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<blockquote data-quote="Dausuul" data-source="post: 7559843" data-attributes="member: 58197">Versatility is a &quot;ribbon,&quot; a minor perk whose value is almost entirely flavor. If the versatile weapon is inferior to both true two-handed weapons and true one-handed weapons, no one will use it. Being able to suck in two modes is not nearly as good as being competent in one, and that is especially true when the modes are &quot;melee with a slight emphasis on attack&quot; and &quot;melee with a slight emphasis on defense.&quot;That's why versatile weapons are written as defaulting to one-handed: They are one-handed. A longsword is meant for a sword-and-board fighter. It only sees two-handed use in niche scenarios: A great weapon fighter has been stripped of their gear and the only weapon handy is a longsword. A sword-and-board barbarian loses their shield. The only magic weapon available is a longsword and the party is facing a monster that's resistant to nonmagical attacks.If you want versatile weapons to be two-handed by default, you should make them perform well as two-handed weapons, with a sub-par one-handed mode. For example, the longsword could deal 2d6 damage in two hands and 1d6 damage in one hand. In that case, you would probably want to get rid of the greatsword and add a &quot;broadsword&quot; or &quot;arming sword&quot; that does 1d8 in one hand.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Dausuul, post: 7559843, member: 58197"] Versatility is a "ribbon," a minor perk whose value is almost entirely flavor. If the versatile weapon is inferior to both true two-handed weapons and true one-handed weapons, no one will use it. Being able to suck in two modes is not nearly as good as being competent in one, and that is especially true when the modes are "melee with a slight emphasis on attack" and "melee with a slight emphasis on defense." That's why versatile weapons are written as defaulting to one-handed: They [i]are[/i] one-handed. A longsword is meant for a sword-and-board fighter. It only sees two-handed use in niche scenarios: A great weapon fighter has been stripped of their gear and the only weapon handy is a longsword. A sword-and-board barbarian loses their shield. The only magic weapon available is a longsword and the party is facing a monster that's resistant to nonmagical attacks. If you want versatile weapons to be two-handed by default, you should make them perform well as two-handed weapons, with a sub-par one-handed mode. For example, the longsword could deal 2d6 damage in two hands and 1d6 damage in one hand. In that case, you would probably want to get rid of the greatsword and add a "broadsword" or "arming sword" that does 1d8 in one hand. [/QUOTE]

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