2H or DW for leveling?

[Kyzonu]

i'm still at a very low level (13) and i'm wondering if there's a significant difference between playin with DW or 2H weapons. from what i've noticed the human skills are stronger with DW and the bear skills are stronger with 2H, but for now i mostly stay in human form since i find it more fun

main questions are:

1 - does the human form damage hold up well at mid-high levels or will i have to mostly use the bear?
2 - is there a significant difference in damage between 2H and DW in either form?
3 - since i plan on soloing - some - group quests, is it better to just keep a 2H so i can switch to Blue line?

[Laubgaenger]

The Damage in the Bearform depends on you Mainhand. If you use the 2-Handed Weapon it will be much stronger.

Some use 2x Onehanded for the Offhand stats. This can be good, if you focus strong on Healing.

I would go for 2 Handed, as i do. Even if you are a Healsupport, you can also Support some Damage in Addition.
There are many ways to increase Outgoing Heal, but few that increase Basedamage :-)
If you go for Blue then is an other option to use 2x Onehanded for the Vitality increasement.

Red is you damage line,
Yellow is you healing tree and
Blue is for Tanking.

The Bear form Switchting is a part of the rotation, you build up Rage and then you consume Rage with strong Attacks or Heals or the Combination of both.

[Arabani]

The difference between weapons won't matter in a week. Because, from the BR patchnotes for the expansion, -"Skill & Effect Damage between Dual Wielding and 2H weapons is now much more similar for all skills."

As a healer I definitely prefer two weapons stats wise, but I do not like them aesthetic wise

[Whohaz_Duhrang]

Look At It Like This., If You Have Skills That Are More So AoE Rather Than Single Target., Itd Be Better To Have The 2h., As You’ll Less Likely Auto Attack While Fighting Groups Of Enemies., Therefore The Most DPS Per Attack / Skill Would Be Best To Clear Them

If Your More So A Single Target Fighter, Than The Dual Wield May Be Better For You., As You’ll Get Another Weapon With Stats., And If Your Mixing Auto Attacks In There., Each Weapon Type Has It’s Own Benefits When Attacking A Target (reduce armor , parry, slow movement etc) Which Will Be Proc’d On The Attack

This Of Course Should Be Considered Only When The Weapons (1h or 2h) Are Near The Same In Strength., If Nay., Choose The Strongest (it’ll be evident when you discern between them)

[Kyzonu]

The difference between weapons won't matter in a week. Because, from the BR patchnotes for the expansion, -"Skill & Effect Damage between Dual Wielding and 2H weapons is now much more similar for all skills."

great to know. is there a place where i can see more of the patch notes?

[Arabani]

In Bullroarer section of the forum.

[Symbeorn]

So now that we've had time to test, how's DW performing vs. 2h since the update?

[grizzly375]

So now that we've had time to test, how's DW performing vs. 2h since the update?

Yes, someone good at math please tell me if I should strip the legacies off my 2H axe and grab a one-hand axe. Running red line.

Thanks!

[Spent]

Yes, someone good at math please tell me if I should strip the legacies off my 2H axe and grab a one-hand axe. Running red line.

Thanks!

Have any of the number cruchers had a chance to look at this yet? I'd be interested to see if 1-H is viable after the patch.

[Antophant]

The changes to dual wield buffed most Bear Form dmg skills , Nature's Vengeance , all bleeds and Bee Swarm but slightly nerfed Slash , Slam, Biting Edge and Vicious Claws.
Relentless Maul was left unchanged likely due to how buggy of a skill it already is.

When I was parsing I was getting around 95% of 2hander single target DPS but add 1-2 more mobs and 2hander would widen the gap with a stronger Relentless Maul.

For leveling up dual wield is fine but for raiding 2hander still has the edge.

[Spent]

The changes to dual wield buffed most Bear Form dmg skills , Nature's Vengeance , all bleeds and Bee Swarm but slightly nerfed Slash , Slam, Biting Edge and Vicious Claws.
Relentless Maul was left unchanged likely due to how buggy of a skill it already is.

When I was parsing I was getting around 95% of 2hander single target DPS but add 1-2 more mobs and 2hander would widen the gap with a stronger Relentless Maul.

For leveling up dual wield is fine but for raiding 2hander still has the edge.

Thanks Ant! Thought as much but appreciate the number crunching.

[Harc]

Well considering the question was for leveling, go with whatever you have. Even after legendaries, sometimes you'll find an off-hand weapon with higher damage than your legendary since the legendary is only updated every 5 levels.

I took two legendaries, put the exact same traceries on both, and tested them to see which one would have higher DPS. I parsed higher numbers on training dummies for dual-wielding than 2-handers when I had a good off-hand. But I suppose the main point would be that they are now both so similar, you can go with what you like.