Curse

drwatts · Jul 12, 2005, 02:10 AM // 02:10

Axe Mastery 9 + 3 = 12
Strength 8 + 1 + 1 = 10
Tactics 8 + 1 = 9 (For collector's shield)
Inspiration 11

Cyclone Axe
Eviscerate
Axe Rake
Watch Yourself!
Ether Feast
Physical Resistance
Elemental Resistance
Leech Signet

I wanted to try something different, first of all... Secondly, I have a collector's axe and shield that give a small bonus while in a stance (Physical Resistance and Elemental Resistance are stances that last a very long time and cannot be dispelled) that I wanted to take advantage of...

I would like some constructive criticism on which skills I should change or whatnot...

Thanks

Minwanabi · Jul 12, 2005, 03:32 AM // 03:32

Hum, ok, I'm going to critique this from a PvP standpoint, and if you were never planning to PvP with it, feel free to disregard my advice.
First, the attributes.. Set them so you get 16 in your weapon of choice, especially when it's axe. 9 Tactics is wise, the shield is helpful. Your choice of inspiration is something I take issue with though, you have 11 in it for a few skills, and not even good ones at that. Bring self heals is never a good idea, but a long casting one is even worse of an idea, and if you really want to be a wa/me, I suggest domination for blackout, or something along those lines, as blackout can really help when you're taking down that monk the first time you engage a team.

For your skills, eviscerate is a good elite choice, but I don't recommend cyclone axe or axe rake. Frankly, they're too situational, and there are better choices. I suggest keeping eviscerate as your elite, but bringing disrupting chop, executioner's strike, and penetrating blow. Watch yourself is a pretty good shout, as they go, but you really don't want a defensive one, you should try fear me, which, again, will help when you're fighting those casters.

Next, unless you're playing a specialized team build in which you're sure someone else will be snaring, sprint is never a bad choice, and if you can fit it, bull's strike is a great complement to sprint.

The stances you have are alright, but the defense will never help you, because by the time you're targeted it'll just be postponing the inevitable by a second or two, maybe. If you want to be stanced, bring frenzy, and if you start getting focused, use sprint to cancel it so you stop taking double damage. Finally, leech signet isn't a bad skill, but the huge recharge, and the fact that war's really don't need energy that much makes it questionable here.

You can try:

12+1+3 Axe
8+1 Tactics
8+1 Strength
Rest in domination

Eviscerate*
Penetrating Blow
Disrupting Chop
Executioner's Strike
Sprint
"Fear Me!"
Blackout
Hex Breaker/Frenzy/Bull's Strike/Res Sig

On the other hand, if you're building this for PvE, I say go for it, whatever, PvE's easy enough, but just remember to stay flexible, as there'll be times when somethings may need changing (and res sig's are never a bad idea in PvE).

drwatts · Jul 12, 2005, 03:45 AM // 03:45

Thank you for the advice! I will definitely try that in PvP

I like to solo quite a bit in PvE, so I will need that self-healing...

I absolutely love the Frenzy/Sprint idea!!!

Also, I've been told from lots of people that going over 12 in your weapon of choice is not a good idea and a waste of attribute points... I'd like someone to prove them wrong before I go over 12...

From Ensign's Game Mechanics guide:

"While pumping up your weapon attribute continues to give outstanding, exponential returns on damage all the way to level 12, it drops off quickly after that. Attribute level 13 is less than half as effective as the previous level at raising your damage, and attribute level 14 is even worse. So while having a level 13 or 14 attribute might look good on your stat screen, it isn't doing a whole lot in game. You'd be better served lowering that attribute and investing elsewhere."

Thanks again!

Minwanabi · Jul 12, 2005, 04:37 AM // 04:37

Certainly, and despite that, I still suggest going 16 in your weapon attribute, unless you absolutely, positively need the points elsewhere, because although the difference between 15 and 16 isn't as large as the difference between 11-12, your weapon is your sole source of damage, and you want it as high as you can get it. Not to mention that the attack skills that are based off the particular attribute will continue to get better, even if the actual percentage of damage being dealt per swing doesn't increase at a rate as high as it does in the first 12.

mamluk · Jul 12, 2005, 04:50 AM // 04:50

From a PvE standpoint, this build has some potential. A few things I would consider:

Taking both elemental and physical resistence is probably not the best idea. Most likely you will be taking mainly physical damage, you could put another skill in place of elemental resistance. It seems like you want this character to be a real tank, as in to take a lot of damage rather than to deal it. Taking ether feast instead of healing signet is a good choice then. You might want to play around and see if the mesmer stances you have are better than the tactic stances you could use. One nice thing about the mesmer stances is their long duration.

Cleave might be another elite to consider instead of eviserate- I personally like it more because you can use it a lot more often than eviserate, but both are decent skills. You could change the eviserate for the cleave and since the axe rake wouldn't be as useful, you could put in another skill such as distrupting blow or penetrating blow. Again these are just options to consider. When you get near the end of the game, disrupting blow can be quite useful against some of the mursaat bosses.

My first character was an axe using Wa/Me and I love playing him. I found inspiration was the best line for PvE and Domination was the best for PvP. Although chaos storm is a good spell in PvE!

drwatts · Jul 12, 2005, 10:42 AM // 10:42

More great stuff, guys! Thanks!