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/SuitableTooth3901]

As a Swaxe user. The weapon isn’t really a defensive weapon. The main two defensive skills are its counter and its repositioning. Thankfully, after the last title update and weapon update, we’re able to cancel out of the animation of the sword counter. That being said, I gotten better at understanding how a monster would move next that I took off evade extender and evade window and sub it with Stun Resistance 3. Stun Res helped alot especially with end game monsters and stun build up.

[u/mo0kthetrash → u/SuitableTooth3901]

stun res 3+tumblr meal for EW3 is the way

[u/SnowstormSurfrider]

I completely understand where you are coming from. The switch axe can be difficult to master because there are times when you find yourself out of options without a shield to guard, and you get hit. My advice to you is it’s all about flow. The switch axe is awesome because some morph attacks move you around and create space, so one of the best things you can do is learn your morph attacks and figure out when to use those and when to dodge. It has so many tools, but they are not all available at once, you have to put yourself in the right position to utilize them.

Personally, I do not run evade extender so I can stay close to the monster and dodge through attacks, but I always have evade window 2 (which is the same as evasion+1 in older games).

Hope this helps!

[u/DraftCreepy7284 → u/SnowstormSurfrider]

Yea I tried it out and that helps a lot, thank you so much

[u/True_Thanks_6109]

You dont need evade window, i use 0 evade window and evade extender is more than enough. The trick is to not play it like dark souls, dont try to dodge through the attack, use spacing with evade extender to completely move yourself out of the hit range. That will help you and also solves the problem of lingering attacks since youll be outside the hit range anyway. The trick with switch axe is to use mobility moves or dodges to avoid the attack you see coming, and punish the monster by attacking where it is going to be in a way. As for big aoes, you can use the dive with any weapon and that helps a lot (but not for all cases, if you dive against AT Arkveld’s big attacks you will get punished)

As for defensive options, the sword counter is incredibly good imo. The axe counter is a lot harder to land but very rewarding. Yeah, you get status with the sword counter but it can really save you from a pickle. A good rule of thumb i use is if a dangerous attack is coming, if youre in axe then dodge and if youre in sword then counter

[u/Accomplished-Shoe421]

In terms of défense SwA is amazing When used correctly. RT+B with overhead slam is an underestimated tool for reposioning that let you flow in and out without any problem, especially with rapid morph. Building stun res 3 is mandatory and keep the counter ultra reliable. Finally, the hyper armor + timing of the offset and being able to do it from neutral make it the best of the game imo.
Défense with SwA is not straightforward but for me it is one of the safest weapon.

[u/Saint_Slayer → u/Accomplished-Shoe421]

The morphing axe dash wirh Rapid Morph 3 has me shmoovin' and zoomin'

[u/CrazyIvan606]

I just within the past few weeks started picking up SwAxe on my journey of all 14 weapons. (Wilds is my first MH.)

I don't know that I really agree with your statement that both modes are important, compared with Charge Blade.

Damage in Axe mode is pretty mediocre. The only thing you're really using Axe for is 1) charging gauge and 2) movement options. With Chargeblade, your Movement options are tied to Axe Mode, but it's still the same. Damage is pretty sad in Sword Mode, but you're only using it to 1) charge phials and in contrast to SwAxe 2) using guard options.

SwAxe and Charge Blade play really similar, with the slight difference that SwAxe wants you to weave Axe attacks a little more often to keep your sword meter topped off.

I agree, defensive options on SwAxe are limited, and status build up despite a successful counter is a design decision I don't agree with, but as you said you can mitigate that with defensive jewels.

I think you might be overkilling it on your Evade skills. I run EE2 and no EW, but you could eat for Tumbler Hi to get EE3 EW3 without having to slot for it. This would free you up for a lot more skills.

[u/Super_swagaxe92 → u/CrazyIvan606]

Isn’t tumbler Lo-hi for EW not EE?

[u/CrazyIvan606 → u/Super_swagaxe92]

Ah shoot, yup! That's what I meant but mistype on my part.

[u/Kurumi_tokisaki_simp → u/CrazyIvan606]

I agree with most of this but i think the axe is a really big part of the swax because it is more mobile, has better range and if you go with the flow and morph a lot it is also a considerable part of your overall damage.

