How to Play a Dual Wielder in Dungeons & Dragons 5e
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- Опубліковано 4 лип 2024
- MONSTERS OF DRAKKENHEIM is 300+ pages of eldritch horror inspired monsters for 5e by the Dungeon Dudes! Coming to Kickstarter March 26th, 2024: www.kickstarter.com/projects/... We discuss how to play a Dual Wielder in D&D 5e, taking a look at various builds and rules as well as classes, feats, and abilities that are useful to make the most of your two weapon fighting.
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TIME STAMPS
3:06 - What is Dual Wielding
7:18 - Two Weapon Fighting
8:51 - Classes Overview
9:46 - Fighter
12:07 - Ranger
14:48 - Rogue
16:42 - Dual Wielder Feat
19:16 - Additional Feats
20:42 - Conclusion
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“Prince zuko, I didn’t know you were skilled with broadswords.” Zuko- “I’m not. They’re antiques” he says desperately hoping nobody found out he originally wanted to play a dual wielder monk build before realizing it would never work
I feel like homebrewing that you can make your flurry of blows with dual wielded monk weapons isn't too broken. Not like monk is all that strong to begin with
The new one dnd rules for Dual Wielding actually makes monks one of the best classes to do it, because it gives you 5 attacks at level 5
Fun historical fact! wielding two rapiers was an historical style, just not terribly popular (it's incredibly difficult, and not always terribly advantageous. ) It was historically called "brace-rapiers", "case rapiers" or occasionally "Florentine fencing". It appears in a few historical treatises, and it's fascinating. Worth checking out.
I’m surprised they didn’t mention the Swashbuckler subclass for rogues. That subclass basically recommends that you duel wield if you play it.
With a one level dip into Fighter to get TWF, my favourite build.
Actually not totally. Seashbucklers are amazing and ducking and dodging around the battlefield and finding individuals to fight. You need your bonus action to das and disengage. Personally I have a dagger in my offhand for my swashbuckler, but almost never use it
@Pranay Talati good point, but also you can take the dash bonus action. Also, if you miss, then you might need it. Also that’s not the only way to play a swashbuckler, but I do see the point of a dual wielding swashbuckler. I personally find a single rapier more effective
@@SorenSPG RAW you only need to attack the target (regardless of hit or miss) for it to not be able to op attack you
@@anthonylam02 Crap my bad. i forgot about that. thank you for reminding me. i still think that dashing/hiding can be more useful though
Two rapiers was one of the few historical dual-wielding fighting styles. It was a called a case of rapiers and was very popular in Florence, hence it's other name: Florentine style.
Krabi Krabong: AM I A JOKE TO YOU?
Florentine was use of a longsword and a main gauche/dagger i thought
@@worldsendgaming5236 the term Florentine to refer to using two weapons isn't historical. Case of rapier was a style, but it wasn't very popular anywhere. You can find historical examples of a case of rapiers designed to fit together and look like a single sword, and sit together in the same sheath. I think this would be a cool way to go in a D&D game. Most period masters did not recommend the use of a second rapier in combat in earnest. DiGrassi talks about the use of it at length in his treatise on Falsing.
“It was a called a” are you Italian?
I do remember hearing about a Rapier that was in a Scabbard that would split into two rapiers and I believe that it is what was originally called dual wielding
Dual wielding has become more viable for other classes with the introduction of the Fighting Initiate feat, which allows a class to pick a Fighting Style from the fighter list.
It's even odd... When this has changed... Anyone can Dual Wield at base.
Although, nothing in the rules stops you from holding two non light weapons during combat without Feats etc. Just avoid doing the Bonus Action stuff.
Along with Interaction and other mechanics near this type of action. There are ways to dual wield without going through this unrefined rule.
@@absolstoryoffiction6615 you hold them but RAW you can't attack with them.
@@wesleywyndam-pryce5305
Only with one at base...
I use Extra Attack for both weapons or other Action types...
Ditch that specific Bonus Action about Dual Wielding. There are better ways to do this...
Don't forget college of swords Bards. They Flurry with style and look good doing it!
I got a collage of sword bard and he is a beast, dps for days and spells
And they have the two weapon fighting style.
I just fired up a Sword Bard myself, and my DM even let me shift my spellcasting ability to Dex (for lore reasons too!) So far it's been an utter blast.
Furthermore, they can designate a proficient weapon as their spellcasting focus, which counteracts the melee/casting dilemma. On top of that, their Blade Flourish ability does not take a bonus action: it only requires that you land an attack that turn. As such, a dual wielding Sword Bard can get two chances to boost their AC, increase damage against mobs, or maneuver their opponents.
The only downside is that this means you have to be a lot more choosy about using your Bardic Inspiration (1 bonus action), but since they are expended for the sake of Blade Flourish until level 14, it's something the player would need to be aware of regardless.
Evan Umenhofer what was the lore reason for switching to dex? Another thing swords bards have is being able to pick up crusader’s mantle. While CM only adds 1d4 per hit, it can also apply to your allies’ attacks as well. CM also doesn’t require a bonus action to switch targets either since it’s an aura spell.
This is cool and all, but when's the recognition of the best kind of dual wielding; DUAL SHIELDING!
Why hide behind a door when I AM THE DOOR!!!!
