When I first created my warrior character, I decided that I would use one-handed war axes as my primary weapon type. Since then I've chosen all three perks for the axe specialization. Everything seemed well and dandy until I realized that almost every weapon reward or powerful unique one-handed melee weapon in the game is a sword. I really don't want to have wasted those three perk points, with no axe avaliable better than Daedric. I'm hoping someone has found the best unique war axe in the game, at a high enough level to tell me that it's better than a Daedric one and then tell me where to find it. I have the strategy guide, and I've been searching the internet, but it's difficult to find. I'll post here if I find anything.

I think the headsmans axe is pretty good.... It uses 2 hands but it is your onehanded skill that controls it...

After looking through my strategy guide a bit more, it seems Daedric is indeed the best. Headsman's axe is slightly better (2 damage) but I would imagine also slower and does not allow for a second item in another hand (Being two handed). My guide also seems to say that a skyforge steel war axe should be better than a glass war axe if both improved by the same amount. I'm about to test that out, because it sounds entirely false, but still worth looking into.


EDIT: Nope, with one handed skill of 100:

Skyforge Steel War Axe: 45 Damage
Glass War Axe: 49 Damage

With both of them improved to Legendary condition:

Skyforge Steel: 89 Damage
Glass: 93 Damage

I create my own weapons and armors. Level 26. Elfic mostly. Axe dam. 43 + 16 pts fire dam. Sword 40 dam. + 16 pts health dam. Armor 69 + fort. health 28 pts. All of light weight. Handy to loot a max. :wink_smile:

I am also using war axe + spell in the other hand, and haven't found any better than I can create and enchant myself.

At level 35 I've got an ebony war axe with 43 damage and 36 points fire damage.

How come the War Axe does more damage than two handed weapons of the same quality? I noticed this recently.

I just created a new Argonian who will be dual-wielding legendary ebony war axes. Yes the Deadric axe is better, and most likely no dropped item will be greater - Wuuthrad (25pts -double on elves) is the only Artifact that seems to be an Axe. It is a Battle-Axe (2-handed). It can not be smithed, but it can be enchanted to be improved.

It is too bad - the Nordic theme would suggest more axe-themed artifacts. But I guess more people enjoy swords.

I'm not sure I understand - the Ebony Battle-Axe(2-handed) has a base damage of 23 and the war-axe a base damage of 14... unless you are getting confused with the improved smithing versions, thinking they are the base models.

This is not true. Situation is same with swords. With the sole exception of mace of molag bar there is no unique weapon in this game better than the daedratic weapons you can craft at legendary level.

Even daedric mace is better because you can enchant it with absorb vitality/stamina, for non stop power attacks, the main reason its better is because its much easier to improve to legendary, only thing in favor of molag's mace is it has 3 enchantments, unique skin.

I did not make my original post clear - sorry.

The part about the swords was in reference to artifacts. As far as I know only one artifact is an axe. I was saying that more Artifacts seem to be swords then axes, which seems sort of backwards to me given the Nordic theme of Skyrim. I was not trying to say Sword Artifacts were better then Smithed Swords. I do thing the Ebony Sword is more interesting ... and for roleplay purposes it fits well with a deathknight type of character ... but it is not better then anything you can make.

I think the reason why artifacts seem so obsolete is because of how rigid they are in terms of improving and customizing them. They cannot be enchanted, only improved. All craftable weapons can be enchanted up to 2 times and renamed, so anyone willing to invest the time and effort into smithing and enchanting can essentially create their own artifacts(without a unique skin of course). Artifacts are there for people who don't want to invest the time in smithing and such, collectors, and stepping stone for those who are creating there own weapons.

On my game it was showing an ebony war axe at something like 41 damage and an ebony greatsword at 20 something. lol!

You can do non-stop power attacks just by eating vegetable soup...