Belm and Dual Wielding

Foune

So I'm doing a playthrough on my dualwielding blade and I am currently running around with Celestial Fury and Belm, I was wondering when does the usefulness of Belm cease? The extra 1APR weapons seems like a must for all non-warrior dualwielders, but it is still a +2 weapon and there are many weapons that I have picked up that have greater stats minus the 1+APR,

I tried DWing Celestial Fury and Flail of Ages but the loss of my extra APR really hurt, my question, do I have to go around with Belm the entire game or is there a point where I can get another off-hand and be more powerful despite the loss my extra APR?

Jaeldyn

Are you a thief ? If so, once you get UAI, you can get the Scarlet Ninja to, that does the same as Belm but also poisons enemies. Only usable by monks before you get the HLA though

keuunny

He is a blade but they do get UAI anyway

HandofTyr

It's up to you really, but since you're a non-fighter type belm/scarlet ninja-to is probably going to be your best bet. I've heard someone claim that kundane also grants an extra attack, but it's only +2 as well. If the extra attack applied to the weapon of speed (like it probably should) then you might be better off ditching it late game, but as is it's usually best to get one of the top tier and weapons give it that extra hit.

Even with an enemy that's immune to belm it's usually better to hit twice with your best weapon than once with it and once with your second best weapon. Some items have nice effects that may be able to change the balance, but that's all up to what you like to use and your character's stats. For example, the 25 strength from crom faeyr might tip the equation. If you like teh maths you could try to run the numbers for various combinations. Don't forget to include whatever buffs you tend to run with.

[Deleted User]

What @HandofTyr said, Belm/Kundane/SNT are always worthwhile as off hands. Think of it this way: a speed weapon gives you an extra attack with your best one-handed weapon at no penalty. Dual-wielding something else gives you an extra attack with your second-best one-handed weapon at a penalty to hit. The off-hand would have to have some big bonuses to overcome that. In the case of Crom Faeyr, if the STR bonus is that important, you'll probably get the most damage from using it in your main hand with a speed weapon; I don't know if they fixed the description in BG2EE, but in vanilla it had an unlisted +5 electrical damage that makes it one of the more damaging one-handed weapons already.

Foune

Wow! Thanks for the info and advice, it certainly cleared things up for me. I love a high APR so I'll just stick to a speed weapon, even if it is a bit boring to ditch all those nice weapons you loot for an off-hand.