Honestly a magic shield with the thrown weapon feature would be sick
Now, this has plenty of awesome ideas for some homebrewing. Like if you have two large shields that can interlock to become a giant barrier. Give full coverage, but half their movement speed. While not super useful in melee, this would be great when against ranged weapons and spells. Your party can get behind you as slowly move them towards the Archer's tower, the Warlock firing Eldritch Blasts at them to try and get them to hide, giving you more time.
You got guys firing from both sides? Dig those shields into the ground and crouch down. Now you have half cover.
Not too sure how this one would work, but maybe while the shields are acting as cover, let you slip them off and pull out another weapon. Better yet, slip them off then run at the enemy, letting your hurt Ranger hide for a second so the cleric can cure their wounds, or so the Wizard can stay guarded while using a concentration spell.
Now cast Enlarge on him. What do you have now? A 12' Orc with 2 giant shields, basically becoming a makeshift bulldozer as he tears through the enemy lines, shield bashing enemies, proning them as the party comes in for the kill.
This could be perfect for the character who is a huge brute, but not a violent one. The big and soft type. He's here to protect his friends, and protect them they shall.
@@culo9999 Captain America was the OG
Found the Dark Souls player
Have you done a video yet on how to effectively use tools (like thieves tools, smithing, etc.?). How about a video on what characters can do in their down time between adventures? Just a couple ideas ;)
Oh yeah, I'd really appreciate some down time tips for Players and advice for Dungeon Masters!
I am trying to craft with my Artificer and neither I nor my DM know what we're doing.
@@kelb76 My artificer is the crafter of out team. we follow the crafting rules in xanathar's but ignore the recipe requirement for items that are on my infusion list or if it is a homebrew thing that my character has designed herself.
@@SirPanfred Training and seeking out instructors. Some aspect of leveling would naturally happen by just doing other would not or would be much slower without proper instruction. It's also useful if you can't get your whole party together, you can have a mini session without others feeling left out. Also specialize materials would not be readily available in anything short of a large city if even there.
It's a good idea for a DM to read up on the history of stuff to get a feel for what was truly a common or a rare item. Even something like flint or a whetstone wouldn't be that common. Don't believe me go looking for it today outside, if those rocks aren't around you aren't likely to find it. Doing that research will greatly enrich the gaming experience for you and your players.
Something else to consider for your next adventure is to limit currency. No working class person would likely ever so much as touch a gold piece let's along have a pouch of them. That's something only nobles would have. In dim times dim have nuts had fur less den they haves has today. (sorry attempt to spell out a Liverpool accent) Anyway just that's just some thoughts from an AD&D DM.
We've used weaver's tools to create more rope in field conditions (it has been quite useful, rope is actually pretty valuable utility stuff), and smithing, glassblower's and alchemist's tools to create all sorts of cool arrowheads (smoke, acid and alchemist's fire in small glass vial arrowheads for example). Card gaming proficiency has been used in making a local mafia to own our party some favors, and of course some money.
For downtime, in our campaign we have a week-based daily activity of some sorts for individual characters, and roll some relevant dice to see how it goes. For example, a rogue might want to get to know the local criminal community and maybe get some good contacts. They spend a couple of weeks in town. For each week, they roll a couple of skills: insight once to figure out the right people to talk to, persuasion twice to get near the right people. The successes are tracked, and once gained enough successes they gain contacts and knowledge.
I have personally had my fighter battlemaster take part in archery competitions. Ruleswise it's simple: roll and add attack modifiers as if shooting the bow, and then GM determines the challenge with 2d10+something. Successes have gained my fighter a lot of money and renown among those circles, but I also rolled a couple of 1's and now I have a sore loser noble as an enemy that hates my fighter's ass.
Oh and also my fighter has used woodcarver's tools to make a local orphanage some toys, and he has gained a few NPC friends doing so.
I'm going to stick with my dual-wield-chainsaw-shotgun-laser-earrings. They have built in cup holders.
Ah, a man of culture, I see
"Shotgun earings" hou can hear?
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You gentlemen neglected to mention that a College of Swords Bard can also pick dual wielding as a fighting style
Yep. Came here to say this. I played a college of swords bard and (though I didn't play it higher levels) I do think it scales really well because of the flourishes that let you add your bardic inspiration to the damage (which is awesome, because so very often this feature is underused).
came here to say this as well because you can though like Braulio Lopes I didn't get to higher levels, bestow because the extra attack, gives you three attacks ( like other classes dual wielding) but because bestow curse allows you to get an extra damage die per attack
@@braulioservodedeus but only once per turn.
If you can multiclass from fighter to Paladin you can smite off all melee attacks.
@@freman007 Oh yeah you're right. Huh, it kinda makes me think of the multiclass possibilities of bard college of swords and paladin. That could be cool!
@@braulioservodedeus I am playing that build. You get to dish out a lot of damage even at lower levels (about 40 to 50 in one turn at level 5). Couple that with elven accuracy (my case) or lucky and you are dealing CRIT damage smiting and flourishing. Drow can cast faerie fire so... Also with this multiclass you can smite harder with less levels due to the bard's being a full caster. I just got elven accuracy so I haven't put it into play yet, but I am dying for the next adventure to get it going.
Fun fact about the Dual Wielder feat: in addition to the main benefits for dual-welders, it allows sword and board characters to switch their weapon without having to use an action, which could be useful for an Artificer with lots of specialised magic weapons.
Under rated comment.
