2H Warrior sucks so far...

[Kabamaru]

So I did some research and it seems the general consensus for a 2H Warrior is an emphasis on Strength and Will. People say don't spend much on Constitution or Dexterity. The thing is now he can't take too many hits, he doesn't hold a shield and has low Dexterity. What am I missing here?

I'm pretty early in the game. I sent the fire signal from the tower, picked up the daughter of that witch and just arrived at a small village. There was a small group of bandits there asking for a "toll". We fought and my group was pretty easily murked, twice.

I've read that it's best for the first levels at least to give +2 to Str and +1 to Will when leveling up. But he gets so easily killed when he's being attacked by multiple enemies and I wonder if should start over and take a different approach?

[Sogreth]

Str and Dex both give you the same accuracy per point (Attack Rating), so pumping more into Str will be better then anything in Dex.

The Will is good, since MOST of your damage will come from ability uses, rather then basic attacks (skills like Sunder Armor and Sunder Arms are underrated. They debuff, and they hit twice).

If you're pulling too much aggro, make sure your tank has the proper set-up to pull as many enemies off of you, and on to him instead. If you still feel like you're taking too much damage, feel free to put some extra points into Con, but honestly, don't go passed 20 by end game. I had a DW Rogue in Light Armor with only 20 Con, and he was doing fine. Only times he really died was when he was being focused by 2 mages.

You can also move up to Medium, or even Heavy armor if you want to. He will have the Str to use it. Just mind the fatigue.

I would also suggest not using Powerful Swings until a bit later. It lowers your Attack rating, and Defense Rating and you'll be missing a lot early on, and getting hit a bit more often.

My very first playthrough was a 2-hander, I played him all through Awakenings too. It was rough at times. But still pretty fun. Just need to pay attention to your positioning, and try not to dive right into the fight, allow your tank to grab a few enemies.

EDIT: Also, if you're having troubles with that bandit fight, focus on the Bandit Leader. Once he is down, the fight ends.

[Kabamaru]

Thank you for your reply, Sogreth.

Dexterity determines your defense score too, not just your hitting accuracy though. As for my tank, honestly, I'm kind of playing it myself. My other party members are a sword & shield warrior who dies even more easily than me, the girl (some kind of mage?) and a dog. We're a sad party of losers.

[Sogreth]

Originally posted by Kabamaru:

Dexterity determines your defense score too, not just your hitting accuracy though

Yes! I misread what you typed the first time, I thought you said you couldn't hit, instead of getting hit, my bad! But this early on, the extra Dex from those few levels aren't going to give you too much in terms of evasion.

Lothering is a good town, as you can potentionally get 2 more party members, it's just dealing with these pesky bandits.

Your sword and shield guy (Alistair), he will seem fairly weak for the first few levels. Once he can use some Heavy/Massive armor, you will really see the difference in survivability.

Also, I forgot to mention, it might be a good idea to switch the difficulty down to Easy just for this fight. I believe your mage (Morrigan) starts with an ability called Flame Blast, which can cause Friendly Fire damage, so if you're not careful, she may hit allies with it. Easy difficulty turns FF off. But again, if the four of you can focus your efforts on the Bandit Leader (his name will be in yellow, instead of white) the battle will end.

[Xerica]

dual wield warrior = super fun

[Kabamaru]

@Sogreth
So basically I should stick with it and Alistair will eventually become a decent tank. I'm still unsure if I've taken the correct path with my character. This is a video from the collector's edition about how to build a warrior (sword+shield or 2h). He basically says: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution. He doesn't even mention Will:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czVtyQHeF44

[Sogreth]

Originally posted by Kabamaru:

@Sogreth
So basically I should stick with it and Alistair will eventually become a decent tank. I'm still unsure if I've taken the correct path with my character. This is a video from the collector's edition about how to build a warrior (sword+shield or 2h). He basically says: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution. He doesn't even mention Will:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czVtyQHeF44

It's weird that they wouldn't mention Will. When Sten and Oghren (both by default 2-handers) are on Auto-Level, they always end up with a lot of Will. I think when he says that, he was referring to sword/shield warriors, as they need a minimum of 26 dex to get all of their skills.

But you will need very high Strength for a 2-hander, to use Tier 7 weapons you need 38 strength, and to get the last skill for 2-handed, you need 40 strength. And if you plan to use this character for Awakenings, those requirements go much higher. 46 for weapon, and 54 for skills. There is also a part in the game where the main character can gain a total of 21 free stat points (that's 7 levels of stat points). 4 Str, 4 Dex, 2 Magic, 4 Will, 5 Cunning and 2 Constitution.

And if you want to put some extra points into other stats like Dex or Con, then feel free to. I would just suggest not going over 20. At least with dex. There are other ways to get Defense Rating. Like from Rally, a Champion skill that gives +10 Attack and Defense to all party members. And buffing isn't the only way either, you can look into debuffs too. Lowering an enemy's Attack Rating is just as helpful as raising your own Defense Rating. Or CCing them completely so they aren't doing anything (Like with Pommel Strike, Shield Bash or Winter's Grasp).

[Kabamaru]

Thank you, Sogreth, this is all useful info.