I believe the Chain Axe needs some buffs and changes to make it perform on par to and stand out from the Chain Sword and Eviscerator.
It doesn’t necessarily need to just get a numbers increase, I think it could use a niche to actually stand out. It’s already unique in that light swings saw into targets like a revved hit would, but it could use some more character that emphasizes on that.
My suggestion is to remove the ability to rev the Chain Axe, and simply allow the weapon to perform as it does now (while unrevved). The lights are fast revved attacks that saw and have no cleave, and Heavies + Push Attack are unrevved attacks intended for hordes/cleave. Maybe these lights can cause some innate bleed damage/stacks too, without requiring a blessing?
Currently, even with access to Slaughterer and Headtaker I think the Chain axe desperately needs:
Higher cleave on heavies + push attack
Higher general damage on both lights and heavies
Higher Flak and Carapace damage
Faster Movement Speed when charging heavy attacks
What I mean by the Movement Speed is that you become absurdly slow when charging up your heavy attacks to the point where you are effectively immobilized. This not only feels awful but also holds the weapon back quite a lot. You can’t be very aggressive as a result of this and you need to waste dodges and stamina (push attacks) to counteract it. As far as I know this is the only light weapon in the game that suffers from such a large slowdown.
Increased Horde damage is good and all (and sorely needed) but I emphasize on Flak + Carapace because dealing with Maulers, Ragers and Crushers was an awful experience before Patch 13 and it still is now. Dreadful. Even with tier 4 blessings fully stacked and the appropriate perks it just cannot keep up with most weapons in the game now.
I’m open to suggestions and I hope fatshark is as well. I like this axe a lot but there’s really no reason to ever use it. Even for fun because of the slowdown and issues that stem from that like usually being down one effective dodge, or extra loss of stamina to set up. It’s pretty much outperformed by everything at this point, even the melee attacks of Ogryn’s ranged weapons.
I agree, it’s not just about the numbers but how a weapon feels to use with it’s animations, timings, movement penalties and bonuses and busywork activations.
used it on my melee vet build. the heavy attack pattern feels like it tend to swipe towards the torso to the lower body parts of the enemy. if can be adjusted to go upwards could be better in my opinion.
i would like to suggest the light attack pattern as strikedown + vanguard + strikedown.
I think the moveset and how the weapon works needs a rework.
if you use lights the weapon “eats” into the enemy which is cool but also sucks because you cannot block.
Heavy attacks take nearly or the same time as the crucis mk2 powerhammer to charge.
The damage is also inferior to the chainsword , I can understand it’s not as strong as the eviscerator.
I’ve tried to use it in Auric on Veteran and Zealot with some semi good rolls but point 1 and 2 make it more of a burden to play then an actual fun weapon to use, and the dmg output is very mediocre. It’s a slow weapon that does not pack the punch necessary to be a fun and viable weapon. I think switching the moveset out for one akin to the small atrox MK II handaxe and making the heavy charge more a side swing and charge faster would give this weapon a good performance boost, and that light attacks eat into every enemy with the chainblades should also be changed.
I am the man who CHAXES. Of my 1000 hours of gameplay somewhere in the range of 4-600 hours has been spent mostly using the chain axe as my prefered melee weapon. That is before the buffs it received in Patch 13 and 14. After the changes in Patch 13 and 14 I do have some complaints with the weapon but it is hardly a weak or bad weapon. On veteran the chain axe has unique utility as the only melee weapon able to pretend to be a thunder hammer. It is capable of twoshotting a crusher with 1 heavy rev and 1 light rev attack. That’s a pretty impressive number considering its basically in the zone of a zealot thunderhammer. I tend to find the weapon doesn’t feel super good on Veteran however, and I have mostly been using it on Zealot where it is competitive with other weapons in its class. I do feel something needs to be done with the chain axe to improve it a bit more, but I don’t agree with your approach to resolution or your diagnosis of its failing points (entirely).
With Slaughterer and compared in similar terms the weapon is capable of 20s TTKs, similar to a chainsword, on 50 pox walkers. The Heavy Chainsword is superior to both. There are build options here that can speed up the chainsword from what I have seen but I’m comparing apples to apples here as much as possible.
