Sword, axe, or hammer???

[damienbadewell]

As a warrior, which should I focus my skills on - swords, axes, or hammers? I haven't left pre-searing yet and am wondering later in the game which of the 3 categories the most powerful weapon(s) will fall in. Which should I emphasise for inflicting maximum damage at highest levels?
Thanks.

[Feynt]

For highest damage, hammers are king. Nothing seems overly resistant to them, their skills work on all forms of enemy, and nothing can match their damage potential.

For most blood loss, go for swords. While useless on "armoured" opponents like golems and undead (they don't bleed, so virtually all sword skills are useless. Likewise you do lower damage, I'd guess about 3/4 normal damage), sword skills cause bleeding and deep wounds most often. Bleeding bypasses armour and can undo a lot of healing, and deep wounds can effectively bring a tough opponent down a few levels.

For most status effects, axes. Axes cripple, bleed, and deep wound, and do pretty decent damage to everything. They also take a lot of adrenaline to do their moves as opposed to swords or hammers.


Unfortunately for a very long time mastery of one particular weapon will be beyond your reach due to skill limitations. Either use more skills from your secondary profession (or primary, if warrior is your secondary) to make up the spaces for those slots you can't fill for your weapon of choice, or keep multiple weapons on you at one time so you can use a variety of skills.

[Tsume]

Well Damien, one of the first things to know is that success is not allways equal to damage. That is to say, just becuase you have a high offensive capability, does not mean you will be some 'uber player'. Guild Wars is a lot more balanced than the games where one route simply dominates all others.

If you really want the high damage, the Hammer offers the largest damage and the ability to knockdown, but lacks the extra defense a shield provides or the extra energy from a focus.

Axe and sword allow you the use of an offhand item, and are faster than the hammer. It was once thought that sword and axe had roughly the same speed, but recently ive been hearing that sword is faster, that may or may not be true. Sword skills including the ability to inflict bleeding and the lovely Final Thrust.

Eh, just look through the skills really. Pick which tree you want to specialize in.

[UndeadBehlial]

Cyclone Axe is king of PvE. Some may argue Hundred Blades, but that is elite, and this isnt. Something to think about :)

[Feynt]

I argue Hundred Blades because it is capable of hitting more enemies. But I like axes more, and I think you can use Cyclone Axe with Illusionary Weaponry. >3

[kilmar]

I use axe over sword for several factors. One is the high potential dmg (28 vs 22). Once your Axe and Strength is high enough, the axe does some major damage.

Swords are meant to be DoT (damage over time), which is great for a 1v1 or small number of mobs. When there is a large number, you're counting on finishing one mob fast to get on the next one so the healer/casters don't die. Also, Cyclone Axe is a good way to damage all foes and to attempt to grab aggro on the mob attacking the healer/caster.

As for hammer, they do insane damage, but there are some godly shields out there that I wouldn't want to miss.

[levistar]

Last I checked there was 1 sword ability for bleed, so I am not sure where you get this idea that swords are ment for dots.

From my personal experiance, and the experiance of my guild, axe is easier at early levels because you can get more skills that are useful. Hammer is something I would suggest using only for PvP and only once you have every skill you plan to use, prior to that, missing a skill or two will make it horrid. Tons of people are posting all over about gash and sever artery when they relate to sword... well the fact is most of these people have never seen another sword skill :P
Basically:
Hammers = Large dmg, but slow + knockdowns, good for pvp and interrupting.
Axes = Fast, good #s of adren skills, but large dmg range (6-28), will do good in either pvp or pve.
Swords = Fast, consistantly high dmg (15-22), great burst dmg for pvp = very strong. Final Thrust is sweet. Access to hamstring.

I am sword, but leveling with axe would have been easier. Hammer is like a type of support role in pvp, but without a shield its not so hot in PvE.

[Feynt]

It seems easier to use Sever Artery and Gash over and over than it does the various axe skills which also cause bleeding or deep wounds. I believe that's why people claim swords are meant for DoT, and I agree with that assessment.

[trafalgar-zero]

What axe skill causes bleeding? I'm pretty sure that's sword only.

Hammers- Very high damage, slowest attack, causes knockdown, weakness, deep wound, and blindness. They require a more extensive combo to get each effect then other weapons.

Axes- 6-28 max damage, a little bit slower then sword (trust me I’ve stood beside sword wielders and they attack a bit faster) causes Deep wound, weakness, crippled. Requires little to no skill combo to get status effect, which is why I choose them.