Best Dual Wielder: Paladin with 2 levels in Fighter (even better when you have improved divine smite)
My man knows what's up
Taking that a few steps further: play a Half-Elf, then take the "Elven Accuracy" feat. Make it a Dex based Vengeance Paladin so you can use Vow of Enmity to get advantage on a target for 1 minute. Take one more level in Fighter for Champion. With all of this, your Paladin rolls three d20s when attacking with advantage, and crits if any of those dice are a 19 or 20. Under these conditions, you have a 27 percent of critting on an attack against the target of your Vow of Enmity.
Isles, that’s gross.
@@goisles6728 thats kinda dirty but hell it sounds fun. its as fun as 10 dancing greatswords plus assassinate
Go Isles I sure hope my players don’t see your comment!
My fighter/rogue is a dual wielder, took two weapon fighting style so I can add my proficiency to my offhand attack. It's fun having 3 attacks at level 4 if I burn my action surge plus sneak attack on one of those, I'm going swashbuckler too so the sneak attack is even easier to pull off.
the second attack still gets your proficiency bonus either way, what twf style gives you is letting you add your ability bonus to damage on your second attack
@@likeahorse it let's you do it on your bonus action, it's the fighters fighting style
Edit: I see what you meant, I meant it as in it let's me add the proficiency to the damage 😅 sorry I'm half asleep currently
@@Tank1711 you still don't add proficiency to damage, like ever
@@likeahorse aye I just re-read what I typed and laughed 🤣 sorry dude I'm currently running on over 70 hours of consciousness
My brain went ability mod = proficiency for some stupid ass reason 😅
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Damn, right after Tulok the Barbarian made a video on Ahsoka as well. Good timing.
Didn’t know he made that. I know where I’m headed next
I love Tulok’s builds
Hey guys you misspelled dual in the description. You can thank me later. That'll be $500
Maybe it's a dual wielder who likes to duel.
pssssh totally on purpose lol
@@casterknot5094 hahaha!
I like Polearm Master as a way of weaponizing your bonus action a bit more than I like dual wielding.
A bit more is an understatement for me, personally
Well sure, because it's just straight better.
One feat vs one feat + fighting style, with equal outcomes?
@@schwann145 not even equal, since dw isn't compatible with gwm. Sad.
@@schwann145 Eh, Polearm Master(PAM) always wins. If you're going 1h+shield(+2ac), quarterstaff is great with style options of: +1ac, +2dmg/hit, or shield cover for allies. With 2h grab a glaive, now you have reach, die rerolls on 1&2''s, and the option of using GWM(-5hit/+10dmg) on each swing. And since PAM let's you gain an opportunity attack for mobs entering your range you will situationally gain a 2nd attack out of the feat on its own.
@@Kronosxviii1 you can now use a shield and spear aswell!
Dungeon Dudes! coming from a student of HEMA, there is historical precident for duel wielding twin rapiers. there are different sizes of Rapiers made for different reasons and uses. Furthermore, there are more cases of use of duel wielding during the SMALL SWORD period of american and european history, that being between the 18th and 19th centuries. hope this helps in the future! lastly, i LOVE your work. i use your starting guide on dnd 5e as a starting point for teaching new players about this game. Keep up the Great work, and STAY SAFE!
Bladesingers make for fun dual wielders when given a magical weapon that doubles as a magical focus.
Ruby of the war mage: my time is now
I was running a duel weilding swashbuckler rogue in my campaign before COVID hit. My GM allowed me to make a character that was a Jewish, middle aged CPA from Hoboken that guy sucked through a portal into Thune. He was a 1st place recipient in his offices squash team, hence his heightened reflexes and ambidexterity. He was.... So fun to play. A constant source of humor and kind of a badass.
Oh, he was also pulled through wearing khaki shorts, tube socks, new balance sneakers, and a phany pack with a years supply of alka seltzer tablets. He was granted a single wish by a genie in his early adventures and instead of asking to be sent home, he wish for a but more holding space in his phany pack.... He's the best.
I assume you and your DM enjoy Isekai animes, and acquisitions incorporated.
Also, you should totally find a way to get a Golem for your Jewish Rogue :)
As a jewish person, I love this mental image
@@matthewjennings7645 what a fantastic idea!
Just two things which I'd like to add:
1) College of Swords Bard
2) At higher levels the dual wielding could be made stronger by utilising some interesting magic weapons' combos
That's actually a fair point. While most good magic weapons are going to take up attunement slots, and it is usually better to spread magical weapons around among those who use them, a character with two different special attacks/abilities would be pretty versatile.
I'm planning on making a STR dual-wield fighter and the way I wanted to do this is at lvl 1, he would just stick to 1 sword then during downtime in the campaign, he would practice with a 2nd sword until I can get the dual wielder feat at lvl 4. I thought of this as a way for my character to organically get better at fighting and as a small character development in the campaign.
My personal favorite is 2 levels of Paladin, then going College of Swords Bard the rest of the way.
Smites and flurries combined with a full caster that can use their weapons as a spell focus is the best duel-wielding warrior.
re: dual wielding rapiers. there are historical dueling manuals that have examples of, and instructions for fighting with a pair of rapiers.
Really?
I have heard dual wield a rapier and a dagger but I can't see two rapiers for anything beyond of a show.
