Sword Or Axe...?

I currently only have prophecies but will be gettin the others eventually and i was just wandering (cant decide) which of the sword or axe will i benefit most from in overall gameplay, PVP, PVE etc...

Which one has the better skills overall in all of the expansions and why.

Thanks.

Better skills overall? Neither. [wiki]Dragon Slash[/wiki] is pretty staple for PvE though.

i go with sword, i dunno lol ur choice

i like sum of the sword skills more

if u got factions go with sword, if u got proph only then go with axes

If you had more than Prophecies, the straight answer would be Sword. A Dragon Slash build just pwns too much to bother with anything else. However Sword skills are pretty bad in Prophecies, I would recommend Axe for PvE, and either Axe or Hammer for PvP.

Even those of us who have all campaigns still use Axe in PvP, Eviscerate-based spike builds are a staple.

The advantage of an Axe in PvP is a fast spike of damage that includes a deep wound at the very beginning of the spike, and unlike [skill=text]Final Thrust[/skill], can happen before an enemy Monk turns their attention to your target. Swords are okay for pressure in PvP if you have access to the proper skills.

But surely with the likes of hundred blades and sun and moon slash, these are extremely good skills for killing enemys fast.

Hundred Blades is a horrible elite and if anything, the reason not to use a Sword in Prophecies.

Sun & Moon Slash is from Factions. If you have Factions run Dragon Slash, there's nothing else even remotely comparable for "killing enemies fast."

Agreed. Dragon Slash+FGJ+Enduring Harmony=win. Typical melee counters apply, but for the most part, you'll roll. I like a Furious sword for this - in fact, I'm running the build on my Warrior.

I tried Hundred Blades+Splinter Weapon, and it's not bad, but it's barely useful in 95% of PvE.

Short answer...
Sword for PvE - Dragon Slash + Save Yourselves! >>>>> PvE

Axe for PvP - Eviscerate + Executioner's strike >>>>> People's faces

Ok but what bout for overall PVP and PVE, Cuz i dont have the patience to swap for each time i wanna do either of the two lol in your opinions which would you go for....

Overall, for PvP, Axe is king. [card]Eviscerate[/card][card]Executioner's Strike[/card]
For PvE, Sword is king. [card]Dragon Slash[/card]
Make your choice. Or do both. That's what I do.

If you only have Prophecies so far, go Axe. Dslash is a Factions skill.

Once you have your headpiece and a weapon of each type its not hard to switch, just save your axe and sword builds as templates.

Also hammer is still useful.

How do we save as templates?

press 'K' to open the skill/attribute window, up to the left you should see a little blue button which looks kind of like a floppy disk, push it and a menu will drop down with alternatives to save or load templates ^^ more info here http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Template

as for your choice between axe or sword it really doesn't matter that much, choose whatever you think looks best/suits your play style/character ^^ they both have their pro's con's

Prob the most useful answer to me all day :P

I feel axes would be great for overall play, since you can solo using one, so you can solo. On the plus side they are cheap and really great to use. But on the bad side, most of them look cruddy, except maybe the choas axe.

Swords are EXTREMELY expensive, but get the best skins and most updated skins. Although i have used one for a while, i wished someone told me how much cheaper axes were two years back. But the skills are fun to use in PvE and PvP. Crippling slash is fun to use in PvP since those guys can't escape after you get them low enough in HP. Dragon Slash is awesome in PvE when you can pwn enemies.

QFT, I prefer swords.But they are extremly expensive. Prepare to dish out 70k for a sword while you pay 2k for a hammer with the same stats. It's all about the skin

NOOB question - Why is Hundred Blades considered to be a weak elite? It would seem to me to be a great way to gain adrenaline.

Any weapon is only expensive if you're going for the unecessarily "rare" skins. Any weapon you can get at a collectors/weaponsmith is good enough.

Yeah, don't buy this "expensive" crud. You can use clean weapons with no mods in PvE that will cost you ~150 gold.

Hundred Blades is weak because it provides no bonus damage, only works when enemies are bundled up, and is generally outclassed by other elites like Dragon Slash (which builds adrenaline up AND has +damage).

Anyway, there is no "best." People saying Axe is better for PvP, etc are all expressing personal opinions. There is no "best." I prefer axe in both PvP and PvE (like the DPS, and I think bleeding is a weak condition). Some people prefer swords. Its all preference. My suggestion is to try both.

It is only comparably weak to even many normal attack skills.

1. It does not do +damage, unlike [skill]Cyclone Axe[/skill] or [skill]triple chop[/skill].
2. It does not bypass block, unlike [skill]sun and moon slash[/skill].
3. It has hell of a recharge time for a melee elite skill.
4. It takes up an elite slot.
5. The only use you can see is probably fast activation(5e, you can use it right away without adrenaline), but then again, [skill]enraging charge[/skill] does it better.