Casters forced to TWF.

[FranOhmsford]

Hey Devs!

Is there any way you could make TWF require the actual Feat so that Casters wielding two sceptres/daggers or whatever can treat the one in their spare hand as a non weapon?

Rangers/Ftrs and others TWFers would take the Feat anyway {or gain it free} so this wouldn't hurt TWFing builds but it would stop casters from suffering yet another penalty to their melee that they shouldn't really be suffering from.

Oh and just because you have a weapon in each hand doesn't mean you're going to fight with both of them - Especially not in the TWF style!




P.S. It was nice when you buffed Quarterstaves but you don't see Casters with Staffs anymore - We're back to two sceptres, sceptre+orb or sceptre and one named tower shield!

There aren't enough Orbs in-game yet {not even close} and many builds only have one Orb that's actually useful to them {two if it's an Epic/Heroic Orb} and nothing before, after or in-between - If that Orb isn't an End-Game Orb then the Build has no End-Game Orb and is back to using two sceptres!

Shields are another option but you went and fixed Warlocks not getting Spell Failure.

Staffs just cannot compete again - With the number of different spell types, crit types and other bonuses like Spell Pen, DCs and Spell Points Casters need we need BOTH weapon slots and can't manage everything with just the one!







It's a lore and immersion thing too for me - I don't want my Casters trying to be TWFighters BUT I DO WANT THEM TO BE ABLE TO MELEE IN A PINCH!
I tried building a Melee ES because that's an option you've clearly tried to build in to the tree but it just doesn't make sense because Eldritch Burst/Spirit Blast have a Whirlwind Attack style STOP on their animation which interferes with meleeing! You still need the Spellpowers for your Aura anyway so you still can't afford to use an actual Melee Based Weapon and the whole build just screams Turtle with aura and burst!







P.P.S. This would also allow other things like scrolls to be held in off hand without interfering with actual fighting style!

Allowing us to USE Scrolls from off-hand would be the next step!







P.P.P.S. Oh and if you could give us an option to choose handedness {left or right} upon character creation - that would be nice too!

[cru121]

One of the setups I've used in the past was at level 8 was:
main hand: Star of Irian with two spell power augments
offhand: Heavy Mithral Shield of Superior Stability

Star of Irian is a simple weapon, has two slots, breaks good DR (BB Chronoscope!), has nice base damage and extra damage dice, crits on an 18.
Heavy mithral shield comes usually from Waterworks end reward, has 5% ASF. Superior Stability comes from legacy CC.

EDIT: New CC allows Spell Power shields of Sheltering, probably a decent option as well.

[Enoach]

I'm not sure I agree because to me it seems you are asking that if you don't have the TWF feat you shouldn't be allowed to swing with your off-hand. And I disagree with that.

To me the biggest issue is the To-Hit System being to in favor of the players that it gives builds that should miss more often then they do a chance to keep hitting. It should be a hit or a miss and not some half hit (it should be true the other way as well)

Now fighting with both hands even without the feat has always been apart of the game this game is based upon. The Feat(s) served to lessen the penalty or increase the number of swings or even defense. Traditionally the off-hand weapon was something small like a dagger or Kukri or other smallish weapon to keep the off-hand penalty low.

As for the staff I do agree that one of the issues with this is that a single staff usually has the same benefit as a single hand weapon. Thus two items > one item. Now they tried with Thuruage staves but those didn't meet the need completely and the flexibility of the two items allowed switching them around for maximum benefit. Now I feel part of this problem was also the lack of adding Spells to the staff. I don't think they need the number of spells such as the Staff of Arcane power, but creating utility with staves by adding these spells allows a character to cast the spell at the staff's caster level or their own if it is higher. The appropriate number of spells/charges per day can make a big difference. I know on my caster I will turn to my Epic Eternal Wands if SP conservation is a factor but unlike Staves the spell level is set at the wands level.

But for me that part that I would like to see fixed as it comes to weapons is the ability to actually equip Bastard Swords and Dwarven War Axes as either Single Handed (currently) or Two Handed. Weapons like these should open up their flexibility. I also would like to see the base Khopesh get a bonus on Trip when using the weapon.

------
But in the end I agree with you that when I think of a wizard the first image that comes to my head is a pointed hat (slight droop at the point), Long flowing robes and a Staff in their hands. To that end I have begun to build the Slave Lord set with the idea that I will utilize the staff as 1 of 3/5 items in the set. But this is because many of the effects that I used Orbs or Daggers/scepters is available to be crafted on the non-named items and the fact that the staff itself has all the elemental spell power (lacking the cold lore only). I look forward to finishing the 5 piece set (at a completed 3 piece right now).

[Gljosh]

Yes the game is severely lacking orbs and true caster sticks.
Ideally a caster stick should be about 1.4~1.5 times as strong as a single hand caster item-not twice because dual wielding requires more work (from a crafting perspective).

I am still amazed that Orbs were not added to the Cannith Raids, it would allow for some high level heroic or low level Epic orbs.

Orbs (like Rune Arms) are a real missed opportunity.

[dunklezhan]

Solution would seem to me not to change TWF, but to bring back meaningful lootgen caster staves, introduce new named caster staves, and maybe even introduce lootgen orbs or lootgen runearms too.

I don't agree that its that important to boost caster to hit I'm afraid. Take levels or gear in something that helps you hit better, that's the answer. Accuracy items simply aren't that hard to get.

[Memnir]

Solution would seem to me not to change TWF, but to bring back meaningful lootgen caster staves, introduce new named caster staves, and maybe even introduce lootgen orbs or lootgen runearms too.

Was going to type this very thing, but dunklezhan saved me the time n trouble. Thank you dunklezhan!


Lootgen Orbs and 'Arms are long long overdue, and would open up a lot more options. Likewise, giving staves a buff to make them a more attractive option over their diminutive one-handed brethren would be nothing but a good thing.

[dunklezhan]

Thank you dunklezhan!

Amusing gif or it didn't happen

You're welcome, Mem

[Memnir]

Amusing gif or it didn't happen

You're welcome, Mem

[blerkington]

This seems like an odd request. After the early heroic levels, I can't really see why you would want to melee on a caster.

But if you do, why not swap to a weapon which is useful for melee, rather than attacking with your caster weapons? Presumably your caster weapons have spellpower and/or DC bonuses on them rather than damaging effects. So if you're going to melee, you might as well actually use a weapon suitable for that purpose which means a swap, right?

It sounds like you are asking for the game to be changed so you don't have to do weapon swaps. Just hotkey an additional weapon set for when you want to melee and you should be fine.

With u32 high level casters seem to be a very good place with reducing the number of items needed to cast effectively. Being able to get non-weapon items that cover you for DCs in several schools at once and spell penetration too leaves your hands free for spellpower and lore. On my caster I am down to two weapon sets, a sceptre+orb combination for DC casting and a staff for damaging spells, and I really appreciate the better gearing options and less swapping required that u32 gave us.

Thanks.

[dunklezhan]

Amazeballs.

[GeoffWatson]

How about bringing back Thaumaturgy staffs to random loot?

It could be an Extra slot for Cannith Crafting, that gives Potency and adds additional prefix and suffix slots, that can only be used with spell-related shards.