Two-Handed swords

Baxyratty

there are some really good ones you can find in BG2 but they seem lacking in BG1, which is very disappointing to my Paladin playthrough. i know about the cursed sword, but are there any other good ones you can find?

Delvarian

The one in the spider area of cloak wood is pretty good. +2 and I think more against spiders or something.

jamesker

Sword of Spider's Bane is good ^ but doesn't give you bonus vs Spiders but does give you free action which in BG1 is invaluable , however watch out using this sword with boots of speed as the two cancel each other out, their is a +3 two handed sword in Durlags towers fairly early on when entering the tower which is really the best your gonna get, however seeing as the best longsword only goes up to +2 and many other weapons can only reach as good as +1, a +3 two handed sword really isn't that bad for the first game . Other than that it is really slim pickings in BG for two handed swords.

sarevok57

actually the two handed sword +3 is an amazing item for bg1, it is the most damaging weapon in the game ( minus the staff of striking but who uses that weapon for a melee character who is constantly combating baddies), you can get critical hits over 50 damage with that thing, you can even do that with spider's bane+2, plus the haste spell stacks with spider's bane, most nifty.......

sarevok57

plus there is a two handed sword +1 that you can get very early in the game, one of my favourite weapons actually, infact it was the first magical weapon I ever used when I started playing this series back in 98

Jarrakul

Two-handed swords are great in BG1. Spider's Bane is the best example, as it's +2 and is found before the halfway point in most games. The World's Edge +3 is also amazing, but it found towards the end of Durlag's Tower, so you won't be using it for as much of the game.

Also worth noting, in my current playthrough Spider's Bane isn't interfering with boots of speed. Anyone know if this is typical? I know other free action interferes with the boots, and had assumed Spider's Bane would as well, but is has not done so. If this is typical, and not a bug, then Spider's Bane is an even better weapon than I thought it was.

Lord_Tansheron

Free Action is wonky to say the least. There's several ways of stacking items/buffs to that they work or don't work, and iirc FA itself sometimes works differently depending on where it comes from (potion, spell, item).

Schneidend

The +1 two-hander south of the Carnival is all you really need for most of the game.

XerxesV

Isn't the gold eating sword two handed? I don't think it's cursed either, but you'd need to be rich or poor to use it for long. Fun item. Wear golden durlag armor, helm of glory, and that sword (plus golden pantaloons) and go hob-nob with the nobles.

kansasbarbarian

Spiderbane is an awesome sword. Free action is the key.

terzaerian

I just finished Durlag's Tower with a barb with Spider's Bane and a fighter with an FA ring, and let me tell you, dealing with the Greater Ghouls was far easier this time around than ever before.

revaar

XerxesV said:

Isn't the gold eating sword two handed? I don't think it's cursed either, but you'd need to be rich or poor to use it for long. Fun item. Wear golden durlag armor, helm of glory, and that sword (plus golden pantaloons) and go hob-nob with the nobles.

The Gold Digger is actually a fantastic late game weapon for when you have more money than you know what to do with. A +4 weapon that only takes 10 gp per hit (or swing, in late game there may not be much difference, especially with a +4 bonus)

And it is indeed not actually cursed, so you can switch back to the Spider's Bane when you need the free action!

ZanathKariashi

I dunno, the berserking sword is actually quite nice. Requires a bit more care to use well, but is a free, +3 2hder, that can be acquired with little trouble almost immediately, and includes a nice little damage bump and immunity to a few effects while in combat. Easily stronger then even the World's Edge, and a bit closer in damage to SoS (hit's about 15 max, just like the SoS striking does, though SoS does 4 more minimum)

Dragonfolk2000

What people tend to forget is that BG is supposed to be a low powered game. The xp cap isn't there because game Devs don't like us but to give the game more challenge. I only remove the xp cap because I know that if I ever go over it it isn't by much. Likewise, high powered weapons aren't common to help make the game a little more difficult. The only problem with this is that there seems to be (at most) only 1 +1 weapon of each kind in the game and in some cases these weapons are hard to get (even the only +1 ones). This forces players to either not use magic weapons or metagame just enough to know what weapons they can expect.