The problem, even in concept, of dual wielding rapiers is that the primary benefit to a rapier is reach. As such, unlike a longsword, you wield it with your leading arm. Thus, assuming equal length weapons, your opponent enters your striking range if he does not take the same stance. Thus, for both opponents, anything held in an offhand, is too far away to threaten the opponent. This is precisely why the rapier/gauche combination, used the gauche for blocking and trapping, rather than striking. Its lack of length was not a deficit, since it wasn't a striker, and allowed it to be crossed behind the rapier for blocking.
The treatises that instructed use of two rapiers did not suggest it as a superior option against a single opponent, but rather a last best option if you're forced to defend against multiple attackers. So, we can guess from this, that it was an act of desperation rather than a preferred technique.
Michael Hundt wrote about using twin rapiers and there are also spanish and italian treatises (Fiore afaik) depicting it, even though it was very rare and nowhere near as good as using rapier + dagger, cloak or shield.
@cak01vej google is your friend, and other posts here have already linked specific sources. also, its not really the kind of thing you should have to convince a DM of, unless you are in a specifically historical setting. as long as you have the requisite proficiency and feats, you can dual wield dwarves if you want. (results not guaranteed)
@@Kronossphere but now I have to!
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It’s kinda funny because regardless of your class or build, you can almost always gain great benefits if your first class level is 1 fighter. It gives you so much that it’s really useful to most builds
Fighter 3/druid 7. I'm dual wielding whips. It is very fun and I have ways to sneak in some extra damage to make up for the low attack dice
I've found that a really good build is going Mark of Healing Halfling, Paladin 2, College of Swords Bard 18, with the Mobile and Dual wielder feats, Two-Weapon Fighting fighting style (from the bard, and Defensive from the paladin), Magical secrets of Find Greater Steed and Tenser's Transformation is absolutely amazing.
You can share your Tenser's Transformation with your mount for essentially 10d12 extra force damage, and using your smites to deal that bit extra when you crit.
You use the halfling racial ability combined with mobile to run in between the legs of your enemies and Defensive Flourish to get some crazy high AC.
Alternitavely, you can go Mark of Shadow elf and pick up Elven Accuracy and Revenant Blade, if you like the flavor of it.
How do you share tensers with your mount?
@@KINGTACO31 "While mounted on it, you can make any spell you cast that targets only you also target the mount." - Find (Greater) Steed.
Tenser's Transformation has a range of Self.
@@vindex57 ohh, actually insane then!
Oh. Shit.
Why mark of healing hafling, though?
@@Grorl Well, one thing about bards that i noticed is that you don't get a lot of spells that are directly useful in combat. I played it as a lightfoot halfling way back when, and having a strong set of spells to help the party in combat was something i missed until the later levels.
It works fine past level 12, but until then i reccomend using a Dragonmarked race of your choice (i suggested halfling to keep the ability to run in between the legs of enemies and healing instead of hospitality to reduce overlap with the bard spell list).
It may seem less optimal, but I love the dual wielder oath of vengeance paladin. He gets the hunter's mark and divine smites per hit
He can also get this through polearm mastery though and use the great weapon style. That's why it's hard to justify dual wielding on classes that don't have the style.
Divine Favor would be a better choice, since you wouldn't need to change targets as with Hunter's Mark and only do 1 less average damage. Much more optimal.
Historically, dual rapier (or case of rapiers) style was taught in fencing school in Europe during the Renaissance era. Using two rapiers is harder then a rapier and a dagger, but it teaches you to use your non-dominate hand in combat more effectively. I, personally, think that dual rapiers would have been more commonly used then dual longswords or battle axes. That said, this is D&D. Cool factor is superior to historical accuracy. If I could make a dual pole-arm fighter, I would do it in a heartbeat.
You can dual wield lances with the dual wielder feat, though only when mounted
I would say two rapiers is a bad idea, the good thing about a dagger isn't just that it gives you a defensive off hand weapon but they are good close in unlike a rapier which is near useless.
You can carry two spears with the dual wielder feat. If you want two reach weapons, you could use two whips with the same feat.
@SaviorOfNirn I was replying more in relation to the first comments talk of historic dual rapier use, I know very much how little it matters to actual gameplay. I tend to put roleplay ahead of optimal combat damage numbers and so unless I was playing some sort of master fencer/swordsman, I wouldn't use such a combination as dual rapiers.
I was just thinking about this! Leave it to the Dungeon Dudes to read my mind haha. Thanks for another great video!
I have a 5th level dual-wielding sharpshooter Horizon Walker that's both a terror in melee and at range. In melee, a pair of shortswords does 4d6+6 with casting Hunter's Mark and on subsequent turns, does as much as 6d6+6. At range, he casts Hunter's Mark and does up to 2d8+2d6+26 and then adds another d8 on top of this, depending on the target (I sometimes elect NOT to use Sharpshooter). Basically, he's a monster and I love him. Beyond damage though, he has a rich story and I love that he has the brawn to handle any situation that his diverse background can get him into.
Thanks for another fun video guys!
Personally, I love going Gloomstalker till level 3 to get the Dread Ambusher ability and then fighter the rest of the way. You deal tons of damage, get your action surge, and you can jump around from target to target like the speedy whirlwind of death that you imagine you are when dual wielding (especially in early levels).
Great video as always, my Canadian brethren!
It's better to stop at Gloom Stalker 5.
@@NotYourAverageNothing Depends on how high level your campaign is going and how you choose to build your fighter. Because extra attack doesn't stack and fighter's also get it at level 5. You could also go fighter till level 5 and then take the 3 levels in Gloom Stalker. It's personal preference.
