It's neutral con, due to moon elves malus, but yeah. It made squeezing the things in really nicely. I really like my Dual Wielding fighter.
And the lack of a 45 LBS (Or even like 25ish on a "light" tower shield) is massive for QoL. The downside being low damage feels like it balances out the high attack rate and good AC. That might also be on me as I've had my elf favor weilding two shortswords though. Due to being under the impression I need both weapons to be light to keep my AB malus low? I can't imagine people dual wielding effectively with non-light weapons.. unless there's something I just missed.
The thing about the weight is; players who value the shield will make it work. It's not a question of "Do I want to this trade off or the other" it's "I need to make a plan to manage this" which... I'll be honest does not require too much planning at all in the end. SaB characters unless they are using the small buckler will generally build STR and so managing the carry weight is a self fulfilling prophecy.
Honestly I always felt like 2h Weapons were Over Represented, due to how much AC you could get while maintaining full damage. Felt like everyone I saw for a while was a two-handed weapon wielder in some variety. But I am prone to taking several months off at a time so things might have shifted.
Well 2H isn't sub-optimal or necessarily weak by any means. It's not the BEST option but it's certainly an option, and 2H has one of the strongest 'Rule of Cool' arguments. Guts from Berserk? Cloud Strife from FF7? etc. You'll see a lot of 2H users on that merit alone.
It maxes out at +4 if you dedicate equipment to Parry which makes it kind of unfortunate, and you really do need about 32 STR or so to really make the Damage considerable vs the +3 AC + Saving Throws + Added bonuses. I know the 45 lbs is a thing... but at the same time? It's less of a "Oh no 45lbs is impacting my decision" and more of a "I'm going to figure out how to make the 45lbs work."
I know I will be for my SaB fighter.
You get Full AB because your only wielding one weapon, better than average damage. 2h Weapons generally had more potent effects as well, and you could reach a "decent" ac bonus even in full plate with improved parry. Felt like you gained way more than you lost.
By comparison to SaB the loss of +3 AC and added benefits for more damage is... it's just not super worth it. Options to make it stand out more wouldn't be bad thing, especially since characters are going to have to compete against their ACP for their parry bonus. Fullplate provides a -8 ACP which will apply to Parry. Not only does this reduce the maximum AC rank it can achieve but also you the player are going to have to work against that penalty.
Not only are you going to need the necessary skill amount to reach your +4 Cap, you're also going to need to overcome the -8. My two handed fighter had to rely on Parry oriented crafted gear which; isn't terrible. It's not optimal though and otherwise will be able to invest in much superior equipment.
2 Handed isn't a major concern as far as the thread is aware, although I would say a little nudge for them wouldn't be bad. My suggestion was ultimately a feat that allowed two handed users to subtract AC instead of AB for power attack and instead apply damage. Iirc someone suggested the damage bonus also be doubled.
In terms of economy AC is far more valuable than Damage on NWN. A good defense is usually leagues better than a great offense; there is of course circumstances and exceptions but generally speaking and I've noticed other players that include expertise in their build tend to get it early and it really helps in that early game tremendous and still finds use in the later game whereas Power Attack I normally don't invest in. If my character acquires it somehow or does invest in it; I will usually use it for mining or in dungeons and situations where enemy AC is low and my AB is high.
I think everyone here has mainly identified big questions with TWF, and 1H (No off hand), and Ranger's role with Melee combat.
Mathematically speaking however and Economically speaking you don't gain a lot more than what you lose; I'd say 2H finish more quickly than SaB users but in the long run, they do lose out. Two-Weapon Fighting is kind of in a similar boat economically to SaB Where they are enchanting an extra item in their build.
It generally does not feel like it's worth it 6 Feat set up and very demanding stat requirements, Enchanting two-weapons rather than one is unfortunate as well. Unlike SaB where you are enchanting a companion item and getting extra bonuses when you enchant a weapon you are just getting the weapon enchantments.
Double-Weapons would you'd think see great use then; the problem is it adds a 7th feat to the collection your character needs and since the double-weapons are not finessable you find yourself stuck putting points into DEX for your TWD feats. It would be beneficial to build STR for a Double-weapon build but it's not very feasible on the server.
Adding TWD to the Ranger TWF Combat Style I think would eliminate this problem entirely. As characters would then be able to comfortably build for STR while not needing to make such massive investments into a stat that kind of only offsets short comings.