Sword- 15-22 Damage Max, the fastest, causes, bleeding, deep wound, crippled. Most people go this way for the cool looking Dragon Swords... Just because it's called a dragon sword doesn't mean your going to play better. Anyways the Sephy axe is way cooler. Swords are about the same, as axe except require a 2-skill combo for deep wound, which is nice since the other causes bleeding.

My scale over rating weapons is Axe>=Sword>=Hammers. If I had the time to make a build for each I would, but sadly I don’t' have the time. Hope this helps.

[The Fox]

Using your numbers for swords and axes, which I assume to be right, would result in swords having an average damage of 18.5, while axes have an average damage of 17. Is the some other reason that axes have "more damage"? If there attack speeds are the same and sword average higher than axes then i'm having a hard time understanding why axes have high damage. :) please enlighten me! thanks

[Herthbul]

As for Axes vs Swords, there are some key points. The Axe skills are mostly adrenaline based, so you're free to run energy intensive skills (Judge's Insight, Strength of Honor, etc...) to really pump your damage output. Penetrating Blow and Cleave are some very top notch Axe skills. Also they get access to Cyclone Axe which is an amazing PvE skill. Sword's on the other hand have some more energy skills aside from the typical Sever Artery+Gash+Final Thrust/Galrath combo that everybody runs. Sword users can run Flourish with pretty good results. Also W/E's can run with a Dragon Sword which allows them to use Conjure Flame even with no upgrades.

As for Hammer's, they're an amazing PvP weapon and probably the best. Knockdown combo's like Backbreaker+Hammer Bash or Devastating Hammer+Heavy Blow can put a caster out of order for a decent duration. While they don't receive the most benefit out of +damage skills due to their slow attack speed, they still have a pretty high DPS.

In the end I'd probably side with Axe>Sword>Hammer for PvE and Hammer>Axe>Sword for PvP. Sword's just lack that umph for either situation though they're "balanced" for both.

[Dragon Flame]

As for Axes vs Swords, there are some key points. The Axe skills are mostly adrenaline based, so you're free to run energy intensive skills (Judge's Insight, Strength of Honor, etc...) to really pump your damage output. Penetrating Blow and Cleave are some very top notch Axe skills. Also they get access to Cyclone Axe which is an amazing PvE skill. Sword's on the other hand have some more energy skills aside from the typical Sever Artery+Gash+Final Thrust/Galrath combo that everybody runs. Sword users can run Flourish with pretty good results. Also W/E's can run with a Dragon Sword which allows them to use Conjure Flame even with no upgrades.

As for Hammer's, they're an amazing PvP weapon and probably the best. Knockdown combo's like Backbreaker+Hammer Bash or Devastating Hammer+Heavy Blow can put a caster out of order for a decent duration. While they don't receive the most benefit out of +damage skills due to their slow attack speed, they still have a pretty high DPS.

In the end I'd probably side with Axe>Sword>Hammer for PvE and Hammer>Axe>Sword for PvP. Sword's just lack that umph for either situation though they're "balanced" for both.

what i would say, is yes hammer is best for pvp, but sword and axe are equal. Hammers dont do as much damage, even though they have a higher attack, because their skills focus more on knockdowns, making them the warrior anti caster solution. But, for damage output, i'd say axe and sword are the same. Sword keeps your foe loosing health constantly with sever artery, and using gash can make the enemy go down twice as fast. add galrath and final thrust to that, with a conjure, and you gotta admit, it's deadly. Axes can basically do the same, with great skills, but they cant cause bleeding. Axes also use combos like Eviscerate(great skill) and axe rake
then executioners strike.

all 3 are viable, it just depends on what you want to do best as a warrior, make the caster curse you for life? or deal a lot of damage fast?

[Groaghed]

I still haven't decided a weapon spec for my warrior/monk. I saw one in the 20 pvp that I think was using a sword/shield. UNTOUCHABLE. Every team I was in, we threw our best spells and attacks but never broke through.

I'm thinkin I might go sword, still don't know

[Taxus Baccata]

I am undecided about what to use on my warrior.

Is it worth forgoing a shield to wield a protective icon or the like in your offhand. Something that gives +5 Energy would be a 25% boost to the warriors energy reserve.

I have been wandering round as a lvl 3 with an Axe and +3 Energy Icon and I am not doing to bad, it means I have more energy for my Secondary Profession skills.

Thoughts?

[damienbadewell]

Wow - thanks everyone for the excellent explanations.

[REI ONRYOU]

I've answered this question so many times, I may as well have it as my title: "Warrior weapon information guy".

Then again, someone's already given me Uber Warrior as a title...

