The Great Axe is a two-handed melee weapon in the New World that has a moderate attack speed and deals high amounts of damage.
Players tend to use the Great Axe due to the intense amount of damage it can deal along with its ability to pull enemies to set them up for combos.
Charge attacks from the Great Axe can deal tons of damage while the abilities are great for taking down groups of enemies.
Great Axe Attacks
1) Primary Attack
The Great Axe is swung from the right followed by the left to perform a 2-hit combo, dealing 100% slash damage.
2) Heavy Attack
After a slight delay, the Great Axe is swung with more strength to perform a wide cleave, dealing 120% damage.
3) Charged Attack
Holds the Great Axe back even longer before launching a greater swing at enemies, dealing 160% slash damage.
Great Axe Abilities
1) Reaper Tree (Active Abilities)
Focusing on charging onward into battle, the Reaper tree allows players to focus on gaining ground with the enemy and ensuring that they can be pulled in to be finished off.
Abilities in the Reaper tree include:
A) Charge
Your character charges 10m towards an enemy and deals 120% weapon damage when a target has been reached. Attacking during this ability will stop the charge and deal with the attack early.
Charge passive upgrades include:
- Frenzied Momentum – Charge now deals 120% – 140% damage based on the distance traveled.
- Unpredictable Strike – You can now do a heavy attack during charge, causing your character to stop and perform a swing attack, dealing 140% – 165% weapon damage.
B) Reap
Causes your character to extend their Great Axe forward up to 5 meters, pulling enemies towards you, dealing 110% weapon damage.
Reap passive upgrades include:
- The Collector – Reap range is increased by 8 meters.
- Hunger – You are healed by 30% of the damage you deal with Reap.
- Fatal Attraction – After using Reap to pull in enemies, you perform an additional spin attack, dealing 115% weapon damage to enemies in range.
C) Execute
Leap in the air and perform a powerful overhead attack which deals 200% damage to enemies or 300% if they have less than 50% health.
Execute passive upgrades include:
- Unstoppable Greed – Execute gains grit during the attack, preventing you from becoming staggered by incoming attacks.
- Executioner – Execute gains 100% critical chance against enemies who have less than 30% health remaining.
2) Reaper Tree (Passive Abilities)
- Critical Gains – Critical hits with a Great Axe will heal you for 10% of the damage that has been dealt.
- Frustration – Whenever your attacks are blocked by enemies, you gain a stack of 15% damage that lasts 10 seconds.
- Keen Edge – Critical damage dealt is increased by 10%.
- Feed – Attacking enemies with health below 30% will heal you for 10% of the damage dealt.
- Greed – Light attacks with a Great Axe give you a stack of 5% damage for 5 seconds. (Maximum of 3 stacks)
- Death’s Embrace – Armor penetration of Great Axe attacks is increased by 10% when attacking enemies with less than 50% health.
- Critical Condition – Great Axe attacks towards enemies with health below 30% increase your critical chance by 15%.
- Executioner’s Speed – Gain 20% haste for 3 seconds when 2 or more targets have been hit by your Great Axe attack.
- Blood Lust – Move 30% faster and deal 15% more damage when you are looking at an enemy within 1.3 meters.
3) Mauler Tree (Active Abilities)
Focuses on dealing area of effect damage and crowd control, allowing you to hold enemies in place and deal multiple instances of damage in an area.
A) Whirlwind
Causes you to spin and attack nearby enemies, dealing 50% weapon damage with an additional spin when an enemy is hit. (Maximum of 4 spins)
Whirlwind passive upgrades include:
- Gusting Winds – Whirlwind’s maximum rotations are now increased to a total of 7.
- Unending Winds – The movement speed of Whirlwind is increased by 50%.
- Surrounded – You deal 30% more damage if there are 3 or more enemies near you.
B) Maelstrom
Your character does a fast spinning attack that pulls enemies towards you, dealing 110% weapon damage.
Maelstrom passive upgrades include:
- Storm’s Reach – The range of Maelstrom’s pull is increased by 50%
- Absorb – All projectiles are consumed when Maelstrom is active.
- No Reprieve – An additional spin attack is done when using Maelstrom, pulling enemies, and dealing another 110% weapon damage.
C) Gravity Well
Swings upwards, dealing 99% weapon damage, which creates a vortex that pulls enemies within 10 meters for 3 seconds.
125% burst weapon damage is dealt with when the vortex ends.
Gravity Well passive upgrades include:
- Crowded Well – Increases burst damage by 10% for each enemy that is caught in the vortex.
- Unyielding – Allies who are standing in the well will gain 10% fortify.
4) Mauler Tree (Passive Abilities)
- Mauler’s Resolve – Getting hit while holding a Great Axe and having less than 50% health will cause you to gain 40 Stamina. (20-second cooldown)
- Gravity – After causing a pull, your enemy is rooted for 0.25 seconds.
- Center of Attention – Damage is increased by 10% when 3 or more enemies are within 4 meters.
- Heavy Pull – Heavy attacks pull enemies towards you when hit.
- Enduring Strike – Great Axe heavy attacks gain grit, preventing you from being staggered and reducing incoming damage by 20%
- Revenge – Blocking attacks with a Great Axe provide an additional 5% damage for 5 seconds (Maximum of 3 stacks)
- Crowded Protection – Gain 10% damage absorption when 3 or more enemies are within 4 meters.
- Mauler’s Fury – Great Axe attacks grant 3% damage for 3 seconds. (Maximum of 10 stacks)
Great Axe Attribute
Strength Attribute
The Great Axe relies on the Strength attribute, being a strong and heavy weapon that it is, also gaining benefits from passive bonuses.
Such passive bonuses include an increase to your light and heavy melee attacks as well as later on being able to deal more stamina damage.
Higher amounts of the Strength attribute will increase damage to debuffed enemies and later on improve stamina regeneration when attack and also gain GRIT on attacks.
Great Axe Legendary Quest
When you reach level 60, you can accept the Reformation quest from Phyllis Herb and accept the Reformation (Epic Great Axe) after turning the quest to Eintou Madaki.
Verdict
The Great Axe is a high damage dealing weapon and the tradeoff of having reduced attack speed for heavy damage can be quite exceptional with the right timing.
Even without the proper timing, users of the Great Axe can easily do combos due to the GRIT gain chance provided by some skills as well as later attribute bonuses.
Using this weapon allows you to charge head-on and attack enemies with brute force, perfect for those who like to tank damage and dish out even more in return.
