First time playing a Warrior.. some weapon advice please - Guild Wars Forums

Azarkar · Feb 08, 2012, 06:47 AM // 06:47

Hi all,

I started playing GW in 2011, and just fairly recently been putting more time in it. Last week I started my first warrior ever, and am trying to get an idea of what weapons are good/very good, for him to use. He is level 16 presently, and is a Prophecies character, going through the 25 missions in order. My elemetalist finished EoN, and I chose the Droknar Maul which he has been using exclusively to this point.

I would like to get him an axe, and not sure about all the melee prefixes and such, and what would serve him as a top of the line(to a point) axe for PVE play. My elementalist is one mission away from finishing NF, and has most of the map open. So I was thinking I could either buy or farm a NF boss for a drop... or wondering if I should chose a endgame NF weapon.

If you can add a little advice below of a good green axe, and what makes it good.. I would be most appreciative. Or any other axe, green or not. Also price range to be expected.

As for a shield, I have presently an AL 16, -2 physical damage in stance, and +30 health.
If you have an idea of a better shield(named or not) that would be great too!

Lastly, if you think you have an axe i would like, please send me a PM or post here.
Thanks for your assistance!

IGN: Azarkar Solclaim

MisterB · Feb 08, 2012, 07:29 AM // 07:29

Read this.

http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/w...t10326347.html

The section titled, "Part II ??? Equipment Selection" should provide you some direction.

After reading that, go here.

http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Quick_access_links

The warrior info box has links to collectors, crafters, and greens for you to select gear. The shield you have already should be fine, especially if it's a Strength shield. If it's not Strength, you might consider replacing that.

Veldan · Feb 08, 2012, 07:32 AM // 07:32

From experience I can say that the best way to learn about the different warrior builds, or any builds in the game, is simply to play them.

Azarkar · Feb 08, 2012, 07:34 AM // 07:34

Mister B, and Veldan...

Thank you for the links and thought.

The shield is a tactics r9

Da Kenster · Feb 08, 2012, 08:13 AM // 08:13

For the shield, make sure you have the investment in tactics and are using stances consistently, otherwise you aren't receiving the armor bonus or the reduced physical damage. If either of these isn't true, you will want to switch to a different inscription and/or shield.

For weapons, I personally have a variety that I use for different situations. There isn't necessarily one weapon that works the best in all situations, so having a variety lets you be flexible and adapt to a variety of situations. If you aren't using a skill from your heroes that modifies your damage type (say judge's insight), you will probably want weapons that deal different types of elemental damage as well. Different enemies have different resistances to the various types of damages, so knowing when to switch to a weapon that deals more damage is a smart practice (IE using a Fiery Dragon Sword against a Burning Titan=stupid).

If you want an axe, go for a green unique axe as they will be cheap and have max damage and stats. Head to the wiki here:

http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/List_...que_items#Axes

and look at the various unique axes available and find one with stats that suit your playstyle. You can somestimes find these axes cheap in Kamadan, though I haven't been paying attention lately to see if anyone is selling some cheap greens.

I would also recommend the giveaway forum here on guru at:

http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/giveaways-f273.html

since people often giveaway stuff, usually minis, but there is a thread there from a guru user who is giving away some max damage weapons, which includes some axes. While the mods may not be the best on these giveaway items, if they are insc. items you can mode them to your liking.

Find a weapon set that suits your playstyle, and most importantly, have fun.

turbo234 · Feb 08, 2012, 08:59 AM // 08:59

overall vampiric is better than sundering mods, and defense tends to be prefered over +hp. for each type of weapon(axe/hammer/sword) you usually want to have a vampiric for higher dps, and zealous for energy management at the very least. your shield is okay, but warriors hardly use tactics anymore. most spec almost completely into strength and their weapon so i would recommend getting a str shield instead. the rest is just learning as you play.

Kamatsu · Feb 08, 2012, 09:35 AM // 09:35

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KotCR · Feb 08, 2012, 10:07 AM // 10:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by Azarkar

As for a shield, I have presently an AL 16, -2 physical damage in stance, and +30 health.

That's perfect for a Warrior, there isn't really a better combination.

You will probably almost always be in a stance as a Warrior, so it'll offer you a total of 10 damage reduction over 5 hits. The alternative is a -5 (20%) chance mod, but in contrast that will only offer you a total of 5 damage reduction in 5 hits on average.

Some might prefer +45HP when in a stance, but in this case the +30HP always tends to be better, as if on low HP, if an enemy ends your stance it could spell instant death for you, with an instant additional drop of 45HP to whatever damage they did with the attack otherwise. And it's better to be safe than sorry.

