I'm definitely preferring 2 handers at this point just because it lets me do so much more damage with the spec I prefer. Dire bats + 2 hander is huge numbers especially when you get the siphon 5 stack going. I would think that it matters on the person's playstyle and where they're at in the game. Though as we've seen already both are viable in inferno mode.
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----------------------Currently LvL 60WD rolling through INFERNO softcore when I have time -------------------------
Up through the first Act of Nightmare I was using a mh/oh combo but found a nice 2hander that was better. I used that until somewhere in Act II or III of NM when I found a mh that was better than the 2hander and switched back.
In the end it depends upon the gear drops you are getting.
When you reach 60, you're going to be seeing a lot more gear that has +skill modifiers for your class if you use MH+OH, such as Wiz an WD... until then, go with whatever.
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i would choose my own religion and worship my own spirit, but if he ever preached to me i wouldn't want to hear it. i'd drop him, a forgotten god, languishing in shame; and then if i hit stormy seas, i'd have myself to blame.
You're going to lose a little DPS but a really nice 1H (i.e., one with Reduced Level affix (=insane DPS) with a stout shield with +INT and +VIT is the best combination I've found so far. A great OH will let you wank off about your marginally better DPS or that you found one that takes 2 seconds off x or y cooldown, but I'll take 1000 armor and 2000 HP and blah blah now that I'm hitting champ packs in Hell.
I prefer 2Hs over 1Hs because of the cast speed and higher damage output. When I was using 1Hs, I found myself spamming a lot of attacks and running OOM really quickly. With a 2H, my spells pack quite a bit of a punch and I can manage my mana more efficiently.
I prefer 2Hs over 1Hs because of the cast speed and higher damage output. When I was using 1Hs, I found myself spamming a lot of attacks and running OOM really quickly. With a 2H, my spells pack quite a bit of a punch and I can manage my mana more efficiently.
-58 Witchdoctor
You are aware that this is entirely your own gameplay that ooms you.
Just because the speeds are different, doesnt mean you HAVE to spam 1 attack more. I am very aware you CAN do more attacks before certein mob hits you, but you wouldnt do so with the 2h, so why would you with the 1h+oh?
Regardless of weapon you will run out of mana if you use anything other than a Primary.
I, have, however am wanting to switch to a 1H simply because of the mobility. You can get around this(if you're stucking using a 2H) by using Dire Bats.
60 WD currently farming Act 1 of Inferno. I can solo the Butcher and all of the trash leading up to it as well as farm it with a group of 1-3 other people just fine.
The added damage from the OH makes going 1h an easy choice for me. Since I use the bears, I need to be able to run in close to mobs, spam bears and run out quickly. When I was running Dire Bats and would cast+move kite the mobs the extra damage from the 2h was nice, but for what I'm doing now 1h is my main priority.
I'm a 54 WD on Hell. So far i had to switch from 2H to 1H because of life issues. The shield is so so useful for me, since having high DPS is not so useful when your dead.
I hate two handers as WD. Too slow. That being said, I use one because I have a 1.2k dps wep, so I make do.
Offhand+MH combo has higher maximum damage. End-game Offhands add +108-380 damage(or somewhere around there). Couple with a 1.96 speed weapon, is a flat +533 dps increase. Couple that with a good 700-1k base damage 1.96 weapon, that's easily higher than 1.2k dps, without even including other stats. Also, faster weapon = faster casting = more mobility.
I prefer 1h+oh, but I go with what the game gives me.
I run a build like this: http://us.battle.net/d3/en/calculator/witch-doctor#hgdUZR!ZVU!aaZaaa
where the grasp of the dead is replaceable with mass confusion, horrify, or wall of zombies all depending on what I feel like using at the time. The build is all about crowd control and survivability with decent dmg output.
Seeing as I don't use pets I need more mobility and life/mana return abilities, so using a 1h/OH combo gives me more vitality/int and faster casts. So even though spirit barrage is my main nuke and a very expensive spell, I can pop all 4 cooldowns and spam firebomb while my mana pool fills up in under 8 seconds. Even starting with a full mana pool on such a fast weapon, I can pop all cooldowns and just about break even mana wise while spamming spirit barrage. The only mobs I'm having issues with are illusionists as the build doesn't have the strongest aoe abilities, I can kill them it just takes forever.
So for me, ya I prefer 1h/OH and wouldn't use a 2h unless I was getting into a much more damage focused build that relied on pet's tanking for me (I route I've chosen to decline seeing as even the Garg couldn't kill 1 average target before dying himself in NM)
2 hand is better if your using expensive spells. it will keep you do masive damage but also will save your resource, as your attack speed is low..
I wanted to build on this a bit.
