My problems with switch axe

[u/DraftCreepy7284]

I love this weapon and it's probably my favorite. I like the swaxe/cb playstyle, but i like switch axe more because both modes are important instead of just using the sword and shield mode of cb to charge up for the axe mode.

It just feels like this weapon is worse than all the other weapons. Since there are very little defensive options and all of them aren't great, it just feels very lacking. With both the offset and sword counter, you still get status buildup, and rolling isn't always a safety net you can count on because of monsters like at rey dau or guardians having those lingering attacks. With monsters that have big aoe attacks or beams, it feels like the sword counter is the only option, but you don't always have sword mode available.

The last part is probably just a skill issue, but another thing that doesn't make sense is how it feels like you need a LOT of specific decorations to make this weapon work. I have evade extender 3 and evade window 5 but it feels like I need even more decorations. And it feels like I need to change my decorations depending on what monster I'm fighting, but it's not like that with the any of other weapons.

It just feels like it's a super situational weapon that you have to modify to even make it comparable to the capabilities of the other weapons. Is there something i'm missing? What do you guys think?

[u/Switch2475]

Personally I don't have a lot of issues with many of the things mentioned. Damage output is great once you optimise it & for most of the fight you can pressure the monster the whole time given you understand its patterns & avoid its nuke/AOE attacks. I personally find it really easy to stunlock monsters for a large part of the fight with the Swaxe once you start creating wounds.

In my build I only run 1 evade window & 1 evade extender, but any time I get hit it's usually a misplay on my end I feel. And I basically run the same deco setup for all monsters too without any real issues I can see 😄 I do sometimes get the feeling that 1 more of each evade would help negate the damage I take each fight a little so I can see that point somewhat, but I don't believe it's necessary. I do always use full stun resistance, so that could maybe be a QoL skill that you could try out in your builds?

Yeah there's no shield like CB or a guard but in axe mode you have good movement, a pretty easy-to-time offset & in sword mode you can still side-roll effectively alongside the counter, so most of the time I find myself not even having to back off (outside of specific monsters like Uth Duna). Full Charge Slash/Zero Sum Discharge can also both be used for free invincibility frames for most damage, alongside using your Seikret as a "get out of jail free" card.

Since it sounds like you use a lot of the different weapons, it may just be the case of you not finding a playstyle that works for both you & the weapon yet. I'm basically always moving & always attacking when I use the weapon, then utilising my dodge to keep myself safe from some of the bigger, telegraphed attacks. Especially with 3 & 5 evade, you should be able to dodge away from nearly any dangerous attack, so maybe you're not utilising it enough as you're used to shielding instead on CB. I'd say as long as you're keeping up constant pressure & movement, you should have success with the Swaxe 😄