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2h battle axe vs greatsword

Tariq9898
Tariq9898
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This is for a solo DK pve build with Runecarver/perfected Ansuul. It’s dot heavy. I’m torn between using a 2h battle axe vs greatsword on the frontbar.

The axe brings the crit damage up to 78% but the chance is at 32%. Probability wise, I’m not sure if that’ll out DPS the flat increase that the sword provides.

I’m already at pen cap. Any insights? Thanks

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Edited by Tariq9898 on June 27, 2025 8:05PM
  • Zodiarkslayer
    Zodiarkslayer
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    Could you post the rest of the build, please? The danger of one giving wrong advice is higher the less one knows. And the context as well. Is this buffed? Unbuffed? What does your "I am already at pen cap" mean? How do you get there?
    The same goes for your crit damage and weapon damage stats. How do you get there? It makes a huge difference.

    And in my experience, the choice you are presenting is irrelevant as long as you have that low crit chance. With a much higher crit chance the choice moves towards Axes. Unless there are bonuses to weapon damage, like Major Brutality or Fighters Guild passives.
    Edited by Zodiarkslayer on June 27, 2025 10:54PM
    No Effort, No Reward?
    No Reward, No Effort!
  • Tariq9898
    Tariq9898
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    Could you post the rest of the build, please?
    The danger of one giving wrong advice is higher the less one knows.

    Sure. Here are the links to both.

    https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Special:EsoBuildData?id=683123 (greatsword)

    https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Special:EsoBuildData?id=675555 (battle axe)

    The ONLY difference between them is that one has battle axe and the other greatsword. I'm on Xbox so unable to test them on PTS.

    Edited by Tariq9898 on June 27, 2025 10:35PM
  • Zodiarkslayer
    Zodiarkslayer
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    Tariq9898 wrote: »
    Sure. Here are the links to both.

    https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Special:EsoBuildData?id=683123 (greatsword)

    Thanx. I played around a little and it turns out the answer to your question is: Mace!
    😂 Isn't that funny? 😂

    The problem of your build is that you are having a very low crit chance and so actually need to use the Thief mundus. As a consequence, a two handed Mace will get you the penetration partially back.

    A sharpened trait would be better, but you will probably need charged more, when I look at your recoveries. Sustain must be rough as is.

    In my opinion, Runecarver is a not well suited set for Soloing, especially on Stamina Characters. It needs to be a body set or one looses so much damage. That in turn forces one to very suboptimal armor setups, that offer both less damage and survivability.

    And by the way, you should take your time with the UESP Editor. It has a lot more options, that will let you make better decisions in the future. Like the buff tab, the toggles for passives in the skills tab or the calculated "Effective Power Tab", which is a pretty good indicator for how good your build can be.
    No Effort, No Reward?
    No Reward, No Effort!
  • Tariq9898
    Tariq9898
    ✭✭✭✭
    Funny enough, I was looking for either an Ansuul greatsword or battle axe for today's run. But instead got the perfected Ansuul maul!! Amazing how the universe works lol.

    That said, I have completely overhauled the build. The body is now fully Runecarver. I switched to the Thief mundus, got over 40% crit chance and still found ways to hit pen cap! Here are two builds I'm now torn between! The only difference is the head piece. Medium Valkyn vs Light Slimecraw

    https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Special:EsoBuildData?id=683222 (medium Valkyn)

    https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Special:EsoBuildData?id=683220 (light slimecraw)

    So the reason I'm using Runecarver is that this is a DK theme build. I considered using another set, maybe Tide-born/ansuul? Not sure.
    Edited by Tariq9898 on June 28, 2025 12:16PM
  • Tariq9898
    Tariq9898
    ✭✭✭✭
    Tariq9898 wrote: »
    Sure. Here are the links to both.

    https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Special:EsoBuildData?id=683123 (greatsword)

    Thanx. I played around a little and it turns out the answer to your question is: Mace!
    😂 Isn't that funny? 😂

    The problem of your build is that you are having a very low crit chance and so actually need to use the Thief mundus. As a consequence, a two handed Mace will get you the penetration partially back.

    A sharpened trait would be better, but you will probably need charged more, when I look at your recoveries. Sustain must be rough as is.

    In my opinion, Runecarver is a not well suited set for Soloing, especially on Stamina Characters. It needs to be a body set or one looses so much damage. That in turn forces one to very suboptimal armor setups, that offer both less damage and survivability.

    And by the way, you should take your time with the UESP Editor. It has a lot more options, that will let you make better decisions in the future. Like the buff tab, the toggles for passives in the skills tab or the calculated "Effective Power Tab", which is a pretty good indicator for how good your build can be.

    Where is the "Effective power tab"? I'm looking for it! 😀😀😀
  • Tariq9898
    Tariq9898
    ✭✭✭✭
    Tariq9898 wrote: »
    Sure. Here are the links to both.

    https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Special:EsoBuildData?id=683123 (greatsword)

    Thanx. I played around a little and it turns out the answer to your question is: Mace!
    😂 Isn't that funny? 😂

    The problem of your build is that you are having a very low crit chance and so actually need to use the Thief mundus. As a consequence, a two handed Mace will get you the penetration partially back.

    A sharpened trait would be better, but you will probably need charged more, when I look at your recoveries. Sustain must be rough as is.

    In my opinion, Runecarver is a not well suited set for Soloing, especially on Stamina Characters. It needs to be a body set or one looses so much damage. That in turn forces one to very suboptimal armor setups, that offer both less damage and survivability.

    And by the way, you should take your time with the UESP Editor. It has a lot more options, that will let you make better decisions in the future. Like the buff tab, the toggles for passives in the skills tab or the calculated "Effective Power Tab", which is a pretty good indicator for how good your build can be.

    Nevermind I found it!! It's at the bottom of "computed character statistics"!!! I could even adjust the "effective level" for pve and pvp!! ***, this is awesome!!!
  • Zodiarkslayer
    Zodiarkslayer
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    Indeed.

    Now that UESP has subclassing options, it is the best character planner on the web. It offers so much. Keep exploring and experimenting. 👍
    Edited by Zodiarkslayer on June 28, 2025 9:33PM
    No Effort, No Reward?
    No Reward, No Effort!
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