet that requirement; you have to actually make the attack using it.
Martial Powers does offer a few feats to expand the selection though. For instance, if you are an Eladrin, then Longsword Finesse will allow a longsword to make sneak attack and use exploits requiring a light blade (sneak attack damage is reduced by one die when you do though).
I think Dunhill means stuff like Oppurtunity Attacks and Melee Basic attacks granted by the party Warlord or other leader; those aren't exploits and they generally don't get a lot of bonusses for being made with a Light blade.
This gives you your more damaging weapon in one hand, and a ranged attack (or a more accurate dagger attack) in the other. It's especially useful to have the ranged option at the start of combat because:
- With first strike you can get combat advantage even if you don't flank.
- It's usually better to avoid getting into melee before the defender (and you'll probably go before them).
Uhm... Rogue attack exploits always require you to be wielding some combination of a light blade, a sling, or a crossbow. The same with sneak attack. Simply having a light blade equipped in the off-hand does not meet that requirement; you have to actually make the attack using it.
Martial Powers does offer a few feats to expand the selection though. For instance, if you are an Eladrin, then Longsword Finesse will allow a longsword to make sneak attack and use exploits requiring a light blade (sneak attack damage is reduced by one die when you do though).
No i understand that. I didnt expect to use the big mainhand on all the rogue attacks. What i meant was i could use a dagger in my offhand for those rogue attacks and suprise attacks bonus, but my mainhand for opportunity attacks and anything else that didnt require a light blade.
Remember though, to wield a "bigger weapon" you need to get proficiency in it first.
Remember though, to wield a "bigger weapon" you need to get proficiency in it first.
Eladrin & Dwarf fit the bill quite well, and 2 Scales of War backgrounds grant you proficiency with one simple or military weapon as well. I personally like the idea of a Dwarven Brutal Scoundrel who at low levels uses a shortsword or dagger in his offhand and a warhammer in his mainhand for opportunity attacks - could pass as an Engineer with the right background and feats.
The COST of an off-hand strike, other than for two-weapon rangers, is that the off-hand weapon must have the off-hand property. With very few exceptions and none that I've found in simple or martial weapons, off-hand weapons do NOT have "heavy crit" or more than +2 proficiency bonus or more than D6 damage.
(Note: Being a two-weapon ranger DOES NOT give heavy one-handed weapons the off-hand property. It simply lets you wield them as if they did. Some feats/powers let you attack with the weapon in your off hand, which would apply to the ranger with two longswords; others give bonuses to weapons with the off-hand property, which would not.)
The BENEFIT...
A few classes have feats or powers or features that explicitly refer to two weapons or your off-hand weapon. Not so useful if you aren't wielding an off-hand weapon.
Some classes have feats or powers or features that explicitly refer to LIGHT weapons of various sorts. Most light weapons have the off-hand property. So you can put such a weapon in your off hand for situations where those powers/feats are called for, and use a heavier weapon in your main hand on other occasions.
Parrying dagger gives her +1 to AC and is higher accuracy than the rapier, so she uses it when a powerful enemy has only a little HP left and that +1 attack is more important than that bigger damage dice. Every other scenario, she uses her rapier.
My fiance uses a rapier in her main hand and a parrying dagger in her off-hand (reflavored as a swordbreaker).
Parrying dagger gives her +1 to AC and is higher accuracy than the rapier, so she uses it when a powerful enemy has only a little HP left and that +1 attack is more important than that bigger damage dice. Every other scenario, she uses her rapier.
Other than the +1 to AC, a rapier has a higher attack bonus and higher damage than a parrying dagger. There is no reason to really attack with a parrying dagger over a rapier unless you are attacking at range or you have a special ability with daggers like the Daggermaster PP.
Other than the +1 to AC, a rapier has a higher attack bonus and higher damage than a parrying dagger. There is no reason to really attack with a parrying dagger over a rapier unless you are attacking at range or you have a special ability with daggers like the Daggermaster PP.
My bad
I was thinking the parrying dagger had a base of +3 and combined with the rogue's (forgot to mention she's a rogue) weapon talent was a total of +4.
That's what I get for assuming, eh?