Anyway, all I know about the weapons:


The three weapons specifically available to the Warrior are the Axe, Hammer & Sword. Which weapon you choose normally comes down to a matter of taste or playing style preference.
The Axe is considered to be the fastest weapon in the game, but after Zrave, a GW community member, took speed readings of all the weapons in-game, it turns out that the Axe & the Sword are both the same speed, so share the title of fastest weapons in game. The Axe users out there are a very small number, but they swear by the Axe, & with good reason. The Axe has a very high damage value & is more likely to cause a critical hit, but the drawback of this is that the range of damage is a lot larger, causing the average Axe attack damage to be much lower than the Hammer & Sword. The skills used by an Axe Warrior lean towards incapacitating your opponent physically, limiting their potential to cause damage or escape and heal. They cover deep wounds, crippling, and causing weakness to your opponent. The rest of the skills cause extra damage, or lots of armour penetration that can increase damage caused substantially. The Axe has no DoTs, so if you want to cause damage over time, you’ll be better suited for a Sword build. A plus side of using an Axe is because it is only one-handed, so you can also equip a shield/foci to use at the same time, increasing your defence. An Axe would be better used against other Warriors, as they don’t cast spells so weakness will affect them more.
The Hammer is at the opposite end of the spectrum to the Axe, causing high levels of damage but being a lot slower. The difference in the attack speeds is about 26%. Although this doesn’t sound too bad, it does make a lot of difference in a fight. That means you don’t receive Adrenaline as fast as another Warrior type. On top of that, its two-handed, meaning you’ll have lower defence. The range of damage the Hammer causes is a lot smaller, so it generally does deal the most damage consistently. The skills used by a Hammer Warrior are mainly knockdown skills, which work very well against a caster, and have that extra special annoyance factor. Knocking down an opponent can be the best way to keep them under control. Other conditions caused include deep wounds and causing weakness, but no crippling. Crippling is effectively covered by knockdowns as they stop your opponent from running and their actions. The Hammer can be used against most classes, but works best against a class that has long cast times for skills. An Elementalist activating a powerful skill will be furious losing their energy & usage of the skill due to that & it will interrupt their game plan.
The Sword is the middle ground, not as powerful as a Hammer, but very fast to use. As a one-handed weapon, a Shield will be of use, or Foci if energy is a necessity for you. The damage isn’t very high, but you can still find some very good Swords, so you’ll have to keep your eye out when you’re in a town for a good offer. The variation isn’t that large, but as the damage tends to be lower, it evens out. The skills used by a Sword Warrior cover everything apart from weakness. This allows a lot of conditions to be piled up, however, due to them requiring more Adrenaline or energy, you’re unable to spam them very often. The addition of a DoT in the form of Sever Artery is very useful, as you can cause a lot of damage even if they may be blocking. If you use this, then a Monk uses Pacifism, it won’t save your opponent from a world of hurt. Some of the skills increase the rate of Adrenaline gain, which can be very useful to use the high Adrenaline cost skills. A Sword build can be used well against any class, but some like Rangers can be troublesome. Against a caster, you can cause havoc due to the low armour and their concentration on AoE damage.

[Dragon Flame]

I've answered this question so many times, I may as well have it as my title: "Warrior weapon information guy".

Then again, someone's already given me Uber Warrior as a title...

Anyway, all I know about the weapons:

rei...how many times have you posted this exact thing (the quote from your guide)? ah well...just goes to show how many of these weapon threads there are. listen to what rei has to say, he's an expert.

[Bruiser of Minoc]

I got the chimeric prism with my pre-order copy of GW, it gives +5 energy and +16 armour, better than any shield I think.

[REI ONRYOU]

I think the number of posts has entered double figures. As soon as GWO hosts my guide, I can just skip to a link, but until then...I better keep nagging them. :P

As for the Chimeric Prism, it is a good alternative choice if you need energy. Although some Shields give other extras such as health which can be very handy. It depends on what you're after.

[hedwig]

Hammer is pretty gimp for pvp imo. The amount of time it takes to get adrenalin up even when using zerk and a adrenalin weapon mod is just too much. For that reason i switched to axe.

[REI ONRYOU]

Hammer can be amazing in PvP. Just have to use it correctly.

[huxley maximus]

I use a hammer pretty much because no one else does in PvE. I do miss shields though :(. Also, what kind of RPG is it where you cant wear necklaces and rings? What a horrible thing to leave out.

[goblintrain]

Hammer is pretty gimp for pvp imo. The amount of time it takes to get adrenalin up even when using zerk and a adrenalin weapon mod is just too much. For that reason i switched to axe.

Actually a Hammer warrior is the only hero in PvP battles that i actually get nervous about when i see them target me.

