Guild Wars 2

One thing I’ve been wondering for a while is, why is it that the Whirling Axe skill thieves steal off of us reflects missiles but our Axe 5 whirling axe does not? I feel this is a major design flaw and results in a lot of loss in build variety. For example, if we had projectile reflection on Whirling Axe, and carried a shield with the Missile Reflection trait in our swap set, we as warriors would have a completely new build type to the table: reflection. Now mesmers wouldn’t be the only ones able to build to reflect projectiles.

Secondly, this would make us much more viable in sPvP and tPvP against purely ranged bunker rangers, engineers and the likes.

What are your thoughts on this? It seems like something so little, but it could make a world of difference for us as warriors.

No offense, but we already have a triple block(reflection if traited) build.

The reflection on axe 5 would be nice though.

Good idea. Extend it to other channeled skills too. Then make all leaps/charges evade and warrior is fixed in a good warriorish way.

This feels less like a good idea and more like a bug fix. It’s ridiculous that thieves can steal one of our skills and use it better.

Make this happen!

Don’t be silly, only OP classes are allowed long lasting Reflect Projectiles. Also giving a primarily melee class an ability to protect ourselves from ranged attack is completely unfair, other classes might have to do more than #1 us to death in a strafing motion.

Dolan.3071:

Don’t be silly, only OP classes are allowed long lasting Reflect Projectiles. Also giving a primarily melee class an ability to protect ourselves from ranged attack is completely unfair, other classes might have to do more than #1 us to death in a strafing motion.

LOL xDDDD

It’s absolutely ridiculous that thieves can reflect projectiles after stealing our whirling axe, especially when our axe 5 can’t do so.

The reason it is probably better is because you’re trying to compare a weapon skill to thief’s class mechanic. Steal is their adrenaline/burst skills and they are heavily limited by who or what they are facing. The skill they steal isn’t always applicable to the class they’re facing. Take the steal from ele for example, melee range chill for long duration. Ele has so much removal from water that you’d be lucky for that chill to last very long. Same goes for warrior. Say they’re a hammer build. It’d be suicide to try and use stolen axe skill on them seeing as they have no projectiles and they attacks are devastating in melee range during long channels.

Not to mention, IIRC you can tumble during whirling axe and still deal the full damage whereas tumbling during thief stolen axe breaks casting.

Offhand axe is highly unpopular. I can’t say with certainty if this is due to the weapon needed some polish OR people not coming up with good builds for it.
Having reflection on it would be nice, but I’d rather see something like the 100Blades final hit on it, because right now it seems like a melee range Volley (albeit with more individual hits so a higher chance for more critical damage). Also, whirl finisher- useful or useless?

Faranox.4217:

Offhand axe is highly unpopular. I can’t say with certainty if this is due to the weapon needed some polish OR people not coming up with good builds for it.
Having reflection on it would be nice, but I’d rather see something like the 100Blades final hit on it, because right now it seems like a melee range Volley (albeit with more individual hits so a higher chance for more critical damage). Also, whirl finisher- useful or useless?

Added damage would be nice. Something like a bonus on last hit and another bonus if all hits connect. Whirl is pretty meh though IMO. Seems cool in theory but in practice only long whirls have a chance of making an impact and at the same time long whirls might outlast the combo field. Not to mention their benefits are randomly distributed. If it were something like dagger storm where the bolts were just visual effects but the real attacks would fly towards the nearest targets and hit as many targets as possible it would be better.

