Dual Weapon form vs Combination Weapons

I was tweaking with the innovator class, and though I seem to prefer the armor innovation, I decided to look after the other 2 innovations.

The construct one is cool, I admit, but given the fact we are a group on 5 ( one of wich is a shapeshifter druid with a companion ) I'd rather prefer not to add another unit ( eventually large size ) which could occupy space ( what bothers me is that sometimes rooms are pretty smalls, and we found ourself with space issue in different occasions ).

Anyway, back to the Weapon Innovation.

I love the idea of a double weapon, which is the reason why I love the rune of shifting.

The rune of shifting is limited to weapons which require the same number of hands, and can only be melee weapons, while I'd prefer being able to switch from stuff like a Maul and a rifle.

To make a long story short, I am trying to figure out whether Dual Weapon innovation could be any good compared to a gunblade.

Gunblade ( or a combination weapon )
Pros
- 1 action to swap
- Able to melee + ranged strike
- Runes are shared between the two weapons
- Critical Fusion
- Eventually, keeping the Armor innovation ( considering the combination weapon enough ).

Cons
- Though there are alternatives, it seems the most balanced one is the gunblade, which offers 1d8/1d8, making it a very solid choice.

Dual Weapon Form
Pros
- A really wide choice between ranged and melee weapons.
- Golds provided, a different runes setup for each weapon.
- Different modifications depends the weapon used.

Cons
- 2 actions to swap ( pretty clunky to swap during a fight )
- Unable to retaliate ( Reactions ) or attack if you expend just an action.
- Runes do not share ( you ned to pay twice the amount of runes )
- No combination ( unless using a combination weapon as one of your weapons )
- No critical fusion ( unless using a combination weapon as one of your weapons )
- Difficult to swap from a 2h to a 1h + shield ( if the second weapon is smaller, you have to keep the remain pieces of your innovation in hand, so no shield unless using a weapon with the two handed trait or having something like the nimble hand shield feature, or the lvl 7 modification )

I guess it's all ( feel free to add if I missed anything ).

What bothers me most is the 2 actions to swap from one weapon to another.
I also though about getting some gadget in order to be quickened, to give me another action to strike ( for example, swap, strike, strike, rather than swap + strike ), but I am still non convinced.

Maybe the best one could be getting a combination weapon and a ranged weapon.

Suggestions?

Depends on how much you value your other 4th level options. If you pick a combination weapon, you can pick up megaton strike or something else. One thing of note for a weapon inventor with a combination weapon, is the piercing wind can be 2 handed to make your melee and ranged strikes utilize dex. Probably better than a gunsword.

Depends on how much you value your other 4th level options. If you pick a combination weapon, you can pick up megaton strike or something else.

Indeed it's something to think about, but my main purpose would be find the best way to deal with weapon shaping ( I mean that I am ok expending a feat if it's worth the giving me the character I'd like to create ).

One thing of note for a weapon inventor with a combination weapon, is the piercing wind can be 2 handed to make your melee and ranged strikes utilize dex. Probably better than a gunsword.

The piercing wind is surely interesting, but it has 1d4 damage as melee ( compared to 1d8 ).

In addition to that it lacks the kickback trait, which with the stabilizer , or whater its name, it would give 2 additional damage with your ranged weapon.

Assuming by finesse you mean you won't investing in STR, it would result into something like

1d4+ weapon spec
1d8+ weapon spec

vs

1d8+ STR + weapon spec
1d8+2 + Weapon spec

I wonuldn't even consider the fatal trait becuse on a character which is "slightly" worse than a normal combatant, critical hits are quite rare.

Talking about a human ( I though about a half elf ), what stat progression did you intend to use with the piercing wind?

With the 2 handed modification, you can get the piercing wind to a d6 is what I was saying.

Gunsword would still do more damage on a hit, but you'd be more accurate with the piercing wind and could afford more stats since you aren't switch hitting with both strength and dex

Gunsword is probably better if you intend to focus on the gun part. Works better with megaton strike as well.

With the 2 handed modification, you can get the piercing wind to a d6 is what I was saying.

Oh, the lvl 7 Mod.

Yeah I can see it now. More balanced ( though I'd renounce to silver/coldiron altogether, and have to pay to get one of them ).

aobst128 wrote:

With the 2 handed modification, you can get the piercing wind to a d6 is what I was saying.

Oh, the lvl 7 Mod.

Yeah I can see it now. More balanced ( though I'd renounce to silver/coldiron altogether, and have to pay to get one of them ).

It's 1st level.

Hmm, it's a tough choice though with dual weapon in mind. With access to elf weapons, you could have a harmona gun and an elven curved blade for some efficient switch hitting with dex as well if you keep your strength at 14 for kickback. That might be your best bet. If you keep your distance with your gun and only switch to your sword once things get too close, the extra action to switch is less of a problem for the better accuracy and damage. This is my vote.

Hmm, it's a tough choice though with dual weapon in mind. With access to elf weapons, you could have a harmona gun and an elven curved blade for some efficient switch hitting with dex as well if you keep your strength at 14 for kickback. That might be your best bet. If you keep your distance with your gun and only switch to your sword once things get too close, the extra action to switch is less of a problem for the better accuracy and damage. This is my vote.

I like this one very much!

Glad I could help. Weapon Inventor is pretty solid. Lots of options with dual weapon. Be sure to make it as inexplicable and complicated as possible for maximum inventor flavor.

Another benefit of dual form weapon is that you have 2 sets of modifications to work with. A combination weapon would only have 1 set and your mods might not be usable with both modes.

I'm an inventor, I come up with fantastic ideas for a fantastic world. I make the illogical logical.

Have you heard of the Bathroom Buddy? Now, let's say, you're about to walk into a big duel. It's very important. You reach up and you forgot to shave. Now what do you do? Under normal circumstances, you are in trouble! But not if you have the Bathroom Buddy. Now watch [produces an elven curveblade] Voila!