Best Axe?

Since there is not a post on this and I was wondering about it, I thought I would pose teh question. what are some good axes for lvl 50. I would like to know the best primal axe as well as (since I dont have any of those yet) what the best alternative is for if I just need to get one in the wards or from GC. Thanks for all the input.

I think it goes something like this:

Garuda's >= Lieutenant Axes > Sergeant Axes (If you can keep sanction up) > Ifrit/Moogle (I prefer Moogle over Ifrit) > Sibolds Reach > Lower Tier GC Axes/Melded Axes

I would agree with that assessment if the acc bonus from the Lieutenant's axe didn't come from wearing 5 pieces of flame gear. The truth is, most players will be taking a huge hit to their other gear's stats by wearing 4 other pieces of flame gear. I'll hold of saying this is absolute fact, because I don't know the result of the .1 DPS increase on your other stats. (It may only be significant if you've capped STR and VIT.)

Flame Lieutenant's Axe:
Attack Power : +25, Defense : +5, Flame gear set (5): Accuracy +20
DPS: 4.3

Flame Sergeant's Axe:
HP : +50, Sanction: Attack Power +45
DPS: 4.2

For sanction, you don't have to compromise your other gear. Having said that, what I'd like to see is some parse results using the same other pieces of gear (only changing the axe) because the Lieutenant's axe does have higher DPS than the sergeant's axe, which we know increases stat caps.

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Originally Posted by Molly_Millions

I would agree with that assessment if the acc bonus from the Lieutenant's axe didn't come from wearing 5 pieces of flame gear. The truth is, most players will be taking a huge hit to their other gear's stats by wearing 4 other pieces of flame gear. I'll hold of saying this is absolute fact, because I don't know the result of the .1 DPS increase on your other stats. (It may only be significant if you've capped STR and VIT.)

Flame Lieutenant's Axe:
Attack Power : +25, Defense : +5, Flame gear set (5): Accuracy +20
DPS: 4.3

Flame Sergeant's Axe:
HP : +50, Sanction: Attack Power +45
DPS: 4.2

For sanction, you don't have to compromise your other gear. Having said that, what I'd like to see is some parse results using the same other pieces of gear (only changing the axe) because the Lieutenant's axe does have higher DPS than the sergeant's axe, which we know increases stat caps.

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I would like to add that Storm (Limsan) officer weapons come with accuracy prior to the 5 piece bonus, but only Storm.

I prefer the sanction weapons myself. If you roll with a decent enough party and don't get gibbed all the time the +40 vitality sanction on the Storm Axe is huge for tanking as well as DD.

As for the Lieutenant's weapons I'm with Molly on this, I would not want to compromise my other gear so I could slot 5 storm pieces to get the bonus. Those slots can be better optimized with double melded/darklight gear.

You could always use the GC jewelry and a GC belt which is pretty good most of the time.

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Originally Posted by AmyNeudaiz

You could always use the GC jewelry and a GC belt which is pretty good most of the time.

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I don't think there is that much good GC jewelry for WAR, so you still have to make a comprimise.

Earrings and Bracelet from Maelstrom offer attack power, crit attack power, and strength.

The belt is also nice for the vitality +4 Vitality

Legs could be another piece (only stats I know off the top of my head +80HP, +10 Strength, +10 Accuracy)

There's your 4 pieces for the Gear Bonus. You can equip any head/body/feet/arm/rings that you want.

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Originally Posted by DeadRiser

Earrings and Bracelet from Maelstrom offer attack power, crit attack power, and strength.

The belt is also nice for the vitality +4 Vitality

Legs could be another piece (only stats I know off the top of my head +80HP, +10 Strength, +10 Accuracy)

There's your 4 pieces for the Gear Bonus. You can equip any head/body/feet/arm/rings that you want.

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That would actually eliminate most +enmity gear asside from sentinels sabatons or dark light gear.

no matter what gc gear you choose for that bonus, there is a trade-off.

DPS gear and tanking gear are totally different anyway. Don't think it matters that much as long as you have a set for each.

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Originally Posted by GreyJorildyn

DPS gear and tanking gear are totally different anyway. Don't think it matters that much as long as you have a set for each.

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Either way, I haven't seen a single soul that's equipping the lieutenants axe and wearing 4 other pieces of GC gear due to the compromise. Those GC legs for example, I'd be cutting the VIT and STR on my legs by half.

I haven't either, but I'm ul'dahn and that GC gear is INT based. The LL stuff doesn't look too bad, but I've never looked into it that deeply.