Another Anet mystery… Stolen skills better than original skills :/

JETWING.2759:

Another Anet mystery… Stolen skills better than original skills :/

True with necros and (IIRC) rangers too…

I agree, Warriors really need projectile reflection. If they changed this skill to reflect, maybe we could finally start running dungeons with 5 warriors instead of 3-4 Warriors plus a random Mesmer and/or Guardian for reflection.

this skill compared to ranger’s axe five version deals more damage and lets you move at the same time you can also evade while using this move putting reflection on this skil would make ranger’s version vastly underpowered

what should be is not reflection but maybe just block projectiles

thief’s version is a elite you cant compare weapon skill to a elite
their steal tho is just…..

really tho what needed to be done is just increase the damage not jsut limited to pvp but wvw and pve as well

or have it remove 1 conditions /second while spinning

Zantmar, good point about ranger’s version. We have the mobility for a slight chase AND I confirmed that you still deal damage while dodging using this skill today.
Damage increase makes the most sense to me. I believe it is the single least damaging channeled attack the Warrior has, other than perhaps Flurry.
Perhaps the rationale behind Whirling Axe being lower damage is the fact that you can move and potentially hit 5 people at once with it without traiting? However when fighting players this simply won’t happen (other than zerg surfing I suppose).

I’d say either leave it as it is and simply increase the damage OR give it reflection and remove the ability to move during channel just like rangers. Giving it movement, the ability to tumble without actually cancelling it and reflection is just too much and I’d imagine that is what went through Anet’s head when they decided to let warrior move during channel.

they have already gave it 50% dmg increase in pvp but not wvw and pve
maybe even 25% on the latter two areas would be just fine

i use axe/axe because i like the concept of it and i hate maces so i been trying to match my play-style for a axe-axeer

eviserate>whirling axe refill and since i traited for 2extra adrenlin on axe crit, i usually fill faster than needed so i cancel early to avoid loosing dps

when CoE alpha does his ground aoe i pop whirling axe and then dodge so i can gain dps when i’m dodging- same with GS 3

my chain for dungeon dps, my axe chain is 2>AAchain>4 then swap to my gs for HB and WW

really people say its crap weapon but its actually alright just need wee bit more dmg

also, warriors with rending strikes can stack some serious vuln(and bleed) with axe 5 as well, not as stable as mace but its something
Edit:
vuln has duration halfed on bosses making mace 4 not THAT awesome, also when running multiple warrior or even just 1 engineer vuln is usually capped

mace 5 is awesome but anything above silvers have defiance

I play A/A only because I like it and because I hate maces on OH.

The WW skill is somewhat fine compared to the thief elite AND stolen skill(since that skill is super situational).
Also the fact that you can use that skill AND move AND dodge(unlike the ranger skill) makes it even better.
When traited for 20% faster recharge it makes it even semi-spammable compared to other skills.
Also don’t try to compare it to GS skill 3 since you can’t move while using it AND it’s better only if you manage to get every hit up to the last(well not every hit but the last hit is most important cause it has most damage, and only if target isn’t moving).

However it’s damage is still a bit mediocre compared to other skills considering it’s recharge and the fact that it’s skill 5(which in most classes should have a nice niche to it).

Therefore I suggest only upping its damage a bit so it can have at least damage close to the GS 3 skill, and not make it REFLECT but BLOCK so it won’t make other skills like Ranger’s OH Axe skill 5 look bad

Imo dosent need proj reflect or block just needs damage cause axe AA is already much stronger

JETWING.2759:

Another Anet mystery… Stolen skills better than original skills :/

Stolen skills are also target dependent and on a 27-35 second cool-down.

Do you really want that reflect on Axe #5 if that also would mean:
- Guardians get a 4s Daze
- Mesmer get all Boons
- Rangers get another healing spring
- Necros get even longer fears
- Eles get longer chills
- Engis get…well, scratch that (however, that skill is quite useful for P/x condi thieves as the pistol sneak attack provides 5 100% projectile finishers which will all inflict confusion if fired through the field)

Iavra.8510:

Do you really want that reflect on Axe #5 if that also would mean:
- Guardians get a 4s Daze
- Mesmer get all Boons
- Rangers get another healing spring
- Necros get even longer fears
- Eles get longer chills
- Engis get…well, scratch that (however, that skill is quite useful for P/x condi thieves as the pistol sneak attack provides 5 100% projectile finishers which will all inflict confusion if fired through the field)

What you wrote is bunch of kitten trying to prove some obscure point you imagined in your head. Discussion is about whirling axe which got nothing to do with what you wrote up there.