[Torm Shadowbane]

From my experience, and I think the posts here are a good back up to my claim, is that it doesn't matter what weapon you use. Don't focus on the weapon focus on the skills that the weapon allows you to use. Then think about what type of warrior you want to be. Each skill set offers advantages and disadvantages.

I've tried both swords and hammers with my warrior. I disliked hammers so I went back to swords. I really enjoy my sword but I might take some time trying out axes as well.

If you have the ability group with two other warriors using a different weapon type. I was once in a group with two other warriors one using an axe, one using a hammer and myself using a sword... amazing. The real power of a character isn't how well they do on their own -- people always focus on how to make THEMSELVES 'uber'. I think that if you really want to be 'uber' you have to think of yourself in terms of how your skills compliment your team members skills.

In all other games I've played I spent time focusing on what made my character the best, but in Guild Wars... the focus is completely different, at least it appears that way to me.

The best advise I think I could give anyone is to find a group of friends. Group with them regularly. When thinking of your build take theirs into consideration and mold your character so that it compliments the group.

[GreyRider]

I started my char as a sword wielder and had a blast with it early on. I then happened upon a max damage axe with low requirement and switched to it. The later levels had a large number of undead and my W/Mo using Judges Insight and Cyclone Axe deals out an ungodly amount of damage. I was hitting the mobs around me for 50-130 damage EACH (but thats for the undead). I then fell in love with the axe and I'm not sure if I will go back to a sword. When I get Hundred Blades I will the re-equip a max damage sword and try that for awhile.

[chrystianek]

yeah hammer in pvp is just a scary sight

u just know u will be sitting on the ground if he will target u(unless u have a special stance in your skill bar :) )

still i like swords alot and there are stances out there that can counter hammer warriors

so 4 me so far swords all the way
than hammers

and btw
sever artery gash and final are all adrenaline based doh!!!

[TW III]

Hammer is pretty gimp for pvp imo. The amount of time it takes to get adrenalin up even when using zerk and a adrenalin weapon mod is just too much. For that reason i switched to axe.


That's the reason you always use Frenzy. Never make a Hammer build without frenzy.

[mickeyjello]

The reason Axe is said to do more damage is becouse of its high Crittical..

http://www.rpgstars.com/damage.php

^ thats a good article!!

[Sir Sweepaway]

Ok I have one question,
I am a W/N and have been using a 15-22 sword with AP 6% (10%) or something (the bonus doesnt matter too much with this. heres my skills
1. sever artery (bleeding, drawback-doesnt work on everything)
2. gash (deep wound, drawback-requires bleeding)
3. hundred blades (my spam spell of the hour for mobs or 1V1)
4. final thrust (just got it, love it to death, bye bye white mantle)
5. siphon life (keeps me goin)
6. well of blood (great for parties)
7. healing signet (could replace this easily if need be)
8. rez signet (usually kept when with other party members)

now ignoring my last 2 skills and noticing that I am a necro that uses a health degen spell, should I keep my sword for the other degen or should I use a golden 6-28 axe req 12 axe mastery (some bonuses I cant quite remember) and use axe skills for higher damage? If I change this then I will be changing my helmet (for +1 in attribute) as well as some of my skills. I also have a minor rune of axe mastery.
The main problem is that since recently getting final thrust, I have been doing ungodly amounts of damage to white mantle and usually finishing them long before my other party members can because of final thrust. If that skill wasnt involved then I would most certainly go for axe, but I am just not sure about the axe skills. I once tried axe (pre-searing) and it stunk, although I'm sure that is from lack of skills.
I guess my main question is should I go with higher DoT or should i have higher damage and use DoT as a helper? thx!

[Ruglia]

I found something to change to when I'm fighting monsters that don't bleed. justice->galrath slash->final thrust and if needed, hundred blades. Could even add power attack or pure strike somewhere in there. Starting to like this so much I might ditch bleeding, though that has it's uses too...

I love sword, will most likely stay it for a long while...

[killingangel]

I usally keep a good sword, axe and hammer on me at all times. Sure, it takes up a lot more inv space, but here's why:

I play a W/Me. One of my big combos is Sever Artiery+Phantom Pain. It drops people and mobs very quickly. I have the Axe for Cyclone Axe and some of the other attacks that it brings. Hammer for the knockback ability.

Right now, my Axe Skills are the highest, but remember, you can shift your Attribute points as you need be. Okay, not really need be, but enough that it'll help you on a mission. If you go in and notice that your sword is not really helping you too much, remove some of those skill points and put them into a skill set that will help you. I constantly shift my secondary skill points depending on what I am going for.