@@HiddenNerdySide How u choose the stats then? 14 on Dex and on Con ?
I´m looking forward to build a lizardman-dual wielder which supposed to be awesome fast.
And which Fighter subclass u would recommend?
@@rogerjolly1358 Dex fighter build works best for sure. I'd personally go Echo Knight or Battlemaster. They're the best fighter subclasses in my opinion by far and they both work well with Gloomstalker.
@@HiddenNerdySide And for fighting styles then Two Weapon and ranged?
And which Manouvers?
Thanks guys! As a duel wielding fighter, and even as a DM, I always feel like I'm not getting the rules right. Thank you for your tips!
I think that a 20th level fighter getting ofur attacks with a two handed weapon but only increasing to five attacks when switching to two one handed weapons makes no freaking sense at all.
Especially when the highest you could would be a d8 for the one handed weapons versus 2d6 for the greatsword.
Extra ttack should be homebrewed to make it make sense with dual wielding
Lol you guys are missing the magic, literally. If you’re duel wielding magic weapons, and fishing for crits with elven accuracy NOVA DMG is real. The more dice the more you double, and wielding a secondary magic weapon really adds up.
Just wanna thank you guys for all the awesome informative videos and introducing me and my group to Heroforge!
Very nice video! I'm currently trying out a homebrew version of the two-weapon fighting style in my campaign: instead of adding your ability modifier to the damage, the attack with your offhand no longer costs your bonus action if you take the attack action, although you can still only do it once per turn. You can get the damage bonus by having both the fighting style and the dual wielder feat
I have a dual Wielder Fighter/Paladin with a great sword on its back lol my character it’s well rounded with tons and feats, great vid I’m feeling really confident about my Dual Wielder fighter ^^
theres actually a 3rd party feat in a book i have that i love. It requires having the dual wielder feat as a perquisite but it's effect is "When wielding a one handed weapon in each hand you may make 1 additional attack during your attack action. that gives a fighter a total of 4 attacks per turn (including the bonus action); and 7 with an action surge. really improves dual wielding in the game even if you have to take 2 feats in order to get it.
What book and feat is this?
@@valintinesmith7807 its a 3rd party book just called "5th edition feats" by tpk games. The feat is called two-weapon mastery
@@caosisaac Not surprised there's a book of feats from third party, they really dropped the ball on feats in 5th.
Perfect timing... Just making a dual wielder for a friend joining us for a one off on Monday! Thanks. Do love your videos.
Excellent points made here about different classes using two weapons. This should be watched with their later revisions on dual wielding.
Personally I like going Champion Fighter with my dual weapon
Variant human with dual wielder feat, using 2 Rapiers
With more attacks it gives you even more chances to crit with your champion increased crit range.
Plus fighters done have much besides second wind for their bonus action so it gives you something to do .
As for another feat I like defensive duelist, giving that extra AC as a reaction just helps to bridge that AC gap when not using a shield, in fact giving you more when combined with dual wielder and the defense fighting style.
my favorite build so far was actually a horizon walker ranger with a two level dip in fighter so that at the 11th ranger level, even though that's high up, you could make 7 attacks using your action surge if you were fighting two or more enemies. i plan on making great effect with this build on a dwarf because having a teleporting dwarf armed with two hammers seemed like a great visual :)
Actually talking about the ad, I loved using Hero Forge to create my character. My friend has a 3D printer, so it was only $7 for the download and then $3 for the resin used. Im really looking forward to painting it and bringing it to life!
Great info here, these questions and archetypes should be reviewed whenever a duel wielding character hits the table
I like how every time I plan to develop a new character there was a video put out very recently on it lol.
paladin seems like a pretty good option for duel weilding since more attacks mean more opportunities for crits which you can then pump with your smites. and with improved divine smite that basically counteracts the bonus damage lost
Add the Rogue's Sneak Attack to your Smite for more damage since both act the same in function.
Not to mention you can take the two weapon fighting style to also get rid of the bonus action lose
@@downstairschannel6582 As they say in the video, paladins can't easily take that style.
@@hewhogoesbymanynames yeah, took me a bit too realize that
@@downstairschannel6582 Bums me out because I'm currently playing a paladin who has ended up with two powerful magic weapons (our other melee person didn't want either of them, I asked), sort of stumbling bass ackward into being a dual wielder (as soon as I can take the feat)
I once played a drow elven fighter/college of Valor bard wielding two rapiers. The idea was some sort of of a blade dancer performer aesthetic who inspires her allies by whirling across the battlefield. Don't think it was really optimized for combat, but it was a lot of fun to play for me. Good mix between combat effectiveness and rp options.
when doul welding with 1 magic weapon, I like it as the off hand as that makes both attacks strong & if the first miss more mild, but it also has made a favorite RP moment, "why did you slay that with your normal blade? you have a frost saber!" "True, but it knew that too, & was worrying about it, forgetting that magic is not the only thing to be considered a weapon."
Eldritch Knight: "You don't Drop Weapon, Swap Between Hands, Interact Action, and Bonus Action: Weapon Bond your weapons during Extra Attacks?... Or is that just me?"
Lol. "As long as you remember to use it."
I'll be honest with you, crossbow expert + hand crossbow achieves pretty much the same thing as dual wielding with the advantages of a more versatile range, the option of the archery fighting style and being able to use sharpshooter later if you like. They really dropped the ball with dual wield support; it should not have eaten your bonus action, or else should have been able to scale for more attacks.
