Just wondering which would be better in battles.


Edit: Actually, what would be the best melee type of weapons overall? Thanks.

Depends on your roll. If you are a brute and can shrug off damage, then a 2H would allow you to dhish out damage. If you are a bit squishy but still want to put out some damage, shield+sword is better.

As with any outfit, the less you have to heal the better.

when picking the best weaponclass I'd to say : sabers first, katana's later (they are insanely fast AND dich a lot of damage too)
having a shield does NOT add a lot of armour, it does allow you to block, but who does ever use that??

however, think this way :
two handed weapons CAN be killer, if you have the time to strike full (they have 2 types of attack, fast (short mouseclicks) or slow (keep your mouse pressed, for a slower more brutal hit)

but : when others attack YOU, they are able to "break off" your attack! having more and faster attacks lowers that change.
so it works better in general to have a single handed weapon cause they are faster.

two handed weapons are however a total drain on their armour and you even have a change to smash the weapon right out of their hands.... though it's upto you that effect is worth it

Stats wise, I think there is no question that sword+shield is much more effective than two-handed blade or blunt.

Unfortunately they the developers did not reach a good balance on this. Two handed damage does not out weight the benefits of shield/sword. Some mods change this, like OOO, but the unmodded game seems very biased towards Shield and Sword.

I think that is unfortunate. I should really be a balance. I'd love to see a barbarian type use a really powerful two handed weapon.

I'd say a long sword and shield is as efficient/effective as it gets for melee. Block, hit twice, block, hit twice, yawn, block, hit twice, repeat.

That said, I'd rather use a claymore any time. Loads of fun to dance at the edge of the sweet spot where you can reach your foes but they can't quite reach you.

I go ahead and play that barbarian type, and who cares if it isn't as effective?

The primary value of the two-handed weapons in this game is the reach, not the damage delivered. In some ways, a big claymore or warhammer is best suited to a small, agile character, like a Bosmer or Breton.

But, in answer to the original question, a sword/shield is quite a bit more effective. Block is actually a very effective skill if used correctly, and a shield does add a bit to armor rating, as well as being another enchantable item. And one-hand swords are not that much less powerful than the two-handed.

If that weren't enough, the two-handed weapons get no sneak-attack bonus, which makes no sense at all.