Nevtar’s 2-Handed Warrior Guide

"The true path that a warrior must take is the one that his heart leads him to."

~Lady Zohee

If you choose to follow the path of a two-handed Warrior, training and statistics are vital. People usually associate two-handed Warriors as 1-Powerhouses and with 2-Low Defense. Hopefully my guide can help you decide how you would like to train your two-hander.

STEP I: Race Selection

For a two-handed Warrior, I would suggest picking one of these races.

Dwarves: Dwarves make a fine choice of a two-handed Warrior because of their strength and special resistance to magic and diseases. Dwarves tend to have a good deal of blood as well, which again, comes in handy. Dwarves have a +10 bonus in strength and discipline, and a +5 in logic. However, they have a –10 in aura and charisma and a –5 in reflex.

Giantmen: Although not usually thought of as geniuses, Giantmen seem to be the most popular choice for Warriors because of their immense strength. They also have a good deal of blood, which can come in handy as a two-hander, who can get hit very hard. Giantmen have a +15 bonus in strength, +10 to constitution, and +5 to charisma. However, they have a –5 in reflex, aura, dexterity, and intelligence.

Half-Elves: Since Half-Elves received the best of both the Elves and the Humans, I personally believe Half-Elves to be the best choice in a two-hander because of their agility and quickness, which can save you from many an untimely death. Half-Elves are able to swing two-handed weapons with a 5 RT (Round Time) at an early level and also have the advantage of a solid defense. Half-Elves have a +10 bonus in reflex and a +5 in dexterity and charisma. However, they have a –5 in discipline.

Halflings: The most underated of all Warriors, Halflings receive a good deal of criticism because of their terrible strength. What people fail to see is the prospect of an incredible ambusher and excellent Voln-Fu because of the agility and quickness that Halflings possess. An incredible advantage to have is the ability to swing a claidhmore while wearing full plate at an early level with a 5 RT. Halflings have a +15 to dexterity, a +10 to reflex, constitution, and intelligence, and a +5 bonus in logic. However, they have a -20 to strength, a –15 in charisma, and a –5 in aura and discipline.

STEP II: Roll Placement

There are three possible ways to place your statistics for a two-handed Warrior, and these are listed from worst to best.

Powerhouse: Although "Powerhouse" may look like a great choice when first starting, there are some major problems later on. This is how the final roll should look early on.

STR-100 CON-90 DIS-85 AUR-85 REF-55 INT-50 LOG-50 DEX-45 WIS-45 CHA-40

This is the problem many people who are first starting in the Lands encounter. The higher in the stats which Warriors need the better, right? Wrong. The high roll in strength leaves no room for growth later on. Why waste it like that when you get a +10 bonus in it anyway? Same with constitution. Reflex and dexterity need to be higher in order to lower RT and raise DS (Defensive Strength). It also might be a good idea to make wisdom higher because of TD (Target Defense). For "Powerhouse" I would suggest a Giantman or a Dwarf and make sure you have plenty of friends to give you defensive spells all the time.

Bookworm: Although "Bookworm" is handy and promises quick absorption of experience, it leaves gaps in other areas. This is how the final roll should look early on.

INT-95 LOG-85 DIS-85 AUR-85 STR-60 WIS-55 REF-50 DEX-45 CON-45 CHA-40

In this case a Warrior can think long-term and advance quickly. The disadvantage would be a very high RT penalty and relatively low DS because of the dexterity and reflex, and remember, these are very important for two-handed Warriors. For "Bookworm" I would suggest a Giantman or Half-Elf.

Warmonger: "Warmonger" is, in my opinion, the ultimate Warrior. It is capable of attaining Legend and surviving with ease. This is how the final roll shoud look early on.

AUR-95 REF-85 DIS-85 DEX-85 STR-65 CON-50 WIS-50 INT-50 LOG-45 CHA-40

With this roll, you have plenty of room for growth while not being at too much of a disadvantage early on in AS (Attack Strength) considering the bonus that Warriors receive while having the advantage of a low RT, a solid DS, and a decent TD. An extra nice side effect is a good deal of TP’s (Training Points) which are essential for a two-handed Warrior. For "Warmonger" I would suggest a Half-Elf.

STEP III: Training

Extra points for a 2-Handed warrior should go in armor or more physical training.

Armor Use: Train in this 2x (two times) per level. This enables you to lower your RT while wearing heavy armor. The advantage in wearing heavier armor is to lower AvD (Attack versus Defense) which is an aspect in a roll against you when a critter attacks.

Shield Use: Train in this 2x per level. I know what you will say next: "But I’m a two-handed Warrior, why do I need to train in shields!?" Brawling, that’s why! And of course, when you’re older it’s a good idea to walk around with a shield out.

Combat Manuevers: Train in this 2x per level. This will increase your AS and DS by +1 every level. It also increases your chance to "crit" a critter, which means that you hit it and either kill it outright or stun it for a while. It also helps a good deal with ambushing and dodging manuever-based attacks.

