Dual Wielding Warrior Build for PvP and WvW
sadly dual wield isn’t viable in pvp or wvw unless youre just playing for fun and not to win.
in that case there is no set build and I encourage you to experiment on your own and find out what works for you.
Team Deathmatch for PvP – Raise the AoE cap for WvW – More unique events for PvE
Dual wield Sword Warrior
is a conditions build. it has moistly been replaced by swords/torch (for PvE) or mace/torch (for PvP) . Sword mainhand is meta for condiwarrior builds in PvE sword offhand can be useful, but is inferior in dmg to torch, swordt is used in running builds for it’s skill #2 whcih allows for leaps and the offhand can be used for warhorn, for added speedbuffs.
Dual wield Mace Warrior
is a cc related build, the burstskill does good condition dmg though, I haven’t seen the build for quite some time, as most ppl wanting to use CC related builds tended to use Hammer, for it’s AoE CC. Mace offhand can work , but if you’d run it for CC shield would be more powerfull, and if you run it for conditions I’d advise a torch (or -in theory only- a sword) Could be viable for WvW, has been Meta last season as Mace/Torch, no dual wielding though,
Dual wield axe Warrior
used to be a build as alternate for GS, since the introdcution of PS in 2014 or so, it mostly ignored and axe/mace used to be used as alternate set, until the introduction of breakbars which moved the focus to mace/shield. Axe mainhand still is a very good DSP option, especially if you NEED an offhand (shield WH or whatever)
Optional for WvW, not meta, most likely still viable.
Other dual wielders (non warrior)
- D/D thief Meta High DPS build
- D/D elementalist, surpassed by D/Wh in many cases. Used to be the High DPS melee meta variant of elementalist.
- P/P engineer. Meta conditions build for years
- P/P thief Ranged option, usually passed over in favor for shortbow due to the versatility of shortbow.
- S/S mesmer Part of the dungeon META, In some cases surpassed by focus or shield offhand mostly due to varsatility of the latter 2 in group content. In no means outdated though.
- S/S revenant I have no clue what to say about S/S revenant other then the fact it exists, I’m no Revenant player
- A/A ranger A strange set as axe mainhand tends to be more conditions focussed and axe offhand tends to be DPS focussed
Note: Most builds will make you fall outside the “meta” but for open world playing this should not pose a problem.
23 lvl 80’s, 9 times map, 4ele, 4ncr, 3war, 3grd, 3rgr, 2thf, 2msm, 1eng, 1 rev.
Been There, Done That & Will do it again…except maybe world completion.
Been There, Done That & Will do it again…except maybe world completion.
(edited by PaxTheGreatOne.9472)
playing for fun Axe/Axe can make a nice build. Unfortunately greatsword with its mobility options is normaly better.
I did put something to try out in PvP unranked. Should have good hybrid damage. Use axe 3 and 5 in you firefield :-). Or do it in berserk mode. Leap on oponent with mace then torch 5 and swap to Axe 5.
Leap into oponents with stomp (get stab), ignit yourself with torch 5, swap and use axe 5 …
(edited by Wolfric.9380)
Axe/Axe is my main weapon set right now in WvW and PvP (the small amount I have actually played PvP). Despite what others say, there are some strong suits that can be useful in WvW and PvP. The biggest strength is the cleaving ability the kit has. I tend to run a Vanilla Axe/Axe Warrior with LB and I would consider it my main. I currently have 4 level 80 Warriors, Hopefully 3 more later on. IMHO,Berserker basically ruins Axe/Axe due to the really bad burst skill Decapitate (Decapitate really is a poorly designed Evicserate), due to this I tend to run Vanilla for Axe/Axe.
Axe 1 (Chop, Double Chop, Triple Chop)
It hits hard for a basic attack, this makes it great for saving your harder hitting skills with cooldowns. I can still cleave a down with it, if I have to. It gets pretty strong with some attack speed or quickness thrown in (I like to trait that). This attack hits up to 3 targets.
