Are 2H weapons overkill on a rogue?

[Alathon]

I'm giving GS a shot again after around a decade, and the only character I ever really got into was a 2H weapons rogue ambushing with a claidhmore. Examining the character now, though, the expense of 2H weapons is enormous, and makes it really hard to get everything trained I'd like. However, at level 23, I tried some ambushing with an ebladed handaxe and.. well.. it was just sad. Against Reivers and Krolvin Warfarers, I wasn't getting a third of the insta-kills or insta-disables I was getting with the claidhmore, or even a vultite maul, with 2x ambush.

Long run, does ambush end up getting powerful enough to make using heavy weapons pointless, or will I see this sort of disparity between 1H and 2H weapons.. which to me makes the 2H weapons totally worth it?

For reference, here's my stats & training:

Name: Gorynel Desse Race: Elf Profession: Rogue (not shown)
Gender: Male Age: 52 Expr: 648522 Level: 23
Normal (Bonus) ... Enhanced (Bonus)
Strength (STR): 79 (14) ... 79 (14)
Constitution (CON): 93 (21) ... 93 (21)
Dexterity (DEX): 81 (20) ... 81 (20)
Agility (AGI): 100 (40) ... 100 (40)
Discipline (DIS): 93 (6) ... 93 (6)
Aura (AUR): 95 (27) ... 95 (27)
Logic (LOG): 61 (5) ... 61 (5)
Intuition (INT): 43 (-3) ... 43 (-3)
Wisdom (WIS): 73 (11) ... 73 (11)
Influence (INF): 39 (5) ... 39 (5)
Mana: 11 Silver: 2275

Armor Use..........................| 120 30
Combat Maneuvers...................| 105 25
Two-Handed Weapons.................| 150 50
Ambush.............................| 150 50
Physical Fitness...................| 105 25
Dodging............................| 150 50
Magic Item Use.....................| 96 22
Harness Power......................| 5 1
Disarming Traps....................| 150 50
Picking Locks......................| 150 50
Stalking and Hiding................| 150 50
Perception.........................| 150 50
Climbing...........................| 58 12
Swimming...........................| 58 12

[Moist Happenings]

It's really personal preference. Two handed weapons are always going to be nice against heavier armor, but I had a lot of success on a rogue ambushing with two short swords, two sais, and sword and board with a falchion or handaxe base. Eventually you're going to be able to death crit most anything with any weapon you want, but you're always going to have a better shot at it with a two hander.

Poking something in the eye with a short sword most of the time is just as effective as smashing its skull with a claid.

If you want to save some points, maybe try sword and board for a bit better defense, and save up for a fel hafter. As a rogue you don't usually need the crit weighting most of the time, but it does give that sort of two hander feel in a one handed weapon.

In conclusion, you can make anything work pretty well nowadays no matter which route you go, as long as you do it right. Two handed's always been pretty expensive for a rogue. Personally I think the cost is greater than the gain. For me though these days it always comes down to how I want to RP my character.

[mrjrd222]

Eventually, daggers can crit kill critters wearing full plate (with a decent endroll, aimed at an eye). It's really all about getting a max rank crit (good endroll + good ambush skill). If you don't have enough AS to get a large endroll, then 2hw will help you get to the max crit rank much more easily. If you can generate lots of AS, or the critters have low DS, you can use a much quicker, softer hitting weapon, and still reach the maximum crit rank.

Armor also plays a big roll, those reivers wear half-plate right? That's a no-no for lower level OHE ambushing, unless you can really generate some AS, or want to leg them and nick them to death.

[Stretch]

Yes, it's overkill. There's no reason you can't one-shot anything crittable with a handaxe, except for EBP, which applies to THW as well.

EDIT: Actually, maybe it does suck at lower levels - THW is so insanely expensive though that I would probably hunt things in < plate until lvl 40 for the one shot OHE.

[Gan]

Yes, it's overkill. There's no reason you can't one-shot anything crittable with a handaxe, except for EBP, which applies to THW as well.

EDIT: Actually, maybe it does suck at lower levels - THW is so insanely expensive though that I would probably hunt things in < plate until lvl 40 for the one shot OHE.

/Agreed.

Rogues are the critical one shot experts.

If you really want 2H, be a warrior and be a master in dealing intense damage of overwhelming proportions.

[Drew]

My ranger has ambushed with THW his whole career. It can be done for sure, rogues can get more ambush training than a ranger, they can also generate more AS.

I know as a ranger a lot of the head shots I make would not kill critters if it weren't for the THW. Then again I don't like really setting a creature up that much other than proning it.

[Gnomad]

A THW rogue is like a sword and board warrior.

You can do it, but there's better classes for what you're trying.

[Alathon]

Thank you all for your responses. Seems like the vibe I'm getting is that short run, 2H weapons will be a big help in both doing big enough crits to kill and in opening up heavier armored targets to fight. And that long run I could do almost as well with a 1H weapon, and would have better defenses from having a shield as well... and whatever other advantages the additional TPs would convey.

I suppose the other advantage of going with the 2H weapons is that I would have the option to play like a warrior and swing effectively from the open when wounds make hiding/ambushing problematic. Or when I'm feeling lazy. While I'm not entirely decided, even if it's non-optimal I think I'll probably stick with 2H weapons.. if only out of a misguided desire to be a beautiful unique snowflake. That, and loving stuff like this:

You leap from hiding to attack!
You swing a jet black claidhmore at a reiver!
AS: +210 vs DS: +131 with AvD: +44 + d100 roll: +6 = +129
... and hit for 35 points of damage!
Solid strike caves the reiver's skull in, resulting in instant death!
The reiver falls to the ground motionless.
Roundtime: 7 sec.