One handed Warriors...left hand: Magic or Block?

[isamu99]

Hey guys....for those of you who are specializing in one handed combat. What do you normally place in your left hand? Is it better to focus on leveling up your Block skill or your Magic/Restoration/Destruction skills? I'm conflicted as to what I should level up more for my Redguard, which is mostly handed. Restoration seems to be OK most of the time for keeping me alive, but I can't help but think there's some HUGE advantages for blocking skills as well.

[InuyashaFE]

Switch between them as you need them if you can't decide, I just dual-wield myself and put a restoration spell in my left as I need it.

[Tarm]

I normally have a ranged spell in one of my hands and a one handed weapon in the other because then I don't have to shift weapons or spells in a fight. Blast them with ranged magic and if they get close hit them with your weapon. It's certainly not optimal but it's something to try if shifting said things during a battle irritates you.

 

Or you can think in terms of themes. For instance my new character play with a one handed weapon, shield, light armour and a bow. That makes battles more involving and fun than the usual fast ones with a two handed weapon.

Edited November 18, 2011 by Tarm

[darkjedi73200]

Hey guys....for those of you who are specializing in one handed combat. What do you normally place in your left hand? Is it better to focus on leveling up your Block skill or your Magic/Restoration/Destruction skills? I'm conflicted as to what I should level up more for my Redguard, which is mostly handed. Restoration seems to be OK most of the time for keeping me alive, but I can't help but think there's some HUGE advantages for blocking skills as well.

 

This is all just my opinion so take it with a grain of salt.

 

For a nice Synergy with your 1 Handed skill I would say use the following based on the situation at hand.

 

Healing Spells.

 

UP-SIDE: The clear and obvious perk here is that you can toss yourself ( and your companion ) heals while in the thick of it. I can't tell you how many times being able to heal my companion while fighting off another enemy has paid off. If you go a spec a couple perk points into the Healing tree you will also notice that there is a perk for Increase to Mana Regen, as well as a perk that lets you regen STAMINA along with Health when you heal. this is a massive perk for Fighters since they consume Stamina for Special attacks.

 

DOWNSIDE: Since you are not a Caster Focus character you will run into OOM ( Out of Mana ) moments due to the fact you wont have a large Mana pool / along with poor mana regen ( plus your Spell Cost / Effect wont be as great ) This is why you want to take the MANA REGEN perk in the HEALING Tree.

 

Destruction Spells.

 

UP-SIDE: It is nice to have a quick Lightning blast at hand for instant DPS on a ranged target.( Arrows tend to drop off and are slow to get to their target ) The perk of Fire is that quite often you can ignite your surroundings lighting multiple NPCs on fire ( This combined with the fact that doing fire dmg to a target that is already on fire causes more dmg with your Fire Destro spells.)

 

DOWNSIDE: Again with Healing spells you will run into OOM moments Also with not enough practice in the Destro school you will find your magic skills just don't do the dmg you need for constant dps. You will in turn resort back to physical attacks. This is why you want to use these spells for certain moments in combat rather then as your secondary attack.

 

Block.

 

UP-SIDE: The ability to back yourself into a hallway and hold the line is quite nice. Knowing when to shield bash your target away and combo with a special is the key here. Shield bash the target then while they are stunned quick swap to a double 1h setup and lunge in for the special attack. Then quick swap back into shield .

 

DOWNSIDE: There will be some micro management with going from shield to double 1h, but if you get a rhythm down it becomes second nature.

 

 

Overall I would say that walking around with your Sword and Board will be your main spec. While in combat I would judge what you are fighting and determine if you can parry dodge the target ( no need for shield then ) or if it is a target that you want to keep a distance from and peck at with Range spells. Or the ever so wild and fun 1h Healing 1h Sword circle strafe fighting.

 

You need to make the choice that best suits YOUR PLAYING STYLE. The joy of these games is that there really isn't a right and wrong way to go about building your spec. If you are having fun, then you are doing it right is what I say.

 

Hope this helps a little. :D

[bilarion]

If you're playing on master difficulty you're gonna DEFINITELY prefer the shield over the spells. When on low health, shield bash them/stagger them, go back and quickly use a restoration spell, unless you have potions of course. In master difficulty, shield bashing is, if not the most, one of the most important skills. That's my playstyle. Hope it helps. Edited November 18, 2011 by bilarion

[Killophile]

That's why you just have to use the God-mode, nah, just messin' around that only ruins all the fun.

I rather use the Shield as I love bashing my enemies and then screwing them up.

[Killophile]

That's why you just have to use the God-mode, nah, just messin' around that only ruins all the fun.

I rather use the Shield as I love bashing my enemies and then screwing them up.

[isamu99]

Awesome thanks guys. I will certainly keep those pointers in mind. I'll probably lean more towards shield/blocking over magic, but we'll see.

[DyingAtheist]

I use a 1h/shield and then swap to dual magic when necessary. Works well. :)

[isamu99]

Man, the D-pad hotkey function in this game is sooooooooooo confusing!!!! One minute left swaps to one weapon, the next minute it swaps to another, and ditto to the right!! Argh