Looks like the requirement is Tactics though. You'll also want a Strength requirement Shield with the same stats (AL16, +30HP, -2 damage in a stance) aswell, as Warriors generally tend to spec in Strength over Tactics.

Not that there's anything terribly wrong with Tactics, for what it's supposed to do (which it does pretty well), it's just that most players prefer the more offensive playstyle Strength offers.

As for Axes, if that's your weapon of preferance, as mentioned, you'll want at a bare minimum one with a zealous prefix (1 energy on hit, -1 energy regen), and one with a vampiric (3 lifesteal on hit, -1 health regen) or sundering (20% chance of 20% armour penetration) prefix. Vampiric tends to offer more damage in the longrun (and a little extra passive healing when used with multi-hit attacks too), so if you have the choice, grab that in preferance.

Having a Furious (10% chance of double adrenaline gain) on swap might be handy too. Most also carry one with one of the Elemental damage mods (Shocking, Fiery, Ebon, Icy), but those have much more use in PvP than they do in PvE for the most part.

As for the other end of the weapon, Defense +5 tends to be the way to go for PvE in general for general use, but there's nothing wrong with a HP+30 mod instead, which tend to be preferred for PvP.

akelarumi · Feb 08, 2012, 10:36 AM // 10:36

though I agree vamperic weapons are great on dps, the penalty can be annoying. If going that way make sure you understand that you have to change weapons almost all the time (if not fighting with a vamperic weapon equiped you will loose health).

KotCR · Feb 08, 2012, 10:51 AM // 10:51

Yeah, but you can also chuck a Mending Refrain Paragon hero in your team somewhere, then you'd not notice it anyway, since on a hero it basically equates to health regen for the entire team once the ball is rolling, it's hardly a wasted slot. Don't use one at the moment but have done in the past. Combo with Never Surrender (prefably on a Command-specced hero instead, though with a tricky attribute spread, you can make it on the same character), for constant +7/8 health regen for the entire team in tough fights. It's not bad.

The Vampiric mod probably won't kill you regardless, seems heroes/henchies will stop and heal you whenever your health drops a fair bit anyway, but I do agree it can be annoying.

Chris Le Noir · Feb 08, 2012, 01:04 PM // 13:04

I did some shopping for you and have some stuff for you. Currently 1 hammer and 2 axes, still looking for a shield. Give me a poke ingame to pick em up. Can also offer you some tips for playing war if you like.

Edit: Got 2 req 9 strenght shields aswell, ready to go. Not the greatest skins but functional non the less.

<-- IGN

Azarkar · Feb 08, 2012, 03:10 PM // 15:10

Wow... just posted my post last night, and came back this morning to a superlative level of help and information! I am reading through everyone's posts, and truly appreciate the effort and earnestness ya all put in to sharing information with me.

Lots to digest and remember. :-) Keep it coming if there is more.
Thanks for starting my day well.

----------

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Le Noir

I did some shopping for you and have some stuff for you. Currently 1 hammer and 2 axes, still looking for a shield. Give me a poke ingame to pick em up. Can also offer you some tips for playing war if you like.

Edit: Got 2 req 9 strenght shields aswell, ready to go. Not the greatest skins but functional non the less.

<-- IGN

Wow again... will look for you indeed. Thanks so much for the generous spirit!

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EDIT: I wrote about axes above as from some threads i read I thought axe was the way to go.
Again, being new to a warrior.. I may have the wrong impression.
Is there an advantage to sword to axe, or both evenly weighted due to attacks and such?

Chris Le Noir · Feb 08, 2012, 04:09 PM // 16:09

In general swords and axes dont differ to much damage wise. Swords do higher average damage though cuz of the weapons damage range (15-22) but axes can "spike" harder with certain skills.

Drawback of swords is that they cant inflict deepwounds without the target bleeding first. In pve, some mobs are imune to bleeding which makes it hard to be effective with swords.

Other then that go with what you are most comfortable with. Everyone has their own preferances. I prefer hammers or axe but to each their own.

btw hammer bars can be a bit hard since they lean on their elite skill alot, much more so then an axe bar for instance.

aspi · Feb 08, 2012, 04:20 PM // 16:20

I prefer my axe build over my swords, but not by so much I wou8ld not encourage to try both. It's just that warriors endurance is a perfect elite to make you spam skill after skill while building adrenaline for Save yourselves or Deep wound attack.

