2H melee specialist Options

[rbeverjr]

Great players of IA who can rule the game on insane with ease, please let me know which melee person you consider best to wield 2H weapons (particularly halberds) and why. My thinking is kensai or barbarian. The kensai should be able to Greater Whirlwind and hit just about anything but his defense will suck without potions or Spirit Armor. The barbarian has much better defense (rage, resistance, good armor), but he may be using Critical Strike rather than Greater Whirlwind - not sure which would be optimal. But these are the thoughts of a lesser player. What do you think?

[chaser]

In most cases, a 2H wielder has fewer damage output than a dual wielder. The biggest problem is that the 2H wielder has fewer APR. Only few equipments or spells can increase APR, and the most typical one is the Paws of the Furious Cat.

The kensai is definitely a good 2H wielder, for his low thac, he can choose GWW rather than CS.

My recommendation is:
1.Kensai(13)/Thief(or Kensai(9)/Thief), for he can equip Paws of the Furious Cat and Carsomyr. His APR will be at most 8. He can also backstab with Staff of the Ram! The Assassin(23)->Fighter should be more powerful, but it'll take a long time to dual.
2.The Avenger, Fighter/Druid or Druid Fighter dual, are all decent 2H wielders. Since IA v6.2, many powerful 2H weapons that designed for druids are added.

BTW, if you have a Bard in party, many other warriors are selectable. With +4 hit and damage bounses, it is more reasonable for them choose GWW.