My character is in Voln, so I should ask before the training grace period ends. Is one-handed, edged weapons and a shield only viable when you DO have air flares? Then the second question is: are two-handed weapons are too slow and that then is no longer viable?
D-TURNER
PRAT2
Re: One-handed, edged weapons and a shield
06/19/2014 04:12 PM CDT
Two handed weapons are very viable, it's just a different style of fighting. THW is all about big damage and slow swinging. Lighter weapons with a bard are about lots of fast swings and relying on flares to make up the difference in damage. Both are viable, both can be fun, just depends on your preference and how you want to RP your character. It also depends somewhat on race if you are swinging big heavy weapons, if you are a giantman you'll never be as fast with a lance as an elf, if you are not a giantman it won't really matter, most other races can achieve a 5 sec RT with a lance once their stats max out.
WOLFES2
Re: One-handed, edged weapons and a shield
06/20/2014 12:13 AM CDT
I swung a lance in 5 seconds. Granted, NOT at level 20 or 50, but by about level 65 with enhancives you can, as a giantman, do it. Swinging a big weapon like a lance or claidh requires a high enough AGI/DEX to push down your round time. Almost every race, assuming the stats are set for growth, will not be swinging a big weapon such as a lance in 5 seconds until they progress in the game.
As a bard, I would not recommend THW but it's really your call. It's pretty shocking what you have to sacrifice for those few mtp each level difference between THW and poles. It adds up fast but that doesn't make it impossible. As for one handed weapons, they work. Shields can be formidable. You have two options with them. One was stated, the speed flare build. The second is the open ambusher, which is my own preference. That build took me to about level 70-something and was effective. The DS was nice. I switched to poles for the next 20+ levels. After that, I ran through TWC, pure, new unarmed and ranged as a giantman. I've blown through a lot of silvers (it's relative, depending on the player) to make each of those builds work to their best. I've never been one for high end gear, but most of those builds require something nicer than simple 4x weapons to work efficiently. Most of what I need as a giantman bard are enhancives to be fast enough to attack with minimal roundtimes. AS is never really an issue and the rest seems to fall in line with a little push here or there with some middling gear.
If you wish to concede that you will never afford that necessary gear (firstly, you're probably wrong) then the easiest route is to use OHE(B)/Shield or Polearms. Again, if you suspect you can't afford 3-8 mil worth of enhancives, then being a giantman will mean you will swing that lance slower than if you were an elf or halfling. If you choose one of those races, there are other issues to consider, too. All this is merely to give you a heads up.
The fact of the matter is, in Gemstone, you should choose what you want your character to use and over time make that build work. If your build is roleplay motivated, great...make it work. All it takes is time and patience. If you wish to focus on mechanics, squeezing everything you can from that aspect, it can work with time and patience. Almost every choice you make regarding your character will have an upside and a downside. Maximize the ups and minimize the downs and be patient. You won't have fun playing if you don't like what weapon you're using or are dying all the time. Even then, the roleplay might be able to counter any struggles you find when hunting.
~Galenok
As a bard, I would not recommend THW but it's really your call. It's pretty shocking what you have to sacrifice for those few mtp each level difference between THW and poles. It adds up fast but that doesn't make it impossible. As for one handed weapons, they work. Shields can be formidable. You have two options with them. One was stated, the speed flare build. The second is the open ambusher, which is my own preference. That build took me to about level 70-something and was effective. The DS was nice. I switched to poles for the next 20+ levels. After that, I ran through TWC, pure, new unarmed and ranged as a giantman. I've blown through a lot of silvers (it's relative, depending on the player) to make each of those builds work to their best. I've never been one for high end gear, but most of those builds require something nicer than simple 4x weapons to work efficiently. Most of what I need as a giantman bard are enhancives to be fast enough to attack with minimal roundtimes. AS is never really an issue and the rest seems to fall in line with a little push here or there with some middling gear.
If you wish to concede that you will never afford that necessary gear (firstly, you're probably wrong) then the easiest route is to use OHE(B)/Shield or Polearms. Again, if you suspect you can't afford 3-8 mil worth of enhancives, then being a giantman will mean you will swing that lance slower than if you were an elf or halfling. If you choose one of those races, there are other issues to consider, too. All this is merely to give you a heads up.
The fact of the matter is, in Gemstone, you should choose what you want your character to use and over time make that build work. If your build is roleplay motivated, great...make it work. All it takes is time and patience. If you wish to focus on mechanics, squeezing everything you can from that aspect, it can work with time and patience. Almost every choice you make regarding your character will have an upside and a downside. Maximize the ups and minimize the downs and be patient. You won't have fun playing if you don't like what weapon you're using or are dying all the time. Even then, the roleplay might be able to counter any struggles you find when hunting.
~Galenok
KRAKII
Re: One-handed, edged weapons and a shield
06/20/2014 08:33 AM CDT
And what Galenok left unsaid is that, now in GS4, you can make modifications/tweaks to your training path or even completely revamp it, over the course of time.
PRAT2
Re: One-handed, edged weapons and a shield
06/20/2014 10:52 AM CDT
Good point about going polearms vs THW. I talked about THW in my earlier post because the OP had talked about a choice between OHE/Shield and THW. My Bard in Shattered was an Elf and I went polearms from 1 to about 80ish when I switched to pure and started blasting things with 1030. I don't remember when I started using lances, but as an elf, it was pretty early. Plus with 1035 going once you get up to that, you'll be faster anyway.
One thing to keep in mind is as a bard you can use sonic weapons which will be superior to most physical gear that you will be able to afford. As you gain levels and get more bard spell ranks it gets better, capping at 7x, and it gets flares, and it can hit undead as well. Also, if you sing up a sonic lance it still gets the crazy good hitting power that the physical version gets. You can't sing up claidmhores however, so there's another reason to choose Poles over THW. Next to claids, lances are the hardest hitting weapons in the game.
One thing to keep in mind is as a bard you can use sonic weapons which will be superior to most physical gear that you will be able to afford. As you gain levels and get more bard spell ranks it gets better, capping at 7x, and it gets flares, and it can hit undead as well. Also, if you sing up a sonic lance it still gets the crazy good hitting power that the physical version gets. You can't sing up claidmhores however, so there's another reason to choose Poles over THW. Next to claids, lances are the hardest hitting weapons in the game.