I think I have a few Warrior Elite tomes so you can start with your elite of choice. I think most if not all of my weapons are dedicated so I might not be able to give you some.
Contact me in game for the free tomes. MY IGN is Kale pruim

MisterB · Feb 08, 2012, 05:04 PM // 17:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by aspi

I think I have a few Warrior Elite tomes so you can start with your elite of choice.

Elite (and normal) tomes only allow a character to learn unlocked skills.

EtherealSkys · Feb 08, 2012, 06:15 PM // 18:15

"Is there an advantage to sword to axe, or both evenly weighted due to attacks and such?".

I have >1000 hours on a warrior, and in my personal experience, I prefer a sword. As others have said, there's no real "better" weapon though, so you can really go with what you feel like.

However, imo, 100b+whirlwind attack is -the- most fun aoe, and makes you a very strong dps & spiker, (esp. if you can get someone to bring MoP) for group play.

But as I said, its really up to you - I just recommend that if you haven't tried swords yet, you at least pick up and play that build when you can.

Da Kenster · Feb 08, 2012, 06:25 PM // 18:25

As has been said, it all comes down to personal preference. I like my swords because, well, I like swords, but I have a set of axes and hammers as well. I like the Dragon Slash/Save Yourselves spam since it makes many things seem like easy mode, but also like hundred blades for balling. Keep in mind that there are lots of enhancements you can have your heroes cast on you (strength of honor, splinter weapon, etc...) or on enemies (mark of pain) that will increase your damage output. When looking for a weapon or skill set, find a build that is a team build and has great synergy, and watch the enemies melt before you.

Vernphos · Feb 09, 2012, 03:35 PM // 15:35

I prefer axes just for the easy deep wound spam. That and keen chop (always critical!).

Also, I prefer tactics since I like to do more than just wade in and bash bash bash.

Tactics lets you steal energy and gives you +% critical. It also has my favorite elite skill in Soldier's stance which gives you huge speed attacks + nearly immune to meele.

Eviscerate is great too.

i find hammer to be kind of boring and gimmicky. I always feel like I am SO SLOW after swinging an axe at +33% speed.

As for which axe, I prefer old school: CHAOS AXE. Get a 15^50 and go to town.

They can be gotten quite cheap in Kamadan (15-20k or so)

Milennin · Feb 09, 2012, 04:24 PM // 16:24

I like swords for Sun and Moon Slash + Hundred Blades AoE damage.
Axes can be fun too with skills like Whirlwind Axe and Triple Chip for AoE.
Never used hammers because I don't want to sacrifice my shield and they're slower than axes, might be hard to get in more than a single hit before stuff dies.

Ishmel · Feb 10, 2012, 08:12 AM // 08:12

My warrior has gotten himself a Tribal Axe and i'm considering trying an Axe build just so i can use it (it's freaking huge).

For the most part my warrior uses sword and board with the standard AoE build mentioned above.

Feb 08, 2012, 06:47 AM // 06:47	#1
Azarkar Academy Page Join Date: Dec 2010	First time playing a Warrior.. some weapon advice please Hi all, I started playing GW in 2011, and just fairly recently been putting more time in it. Last week I started my first warrior ever, and am trying to get an idea of what weapons are good/very good, for him to use. He is level 16 presently, and is a Prophecies character, going through the 25 missions in order. My elemetalist finished EoN, and I chose the Droknar Maul which he has been using exclusively to this point. I would like to get him an axe, and not sure about all the melee prefixes and such, and what would serve him as a top of the line(to a point) axe for PVE play. My elementalist is one mission away from finishing NF, and has most of the map open. So I was thinking I could either buy or farm a NF boss for a drop... or wondering if I should chose a endgame NF weapon. If you can add a little advice below of a good green axe, and what makes it good.. I would be most appreciative. Or any other axe, green or not. Also price range to be expected. As for a shield, I have presently an AL 16, -2 physical damage in stance, and +30 health. If you have an idea of a better shield(named or not) that would be great too! Lastly, if you think you have an axe i would like, please send me a PM or post here. Thanks for your assistance! IGN: Azarkar Solclaim Last edited by Azarkar; Feb 08, 2012 at 07:04 AM // 07:04..

Feb 08, 2012, 07:34 AM // 07:34	#4
Azarkar Academy Page Join Date: Dec 2010	Mister B, and Veldan... Thank you for the links and thought. The shield is a tactics r9 Last edited by Azarkar; Feb 08, 2012 at 07:37 AM // 07:37..

