Guild Wars 2

Since a majority of axe MH damage comes from #1, would I really be giving up much, from a DPS perspective, using a shield? I know OH mace brings another 4% vuln and OH axe brings Fury/AoE….but it terms of individual DPS, am I missing out on anything using a shield?

I’ve never used one before so I have no idea if there any hidden mechanics or what

As one might think the shield implies defense and it is exemplary in this department. In terms of pure dps you will definitely lose out in burst with a shield in your off hand, but you make up for this being able to stay in the fight longer with a disrupting charge and an invulnerability which can mean the difference between life and death in a fight against a glass cannon.

Norelation.3067:

As one might think the shield implies defense and it is exemplary in this department. In terms of pure dps you will definitely lose out in burst with a shield in your off hand, but you make up for this being able to stay in the fight longer with a disrupting charge and an invulnerability which can mean the difference between life and death in a fight against a glass cannon.

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This. I got an Axe/Shield build myself and I can safely say that my trusty metal board has kept me alive though the hariest of skirmishes and provided a stalwart defence though anything, you name it: Arrows, bullets, blasts of fire, Thieves and their butter knives… ANYTHING.

Something I’ve come to know when it comes to Shields. Trust in 5… Trust in 5.

The shield’s stun sets up the target perfectly for an eviscerate. If anything, shield increases your overall damage by allowing you to reliably land your axe abilities on the target.

I am one to think our shield skills need to get lower cd’s or increased effectiveness. It offers very selfish utilities (single target stun (1 sec) and a 3 sec invuln to direct damage). Also need to spec 20 in defense tree to get the cd’s down by 20%. I would rather get 20 into the tactics tree and get 20% off warhorn skills and it changes 1 condition into a boon/ aoe weakness for 6 sec / vigor for 10 sec (more dodge = less dmg) / swiftness for 10 sec (can get away easier if necessary) / and anti cripple/immobilize/chill. + These are aoe buffs to allies as well.

I do say that Shield has its own perks (stun to set up another attack, and the 3 sec invuln) but i still believe warhorn > sheild as an offhand. Thats my opinion though, so if it works great for you = keep using it, but try warhorn once in a while and see if its your style.

axe/shield is a solid choice.
i go 20 points in defense for more armor/some regen/ and reduced shield CD. Another trait in this line makes you reflect projectiles while blocking and thats some hilarious fun.

If the axe didnt hit so damned hard i would probably be running GS.

A lot of people seem quick to hate on axe 5, but axe 5 really is a pretty fan-freaking-tastic skill IMO. If you spec correctly not only will you be dishing out a ton of aoe bleeding but you’re also going to be stacking might like crazy as well as basically insta filling your adrenaline so at the end of it your eviscerate will hit like a damn truck. Not to mention how well axe 5 works with the longbow aoe fire or anyone other combo fields. Plus let’s not forget dealing with all the mesmer clones and stealth abilities in the game – axe 5. Point control/dps – axe 5. Also your self buff from axe 4.

Really comes down to what do you want/need for your goals and play style. For me, the dual axe is perfect, works amazingly with my spec and play style.

I love axe 5 with combo fields and PvE, thats about it though. If you want survivability in PVP you kinda need a shield and Axe/Shield works well together for this.

I went level 1-80 going dual axe and switched to other builds but right now running axe/shield with flameseeker legendary. I do pve and wvw, but frame my builds around WvW.

The damage difference is quite noticeable. Skill 5 in dual axe is very under-rated. It helps build up adrenaline fast and is great for AOE.

Dual axe/rifle gets ripped on often, but I had plenty of success in WvW with high crit % / dmg. I always opened with my rifle and switching to axes when I knew the odds/survivability were in my favor. The problem is once you blow your load using your skills you start losing DPS. I still had great success, but I attribute to playing to my strengths instead of charging in.

With axe/shield I went power, precision, toughness. Reference my build here: https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/warrior/Axe-Board-Warrior-in-WvW/first#post1010560

It works very well for me in WvW as I have very high survivability. I feel comfortable in a 1v1 anyone, but have had trouble with a CC elementalist that seemed to have very high toughness. Big crowd fights are great with surviving and block is fantastic.

Recently I tweaked and went 0/0/30/30/10 and went with shouts and did not notice a dps decrease but this is off a small sample size.

The best advice is buy some rare weapons cheap to try them out yourself.

As far as dungeon, axe/shield is superior. Try fighting the lieutenant in AC with dual axe and see how long you survive. With shield I can block his pull and take a beating from many of his attacks.