Heavy Iron war axe build

[owens]

So the axe does good damage even with 6 PS but I'm wondering whether the extra hit points and 1 PS are worth the sacrifice in speed and shield skill.

Im currently level 25  18/15 and the time has come to make the decision.

I have never played a sword (axe) and board as my main before and although I am pretty competent at build design I cant make this single decision. 18 str or 21 str


I don't wear body armour above weight 10.

I use helmets of between 25 and 45 armour value

I use round shields.

I aim to have 80 polearm wpf.

My main weapon is a heavy iron war axe. 38cut 3.3 weight ~70 reach.


It is a very short but hard hitting weapon I wanted a change and a challenge from my usual 2H or polearm builds . It is really fun even if your victims cry noob every kill you get. 1 on 1 shielder is much harder than 2H or polearm why i'm leaning towards 18/18. All though in group fights it really earns its stripes. As AUS actually has a decent community at the moment I thought now would be as good a time as any to try it out.

Only post the strength you recommend and your justification. Avoid anecdotes, or build descriptions. This is very similar to the cleaver thread so post there to share your builds please.

Thanks
Owens

[cxalc]

24/15
if3
ps8
shield4
ath5
wm3

1h 130

or polearm 80 1h about 115+

[Iymore]

4 shield? lol it's useless

[Turboflex]

Yeah I find 4 shield too low for unloomed heavy round, breaks real fast. If you have a +3 heavy round then 4 is ok.

Other than that anything from 27/12 to 18/21 and all ranges in between are fairly viable for shielder and some very good players can make cases for all these.

Personally I lean more towards at least 21 STR since you are using a slash weapon.

[Macropus]

I would suggest 18-21 since you need 18 str to use that axe. You also need a lot of maneuverability because iron war axe is a short weapon, so 21 agility should work fine.
Something like that:

Strength:18
Agility:21

Weapon Master: 3
Athletics: 7
Riding: 0
Iron Flesh: 0
Shield: 7
Horse Archery: 0
Power Strike: 6
Power Draw: 0
Power Throw: 0

Try to hit the head and you will kill people really fast even with 6 PS, while 7 shield skill would give you a lot of survivability.

[Vodner]

The IWA already hits like a truck, so I don't really think you're going to need over 6 PS. The IWA is quite short however, so the extra ath will help if you get stuck in a 1v1 versus a competent player with a longer weapon. Also, the extra ath makes it far easier to gank a single opponent with the help of a teammate (it will be easier to surround the enemy).

[owens]

Thanks Im not so happy with playing very low IF as it only takes 1 or 2 hits to die in light armour right now.

What I will do is get to 18 agility max  athletics and than decide whether I need the extra damage. The shield is still noticeably slower than blocking at 5 shield skill making me want more but it might not me such an issue if I can spend less time blocking and more time on the offensive or out of reach due to the higher ath.

The shield was no good at 4 shield skill it was slow and attacks seemed to get around it a lot.

I know it isnt very min/max like but I think I might just go 18/18 as I have done 24/15 and didn't like it. Having an "incomplete" build really shits me.

Thanks for the help anyway.

[Tore]

24/15
if3
ps8
shield4
ath5
wm3

1h 130

or polearm 80 1h about 115+

Stop downvoting him he is just trying to help

[cxalc]

Plate Covered Round Shield recomended

[Tore]

I suggest 21/15 7 IF 7 PS 5 ATH 5 Shield 5 Riding 5 VM

100 wpf pole rest in 1h. You will be able to move at a decent speed and doing tons of damage and survive a lot of hits.

[pepejul]

I played both str or agi..and I definetly prefer STR !!! With or without IF...with only light armors (I hate tincans)... strong is very very very usefull... you can block (not me I never succeeded in blocking) with only 9 agi...

I had main character at lvl 34 with 18/24..I RESPECED him (lost 72 Millioons XP I think)..and I don't regret my 24/18 now =)

[owens]

Yeah i'm going 21/15 thanks for the help.

It is a really tricky weapon to use compared to 2H or the longer 1 handers but it can be very rewarding.

If you play well it really shows 38 cut is a lot and the awesome secondary mode is actually useful unlike some of the other secondary modes out there. The fact that it weighs 3.3 is a huge bonus as well stunning the lightsabre guys sometimes and standing up against the nasty poleaxes and mauls fairly well.


I still need at least 85 speed on my shield as I haven't yet broken my old polearm and 2H habits ( still leaving the block to the last minute a bit to often).


Thanks everyone that contributed its appreciated.

[pepejul]

I love the "fireman" axe too as 1H.... 

[Turboflex]

I borrowed someone's +3 version of it and used it for a month straight, really liked it. I didn't find it very slow either, actually felt faster than a warhammer despite slower statistical speed. I think it's cuz axes have a nice hitbox due to position of the blade and also that blade is curved (gets the "ghostreach" phenomina")

[owens]

The axe head curves the wrong way for traditional "scim style" pre-hit ghost hit. However It gets substantial ghost reach in secondary mode and a slight ghost reach ordinarily.