So the axe(2h) is pretty trash compared to the sword(2h)

olsborg

I already expected it to be since everyone was saying it, but it actually deals less crit dmg then my sword did. Both weapons was precise for this test and the axe crit the target dummy for 16304 damage (surprise attack) and the sword crit the dummy for 16322 danage. Yikes, maybe buff axes?

the1andonlyskwex

Do you have any other crit damage buffs (e.g. major/minor force; Khajiit, Nightblade, or Templar passives; or the crit damage CP star)?

It's possible (likely) that axes are balanced so that they only give similar damage to swords if your crit damage is low otherwise.

vesselwiththepestle

Compare

2h maul nirnhoned vs 2h greatsword sharpened
1h mace precise vs 1h dagger sharpened
1h sword sharpened vs 1h mace nirnhoned
1h dagger nirnhoned vs 1h sword precise

There are some weapon choise which are supposed to be worse.

Axes might be good enough to stack crit damage in pvp, because your crit modifier will be lower than in pvp. You should find a duel partner with some crit resist and compare 2h axe and 2h sword again. The higher your crit damage modifier is, the weaker an axe will be, though. It might be interesting to find the spot where a sword becomes better than an axe.

Red_Feather

What is BiS and trash the rest. Why did they have to make every weapons type perk all about raising damage. Now there can be only one right choice.

YandereGirlfriend

Axes have been under-tuned from the first edition of the PTS.

VaxtinTheWolf

It's just my off-brand opinion but I wouldn't mind if Mace/Mauls increased outgoing healing and then Axes provided the Armor Shred(Penetration). It's more of the Idea of the weapon when looking at fantasy logic.

catnamedwill

If you have other crit passives, the value of Axes falls a lot significantly. If you already have a lot of weapon damage/stamina and low crit damage, that is when Axes beat Swords.

Bodycounter

I think it has been mentioned and verified by several theorycrafters and testers: The passive of Axes is undertuned and needs to be bumped to ~12% critical damage/healing to be more in line with the others.