In a group setting for Inferno I find myself able to sit and spam abilities and longevity becomes really important. Zombie Bears with a 2H with Vision Quest + Spiritual Attunement allows me to have an infinite cycle with +Mana from Spirit; with a 1H, I found I had down time which lead to significant DPS loss.
I'm still not sure if the down time from having a 1H is better, since you do get more overall damage form MH/OH as pointed out:
I hate two handers as WD. Too slow. That being said, I use one because I have a 1.2k dps wep, so I make do.
Offhand+MH combo has higher maximum damage. End-game Offhands add +108-380 damage(or somewhere around there). Couple with a 1.96 speed weapon, is a flat +533 dps increase. Couple that with a good 700-1k base damage 1.96 weapon, that's easily higher than 1.2k dps, without even including other stats. Also, faster weapon = faster casting = more mobility.
I prefer 1h+oh, but I go with what the game gives me.
I have a 26 WD that im absolutely loving, I originally started a barb and hoarded up all the loot i've gotten on him. I came across a rare dagger and mojo on my way that I am currently using. It has a socket and I put a nice ruby in there and its currently 50.2dps, I can kill any group of mobs with just grasp of the dead using eels rune. For rares I can 2 shot using poison dart with splinters. I couldnt even imagine how my barb could ever do these things.
Being as powerful as it is, I have not come across a single 2h that is superior. I think as everyone is learning, its luck of the draw; an item drops and it just rolled the correct stats. Also as someone has already mentioned, there are items at 60 that affect our skills directly so I think it will move to using a 1h and a mojo.
But really, it doesn't matter, it's about preference.
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as for me, once i tried a 2 hander, i cant go back unless i need a shield for some reason (perhaps later in hell or inferno or pvp).
In the end it depends upon the gear drops you are getting.
-58 Witchdoctor
I'm rocking a unique 2 handed crossbow in Inferno right now (Hellrack)... I think it's around 800 dps with a ton of Int on it. Works great!
Regardless of weapon you will run out of mana if you use anything other than a Primary.
I, have, however am wanting to switch to a 1H simply because of the mobility. You can get around this(if you're stucking using a 2H) by using Dire Bats.
Right now I'm using a 559 DPS 1H-er w/ 183 int and Mojo offhand with +57-220 dmg and 70 int.
This is my current build: http://us.battle.net/d3/en/calculator/witch-doctor#fjUQPT!ZVU!caZbbZ
The added damage from the OH makes going 1h an easy choice for me. Since I use the bears, I need to be able to run in close to mobs, spam bears and run out quickly. When I was running Dire Bats and would cast+move kite the mobs the extra damage from the 2h was nice, but for what I'm doing now 1h is my main priority.
Offhand+MH combo has higher maximum damage. End-game Offhands add +108-380 damage(or somewhere around there). Couple with a 1.96 speed weapon, is a flat +533 dps increase. Couple that with a good 700-1k base damage 1.96 weapon, that's easily higher than 1.2k dps, without even including other stats. Also, faster weapon = faster casting = more mobility.
I prefer 1h+oh, but I go with what the game gives me.
where the grasp of the dead is replaceable with mass confusion, horrify, or wall of zombies all depending on what I feel like using at the time. The build is all about crowd control and survivability with decent dmg output.
Seeing as I don't use pets I need more mobility and life/mana return abilities, so using a 1h/OH combo gives me more vitality/int and faster casts. So even though spirit barrage is my main nuke and a very expensive spell, I can pop all 4 cooldowns and spam firebomb while my mana pool fills up in under 8 seconds. Even starting with a full mana pool on such a fast weapon, I can pop all cooldowns and just about break even mana wise while spamming spirit barrage. The only mobs I'm having issues with are illusionists as the build doesn't have the strongest aoe abilities, I can kill them it just takes forever.
So for me, ya I prefer 1h/OH and wouldn't use a 2h unless I was getting into a much more damage focused build that relied on pet's tanking for me (I route I've chosen to decline seeing as even the Garg couldn't kill 1 average target before dying himself in NM)
I wanted to build on this a bit.
In a group setting for Inferno I find myself able to sit and spam abilities and longevity becomes really important. Zombie Bears with a 2H with Vision Quest + Spiritual Attunement allows me to have an infinite cycle with +Mana from Spirit; with a 1H, I found I had down time which lead to significant DPS loss.
I'm still not sure if the down time from having a 1H is better, since you do get more overall damage form MH/OH as pointed out:
Being as powerful as it is, I have not come across a single 2h that is superior. I think as everyone is learning, its luck of the draw; an item drops and it just rolled the correct stats. Also as someone has already mentioned, there are items at 60 that affect our skills directly so I think it will move to using a 1h and a mojo.
But really, it doesn't matter, it's about preference.