You can also do this to help with the lack of speed on the Hammer side of things. Grab a sword or axe and have a hammer on another slot. Go in attacking with the faster weapon switch to hammer once those skills can be activated, switch to hammer and kick in frenzy.

[huxley maximus]

I am a hammer junkie....I love a max damage dragon sword and shield or a good axe but when out soloing or pvp'ing nothing seems to match up to my hammer with knockdown. It works great for grouping quests and keeping the enemies at bay.

[Dragon Flame]

you guys know what the best thing is in PvP?
2 warriors, 1 hammer, one sword/axe

hammer warrior keeps the foe on the ground at all times, sword warrior's just unloading damage and DoT. there isnt much that can stand up to that, and the rest of the team hitting the same target? they die pretty damn fast. :happy34:

[jlowry]

Ok I have one question,
I am a W/N and have been using a 15-22 sword with AP 6% (10%) or something (the bonus doesnt matter too much with this. heres my skills
1. sever artery (bleeding, drawback-doesnt work on everything)
2. gash (deep wound, drawback-requires bleeding)
3. hundred blades (my spam spell of the hour for mobs or 1V1)
4. final thrust (just got it, love it to death, bye bye white mantle)
5. siphon life (keeps me goin)
6. well of blood (great for parties)
7. healing signet (could replace this easily if need be)
8. rez signet (usually kept when with other party members)

now ignoring my last 2 skills and noticing that I am a necro that uses a health degen spell, should I keep my sword for the other degen or should I use a golden 6-28 axe req 12 axe mastery (some bonuses I cant quite remember) and use axe skills for higher damage? If I change this then I will be changing my helmet (for +1 in attribute) as well as some of my skills. I also have a minor rune of axe mastery.
The main problem is that since recently getting final thrust, I have been doing ungodly amounts of damage to white mantle and usually finishing them long before my other party members can because of final thrust. If that skill wasnt involved then I would most certainly go for axe, but I am just not sure about the axe skills. I once tried axe (pre-searing) and it stunk, although I'm sure that is from lack of skills.
I guess my main question is should I go with higher DoT or should i have higher damage and use DoT as a helper? thx!

As a Warrior/Necro, I prefer to use Axes simply because there are no sword skills to attack multiple foes at once that are not elite. That being said, you can use Cyclone Axe, Dismember, Axe Twist for conditions+damage and either Victory is Mine! for health/energy regen, or Life Transfer for heath stealing. You could also try other axe skills like Executioner's Strike if you are looking to do a lot of damage quick. For me, I prefer to tank and kill an enemy over time while keeping my health high (so that I can take on more than one foe at once). Using this approach with an occasional Blood Well has helped me perfect a farming routine where I take on 18 or more 24 lvl monsters at once...solo. Works great!

[huxley maximus]

I love hammers for a few reasons

1. No one uses them so you can find awesome hammers for good prices. You can also find hammer mods a bit easier. To find an awesome sword with the best mods it is going to be tough.

2. Knockback skills plain and simple. The hammer does the most initial damage but when you combine my hammer, 19-35 damage, +21 health, +12% damage along with two knockdown adrenaline skills that can be used one and then another one right after that it is one heck of a force. I have it setup where I can do a adrenaline knockdown, adrenaline weaken, adrenaline knockdown all in a row enemies fall like flies and it is an awesome PvP weapon.

3. For farming you can turn on balhazaars spirit and mending and then it is butt kicking city plain and simple.

My biggest complaint is that a shield and sword look much cooler. I don't like the look of hammers but will take the cosmetic hit for a performance increase.

[jacob abbett of guild war]

i use an axe and they work well but they do take a lot of adrnalen and you shuld try to max out axe mastarey in oder for the axe to really shine and a high level of strength is just iceing on the cake :happy34:

[Fownkaymownkay]

Well, i used to have an axe, and it was utterly awesome, lemme tell you. The PERFECT W/Mo axe. But the problem was, i had no DoT spells. I missed the joy of watching the stupid white mantle justiciar's health meter go down while i healed myself. I missed my Ranger/Mesmer's Conjure Phantasm..

So i think swords are pretty good. I've never used em though, but bleeding and deep wound are great conditions, and coupled with Victory is Mine! you could get some good health boosts, not as good as Axe though. (more conditions) Also, if you happen to hit some creature impervious to bleeding, just use the other 6 skills you have to hurt them.. final thrust, galrath slash.. hitting them...

The problem is, i love hammers. they are so cool. a rock bigger than your head on a stick. How do you beat that? Earthshaker+Aftershock is the craziest insane damage combo with warriors.. even if you dont have earthshaker, you can use the other knockdown skills to trigger a chance to cast AS..

Well, thats my two cents..

FM