2H vs Dual wield for mag character

hazexm222 · July 2023

I have always loved using 2H sword in every RPG I have ever played, but currently I am playing a Mag Templar DW/Staff and was wondering how big of a disadvantage I would be at if I switch to 2H/staff? I only play PVP casually, and I am not using any weapon skills for DW (except passives of course), I have been trying to play with DW for 20 Hours now, but visually it is not as satisfying to me as playing with 2H.

Necrotech_Master · July 2023

if your not using any of the skills and mostly using it for the visual and passives, then you should probably be ok

i think dual wield technically has a slightly higher dmg potential just from the raw weapons dmg they provide, but its very close, and if your only doing it casually

passive wise there are benefits to using 2h as well, such as the stam sustain if you get a kill, or if you want to include a skill momentum would be a good buff for a magplar since you would have to source major brutality/sorcery for the weapon dmg bonus as well as giving you another burst heal

so i think you should be ok to use whichever one you prefer

El_Borracho · July 2023

For PVE daggers are preferred for the crit they provide. You could go with 2H, especially if you are using the VMA 2H with Critical Charge, which you easily could if you flipped the 2H to the back bar to up your damage

tsaescishoeshiner · July 2023

For PvE DPS, dual wield daggers is generally preferred for the crit chance.

For PvP you can use axes, swords, or maces depending on your build, so 2H is great. I like axes on magplar to stack critical damage. You can even use Forward Momentum for the mobility bonus if you have the stamina sustain for it, so it has that unique benefit over Dual Wield. Or Rally.

Zodiarkslayer · July 2023

It depends...

IF you are mainly SOLOing, then the best dual wield would be dual maces, NOT DAGGERS! In this case you would loose only the Dual Wield Expert passive. Which will result in less Spell Damage if you switch to 2HAND

IF you are mainly pugging dungeons and trials as a Damage Dealer, than Dual Daggers are best. So, in addition to the above, you will loose 1624 crit chance rating.

In both cases you will gain a source for Major Sorcery, better Stamina Sustain via Battle Rush and Momentum, a useful shield ability and two decent DoTs.
How that is useful for a MagPlar is everyone's own decision.
However, you definetly do not need another spammable or execute as MagPlar and at least the Follow Up passive is generally useless in PvE.

I personally want Dual Wield on my SOLO MagPlar, because the entire class is geared towards higher Spell Damage. And Major Sorcery can come from Degeneration, on the backbar or even frontbar. So the disadvantages of not using TwoHanders are quite few, but the value of using Dual Wield is very high, because of a number of synergetic effects.