Are the 2 handed weapons faster than 1 handed weapons? Plain and simply... No. What I know about math is that the further an arc is away from a pivot point, the faster the arc speed will become. The pivot point being your hands, and the arc point being the tip of a weapon. Thus stating that, 2 handed weapons only looks fast because it has a lengthy extension from the pivot point.
The reason people think that it is faster than 1 handed weapons is because usually people with 1 handed weapons have a shield as well, the problem is that if you block an attack, you have to go through 1 animation before you can even start an attack. The first animation is the one where the shield drops, and by that time is up the other person has just started to chamber a second attack. Then you have to chamber your attack and BOOM! Dead because it takes too long to ready a weapon after lowering a shield, not the speed of the 2 handed weapon.
Another reason that people think they are faster is the good ole' back pedaling and turning into your swings, it is much more effective with a lengthy weapon.
The reason people think that it is faster than 1 handed weapons is because usually people with 1 handed weapons have a shield as well, the problem is that if you block an attack, you have to go through 1 animation before you can even start an attack. The first animation is the one where the shield drops, and by that time is up the other person has just started to chamber a second attack. Then you have to chamber your attack and BOOM! Dead because it takes too long to ready a weapon after lowering a shield, not the speed of the 2 handed weapon.
Another reason that people think they are faster is the good ole' back pedaling and turning into your swings, it is much more effective with a lengthy weapon.