Two-Handed Weapons

[BadKnight]

Hey!

The question I have posed for today:

How do you use a Two-handed weapon without taking a beating? (A ton of damage!)

[Toros]

The best technique for a two hander to deal damage without taking it is to always be flanking, and avoid attacks of oppurtunity.

If you let someone with better AC engage first, and then shift click near the enemy you wish to attack, get within melee range, and then click the enemy, you will avoid triggering AoO's while running in.

This becomes unnecessary if you have the spring attack feat.

Apart from that, breaking line of sight vs archers, having decent AC, improved expertise, and asking allies for defensive buffs (particularly stoneskin) will greatly improve your durability.

You might be better off switching to a shield if you're going to be the one being attacked by several enemies, so you take less damage as your allies clean up.

[Ponyrealms]

Barnabis wields a maul, he calls it Bolgamor, it's a two handed hammer. Quite effective at... well... mauling things!

In any case, he uses Improved Expertise and has 25 AC with it and a set of full plate he found on one adventure. I change the value of the Expertise depending on the AB of the monsters, call me a cheater! But anyhow, he usually does pretty well and most often is the up in the front-line 'tank' of the group.

You should be, as I am, fully aware that in such low levels and a server setting that is as low magic as TER, two handed combat is most inferior to using a shield. Usually the benefits of two handers come from a greater bonus from Power Attack, with which comes a great deal of damage. It just isn't as viable here. Due to the monsters' attack bonus and hit points.

To me it's basically a trade off between great looks and great numbers.

Though I would like to think he does well enough, my character is level 3, so I don't know if he'll shine much in the higher levels, should he reach them.

[Toros]

Pony, 25 ac and a two hander will generally be sufficient for anything less scary than a troll, but a lot of the most dangerous creature will have +10 or more to their AB, and hit like a truck.

The highest I've seen was +23 AB, and a total attack roll of 44.

After a certain point, you are going to have to rely on buffs for AC and the bigger issue comes from elemental damage, or abilities that target your saves.

I think that your PC will be alright due to his versatility. His damage while flanking will be very good, but he will not just melt if he gets focused.

Where you could get into trouble is with fear, poison, disease, and mind affecting spells.

[Loreweaver]

Two-handed weapons deal some of the highest damage in the game, which means enemies have fewer rounds in which to attack you before they die. That compensates, in part, for increased squishiness compared to a shield user.
Flanking is certainly ideal, because it plays to your defensive ally's strengths and minimizes your defensive weaknesses, so you can do what you do best without worry. That does depend on your ability to find a suitable ally. You might, after some levels, recruit a henchman tough enough to absorb a healthy chunk of the damage for you but in practice it's better to base your strategy on the party's actual abilities rather than trying to force the same method every time.
The next best thing to flanking would be to minimize the number of enemies you fight at once. You can only kill them one by one, and so each enemy after the first is getting attacks in without paying the price for it. Careful positioning helps a lot here, as does having the room to fall back if you threaten to get swamped.
No doubt you'll still get hit for plenty of damage over the course of an adventure, so try to find the most economical form of healing and don't hesitate to demand a greater share of an adventure's profits if you're expected to act like the defensive character you're not. You need to be in melee range to swing your weapon, of course, but that doesn't mean you also have to block all comers.