Double weapons and the two-handed AB bonus.

[Hexgoblin]

As of today, double weapons, meaning double axes, two-bladed swords, dire maces and quarterstaves have lost the +2 AB customarily granted to two-handed weapons.

I am curious of the reasoning behind this.

I get that monk dip builds wielding quarterstaves have been a prevalent component of Arelith's mechanics meta for a long time now. Dex-based ranger/monk and spellsword/monk especially come to mind as recent era powerhouses. I'm fully on board with the decision to see them adjusted, as the loss of 2 AB on a setup that's already on the lighter end in that department certainly is a concession to consider, whereas they had very few drawbacks prior. In my opinion, a good change.

On the other hand, though. When was the last time a character using a double weapon that isn't a quarterstaff was a big offender, in regards to things standing out as mechanically unhealthy? I'd wager it was back during pre-nerf kensai barbarians, who had a slew of currently unobtainable passive benefits, and back when the damage gained from barbarian rage was much larger than it is now. That's a character niche that has already seen so many adjustments over the years, that it's basically a flavor gimmick at this point. Further worth to note that using a double weapon on a barbarian was already feasible only on a half-orc, on account of their +4/runic craftables, and innate grant of ambidexterity. Today, they're practically dead meat when put up against anything with an AC investment, who can freely sit in Improved Expertise and grind them down. A black and white dynamic only further emphasized by the recent loss of 2 AB, on a character that already performs the AB/AC trade poorly. Most barbarians today have moved on to using standard two-hander weapons, such as scythes, mauls, greataxes or falchions, with a 5-7 WM splash to bank on burst and higher AB rather than endurance. A change like this only pushes the barbarian class further in that direction.

There have been a few STR-based rangers who've used double weapons in the past, but it's been a very long time since I've seen one have an impact in today's DEX-centric meta. Nor have they ever had an impact large enough to stand out on anyone's problem radar, as far as I know.

So if I'm to try and deduce the reasoning behind what appears like an odd blanket change, I'd say it was probably done for the sake of uniformity. Nerf one, nerf all. But in so doing, you've effectively harmed an already reeling niche of character builds, as collateral on the altar of monk dips.

Perhaps the cause is an entirely different one. Perhaps there's an issue I am not seeing. I am not infallible. But what I am is very curious, as to the thought process behind this change, and I'd personally like to see it reverted for all targeted weapons except quarterstaves. It's a shame to see something so visually and thematically distinct drift further from viability.

EDIT: While I was writing this, it appears another thread has appeared, regarding the same topic. It was not my intent to derail from it. Apologies.