Wouldnt you go for five peice that would be, ax, earring, braclet, belt and then coat/chest. I say this because i have my stat caps hit and i really need atk. Getting the ax attack power is a must. Also I dont think it would be good to dps with the relic. The real question for me is does the ax count as the 5th peice?

Enmity+50 on the relic isn't really that much. It is the best axe for DPS hands down.

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Originally Posted by michael_one

Wouldnt you go for five peice that would be, ax, earring, braclet, belt and then coat/chest. I say this because i have my stat caps hit and i really need atk. Getting the ax attack power is a must. Also I dont think it would be good to dps with the relic. The real question for me is does the ax count as the 5th peice?

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Yeah, the axe counts as 5. But the uldahn lieutenants axe only has +25 attk, the sergeant's axe has +40. With the missing acc (I'm Uldahn too) the sergeant's axe is better, with a possible exception that you have str and vit both capped, in which case it's possible (not probable) that the .1 dps will raise the caps enough to compensate.

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Originally Posted by Molly_Millions

That would actually eliminate most +enmity gear asside from sentinels sabatons or dark light gear.

no matter what gc gear you choose for that bonus, there is a trade-off.

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Well he never said dps or tank, so I'd say it's a decent trade-off lol.

EDIT: The last set of gloves for Maelstrom offers +100 HP and +50 Acc if you are having accuracy problems, granted you might be getting rid of attackpower/strength gloves.

I have the dl and trip meld str. gloves. I like the mog ax with the explor choker for my acc it keeps it around 400-395 i think. I would think the relic is a tanking ax thou it has the higest dps. The sec highest ax ist the ll one. If i were to go with the vit belt, earring, brackelt and ax, i only need one more peice for the bouns. The chest is a little tought because i have a double meld chest with vit +31-33. Thou it is not worth it becuse the hard cap for vit is what 305-320 depeind on ax correct? Either way i have to get the rest of my seals to get it. Got that dam note first. And thanks for the help molly.

Flame Sergeant's Axe is the best weapon for the cost to acquire.

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Originally Posted by Holyomen

Flame Sergeant's Axe is the best weapon for the cost to acquire.

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yep, I'll take +40 attk over +25 attk and .1 dps more and a hit to my other gear any day of the week.

The acc is good for the ll ax thou and it lets me put in a strength to hit my caps i can hit about 630-650 attck power with vit at 310 and strength at 341-5 give or take a few. So I really only need a few more points of acc. to get were i want to be. I also have the five set bouns. I went with the ring, braclet, belt, ax and coat. The coat and braclet are not ideal but I like to dps in war and t vit and strength bouns is not bad. Thou i did blow up a great buff ax on a double meld heavens fist four.

This is the 2nd best DPS weapon to the Bravura (41.63):

Rampager +1:

Damage: (176) HQ
------------------------- = 40.93 DPS
Delay: 4.3s

Strength +7, Vitality +7, (Attack Power +15) HQ

Could this weapon double melded be the 2nd best axe in the game?

At 40.77 dps, Garuda's is the second highest dps axe in the game and is for that reason superior to the gc axes (both dps and tanking). Stat caps increase based on dps (not damage) and dps is the factor in weapon skill damage (again not damage).

The higher stat cap, however comes with the bruden that you actuallyeet it (it's something like 345-350 str and 310/315 vit). So you need to be able to meet those caps without relying on weapon melds.

Also the relationship between dps and caps + ws damage means relic is also best for dd. the 50 enmity should be no problem even for a decent non-relic tank.

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Originally Posted by dreamliner

This is the 2nd best DPS weapon to the Bravura (41.63):

Rampager +1:

Damage: (176) HQ
------------------------- = 40.93 DPS
Delay: 4.3s

Strength +7, Vitality +7, (Attack Power +15) HQ

Could this weapon double melded be the 2nd best axe in the game?

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Oh and rampaged can't be worn by warrior and is thus trash for tank-wars unless being used as base for relic. Some have convincingly argued that MRD is superior single target dps... But when do you need to dd only one thing that you would t just go dragoon or monk?

In regards to leuitenants weapons I'd say gridania has the best of the lot. the gc gear makes it pretty easy to hit the vit cap without sacrificing to much. and a decent pair of melded gloves should put your str up where it needs to be.

i think anyway......

I'd actually say, IMO, Maelstrom has the best GC Axes. For tanking, at least. Sarge's gives +40VIT from sanction and Lt gives a natural 20 ACC. Both are extremely good. Though Flame's Lt Axe is just raw power, which is also great for both DD and tanking. Just keep an eye on your ACC. Especially for Garuda.

