Some things I've discovered about duel-wielding

Blocking with almost every weapon in the offhand is pointless imo.  I'd rather partial parry or simply roll than block with a weapon.  You take about the same if not less damage with a partial parry as opposed to blocking with an offhand weapon anyway.

You like straight swords in the offhand, I like spears.  To each their own I guess.

I would never use a straight sword in the offhand, no matter what kind of recovery frames come with them.  But like I said, if he likes it, then go for it.

I also think whips are a lot better in the offhand than a straightsword, but I would just be stating my personal opinion over and over.

If jimmy wants advice about using a straight sword in the offhand, and is determined to do so, you're obviously the one he should talk to.

I am sticking with my opinion that a straight sword is a poor choice for an offhand weapon though.

The zwei is really good in the off-hand, you get a spear in the main and they can't get close.

thank you dibsville for some great idea's. there were a lot things in your list i haven't tried out yet nor that i was aware off.

As there's going to be DW in Dark Souls II. I'll have to test out duals for the first time. BSS/GScythe in off. SKSS/Spear in on hand.

seems like an odd choice to me since the spear is one of the only viable non-parry offhand weapons. also you have to ask yourself: "why do i dual wield?" one shouldn't dual wield for its own sake. i usually combine different ranges, attack speed and hit areas (horizontal swipes + vertical pokes).
my favorite combinations are:
large club + offhand jagged ghostblade
moonlight sword + offhand moonlighthorn
estoc/baldurs + offhand zweihänder
zweihänder + offhand estoc
murakumo + offhand painting guardsword
silvertracer + offhand gravelordsword (toxin synergy)
flammberge + offhand gold tracer (bleed synergy)
greatscythe + offhand claw (bleed synergy)

dual wielding jagged ghost blades on the way to the four kings is nice. It seems to me you can time your first swing using the left hand and hit faster because the ghosts swing with their right hand first. Their swing usually misses me, but mine connects. Follow up with a right-hand swing to finish one off.

A shield is useless if you're not cursed (temp. or perm.), so why not? Make them both +5, too.

xenon_nobelium wrote:seems like an odd choice to me since the spear is one of the only viable non-parry offhand weapons. also you have to ask yourself: "why do i dual wield?" one shouldn't dual wield for its own sake. i usually combine different ranges, attack speed and hit areas (horizontal swipes + vertical pokes).
my favorite combinations are:
large club + offhand jagged ghostblade
moonlight sword + offhand moonlighthorn
estoc/baldurs + offhand zweihänder
zweihänder + offhand estoc
murakumo + offhand painting guardsword
silvertracer + offhand gravelordsword (toxin synergy)
flammberge + offhand gold tracer (bleed synergy)
greatscythe + offhand claw (bleed synergy)

True, I had no idea the spear couldn't be parried in the off-hand. It's something to take into account. Moonlight GS and Horn would work great for a magic user. And the synergy combos you have would seem to work beautifully on paper. But I'm guessing it's a different story when trying them out. It takes practice to use these. And I intend to. Thank you for the suggestions.

i didn't mean you could not parry their attacks, just you get that stupid weapon block on L1. you usually want your offhand weapon to be able to parry (fist, dagger, piercing and cruved swords, katanas, whips) to have at least a little bit of a defensive tool. so putting a weapon in your offhand that can not parry must give a huge benefit to compensate imo.