Feb 08, 2012, 09:35 AM // 09:35	#7
Kamatsu Moderator Join Date: May 2005 Location: Australia	Just a friendly note to all - Please don't be rude or insulting. Q&A is a place for people to come and ask questions and seek answer's. Post's that just say "Use Wiki" or "Use Search" are not acceptable and will be deleted. Rude and insulting post's are also not acceptable and will be removed as well. Just remember - if a post is rude / insulting / offensive and/or you believe it breaks the Forum Rules or the Q&A Forum Rules please use the "Report Post" button at the bottom left of the post to send a msg to all moderators of this forum and we will action the post accordingly. __________________ Have a moderation related issue or just want to chat? Send me a PM

Feb 08, 2012, 10:51 AM // 10:51	#10
KotCR Lion's Arch Merchant Join Date: Jul 2008 Guild: [DVDF] Profession: P/	Yeah, but you can also chuck a Mending Refrain Paragon hero in your team somewhere, then you'd not notice it anyway, since on a hero it basically equates to health regen for the entire team once the ball is rolling, it's hardly a wasted slot. Don't use one at the moment but have done in the past. Combo with Never Surrender (prefably on a Command-specced hero instead, though with a tricky attribute spread, you can make it on the same character), for constant +7/8 health regen for the entire team in tough fights. It's not bad. The Vampiric mod probably won't kill you regardless, seems heroes/henchies will stop and heal you whenever your health drops a fair bit anyway, but I do agree it can be annoying. Last edited by KotCR; Feb 08, 2012 at 10:56 AM // 10:56..

Feb 08, 2012, 01:04 PM // 13:04	#11
Chris Le Noir Ascalonian Squire Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Europe Guild: A New Chapter [ANC] Profession: Mo/W	I did some shopping for you and have some stuff for you. Currently 1 hammer and 2 axes, still looking for a shield. Give me a poke ingame to pick em up. Can also offer you some tips for playing war if you like. Edit: Got 2 req 9 strenght shields aswell, ready to go. Not the greatest skins but functional non the less. <-- IGN Last edited by Chris Le Noir; Feb 08, 2012 at 01:54 PM // 13:54.. Reason: found shields

Feb 08, 2012, 07:29 AM // 07:29	#2
MisterB Furnace Stoker Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Planet Earth, Sol system, Milky Way galaxy Guild: [ban] Profession: W/	Read this. http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/w...t10326347.html The section titled, "Part II ??? Equipment Selection" should provide you some direction. After reading that, go here. http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Quick_access_links The warrior info box has links to collectors, crafters, and greens for you to select gear. The shield you have already should be fine, especially if it's a Strength shield. If it's not Strength, you might consider replacing that.

Feb 08, 2012, 07:32 AM // 07:32	#3
Veldan Academy Page Join Date: Nov 2010 Profession: R/D	From experience I can say that the best way to learn about the different warrior builds, or any builds in the game, is simply to play them.

Feb 08, 2012, 08:13 AM // 08:13	#5
Da Kenster Krytan Explorer Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: A shoebox Guild: The Boat Crew Profession: W/E	For the shield, make sure you have the investment in tactics and are using stances consistently, otherwise you aren't receiving the armor bonus or the reduced physical damage. If either of these isn't true, you will want to switch to a different inscription and/or shield. For weapons, I personally have a variety that I use for different situations. There isn't necessarily one weapon that works the best in all situations, so having a variety lets you be flexible and adapt to a variety of situations. If you aren't using a skill from your heroes that modifies your damage type (say judge's insight), you will probably want weapons that deal different types of elemental damage as well. Different enemies have different resistances to the various types of damages, so knowing when to switch to a weapon that deals more damage is a smart practice (IE using a Fiery Dragon Sword against a Burning Titan=stupid). If you want an axe, go for a green unique axe as they will be cheap and have max damage and stats. Head to the wiki here: http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/List_...que_items#Axes and look at the various unique axes available and find one with stats that suit your playstyle. You can somestimes find these axes cheap in Kamadan, though I haven't been paying attention lately to see if anyone is selling some cheap greens. I would also recommend the giveaway forum here on guru at: http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/giveaways-f273.html since people often giveaway stuff, usually minis, but there is a thread there from a guru user who is giving away some max damage weapons, which includes some axes. While the mods may not be the best on these giveaway items, if they are insc. items you can mode them to your liking. Find a weapon set that suits your playstyle, and most importantly, have fun.

Feb 08, 2012, 08:59 AM // 08:59	#6
turbo234 Wilds Pathfinder Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: WI Profession: Mo/	overall vampiric is better than sundering mods, and defense tends to be prefered over +hp. for each type of weapon(axe/hammer/sword) you usually want to have a vampiric for higher dps, and zealous for energy management at the very least. your shield is okay, but warriors hardly use tactics anymore. most spec almost completely into strength and their weapon so i would recommend getting a str shield instead. the rest is just learning as you play.

