Stam Sorc: Greatsword v. Maul v. Axe

merpins · July 2023

I'm not new to the game by any means, and understand the implications of each and every weapon. Stam sorc isn't particularly new to me, but I've seen this statement pop up again and again. Greatsword is best unless you need more penetration for solo arenas. But why isn't Greataxe ever in the equation here? These passives are super similar to some racial passives: Khajiit v. Dark Elf. 12% crit damage vs. 284 weapon/spell damage, though the weapon/spell damage is slightly higher than the racial counterpart, it's only by a couple points (and it'll be the same as racials in U39). If you're not hitting the crit damage cap, then shouldn't the obvious choice be 2h axe over 2h sword, just like it is for Khajiit v. Dark Elf?

Any insight would be great, I'm just a bit perplexed by this stance of the playerbase.

Zodiarkslayer · July 2023

It is pretty much what you say. The Critical Damage stat isn't seen as valuable as Weapon damage, because weapon damage has no cap and because it can does get higher with percentage based WD/SD modifiers.

For example, if your frontbar is three fighters guild and two sorcerer abilities, there are additional 13% WD/SD to consider. Count in minor, major Brutality/Sorcery and the medium armor bonus for 5 pieces maybe and you are sitting at 1,53x284=434 Weapon Damage, instead of the base 284.

Critical Damage will stay at 12% for equipping an Axe, no matter what.

Kisakee · July 2023

Also Medium armor is the way to go for now so you cap out at 125% Crit Damage without ever using an axe in organized group content.

BasP · July 2023

I suppose Axes are mostly relegated to niche solo or four man boss burn setups (paired with Mechanical Acuity, Balorgh and perhaps The Shadow mundus) these days, considering burst damage is more important in those scenarios than dealing high DPS over a longer duration. See for example the boss setups that are used in this vMA video and this vVH video.

For prolonged fights however, your overall DPS is (I suppose) higher and more consistent when you build for Weapon and Spell Damage with Greatswords, even if you're not reaching the Crit Damage cap, due to the reasons mentioned above.

ZOS_Phoenix · July 2023

Greetings,

After review we have decided to move this thread to a category we think is more appropriate for this topic (Combat & Character Mechanics, as this thread is concerning the mechanics of various weapons).

Thank you for your understanding.