I was so happy to finally get an Ifrit Axe drop the other night. Too bad I just now did the calculations and found out that my Lt Axe is slightly better overall lmao. While Ifrit's would pull slightly more weight (about a point or two overall), it'd be at a cost of +20 ACC from the Lt Axe. But at least I now know I am forever done with Ifrit. At least until Dark Knight is released... though by that time Ramuh might also be out. And I want a Lightning Scythe!

Anyway, overall, I'd probably say that Garuda's Scream is the best Axe overall in terms of utility and not counting the relic. Perfect for tanking, perfect for DDing, and looks cool too.

So while having the novelty of Ifrit/Moogle Axe is nice... I think the best course of action for all WARs is to just do caravans for a few days and get their Lt Axe (even if you're in Twin Adder) and use that until you get Garuda's or a relic. Skirmish Axe is also a possibility... but you'd need to get a successful triple meld of AP... and the chances of that happening are slim. Possible, but slim.

So after looking into it a lot, I think most WARs should look into these weapons only:
-Storm/Flame/Serpent Lt. Axe (Good Placeholder until Garuda's Scream)
-Giantsgall Axe melded with +Enmity (If you feel you need a little more Enmity for tanking)
-Garuda's Scream (Pretty much the ultimate goal weapon for the average WAR)
-Relic (If you really want to)
-Ifrit/Moogle: Not bad by any means at all, but the Lt Axes are as good, if not a little better overall and easier to get. It's the difference between a few days of caravans for a guaranteed Lt Axe or taking the gamble of anywhere between 1-100 primal runs for the chance of getting a weapon to drop or enough items to trade for one.

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Originally Posted by Kagato

I'd actually say, IMO, Maelstrom has the best GC Axes. For tanking, at least. Sarge's gives +40VIT from sanction and Lt gives a natural 20 ACC. Both are extremely good. Though Flame's Lt Axe is just raw power, which is also great for both DD and tanking. Just keep an eye on your ACC. Especially for Garuda.

I was so happy to finally get an Ifrit Axe drop the other night. Too bad I just now did the calculations and found out that my Lt Axe is slightly better overall lmao. While Ifrit's would pull slightly more weight (about a point or two overall), it'd be at a cost of +20 ACC from the Lt Axe. But at least I now know I am forever done with Ifrit. At least until Dark Knight is released... though by that time Ramuh might also be out. And I want a Lightning Scythe!

Anyway, overall, I'd probably say that Garuda's Scream is the best Axe overall in terms of utility and not counting the relic. Perfect for tanking, perfect for DDing, and looks cool too.

So while having the novelty of Ifrit/Moogle Axe is nice... I think the best course of action for all WARs is to just do caravans for a few days and get their Lt Axe (even if you're in Twin Adder) and use that until you get Garuda's or a relic. Skirmish Axe is also a possibility... but you'd need to get a successful triple meld of AP... and the chances of that happening are slim. Possible, but slim.

So after looking into it a lot, I think most WARs should look into these weapons only:
-Storm/Flame/Serpent Lt. Axe (Good Placeholder until Garuda's Scream)
-Giantsgall Axe melded with +Enmity (If you feel you need a little more Enmity for tanking)
-Garuda's Scream (Pretty much the ultimate goal weapon for the average WAR)
-Relic (If you really want to)
-Ifrit/Moogle: Not bad by any means at all, but the Lt Axes are as good, if not a little better overall and easier to get. It's the difference between a few days of caravans for a guaranteed Lt Axe or taking the gamble of anywhere between 1-100 primal runs for the chance of getting a weapon to drop or enough items to trade for one.

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So do you recommend going for set bonuses or you talking just using weapon (re: GC weapons)?

Well if your in the Storm you can fill the set bonus requirement without too much debate. My personal preference is

Lieutenants Weapon (5 P.: +30 Atk)
Storm Sergeant's Bracelets +3 Atk (3 P.: +7 STR)
Storm Sergeant's Earring +4 Atk, (4 P.:+7 Crit. Atk. Pot)
Lominsan Officers Overcoat +10 VIT, MND, STR, DEX (Sanction: +70 Def.)
Storm Sergeant's Jackboots +30 Eva (2 P.: +10 DEX)

Opinions vary but you could also use the Lominsan Officers Gloves (+50 Acc with Sanction), Lominsan Officers Cap (+30 VIT with Sanction), or Storm Sergeant's Choker (+14 Heal M.Pot I think).