No doubt it is broken. It doesn't scale at all. And if you are a rogue it costs you the use of your cunning action.
@@kellyweaver8422 go swashbuckler. Can literally walk away as your movement and doesnt provoke an attack as long as you made an attack against the target. Doesnt state you have to hit either
Plus after your attack you can use your object interaction to draw a one handed melee weapon for opportunity attacks and such.
@@Tank1711 swashbuckler doesn't completely solve the problem because you still give up the extra mobility that you would have with being able to dash with your bonus action.
A while ago I was playing in a game with some heavy homebrewing by the DM and I got to play as an Ogre. He was a large character, fighter 2 barbarian 5, and he took the dual wielder feat and because he was large sized he got to wield weapons that for medium sized characters were two-handed, but for him, were classed as one-handed. And a dual wielding, raging ogre with twin greataxes and an action surge was an ABSOLUTE BEAST! He was so fun to play.
A dual wielder's dream
First time watcher. That makes total sense now. Thanks guys. I'm playing Baulders gate 1&2 this helps alot.
Guys, at this point, I think the best way to fix the oversight is to make a video on a College of Swords Bard + Swashbuckling Rogue dual wielder character build.
Coming back to this now and seeing "If your second weapon has the thrown property, you can throw it instead of attacking with it.", all I can think about is Eivor from AC: Valhalla stabbing a guy with her hidden blade and chucking a hatchet at a second enemy. Now I want to be a dual wielding barbarian.
Great video. Cleared up a lot of things. Im new to DnD, llike this week new lol - and have started my first character and had the story kf. dual wielding blacksmith soldier, wielding hammers, but didnt realise about the whole ‘light’ weapon! So no dual warhammers lol. I will keep the story but work in swords instead. I had the idea that my soldier was the master blacksmith for a “Great War”, and had to rush into battle to save someone (unsuccessfully), of course running out with his hammer and picking up another. He is found kn the battlefield, standing amidst bodies, blood-stained hammers. Sooo cooool lol - this stuff is what pulled me into DnD - love your content !
That thumbnail you guys used reminded me of the first tiger I saw after reading a Dizzt book. That tiger I saw was 2/3 the weight of the astral panther Guen. I remember thinking back then that Drow were shorter than average and this panther was freaking heavy. Guen would have looked much larger all the more for being beside a short, wiry elf.
Made a hexblade warlock/Gloom Stalker ranger (and later the same character but a horizon walker ranger instead) that was pretty fun, horizon walker makes you incredibly hard to pin down, especially in situations where you’re fighting a large group of enemies, plus if you pick up relentless hex, you can kick things into overdrive by sacrificing your off-hand attack. I imagine a fighter/horizon walker could do some incredibly impressive things with this setup using their action surge
An Elf, maybe Wood, fighter with 2 scimitars and pick up Elven Accuracy giving you +1 dex, which should round you up to 18 Dex and 3 die on advantage. Take Champion at 3 to crit on 19s or 20 to be a crit bot.
Dudes! your videos are amazing! I started not long ago but you both are making my D&D experience quite better and smooth! Thank you guys! trully
Glad you like them!
This video clarifies things a lot)))
In my current campaign, our paladin player made his character as Lautrec of Carim from Dark Souls, wielding two shotels) After some search about actual shotel fighting I gave him ability to ignore shield-based AC buffs. Haven't seen this in action yet, but looks like a lot of cool roleplaying to me.
with my newest character (a bladesinger), I plan on using dual wielding with thrown weapons a lot - just to get something out of all those bonus actions that I would otherwise not use.
It's funny you just made this, the past few weeks I've been deliberating on the strongest dual wielding class I can make. Dont forget Warlock Hexblade as well. That combines with 2 levels of paladin gives you Devine smite, and a couple spell slots that recover on a short rest
Hexblades also get to change their attack/damage mod to Cha for two different weapons.
@@xdecatron2985 wai wha they could dual wield? their pact weapon!?
@@firstnamelastname7298 I understand that your pact weapon and your Hexblade conjured weapon can be two different weapons, so you can have solid sword in one hand and creepy magic sword in the other.
@@Teaandephemery i was planning on using my sword patron on one hand and another one the pact weapon on the other but yea yours make sense
5wchvv
I’m running a Pirate Campaign™️ for my friends and 4 of them are dual wielders (Ranger, Rogue, Bard and a Fighter) out of 7, so this was a great brush up on the rules of dual wielding! They all integrate it into they’re combat uniquely so I need to stay on top of it.
Especially for rogue builds, feats like sentinel and martial adept (with riposte) that can trigger reaction sneak attacks are very useful. I've been using them on a swashbuckler/sword bard
Wow, my next character that I’ll be playing in a few days is a dual wielder. Time to see what I did wrong lol
Oh, and I think the best classes for dual-wielding are Rogues for an extra chance at getting Sneak Attack, and Paladin for an extra Divine Smite.
Well with a rouge that when with assassin you can auto crit a surprised target with both weapons if you hit
Paladins less so because they have alot of bonus action spells
You could bring the argument of cunning action, but for rogue it's actually a source of opportunities. You make your action attack. If you hit then the second attack is redundant, and just bonus disengage. If you miss then attack again for the second chance of sneak attacm
Also helpful are spells or abilities that add damage to every attack (paladin, hexblade, etc.), so don't underestimate that. I noticed you didn't cover multiclassing, which can also be super helpful for this wielder type. But I really like how well you laid out the basics! I've watched it a couple times, myself.