OT:
It doesn’t have to be missile reflection but skill should be reworked since its subpar way it is. Actually axe offhand should be reworked as both skills are plain bad. And ranger got major boost to whirling defence which has been in similar situation, along with path of scars. So why not rework warrior axe offhand to useful state?

Thief chiming in here to point something out. The thief version of Whiling Axes doesn’t have a reflect. What you are seeing is Thief elite skill Dagger Storm. Both skills have a nearly identical animation so it’s easy to see where the confusion arises.

Dual.8953:

Thief chiming in here to point something out. The thief version of Whiling Axes doesn’t have a reflect. What you are seeing is Thief elite skill Dagger Storm. Both skills have a nearly identical animation so it’s easy to see where the confusion arises.

Does the wiki have it listed incorrectly? http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Whirling_Axe_%28stolen_skill%29

It’s been AGES since I’ve played my thief, so I can’t remember.

This is a really cool idea. I think that missile reflection would have a lot of synergy with the weapon and give us another reason to use it in the first place.

Right now, Whirling Axe is only best used when:
-There are more than 3 targets.
-There is a field to use the whirl combo finisher in.
-There is a boss that has stacks of blocks that needs to be hit repeatedly to remove those stacks. (Whirling Axe is amazing for this, i.e. the first boss of path one honor of the waves.)

Again, love the idea. Missile reflection would be kitten.

I once pressed Axe 5 in a zerg. Sadly they all had retal. People in TS got a good laugh out of it.

It should have a reflect or remove the reflect on the their version. Either works.

Shademehr.1397:

Dual.8953:

Thief chiming in here to point something out. The thief version of Whiling Axes doesn’t have a reflect. What you are seeing is Thief elite skill Dagger Storm. Both skills have a nearly identical animation so it’s easy to see where the confusion arises.

Does the wiki have it listed incorrectly? http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Whirling_Axe_%28stolen_skill%29

It’s been AGES since I’ve played my thief, so I can’t remember.

Maybe my bad then. It’s been a while since I’m stolen the skill (and I was checking my into on my phone). I’ll just be fading out I guess.

Absorption perhaps, but not reflect.
And considering off hand axe for ranger already does that… I’d look for something different for the warrior. Perhaps damage reduction during the channel would be good.

No reason to stolen WA be better than Warrior’s WA.

JETWING.2759:

No reason to stolen WA be better than Warrior’s WA.

20 second cooldown vs 35 second cooldown.

Yes, there is (unless you would rather have the longer CD… I know I wouldn’t)

Auto axe attacks do more dmg in less time.

Axe 5 is useless even with arrow reflection because you still have no stability and are exposed to direct damage and condis. The meta of the game is Condis atm and AOEs.

The meta of the game is also ranged attacks and axe 5 is just gimping your self.

Also, Axe 4 is crap since we have access to fury from our elite that 95% of the warrior base uses.

GS, Axe and rifle need reworking to make them valid.

Imperatora.7654:

JETWING.2759:

No reason to stolen WA be better than Warrior’s WA.

20 second cooldown vs 35 second cooldown.

Yes, there is (unless you would rather have the longer CD… I know I wouldn’t)

It’s a stolen ability..you do damage when you steal and teleport..we don’t have steal to damage with nor do we teleport to get that axe ability.

Also, are you seriously suggesting you have abilities better than other classes’ versions of it on top of the broken stealth mechanics?

Yes they should give us a stealth trait for this at least.

because thieves are a lot squishier and cant afford to become a slow moving target

Thief here, but the skill has every reason to be better when we use it then when you do…
You can use yours over and over (everytime the CD pops), while ours we use once and then get the CD, then have to use the skill again, just to use the skill. So You press one button twice, we press one button 4 times…
That said, my first character was warrior and I loved A/A, but would agree that the skill could use a revamp, but using thieves as a reason isn’t the right idea.