Javelin and trowing use to have the same damage, with trowing axe having more falloff.
javelin got than nerfed into oblivion, and the trowing axe got buffed.
Any possible javelin buff? Like just copy and paste the trowing axe stats on the javelin
Keep in mind that Javelin is also a good melee weapon, but Axe doesn’t have melee. They aren’t supposed to have literally the same stats, there should be difference.
With that said, I agree that Javelin has been overnerfed and recent Axe buff was unnecessary.
Javelin (like Moonfire) is genuinely great with Handmaiden, Shade, and SotT: a solid power buff from the Hunter trait, hits the special breakpoints you need, staggers Chaos Warriors, spams freely, and gives you serious mobility plus melee damage. It hasn’t been “nerfed into oblivion”; I swap between Javs and Moonfire on Handmaiden quite often, leaning Javelins only because headshots return ammo and let you spam heads indefinitely in certain boss fights like with trolls.
But this “buff” to throwing axes gutted their best trick on Slayer. They used to benefit from Trophy Hunter stacks, which gave the damage to clear body-shot breakpoints on specials with ease. Take that away and the buffs it was given don’t come close to making up for it, so for Slayer this is a nerf dressed up as a buff. The intent seems to be an unlimited-ammo option for Ranger Vet… except he drops ammo, so what’s the point? I guess to make it easier to use and more accessible to newer players since it has a smoother arc, and reloads a little faster.
Pre-update, I used throwing axes on Slayer 90% of the time. They took effort to master, but with Trophy Hunter they picked off specials effortlessly mid-horde and headshot-spammed Chaos Warriors and monsters just like Javelins. Now they’re slightly worse, still a decent special killer, but the thing that made them shine is gone because they’ve simply made them easier to use but worse at hitting breakpoints on Slayer.
Also, I don’t believe throwing axes and javelins ever had the same damage. Throwing axes always had more damage, lower penetration and a slower arc with greater damage falloff. They also don’t have melee, reload in a cluster with a slow wind up almost all at once rather than one at a time. They’re just different weapons, if you wanted the Javelins to deal the same damage, then you’d have to take away all it’s other advantages and practically make it a clone of throwing axes, and I don’t think anybody would really like that.
The Javelins are still easier to use, and hit headshots well. You can use them on all 4 elf careers, which allows you unlimited ammo on a secondary ranged weaopn which always pairs nicely with Hunter for a decent fairly consistent damage buff.
The throwing axes are only available on 2 careers, and they’re still more of a meme on Ranger Vet. It’s main utility was offering Slayer a way to deal with specials, and that’s been nerfed by taking away it’s synergy with Trophy Hunter. However, it’s a good bit more accessible now to newer players with the extra shots and smoother arc.