Axe 2 (Cyclone Axe)
Its a spinning attack that applies Vunerability on up to 5 targets when hit. It works very well as an opening attack before going through a longer combo. This is how I try to use the skill, as part of a combo as much as I can. You get the most mileage from the Vunerability that way.
Axe 3 (Throw Axe)
With 900 range and a fast attack animation on this thrown axe, you can apply your cripple (-50% movement speed) from a fair distance, and quickly. It can be a great opening attack on a ambush, or a clutch attack to keep an enemy within range so you can finish them off.
Its easily dodged, and sometimes it fails to hit seemingly hit-able targets, for these reasons, it can feel a bit disappointing at times. Although it can be very clutch at the times when it does work properly.
Axe 4 (Dual Strike)
This dual Axe attack, grants you 2 stacks of might (%20 Critical Hit Chance) for connecting on up to 3 targets. Like Axe 2, I tend to think of this as part of a combo whenever possible. I do this a lot when things are on cooldown.
Axe 5 (Whirling Axe)
Axe 5 can hit 5 targets while moving 50% faster. It works very well moving with the zerg and cleaving downs. Even in small group fights, this cleaving ability is very strong. If your enemies start to cluster even a tiny bit, then you can get some real mileage out of axe 5. This is a very common occurrence in WvW and a lot of PvP. (not so much at the higher levels of play)
Its a channeling skill, so it has a long animation sequence, the plus side is that it gives you time to position yourself as you cast it, you can constantly adjust. So things like staying just a hare in front of an advancing baddie, or really getting aggressive and body hugging someone are definitely possible. That speed boost while channeling gives you the choice in how you want to play it.
Channeling skills have real negatives of course, and Axe 5 is incredibly obvious when you use it. Good players can easily outplay it, you can count on that. The long cast time makes you vunerable to intterupts, and attacks in general. You can cancel the attack to help minimize any negatives, but you loose out for doing it.
Group play and cleaving are really where axe 5 shines. I enjoy it the most in smaller group fights in PvP and WvW.
(F1) Eviscerate
The Vanilla Axe Burst ability, Eviscerate can hit very hard. There is a damage bonus calculated by how much Adrenilene we had when we used the skill. The more bars we have the harder the skill hits.
It does have a longer animation time, so its fairly dodgeable. This just means that there is more counterplay to this skill out there. Well timed Bursts are key.
It does have 300 range and it can break immobilize if traited, However, as a main source of damage, I try to only do that in emergency situations, like when facing certain death if I do not break the CC.
Like Axe 3 it can also get wonky at times and miss completely.
Leaping into targets can work well, connecting a Axe 3 can make it much easier to land a F1. When both fail though, it can be pretty painfull.
Combos
Combos are really important for Axe/Axe. The biggest source of damage is landing your combos, without that we loose our consistant damage. We have a decent CC with Axe 3, and landing Axe 2 at key times is important for our damage.
If I get the first crack at an enemy during a surprise attack a combo might look something like this.
Axe 3, dodge roll into target, Axe 2, Axe 5, F1 (Eviscerate)
We can que up attacks as well, it can be very strong to do this, if we get interupted though it can really mess up the whole fight. I tend to use Axe1, and Axe 4 in situations like this.
I tend to trait Axe Mastery, so the 20% cooldown reduction on axe skills helps alot with pumping out combos. Its really noticable. The extra Ferocity per Axe also helps our damage. I also really like the extra Adrenaline per critical Axe hit, combined with Axe 5 and 2, you can really fill your adrenaline bar very quickly, its much more noticable over single axe. More ability to spam F1’s means much better damage output.
Greatest Weakness (Fighting movement heavy builds/classes)
The lack of a movement ability on the regular skill bar really hurts the Axe/Axe kit, not having the extra movment option or the ability to use one as a imobilize breaker (via the dicipline tree trait) is a big liability. This is why I think Axe/Axe is much stronger in group play overall.
Fighting imobilize heavy builds and builds that can kite continuously are real problems. Our kit on weapon swap can help in this problem, but it depends on what we pick. Fighting Theives and Mesmers is really challenging while in Axe/Axe mode.
I really think Axe 4 needs to become a movement ability for Axe/Axe to do better overall