A shield or a two-handed weapon?

[Thophis]

How good is the shield in this game? Which is better, a shield or a two-handed weapon?

[Tesseract]

One isn't really "better" overall than the other. A shield gives you a higher AC, while a 2h weapon does more damage. If you're looking to optimise that choice, it depends on what enemies you're going to be fighting. If you're already very hard for them to hit, adding a shield will just slow you down. But if not, it could save you.

[Nobody]

I, in general, prefer a shield because after you start adding damage bonuses (divine favour, divine might, flaming weapon, weapon specialization, etc etc the difference between 2-16 vs 1-8 just isn’t all that much. But this presumes your character will have access to these buffs and that you don’t mind spending time buffing before tough fights.

However if you’re planning on playing a super high strength Paladin or fighter or others (f.ex Paladin 7/sorc 1/red dragon 10) then two handed weapons are very attractive because you get more damage out of your strength.

Look here, it includes the actual weapons you might encounter: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/pc/188666-neverwinter-nights/faqs/45996

Bottom line for the above link: the more strength you have the better 2h are, the more static damage buffs you have the better something like a scimitar will be.

[Thophis]

I'm planning a thief/warrior, with a strength of 25. I will shoot arrows behind the mercenaries and if the battle is difficult, then help with melee weapons. I'm attracted to the halberd, but I'm new, so maybe there's something better. Or is it still a shield...?

[Nobody]

Thief gets most of his damage from sneak attack. This damage isn’t increased by a two-handed weapon, but it is increased by a critical hit. As such I’d look into a scimitar.

[Thophis]

The thief is needed mainly for skills.

[Thophis]

The scimitar is not bad, but if the enemy is immune to critical strikes, then its use is much less. I would like to be more versatile. For me, it's either a warhammer or something two-handed with stable damage that does not rely on critical strikes.

[Tesseract]

Of course there's nothing stopping you from carrying both and swapping as the situation demands, especially with a high strength.

Note that archery does not benefit much from a high strength. It can benefit a bit if your bow has the Mighty property, but the cap on that is usually not very high.

[Thophis]

I agree about shooting, but I want to take a devastating critical for two weapons. For a halberd and a bow, for example. Plus, I think that there will be at least +5 mighty on the bow. With warrior specialization, it's +6 more.

[grognardgary]

Originally posted by Thophis:

The thief is needed mainly for skills.

Well that and disarming traps without killing himself. And opening those irritating chests you can't just bash open. I've played fighter thieves a lot. It is amazing how much more survivable, a fighter is with evasion. One should also note that a lot of enemies are immune to criticals

[grognardgary]

By the way the only place i've seen bows with as high as plus five or six is HOTU 2nd chapter and you have to pay the smith to build it for you other wise mighty tops out at three

[Shia Luck]

There is no spoon...
Sowwy,
There is no better.

There is only different builds and playstyles. You can make either work . Just choose whichever you feel like playing most, and choose companions to fit if you are playing OC, SoU, HoTU etc.

Dev Crit is seriously easy/broken style, but it is your character so do as you wish, no? I think it might become boring for you after a while tho.

Don't forget you can invest in UMD whenever you take a rogue level so you can use flame weapon/darkfire scrolls on your weapon which makes up for sneak attacks being lost against undead etc. Aka use INT 14 at least if you want to use skills. It makes the game far more tactical if you can sneak around or use items from other classes.

Have fun :)

[Shiroi Ren]

If you go for DevCrit - Shield and Rapier is better.

[Thophis]

Strength is needed in any case, so why not take a devastating critical hit. As a warrior, I can afford it, but this is not a goal, but just a nice bonus.
The rapier is good, but if there is no serious objection that the shield is better, then in my opinion, a two-handed sword is better. He is the best against those who are immune to critical hits.
As for the bow, it is more needed for comfort, so that I don't have to run and beat each monster individually. Only against serious monsters I go myself, so let the mercenaries crowd in the first rows.
By the way, I have an intelligence of 16, it's a pity not in real life. :)

[Shiroi Ren]

If you're fighter... I suggest double rapier. More damage output than Great Sword.

[Thophis]

Well, yes, I thought about it, but then I need 3 more feats, and I can't afford it. Also dexterity 15.
My stats:
str 14
dex 14
con 14
int 16
wis 8
cha 10