Who chooses Two-Weapon Defense?

[Blue]

Really, unless you're pure fighter, who has the feats to spare on this after spending all the TWF feats, and any feats you actually want.

You get a feat that gives you a point of AC, which is fairly weak. One feat every three levels for +1 AC doesn't even keep up with the worst BAB progression, and is only 1/3 of a full BAB progression - it advances so much slower even if you want to spend your few feats slots on it.

Good luck,
=Blue(23)

 

[phindar]

Yeah, but nowhere does AC keep up with Attack Bonuses. That's what makes even the smaller AC bonuses precious... so very preciousssss...

Dodge is a good feat, but its a +1 Def to one opponent, while TWD is a +1 Shield bonus against everybody. (And really, almost no one has a high enough Touch AC that Dodge is make or break in that regard.)

 

[nittanytbone]

If you're in core only, and you have an extra feat to spare, and you want to dual-wield the same weapon (Maybe you have W Focus - Shortsword and want to use two of 'em), then its not a bad idea.

 

[Twowolves]

I think almost everyone is missing one BIG reason for this feat, and probably it's demographic: swashbucklers/duelists. Most of their class abilities limit them to light armor, and in the case of the duelist, they already should have dodge. Every little bit of AC helps when you are a fighter with light armor. Dodge, Two-weapon Defense, Combat Expertise, bucklers and Fighting Defensively are stock in trade for these sorts, and they stack.

 

[Quartz]

The typical TWF PC is far better off using Combat Expertise, especially if they've gonethe WF / WS / MWM route.

Would it be too much if TWD required Combat Expertise and allowed a 2 for 1 AC benefit?

 

[phindar]

It wouldn't work for me because my half-orc fighter/barbarian can't make the Int 13 req for Combat Expertise. Though if there were some benefit on top of Expertise and TWD being combined, it wouldn't offend me. (I'm all for anything that helps out the light-armored fighters.)

Since Combat Expertise replaces Active Defense, and Active (and Full) Defense increases the TWD Shield Bonus by another +1, it seems like if you use Combat Expertise with TWD you'd get another +1 Shield Bonus to AC.

 

[pawsplay]

It's a very nice value for a feat. However... it tends to be down the list from Improved Two Weapon Fighting, Weapon Focus, and so forth. In general, killing your opponents more quickly takes precedence over a point of defense. I could see a straight up fighter taking it between levels 3 and 6 somewhere.

There are some ways to make TWD really work... the Tempest is just straight up fun. Less obviously, a Thief-Acrobat can take up the quarterstaff or two light weapons... TWD gives +1 additional AC when attacking defensively, Thief-Acrobat gets you +3, and Tumble gets you +1. So for -4 to hit, you can gain +5 to AC. If you take the quarterstaff style feat, you get another +2. So with the right feats, a Thief-Acrobat quarterstaff fighter can be a formidable tank.

 

[Moon-Lancer]

The typical TWF PC is far better off using Combat Expertise, especially if they've gonethe WF / WS / MWM route.

Would it be too much if TWD required Combat Expertise and allowed a 2 for 1 AC benefit?

I think that would be pritty neet. It would work in my game i think. Although it could get broken with improved bucker def.

I would say that twd would alter combat expertise to be a shield bonus, or have the second half of the 2 for 1 be a shield bonus. that way it couldent stack with a buckler.

 

[Ranger REG]

I have been looking at different builds for a two-weapon fighter, and it seems that not too many people pick the feat Two-Weapon Defense.

Is a +1 shield bonus to your AC not worth a feat? Do you just assume that a ring or amulet or something else will get you that +1 AC? If I assume that magic is less available, does this feat become more reasonable?

I'm just wondering.

I do. Considering that you're using an off-hand weapon to act as a shield (which is not meant to), +1 is just as good as a small shield. And you can still perform two-weapon fighting.

But if you're going for the best PC build, usually sword-n-board. Sometimes, it's a no-brainer, like trying to choose between a plate armor and a padded armor.

 

[Satori]

Don't forget that TWD adds +2 Shield AC when fighting defensively, and ITWD adds +4 Shield AC when fighting defensively.

I recently created a level 5 build with an AC of 36 while fighting defensively. Sure, he couldn't hit the broad side of a barn door...but he can stand in a swarm of enemies without getting hit in melee.

Perfect for a "Tank" PC that is tired of Full Plate and Tower Shields.