Guild Wars 2

Ive just hit 80 and starting to look at gear to aim for before i start dungeons runs.

I want to focus on dps in pve and im wondering if dual axe is viable with a rifle or whether I should stick to GS.

Any opinions would be helpful

Very viable, alot more mobile than gs

I would go axe + shield and longbow/rifle.

You need the shield just for the block. Honestly some dungeon mob will knock you down then finish you in 2-3 hits.

I prefer longbow to rifle. Longbow 3 hits for a ton, more than axe 5 in total and on a quicker cool down.

urgh. Such a tough choice. I was going to mystic forge a decent weapon but I dont wanna waste mats on something I dont end up using!

I was thinking toughness/vit trinkets with power / prec gear?

In PvE any weapon/set of weapons is viable because it doesn’t matter as long as you kill the mob. You will kill the dungeon mob/boss anyway why does it matter what weapon you use to do it?

In PvP dual axes is not viable. It does not have as much mobility and evasion as GS (lack of Whirlwind attack and Rush), and it has the same amount of CC as GS (basically none). So GS basically performs the same tasks as Dual Axes, but better. Offhand mace on the other hand provides a very nice hard CC (Tremor).

Again, since you are talking about PvE, it doesn’t matter what you choose, just go with what you like the look and feel of.

Now I’m used to Axe & Warhorn having played it in both PvE and WvW, I’m finding it very hard to go back to any other weapon, even my beloved hammer. Warhorn is just so darned useful, both for the speed buff / snare removal of Charge and the vigor for allies / weakness for enemies that Call to Arms provides.
And Axe on its own is a fantastic weapon, with a ranged snare from Throw Axe and the regular AoE and debuff from Cyclone Axe.
On top of that, the Warhorn also has no skill that prevents movement, retaining the mobility that is the strength of the axe.
Couple that with a good shout build, with more skills that can’t be interrupted, and you have an incredibly mobile, versatile, deadly warrior. Okay, so CC leaves a a little to be desired, but that’s what the second weapon set is for, right?

“In PvP dual axes is not viable. It does not have as much mobility and evasion as GS…”

False. GS has one serious damage skill that roots you. If you miss, you need Whirlwind evasion because you have nothing left for the next 5 seconds and you’re about to get owned. Axes give you much more consistent damage output, allowing you maintain constant pressure and giving you the option to be mobile the entire time. Combine that with the various knockdowns and roots in your utility skills and you’ve got more than enough options to be entirely viable. And you don’t have to spec glass-cannon to be effective like you do if you want your Hundred Blades to not feel like being slapped with a wet noodle.

Apakal.5718:

“In PvP dual axes is not viable. It does not have as much mobility and evasion as GS…”

False. GS has one serious damage skill that roots you. If you miss, you need Whirlwind evasion because you have nothing left for the next 5 seconds and you’re about to get owned. Axes give you much more consistent damage output, allowing you maintain constant pressure and giving you the option to be mobile the entire time. Combine that with the various knockdowns and roots in your utility skills and you’ve got more than enough options to be entirely viable. And you don’t have to spec glass-cannon to be effective like you do if you want your Hundred Blades to not feel like being slapped with a wet noodle.

I like the idea of consistency from axes. If you miss that hundred blades its a bit of a killer and the GS whirlwind move I find really horrible to use.

I think im going to try dual axe and swap in WH occassionally for extra support. Ill trait for off/def

Apakal.5718:

“In PvP dual axes is not viable. It does not have as much mobility and evasion as GS…”

False. GS has one serious damage skill that roots you. If you miss, you need Whirlwind evasion because you have nothing left for the next 5 seconds and you’re about to get owned. Axes give you much more consistent damage output, allowing you maintain constant pressure and giving you the option to be mobile the entire time. Combine that with the various knockdowns and roots in your utility skills and you’ve got more than enough options to be entirely viable. And you don’t have to spec glass-cannon to be effective like you do if you want your Hundred Blades to not feel like being slapped with a wet noodle.

Wrong, HB is a situational skill. It’s is not meant to be used off cooldown. Maybe bad warriors will use it off cooldown willy nilly, but to get full effectiveness you have to CC your enemy first or make sure your ally CC’s the enemy.

Whirlwind blade on the other hand is a skill that makes GS so great. It does very good damage, gives your evasion frames, it is only on an 8 second cooldown, it is very difficult to miss. If you are not using Whiling blade effectively you have not unlocked the full potential of GS. It’s an amazing skill.

Compare that to the lackluster dual axe abilities.

Axe is good, dual axe is not. 4 gives you fury which you wont need because of signet of rage, and 5 dmg is lackluster and only used as an adrenaline boost. Axe/mace however, is very powerful. You get extra stacks of vulnerability as well as a 2s knockdown, which you can pair with a stun from a shield in your offset to get off a full frenzy of auto attacks. But like geff said, if you’re talking strictly pve it doesnt really matter, although id imagine the mace vul and kd would still be more useful there as well. GS is amazing btw, and has a high skill cap despite what some think. A good warrior will find ways to land hb and make full use of gs utility, bad ones will wiff and get destroyed.

Yeah, sorry I meant axe/axe is lackluster. Axe mainhand is actually pretty okay the auto attack is pretty good for sustained damage, however skilled players will never let you stay on them for long and you will have to employ a number of skills to keep CC off yourself to be effective. This means that your Utility skills will be filled with more CC removals than damage enhancers. Axe offhand is terrible, period Whirling axe can be easily interrupted or avoided completely with just one dodge roll or movement skill. You have to employ CC to make Whirling Axe effective, same can be said of HB, however HB has far superior damage and a much lower cooldown.

Axe is a very solid mainhand weapon. Axe/Mace can compete against GS if only for the CC that Tremor provides. Otherwise GS is better in every way.

As an alt weapon set nothing surpasses Mace/Shield in my opinion, Shield stance and the dual stuns from Mace adrenaline skill and Shield Bash has saved my kitten so many times.

Axe mainhand is good. Axe offhand is a joke.