Loved this discussion. Running a Tabaxi Gloom Stalker -5 Swashbuckler Rogue -3. Getting the extra damage die on the first turn and then ability to disengage.
But now afraid of advancing in level as we were going through Tomb of Horrors.
Was waiting for them to mention "wizard with Tenser's Transformation" and they never did :( I ran a bladesinger who used that along with a potion of speed to essentially turn an adventuring party into salsa with a pair of nonmagical shortswords.
The new Spirit Shroud from Tasha's can be really lit too and will be a part of your repertoire a lot earlier, while still being fun when upcast at later levels.
Fun fact. Dual Rapier is actually a fencing style.
A fellow Blood&Iron HEMA watcher, or perhaps a HEMA nerd in general?
Variant human Swashbuckler rogue with both the Dual Wielder & Fighting Initiate (twf) feats using two Rapiers is honestly suuper fun. I'm playing one in Waterdeep: Dragon Heist and it's absolutely amazing.
playing a dual wielder in my current campaign. just reached level 2 so this is perfect timing!
Variant human dual wielded fighter with the dual wield feat. That’s all.
I took alert for my variant human fighter/rogue that's dual wielding, I knew I was multiclassing at level 2 so I would lose the feat at 4th. Alert had saved my ass a few times so far in CoS from being suprised 😂
I see your variant human fighter and raise you a half elf swords bard+ hexblade
It gets worse as it goes on it's great at early levels but pretty poor later on as you only get one bonus action attack, fighter is not the ideal class for dual wielding.
I have a build that does that but then goes barbarian from level 5 on. I love the idea of raging dual axes. 👍
Variant Human fighter with great weapon fighting style and the polrarm master feat. That is all :)
Wow even through reading the rules several times I didn't know dual wielding took a bonus action. That is weird since dual wielding has other drawbacks I don't think I like how that works.
Just found this video and thanks for the info. Been playing a dual wielder oath of vengeance paladin with the dual wielder feat. Pumping out a flurry of attacks and burning all the divine smites on one guy never felt so good. Burst damage like that is rare at low levels.
I've been using a Echo Knight fighter that dual wields currently level 12. He was build Dex based with dual wielder and defensive duelist feats. This feats combined with creative uses of the echo abilities has been real fun to play with interesting ways to put out damage. While giving me the ability to boost my AC to compensate for not having a shield.
Two magic weapons are how you can keep dual wielding relevant at higher levels when the enchanted weapons get an extra die or two
On the Eldritch Knight: Nothing is stopping you from dropping a bound weapon, casting a spell, then summoning it back to your hand as a bonus action. Pretty useful at early levels, or until you get the Warcaster feat.
Just a quick note about dual-wielding rapiers. Historically, fighting with two rapiers is called "Case" and is pretty effective, especially against multiple opponents. Whereas, rapier and dagger is better against a single opponent. I don't know how common fighting case was, but you do see it mentioned a few times in Shakespeare, and it's discussed in period fencing manuals.
Little known fact: you can dual wield non-light weapons without the feat, you just don't get the bonus action attack. Perfect for a longsword & quarterstaff wielding Gandalf type with War Caster feat.
Nothing says you cannot use ANY one-handed weapon to attack, as two-weapon fighting does nothing but add the bonus action attack. If you have two separate magic weapons with good buffs, plus something better to do with a bonus action, then no point investing in stacking the fighting style & feat.
I've read that the dual rapier style was called 'Florentine', although there appears to be doubt about how much (If at all) it was practised.
It is curious, though, that the one common, historic European two weapon style of rapier and dagger isn't allowed under 5E because rapiers aren't light.
Unless one burns a feat. Extra training. Hmm....
They could easily have made it so that only the off-hand weapon needed to be light. I don't know why they didn't do that.
@@Sceadusawol Right? It feels like a rapier with a mostly defensive dagger (With the chance for opportunity attacks) would be way more easy to use than dual hatchets, which is totally legal.
I have actually considered a whole raft of ideas for off-hand weapon fighting.
If you give up the additional (bonus action) attack, could you add +1 to AC for the turn, instead, for example?
Me and my friends use a homebrew rule that only the offhand weapon needs to be light, and I’ve even gotten away with it in Adventure’s League once when our DM thought my Rogue having a rapier and a dagger made sense
Florentin is traditionally a rapier and dagger.
I'm glad the duel wielder feat is a thing. I can play something like an axe/estoc(rapier) combo! Might seem unorthodox but I feel like its cool.
Great show guys! For the Champion Fighter, let's not forget that more attacks means more chances to crit!
Are those Rayla's sword/dagger/hooks in the back??? Pretty cool lol
Whoa, nice catch.
You failed to mention one of the best thing about dual weilding: having two different magic weapons attacking at the same time. Let's say you have the Dual Wielder feat: you can have a Flame Tongue longsword in one hand and a Frost Brand longsword in another. If you are a 11 level fighter, you can make 4 attacks including your bonus action, 2 of which can be with the Flame Tongue and the other 2 with the Frost Brand.
Obviously you'd have to play in a game where magic items/swords are common enough, plus your DM will have to give you the magic weapons... but having two different magic weapon at the same time is not something to sleep on.
It's much better if you can multiclass it with Fiend Warlock 7/9.
