Woah. I did not expect more people to jump into the Dark Souls discussion. Well, some of you might be pleased to hear that I've done some research and I now have a somewhat greater understanding of the systems in the game... probably. Apparently pyromancers often go for Dex weapons because pyromancy doesn't need Int or Faith for scaling, and Dex also increases casting speed. Sounds really good. And apparently poise damage is a fixed value attached to the weapon (or spell or whatever) you're using, and it goes up a lot when you two-hand weapons, with the big nasty weapons doing a whopping 76 poise damage with a two handed strike. Dunno how much it takes to stagger the average boss, but that sounds quite good.
IIRC with the Zwei your R2 is a big overhead slam which pancakes enemies into the ground.
That's definitely right. I pancaked quite a few hollows while testing out the weapon.
(While we're talking about big Str weapons, let me share the build I beat the game on: Dragon King Axe (tail cut gaping dragon) plus Power Within. Since dragon weapons lack scaling, all you have to do is level Str enough to twohand it, farm some dragon scales, and you'll have an unreasonable amount of damage on the R2. Even more with Power Within.)
Power Within sounds really cool, especially if I also get my hands on the Lingering Dragoncrest Ring from sorcerer guy, because apparently that results in the same amount of HP drain over a longer period of time.
The Claymore is always a good choice of weapon; you can't really go wrong with a greatsword. And fair enough on the Dragon King Axe, but I don't really like the dragon weapons because they don't have any scaling. I suppose if you're doing a pyromancy or other spell build they'll work out since you're not leveling STR/DEX more than you need, but I prefer to unga-bunga things with greathammers anyway.
Yeah, I recently learned that scaling and, to some extent, enchantability(?) determine the viability of any given weapon. I was using the Astora Straight Sword for a while, and it's super good early game because of its high base damage, but it can't be enchanted. I like enchanting weapons, so that made me kinda sad.
All things considered, I'll probably either go with the Dexy pyromancer or nag the Zweihander early on and smoosh everything with a big sword. Both sound pretty fun.
Anyway, I appreciate all the discussion! I feel like I'm finally learning how to approach this daunting game.