One-Handed Axes Guide
Below you'll find everything important to know about One-Handed Axes (1HA).
In a Nutshell
Pros
- Four (4) fast, easy-difficulty attacks (Chop, Slash, Swat, Shield-Breaker).
- Two (2) Offensive-Stepping attacks (Stepping Chop, Stepping Leg Strike).
- Only skill set with an Easy-difficulty shield-breaker.
- Several harder-hitting attacks (Pivot Smash, Longarm Strike, Overhead Strike, Side Strike, Pivoting Longarm).
- Pivoting Longarm is a hard-hitting, defense-penetrating attack.
- The combination of Hook & Loosening Toss can lead to great offensive opportunities.
Cons
- Many defensive holes, requiring dependence on wielding a shield in most cases.
- No multiple-hitting attacks, almost requires the wielder to have Cunning Opportunist trait.
Advice & Tips
Hook & Attack
After landing a hook (or being weapon trapped), loosening toss gives your opponent RT that you can utilize. (1HA stepping moves, brawling footstomp, etc.)
Watch out for opponents that have maneuvers to unhook themselves. (1HA, 2HA, CKF, Avros).
Breaky Breaky
Use shield breaker to destroy your opponent's shields. Most useful against Nelsor, Avros & CKF & Whips which are dependent on weaker shields (i.e. bucklers & long shields). Also effective against Pardelian which is dependent on a Wall shield.
Weapons
This is the list of weapons that can be used by the 1HA skill set.
| Weapons | How to get it | Est. cost in shops |
|---|---|---|
| Tin Axe [RF] | Sold by several shopkeepers (e.g. Salieste/Ksaia) or dropped in NPC loot. | 171d |
| Bone Axe [RF] | Steps Gardens (Denizens) loot. | Cannot be purchased |
| (Anoraden) Askada | N/A | Cannot be purchased |
| Bronze Axe [RF] | Sold by several shopkeepers (e.g. Salieste/Ksaia) or dropped in NPC loot. | 1t 1039d 2s |
| Iron Axe [RF] | Sold by several shopkeepers (e.g. Salieste/Ksaia) or dropped in NPC loot. | 16-30t |
| Boison Axe [RF] | Sold by Salieste (Iridine) | 31-60t |
| Retalq Axe | Sold by Fama (Vetallun) | 200t |
[RF]: This item can be Re-Forged by Ferrarius.
Summary
In most cases, if still using Reflexes, you'll want a Retalq axe. If your character has maxed their Speed stat at Outstanding, a reforged Iron axe may prove more beneficial.
A rank of 1 signifies the best in this category.
| Weapon | Damage Rank | Speed Rank | Weight Rank | Overall Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retalq Axe | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| [Reforged] Boison Axe | 1 | 3 | 5 | 2 |
| [Reforged] Iron Axe | 3 | 2 | 4 | 3 |
| Boison Axe | 2 | 3 | 5 | 3 |
| Bone Axe | 8 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Iron Axe | 4 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| Bronze Axe | 6 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| Tin Axe | 9 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| Askada | 7 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
Weapon Damage
A rank of 1 signifies the best in this category.
| Weapon | Damage Rank |
|---|---|
| [Reforged] Boison Axe | 1 |
| Boison Axe | 2 |
| [Reforged] Iron Axe | 3 |
| Iron Axe | 4 |
| Retalq Axe | 5 |
| Bronze Axe | 6 |
| Askada | 7 |
| Bone Axe | 8 |
| Tin Axe | 9 |
Weapon Speed
A rank of 1 signifies the best in this category.
| Rank 90 Reflexes | Maxed Speed | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weapon | Speed Rank | Average Speed | Speed Rank | Average Speed |
| Retalq Axe | 1 | 2 +MoS | 1 | 2 +MoS |
| Bone Axe | 1 | 2 +MoS | 1 | 2 +MoS |
| Tin Axe | 1 | 2 +MoS | 1 | 2 +MoS |
| Iron Axe | 2 | 3 +MoS | 1 | 2 +MoS |
| Bronze Axe | 2 | 3 +MoS | 2 | |
| Askada | 2 | 3 +MoS | 2 | |
| Boison Axe | 3 | 4 +MoS | 3 | |
Weapon Weight
| Weapon | Weight Rank | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Bone Axe | 1 | 2 lbs |
| Tin Axe | 1 | 2 lbs |
| Retalq Axe | 2 | 3 lbs |
| Bronze Axe | 3 | 4 lbs |
| Askada | 3 | 4 lbs |
| Iron Axe | 4 | 5 lbs |
| Boison Axe | 5 | 8 lbs |
Moves
Worthwhile
- Pivoting Longarm - Defense-penetrating, hard hitting attack. Likely your best bet.
- Chop & Shield-Breaker - Top-hitting easy attacks.
- Slash & Swat - Additional easy attacks, still decently accurate.
- Overhead Strike - Next-best damage after Pivoting Longarm and strikes are auto-aimed high.
Less useful
- Throw - Rarely usable. Axe throw requires a very specific distance from your target.
- Pivot Smash - Moderate damage, but hard to land on most opponents.
Complementary Skill Sets
Shields are a must when seriously using 1HA. Without them, 1HA have many defensive holes with 0 or only 1 layer of defence. Particularly troubling attacks are pushasides (Knives)
Brawling is highly encouraged.
Complementary Traits
Miscellaneous
- While holding a 1HA, you can use the behead command to chop off the head of a corpse.