Guild Wars 2

I run into this issue in WvW. Stealing from a warrior gives the Whirling Axe, but what the heck do I do with it?

I use stealing as a gap closer, and it’s traited to stealth me as well. So when I have the axe, it’s one less stealth skill, one less gap closer, has no viable function to me, cannot use it effectively with a combo, and doesn’t seem to do much damage. The only time I could use it effectively was getting up in the face of my opponent and whirling away…but any skilled roamer can dispatch a thief who gets too close for too long…especially if that roamer is the warrior I stole the axe from.

Another thief said he just waits to pull back and ditch the axe, before going back in the fight. But that’s a waste of time for me…and if I’m pulling back, I’m usually in stealth. I don’t want to reveal myself until I’m ready.

What do you guys do when you get a whirling axe?

Combo it with BP field which gives you an AoE blind.

personally, I jump into the middle of the enemy group or on top of a downed enemy and use it till I get forced to back off. with a power build it hits fairly hard, even if it leaves you vulnerable. in a one on one it is admittedly much less useful, but if they pull out a rifle and try to kill shot it can really help. it doesn’t do much at all for condition builds though, so it may be best to just burn it if you are running one or are on your own.

Well, there was a recent post somewhere that this is the most OP steal-skill ever, so…

In a power-build, it does nice damage. It also reflects projectiles, which is super-funny if your opponent insists on continuing to auto-attack you with a ranged weapon. Although my most epic reflect-moment was when some warrior used Killshot on me while I was using Daggerstorm…

Gosh.
Even if you don’t need this AWESOME skill, just sheath your weapon immediatly after casting it.

If you’re a Power build it’s actually quite a strong ability.

• It reflects projectiles so ideally use it just when the Warrior switches to Longbow.
• It’s free damage so a good way to replenish your Initiative. Use when low.
• It’s good AoE pressure. When the Warrior is trying to revive his mate, say hi.

If you’re a condition build then it’s only really good for the projectile reflect. Still better than nothing.

Save it for when they charge dat killshot then be amazed.

Nothing is more satisfying when you reflect a killshot with the axe you stole from that warrior.

Funny fact: if you reflect the third hit off of a mesmer autoattack scepter, it will create a clone of you.

Chicago Jack.5647:

Funny fact: if you reflect the third hit off of a mesmer autoattack scepter, it will create a clone of you.

Wait, are you serious? I gotta see that…

Its a pretty strong steal, and one of the key components to killing super tanky warriors these days.

It’s one of my favorite steals. You can use it as raw dps, you can use it as a counter to LB pin down or rifle warriors. And if you really need to get out of a bad situation and you have it you can use it as a projectile reflect to secure an escape.

I honestly don’t know how you wouldn’t find this steal useful.

1. You can dodge in whirling axe.

2. IF you manage to stun or immobilize, this skill will do a ton of damage.

3. It reflects projectiles

In pvp, this skill is perfect for combating the hambow meta kitten, I don’t know how many times warriors just spam skills and swap weapons not realizing I put everything from lb back to them.

Reflect pin down while on top of them for hilarious results.

It’s good for putting pressure on the enemy. You shouldn’t use it immediately after stealing it.

After you stealth and backstab, an enemy will usually expect you to play defensively until your Revealed debuff is gone.
I recommend that on your second stealth-backstab, you continue the combo with Whirling Axe. This will most likely surprise the enemy. Don’t hesitate to stop the whirling axe if you get in trouble, though.
It also depends on the kind of enemy you’re facing, of course. If they’re kinda squishy with half health, using whirling axe will most likely drop their HP by a lot without giving them much time to react.

It’s also great for quickly dispatching of downlevelled enemies or squishies without having to waste intiative.