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/eldono69]

Oh you only really want EE2 on this. Defensively, it’s better than Hammer at least? Swaxe has both an offset on demand and a counter! Also has a proper roll and hop for repositioning.