What weapon to use

[Tenzle]

Alright, ive read nearly every post in the forums, but they are all from way way back so I want some current bardish input, Ive got about 3 weeks left on my instant migration and I'll hit 12 in another few hours, and I just cant decide on what sort of weapon to swing. It seems like there are 3 reasonable options

2x sword 2x (or 1x) board
-This gives you the best ds, and a short sword swinging at 1 second flaring like crazy does (according to solpiece) some pretty sexy dammage

Also why do most bards 1x shield, when you could just train polearms and get a ds thats not much lower but get a much stronger attack

2x sword 2x twc
-How many bards have tried this, is it viable later on, can you flare enough with your two short swords and tonis up to shred things before they come after you? How hard was it to level?

2x Polearm 1
-It seems that the flavor of the month about a year ago was the polearm, ho is that working out for everyone now, do you like it have you fixskilled into something differet after the craze?

I'm just looking on some bards young and olds input here.

[Makkah]

<<2x Polearm 1
-It seems that the flavor of the month about a year ago was the polearm, ho is that working out for everyone now, do you like it have you fixskilled into something differet after the craze? >>

Polearm since day one. Would never change. At cap, it has remained viable in every hunting ground I've ever hunted.

[Drinin]

I used twc from 54 to my mid-70's in GS4. It was very viable. I used an e-bladed longsword/sonic short sword combo and didn't have any complaints. From my mid-70's to my current 93 I've been using 2handers, and also don't have any complaints. My offensive is awesome and my defense is enough to not die in OTF (barring obscene roundtime locks)

[Snapp]

Another vote for polearm. My bard has always done great with it (at just about level 40).

[Tenzle]

I think im going to try the polearms everyone seems so enamored, and Im elven so I can get that round time down to what 2 seconds with maxed out tonis?

[Tannious]

Well I just used my fixskills recently and went to TWC with blunts. It is more expensive but swinging two warhammers in 3 seconds is just nasty. I only need blues and a statue and I can do ok in OTF. While alone I do the ducts and have amost no chance to die unless and gremlock gets lucky. If I'm doing Ithzir I like to have Thurfels, look and dims. None are hard to get and I can gen around a 380-410 DS with almost no problem. And after spending a year doing the shortsword/shield with Tonis and 80 ranks of MOC I have to say I like the two blunts much better. I'm still fast, only one second slower than I was with the shortsword, since I don't have 75 ranks of airlore yet. I get two swings in 3 seconds with a much better weapon base, so I see many more crits and knockdowns than I did with a shortsword. So all in all I really like it.


Tannious

[Amaron]

I love my polearms. Went to them when gs4 came about and will never go back.

J

[AnticorRifling]

Polearms, hands down.

[vontez]

polearms. they're just too nasty. don't worry about DS because you will be slaughtering everything with a lance. two weapon style is meh, and I even used haste bow/haste fu for a little, and honestly, nothing compares. You'll do especially fine being an elf

[Danical]

If you end up getting a ton of ambush and CM like Menos you can aim that sucker to the eye in 7 seconds.

Lance to the eye at something like 66% puncture rate is pretty brutal.

[Buckwheet]

Since I just recently started a bard I can only tell you what I have done so far.

Using the skill migration to my advantage I went sword and board with the 4s shortsword and hunted things that are easy to crit.(Rats, urghs, dogs in icemule, firecats/rats, wights and woodsman.)

Then on the last day of the migration I changed to polearms. I am currently 28 hunting Kiramon with relative ease.