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Originally Posted by SwordCoheir

Well if your in the Storm you can fill the set bonus requirement without too much debate. My personal preference is

Lieutenants Weapon (5 P.: +30 Atk)
Storm Sergeant's Bracelets +3 Atk (3 P.: +7 STR)
Storm Sergeant's Earring +4 Atk, (4 P.:+7 Crit. Atk. Pot)
Lominsan Officers Overcoat +10 VIT, MND, STR, DEX (Sanction: +70 Def.)
Storm Sergeant's Jackboots +30 Eva (2 P.: +10 DEX)

Opinions vary but you could also use the Lominsan Officers Gloves (+50 Acc with Sanction), Lominsan Officers Cap (+30 VIT with Sanction), or Storm Sergeant's Choker (+14 Heal M.Pot I think).

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Hi Sword,

BTW, does the Lominsan's Officer's Overcoat count as a "piece" of "Storm gear" since it's still Maelstrom?

And do you like the Lominsan's Officer's Overcoat over the Storm Sergeant's Tabard (as a DD role)? (especially if you're not sure about deaths.)

Thanks.

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Originally Posted by Kiara

BTW, does the Lominsan's Officer's Overcoat count as a "piece" of "Storm gear" since it's still Maelstrom?

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yes, everything you can equip from the gc headquarters (except the spbond jewelry, I think) counts.

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Originally Posted by Kiara

Hi Sword,

BTW, does the Lominsan's Officer's Overcoat count as a "piece" of "Storm gear" since it's still Maelstrom?

And do you like the Lominsan's Officer's Overcoat over the Storm Sergeant's Tabard (as a DD role)? (especially if you're not sure about deaths.)

Thanks.

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As Molly Said yes, every piece of GC gear regardless of the name as long as it's of the same GC affiliation it counts towards the total including the weapon/item itself.

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Originally Posted by SwordCoheir

As Molly Said yes, every piece of GC gear regardless of the name as long as it's of the same GC affiliation it counts towards the total including the weapon/item itself.

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Nice, good to know. Thanks Molly, Sword. :)

What is more important for me to go for: Lt. Axe (Ul'dah) or Mog/Ifrit Axe? My current gear is as follows (with melds noted in brackets, not including base stats)

Axe: Demilune Bhuj (just started using WAR recently)
Head: Fighter's Burgeonet
Body: Cobalt Cuirass (double meld: 2x +60HP)
Legs: Felt Trousers +1 (triple meld: 1x +40HP, 1x +8VIT/STR, 1x +9VIT/STR)
Hands: Sentinel's Gauntlets (double meld: 1x +55HP, 1x +60HP)
Feet: Cobalt Sabatons (double meld: 1x +55HP, 1x +65HP)
Waist: Cobalt Plate Belt +1 (double meld: 1x +22ENM, 1x +23ENM)

Obviously I'm a little reluctant to dump all that for the GC gear just to get Lt. Axe with gear bonuses - at least, not without double checking with people who know a bit more about this stuff than I do...

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Originally Posted by Loony_BoB

What is more important for me to go for: Lt. Axe (Ul'dah) or Mog/Ifrit Axe? My current gear is as follows (with melds noted in brackets, not including base stats)

Axe: Demilune Bhuj (just started using WAR recently)
Head: Fighter's Burgeonet
Body: Cobalt Cuirass (double meld: 2x +60HP)
Legs: Felt Trousers +1 (triple meld: 1x +40HP, 1x +8VIT/STR, 1x +9VIT/STR)
Hands: Sentinel's Gauntlets (double meld: 1x +55HP, 1x +60HP)
Feet: Cobalt Sabatons (double meld: 1x +55HP, 1x +65HP)
Waist: Cobalt Plate Belt +1 (double meld: 1x +22ENM, 1x +23ENM)

Obviously I'm a little reluctant to dump all that for the GC gear just to get Lt. Axe with gear bonuses - at least, not without double checking with people who know a bit more about this stuff than I do...

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You're likely not at the STR cap, that willl add more damage than just adding the LT weapon, I believe. Get some gloves with a triple STR meld, then the LT axe will make a bigger difference. And although it's less important than STR in terms of damage output, you could probably use some VIT as well, I'd aim for abut +25 or so on a cobalt cuirass with maybe some crit attack power or defense if you're daring enough for a triple meld.

