EQ2 Combat Guide - EverQuest 2 Weapon Speeds: Timing, Dual Wielding, and Haste
Timing is Everything
Another point in favor of long delay weapons is related to casting times but it is very class dependent. If you play a class that has longer cast times it is far easier to time your casts to the rhythm of a long delay weapon than a short delay weapon. This is class dependant as some classes have very short cast times which mean that combat art timing while using a long delay weapon is largely pointless. Most melee classes do not have to worry about timing their abilities. They only need to make sure they pause their attack chains every few seconds (depending on their weapon speed and haste) to make sure they give the game time to fire off and animate their regular weapon swing.
What about Dual Wielding?
When dual wielding you should choose two weapons that have the same weapon speed. This is to ensure that the weapons swing at the same time all the time, thereby reducing the likelihood of delaying a swing while you time your combat arts.
It is much easier to time your spells or combat arts to one weapon speed than to two. Knowing that you only need to pause slightly once every 5 seconds is a lot easier than knowing you need to pause slightly at 3 seconds and also at 5 seconds. And imagine 3 rounds into battle when one weapon would swing at the 9th second and the other at the 10th second. That would not give you enough time between auto attacks to even use an instant combat art.
If your weapons have different speeds, you have to either pause your combat art chains more frequently, or just accept the occasional loss of an extra auto attack swing. Both choices result in an overall loss of DPS. Therefore, you are best off using two weapons that have the same speed.
How Much Timing is Needed with Combat Arts?
With very slow weapons - 4 seconds to 5.33 seconds while dual wielded (REMEMBER: dual wielding increases delay on a weapon by 30%) - it is usually pointless for a melee class to time swings. If you are playing a class that has long casting time abilities as well as quick Combat Arts, you should use CAs in downtime between spells and long casting times right after an auto attack.
What About Haste Effects?
Haste really does not affect the mechanics explained here, except that it simply exacerbates all the negatives with fast weapons and increases the benefits of slow weapons. As your attack speed increases due to haste, your potential to lose auto attack swings increases. Keep that in mind so you know if you need to pause your CA or spell casting chain a little bit more often to make sure you do not miss any auto attacks.
This post is part of the series: Weapon Speed Mechanics in EverQuest 2
This guide explains the mechanics behind weapon speeds in EverQuest 2.