SharGuidesMyHand

Jarrakul said:

Also worth noting, in my current playthrough Spider's Bane isn't interfering with boots of speed. Anyone know if this is typical? I know other free action interferes with the boots, and had assumed Spider's Bane would as well, but is has not done so. If this is typical, and not a bug, then Spider's Bane is an even better weapon than I thought it was.

My (admittedly fuzzy) memory of original BG1 was that Spider's Bane did NOT interfere with boots of speed. However, there was another FA item (a ring?) that did.

Cherudek

Spider's Bane does not interfere with haste. It's in the item description that it only prevents harmful effects.

Gallowglass

@Cheraduk: yes, I was just about to say that but you beat me to it. Spider's Bane has a special type of Free Action, and explicitly says so in its description.

@Dragonfolk2000: there are numerous +1 weapons of some types - the game is flooded with +1 longswords and shortswords and daggers and warhammers. Other +1 weapons are less common, but usually there's more than one available if you search thoroughly. However, yes, there are a few weapon types where there's only a single +1 instance available ... katana, wakizashi and ninja-to come to mind, I think there's only one +1 of each of those (and none more than +1) ... but these are deliberately intended to be rare weapon-types in the Sword Coast region because they come from the far side of Faerun.

Kaltzor

I think Spider's Bane is the best 2h sword in BG1...

+2 and Free Action are both not too bad.

Though there is a non-special +3 In Durlags Tower.

Pretty much every other +3 weapon in BG1 is either Cursed or on Drizzt

ThacoBell

sarevok57 said:

plus there is a two handed sword +1 that you can get very early in the game, one of my favourite weapons actually, infact it was the first magical weapon I ever used when I started playing this series back in 98

Wait, there is? Not sure if I've ever found that one.

ghostowl

is there a mod which allows a high str user to dual wield 2 handed swords?

Durenas

ghostowl said:

is there a mod which allows a high str user to dual wield 2 handed swords?

Lilarcor approves.

Wilbur

ghostowl said:

is there a mod which allows a high str user to dual wield 2 handed swords?

That would be cool!

sarevok57

@thedamages there is a half-ogre who wields it, and he wants to steal your iron because his breaks like elf bones and makes him a laughing stock in his clan

go two areas south of beregost then one area east, and he will be there approximately near the middle on the left hand side of the map

Lateralus

Baxyratty said:

there are some really good ones you can find in BG2 but they seem lacking in BG1, which is very disappointing to my Paladin playthrough. i know about the cursed sword, but are there any other good ones you can find?

A Paladin? Kill Dorn and take his.

ThacoBell

@sarevok57 huh, I wonder how missed that all these years. Always something new to learn about this series. Thanks for the info.

terzaerian

sarevok57 said:

@thedamages there is a half-ogre who wields it, and he wants to steal your iron because his breaks like elf bones and makes him a laughing stock in his clan

go two areas south of beregost then one area east, and he will be there approximately near the middle on the left hand side of the map

He's not wielding a two-hander with one hand so much as they didn't bother to make two-handed sword attack animations for half-ogres

Kaltzor

Amberion said:

ghostowl said:

is there a mod which allows a high str user to dual wield 2 handed swords?

Lilarcor approves.

Only if you Dual Wield Lilarcor, even if there is only one of him.

Durenas

Kaltzor said:

Amberion said:

ghostowl said:

is there a mod which allows a high str user to dual wield 2 handed swords?

Lilarcor approves.

Only if you Dual Wield Lilarcor, even if there is only one of him.

Details! Lilarcor is so great he can be in both hands at the same time!

Durenas

Lateralus said:

Baxyratty said:

there are some really good ones you can find in BG2 but they seem lacking in BG1, which is very disappointing to my Paladin playthrough. i know about the cursed sword, but are there any other good ones you can find?

A Paladin? Kill Dorn and take his.

Rancor cannot be wielded by good characters.