Guild Wars 2

what do you use and why?
which weapon sides better with the main axe?

In terms of pve they all go well with axe main and it is best to have sword, mace and warhorn available in order to simply switch in the one which best fits the encounter.

I tend to carry A/S for my secondary set with GS as primary weapon and swap in mace or WH as and when they are necessary.

Call me a “noob”, “bad player”, “stupid doo doo head” whatever, I like Axe/Axe for PvE. Especially for groups of mobs. Axe 5 burns through them quickly. Yes I know it’s not as much DPS as Axe AA, but hitting 5 targets at the same time doing 5k damage to each, WHILE dodging is super fun. Plus makes some great combos finishers in the various combo fields. (poison/cleasing/blinding/fire/healing/brutal/confusion bolts, to name a few)

quoted from my DPS guide:

“Offhands:
Mace
-good for application of vulnerability (#4) when in groups, and for tremor (#5) to interrupt trash mobs when LOSing them to you and your teammates.
Warhorn
-very VERY useful in FotM. #5 is not only a blast finisher which is wonderful for might stacking in combo fields, but it helps when thieves are blasting the group for extra stealth, and it provides the party with vigour (extra endurance) AND weakens enemies. Warhorn also provides you and your party members with swiftness AND can cure movement-impairing conditions like immobilize, stun, cripple, chill, etc.
Sword
-wonderful for blocks. You won’t find yourself choosing this very often when in groups but during boss encounters such as for example Legendary Archdiviner in cliffside fractal where everyone is always scattered and kiting him around, or Mossman in swamp fractal, the torment from impale is reasonably helpful as well as the blocks. It has half the cooldown as shield #5 does and will also block all projectiles provided you aren’t within melee distance of the attacker(s). Example of me using it in combat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJZ4Xd4KcFM
Shield
-not as practical to use as sword, but it DOES have its uses during solos. For example it’s not a bad offhand to use on swap for soloing Alphard in Arah P2, or for skipping trash / keeping OOC as you run past orrian turrets during Arah P1.”