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Originally Posted by Loony_BoB

What is more important for me to go for: Lt. Axe (Ul'dah) or Mog/Ifrit Axe? My current gear is as follows (with melds noted in brackets, not including base stats)

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If your reluctant to invest in a Lt. Weapon the best thing outside of Garuda would be the Mog Axe or a solid STR or VIT melded Giantsgall Battleaxe. The Mog Axe gives you hp returns on damage dealt sometimes and the Crit. Rate increase will help your HP returns with rampage more, though the Acc is'nt bad either. Otherwise if your seriously short on the stat caps the Giantsgall Battleaxe makes an excellent addition to help you reach them, pending just how available gear is for you. If your just being a plain cheapskate though, most of the Sergeant GC weapons make a fine addition as well, and usually come with a good sanction bonus to boot only at the cost of 6.5k GC seals.

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Originally Posted by Molly_Millions

I would agree with that assessment if the acc bonus from the Lieutenant's axe didn't come from wearing 5 pieces of flame gear. The truth is, most players will be taking a huge hit to their other gear's stats by wearing 4 other pieces of flame gear. I'll hold of saying this is absolute fact, because I don't know the result of the .1 DPS increase on your other stats. (It may only be significant if you've capped STR and VIT.)

Flame Lieutenant's Axe:

Attack Power : +25, Defense : +5, Flame gear set (5): Accuracy +20
DPS: 4.3

Flame Sergeant's Axe:
HP : +50, Sanction: Attack Power +45
DPS: 4.2

For sanction, you don't have to compromise your other gear. Having said that, what I'd like to see is some parse results using the same other pieces of gear (only changing the axe) because the Lieutenant's axe does have higher DPS than the sergeant's axe, which we know increases stat caps.

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Do you have to wear all 5 of the LT. GC set or any piece from your GC that amounts to 5 including weapon?

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Originally Posted by Ramzus_Asero

Do you have to wear all 5 of the LT. GC set or any piece from your GC that amounts to 5 including weapon?

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It's any 5 from your GC including weapon. I think the patriots gear doesn't count, but anything with Flame in the name will.

I use Immortal Flames Sergeant Axe if I want max HP (with Sanction it's superior, because of it's immense AtkPwr bonus)
I use Garuda's Scream for when I want to trigger up my accuracy or when specifically fight her for the resistance
I use Ifrit's Axe for when I want max dmg output or when specifically fight him for resistance
I use Moogle Axe almost never, maybe only if I really could feel the effect of the "Change to regen HP"

The actual DPS's on the Axes aren't that much far apart. If you really want to increase damage output I would choose Ifrit's or Sergeant with Sanction.

I almost always use Sergeant Axe, guess Garuda weapons atm is just to show of that u won her more than once maybe :P. The Sergeant Axe plus some melded cobalt/sentinel gear and +1 jewelry get's my WAR on 4746 HP atm, I won't say I'm displeased with that ^^.

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Originally Posted by Allendar_Makenshi

I almost always use Sergeant Axe, guess Garuda weapons atm is just to show of that u won her more than once maybe :P. The Sergeant Axe plus some melded cobalt/sentinel gear and +1 jewelry get's my WAR on 4746 HP atm, I won't say I'm displeased with that ^^.

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this, but I don't really agree with the Garuda's scream part.

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Originally Posted by Allendar_Makenshi

I use Moogle Axe almost never, maybe only if I really could feel the effect of the "Change to regen HP"

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The text actually says: chanCe to restore HP. In other words, when you hit, there is a slight chance you'll gain a few HP back. It works, but it's not that much HP. The real reason you should consider the moogle axe is A. if you don't have Garuda's Scream but need more ACC, and B you don't have to comprimise your other gear for the ACC bonus it gives.

Garuda's Axe easily out DPS's Ifrit's. It's not even close.

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Originally Posted by Churchill

Garuda's Axe easily out DPS's Ifrit's. It's not even close.

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I agree with this as well. DPS is higher on Garuda's Axe, the effect of which is that your stats cap higher allowing more overall damage.

I don't have Garuda's Axe so I can't test this, but I suppose it may be possible that if your stats are not close to cap that you may be getting more DMG from the seargeants axe because of the attack power. You have to consider that the effect of attack power on overall DPS is like 2/3 of what STR or VIT would do up to the cap. This is in addition to what I just said above about stat caps.

The other possibility is that your ACC is capped before adding Garuda's Axe, thus negating one of the biggest benefits of that axe. That would probably also mean that your stats are not otherwise capped.

Allendar, what's your STR, VIT, and ACC at? Have you parsed for ACC with the seargeant's axe? if so what's your actual hit rate with that axe? (before anyone jumps down my throat for my methods, SGT axe has no acc bonus, so it's best to start testing with that.)