Dual wielding

Dual Wielding is intended to be a option halfway between the damage output of two-handed weapons and the defensiveness of a shield and weapon combo.

Dual Wielding Mechanics

Dual Wielding automatically grants 10% increased Attack Speed and 15% Block Chance(based on the idea of parrying attacks) whenever you equip two One-Handed weapons of any type. The attack speed bonus is applied multiplicatively with other attack speed modifiers. These two bonuses to Dual Wielding can be increased via passives. Weapons do not have to be of the same type to receive Dual Wielding bonuses.

There are no penalties of any kind to attacks with your off-hand weapon. The large majority of attack skills in Path of Exile will alternate between equipped weapons for attacks, swinging first with the main hand and then with the off-hand weapon. There are a few exceptions:

1. If you have two different weapons and the skill you attempt to use only works with one of them, usually only the valid weapon will be used for every attack made with that skill.

2. The following attacks use only your main hand weapon: Ground Slam, Leap Slam, Double Strike.

3. Cleave and Dual Strike will attack with both weapons at the same time.