The heavy attacks being kinda slow and unweildy isn’t such a burden, its something you learn around. Their diagonal pattern is also something you learn around. The real problem with these attacks, from what I can tell in my games lately, is that they have poor cleaving properties on Scab bruisers due to hitmass changes. This results in bruiser packs being much more dangerous where you can no longer easily keep them managed and light attacks are more challenging to use in the higher volume of such enemies present in patch 13-14. I still take a minimum of damage given my experience but I imagine players less used to the weapon will take unnecessary hits. The light attacks and their latching behavior are a skill check on the player and are the best thing about the weapon and its usage. But they still feel very lackluster without quite a few buff stacks going. This seems like a huge oversight on the weapon. It just takes too many swings to get going until they feel good. Finally the special attack is one of the best parts of the weapon but it is in a weird space, the heavy special was not properly buffed alongside the light special. While it certainly doesn’t need to be Heavy Chainsword tier it does need to have more damage than its own light special. Its still a powerful and extremely useful attack that can be used to clear out whole groups of elites when played well and is quite strong against monstrosities too, especially with Bloodletter.
That is all to say the moveset of this weapon doesn’t need a rework. The weapons fundamental starting damage is too low. But then it spikes pretty high with various buffs causing a weird balance problem. Its effectiveness in game is more or less in line with the chainsword in patch 14 from what I have tested but without some kind of damage buff spike (say from inexorable judgement) it tends to hit its lights and heavies kind of badly on the first go. It also feels clunky on vet, bouncing off of flak armor after just 1 or 2 guys, leaving you surrounded and low on stamina even with stamina curios. I have some work to put in in patch 13/14 for sure, but I don’t agree in removing the light latch behavior, the special attack, nor really modifying the heavy attacks per se (though more horizontal is always welcome).
Have to agree with @Reginald here, changing the light latching mechanic or general moveset of the weapon kills its unique feel and charm. Those suggestions are from people who simply don’t like the Chaxe and want to make it something else that they do like (eg Evic or chainsword). When I play it I frequently weave light attacks in even while facing significant density, the brief latch animation is absolutely not the death sentence many people make it out to be, you just need to spend some time getting a feel for when you can get away with it.
I think Reginald has already pointed out its main current issues being enemy hit mass increases making it struggle more with bruisers than it used to, and the fact FS just outright forgot to buff the revved heavies when they buffed the revved lights. I do miss being able to cleave a single poxwalker with light attacks with literally any amount of power stacked, so it’d be nice if they increased the light attack base cleave up to 1.5 to match to match the new poxwalker mass. I wouldn’t mind slightly faster heavy chaining too. With those tweaks I’d be very happy with where it’s at.
I did take the weapon for a spin on Vet a few games yesterday and i can definitely feel the issues a lot more. While you can hit some pretty spicy rev attack breakpoints, it still suffers from almost exactly the same problems it had pre-Patch 13.
I think Harry has described the problem with the weapon very well. Its not that I want to lose out on the light behavior or necessarily change the attack pattern. But he has a point on the heavy attacks being very slow and the damage generally not being there. On zealot with lots of buffs all over you can make up for it and the weapon feels pretty good as you rack up buff stacks quickly. On Veteran I am simply unable to compete with other weapons to secure kills and acquire buff stacks. The weapon swings very slowly without Trench Fighter and it doesn’t hit very hard for light attacks or heavy attacks. Plus as discussed above it doesn’t cleave groaners or poxwalkers well until it receves + power blessings. The whole weapon performs badly until you get a few stacks of slaughterer going. Then it feels ok. Which is the wrong place for the weapon to live. I think lights are still too weak base especailly given the new power level of the characters and weapons. Its not that they’re bad or unusuable but they should hit hard enough to justify it. They still don’t. The weapon still lives, as chain weapons did previously, entirely off of the strength of its rev attacks and buff stacking.
When they finally do buff it they’ll give it the ironhelm treatment by someone who has like 10 hours in the weapon instead of contacting us loyalist chads ;__;