Kinda torn between two polearms

[Shinvega]

Newb question but a serious one so please dont flame me lol.

Ok so I hit lvl 30 yesterday and I've been playin with an elegant poleaxe but I feel pretty slow and my swings are pretty blockable. I do pretty well for myself but I was wondering. Would I be better to get a Bec (I know everyone has them and no im not tryin to be like Goretooth) or stay with my poleaxe. So ultimately my question is does the build below do better justice with the poleaxe or with a bec? If not what kinda build should I be looking at if I do go with a bec?

My build is:

Strength 24 
Agility 15

Polearm 146

Iron Flesh 0
Power Strike 8 
Athletics 5
Riding 5 
Weapon Master 5 

Like I said I'm still fairly new to the game and any suggestions and advice would be much appreciated. Thank you very much in advance!

-Osyrix

[Tears of Destiny]

I always prefered the Poleaxe to the elegant version, but that is just me.

Personally, I would use the weapon that covers your largest frustration. If shielders give you a very hard time then the poleaxe will be a better choice as it has a high damage which allows it to exploit the "bonus against shields" rather well. It also has appreaciable better reach then the Bec. However, the bec will perform better against armoured targets, so if you feel you are not taking them down fast enough then I would choose the Bec. As for the popularity thing, they are both about equally common in my opinion (roughly) so don't worry about that.

If I had no alternatives and had to choose between the two, then I would personally go for the Poleaxe as I don't like fighting shielders, and your 8 PS will allow you to take targets down fast anyways (the extra length of the axe will allow you to hit horses a wee bit easier too).

[Phew]

The Elegant and Bec play very similarly, both are short/fast "dueling" polearms. Just choose if you'd rather have an advantage against shields or plate.

Like Tears said, the regular Poleaxe is the way to go IMHO. It has a high dmg thrust, so you still get can opener abilities like the Bec, but it's longer and breaks shields. Cheaper than the elegant to boot.  You wouldn't want to duel a ninja with one, but it's a very versatile weapon that is good (but not great) at everything.

[Shinvega]

awesome responses guys thank you!

[Dezilagel]

The Elegant and Bec play very similarly, both are short/fast "dueling" polearms. Just choose if you'd rather have an advantage against shields or plate.

Like Tears said, the regular Poleaxe is the way to go IMHO. It has a high dmg thrust, so you still get can opener abilities like the Bec, but it's longer and breaks shields. Cheaper than the elegant to boot.  You wouldn't want to duel a ninja with one, but it's a very versatile weapon that is good (but not great) at everything.

Disagree about the last part, it's awesome vs. Ninjas

[Strider]

i prefer 18/21 build. i like speedy attacks/movements.

[Dexxtaa]

Depends on your playstyle.

The bec is an excellent deconstructing weapon, but you need to close in like crazy to use it.

Poleaxe is a good standoff weapon.

And honestly, feeling slow with a polearm wpf of 146 is silly. I do fine with far less with the same weapons you're using.