Why use versatile weapons 2-handed?

[Detective Costeau]

I realize this is more a general 5th ed question than a BG3 one, but I'm still curious. I do realize that these weapons do more damage when used that way, but they're still just worse than using an actual greatsword or what have you.
So, unless you literally don't have access to a greatsword, what's the point of using a longsword in 2 hands?

[brellom]

Maybe you don't have proficiency in heavy weapons or just think longswords are cool.

[Detective Costeau]

Outside of weird edge cases like a high elf wizard using a longsword or something though, doesn't every class that gets proficiency with longswords, battleaxes and warhammers also get proficiency with greatswords, greataxes and mauls?

[Recjawjind]

You might only have proficiency with the specific weapon instead of martial weapons as a whole
You might want to occasionally use a shield, but not always
You might be a small race that cant use heavy weapons effectively

Those are the 3 circumstances where I'd understand using a longsword 2h

Without taking magic items into account, you lose 1 average damage for 2 ac, which is a -10% chance to get hit effectively, so shields are *really good*

[Foolswalkin]

1. You're small, and heavy weapons impose disadvantage.
2. You're a monk, and want to use martial arts (no two handed or heavy property)
3. You're playing tabletop which requires you to have a free hand to cast spells and your DM has a specific interpretation of the two handed weapon rules.

[Pan Darius Cassandra]

Originally posted by Detective Costeau:

Outside of weird edge cases like a high elf wizard using a longsword or something though, doesn't every class that gets proficiency with longswords, battleaxes and warhammers also get proficiency with greatswords, greataxes and mauls?

Also sometimes you just find a great magical longsword you'd rather wield 2-hd instead.

[Recjawjind]

Originally posted by Detective Costeau:

Outside of weird edge cases like a high elf wizard using a longsword or something though, doesn't every class that gets proficiency with longswords, battleaxes and warhammers also get proficiency with greatswords, greataxes and mauls?

Bard and rogue get prof with longswords but not all martial weapons, and not the big bois

[Yojo0o]

It's a corner case situation, you ordinarily won't do it. A few cases that have come up for me in the past in 5e, which may or may not be applicable to BG3:

-Monk using a versatile weapon two-handed, then delivering unarmed flurry of blows while holding it one-handed.

-Hexblade Warlock who wants to wield a two-handed weapon at level 1-2, before they make effective use of heavy weapons.

-Small races who can't use heavy weapons.

-Prison break, otherwise unarmed and unarmored, picked up a longsword with no other options and no shield.

-Powerful versatile magic weapon is better than non-magical heavy weapon.

-Shield broke.

-Proficient in versatile weapons, but neither shields nor heavy weapons, and didn't want to dual-wield.

[Bisexual Offender]

Halfling