First turn in case you couldn't anticipate and precast: cast Armor of Agathys, action surge cast Fire Shield, draw both Flametongue and Frost Brand with your item interaction.
Grin viciously as you move towards your enemies.
You are the TRUE MASTER OF THE HEAT AND COLD \o/
Enjoy. :)
@ That wasn't the point of my comment but I apreciate the character built thx :D
I have a homebrew feat for two weapon fighting. It requires the Dual Wielder Feat. And grants a second attack for the bonus action and it allows you to attack with both weapons for opportunity attacks.
I just made a College of Swords Bard blended with Hexblade Warlock, not only does Hex/Hexblade's curse shore up dual wieldings extra attack it also produces HUGE AC bonuses with defensive flourish and shield spell. Solid late game build.
Hexblade warlock with pact of blade can really benefit from dual wielding
@@elliotbanbury6442 You can have one summoned and one bonded weapon. It works.
Dual wielding really seems to fall behind the other fighting styles in 5e. Mostly because all of the classes that get it also get key features they use with their bonus action- ranger with hunter’s mark and fighters second wind. I’m perpetually glad my group house rules the offhand attack is part of the Attack action
The biggest reason it falls behind is no way to deal +10 damage per hit like Great Weapon and Sharpshooter have.
As someone currently playing a duel wielding eldritch knight... It's true what you say about how it limits what you can do, but at the same time, it diversifies your options of how you can do it, and can make encounters interesting since everybody will never know if you're gonna throw your spells or go in and dice em up; most importantly tho, it gives you a way to continue dealing multiple damage when you run out of spell slots ;)
Revenant Blade is also a valid feat for dual wielding. And Crossbow Expert gets you that off hand crossbow attack if you want to really do the switch-hitter build.
A trap to avoid is thinking you can use the attack cantrips like Booming Blade or Greenflame Blade because they don't use the attack action, they use cast a spell action, so your offhand attack never triggers.
UGH I could really use this. I have a dual wielding rogue and I feel like it’s often a hindrance because I don’t know how to play it efficiently
Here's my tips:
1: Daggers. You get your damage from sneak attack, not weapon damage. Daggers will offer you more versatility. Not only are they cheap and easy to hide, they're throwable, and you can add SA damage to them when thrown if the appropriate markers are met.
2: Cunning Action. If you have already hit once with your main attack and applied SA, who needs an extra 1-9 damage? Use Cunning Action to hide, disengage, get in a better position, etc. Just because you can doesn't mean that you should.
3: Positioning. You are mobile. You are stealthy. You can hide every turn if you'd like. You can set the terms of engagement. Pay attention to the field and make sure you're putting yourself somewhere you can easily get yourself out of.
4: Why attack? Sometimes the best way out of a situation isn't to fight at all. Fewer classes are better equipped to handle those kind of encounters than you. Pay attention to the environment for things to abuse. Listen to what NPCs have said. Be the guy who dashes and disengages past all of them to flip the switch and drop them in the pit trap.
Damien Peters Fair point on using the environment and not going to the extra attack when it’s not necessary. I took the dual wielding feat so I’m using two rapiers, and I tend to try to abuse faerie fire as an arcane trickster to get myself advantage on my attacks to get that sweet sweet critted sneak attack. I appreciate the advice!
@@damienpeters6004 But then why dual wield at all?
If you haven't picked a subclass then Swashbuckler is fun. Makes it so much easier to get sneak attack, and if you hit someone they can't attack you with opportunity. Making it real easy to move around the battle with out needing the mobile feat.
Edit: oh you already picked a subclass.
@@joelsasmad Easy. Multiple chances for sneak attack a turn, and as a Swashbucker it's twice as many enemies you get a free disengage on. There's good logic behind it.
All I'm saying is that the important part about dual wielding as a Rogue is getting that chance to land sneak attack. If you've already done that, assess the situation and rethink whether or not attacking with the off hand weapon is worth it because it very often isn't, especially as a Rogue.
Just want to add something odd here: Darts are not considered light.
Which makes no sense if you consider that daggers are.
When I heard you explaining the rogue I though about poison as well. Doubling your both chances for poison to work, possibly doubling the damage. Not quite sneak attack worthy but a modest buff that could really change the fight
Thanks guys, I needed this advice for my dual wielding dragonborn fighter.
I'm pretty sure this channel has been dual wielding since day one. ;)
Double rapier scene from The Legend of Zoro 😂
Not too far in (just after the hand crossbow bit) but here's something they might have missed. The Crossbow Expert Feat allows you to effectively dual weild one melee weapon and one hand crossbow. And you don't get disadvantage because of the Feat and you don't need to have a free hand to reload
That makes sense... Meta Vs Logic in video games.
What's also valid under RAW is... You can dual wield non light weapons without Feats. Just avoid using your Bonus Action for that second weapon/other unarmed strike. Otherwise, the limitation rules will apply.
In the case of Double Handed weapons... You can attack with your leg then with shoot your crossbow... As the rules are only concerned with Attack Order. Just have a why to reload your crossbow after releasing its bolt.
I played a Dragonborn fighter who dual wielded falchions. In the game the falchion is 2 handed and heavy. But after discussing what a falchion actually is with my DM, we made them the right way which is one handed and light. It’s basically a medieval machete. It looks big but it’s insanely light
Made my character exactly this
Has two weapon fighting been subpar like this in other dnd editions?
In 3/3.5 it ate up A LOT of feats to not make it subpar.