D&D 4E What place does dual wielding have in 4E?

[Baka no Hentai]

Just out of curiosity, has anyone seen word from the developers or playtesters regarding what impact dual wielding will have on fourth edition?

Some character archetypes are commonly envisioned as using a weapon in each hand, as opposed to a two-hander or sword & shield. I'm wondering what kind of mechanical benefit there will be to wielding two weapons, since the "full-attack" option seems to be going the way of the do-do with the advent of at-will, encounter, and daily powers.

Will characters get an extra attack with a second weapon at a penalty, even after using an at-will attack in a round?

Will there instead be some kind of mechanical bonus, like increased damage for certain attacks, or increased defenses? (using the primary hand to strike and the off-hand to parry, for example)

Will it simply provide a character different options when using their class powers? (for example, weapon A might be more efficient when using attacks against AC, weapon B might be better for attacks against reflex.)

Or will it just be a flavor thing?

Any thoughts or wild speculation would be appreciated

 

[drjones]

Well the DDM cards that have been released have figs like the Arcadian Avenger with two weapons who can take an attack that is just 2 '
normal' attacks. Also the Skeletal tomb guardian can do the same in his DnD stats.

But since PC!=NPC the player rules could be considerably different. I would guess it will be a matter of feat/power selection for light 'striker' types. Hopefully well balanced vs shield and 2 handed so one is not allways the best choice for all roles.

 

[Shroomy]

While I'm not sure how it will exactly work, I think it will probably be a ranger class power, and thus accessible to everyone else via a feat. Hopefully, it will be effective (but not too effective) by itself, so, for example, you won't need to couple it with sneak attack damage to make it worthwhile.

 

[Intrope]

One of the in-house playtest groups features a Halfling Ranger named Biggie Smalls--who frequently dual wields. Of course, these playtest reports don't give us any dual-wielidng crunch but clearly dual-wield is in.

 

[Baka no Hentai]

While I'm not sure how it will exactly work, I think it will probably be a ranger class power, and thus accessible to everyone else via a feat. Hopefully, it will be effective (but not too effective) by itself, so, for example, you won't need to couple it with sneak attack damage to make it worthwhile.

I actually wonder about this, as everything I have seen on Rangers so far seems to point to them being the "consummate archer", so I wouldn't be surprised if Rangers had little in the way of melee abilities.

Of course, the ranger presented in DDXP may have been more of an archer build, and that you can go in other directions depending on player preference... I guess we'll have to wait and see on that.

Definitely curious to see how they handle rangers though... not giving ranger players the option to be effective toe-to-toe melee two-weapon combatants could alienate a lot of drizzt-type fans.

 

[Baka no Hentai]

One of the in-house playtest groups features a Halfling Ranger named Biggie Smalls--who frequently dual wields. Of course, these playtest reports don't give us any dual-wielidng crunch but clearly dual-wield is in.

Hmm, very interesting, and it seems to contradict what I was saying in my last post (in regards to Rangers being primary ranged attackers.)

 

[Shroomy]

I actually wonder about this, as everything I have seen on Rangers so far seems to point to them being the "consummate archer", so I wouldn't be surprised if Rangers had little in the way of melee abilities.

Of course, the ranger presented in DDXP may have been more of an archer build, and that you can go in other directions depending on player preference... I guess we'll have to wait and see on that.

Definitely curious to see how they handle rangers though... not giving ranger players the option to be effective toe-to-toe melee two-weapon combatants could alienate a lot of drizzt-type fans.

I kind of assumed that there would be two basic builds, like the 3.x ranger and the 4e rogue.

 

[zoroaster100]

I seem to remember reading something on these boards that rangers had two main class options, just as rogues have a Charisma based and a Strength based build, and that the ranger choice was archer or dual-wielder. But I don't remember if this was confirmation or just speculation.

 

[Jack99]

I seem to remember reading something on these boards that rangers had two main class options, just as rogues have a Charisma based and a Strength based build, and that the ranger choice was archer or dual-wielder. But I don't remember if this was confirmation or just speculation.

Speculation afaik.

 

[Yonner]

Dual wielding, I think, will be accomplised through exploits. If you want to dual wield, pick up a dual wielding power. Dual strike, melee weapon standard action, at will.