TOPIC: New/Old Weapon Idea - Shields + Cross-Class Token Ideas

Question of weapons' lack of uniqueness came up recently in conversations, and it made me think about what things can be paired together and something that hasn't been seen since 2009.

Shield Weapons: 1-H, that can be used with offhand regular shields. 2-H that serve both purposes in some way.
Buckler Weapons: Can be used as offhand weapons. ie: Spiked Buckler (2009) Ranger

Then I thought of Cross-Class Token Abilities.
UR and Above: Varying Strengths.
I'm specifically targeting Dual Wielding in Melee for this post... for Paladins, Fighters (I really want to see Barbs get Dual-Wielding 2H weapons for some reason (Maybe at lvl6?)), I also think Dwarves should be able to Dual-Wield Axes at least. ... and Fighters and Paladins too if properly equipped with any weapon they are allowed to wield. Being that they are usually higher Str Classes, their Off-Hand limitation could be weapons that Rangers can also use in Main Hand. I don't see why Rangers should have any issue sharing... They will still always have it naturally. and with more people transitioning to Ranged over the years, it's less seen in mid-to-high level combat. And Lastly to bring the post full-circle... I want to see someone go into battle with two weapon shields and like whirlwind all creatures somehow.

Dougout wrote: Question of weapons' lack of uniqueness came up recently in conversations, and it made me think about what things can be paired together and something that hasn't been seen since 2009.

Shield Weapons: 1-H, that can be used with offhand regular shields. 2-H that serve both purposes in some way.
Buckler Weapons: Can be used as offhand weapons. ie: Spiked Buckler (2009) Ranger

Then I thought of Cross-Class Token Abilities.
UR and Above: Varying Strengths.
I'm specifically targeting Dual Wielding in Melee for this post... for Paladins, Fighters (I really want to see Barbs get Dual-Wielding 2H weapons for some reason (Maybe at lvl6?)), I also think Dwarves should be able to Dual-Wield Axes at least. ... and Fighters and Paladins too if properly equipped with any weapon they are allowed to wield. Being that they are usually higher Str Classes, their Off-Hand limitation could be weapons that Rangers can also use in Main Hand. I don't see why Rangers should have any issue sharing... They will still always have it naturally. and with more people transitioning to Ranged over the years, it's less seen in mid-to-high level combat.

I like the idea of a weapon shield.

Maybe a spiky shield that does retribution damage, and when used as a melee weapon triggers retribution damage bonus on a crit.

Maybe something to bring up in development next year.

If you really wanted to nail a spiked shield, give it retribution damage, low AC, and a melee bonus. You could even make it a death Knight item so it qualifies for the retribution set bonus. Maybe something like this:

1 AC
+5 retribution
+3 damage to melee attacks

Wouldn’t even put Barbarian on it. Fighters + Paladin, and basically make it the anti redoubt set.