I can honestly admit that I have never once played a warrior only class in this whole TES series! It would be nice to free up some perk points from the magic trees!

I was wandering what classic warriors use? Is it mainly a 2h? and what are the pros and cons of each type on weapon?

Heavy armour im assuming? but could it work to be a nimble powerhouse with light armour?

thoughts would be great!

what do you do as far as perks go?

2-hander weapons are usually for warriors who don't worry about their health bars, and work on the orc mentality that smashy smashy is better because bigger. Classic warriors are, yes, 2-handers or sword+shield users. It really depends if you want to think about your defenses or not.

dual-weilding is more for lighter characters that are more focused on a spinning, kicking whirlwind of death. They do the most damage, by the way - if that is your thing, then go for dual-swords.

Generally, you either choose between axe, mace or sword. Swords get a decent perk for +chance to do critical damage, and they swing pretty well. Maces (and hammers) have perks that bypass armour, which makes them very good against tanked-up enemies. Axes.... Well, they supposedly do bleeding damage, but the guide lists that as being roughly equivalent to weak poison spread over 3-4 seconds... Not worth it.

One thing to note is that if you go with a two-handed weapon, they have significant swinging time. Especially the battlehammers. So you really want a high armour rating, otherwise you will lose too much hp while swinging / recovering from the momentum. Thus, heavy armour would be better. If you go for a shield, then both armour types are viable, imo, but know that your damage will not be high enough...


If you want a nimble powerhouse in light armour, go for dual-weilding offensive. two-handers with light armour don't really go well together; the nimbleness of the armour is negated by swing speed, and you will be lacking armour rating for quite a while.

if youre using 2h i would go heavy armor, your attacks are slower and blocks are less effective than with a sword and shield so you will want your armor to be able to keep your health as high as possible while you smash your foe to pieces.

Id recommend going with heavy armor even as a dual wielding character. My level 48 uses heavy and once you get the perk that makes heavy not slow you down, you hardly notice it... Plus if you play on master heavy armor is nice... Remember dual wield has 0 defense, no blocking at all.

so you think sword and board limits power output to a serious degree?

I personally went for Light Armour. Sure it's less protection but you can sprint longer, carry more and I find the armour in the Light section more interesting and varied, especially that kick-ass armour after the "The Hunt" Daedric quest. You can also deal more power attacks.

I know the Steed Stone can negate any negative consequences of using Heavy but I prefer it and makes it more interesting.

So can perks... "Conditioning" not only makes heavy armor not slow you down, but it also weighs nothing when equipped.

Tanks = shield + one handed weapon + heavy armor
Sniper = light armor + dual wield
Assault = heavy armor + dual wield
Heavy = heavy armor + two handed weapon

Light armor is more efficient in stamina use which allows more blocks and power attacks, just remember to level block along with two-hander and light armor. Block is rather useful for getting past shields for power attacks. ( Also with the right perk reduces elemental damage.)

For two handers I prefer heavy for the generally better protection through most of the game. For sword and board I go light for the stamina benefits. Not that big a fan of dual wielding but I could see someone going either way.

Light armour + 2handers is great 'cause you get superior stamina regen with the light armour perk tree... and 2handers+powerattack = much merriment. Sure you can guzzle pots in that heavy suit, but that just feels like cheating.

Heavy armour looks much better though, and might be a more relaxing playstyle.

*edit* Also, what baithammer said.

If you're looking at your endgame character, it doesn't matter if you go heavy or light since the armor cap is 567, which you can get with both light and heavy armor paired with sufficient blacksmithing skill. (You would have 1000+ armor in late game heavy armor, god knows why tbh)

However, this game is more about the journey than the destination, and I imagine you will have a much harder time surviving in light armor as a warrior than in heavy.

Taking into consideration that gear weight is a non-issue once you have the perk (which is admittedly very high up into the heavy armor tree), it's up to you to decide whether you want to be a fast & hard striker in light armor that relies on evading attacks and hit & run tactics, or a slow marauding tank with a ridiculously large weapon.

Pertaining to your weapon of choice, I would say go with whichever you think suits your character best. Out of the three you can choose from (axes, swords and maces) axe is the one that's 'always on' in the sense it's not tied to a condition (heavy armor for maces) or RNG (swords).

TL;DR: It comes down to personal preference and playstyle, because the armor cap can be reached with both types of armor.

im in process of building a 2h with light and magic cuz my first was a tank literally 1h with shield with heavy even on master i was barely takin damage going with magic instead of archery to change it up

2h has slower attack animations and slows you down more in general for movement, which means you're more likely to get hit in melee - heavy armor really helps address this (even if it, too, slows you down some). Dual wield isn't that different as the dual wield power attacks lock you in a fairly long animation through which you are likely to get hit (if you don't instantly kill the target and/or are fighting multiple mobs). Again heavy armor can help mitigate the damage you're almost guaranteed to take (and on master, that can be fatal in light armor).

Light armor is really better (assuming no enchanting/smithing where both classes are equal protection) for stealthy type characters that very rarely get hit or into melee situations. It gives you maximum movement with near silence and some basic protection.

One thing to consider when choosing light or heavy armor is the perks required to smith them. If you want to craft the best weapons in the game, you're forced to choose the heavy armor perks.

I prefer Light Armor and 2H weapns. Its just me. Lvl 34 and still going strong.

Light Armor, 2 hand Greatsword user here. Works very well with quick reflexes(when it's not stuck). I dont get hit at all 90 percent of the time. As far as stamina problem with 2-handers...my char. is also a restoration specialist, so i took the respite perk which makes all your heal spells also replenish like amount of stamina. Now I usually just use my heals for stamina replenishment.

My Nord battlemage character is using two-handed axes and light armor and it works very well, you just need to br quick on your feet.