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[Badargo]

Two hand weapons and dual wield wont defend against many attacks and I dont mean just the dragon breath, I am talking about bites, punches, kicks, tails...

A dual wield fighter that has the same number of attacks a single wielder has is just plain stupid (in my opinion which may be wrong and ignorant, who knows?).

A fighter wielding a two hand wont get in dmg what he is sacrificing in defense (and this is my opinion again).

But since both styles are way cooler, Im here to ask the question:

Considering everything, are shields "mandatory"?

[StagnantSoul]

If you want to survive, yes. You can also wield eight shields and two swords at once.

[Nahere]

You should be able to interrupt natural attacks with a quick strike, or you could just learn to dodge. I tend to play characters with no weapons or one weapon and an empty hand, and it works pretty well against things that don't spit fire.

[GoblinCookie]

Yes. 

[BadCompany141]

there is no doubt that shields are mandatory, especially if your the bunch who don't immediately level up skills to legendary. your going to get disabled in one shot by someone "talented" and above without a shield. however you can work around the two handed weapons issue if you keep randomizing a human character on character creation until you get "large and muscular", which will sometimes be just about as big as a troll or even bigger but definitely larger than the average human and the largest dwarf, thus being able to use pikes/halberds with one hand without consequence. you can get the size information from dwarf portrait in the packaged version of the game if your running around with dfhack

[Cathar]

Unfortunately they are. At least until you are legendary dodger, and even then, dodge will not protect you against dragonfire like shield will. Of course you can make a viable dual wielder or two hander, but you're making an adventurer for the first time, don't go on hard mode directly.

[Toxicshadow]

As said above, in some cases yes.

But I would like to say dodging is underrated get your shield user to a moderate level and then go for legendary dodger (if you're the type that grinds adventurer characters). Dodging before shield/armor means those two get better, slower. honestly being good at dodging will improve your overall survivability quite considerably, so if you had to pick between decent dodging and high shield/armor user, or vice versa, I'd say go with high dodging. Why let them hit you at all?

[vjmdhzgr]

No? What the heck is everybody saying yes for? It's like they've never played adventurer mode. Just the other day I was playing an adventurer with proficient in their weapon and novice shield user and almost every time I got attacked it was automatically blocked with my weapon. If I was carrying two weapons it could double the blocking rate. Shields aren't necessary at all. They are necessary to block fire attacks though, and arrows are very difficult to block with a weapon, but even then it's possible. Wielding two weapons in Dwarf Fortress is a bit like using two weapons in real life. One of the weapons is mainly for defense, but you can still attack with it better than you can with a shield. Sometimes it can be a better defensive decision to not take a shield, if you put all your starting points into weapons, then you should be decent at blocking with that type of weapon, and if you hold two at once then you're even better, where as you'd need some skill to get better at using a shield. And I think blocking with a weapon will increase your weapon skill, which is more useful than raising your shield skill.

Though in my experience yes two handed weapons feel kind of pointless. It's just hard to tell when the exact mechanics of combat are so far away from our sights. Did the two-handed sword help me chop off their arm or was it random chance combined with their low skill and my high strength? You can never really be sure. It's not like you just can't use them though. If you want to use a two handed weapon then go ahead and do it. It should be fine.

[George_Chickens]

vjmdhzgr is totally correct. Shields are not mandatory, they are mostly used as a crutch. I usually put my points in dodging and armour use, and then go for a dual wield, which gives me the ability to immediately counter strike if my arm is disabled. As a matter of fact, that style of gplay has got me further than any shield build I've tried.

[King Kitteh]

You can block any weapon attack with your own weapon. You won't be able to block punches and kicks though, so if you are fighting beasts then you might have some trouble there.

Sort of related, I think it would be neat if you could intercept punches and such with your weapon. It makes sense, even if a little bloody.

[Nahere]

You can block any weapon attack with your own weapon. You won't be able to block punches and kicks though, so if you are fighting beasts then you might have some trouble there.

Sort of related, I think it would be neat if you could intercept punches and such with your weapon. It makes sense, even if a little bloody.

You can, just aim a quick attack at the relevant body part and you can stop the attack having any force.

[dragdeler]

You won't be able to block punches and kicks though, so if you are fighting beasts then you might have some trouble there.

You CAN intercept attacks by grabbing the incoming limb. And I'd prefer dodging globs and fireballs and spittles to blocking them since items can carry contaminants.


But you're essentially missing out on a supplementary protection layer.

[Cathar]

No? What the heck is everybody saying yes for?

Because when you're answering a question for a guy getting started, starting by talking about Kisat-Dur will just give them a hard time. You can make a viable adventurer wearing a figurine as a weapon and no cloth, and make it very effective. Doesn't mean that's the best way to start.

If you jump in adventurer mode with no prior knowledge, a shield is undeniably the difference between a cool adventure and a quick reroll

[Urist McVoyager]

Am I missing something? Badargo said nothing about being new to adventure mode. Anyone who has used nothing but shields up til now, and then branches out, probably won't know much about dual wielding or two handers before setting out.

[King Kitteh]

You can block any weapon attack with your own weapon. You won't be able to block punches and kicks though, so if you are fighting beasts then you might have some trouble there.

Sort of related, I think it would be neat if you could intercept punches and such with your weapon. It makes sense, even if a little bloody.

You can, just aim a quick attack at the relevant body part and you can stop the attack having any force.

Oh thanks. To be honest I never really messed with special attacks that much (except when playing as an Elephant man, trying to see how far I could launch an elven child).