Right now, any dual wielding character will probably want one of these two talents, but has no need to take both. They both only affect the -20 penalty to the off-hand attack (as there is no pealty to the main hand).

As such, is there any reason for this to be two separate talents? The only purpose it seems to serve is to punsih characters who are considering swapping between dual wielding 2 melee weapons and 2 ranged weapons at different points in time. Otherwise, a character can just as easily select a single weapon type they prefer to use and know they will always wield, and dual wield accordingly.

Agreed- between the both of us, General talents seem a bit out of place.

The above gun-slinger and blade dancer should go back to their respective fighting tables (gun and ranged) as first level Options) and be cheaper to purchase, so that a character can easily get both if he wants to fight with a gun and sword and then be able to access the rest of their respective trees (an added bonus at getting these talents).

Really what I'm trying to say is that these talents serve no purpose as separate things. It might as well be one talent, with an either/or for its WS/BS pre-req. As it is, all its doing is punishing a player who either wants to experiment with weapon loadouts, or wants to diversify them (with the understood loss of having both a good WS or BS).

So let a player select multiple times for each combination? Or just have it straight up reduce the penalty for the off hand?

So let a player select multiple times for each combination? Or just have it straight up reduce the penalty for the off hand?

The latter I think; having two talents that do more or less the same thing is redundant.

As such, is there any reason for this to be two separate talents? The only purpose it seems to serve is to punsih characters who are considering swapping between dual wielding 2 melee weapons and 2 ranged weapons at different points in time. Otherwise, a character can just as easily select a single weapon type they prefer to use and know they will always wield, and dual wield accordingly.

I think there is reason for two seperate talents - Being trained to use two swords is quite different than using two guns, in fact I'd go so far as suggesting a third talent - gun and sword so you can shoot in melee at the same time as hacking with your hand weapon.

I don't see this as punishment. I see this as a way to have characters who excel at different things and so it should be. With a limited (to a certain extent) xp pool, you need to make choices on what you want your character to do. If I'm going down a ranged route, I'm not likely to worry too much about melee choices to much.

I think there is reason for two seperate talents - Being trained to use two swords is quite different than using two guns, in fact I'd go so far as suggesting a third talent - gun and sword so you can shoot in melee at the same time as hacking with your hand weapon.

I don't see this as punishment. I see this as a way to have characters who excel at different things and so it should be. With a limited (to a certain extent) xp pool, you need to make choices on what you want your character to do. If I'm going down a ranged route, I'm not likely to worry too much about melee choices to much.

The thing is, the current system is not based on weapon combinations (as it was in other 40k lines), but on off-hand weapon usage. Blade Master works for melee - melee or ranged - melee, while Gunslinger works for ranged - ranged and melee - ranged. A generic Ambidextrous talent would work for all 4 options, with other, more specific talents giving additional options for specific combinations (dual parries, shooting while charging, independent targetting, etc.)