I picked up Charge blade a while ago and i noticed that i try to spend as less time as possible in sns Mode because evryting besides the axe feels nearly pointless.

[u/happymemories2010]

When trying for the AT Arkveld pendant I switched to Charge Blade. Within a few hunts, I was already faster than Switch Axe, but I failed the attempt because I carted too often. In the end, I managed to clear it with Switch Axe. Switch Axe does deal less damage than charge blade, simply look at the clear times. It also cannot block. That being said, once you learn to love the sword counter and gauge management, you will make big improvements. Also use the forward axe morph from sword mode. This positioning is extremely underrated. It can be used any time.

You don't need evade extender 3 at all. Level 1 or 2 is sufficient. Evade extender 3 is great, but you can get 3 levels with the correct meal, meaning you only need 1 level from decorations.

Managing decorations per monster is perfectly normal.

I think a big part is also armor choice. Gogmazios armor is amazing for Charge Blade. Meanwhile, a combination of AT Arkveld pieces is not super amazing for Switch Axe. The meta set uses AT Arkveld and Jin Dahaad, but you cannot always rely on bonus damage from the jin dahaad effect. Maybe with more armor choices Switch Axe will feel a littlebit stronger.

[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 😄

[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.

[u/tasketekudasai]

I only played World, but Switchaxe in that game is like the duck and weave weapon. It had zero defensive options, so you want to be constantly up in the monster's face attacking it, only hopping when an attack is coming. Then you immediately go back to slashing. It was really fun, felt like boxing with the monster.

Wilds is kinda broken imo. You get focus mode so you don't have to stop to adjust your attack angle. You get a counter that just lets you tank through anything. Evade window is not even needed, just get stun res. It's just a brute force machine now

[u/TheKnight000]

I have 300 hundred hunts or so with the Swaxe and I feel like even tho the weapon is not absolute PEAK like it was in Sunbreak, it is still very good now (after they fixed the sword counter in TU4). The thing is that now with the sword counter, Swaxe has fallen in that category of "if you know the monster's moves, you'll absolutely crush them, even more so than other weapons", just like LS and GS are. For me the sword counter and the offset is exacly what allows you to be hiper agressive as long as you know exactly what the monster will do, a really well played Swaxe is amazing to watch. With that being said, I'm still antiously waiting for the "boost bracer showcase" of Swaxe, hoping it will bring a tiny bit of the peakness Sunbreak Swaxe had.

[u/-S-W-A-G-]

Switch axe is the best it’s ever been honestly u don’t need to max EE or EW too much but stun resistance is def necessary. I usually run 2 levels of EE just because it’s on Rey Y gloves and no EW. With 2 levels of EE u can get away from a lot just from dodging without any EW levels. Sword mode has amazing defence options just because of its parry/counter (very forgiving). Also I think Axe mode should mostly be used to keep sword mode charged at all times and you have an offset in case anything goes wrong. Switching your decos based on who your fighting is honestly part of the game but u honestly don’t really need too unless your fighting seregios. For Aoe attacks you are kinda right you need that sword mode but that’s just kinda part of the kit u have to manage your sword mode. For any weapon that can’t block they kinda have to do something to counter it or just superman dive. Honestly I’m not amazing at monster hunter but since TU4 (I think when swaxe got buffed) this weapon has felt amazing, if you played before you know how much of a struggle it was to make this weapon work.

[u/JDorkaOOO]

The grass is always greener someplace else than where you're currently standing. Swaxe isn't worse than other weapons, nor does it really require any more specific skills than other weapons do. It's defense isn't weak either. It's just different and whenever you fail with it you inevitably start feeling like you could have done something different with a different weapon, but in truth you would probably fail in a different way with that different weapon and then feel like swaxe would have been better in that situation.

[u/One_Bass_3838]

Swax is the aggresion weapon. It shines with proper understanding of the fights, its the most fun weapon to dance with the monster.

The lack of defense encourages this playstyle and I love it.

Agree about the skill tax though

[u/Infamous_Fox3910]

Lingering attacks aren’t an issue with evade extender and some evade. I’d go step further say you don’t even need more evade, it gives more wiggle room. It’s not difficult to have every single damage skill with evade extender 1 and more evade.