Two-Handed Weapons Use: Train in this 2x per level. This increases your AS with a two-handed weapon, it’s pretty self-explanatory.

Climbing/Swimming: Train in these both 1x per level. These enable you to climb and swim in certain places in the Lands where you otherwhise couldn’t go and is also a cheap way to get DFRedux (a system that lowers the amount of damage dealt to you when a critter hits you).

Perception: Train in this 1x per level. This skill enables you to aim your ambushes better, forage for herbs successfully, and find some nice treasure off of creatures. You can stop at 20 or 30 trains.

Ambushing: Train in this 1x per level. This skills increases the chance of critting a critter in a certain spot.

Physical Training: Train in this 2x per level. This skills increases HP’s (Health Points) and also the rate in which your health goes up. Although one might think that you should stop once you max out in health, it’s quite amazing getting 20 health per pulse later on when getting hit as a warrior is inevitable.

First Aid: Train in this 1x per level. This skills lowers RT when tending to a wound. It also helps you skin a creature, which is nice later on when the skins are worth some good money.

Brawling: Train in this 2x per level. Even if you don’t join Voln, brawling is a useful alternative to two-handed weapons when you would like some extra defense and take out the old shield.

PART IV: Warrior’s Guild

We two-handers need to work on our Guild skills early on because of our lower defense.

This is the order you should train in, from first to last.

Beserk: The skill Beserk enables you to work yourself into a stage of frenzy, heightening your offensive attacks while lowering your defense. In addition to the AS increase, Beserk enables you to hunt a target down until it dies. For beserk, I suggest getting some massies (mass spells) in TSSW (Town Square South West) and going and fighting in the Darkwoode area for reps (repititions).

Warcry: The skill Warcry enables you to raise you and your group’s AS by certain levels, keeps a target from moving, force a target into offensive, and immensely lowering a target’s DS. A nice extra side effect is the bonus to Voln Fu.

Tackle: The skill Tackle enables you to…well, tackle a target. I’d suggest going to mants or any lower level critter (the popular choice seems to be hill trolls for their heavy armor) where you can still get experience in order to get reps.

Disarm: The skill Disarm enables you to…well, disarm a target. By the time you’re here, you should try going to Harbringers for reps.

Tricks: The skill Tricks enables you to do many nifty tricks such as twirl your weapon, spit at people, polish your weapon, and even cut someone’s hair. A nice addition is the ability to make sheaths.

Bashing: The skills Bashing enables you to break open a box with a heavy weapon. A small advantage for a two-hander is that he doesn’t have to worry like one-handers about lugging around a massive weapon or paying a locker fee for storing one. I’d suggest getting a glaes club from Pyrothags in order to bash, they do the job nicely.

Level 0: Make trips to all the stores in the Town you are born in. Your quickest level.

Level 1-3: Fight rats and kobolds. This is boring but it gives you a taste of things to come.

Level 3-6: Join Voln and fight lesser mummies and greater ghouls.

Voln is a terrific choice for many reasons. Self LK (Life Keep), Symbol of Return, Symbol of Dreams, Voln Fu, Symbol of Need, and the additions to AS and DS. Lesser mummies is a great place to hunt because of the large area and good generation rate.

Level 6-9: Get some brigadine and fight bone golems and firephantoms.

This was quick favor and not many people hunt here. The people in RR (River’s Rest) are great. **

Level 9-13: Fight darkwoodes, werebears, and skeletal giants. I loved hunting here, it was nice and easy.

Level 13-15: Get some hauberk and use Voln Fu in ghoul masters. Not great, but kind of fun using that old spin kick.

Level 15-20: Get some decent armor and weapon for yourself and fight zombies.

Although zombies have terrible treasure, they have a decent generation rate and if you like power-hunting there is a node in Potter’s Field.

Level 20+: By this time you must have an idea of what to do. Feel free to broaden your horizons, because there are so many paths and options that one can follow in the Lands.

** RR is where I met my Master, Lord Veyion.

Part VI: Life in the Lands

I’m not some grumpy old Legend that deems it necessary to teach every youngster what he or she is doing wrong, but there are some things that you should take into account before you go and waggle your tongue about anything.

Just a few basic rules on etiquitte. Please don’t yell, pick up items that don’t belong to you, scroll (repeat a command over and over), poach (attack critters that don’t belong to you), and best of all please tip any person that helps you out with something, whether it be locksmithing, healing, rezzing, or even just spelling you up unless they ask otherwise.

Author’s Note: For all the two-handed Warriors out there, please enjoy my guide. I wrote it because I know how difficult it is for us to decide which path to take in training and just life in the Lands in general. If you see me around, feel free to comment on my guide (whispering of course), or if you would like to do it more quickly, please e-mail me at Sperk65417@aol.com. Thanks.

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