Feb 08, 2012, 10:36 AM // 10:36	#9
akelarumi Wilds Pathfinder Join Date: Nov 2009 Profession: E/	though I agree vamperic weapons are great on dps, the penalty can be annoying. If going that way make sure you understand that you have to change weapons almost all the time (if not fighting with a vamperic weapon equiped you will loose health).

Feb 08, 2012, 04:09 PM // 16:09	#13
Chris Le Noir Ascalonian Squire Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Europe Guild: A New Chapter [ANC] Profession: Mo/W	In general swords and axes dont differ to much damage wise. Swords do higher average damage though cuz of the weapons damage range (15-22) but axes can "spike" harder with certain skills. Drawback of swords is that they cant inflict deepwounds without the target bleeding first. In pve, some mobs are imune to bleeding which makes it hard to be effective with swords. Other then that go with what you are most comfortable with. Everyone has their own preferances. I prefer hammers or axe but to each their own. btw hammer bars can be a bit hard since they lean on their elite skill alot, much more so then an axe bar for instance.

Feb 08, 2012, 04:20 PM // 16:20	#14
aspi Desert Nomad Join Date: Jan 2010 Guild: eeew Profession: N/Rt	I prefer my axe build over my swords, but not by so much I wou8ld not encourage to try both. It's just that warriors endurance is a perfect elite to make you spam skill after skill while building adrenaline for Save yourselves or Deep wound attack. I think I have a few Warrior Elite tomes so you can start with your elite of choice. I think most if not all of my weapons are dedicated so I might not be able to give you some. Contact me in game for the free tomes. MY IGN is Kale pruim

Feb 08, 2012, 06:15 PM // 18:15	#16
EtherealSkys Frost Gate Guardian Join Date: Apr 2010 Guild: VKO Profession: W/A	"Is there an advantage to sword to axe, or both evenly weighted due to attacks and such?". I have >1000 hours on a warrior, and in my personal experience, I prefer a sword. As others have said, there's no real "better" weapon though, so you can really go with what you feel like. However, imo, 100b+whirlwind attack is -the- most fun aoe, and makes you a very strong dps & spiker, (esp. if you can get someone to bring MoP) for group play. But as I said, its really up to you - I just recommend that if you haven't tried swords yet, you at least pick up and play that build when you can.

Feb 08, 2012, 06:25 PM // 18:25	#17
Da Kenster Krytan Explorer Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: A shoebox Guild: The Boat Crew Profession: W/E	As has been said, it all comes down to personal preference. I like my swords because, well, I like swords, but I have a set of axes and hammers as well. I like the Dragon Slash/Save Yourselves spam since it makes many things seem like easy mode, but also like hundred blades for balling. Keep in mind that there are lots of enhancements you can have your heroes cast on you (strength of honor, splinter weapon, etc...) or on enemies (mark of pain) that will increase your damage output. When looking for a weapon or skill set, find a build that is a team build and has great synergy, and watch the enemies melt before you.

Feb 09, 2012, 03:35 PM // 15:35	#18
Vernphos Academy Page Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: North Carlina Guild: BAD Profession: D/	I prefer axes just for the easy deep wound spam. That and keen chop (always critical!). Also, I prefer tactics since I like to do more than just wade in and bash bash bash. Tactics lets you steal energy and gives you +% critical. It also has my favorite elite skill in Soldier's stance which gives you huge speed attacks + nearly immune to meele. Eviscerate is great too. i find hammer to be kind of boring and gimmicky. I always feel like I am SO SLOW after swinging an axe at +33% speed. As for which axe, I prefer old school: CHAOS AXE. Get a 15^50 and go to town. They can be gotten quite cheap in Kamadan (15-20k or so)

Feb 09, 2012, 04:24 PM // 16:24	#19
Milennin Jungle Guide Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Europe Profession: W/	I like swords for Sun and Moon Slash + Hundred Blades AoE damage. Axes can be fun too with skills like Whirlwind Axe and Triple Chip for AoE. Never used hammers because I don't want to sacrifice my shield and they're slower than axes, might be hard to get in more than a single hit before stuff dies.

Feb 10, 2012, 08:12 AM // 08:12	#20
Ishmel Ascalonian Squire Join Date: Apr 2011	My warrior has gotten himself a Tribal Axe and i'm considering trying an Axe build just so i can use it (it's freaking huge). For the most part my warrior uses sword and board with the standard AoE build mentioned above.