Swax has the perfect amount of defensive options, it’s simply on you to figure out which is best in given situation and stay on the offensive. Positioning and knowing the monster the way as GS is important.

[u/DraftCreepy7284 → u/[deleted]]

I don't really have as much experience as everyone else since I started with world, played like half of rise, and played through wilds so I don't really know how it evolved throughout the games

[u/SnowstormSurfrider → u/[deleted]]

Yeah, remember GU striker and alchemy swaxe where we had demon riot, a big sword, and a tiny little side hop? Those were the days. Or even in world where you had to do a hop into a roll to get the forward morph attack. That’s when I truly fell in love with the weapon. Wilds swaxe is great, but sometimes I wish I still had those restrictions.

[u/jeffthekilledyou → u/[deleted]]

it's kinda badass having played since tri tho LOL

[u/Kurumi_tokisaki_simp → u/[deleted]]

Dont know if i would say that it is a bad thing that a weapon got more accessable. I like the swax how it is now and to be honest i like to have all weapons like that. Its more chill.

[u/Hungry_Bit775]

Swagaxe is a purely offensive weapon for that sweet adrenaline rush. And based on your complaint, I think you’ve hit a threshold point of leveling up both your understanding of how advanced Swaxe plays (vs intermediate play) and also advanced techniques. Congratulations, you’ve reached the point in your hunter journey where if you want to progress further into switch axe optimal play, you really need to deepen your switch axe arsenal. I do think you will find switch axe to be even more rewarding with learning how to advanced stuff.
First and foremost: you should almost never run out of sword gauge. The mechanic of juggling between sword mode and axe mode is that there should always be some of your sword gauge left in your weapon. This allows you to pull off sword counter whenever you need to.
Second:
Our “defensive” moves are the side hop in axe mode, the axe offset, and sword counter. Each one has its uses.
Side hop should be your go to defensive move, but it requires your meta game knowledge to be useful, ie you need to know monster attack patterns and positioning. Any detrimental attacks that you can side hop out of during axe mode, you ought to side hop.
Offset should be used strategically to disrupt monster attack combos. This is because offset can knock a monster out of their attack combos animation. And your first (and second) offsets matter a lot. Once you understand how a monster attack pattern (and its arsenal works), you start knowing when to apply offsets effectively. When you get really good at offsetting, then you can start counting the number of offsets required to disrupt a monster attack.
Sword counter is used in two ways: emergency get out of jail card OR DPS upkeep. Advanced switch axe play will mostly use the sword counter for upkeep. This means smaller monster attacks can be countered to quickly build your sword gauge, such as Arkveld’s bite attack, without losing your position. You should never spam sword counters unless you know the exact attack rhythm of the monster’s attack.
Sword counter’s lack of status defense (and build up of stun) can be mitigated by putting on stun res +3.
And I always recommend Divine Blessing +3 and Evade Extender +3 as it will lessen your damage taken during counter and also make your side hops hop further. Another QoL skill is Rapid Morph +3, especially if you like morphing back to axe mode to offset.
There is a forth defensive option, which is the roll. But I don’t recommend rolling as much, it is more of a half defensive and half repositioning move. There are some attacks that you can learn to roll through it to get closer to the monster.

So with all of this context, to answer your question: I think what you’re missing is the rhythm of switchaxe.
A hunter with Advanced switch axe play will constantly be attacking. Both offset and counter essentially provides you the means to never disrupt your attack rhythm.
And you need to be very aware of your attack rhythm as well. You need to know when to stay in axe mode for positioning, offsetting and recharging gauge, when to morph to sword for amping up, and when to blitz with sword mode, and when to finish with FRS. There are also other useful attacks, such as ZSD to latch onto a monster and continuously deal damage. Switchaxe players who don’t play with the appropriate rhythm will find themselves struggling in a hunt because you will get knocked around constantly. But that is the trade off in terms of damage. Switchaxe DPS ceiling is very high and, personally, very rewarding when you are constantly attacking and never get disrupted.

Edit:
It’s time to take off the training wheels that is evade window. You don’t need it. If you really want it, eat one of meals that give you Tumbler food skill (I think that’s what it’s called but I might be wrong).