Glancing blow

A glancing blow is an additional hit caused with a two-handed weapon. Glancing blows have lower chance of hitting and do significantly less damage than ordinary attacks, but they can strike multiple enemies.

Glancing blows are an inherent property of all two-handed weapons, including quarterstaffs. No Feats or Enhancements are required to enable them, though some make them better.

As of Update 5, two exotic weapons - bastard swords and dwarven waraxes cause glancing blows when wielded alone or with a shield (or with a Rune Arm, which Imbues each glancing blow with extra damage as well), not when used in two-weapon fighting. Despite being one-handed weapons, these glancing blows are improved in the same manner as two-handed weapons, including the Two Handed Fighting feats and class enhancements.

Basic mechanics
One free glancing blow attack is made automatically against all enemies in a wide arc in front of your character on the first and fourth swing (if you have a fourth swing) of your attack sequence. Greater Two Handed Fighting additionally grants a glancing blow on your third attack while stationary.

If you move while attacking, you don't get glancing blows. As of Update 23, Glancing Blows now work while moving if a character has the Two Handed Fighting feat.

It is possible—in fact, common—to get both a glancing and a normal attack against your main target. These are rolled separately.

Glancing blow attack rolls use your normal attack modifiers with a -5 penalty.

Glancing blow weapon damage starts at a base of 20% of a regular hit. The minimum damage of 1, however Damage Reduction applies against it normally, and can reduce the damage to zero. Glancing blows cannot critically hit.

Glancing blows ordinarily do not cause any special weapon effects.

Glancing blow weapon damage and chance of applying special weapon effects can be increased by the Two-Handed Fighting feat line, enhancements, and Epic Destinies.

Enhancements

 * Frenzied Berserker enhancements
 * Angry Arms: +[1/2/3]% chance of triggering weapon effects on glancing blows and +[3/4/5]% glancing blow damage.
 * Mad Munitions: +[1/2/3]% chance of triggering weapon effects on glancing blows and +[3/4/5]% glancing blow damage
 * Focus Wide: When you score a vorpal hit, you increase your chance of triggering weapon effects with glancing blows by +10% and gain +10% glancing blow damage for 12 seconds.


 * Battle Engineer enhancements
 * Hand and a Half Training I-IV: +[2/4/6/8]% chance of producing magical weapon effects such as Flaming.


 * Thief-Acrobat enhancements
 * Improved Glancing Blows: Glancing blows produced by your two-handed weapon attacks get an additional [4/8/12]% chance of producing secondary weapon effects.


 * Half-Orc enhancements, Human enhancements, Warforged enhancements, Bladeforged enhancements
 * Great Weapon Aptitude: Glancing blows produced by your two-handed weapon attacks have a [2/4/6]% increased chance of producing magical weapon effects such as flaming.

Epic Destinies

 * Fatesinger
 * Echoes of the Ancestors: Primal: Fury of the Wild: (...) You also have a +3% chance to trigger weapon effects on glancing blows. (...)


 * Fury of the Wild
 * Malicious Weapons: +[3/6/9]% chance to trigger weapon effects with glancing blows.
 * Wild Weapons: Passive Bonus: +[3/6/9]% glancing blow damage.
 * Unbridled Fury: (...) Glancing Blows (...) deal +100% damage and have 100% chance of triggering weapon effects (...)