Two-Handed Weapons Have the Edge for Damage, While Sword + Shield Offers Defense

When exploring the dark and treacherous realm of the Lands Between, an Elden Ring player faces an important decision – whether to go on the offense with a formidable two-handed weapon, or balance offense and defense with a one-handed sword and sturdy shield. Based on extensive testing and community feedback, two-handed weapons have a clear edge for raw damage output, especially for Strength builds. However, one-handed + shield grants more flexibility and defensive capabilities. Ultimately, it depends on your preferred playstyle.

Two-Handing Weapons Unleashes Devastating Damage

Two-handing weapons in Elden Ring effectively boosts a player‘s Strength by 1.5x, which grants access to wielding ultra heavy weapons earlier and unleashing some truly monstrous damage numbers, particularly on critical hits.

For example, when two-handing the iconic Greatsword found in Limgrave, attack rating gets bumped from 587 up to 874 – a whopping 48% damage increase! Two-handing also unlocks new weapon skills for many armaments that hit even harder or offer wide, sweeping attacks to crush groups of enemies.

In addition to increased damage, two-handing effectively reduces a weapon‘s Strength requirement by 1.5x. This enables even fairly low level character builds to start wielding weapons with higher stat requirements and really lean into that heavy hitting playstyle.

"For Strength builds, two-handing ultra greatswords and colossal weapons is an absolute must to fully realize their damage potential early on," says prominent Souls community member Fextralife. This sentiment is echoed by many fans recommending two-handed Heavy affinity weapons to those going all in on Strength.

Sword + Shield Provides Balance for Beginners

While two-handed weapons bring the pain, the iconic sword + shield combo balances offense with solid defense. Small to medium shields allow blocking of enemy attacks, absorbing damage instead of relying on dodges and rolls to avoid every attack. This gives newcomers to Elden Ring useful survivability as they learn attack patterns.

Many early game weapons like the Lordsworn‘s Straight Sword pair nicely with shields like the Kite Shield found at the Gatefront Ruins, giving players a balanced weapon set to get started. Sword and board is also a more flexible style, with the option to swap between two right hand weapons or have a spell/item equipped in the left hand – vastly expanding tactical options without needing to open menus to swap gear.

Shields also open the door to parrying enemy attacks. While very risky, successful parries create openings to perform devastating riposte attacks with ultra high damage. Skilled players leverage parries to quickly dispatch bosses and tough enemies, though the timings can be difficult to master.

"If you‘re struggling with the basic combat in early Elden Ring, grabbing a 100% physical block shield is advised to give you survivability as you learn attack patterns," recommends prominent Souls content creator FightinCowboy. The community generally positions sword + shield as a great starting setup.

Verdict: Two-Handed Is Best for Damage, Sword + Shield for Beginners

While both two-handed and one-handed + shield styles are completely viable in Elden Ring, consensus seems to be that two-handed is ideal for maximizing damage potential, especially on Strength builds wielding colossal weapons. Sacrificing defense for ultra heavy attacks plays nicely into the game‘s brutal combat.

However, sword + shield has merits for beginners needing to block hits as they learn, or players who prefer balanced offense/defense rather than pure damage numbers. Ultimately there is no "right way" – it comes down to preferred playstyle and build! Veterans recommend trying both approaches to see which clicks. Some even maintain versatility by switching between two-handed offense and one-handed defense as needed against different enemies and bosses.

No matter your weapon choice, remember to upgrade often and leverage weapon affinities/skills that align with your core stats on the journey to become Elden Lord! Now get out there, Tarnished!