Who chooses Two-Weapon Defense?

[Darklone]

As mentioned above, I don't think TWD and its upgrades are bad. The biggest problem is that you have to sink even more feats into something that already noone but a singleclass fighter can afford.

 

[mcgeedis]

I just took TWD for my Rogue 5/Fighter 1. Seeing as she is primarily a tumbling flanker at this point, I figured that since the feat granted +1 AC, it was beneficial to try and keep her from getting creamed in case the tumble fails. Every little bit helps, in my eyes.

 

[Satori]

McGeedis: Rather than look at it like +1 AC, think of it this way...

If you're ever in doubt, fight defensively and you gain (2 + 1 Tumble + 2 TWD) to your AC for the entire round. Rather than say "I am now 5% harder to hit all the time", instead say "When the going gets tough, I can make myself 25% harder to hit."

If you REALLY want to get cheesy, dual wield Broadblade Shortswords (CAdv) and max out your Combat Expertise. This will net you something like (2 FD + 1 Tumble + 5 Exp + 2 TWD + 4 Broadblade) = +14 Bonus to your AC, or a 70% increase in evasion.

 

[dagger]

Horrible feat.....

Id rather take Improved Buckler and get a +5 Heavy Fortification Buckler....

 

[Ranger REG]

Horrible feat.....

Id rather take Improved Buckler and get a +5 Heavy Fortification Buckler....

What's with the buckler? It's just a shield wannabe.

 

[axp_dave]

In my opinion, dodge is a better feat. It improves touch ac. something you can never have enuff of. While dodge only effects one target, it is a prereq for many high level feats, while twd is not. dodge stacks with other dodge bonuses though, so magic shield bonuses later on in the game make twd pritty suck. If it comes with the twf tree though, then its really worth it.

The Combat Focus feat from PHB II that gives a +1 dodge bonus that stacks with dodge and allows an instantaneous action to move who your dodge is on is a great feat. TWD may always be on, but the combat focus feats build on each other so if you have 3 of them, they all improve to some degree.

David

 

[mcgeedis]

McGeedis: Rather than look at it like +1 AC, think of it this way...

If you're ever in doubt, fight defensively and you gain (2 + 1 Tumble + 2 TWD) to your AC for the entire round. Rather than say "I am now 5% harder to hit all the time", instead say "When the going gets tough, I can make myself 25% harder to hit."

If you REALLY want to get cheesy, dual wield Broadblade Shortswords (CAdv) and max out your Combat Expertise. This will net you something like (2 FD + 1 Tumble + 5 Exp + 2 TWD + 4 Broadblade) = +14 Bonus to your AC, or a 70% increase in evasion.

Interesting. I haven't thought about this before. Forgive me for going off topic, but, if you are dual wielding, can you still retain the off hand attack if fighting defensively? The rules say you can fight defensively as either a standard or full action.... I'm just thinking that if I were to get these Broadblade Shortswords, Weapon Focus in them, put myself into flanking position, then the +3 to the BAB would help nullify some of the negatives to hit. If my character were able to still have two attacks (albeit at a lower attack bonus) and have a bonus to AC, it might be worth it just to land a Sneak Attack hit.

 

[Darklone]

Certainly you can use your normal attack routines while fighting defensively...

 

[pawsplay]

There is a certain point where getting your AC really high and trying to roll as many dice as possible for those 20s is a viable strategy. I ran a Star Wars game where one Soldier/Elite Trooper would typically kneel behind cover, then bust out with TWF, Rapid Shot, autofire and iterative attacks. He once singlehandedly killed thirty stormtroopers. It took a while.