Shield or Second Weapon?

[Gaius Pecunia]

Which is better? Does shield make a big enough difference? Do I actually do more damage or get more attacks with a second weapon? Does class matter? I have no idea on this one.

[mammawlin]

If you have Double Strike and Second Weapon skills, I would go with the additional weapon every time! I don't like to carry a shield though. Depends on your training. Later, I had to take off the second weapon to wear water gear. Mamamwlin

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mammaw's know all, see all, tell nothing

[adam warlock]

Shield's ok but second weapon's better

[WizardMen]

how do the second weapons actually work? do you attack with 1st and 2nd weapons at the same time?

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[Sazerac]

You get 2 attacks: You attack first with the main weapon and then with th secondary one.

When using Kung Fu, to get a second attack, hold a non-weapon in the 2nd weapon spot (like a shield or Ardibren's Keepsake).

-Saz

[mammawlin]

Like this

Mammawlin

[Matri]

That's a good one

[carg]

As Mammawlin said; to use a second weapon, you need to get the Trait Double Strike from the Warrior or Bushi Guild (both level 3) and then the skill 2nd weapon (also level 3, but only available after the character has Double Strike).
Whether you get a second strike or not depends on the skill level of the second strike, and on the difficulty of the monster.
Whether your second strike hits is dependent on the skill in that weapon (e.g. dagger).

And as Saz said: getting two attacks with Kung-Fu is dependent on if you have a non-weapon in your off hand. You don't need the 2nd weapon skill for that! The types of Kung-Fu attacks appear to be random (whether you strike, kick or so). I've never seen special Kung-Fu attacks performed by characters, like the roundhouse kick that Scoundrels can do.

Shield does not add to armor class, but rather gives an extra chance to prevent being hit by blocking the attack. So you can be missed (AC and dodge trait of pixies), can parry (statistic) or can block an incoming attack (shield). The chance to successfully block depends on your shield skill and the difficulty of the monster. (I believe that when you don't have shield skill, carrying a shield is useless.)

Personally I prefer offense to defense, and therefore I always go for second weapon, especially because the damage of your second attack can also be increased with spells like bloodlust, so as soon as your 2nd weapon skill is high enough, you'll do almost twice the amount of damage!
Another strategy could be to have one character be a shield expert, and make sure the monsters attack that one with the lure spell. (A shield doesn't help against magic attacks though!)

[Gaius Pecunia]

Thanks to all! Especially Carg for his execellent disertation the subject. It was exactly what I was looking for, and certainly up to the quality of commentary of this board.