One-handed + block perks worth the investment, or should I just go two-handed early?

[DragonbornVet]

Starting a new playthrough and I want to do a sword-and-board tank instead of the usual greatsword slog. Problem is, I keep seeing people say block is a "dump stat" and one-handed scaling is worse than two-handed damage-wise. I'm planning to rush some block perks (the one that damages attackers, maybe the shield bash one) and grab the one-handed perks that actually boost damage. But I'm worried I'll hit a wall around level 25-30 where I'm just tanking hits instead of killing things fast enough. Does shield tanking actually work as a primary strategy or am I handicapping myself for the sake of roleplay?

 

[WhiterunModder]

Block is genuinely viable, but not for the reason you think. The damage reflect perks are honestly underwhelming - they proc inconsistently and don't scale well. What actually makes sword-and-board work is that you're freeing up your damage output in ways two-handed can't.

One-handed damage per hit is lower, yeah, but your attack speed is way faster, and you can pump Smithing / Enchanting to ridiculous levels on a sword without feeling like you're wasting points. Pair that with the perks that boost your damage after blocking (the riposte one, if I'm remembering the name right), and you're actually outputting solid DPS between blocks. You won't hit a wall at level 25-30 if you're upgrading your gear - that's the real bottleneck, not the perks.

Block scaling is fine if you actually invest in it. Rush the early defensive stuff, but don't sleep on the perks that let you bash without depleting your stamina pool - that's where the playstyle gets fun. Shield bashing staggered enemies opens up follow-up damage windows that two-handed just doesn't get.

If you're on PC and want to experiment without committing, Ordinator completely rebalances the block tree and makes some of those reflect ideas actually worth taking. But vanilla? You'll be fine. Just don't expect block to carry your damage - your sword does that.

 

[TamrielTactician]

that previous reply nailed it - I'd just add that the gear investment part is way more critical than people realize. I hit that exact level 25-30 wall on my first sword-and-board run because I was still using iron/steel gear while my two-handed friend had already upgraded to elven. once I started actually smithing my own stuff and throwing enchantments on it, the damage floor disappeared.

the stamina bash perk (the one that lets you shield bash without draining stamina) is genuinely the glue that holds the playstyle together. it lets you chain bashes into power attacks without feeling like you're stuck in a rhythm, and staggered enemies take like 30% more damage from your follow-ups. that's where your real DPS comes from, not from the damage reflect stuff.

one thing I'd mention though - if you're playing on Switch or console in general, just be aware that the perks are gonna feel a bit more "passive" than on PC with mods. you're not getting the fancy rebalance stuff, so block is more about survival and openings than it is about flashy mechanics. but that's not a bad thing? it just means commit harder to the smithing and enchanting side of things. a well-upgraded steel sword with a solid enchantment will carry you way further than you'd think, even into the 40s if you keep upgrading.